Several people have asked my wife and me, "what's the point?" concerning the Occupy Denver movement. One of them a woman whose husband had to declare bancruptcy for his construction business. He hasn't been able to find a job for over a year since that time. He's in his fifties.
Another is in debt to credit card companies for over twenty thousand dollars. He has a mortgage that's "under water". He fails to understand what the point of getting arrested in non-violent civil disobedience accomplishes. He thinks our main problem is government is too big. He buys into all the rhetoric of the Tea Party and dear ol' Rush.
Others look at the mainstream press reports and think Occupy Denver is groups of anarchists, trouble-makers or dope smokers. How many of the middle aged or older folks holding jobs and struggling in this economy are we seeing on the 5pm or 10pm newscasts? How many older veterans like myself are reported to be in the movement? How many moms and dads with their kids are we seeing in the mainstream press reports? I've seen plenty in the past month. I've also seen elderly folks well past their 60s walking in the marches.
No, what the mainstream press wants is blood, gas,pepper spray and arrests. They want to ignore the peaceful activists of the movement as irrelevant despite the peaceful being the great majority. They prefer to show cops "protecting" themselves against unarmed young people acting out enough to get arrested. They prefer to show cops in mass formations dressed in their Ninja Turtle riot gear. And the average person who hasn't gotten up off the couch to speak out but is quite willing to go to a Halloween gig downtown or to a football game at the stadium thinks the Occupy movement is just another bunch of those freaking liberals who support big government.
What's the point? The point is the Occupy movement around the world is putting a spotlight on things that will affect future generations. They are demanding accountability for the mass fraud of the biggest banks in the world.They are demanding accountability for the unethical and destructive practices of the Wall Street brokers who all hide behind the lies they are the job makers. They've been outed by the Occupy movement as destroying the economies of this nation and several other nations.
What's the point? The point is the Occupy movement has connected the dots of the 3 billion dollars spent each week just to support the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They've shown how big corporations have profited off the blood of the poor in war zones, whether they be Americans or innocent civilians. They've shown the betrayal of the returning veterans in getting timely medical or mental health care.
The movement has demonstrated to spotlight the injustices of wealth distribution throughout the world. They've shown the myth of the richest 1% paying 35 % taxes. The recent CBO clearly shows this to be a lie when it reports the largest corporations in the world based in the U.S. not only don't pay taxes, they manage to get huge rebates through tax loopholes.
The movement has brought attention to the sieve know as the Federal Reserve. The Fed has secretively distributed taxpayer dollars in the trillions to the wealthiest corporations and individuals without oversight. Not only did the American government bail out the banks through the Congress, they've been continuously bailing them and other fat cats out without any accountability. More money has gone to them via the backdoor than through the Congress.
What's the point?The Occupy movement has brought attention to the environmental destruction posed by a pipeline from Canada to the Gulf that runs through some of the largest aquifers of drinking water in the middle part of this nation. They've shown there is no such thing as "clean coal" or safe nuclear power. They'e shown fracking is yet another danger to clean potable water and pristine forests and grasslands.
What's the point? The occupy movement has shown education and all social programs in this nation are under attack by the greedy 1%. They've shown the attack on collective bargaining by the 1%. It may seem to many this is good but they fail to understand the places where collective bargaining and unionization are free from attack are the places where workers historically have higher wages and better benefits. All workers. Not just union workers.
What's the point? The occupy movement has shown the fear of the oligarchy that the truth get out. They have ordered their police forces to squash the movement. The longer it stays around, the more the truth will be revealed. The police have obliged all across the U.S.. In Oakland Scott Olsen's skull was fractured by an "errant" projectile fired into the crowd by the riot squad. When others in the Occupy movement attempted to come to Olsen's aid a concussive cannister was thrown near Olsen's prone body as his rescuers came to his side. Olsen remains hospitalized and unable to speak. Scott Olsen is a Marine combat veteran with a job and a place to live. He was deployed twice to Iraq.
Really?? A combat veteran or any other activist violating an order that at best would bring misdemeanor charges deserves violent assault by police? Why is it the public cries out in anger when groups of activists simply try to put up food tents and sleeping tents in public parks but still think nothing of two wars killing Americans and innocent ciivilians? Why do the governors and mayors throughout the nation send out riot squads to gas, pepper spray and beat Occupy movement participants trying to camp out in the parks near the center of the local governments? And yet, these are the only Americans willing to demonstrate and speak out in the streets against the theft of millions of American pensions by the fraud of banks and Wall Street.
It is clear authorities don't want to be embarassed for their complicity in a bought and paid for government for the rich and by the rich. It has become overtly clear our own governor, John Hickenlooper, and the mayor of Denver, Michael Hancock, are colluding with the business world that funded their elections. The 1% control the wealth which means they control the media, they control the lobbyists and they control the governments all the way down to city governments. This is the point of the Occupy movement - to expose the fraud and demand regulations on campaign spending. To demand regulation on banking practices. To demand regulation on practices of stock brokerage firms. To demand the government get out of the corporate bed and govern the way it is intended.
What's the point? The claim the Occupy movement really doesn't have a focused message is absurd. The message is clear if people think about all the problems they have in living their lives free of worrying about food, shelter and healthcare. The message is clear if people think about being able to have a living wage, being able to pay their debts and being able to help their children go to college. The message is clear if students think about the debt they've incurred going to a university for their degree. The message is clear to the 47 million Americans who are without healthcare benefits. They don't think they should have to die because they are uninsured. The message is clear to parents who have buried sons or daughters who died in combat for the oil fields in Iraq. The message is clear to the mother who can't afford to get prenatal care and has a premature baby. The message is clear to the incarcerated young black or brown man who sit in prisons for crimes of possessing small amounts of street drugs. And yet, the greatest source of substance abuse is legal in forms of alcohol and tobacco.
What's the point? The point is the Occupy Denver, Occupy Oakland, Occupy Wall Street and all the other occupation sites are struggling for justice and equality. They struggle for cops who are short staffed and facing more and more budget cuts. They struggle for teachers to keep the right for collective bargaining and to be able to actually teach instead of administer inane achievement tests that fail to measure the true knowledge of each child. They struggle for all of us whether we ask them or not. And they pay the price with constant police harassment. They pay the price with the determination to stay despite weather, fatigue, adequate shelter or facilities. They pay the price with fractured skulls and welts from rubber bullets and pepper spray pellets fired into their bodies at close range.
Attempts to discredit them are intense. Infiltrators who scream and shout to incite violence are constantly appearing. Provocateurs who try to incite property damage or engage in profanity and inciteful dialogue with cops and others have come and gone. The mainstream press feed on the failures of the immature to remain calm and peaceful. They don't give a damn if you're peaceful. Their jobs are to find something "juicy" about the movement so they can claim they've done investigative reporting. Even the true journalists will find their words and visuals distorted by the editors.
What's the point? The point is this movement may be the last chance to overcome the oppressive control of the richest 1% of the world. It may be the last chance for our children and grandchildren. If you don't get that .....then wake up!!
Monday, October 31
Friday, October 28
Embrace the Revolution
As Occupy Wall Street and the many solidarity occupations continue through this fall the rich fat cats smile and tell each other winter will put an end to this temporary nuisance. They don't believe there will be "winter soldiers" in the movement. They think the brutal assault on a combat veteran in a police sweep in Oakland will discourage the families and elderly. They think the mainstream media will grow tired of the story and move on to more important matters like interviews of the Madoff family. They think the police provocateurs will get the hot heads in the occupation sites to act out violently and discredit the movement.
The Tea Party is now whining they didn't get to camp out in city parks and public places like the occupation movement has. Of course, if the group that inhabited Crawford, Texas to protest the presence of Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey is any measure, it is highly unlikely the Tea Party members would have lasted more than a day without the comfort of their RV's with t.v.s and air-conditioning or heat. They would have missed setting up a grill and gorging themselves with good ole American beef and as many carbs as they could get. And never give a thought to the black brothers and sisters dying of hunger in Africa.
The question for the Occupy Wall Street movement is whether they will sustain the movement during the hard times ahead. The assault on Scott Olsen, who went to war in Iraq two times, is the rebuttal of Wall Street and their indentured slaves in government and the police department. If they are willing to bash the skulls of the troops they so willingly sent to die for their oil and empire, they won't hesitate to bash the heads of those peaceful men and women who have struggled many years to prevent wars and violence.
American exceptionalism tells us we don't brutalize our own but the ugly truth is we do. We, the 99% are disposable to the 1%. They will create the fervor for war and occupation of nations with natural resources they covet. They will promote yellow ribbons and faux parades of appreciation for "the troops" but don't give a damn about the loss of life, limbs and peaceful minds of those troops and their families.
The 1% doesn't care if the VA or any other social program suffers budget cuts as long as their bottom line continues at the 275% increase it has over the past thirty years. The 1% long ago hijacked the America we were falsely told about in school and in the press. That America, that United States, has never existed. It has never existed except for the 1%. Peace and justice for all is a myth. The words look good on a new public building but the truth is what's happening on the streets below the words. On the streets the 99% either toes the line and follows like sheep or is slaughtered like sheep and cattle.
The 99% are cannon fodder. They are indentured serfs to the system and the corporations that really control this nation. After WWII the 1% allowed unions and some Americans to prosper. It took blood and death but they grudgingly gave the serfs some of their scraps. And managed to turn all of us into foolish consumers buying in to a dream that is, in truth, a nightmare.
The 99% allowed ourselves to think we are free, that buying with credit and money we didn't have was good and that we were given all this because God loved us more. We thought we were exceptional. Turns out, we are only exceptional in our excesses much like the Roman empires and the other failed empires of history. Our foolish beliefs have only lined the pockets of the 1%. They now have most of us by the balls and throats in their trap of debt.
Before we begin the revolution, most of us need to acknowledge we were our own worst enemies for believing the lies of the 1%. Too many times we of the 99% still claim we like our lifestyles even as our neighbors dwindle in the destruction of foreclosures and lost jobs. We hated the unions but wished someone represented us when jobs were taken out of country or given to cheaper labor forces in other parts of the country. We demand better education but have vilified the teachers and failed to see the suits in administration hoarding budget monies to maintain their six figure jobs.
We bundle our kids up against the cold, make them wear helmets, elbow pads and knee pads but think nothing of sending them off to wars that are immoral and illegal. No one forced us to do any of this. We allowed ourselves to be conned. We knew our homes weren't worth the amounts the banks told us but went ahead and borrowed money to the max in the foolish belief our homes would always maintain their values. The 1% told us so.
Like all us combat veterans who survived our wars and came to realize we made a mistake in our narrow thinking, so too must all of us 99% realize we aren't going to be able to sustain the way things were before the bubble burst on the foolisn American dream. We need to endorse changing our lifestyles rather than thinking we can go back to being the excessive and destructive consumer driven people. We need to endorse changing our lifestyle to embrace the environment that sustains us. We need to change our interactions with the people of the world and accept we are first citizens of the world and owe our allegiance to no flag or anthem but to one another as humans.
Most of all we of the 99% must throw off the dependency we have on the 1%. The most logical way of getting the 1% to equal and just sharing of wealth and resources is to quit supporting them. Doesn't it seem the 99% has the power to create new ways of assuring hunger and hate don't dominate? Doesn't it seem the 99% can refuse to sacrifice our children to wars and violence? Isn't it time we repudiate a multi-national corporation is human? If they are human, where is the heart? Where is the soul? Where is the compassion and caring?
Over the past few days I have had great hate in my heart seeing the videos and hearing the sounds of Scott Olsen being assaulted. As an ex-combat Marine I realize I am "always faithful" to other Marines. I like to think I feel the same toward others in my world who want to be non-violent and work for change. I could let my anger build up to violence but then I'm no different than the cops who don't care if they kill us or ruin our lives. It's clear, the cops are the storm troopers of the 1%. They forfeit the compassion of the 99% with actions like occurred in Oakland the other night or here in Denver a few weeks ago.
How dangerous is standing in a street with others or sleeping in a park? It inconveniences others? Like the 1% doesn't only inconvenience the rest of us; they brutalize and intimidate us. They steal the legacy of our children. They commit crimes that destroy millions of lives and they continue to smirk in their castles and country clubs. Who is more dangerous; a combat vet seeking a peaceful way to express his constitutional right to free speech or the 1% who have created so much destruction, death, hate and environmental disaster? What magic hold do the 1% have on us that we continue to do only what benefits them?
The hate I've been feeling needs to be expressed in the peaceful but assertive pursuit of justice and change. Revolution is not dangerous to anybody but the 1% unwilling to change. Occupy Wall Street is only the beginning of a revolutionary change in our thinking. And we will succeed only if we remain unlike the 1%. Only if we remain peaceful and thoughtful toward our world.
The Tea Party is now whining they didn't get to camp out in city parks and public places like the occupation movement has. Of course, if the group that inhabited Crawford, Texas to protest the presence of Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey is any measure, it is highly unlikely the Tea Party members would have lasted more than a day without the comfort of their RV's with t.v.s and air-conditioning or heat. They would have missed setting up a grill and gorging themselves with good ole American beef and as many carbs as they could get. And never give a thought to the black brothers and sisters dying of hunger in Africa.
The question for the Occupy Wall Street movement is whether they will sustain the movement during the hard times ahead. The assault on Scott Olsen, who went to war in Iraq two times, is the rebuttal of Wall Street and their indentured slaves in government and the police department. If they are willing to bash the skulls of the troops they so willingly sent to die for their oil and empire, they won't hesitate to bash the heads of those peaceful men and women who have struggled many years to prevent wars and violence.
American exceptionalism tells us we don't brutalize our own but the ugly truth is we do. We, the 99% are disposable to the 1%. They will create the fervor for war and occupation of nations with natural resources they covet. They will promote yellow ribbons and faux parades of appreciation for "the troops" but don't give a damn about the loss of life, limbs and peaceful minds of those troops and their families.
The 1% doesn't care if the VA or any other social program suffers budget cuts as long as their bottom line continues at the 275% increase it has over the past thirty years. The 1% long ago hijacked the America we were falsely told about in school and in the press. That America, that United States, has never existed. It has never existed except for the 1%. Peace and justice for all is a myth. The words look good on a new public building but the truth is what's happening on the streets below the words. On the streets the 99% either toes the line and follows like sheep or is slaughtered like sheep and cattle.
The 99% are cannon fodder. They are indentured serfs to the system and the corporations that really control this nation. After WWII the 1% allowed unions and some Americans to prosper. It took blood and death but they grudgingly gave the serfs some of their scraps. And managed to turn all of us into foolish consumers buying in to a dream that is, in truth, a nightmare.
The 99% allowed ourselves to think we are free, that buying with credit and money we didn't have was good and that we were given all this because God loved us more. We thought we were exceptional. Turns out, we are only exceptional in our excesses much like the Roman empires and the other failed empires of history. Our foolish beliefs have only lined the pockets of the 1%. They now have most of us by the balls and throats in their trap of debt.
Before we begin the revolution, most of us need to acknowledge we were our own worst enemies for believing the lies of the 1%. Too many times we of the 99% still claim we like our lifestyles even as our neighbors dwindle in the destruction of foreclosures and lost jobs. We hated the unions but wished someone represented us when jobs were taken out of country or given to cheaper labor forces in other parts of the country. We demand better education but have vilified the teachers and failed to see the suits in administration hoarding budget monies to maintain their six figure jobs.
We bundle our kids up against the cold, make them wear helmets, elbow pads and knee pads but think nothing of sending them off to wars that are immoral and illegal. No one forced us to do any of this. We allowed ourselves to be conned. We knew our homes weren't worth the amounts the banks told us but went ahead and borrowed money to the max in the foolish belief our homes would always maintain their values. The 1% told us so.
Like all us combat veterans who survived our wars and came to realize we made a mistake in our narrow thinking, so too must all of us 99% realize we aren't going to be able to sustain the way things were before the bubble burst on the foolisn American dream. We need to endorse changing our lifestyles rather than thinking we can go back to being the excessive and destructive consumer driven people. We need to endorse changing our lifestyle to embrace the environment that sustains us. We need to change our interactions with the people of the world and accept we are first citizens of the world and owe our allegiance to no flag or anthem but to one another as humans.
Most of all we of the 99% must throw off the dependency we have on the 1%. The most logical way of getting the 1% to equal and just sharing of wealth and resources is to quit supporting them. Doesn't it seem the 99% has the power to create new ways of assuring hunger and hate don't dominate? Doesn't it seem the 99% can refuse to sacrifice our children to wars and violence? Isn't it time we repudiate a multi-national corporation is human? If they are human, where is the heart? Where is the soul? Where is the compassion and caring?
Over the past few days I have had great hate in my heart seeing the videos and hearing the sounds of Scott Olsen being assaulted. As an ex-combat Marine I realize I am "always faithful" to other Marines. I like to think I feel the same toward others in my world who want to be non-violent and work for change. I could let my anger build up to violence but then I'm no different than the cops who don't care if they kill us or ruin our lives. It's clear, the cops are the storm troopers of the 1%. They forfeit the compassion of the 99% with actions like occurred in Oakland the other night or here in Denver a few weeks ago.
How dangerous is standing in a street with others or sleeping in a park? It inconveniences others? Like the 1% doesn't only inconvenience the rest of us; they brutalize and intimidate us. They steal the legacy of our children. They commit crimes that destroy millions of lives and they continue to smirk in their castles and country clubs. Who is more dangerous; a combat vet seeking a peaceful way to express his constitutional right to free speech or the 1% who have created so much destruction, death, hate and environmental disaster? What magic hold do the 1% have on us that we continue to do only what benefits them?
The hate I've been feeling needs to be expressed in the peaceful but assertive pursuit of justice and change. Revolution is not dangerous to anybody but the 1% unwilling to change. Occupy Wall Street is only the beginning of a revolutionary change in our thinking. And we will succeed only if we remain unlike the 1%. Only if we remain peaceful and thoughtful toward our world.
Sunday, October 23
Preaching To The Choir ...Again
Spent another day at OD....unlike the week before this one fit the description of MOS. Preaching to the choir makes all go home feeling warm and fuzzy but I'm left with the feeling momentum was lost. I know it's not what folks will want to hear but the changes that have occurred in American history came when men and women were willing to face down the oppressor time and again regardless of the consequences. That doesn't mean violence by those protesters but it does possibly mean breaking oppressive laws that take away freedom and are immoral. Imagine if the freedom riders had decided after the first violence threatened them and inflicted upon them had said, "enough" and just talked about rights. Imagine if Gandhi had decided after massacres by the British it was too high a price to pay. In both cases what the protesters were doing was against the laws of that time and place.
I spent most of the early parts of the 2000's trying to get along with the PD to avoid violence from the PD in most cases. There was never a viable threat of violence on the part of the protesters in any rally or march. There was always a threat of violence on the part of the police. In the 70s the police were never part of the right side of history. They took on roles of private guards to the richest and against the men, women and families most in need in this nation. We may have sympathy toward the cops who are in line to have funding cut on such issues as pay and benefits but we cannot condone their actions as thugs for the rich
We had rally after rally and march after march. We sit in at offices and businesses. And here we are ten years later with two wars, an economy that is in reality a depression, a wealth gap 300 times greater than ten or fifteen years ago, more Americans without health insurance, more homeless, more poor and fewer jobs paying a living wage.
Like the chants have been saying....."the banks got bailed out, we got sold out". But there wasn't that type of anger or outrage today as there had been last week at Occupy Denver. The leadership apparently stated they wanted to avoid last week's type of event. They didn't want to risk arrests. Didn't want to face off against the protectors of the realm, the police. Instead, they decided a concert and a rail-athon following one more parade ushered by the police would be best.
The crowd chanted, "Who's streets, our streets!" but in reality the streets belong to the rich oligarchs and their protectors in blue as long as we're led the way the police dictate. This movement will fall back like all the others into the failed tactics of the past movements. Rallies and marches will not win the day as long as more Halloween costumed people show up downtown than people who want critical change in the way government and economic policy is being carried out in this nation.
Tactics must change. Cooperation with the oppressor or his representatives rather than confrontation is an appeasing approach to revolutionary change needed. Some yogini at the rally suggested we let go of our anger. I say we utilize our anger! We utilize our outrage! We must direct our anger in non-violent ways against the privileged few who have been the primary causes of oppression. I heard angry speeches today, but words not followed up with actions are still just words.
I'm too old and too impatient to take the short time I have left and the dwindling energy I have left to continue the path of appeasement. I'm not going to participate in a rally a week and letters to congress people who are merely the puppets of the masters of wealth and war. There are plenty of ideas floating out there that can create new and more viable tactics.
My suggestions stem from taking part in a guerrilla war. Without using violence there are still many ways to jam the machine and bring fear to the powerful. We know what their weaknesses are....consumption and collection of wealth. Some are saying we take our cash out of the banks and put them into credit unions. This may be a credible tactic for a small number of people but many couldn't currently make it doing such a thing.
I have resigned myself to the failure of the American people to once again rebel against the oppressors. Like the unhealthy lifestyles of being overweight and obese so rampant in this nation, so too is the lifestyle of the consumer society that places more value on selfish motivation and more attention to the celebrity than the most in need. We place more importance on who the starting QB will be next Sunday than we do the failure of Congress to work together and the daily selling out of elected officials to lobbyists and special interests.
Selling out isn't confined to the national level. Mayor Hancock and Governor Hickenlooper are both testament to the persona of the sell out. They both sold out the poor, homeless, desperate and disaffected to uphold business as usual. When a dedicated group of activists are evicted from public spaces for their message rather than any real reason of importance, it's clear the people have been sold out.
I wish I could be enthusiastic about Occupy Denver but seeing all those costumed zombies infiltrating the ranks of the activists all day long in their flight to the inane celebration of a "holiday" personifying greed and over-eating causes enthusiasm to fall short of bringing hope. It was said there were possible 20 thousand zombies compared to less than a thousand protesters. The irony of more zombies than activists is apropos as an analogy of this nation's zombie like compliance with oppression both inflicted on other nations and our own people.
I am resigned to return to my smaller community in SW Denver and avoid the alleged movements. I'm not going to campaign once again in a way that has little voice or future. Let the liberals and progressives continue to deceive themselves about how their rallies and marches will effect change but they won't deceive the rich and powerful. I will be content to do urban gardening and attempt to organize a neighborhood rather than hit my head against a wall repeatedly in vain attempts to make rallies and marches relevant.
I spent most of the early parts of the 2000's trying to get along with the PD to avoid violence from the PD in most cases. There was never a viable threat of violence on the part of the protesters in any rally or march. There was always a threat of violence on the part of the police. In the 70s the police were never part of the right side of history. They took on roles of private guards to the richest and against the men, women and families most in need in this nation. We may have sympathy toward the cops who are in line to have funding cut on such issues as pay and benefits but we cannot condone their actions as thugs for the rich
We had rally after rally and march after march. We sit in at offices and businesses. And here we are ten years later with two wars, an economy that is in reality a depression, a wealth gap 300 times greater than ten or fifteen years ago, more Americans without health insurance, more homeless, more poor and fewer jobs paying a living wage.
Like the chants have been saying....."the banks got bailed out, we got sold out". But there wasn't that type of anger or outrage today as there had been last week at Occupy Denver. The leadership apparently stated they wanted to avoid last week's type of event. They didn't want to risk arrests. Didn't want to face off against the protectors of the realm, the police. Instead, they decided a concert and a rail-athon following one more parade ushered by the police would be best.
The crowd chanted, "Who's streets, our streets!" but in reality the streets belong to the rich oligarchs and their protectors in blue as long as we're led the way the police dictate. This movement will fall back like all the others into the failed tactics of the past movements. Rallies and marches will not win the day as long as more Halloween costumed people show up downtown than people who want critical change in the way government and economic policy is being carried out in this nation.
Tactics must change. Cooperation with the oppressor or his representatives rather than confrontation is an appeasing approach to revolutionary change needed. Some yogini at the rally suggested we let go of our anger. I say we utilize our anger! We utilize our outrage! We must direct our anger in non-violent ways against the privileged few who have been the primary causes of oppression. I heard angry speeches today, but words not followed up with actions are still just words.
I'm too old and too impatient to take the short time I have left and the dwindling energy I have left to continue the path of appeasement. I'm not going to participate in a rally a week and letters to congress people who are merely the puppets of the masters of wealth and war. There are plenty of ideas floating out there that can create new and more viable tactics.
My suggestions stem from taking part in a guerrilla war. Without using violence there are still many ways to jam the machine and bring fear to the powerful. We know what their weaknesses are....consumption and collection of wealth. Some are saying we take our cash out of the banks and put them into credit unions. This may be a credible tactic for a small number of people but many couldn't currently make it doing such a thing.
I have resigned myself to the failure of the American people to once again rebel against the oppressors. Like the unhealthy lifestyles of being overweight and obese so rampant in this nation, so too is the lifestyle of the consumer society that places more value on selfish motivation and more attention to the celebrity than the most in need. We place more importance on who the starting QB will be next Sunday than we do the failure of Congress to work together and the daily selling out of elected officials to lobbyists and special interests.
Selling out isn't confined to the national level. Mayor Hancock and Governor Hickenlooper are both testament to the persona of the sell out. They both sold out the poor, homeless, desperate and disaffected to uphold business as usual. When a dedicated group of activists are evicted from public spaces for their message rather than any real reason of importance, it's clear the people have been sold out.
I wish I could be enthusiastic about Occupy Denver but seeing all those costumed zombies infiltrating the ranks of the activists all day long in their flight to the inane celebration of a "holiday" personifying greed and over-eating causes enthusiasm to fall short of bringing hope. It was said there were possible 20 thousand zombies compared to less than a thousand protesters. The irony of more zombies than activists is apropos as an analogy of this nation's zombie like compliance with oppression both inflicted on other nations and our own people.
I am resigned to return to my smaller community in SW Denver and avoid the alleged movements. I'm not going to campaign once again in a way that has little voice or future. Let the liberals and progressives continue to deceive themselves about how their rallies and marches will effect change but they won't deceive the rich and powerful. I will be content to do urban gardening and attempt to organize a neighborhood rather than hit my head against a wall repeatedly in vain attempts to make rallies and marches relevant.
Thursday, October 6
Today Is the Day for Resistance
So, I'm going to come across negative on this piece but I just have to say it. I reluctantly went back on facebook after the Eygptian rebellion that caused the downfall of Mubarak. Thinking maybe the rebellious sorts here in the U.S. might use the "social media" the same way the Eygptians had done to rally people to the square in protest. But, of course that didn't really happen. Perhaps we need more repression before we can turn out millions or a complete and total collapse of the economy instead of the partial collapse which has swept away the middle class.
Now months after the "Arab spring" a brave group of protestors took to the streets around Wall Street in NYC in an action named "Occupy Wall Street". The group has been harassed, beaten, pepper sprayed and arrested but stayed their ground. Now there are local actions in solidarity with them in a few other cities across the U.S., including Denver.
I just saw the call to action for this weekend at the state capitol for a rally to support "Occupy Wallstreet". At first I was enthusiastic about it but then someone made an excellent comment. "Why not on Monday?" "Why not in the financial district of Denver?" And I agree.
I think back to the early days of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (and the days before) and recall how every weekend there was some action planned and every weekend it was the same people showing up to hear speakers and musicians speak and sing. There were rallies and marches and everybody went home with a renewed sense of purpose. Some of us even got arrested in acts of planned civil disobedience. Planned, as in letting Denver PD know where, when and what was going to happen.
And every weekend activists would look for press coverage. It barely came or never came. When the press did cover the story of the rallies, marches and arrests it was always a slanted view of things. If any negative thing happened it led the story. And, almost always, the opposing view of hawks and the right wing pimps for war had more space than those of the activists opposing the Bush/Cheney illlegal wars.
To say it became a redundant exercise in futility was to be kind. It became the same people preaching to the same choir with the same result. Very few people of color, very few students and young people, very few veterans and very few activists not part of the "mainstream" groups of acvtivists ever attended or were ever much consulted. Meeting to organize always brought up the question why this was and often there were responses that these groups had been invited and if they didn't show up it wasn't our fault. But, of course, our tactics and our agenda seldom changed or incorporated the needs of the poor communities, the communities of color or the views of the young, including anarchists who were willing to avoid violence.
I see how futile this became and realize when I helped organize VVAW here in Denver it was a daily effort, even after working all day. I took time off to go to D.C. to join a coalition of groups from Black Panthers to Gray Panthers to Catholic clergy to demonstrate our dissent. We occupied the steps of the Supreme Court. We went to the Capitol and "returned" the medals of fake valor given for an immoral and illegal war. We managed to get a consumate politician inside Senator Fullbright's committee to challenge the war. It was John Kerry's greatest speech.
When Cindy Sheehan came into the fray against the wars, there was a new energy that galvanized many of us. I joined hundreds of other activists to camp out in the sweltering heat of Crawford to demonstrate to the vacationing George W. Bush his wars weren't wanted by a growing number of people including veterans, families of veterans and the families of men and women killed in those wars. Cindy's grief struck a nerve with all of us and with mothers and fathers across the nation. She revived a sagging movement.
After Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf area, veterans joined survivors to march from Mobile to New Orleans in solidarity against the failure of the American government to assist the survivors and the wasteful spending on the wars that impacted the funding of assistance. Immediately following Katrina, a group of veterans, clergy and students combined in efforts to assist the hardest hit citizens of the 9th Ward and outlying regions devastated by the hurricane.
All along groups of activists have taken direct action to build grass roots organizations to struggle against the mulitnational interests that eventually led this nation to near financial ruin. Veterans worked to help other veterans get necessary mental health treatment along with family members of the returning men and women from the two deadly wars. Immigrant rights organizations worked to ensure immigrants without documents weren't abused by a racist system led by ICE. Police Watch organizations came out to observe police in the area to try to stem the number of brutality cases that were far too often attacks on our brothers and sisters of color. Multiple others have resisted and taken part in the struggle.
The thing most of the better actions to fight against the insanity of wars, racism and injustice had in common was they didn't only occur on a weekend or as a result of a march or rally. They occurred because of dedication to continue the struggle and resistance against hate, war, and social injustice. They occurred because activists were willing to give up their evenings, take off days and sacrifice time they could be doing things far less difficult and more self centered.
What I'm getting at is our resistance against the oligarchy, that promises to oppress the poor and middle class until we demonstrate we've had enough, will take more than the weekend rallies and marches. If we truly care enough to make the change we either dedicate ourselves to more time in the trenches of activism or we use our time with local organizing and local efforts in hopes sometime soon a network will be built in which there will be a strong coalition angry enough and dedicated enough to demand the change such as seen in Eygpt and other oppressed nations.
I can't go back to rallies and marches without hope of them being different. I look at the rallies in Wisconsin this past spring and find hope. Those rallies were day after day. Not just weekends. I need that hope here in Denver before I return to the same old tactics.
Now, a day after I wrote all of the above, I know it is time to bring new energy to support our brothers and sisters in New York occupying Wall Street. It may well be the autumn of the American uprising against the oppression of the masters of war and peddlars of greed. As an individual I am obligated to help it be. As a father and grandfather I am obligated to resist against the evil that attempts to crush the spirit of people seeking peace and justice.
My dear friend Dahlia Wasfi left me a gift when she went back east. It's a mouse pad with the image of Malcolm X, forefinger pointing above his head with the quote, "We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth by any means necessary"
I see this every day. I remember when Malcolm said it in 1965. I failed to completely understand it at that time. By the end of 1968 and my time in Vietnam, I had a great sense of what Malcolm's words meant. And today.....today, those words are as powerful as they were in 1965.
Today is the day to change the course of our nation. Today is the day to renew our struggle and resistance against the brutality, injustice and violence. Today is the day for us to choose which side we want to be on; the side of greed and militarism or the side of peace and justice. We can't just do this on the weekends. The weekend should evolve into the beginning of a better time, a better week, a better month, a better year. And today is the day to start.
Now months after the "Arab spring" a brave group of protestors took to the streets around Wall Street in NYC in an action named "Occupy Wall Street". The group has been harassed, beaten, pepper sprayed and arrested but stayed their ground. Now there are local actions in solidarity with them in a few other cities across the U.S., including Denver.
I just saw the call to action for this weekend at the state capitol for a rally to support "Occupy Wallstreet". At first I was enthusiastic about it but then someone made an excellent comment. "Why not on Monday?" "Why not in the financial district of Denver?" And I agree.
I think back to the early days of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (and the days before) and recall how every weekend there was some action planned and every weekend it was the same people showing up to hear speakers and musicians speak and sing. There were rallies and marches and everybody went home with a renewed sense of purpose. Some of us even got arrested in acts of planned civil disobedience. Planned, as in letting Denver PD know where, when and what was going to happen.
And every weekend activists would look for press coverage. It barely came or never came. When the press did cover the story of the rallies, marches and arrests it was always a slanted view of things. If any negative thing happened it led the story. And, almost always, the opposing view of hawks and the right wing pimps for war had more space than those of the activists opposing the Bush/Cheney illlegal wars.
To say it became a redundant exercise in futility was to be kind. It became the same people preaching to the same choir with the same result. Very few people of color, very few students and young people, very few veterans and very few activists not part of the "mainstream" groups of acvtivists ever attended or were ever much consulted. Meeting to organize always brought up the question why this was and often there were responses that these groups had been invited and if they didn't show up it wasn't our fault. But, of course, our tactics and our agenda seldom changed or incorporated the needs of the poor communities, the communities of color or the views of the young, including anarchists who were willing to avoid violence.
I see how futile this became and realize when I helped organize VVAW here in Denver it was a daily effort, even after working all day. I took time off to go to D.C. to join a coalition of groups from Black Panthers to Gray Panthers to Catholic clergy to demonstrate our dissent. We occupied the steps of the Supreme Court. We went to the Capitol and "returned" the medals of fake valor given for an immoral and illegal war. We managed to get a consumate politician inside Senator Fullbright's committee to challenge the war. It was John Kerry's greatest speech.
When Cindy Sheehan came into the fray against the wars, there was a new energy that galvanized many of us. I joined hundreds of other activists to camp out in the sweltering heat of Crawford to demonstrate to the vacationing George W. Bush his wars weren't wanted by a growing number of people including veterans, families of veterans and the families of men and women killed in those wars. Cindy's grief struck a nerve with all of us and with mothers and fathers across the nation. She revived a sagging movement.
After Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf area, veterans joined survivors to march from Mobile to New Orleans in solidarity against the failure of the American government to assist the survivors and the wasteful spending on the wars that impacted the funding of assistance. Immediately following Katrina, a group of veterans, clergy and students combined in efforts to assist the hardest hit citizens of the 9th Ward and outlying regions devastated by the hurricane.
All along groups of activists have taken direct action to build grass roots organizations to struggle against the mulitnational interests that eventually led this nation to near financial ruin. Veterans worked to help other veterans get necessary mental health treatment along with family members of the returning men and women from the two deadly wars. Immigrant rights organizations worked to ensure immigrants without documents weren't abused by a racist system led by ICE. Police Watch organizations came out to observe police in the area to try to stem the number of brutality cases that were far too often attacks on our brothers and sisters of color. Multiple others have resisted and taken part in the struggle.
The thing most of the better actions to fight against the insanity of wars, racism and injustice had in common was they didn't only occur on a weekend or as a result of a march or rally. They occurred because of dedication to continue the struggle and resistance against hate, war, and social injustice. They occurred because activists were willing to give up their evenings, take off days and sacrifice time they could be doing things far less difficult and more self centered.
What I'm getting at is our resistance against the oligarchy, that promises to oppress the poor and middle class until we demonstrate we've had enough, will take more than the weekend rallies and marches. If we truly care enough to make the change we either dedicate ourselves to more time in the trenches of activism or we use our time with local organizing and local efforts in hopes sometime soon a network will be built in which there will be a strong coalition angry enough and dedicated enough to demand the change such as seen in Eygpt and other oppressed nations.
I can't go back to rallies and marches without hope of them being different. I look at the rallies in Wisconsin this past spring and find hope. Those rallies were day after day. Not just weekends. I need that hope here in Denver before I return to the same old tactics.
Now, a day after I wrote all of the above, I know it is time to bring new energy to support our brothers and sisters in New York occupying Wall Street. It may well be the autumn of the American uprising against the oppression of the masters of war and peddlars of greed. As an individual I am obligated to help it be. As a father and grandfather I am obligated to resist against the evil that attempts to crush the spirit of people seeking peace and justice.
My dear friend Dahlia Wasfi left me a gift when she went back east. It's a mouse pad with the image of Malcolm X, forefinger pointing above his head with the quote, "We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth by any means necessary"
I see this every day. I remember when Malcolm said it in 1965. I failed to completely understand it at that time. By the end of 1968 and my time in Vietnam, I had a great sense of what Malcolm's words meant. And today.....today, those words are as powerful as they were in 1965.
Today is the day to change the course of our nation. Today is the day to renew our struggle and resistance against the brutality, injustice and violence. Today is the day for us to choose which side we want to be on; the side of greed and militarism or the side of peace and justice. We can't just do this on the weekends. The weekend should evolve into the beginning of a better time, a better week, a better month, a better year. And today is the day to start.
Saturday, October 1
Class Warfare and Other Ramblings
The Republican leadership is crying because our current President dared to suggest the rich and super-rich pick up a bigger share of financing the government of this nation. Class warfare, they cried. Yes, they are right there is class warfare and it has been going on since this nation's first days.
In recent times the rich have become richer at a faster rate than any other time in history. The poor and middle class have lost more wealth than any other time in history. That is class warfare.
Yesterday, new data revealed the health insurance rates for employer supported health insurance took a dramatic jump in prices even though claims for services have decreased substantially. The high cost of medical care is the excuse insurance companies give. More likely, they are setting their rates high ahead of the upcoming healthcare legislation's implementation. The news agencies and all Republicans have given the piece of legislation the moniker of "Obamacare".
Obamacare is actually a racist nickname for a weak legislative (Affordable Healthcare Act) attempt to provide healthcare to all Americans. It was suggested by a black President but watered down by the obstructionist Republicans who have gone all out from the first day President Obama took office to keep anything he suggested from passing. The first words out of their Republican mouths were "we will do all that is necessary to defeat this President". The missing piece to this manifesto was the thought of "regardless of the harm or the needs of the American people. We don't care about this nation's poor and middle class. We only care about keeping our power and keeping our rich masters satisfied".
And the Republicans have carried out their class warfare masterfully. They've managed to enlist the upper middle class whites to their cause by creating a well funded group called the Tea Party. For any who have some curiosity about how this party evolved, just follow the money. It came from special interests such as Karl Rove and his friends in politics and the corporate world. The Koch brothers, those right wing icons of class warfare, are just an example of some of those who have created this alleged "grass roots" movement called the Tea Party. More like synthetic turf movement.
The upper middle class and marginally rich white population of this nation have been stirred into a fear frenzy that the "mud people" are taking over. Blacks are becoming President and illegal aliens are taking away jobs and putting a drain on the costs of government to the point profits are not what they used to be.
If you talk to the ground troops of the Tea Party you hear the words of the Rupert Mudoch Fox News stooges and the hate mongering talk show hosts of right wing radio stations that dominate much of the farm belt and plains of this country.
The reality of the Tea Party supporters is they seldom if ever hear an opposing viewpoint. They are constantly assualted with the hate and misinformation of the only radio they have available in many cases and they refuse to listen to independent sources of information. They claim to mistrust the government but never get information outside of the controlled press of the right wing movement intent on taking over the government.
Marshall McLuhan once speculated about media becoming extremely powerful and influential. His prophetic opinions have come true more than even he anticipated. George Orwell worried about Big Brother controlling the lives of common people. His thoughts became even more draconian than "1984" described.
Chris Hedges describes the cloistered and insulated lives of evangelical Christians which keeps them from ever hearing any other opinion or argument in his book, AMERICAN FASCISTS: The Christian Right and the War On America.
The sad truth seems to be Americans have chosen up sides and only listen and watch news they perceive meets their view of the world. And journalism has abandoned objectivity and checking facts when headlines and ratings are all important. Newpapers have folded all across then country for lack of readership. Some have modernized to online versions but most have become ghosts of times past. Even in those past times objectivity was hard to find but with groups like Clear Channel and Murdoch controlling vast segments of the information the world receives labelled as "news" the message has become obviously slanted to the right.
The myth of the liberal press has never been substantiated since the great majority of the mainstream press is controlled by corporate interests with little regard for liberal or progressive views. But then, myths are the currency of the misinformation masters such as Rove and the Koch brothers.
There is the myth about welfare "queens" taking in huge amounts of tax payer dollars while they sit home collecting welfare and having babies to stay on welfare. Ronald Reagan's campaign created the myth of the Cadillac driving welfare queen. Searches for that Cadillac driving woman failed. But the idea of slackers getting tax dollars to live the good life while the rest of us had to work for our money became a favorite topic of the mostly white conservative movement. And, it goes without saying most thought the welfare queens to be black women having multiple babies by different fathers.
A study just published this week talks about the nursing home industry hospitalizing Alzheimer patients who really didn't require hospitalization for such things as urinary tract infections. The study speculated the reason for the 2-3 day inpatient stays was quite likely motivated by money. Once these patients became inpatients their benefits switched over to the better paying Medicare from Medicaid. And, of course, their is the whole "end of life" industry where extraordinary medical procedures are used to extend the lives of frail and dying elderly patients. One of the more notorious examples of this was an Alzheimer victim in her late 80's being diagnosed with breast cancer. She was exposed to chemotherapy and a bilateral mastectomy in an attempt to combat the cancer.
The stories of the elderly in nursing homes being exposed to medical procedure after medical procedure with little or no hope of some curative effect are rampant. The costs of this practice by unethical medical professionals is in the billions of dollars. No one points fingers at these welfare kings making millions of dollars through unethical practice.
I've observed psychiatrists visiting inpatient clients for less than five minutes and found out later they were charging Medicaid or Medicare for a full hour of services. I've seen prescribers who consistently prescribe more expensive medications that have no proven efficacy better than less expensive medications for the same disorder. Some of these prescribers make six figures each year giving "educational" talks about the very same new medication they've been prescribing with great frequency.
The practice of poly-pharmacy goes relatively unchecked in the field of psychiatry. Most patients I encounter anymore are prescribed multiple medications from the category of antidepressant, antianxiety, antipsychotic and mood stabilizer. In addition they're prescribed medications for the side effects of these medications or drugs know as adjunctive medications said to enhance the effects of one or more of the other drugs. When the medications prescribed by a patient's PCP are added to the psychiatric drugs often times a patient is taking ten or more medications each day. I once had a patient prescribed over 20 medications each day.
And the PCP is another culprit in the current trend of American medicine to give a patient a pill for everything. For them, many working for coporate practices, the rule seems to be the path of least resistance. If a patient comes to their office and complains of pain the prescription pad comes out and often times a narcotic analagesic is prescribed without exploring possible etiology of the pain other than the patient's vague complaint. Seldom do PCP and other specialitys confer about the whole picture of the patient medical profile. Such as what other medications does a patient take that might interact with the medication being prescribed. Some are beginning to question whether PCPs have become legal venues for patients with addiction problems. Prescription abuse of such medicines as oxycontin, percocet, xanax, valium and a good many others has risen dramatically. We have become a "pop a pill culture".
So, the question is who pays for this practice of poly-pharmacy besides the toll on the bodies of the patients? In many cases the patient is on tax paid benefits. I've had other professionals complain about these patients strapping the system with their costly care. Seldom do I hear complaints about medical professionals practicing on the boundary of unethical care. And, that is the problem. Too often it becomes easier to blame and denigrate the weakest member of our society for all the problems while ignoring the bigger systemic problems of greed and ethical behaviors whether it be in the financial realm or the medical industry or in our daily living.
The greatest example of class warfare is war itself. There is no longer any pretense about the equity of those who sacrifice their lives for American wars. The predominate majority of the "voluntary" military don't come from rich families except those in the officer ranks. There is no draft but there is the "poverty draft". Failure of politicians and the American corporate interests to create well paying jobs in this country has pushed young men and women toward enlistment. Promises of bonuses to enlist and the benefits of education and continuing healthcare on discharge appeal to a kid living in urban or rural areas of poverty.
Of course, Americans fail to educate themselves about the wars our politicians involve us in. We become sheep following the wolf to our own destruction. I just saw a figure today that we spend 3 billion dollars a day in the current wars involving American troops. So why do American parents insist their children wear all the protective gear to ride a bike, play sports and numerous other activities but seldom question their child's decision to enlist and face multiple deployments to combat zones? Why do parents rush to schools in terror if there is any possible scare of another Columbine type incident but fail to understand the terror of combat?
Back during the Vietnam war a song called THE UNIVERSAL SOLDIER became a wide-spread anthem of the peace movement. The song speaks to the history of young men (and now women) always heeding the call to go kill other humans no matter what size, what religion, what nation or philosophy. The relavence of that song remains as strong today as ever. As does Mark Twain's THE WAR PRAYER. As does Smedley Butler's WAR IS A RACKET declaration.
I often speak with young people and question why they would make the decision to take up arms to hunt other humans intending to kill them without knowing the reason. I ask why would we make a decision sometimes in less time than it takes to buy a new car or a new television but fail to educate ourselves about the culture of our alleged "enemy" and reasons we are supposed to hate them. We claim to hate big government and the politicians in D.C. yet we continue to allow ourselves to be seduced into wars without meaning or moral cause. I know because I was 17 when I decided to enlist into the Marines. I was 18 the day I entered Vietnam as a combat infantryman. I was 19 the day I left the combat zone to return to America. I have regretted my involvement every day since I realized early in my "tour" in Vietnam that I had been duped.
The rich and powerful want us to believe taxing them or asking them to pay a "fair share" to fund this nation's government which has allowed them to amass huge profit is "class warfare". They claim it will result in those who create jobs slowing the creation of jobs or failing to create jobs. Their arguments ring hollow since these are the people who "outsourced" American jobs at a record pace once the globalization gates were opened wide during the Clinton administraton. These are the people who have made a concerted effort to crush collective bargaining and diminish the wages of the American workers. They would prefer we return to the time when workers had no rights and the "bosses" ruled with an iron fist. These are the perpetrators of class warfare.
If the middle class and poor continue to passively follow these robber barons and their stooges in government, the class war will be lost and they (we) will become enslaved and indebted. Without resistance and an uprising of the type that took place in Egypt, the middle class will become poor and the poor will become even poorer.
In recent times the rich have become richer at a faster rate than any other time in history. The poor and middle class have lost more wealth than any other time in history. That is class warfare.
Yesterday, new data revealed the health insurance rates for employer supported health insurance took a dramatic jump in prices even though claims for services have decreased substantially. The high cost of medical care is the excuse insurance companies give. More likely, they are setting their rates high ahead of the upcoming healthcare legislation's implementation. The news agencies and all Republicans have given the piece of legislation the moniker of "Obamacare".
Obamacare is actually a racist nickname for a weak legislative (Affordable Healthcare Act) attempt to provide healthcare to all Americans. It was suggested by a black President but watered down by the obstructionist Republicans who have gone all out from the first day President Obama took office to keep anything he suggested from passing. The first words out of their Republican mouths were "we will do all that is necessary to defeat this President". The missing piece to this manifesto was the thought of "regardless of the harm or the needs of the American people. We don't care about this nation's poor and middle class. We only care about keeping our power and keeping our rich masters satisfied".
And the Republicans have carried out their class warfare masterfully. They've managed to enlist the upper middle class whites to their cause by creating a well funded group called the Tea Party. For any who have some curiosity about how this party evolved, just follow the money. It came from special interests such as Karl Rove and his friends in politics and the corporate world. The Koch brothers, those right wing icons of class warfare, are just an example of some of those who have created this alleged "grass roots" movement called the Tea Party. More like synthetic turf movement.
The upper middle class and marginally rich white population of this nation have been stirred into a fear frenzy that the "mud people" are taking over. Blacks are becoming President and illegal aliens are taking away jobs and putting a drain on the costs of government to the point profits are not what they used to be.
If you talk to the ground troops of the Tea Party you hear the words of the Rupert Mudoch Fox News stooges and the hate mongering talk show hosts of right wing radio stations that dominate much of the farm belt and plains of this country.
The reality of the Tea Party supporters is they seldom if ever hear an opposing viewpoint. They are constantly assualted with the hate and misinformation of the only radio they have available in many cases and they refuse to listen to independent sources of information. They claim to mistrust the government but never get information outside of the controlled press of the right wing movement intent on taking over the government.
Marshall McLuhan once speculated about media becoming extremely powerful and influential. His prophetic opinions have come true more than even he anticipated. George Orwell worried about Big Brother controlling the lives of common people. His thoughts became even more draconian than "1984" described.
Chris Hedges describes the cloistered and insulated lives of evangelical Christians which keeps them from ever hearing any other opinion or argument in his book, AMERICAN FASCISTS: The Christian Right and the War On America.
The sad truth seems to be Americans have chosen up sides and only listen and watch news they perceive meets their view of the world. And journalism has abandoned objectivity and checking facts when headlines and ratings are all important. Newpapers have folded all across then country for lack of readership. Some have modernized to online versions but most have become ghosts of times past. Even in those past times objectivity was hard to find but with groups like Clear Channel and Murdoch controlling vast segments of the information the world receives labelled as "news" the message has become obviously slanted to the right.
The myth of the liberal press has never been substantiated since the great majority of the mainstream press is controlled by corporate interests with little regard for liberal or progressive views. But then, myths are the currency of the misinformation masters such as Rove and the Koch brothers.
There is the myth about welfare "queens" taking in huge amounts of tax payer dollars while they sit home collecting welfare and having babies to stay on welfare. Ronald Reagan's campaign created the myth of the Cadillac driving welfare queen. Searches for that Cadillac driving woman failed. But the idea of slackers getting tax dollars to live the good life while the rest of us had to work for our money became a favorite topic of the mostly white conservative movement. And, it goes without saying most thought the welfare queens to be black women having multiple babies by different fathers.
A study just published this week talks about the nursing home industry hospitalizing Alzheimer patients who really didn't require hospitalization for such things as urinary tract infections. The study speculated the reason for the 2-3 day inpatient stays was quite likely motivated by money. Once these patients became inpatients their benefits switched over to the better paying Medicare from Medicaid. And, of course, their is the whole "end of life" industry where extraordinary medical procedures are used to extend the lives of frail and dying elderly patients. One of the more notorious examples of this was an Alzheimer victim in her late 80's being diagnosed with breast cancer. She was exposed to chemotherapy and a bilateral mastectomy in an attempt to combat the cancer.
The stories of the elderly in nursing homes being exposed to medical procedure after medical procedure with little or no hope of some curative effect are rampant. The costs of this practice by unethical medical professionals is in the billions of dollars. No one points fingers at these welfare kings making millions of dollars through unethical practice.
I've observed psychiatrists visiting inpatient clients for less than five minutes and found out later they were charging Medicaid or Medicare for a full hour of services. I've seen prescribers who consistently prescribe more expensive medications that have no proven efficacy better than less expensive medications for the same disorder. Some of these prescribers make six figures each year giving "educational" talks about the very same new medication they've been prescribing with great frequency.
The practice of poly-pharmacy goes relatively unchecked in the field of psychiatry. Most patients I encounter anymore are prescribed multiple medications from the category of antidepressant, antianxiety, antipsychotic and mood stabilizer. In addition they're prescribed medications for the side effects of these medications or drugs know as adjunctive medications said to enhance the effects of one or more of the other drugs. When the medications prescribed by a patient's PCP are added to the psychiatric drugs often times a patient is taking ten or more medications each day. I once had a patient prescribed over 20 medications each day.
And the PCP is another culprit in the current trend of American medicine to give a patient a pill for everything. For them, many working for coporate practices, the rule seems to be the path of least resistance. If a patient comes to their office and complains of pain the prescription pad comes out and often times a narcotic analagesic is prescribed without exploring possible etiology of the pain other than the patient's vague complaint. Seldom do PCP and other specialitys confer about the whole picture of the patient medical profile. Such as what other medications does a patient take that might interact with the medication being prescribed. Some are beginning to question whether PCPs have become legal venues for patients with addiction problems. Prescription abuse of such medicines as oxycontin, percocet, xanax, valium and a good many others has risen dramatically. We have become a "pop a pill culture".
So, the question is who pays for this practice of poly-pharmacy besides the toll on the bodies of the patients? In many cases the patient is on tax paid benefits. I've had other professionals complain about these patients strapping the system with their costly care. Seldom do I hear complaints about medical professionals practicing on the boundary of unethical care. And, that is the problem. Too often it becomes easier to blame and denigrate the weakest member of our society for all the problems while ignoring the bigger systemic problems of greed and ethical behaviors whether it be in the financial realm or the medical industry or in our daily living.
The greatest example of class warfare is war itself. There is no longer any pretense about the equity of those who sacrifice their lives for American wars. The predominate majority of the "voluntary" military don't come from rich families except those in the officer ranks. There is no draft but there is the "poverty draft". Failure of politicians and the American corporate interests to create well paying jobs in this country has pushed young men and women toward enlistment. Promises of bonuses to enlist and the benefits of education and continuing healthcare on discharge appeal to a kid living in urban or rural areas of poverty.
Of course, Americans fail to educate themselves about the wars our politicians involve us in. We become sheep following the wolf to our own destruction. I just saw a figure today that we spend 3 billion dollars a day in the current wars involving American troops. So why do American parents insist their children wear all the protective gear to ride a bike, play sports and numerous other activities but seldom question their child's decision to enlist and face multiple deployments to combat zones? Why do parents rush to schools in terror if there is any possible scare of another Columbine type incident but fail to understand the terror of combat?
Back during the Vietnam war a song called THE UNIVERSAL SOLDIER became a wide-spread anthem of the peace movement. The song speaks to the history of young men (and now women) always heeding the call to go kill other humans no matter what size, what religion, what nation or philosophy. The relavence of that song remains as strong today as ever. As does Mark Twain's THE WAR PRAYER. As does Smedley Butler's WAR IS A RACKET declaration.
I often speak with young people and question why they would make the decision to take up arms to hunt other humans intending to kill them without knowing the reason. I ask why would we make a decision sometimes in less time than it takes to buy a new car or a new television but fail to educate ourselves about the culture of our alleged "enemy" and reasons we are supposed to hate them. We claim to hate big government and the politicians in D.C. yet we continue to allow ourselves to be seduced into wars without meaning or moral cause. I know because I was 17 when I decided to enlist into the Marines. I was 18 the day I entered Vietnam as a combat infantryman. I was 19 the day I left the combat zone to return to America. I have regretted my involvement every day since I realized early in my "tour" in Vietnam that I had been duped.
The rich and powerful want us to believe taxing them or asking them to pay a "fair share" to fund this nation's government which has allowed them to amass huge profit is "class warfare". They claim it will result in those who create jobs slowing the creation of jobs or failing to create jobs. Their arguments ring hollow since these are the people who "outsourced" American jobs at a record pace once the globalization gates were opened wide during the Clinton administraton. These are the people who have made a concerted effort to crush collective bargaining and diminish the wages of the American workers. They would prefer we return to the time when workers had no rights and the "bosses" ruled with an iron fist. These are the perpetrators of class warfare.
If the middle class and poor continue to passively follow these robber barons and their stooges in government, the class war will be lost and they (we) will become enslaved and indebted. Without resistance and an uprising of the type that took place in Egypt, the middle class will become poor and the poor will become even poorer.
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