Dave Dubya's Freedom Rants

Don't Be Cruel

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:26:00 +0000

John McCain defended Romney's career on Fox News Sunday, saying, “The only place in the world that I can recall where companies never failed was the old Soviet Union. ... And yes, the free enterprise system can be cruel.”

Yes, John, it can be very cruel. Not to you, or Mitt (the Snip) Romney, or the aristocratic elites of the Republican Party, the economic elites of Wall Street, or the Koch Brothers. No, the "free enterprise system" is cruel to the American people trampled under the gilded jackboot of the corporatocracy that has seized our government and subsumed and neutralized our democracy.

The cold cruel claws of unregulated capitalism and it's servile class of minions in the Republican and Democratic Parties will reduce our country into the same conditions the Soviets inflicted on their population.

The cold cruel monstrosities of the Big Money Club already rub their hands in anticipation of austerity for the masses and increased wealth and power for the elites.

It takes cruel men to inflict cruelty on others. This is the inevitable result from the destruction of democracy.

It's About Character

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:14:00 +0000

Republicans love to tell us, “It’s about character”. Never their own, mind you.

John Edwards is a slimeball for cheating on his wife.

But Newt Gingrich is not a slimeball.

Simple enough for the simple-minded ideologue. We’ll look at an explanation for this in a moment.

Willard (Mitt-the-Snip) Romney led a group of fellow prep school bullies in taking down a fellow student and forcibly cutting his hair, while the victim screamed for help.

Everyone in his posse remembers the incident, except for Romney, for some reason.

“I don’t remember that incident,” Romney said, laughing. “I certainly don’t believe that I thought the fellow was homosexual.”

I see.

So Mitt remembers the individual, but not what he did to him?

“Back in high school, I did some dumb things, and if anybody was hurt by that or offended, obviously I apologize for that,” Romney told Fox (R)’s Brian Kilmeade. Romney added: “I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks during high school, and some might have gone too far, and for that I apologize.”

We note that he offered the typical Right Wing lame excuse for an “apology” laced with mitigating terms like “if” and “might”.

Well, “if” Willard can’t remember his bully behavior, then he “might” not be smart enough to be president. And if he lied about it, he’s not moral enough to be dogcatcher.

But we already know that.

Former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean’s 2006 book titled “Conservatives without Conscience” gives us valuable insight into the dark recesses of the radical right-wing mentality. Authoritarian personalities like Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh dominate their ideology.

They are bullies.

John Dean summarizes in a 2008 BuzzFlash interview:

In post-World War II, a group of social scientists were very concerned or very interested to find out if what had happened in Italy and Germany under Mussolini and Hitler could occur in the United States. They initially undertook their work with a little bit of empirical study, but mostly relying on Freudian psychology. And they did conclude that there is clearly an authoritarian personality. They issued their report in a book by Adorno and others that was called “The Authoritarian Personality”.

This research has really never been totally refuted. But other social scientists were critical of it because of its Freudian basis. So they quickly began studying to see if this personality type held up based on pure empirical study, by which I mean anonymously asking people questions that would reveal their personality types, their attitudes, their dispositions, and what have you.

The work on authoritarian followers showed a personality that is easily submissive to authority, be it political, religious or even parental. They submit quickly, and once they do, they become very aggressive in pushing that world view of that authority. They become submissive because they find great comfort psychologically in submitting. It helps them remove the ambiguities of life. And if they’re frightened by events, then this gives them a sense of security. And they’re typically very conventional in their lifestyle.

There are also, however, a lot of very negative traits which I’ve outlined in the book. They are very self-righteous. They are not self-critical. They have very little critical thinking about their own behavior. They are often nasty and mean-spirited. They are bullies. They are prejudiced. And the higher they test on these questionnaires and scales, the more conservative they are. You don’t find people on the left testing the same way. It’s very interesting. You cannot get even statistically significant numbers of people on the left that fall in this category of followers.

On the other side are the leaders. They are typically men whose desire in life is to dominate others and to be in charge. They are very aggressive when they do so. They are highly manipulative. They are also people who have absolutely no appreciation of equality of others. They see themselves as superior, and they are amoral in their thinking. They, too, have a host of other negative traits that are in many regards similar to the followers.

It’s not a very pleasant personality type, but it is certainly there. And it has certainly been established scientifically and corroborated and confirmed, time and time again. And this is clearly the core of the conservative movement.

‘The core of the conservative movement”. Amen.

Dean relied on Professor Bob Altemeyer of the University of Manitoba for much of his reference material. Professor Altemeyer has generously made his book available for free online.

“The Authoritarians”

Promises, Promises

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:20:00 +0000

Wasn’t it just last week when the most hateful thing ever said was by Hilary Rosen? Something about Ann Romney having "never worked a day in her life."

The horror!

Republicans and other aristocrats were shocked, shocked at the vile hate speech and quickly demanded more civility from those hateful Democrats.

Right.

So, why should anyone be upset by Ted Nugent’s latest display of venomous ignorance? Those silly politically correct liberals must be so thin-skinned.

For someone as intensely vocal in his opposition to drugs, Teddy boy certainly appeared to have taken a big shrill pill at last week’s NRA convention. After his paranoia and hate came pouring out of his mouth for the consumption of his fellow gun nuts, the Secret Service was obligated to investigate.

Ironically, once again another radical Right Winger just wasted some more of our tax dollars.

"We are aware of the incident with Ted Nugent, and we are conducting appropriate follow-up," said Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary in a statement. "We recognize an individual's right to freedom of speech but we also have a responsibility to determine and investigate intent."

Yes they had to go question Teddy boy because of his violence-inciting hate talk.

We remember back in 2008 when his typically foul mouth shot off, “Obama, he's a piece of shit. I told him to suck on my machine gun”. And, “Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch.”

Now he’s back with even more bile.

"We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November," Nugent said at the convention.

Ok. We get the bloody framing of the democratic process with this remark. Fine.

But that wasn’t enough. He needed to kick it up a notch.

At the convention Teddy boy admonished the solvent and oil scented firearms enthusiasts, if they do not "clean house in this vile, evil, America-hating administration, I don't even know what you're made out of."

Hateful American extremists really do love to call White House Democrats a “vile, evil, America-hating administration”, don't they?

People who listen to him are fools. Apart from hunting, Teddy boy is not an expert at anything. Your average high school music teacher knows way more about music.

Ted may be a better than average hunter and a mediocre, one-key musician, but he takes the cake as a reactionary royal asshole.

Now he’s off into the full-tilt ravings of a true fascist.

On the Dana Loesch radio show Tuesday he said, “It's about 'we the people' taking back our American dream from the corrupt monsters in the federal government under this administration and the communist czars [Obama has] appointed."

Fascism: Exhibit “A”. People you hate are a bunch of commies.

"I've never in my life threatened anyone's life," he added. Maybe not, but his incendiary hate speech is quite enough to inspire some fellow gun nut to do the job for him.

I happen to know a Secret Service guy. We both grew up in the same small town in the big woods where we hunted and fished throughout our younger days. He told me they call the fringe types, “gun fags”.

My favorite part was when Teddy told the frightened gun sheeple, "If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year."

“Don’t laugh! Do you think that’s funny?” Teddy scowled at an amused listener.

Well I think it’s funny. Not that we rejoice in, or fear, the imminent demise or incarceration of a lunatic of the Hutaree Militia class.

No. I laugh at yet another empty promise from the radical Right BS factory.

Projecting Stupid

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:38:00 +0000

Obama was recently mentioning the hypocisy shown by the radical Right with their desire to have the Supreme Court overturn the Affordable Health Care Act.

Remember when they complained about a contemptable "activist" Supreme Court whenever it disagreed with the Right? Remember when they whined about the terrible lack of "judicial restraint" from the Court?

Now add an "attack on Supreme Court independence" to their shrill squawking.

On Twitter, Chuck "Death Panels"Grassley wrote: "Constituents askd why i am not outraged at PresO attack on supreme court independence. Bcause Am ppl r not stupid as this x prof of con law."

We can only hope and pray the "Am ppl" are not as stupid as Mr. Death Panels and Sarah Palin.

From Politico:

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is warning that Americans should be worried about an "end of life" provision in the House health care bill. “In the House bill, there is counseling for end of life,” Grassley said Wednesday during a town hall in Winterset, Iowa. “You have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life, you should have done that 20 years before. Should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma.”

A rumor that the legislation will determine when older Americans end their lives is rampant at town hall meetings, propelled in part by former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin who warned the Democratic plan would create bureaucratic "death panels."

The House health care plan would require Medicare to fund voluntary end-of-life counseling sessions for older Americans. Grassley fueled -- rather than corrected-- the rumor at the packed town hall Wednesday morning, when asked about older Americans being "denied health care." “There are some people who think it is a terrible problem that grandma is laying in a bed with tubes in her, and that the government should intervene,” he said. “I think that’s a family or religious thing that needs to be dealt with.”

Yes, "you have every right to fear" all right, but not for grandma. You can fear for the future of our democratic republic. You can fear for our grandkids. You can fear the Republicans' war on democracy. You can fear the effects of the vile propaganda from ignorant liars and fear mongers like Grassley.

So, "Death Panel" Chucky, tell us please. Tell us where those death panels are lurking? Show your voters how smart you are compared to that "stupid" x prof.

Not that your voters care. Stupid is as stupid votes.

Losing Our Democracy

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:34:00 +0000

The Republicans’ War on Democracy is taking its toll. Stealing elections and suppressing voters is a full time campaign, and the Guardians of Plutocracy are unrelenting.

Today’s New York Times article is a clear warning that democracy is losing in America. Fascism, totalitarianism, corporatocracy, or whatever you want to call the opposite of democracy, is prevailing.

The percentage of registered New Mexico voters has fallen. New voter registration rates in Florida are falling by 20 to 40% in certain counties. College voter registration tables are empty.

The League of Women Voters registration efforts have been crippled. The Florida Secretary of State is threatening a $50 dollar fine for each “late” application form.

It’s good to see the Brennan Center for Justice is challenging the Florida Republicans’ voter suppression laws on First Amendment grounds that registering to vote is protected speech.

In the meantime, the Republican Party has been winning their war on democracy.

I know it sucks to vote the lesser of evils. I hate voting for those almost as loathsome corporatist Democrats.

But is there any other real choice?

Oppose the Hate

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:43:00 +0000

I wasn’t going to comment on yet another incident of vile hatred spewing from Republican spokesman Limbaugh. Now I need to speak up. One reason is to support and report the fact that corporations have spoken up, in their way, that is meaningful even to the fanatics of the radical Right. Sleep Number, The Sleep Train, Quicken Loans, Legal Zoom, Citrix, Carbonite, and ProFlowers have pulled their ads from Limbaugh’s hate show. Several others are considering following their lead. Only when faced with losing sponsors did Rush "Mr. Oxycontin/viagra" Limbaugh even pretend to apologize to the woman he called a slut.

The second, and primary, reason I must address this topic is this:

Hate is a contagious and toxic infection on humanity. Limbaugh’s hate was passed on to an innocent girl with a painful medical condition treated by birth control medication.

From the article:

The note was in her locker when she opened it before her first class. She was so upset that she went to her teacher in first period and asked to be excused to go to the bathroom. She said for first and second period she tried not to be too upset- she cried a little bit but was just trying to figure out who would leave such a piece of trash in her locker. By third period, she had shown the note to a couple of her friends and they were so helpful, trying to play detective and at the same time telling her she should just ignore the stupid people!

She managed to get through a math quiz and Spanish test and headed off to lunch in a pretty solid frame of mind. And that's when it really fell apart; apparently, the girls from the day before were the authors of the note. They lined up behind my daughter to get their lunch tray and started in on her. "Birth control whore", "I told my mom you were on the pill and she said you were nothing but a little tramp" "My mom said some guy she listens to on the radio was just talking about girls like you- he even said you were a slut!" "Yeah, my mom said the same thing, said it's about time people spoke up and weren't afraid to tell the truth"!

They laughed, they harassed, they said so many things my daughter couldn't begin to remember it all- she walked back to her table without food and told her friends what was going on. She cried through lunch and through the rest of the day. She said she almost went to the office to call me to come get her but she was trying to be strong and not let them win! The last class of the day, however, was the final straw- it's her history class and 2 of these little monsters are in the class with her.

They start the class off by talking about current events. One of the little witches brought up Rush Limbaugh and the (male) teacher said that he was an American Icon- sometimes he says things that can be construed as insensitive but overall, he was one of the few people left in today's media who was not afraid to speak the truth!

Please read the full story. And then, please go to the link for the petition to remove the hateful arrogant Limbaugh off Armed Forces Radio. Our tax dollars must not be used to promote the evil of the radical Right.

Here is the petition and link:

Sec. Panetta, Get Rush Limbaugh Off Armed Forces Radio NOW! No tax money for abusive, divisive, insulting language.

It is not bad enough that he provides partisan blather, that he demeans our President.
He has regularly demeaned women.

His remarks this week were well beyond the pale of what should be broadcast to our military and their families, supported with our tax dollars.

We have a moral objection to our tax dollars being used for such a purpose.

You should move immediately to cancel any further broadcast through government facilities of his venom.

There is no excuse for the US Government, in any capacity, giving this man an audience.
It is an insult to the honorable men and women who serve this nation.

The people in our military services do not need the hateful evil of that man on their radio.

Hate Fest, Litmus Test

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:31:00 +0000

Yee haw, it’s time once again for our gala annual hate fest, and litmus test, for Right Wing extremism. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Conservative Political Action Conference. (CPAC)

Yes it’s time for “real Americans” to fire up the old “two minute hate” machinery for a week. Time to whip up misinformation, stir up some paranoia, and pour out a heap a old-fashioned Right Wing fear and loathing of their fellow Americans; those evil America haters who’d rather not see money as free speech, corporations as super persons, Wall Street as master of government, and anonymous Big Money interests buying elections.

How dare those sniveling socialists stand in the way of aristocrats, theocrats and autocrats having their God-given, money bought, rightful, and complete power over the media, the economy, the elections, and their government?

Step right up and feel the anger, the rage, and fury of our courageous guardians of wealth and power. Sense the righteous outrage of the noble and brave protectors of the privileged. Bask in the mercies and compassion of our most oppressed minority, as we hear their woeful tales of persecution.

Congressman Allen West: “[T]he public good is a misnomer, created by our liberal friends. It is not the public good that matters, it is the personal good."

Cal Thomas: “Well I’m really glad, Genevieve, that you played the Rachel Maddow clip, because I think that she is the best argument in favor of her parents using contraception.”

Ann Coulter; “Democrats are like your degenerate brother-in-law who borrows money for rent, spends it on crack and hookers, then asks for rent money again.”

Wayne LaPierre executive vice president of the National Rifle Association: "All that first term, lip service to gun owners is just part of a massive Obama conspiracy to deceive voters and hide his true intentions to destroy the Second Amendment during his second term.”

Victoria Jackson: former SNL cast member, reacting to Occupy DC protesters: “They’re communists, and they’re angry.”

Don’t be fooled by those liberals and their “public good” crap folks. They're like crackheads, and the best argument in favor of their parents using contraception. They’re communist degenerates out to take your shootin’ irons from your cold dead fingers.

And thems the NICE things we got to say bout them treasonous commies.

USA! We're Number...What?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:48:00 +0000

USA! USA! USA!

We’re number one! Other than chanting, just what exactly we are number one at? Besides maybe concentration of wealth at the top and militarism, it’s a mystery to me. We are not number one in health care access for our people. We are not number one in upward mobility.

Maybe we’re number one in levels of incarceration of citizens.

Yes, we’ve all heard the rousing chants. From Nuremburg in 1933 to the famous Palin/McCain rallies of ’08, there’s nothing that gives the feeling of belonging, and sense of pride, more than patriotic chants at mass rallies. From celebrating the birth of the Third Reich to the feverish shrieks against the commie Muslim terrorist Obama, the power of pride swells the masses into ideological frenzy.

It is the herd mentality of the human species. We are very much like sheep and cattle in that sense. We are manipulated like herd animals to huddle in fear, take off our shoes, show our papers, scream out our version of the “two minute hate”, and lash out militarily by unscrupulous authoritarian leaders.

Apart from understanding the herd instinct of their followers, authoritarian leaders universally know something else. A free press is as much their enemy as democracy.

The Nazis had Goebbels, the Soviets had Pravda, and the American Right has talk radio and FOX(R). Their common purpose is the political indoctrination of the population.

Investigative reporters are the enemy. Journalism itself is a political target. The message must be controlled.

The founders clearly understood the need for a free press. It is at the top of the Bill of Rights, along with the right of the people to free speech and assembly.

But how is that “free press thingy” workin’ out for us?

The radical Right has been attacking it for decades as “liberal media”. They want the American people to listen to the unfiltered ideology of the Right, and to distrust corporate news reporting because of a fictional liberal bias. Trust the Party line, not your newspaper or broadcast news.

That’s bad enough for a democratic republic, but it gets worse.

The worse news is the quality of a free press in the US has fallen. According to Reporters Without Borders, in the Free Press Index for 2011 /2012 we share the level of 47th place in the world, with Argentina and Romania.

Who’s at the top of the list?

“This year’s index finds the same group of countries at its head, countries such as Finland, Norway and Netherlands that respect basic freedoms. This serves as a reminder that media independence can only be maintained in strong democracies and that democracy needs media freedom.”

Wouldn’t ya know? Those darn socialist countries with universal single payer health care did it again. It's gotta be a communist conspiracy!

So what happened to us? Why is our free press sinking in the former land of the free? Perhaps it is because we no longer have a strong democracy. We are a corporatocracy. Times have changed.

The article explains: “The United States (47th) also owed its fall of 27 places to the many arrests of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street protests.”

In fact, much of the corporate media could barely contain its hostility toward the OWS protestors:

The front page of Rupert Murdoch's New York Post (11/4/11), urging a crackdown on Occupy Wall Street, proclaimed: "Enough! Mr. Mayor, It Is Time to Reclaim Zuccotti Park--and New York's Dignity."

CNN's Wolf Blitzer:On September 19: "Protests here in New York on Wall Street entering a third day. Should New Yorkers be worried at all about what's going on?"

Washington Post: November 16: "Is this an occupation or an infestation?"

Is this what democracy and its free press look like?

Tragically, no.

And how were reporters covering the Zuccotti Park crackdown treated?

Mother Jones’ Josh Harkinson reported:

"Can I help you?" an burly officer asked me, his helpfulness belied by his scowl.

"I'm a reporter," I told him.

"This is a frozen zone, all right?" he said, using a term I'd never heard before. "Just like them, you have to leave the area. If you do not, you will be subject to arrest."

By then, riot police were moving in, indiscriminately dousing the peaceful protesters with what looked like pepper spray or some sort of gas. As people yelled and screamed and cried, I tried to stay calm.

"I promise to leave once the arrests are done," I replied.

"No, you are going to leave now."

He grabbed my arm and began dragging me off. My shoes skidded across the park's slimy granite floor. All around me, zip-cuffed occupiers writhed on the ground beneath a fog of chemicals.

"I just want to witness what is going on here," I yelped.

"You can witness it with the rest of the press," he said. Which, of course, meant not witnessing it.

"Why are you excluding the press from observing this?" I asked.

"Because this is a frozen zone. It's a police action going on. You could be injured."

His meaning was clear. I let myself be hustled across the street to the press pen.

USA! USA! We’re 47th in freedom of the press.

“Frozen Zone”. Now that sounds like the state of our democracy.

Next stop, the Fascist Zone.

Castro Is Wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:38:00 +0000

I noticed old Fidel (Still Kicking) Castro weighed in with an observation of the Republican primary. This was after Newt and Romney made predictions of his afterlife destination. I guess they would know all about that, as they dream up exemptions to that rich man through the eye of the needle deal.

Some of you may remember our aging hirsute bully to the South. We've been punishing and isolating Cuba for decades because Castro is a "bad commie", as opposed to the "good commies" like the Chinese.

Speaking of bullies, he and Rush Limbaugh have more in common than huge authoritarian egos. They have both been on the cover of Cigar Aficionado magazine.

Anyway, Castro chimed in with this asssesment of our roadshow clown contest:

“The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is—and I mean this seriously—the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been.”

Tempting as it may be to agree with his sentiment, I would still say he's off the mark.

While it is certainly true the candidates pander to the idiocy and ignorance of their radical fringe base, the candidates themselves are more conniving creatures than fools.

What we have are an aristocrat, a theocrat, an autocrat, and a token libertarian vying for the job of gutting and disabling government of, by and for the people, and channeling more power and big money to Big Money.

This is the core of what "conservatism" is in American politics.

Prebuttals and Rebuttals

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:52:00 +0000

Tonight is the State of the Union Address.

The corporate raider Romney, (I'm agreeing with both D's and R's here.) who pays a lower tax rate on his $21 million per year than most working Americans, will be offering his "prebuttal" to the President's speech under the banner, "Obama is not working".

Maybe Mitt the aristocrat wants us all to think Obama just plays basketball all day, while listening to gangsta rap. He certainly doesn't want us to know the system is rigged in his favor.

Poor Willard! He must be suffering such appalling deprivation. How can he afford to maintain his collection of mansions, condos, and vacation homes?

Lower taxes for the rich is obviously the only compassionate solution.

The poor man doesn't even have room in his car for his dog. He had to ride in a crate up on the roof. Hurricane force winds on a hosed down animal wasn't cruel in any way, right?

I'm sure his prebuttal will resonate with every oppressed aristocrat in America.

Remember last year when the "liberal" corporate media aired both the Republican rebuttal AND the Tea Party rebuttal?

So seeing as how the corporate media is so "liberal" to do that, I suppose we'll be hearing an OWS rebuttal tonight...

Or how about Bernie Sanders' socialist rebuttal?

Ya think?

Mr. "Family Values"

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:07:00 +0000

Do you have a ball and chain for a wife? One so selfish and demanding she won’t ever let you do what you want to do? And how about her mother? Is your mother-in-law such a beast and ogre, you’d love to have a chance to show her what you think of her?

Well, lucky for us, we have Newt “Ethics” Gingrich to thank for how to remedy that situation. The man who led the Republican crusade of decency, and impeachment against that no good, lying, cheater Bill Clinton set the standard of respectability we can all emulate.

Mr. Family Values was chafing under the cruel leash of his second wife. (His first wife was reportedly served divorce papers while undergoing cancer treatment.) The cruel and demanding woman didn’t want to give Newt an “open marriage” to console the poor public servant in his time of selfless dedication to his country.

God’s Own Party had taken upon itself the tremendous responsibility to guide the morals of our wayward nation. Do you think its easy preaching good conservative values to the American people? Newt needed a little comfort, and release from all that tension one feels under all that pressure to preserve the sanctity of marriage and all the other family values that only Republicans possess.

It was time to take a stand. She was about to get what she deserved. And her mother needed a good old-fashioned jolt of Republican values too. Let the rich man have his way, or else.

What better time to implement his demand for marital justice than when his wife and mother-in-law were together?

According to the Washington Post:

Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an “open marriage” or a divorce at the same time he was giving speeches around the country on family and religious values, his former wife, Marianne, told The Washington Post on Thursday.

Marianne Gingrich said she first heard from the former speaker about the divorce request as she was waiting in the home of her mother on May 11, 1999, her mother’s 84th birthday. Over the phone, as she was having dinner with her mother, Newt Gingrich said, “I want a divorce.”

Happy birthday, Mom, and that's what I think of you and your daughter.

Bam! That’ll teach those selfish wenches a thing or two.

The next day, Newt was feeling so good about himself he went to give a lecture titled “The Demise of American Culture” and pontificated on....what else?....family values.

What Class Warfare?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:41:00 +0000

Something is becoming more obvious to the typical American.

The system is rigged.

It is rigged by the dominance of big money in our elections and government. It is rigged by the exclusive narrow interests of the economic elites imposed on public policy. It is rigged by the suppression of democracy by the radical Right. The system is rigged by tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the elites while increasing debt, and reducing public services. It is rigged by financial sector deregulation, off-shoring jobs, corporate written trade agreements and other public policies imposed by the elites through campaign contributions and lobbying.

This is the class war that has been waged upon us. It is not being waged by just Republicans. Democrats have been serving the elite interests as well. They need their campaign contributions too. One of the best tools for preventing Wall Street financial abuse and collapse was Glass/Steagall, and that was repealed by Clinton and the Republicans.

The economic elites are disproportionately and exponentially amassing wealth. There’s nothing wrong with rising profits or increasing wealth in and of themselves. But at what cost?

At the same time the majority is either losing or struggling to maintain their standard of living, often with little job security.

This is correctly perceived as a class war.

Most Americans agree.

A new Pew poll shows 66 percent of Americans believe there's some serious class warfare in this country.

The radical Right and certain aristocratic elites are not only unwilling to see this problem as class warfare, but are actively denying it while perpetuating it.

The good news is Americans are waking up to recognize this rigged system.

Criminal Intent

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:44:00 +0000

In a discussion of GOP induced voter disenfranchisement by restrictive voter ID laws, radical Rightists declare that we cannot accuse them of wanting to strip citizens of their right to vote.

They swear straight-faced that voter fraud at the polls is a crisis, and that only they can remedy it.

They may also assert, with a straight face, that these laws are acts of nobility and goodness. And they insist we cannot possibly guess their motives or intent for these laws.

Although motives certainly may be multiple or varied, opaque or obvious, intent is clear.

Consequences such as voter disenfranchisement are very real, and clearly desired by Republicans. If voter fraud at the polls were a real issue, if it were a problem of urgent public concern, Democrats would be involved and supportive in finding solutions. They are not even invited to the discussion.

FOX (R) admits voter fraud is not pervasive. They spelled it out, “Voter ID Laws Target Rarely Occurring Voter Fraud”.

Republicans know what they are doing, and it is a political assault on citizens’ voting rights and democracy. Republicans have admitted they don't want anyone who disagrees with their party to vote.

From the Washington Post:

An analysis by the North Carolina State Board of Elections showed that any new law requiring a state-issued ID could be problematic for large numbers of voters, particularly African Americans, whose turnout in 2008 helped Obama win the state.

Also from the same article:

New Hampshire's new Republican state House speaker is pretty clear about what he thinks of college kids and how they vote. They're "foolish," Speaker William O'Brien said in a recent speech to a tea party group.

House Speaker William O'Brien addresses a crowd saying students lack "life experience" and "just vote their feelings." "There's no doubt that this bill would help Republican causes," said Richard Sunderland III, head of the College Republicans at Dartmouth College.

These are not the first indicators of their intentions. The Right’s antagonism for democracy has a history.

"I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”– Heritage Foundation co-founder Paul Weyrich

Here is the simple truth:

Voter fraud is Rarely Occurring, even according to FOX(R).

Voter disenfranchisement is real, and will occur in significant numbers, directly or indirectly, due to the GOP’s deliberate restriction of voting, according to everyone but radical Rightist Republicans.

Am I clear?

Our radical Rightist friends display a cult-like fanaticism and blind loyalty to Party and cause. They will deny the obvious, along with the rights of fellow citizens, in order to establish a one party dictatorship by the economic elite minority.

And like Moonie cultists they will declare they are noble and good. However I would probably grant the qualities of nobility and goodness in the poor Moonie’s heart over the cold heartlessness of the GOP.

The radical Right’s intent to strip citizens of their right to vote is as plainly clear, and felt, as a hangman’s noose around the neck.

Progressive Conservatives

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:50:00 +0000

In his recent column, "Obama: The conservative in 2012", E.J. Dionne says:

Obama is defending a tradition that sees government as an essential actor in the nation’s economy, a guarantor of fair rules of competition, a countervailing force against excessive private power, a check on the inequalities that capitalism can produce, and an instrument that can open opportunity for those born without great advantages.

Obama will thus be the conservative in 2012, in the truest sense of that word. He is the candidate defending the modestly redistributive and regulatory government the country has relied on since the New Deal, and that neither Ronald Reagan nor George W. Bush dismantled.

If anything, we can now confuse and annoy the Right, the regressive conservatives, by claiming to be “progressive conservatives”.

I think I like this new brand we have here. I hereby welcome you all to the Progressive Conservative Movement. Let’s conserve what’s best about America, and not sell it all off to the corporate and economic elite highest bidders.

Saving American Democracy Amendment

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:51:00 +0000

The Right's uncompromising and rigidly inflexible governance exclusively in the interests of the rich has revealed one truth clearly standing. Minority rule by the economic elites is the antithesis of democracy, and is the road to totalitarianism and economic decline for the majority.

Americans are reawakening to the essential ideas of democracy. Money is not free speech, and a corporation is not a person endowed with inalienable rights by the Creator.

At least one senator has taken a stand for democracy in America. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has introduced his "Saving American Democracy Amendment". How far it gets depends on two factors. One is how much the members of the US Senate, House of Representatives and the president support democracy. The other factor is how much they are able to act independently of the stranglehold Big Money already has on our government, politicians and elections.

Nobody is holding their breath on this one, but it is still a vital step in the unending struggle of "Operation American Freedom".

Some frequently asked questions are answered after the text of the Amendment.

RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to expressly exclude for-profit corporations from the rights given to natural persons by the Constitution of the United States, prohibit corporate spending in all elections, and affirm the authority of Congress and the States to regulate corporations and to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures.

Resolved, That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures o three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

SECTION 1. The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons and do not extend to for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, or other private entities established for business purposes or to promote business interests under the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state.

SECTION 2. Such corporate and other private entities established under law are subject to regulation by the people through the legislative process so long as such regulations are consistent with the powers of Congress and the States and do not limit the freedom of the press.

SECTION 3. Such corporate and other private entities shall be prohibited from making contributions or expenditures in any election of any candidate for public office or the vote upon any ballot measure submitted to the people.

SECTION 4. Congress and the States shall have the power to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.’’

------------------------------------------

Saving American Democracy Amendment:
Introduced by Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-19) and Senator Bernard Sanders (VT)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why shouldn't corporations have the ability to influence our elections?

Our Constitution was written by the people, for the people. Corporations are entities formed in accordance with state, local, and federal laws that were all written by the people. These for-profit enterprises are established for business purposes and their rights and obligations only extend to their business purposes.

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision gave corporations the ability to drown out the will of the people by using the profits in their general treasury funds to influence elections. Now, corporations can use millions of dollars to defeat candidates that may threaten their bottom line. Everyday Americans simply cannot compete with the virtually limitless resources of corporations.

There are already Constitutional amendments out there. Why did you introduce this one?

We applaud the efforts of some of our colleagues in Congress who have introduced measures that aim to overturn Citizens United. However, passing a Constitutional amendment is no easy feat, which is why we believe we need a comprehensive amendment that truly ends corporate control of our elections.

Simply granting Congress the authority to regulate corporate spending in elections does not mean that Congress ever will act. Declaring that corporations are not people will do nothing to stop business associations, formed to promote the business interests of their member corporations, from pouring money into misleading attack ads against candidates that threaten their profits.

Citizens United undermined the very concept of campaign finance law. It declared caps on corporate spending in elections to be unconstitutional and as a result, the caps we already have in place, even for individual contributions to candidates, are also under threat. We also have corporations anonymously using nonprofit groups as fronts for their agendas. The Saving American Democracy Amendment restores to Congress the authority to write campaign finance laws that regulate and disclose all contributions and expenditures by all individuals and all types of organizations in our elections.

What is wrong with the Citizens United decision?

The Supreme Court overturned a century of precedent by ruling in Citizens United that corporations have a constitutional right to spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence elections.

Before Citizens United, corporations had to abide by the ruling in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce that limited their participation in elections to political action committees. PACS are funded by voluntary contributions from the employees of a corporation, as opposed to the general treasury fund. The Supreme Court also determined that limitations on corporate spending in elections were permissible in McConnell v. FEC, a decision that upheld portions of the McCain-Feingold reforms that aimed to reign in corporate electioneering.

Because of Citizens United, corporations are now allowed to tap into their profits to spend money advocating for or against candidates of their choosing. Even worse, they can do it anonymously.

By undermining the very concept of campaign finance laws, like the ones limiting individual contributions to candidates, the Citizens United decision even threatens a 1907 law passed by Congress prohibiting corporations from directly contributing to candidates. If we don’t take action, before we know it, the Supreme Court could rule that corporations can directly contribute to candidates for public office.

Is a Constitutional amendment really the best way to address unlimited corporate spending in elections?

Even if Congress had the political will to stand up to special interests and pass limitations on corporate spending in elections, such an effort would be unconstitutional as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United. The majority opinion ruled that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as the American people and can spend unlimited amounts of their general treasury funds in elections. It is too late for Congress to place limits on corporate campaigning. The Framers of our Constitution gave us the power to amend the Constitution and it is imperative that we use it now.

Is your amendment just a giveaway to unions?

No. Labor unions are legally recognized as representatives of workers, who are natural persons with constitutional rights that deserve protections. While the Saving American Democracy Amendment does not prevent unions from using the dues and donations of their workers, it will subject their political activities to laws limiting spending and expenditures, just as it does other private entities and all individuals.

How will people and various types of entities be impacted by the Saving American Democracy Amendment?

Natural Persons: The Saving American Democracy Amendment makes clear that the rights enshrined in our Constitution are those of natural persons. However, the Saving American Democracy Amendment reaffirms the ability of Congress and the States to enact campaign finance laws that limit the amount of money individuals can spend to influence elections and requires political action committees to disclose their donations and operate with transparency.

Corporations: Corporations are not people with constitutional rights. They are for-profit entities established for business purposes. The Saving American Democracy amendment bans for-profit entities and limited liability companies from spending money in elections, whether it be through direct expenditures or to third party groups that aim to influence elections.

501(c)(6)'s: 501(c)6’s are associations formed to promote the business interests of their membership corporations, which are not people. Therefore, these entities are also banned from spending money in elections, and they must make public any contributions to third party groups.

Unions: Labor unions are legally recognized as representatives of workers, who are natural persons with constitutional rights that deserve protection. While the Saving American Democracy Amendment does not prevent unions from using dues and donations from the workers they represent on electoral advocacy, this amendment will subject them to laws limiting spending and expenditures, just as it does other private entities and individuals.

501(c)3 and 501(c)4 Groups: Nonprofit entities, like 501(c)(3) charities, churches, and hospitals, are not impacted by the Saving American Democracy Amendment. 501(c)(4) organizations, which are nonprofits established to promote social welfare, are permitted to participate in elections so long as it is not the organization’s primary purpose. While the American Red Cross, the Sierra Club, and most nonprofit organizations are entirely legitimate, many are props set up by corporations and their CEOs for the purpose of influencing elections. That is why the amendment enables Congress to regulate, limit, and require disclosure of these organizations' electoral expenditures. The Saving American Democracy Amendment gives us the means to effectively police corporations and a few billionaires from using nonprofits as fronts for their political agendas.

How does your amendment address the problem of corporations and very wealthy Americans from anonymously funding front groups to defeat candidates?

Our amendment bans corporations from using their profits in any election or ballot initiative before the people. By requiring that Congress include disclosure as part of our campaign finance laws, corporations that attempt to funnel money into front groups to influence elections will therefore face prosecution for violating the 28th amendment of the Constitution. The amendment also reestablishes the authority undermined by Citizens United for the States and for Congress to set limits and require disclosure of all individual contributions.

--------------

History will not judge us kindly if we as a nation fail to defend and promote democracy.

"Newspeak"

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:15:00 +0000

The wealthy, economic elites, aristocrats, or simply the rich, are what they have been known as for many years. Now through the indoctrination machinery of the Right, they are the “job creators”.

Never mind the pathetically sluggish job growth since fellow aristocrat Bush gave them all tax cuts. He never did reduce unemployment to the level he inherited in 2000. No, they are not creating very many jobs, or if they do, most of them are in Asia. This is beside the point.

The point is we are being indoctrinated. The Right’s Orwellian Ministry of Truth has been unilaterally redefining terms to tilt public policy debates to the advantage of the wealthy elites. “Job creators” is this year’s Right wing “newspeak” propaganda success.

Rather than a cautionary tale of warning, the Right embraces “1984” as a “How to Guide” on winning elections and governing. The Decider practically quoted the “War is peace” slogan when he said, “I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.”

The Right likes to paint all small business owners as job creators too. There’s one so-called “job creator” who admits he never created any jobs. And Dana Milbank dares to say most others didn’t either.

Notice all the parrots now squawking on about not taxing “job creators” are the same ones who squawked hysterically about the health care act being a “government takeover of health care”. Dutiful dupes they are. So duped and dutiful they eagerly parroted Politifact’s 2010 Lie of the Year. Also dutifully parroted was the 2009 Lie of the Year, the infamous Palin-esque “death panels”.

Anybody else see a pattern emerging from these lies? Yes, they are Republican lies, proving again the only way they can attain power is by lying.

Specifically, “job creators” and “government takeover” are the products of Republican Minister of Propaganda Frank Luntz.

And Luntz is worried about the Occupy Wall Street message, as all the greedy aristocratic elites should be. In fact, he told the recent Republican Governors Association in Florida, "I'm so scared of this anti-Wall Street effort. I'm frightened to death. They're having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism.”

He even suggested they avoid the word “capitalism”. "I'm trying to get that word removed and we're replacing it with either 'economic freedom' or 'free market,' " Luntz said. "The public . . . still prefers capitalism to socialism, but they think capitalism is immoral. And if we're seen as defenders of quote, Wall Street, end quote, we've got a problem."

I guess they have a problem, since more and more people are waking up to the fact that the Republicans are the top defenders of Wall Street, along with generous help from corpodems. Unregulated capitalism is not only an immoral, or at least amoral, system, it has proven to be a failed system as well. As we know, there’s no such thing as the “free market” but that won’t stop them from perpetuating the lie.

For the latest on the Right’s Orwellian newspeak, see last Thursday’s Yahoo News article, “How Republicans Are Being Taught to Talk about Occupy Wall Street”.

Along with avoiding the word “capitalism” we learn that we shouldn’t say, “Government taxes the rich”. Most Americans want the rich to pay what they did before Bush. And Luntz warns about uttering the term “middle class”. “We can say we defend the 'middle class' and the public will say, I'm not sure about that. But defending 'hardworking taxpayers' and Republicans have the advantage."

“Not sure about that” indeed.

And speaking of Wall Street, one very important word on the “Do not use list” is “bonus”. Hmm...I wonder why?

It’s probably a safe bet to predict the Lie of the Year for 2011 will also be a fabrication by the Right.

Mental Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:54:00 +0000

“Well, you know the president is getting ready to make an announcement that they’re going to put GPS chips in all the children, so they’re safe. That’s just what the Antichrist is going to do to mark everybody.’”

Are these frightening words the latest warning from Glenn Beck, or one of the other Right Wing fanatics filling the airwaves? Or are they from a paranoid schizophrenic? Hard to tell the difference sometimes, isn’t it?

This time the crazy statement is attributed to the fellow who fired some rifle rounds into the White House last week.

From some reports it seems this guy really is mentally ill.

His mother doesn’t want to accept the evidence he is psychotic, but offers some insight that could help explain why so many conservative Republicans hold on to similar delusional thinking.
She said, ““He might be saying weird stuff that sounds crazy, but that doesn’t mean (he) is crazy. He might be confused and scared.”

Confused and scared. That certainly describes many ordinary Americans who listen to FOX (R), Beck and Limbaugh. Just add some anger into the mix and we get a larger picture of the Republican conservatism being cultivated in the American people.

As we know from a Live Science poll, a large proportion, 24 percent, of Republicans believe Obama may be the antichrist. That’s pretty amusing, seen in the light of Mikey Weiner Savage’ s blatant projection that, “Liberalism is a mental disorder”.

I don’t know, there, Mikey. You’d have to find a lot of liberals who believe a lot more craziness than Righties. Stuff like, “A corporation is a person.” And “Corporate money given to politicians is not corruption, but free speech.” Or “Tax cuts for the rich will trickle down benefits for everyone,” and “Regulations for Wall Street are killing jobs.”

Then according to the poll, there are these Republican indoctrinated beliefs:

38 percent say he wants to take away Americans' right to own guns.

32 percent say he is a Muslim.

29 percent think he wants to turn over the sovereignty of the United States to a one world government.

25 percent say he was not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president.

25 percent say he is a domestic enemy that the U.S. Constitutions speaks of.

23 percent say he is a racist.

Not to mention Obama being the antichrist.

Sorry, as loony as the left can appear sometimes, the vast preponderance of delusional thinking and false beliefs belongs to the Right Wing cult. Thanks to their being confused, scared and angered by the Right Wing media machine, they win in mental disorders hands down.

Mission accomplished.

The Slime Oozes...Randomly

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:40:00 +0000

We all know Obama’s attempts to pass legislation to create jobs have been, and will always be, obstructed by Republicans. If Obama had a plan that would cure cancer, but it would require the rich to all pay a dime more in taxes, the Republicans would obstruct it. Why? Because they made a pledge. I’m not talking about the pledge to support and defend the Constitution. They don’t care about that. The only pledge that matters is their pledge to never raise taxes.

This pledge was initiated by Grover Norquist. You may remember him as the person who claimed, “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub”. Drown means “kill” in normal language. This arguably treasonous goal to destroy the former government of, by, and for the people should bring shame unto a citizen of conscience. But we all know Republicans have no conscience.

There is a more than reasonable consensus among economists that Obama’s plan would indeed create and preserve jobs. The White House points to one survey by Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics. That survey concluded that Obama’s plan would add 1.9 million jobs in 2012 and cut the unemployment rate by a percentage point. Another firm Macroeconomic Advisors, weighed in with an estimate of 1.3 million jobs by the end of 2012.

Most of the lowest estimates project some job growth. Only five economists said no jobs would be created. Five.

And 34 did agree the plan would help avert a return to another recession.

But Republicans only say they want to create jobs. What they really want is more wealth for the wealthy. Period.

Let’s have a look at what one random Republican had to say recently.

At his weekly news conference Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner was asked if Grover Norquist is a “positive influence” on the House GOP conference.

According to the Washington Post:

The speaker shrugged his shoulders and paused at the podium for a full five seconds before responding.

“Listen, our focus here is on jobs,” Boehner said at last. “We’re doing everything we can to get our economy moving again and to get people back to work. It’s not often I’m asked about some random person in America.”

Asked whether he genuinely believed Norquist was a “random person” to members of his conference, Boehner replied, “Listen, our focus is on creating jobs, not talking about somebody’s personality.”

Damn that liberal media, distracting the esteemed Speaker away from his mission to create jobs. What a dirty trick! They foolishly attempted to focus on some random personality, instead of the noble mission of John Boehner.

The outrage of it all would make Lincoln turn in his grave.

Man, when the slime oozes, even randomly, it reeks.

Zero Tolerance

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:46:00 +0000

“I have a zero tolerance for sanctimonious morons who try to scare people.”

I wish I’d said that. Of course the sentiment has been central to my ranting for years, but that brings it to a sharp point.

I wish I had a dollar for every time Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and their entire cartel invoked fictional Iraqi “nukular” aluminum tubes, weapons programs and mushroom clouds. The scary fictional links between Saddam and al-Qaeda had most Americans thinking Iraq was in on 9-11 just before Bush launched his crusade for political power and cronies’ profit. Now that was successful fear-mongering.

I’m old enough to remember LBJ’s nuclear blast “Daisy ad”. Most politicians, and especially Republicans, have a long history of using fear to coerce gullible voters into supporting them. There were never any such things as “death taxes” and “death panels” until Republicans made them up. The myth of “government takeover” of health care turned many ill-informed folks against health care reform. The list goes on.

So I wish to thank the person responsible for the above quote. I embrace it.

Unfortunately this is a very isolated comment from this individual. When placed in context with certain other remarks it becomes hysterically hypocritical.

Let’s just sample a couple meteorological references by our hero for some comparison.

(Regarding his prayers to keep Hurricane Gloria away from Virginia Beach) It was 'extremely important because I felt that if I couldn't move a hurricane, I could hardly move a nation

I apologized and I said I will be praying for him, but one day we will be staring nuclear weapons and it won't be (Hurricane) Katrina facing New Orleans, it's going to be a Venezuelan nuke.

Yup. That was Pat (9/11-was-the-fault-of-the-gays) Robertson.

So even a broken clock is correct twice a day, I guess.

Big Lies and the Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:07:00 +0000

Warren Buffet is right. There is class warfare, and his side, the wealthiest one percent of Americans, is winning. He pays a lower percent in taxes than his secretary.

Why is this so? It goes back to the Reagan years when the foxes took control of the henhouse. Anti-tax wealthy elites gained influence in public policy making. Business insiders began to write their own regulations, which means de-regulation in the real world.

This de-regulation continued on throughout the Bush/Clinton/Bush years and ultimately led to the financial collapse in September of 2008. The debacle drained our economy of trillions of dollars and wiped out many of our pensions.

And more recently thanks to the Big Money-friendly Supreme Court, corporate cash is allowed more influence than ever in our elections and on our elected politicians.

The entire Republican Party and many corporate-owned Democrats are not representing most Americans. The radical Right is opposed to an informed public and to democracy itself.

The Right’s war on democracy begins with propaganda, falsehoods, demonization of liberals and moderates, and advances with their campaign to suppress the right of qualified Americans to vote. This is how they politically leverage the tax cuts for the rich, corporate welfare, and coddling of the elite.

There are many lies being spread by the Far Right through the corporate media. In fact their first Big Lie is “Liberal Media”. GE, Disney, Viacom, FOX(R), etc. are not “liberals”. They are corporations.

Most Americans still want real health care reform, accountability for Wall Street, fair taxes on the rich, and even Obama's jobs bill.

Thus the Right's war on democracy must continue. They must pursue their class warfare against most Americans on behalf of Wall Street and the wealthiest Americans.

You see, it’s not enough for the top one percent to take in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income and control about forty percent of our nation's wealth. Never mind the fact that 25 years ago the corresponding numbers were 12% and 33%. Greed has no limit.

Robert Reich gives us the best breakdown I’ve seen on seven of the primary lies told by Republicans to dupe the public into supporting their exclusive agenda for the wealthy top one percent.

Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton.
***
Published on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 by Robert Reich's Blog

The Seven Biggest Economic Lies
by Robert Reich

The President’s Jobs Bill doesn’t have a chance in Congress — and the Occupiers on Wall Street and elsewhere can’t become a national movement for a more equitable society – unless more Americans know the truth about the economy.

Here’s a short (2 minute 30 second) effort to rebut the seven biggest whoppers now being told by those who want to take America backwards. The major points:

1. Tax cuts for the rich trickle down to everyone else. Baloney. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush both sliced taxes on the rich and what happened? Most Americans’ wages (measured by the real median wage) began flattening under Reagan and have dropped since George W. Bush. Trickle-down economics is a cruel joke.

2. Higher taxes on the rich would hurt the economy and slow job growth. False. From the end of World War II until 1981, the richest Americans faced a top marginal tax rate of 70 percent or above. Under Dwight Eisenhower it was 91 percent. Even after all deductions and credits, the top taxes on the very rich were far higher than they’ve been since. Yet the economy grew faster during those years than it has since. (Don’t believe small businesses would be hurt by a higher marginal tax; fewer than 2 percent of small business owners are in the highest tax bracket.)

3. Shrinking government generates more jobs. Wrong again. It means fewer government workers – everyone from teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and social workers at the state and local levels to safety inspectors and military personnel at the federal. And fewer government contractors, who would employ fewer private-sector workers. According to Moody’s economist Mark Zandi (a campaign advisor to John McCain), the $61 billion in spending cuts proposed by the House GOP will cost the economy 700,000 jobs this year and next.

4. Cutting the budget deficit now is more important than boosting the economy. Untrue. With so many Americans out of work, budget cuts now will shrink the economy. They’ll increase unemployment and reduce tax revenues. That will worsen the ratio of the debt to the total economy. The first priority must be getting jobs and growth back by boosting the economy. Only then, when jobs and growth are returning vigorously, should we turn to cutting the deficit.

5. Medicare and Medicaid are the major drivers of budget deficits. Wrong. Medicare and Medicaid spending is rising quickly, to be sure. But that’s because the nation’s health-care costs are rising so fast. One of the best ways of slowing these costs is to use Medicare and Medicaid’s bargaining power over drug companies and hospitals to reduce costs, and to move from a fee-for-service system to a fee-for-healthy outcomes system. And since Medicare has far lower administrative costs than private health insurers, we should make Medicare available to everyone.

6. Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Don’t believe it. Social Security is solvent for the next 26 years. It could be solvent for the next century if we raised the ceiling on income subject to the Social Security payroll tax. That ceiling is now $106,800.

7. It’s unfair that lower-income Americans don’t pay income tax. Wrong. There’s nothing unfair about it. Lower-income Americans pay out a larger share of their paychecks in payroll taxes, sales taxes, user fees, and tolls than everyone else.

Demagogues through history have known that big lies, repeated often enough, start being believed — unless they’re rebutted. These seven economic whoppers are just plain wrong. Make sure you know the truth – and spread it on.

*****

You heard the man. Spread it.

Still Amazed

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:23:00 +0000

I'm still amazed at the fanaticism shown by those who are so passionate in defending the economic elites.

It would appear there's no higher priority for them than to keep their wealthy masters from paying a dime more in taxes. Never mind they are exponentially wealthier than before and can easily afford it. These minions are indoctrinated to protect and defend the aristocrats' wealth until their dying breath. It really seems to be the most important thing in the world to them.

Amazing.

It's as if they worship money. Or do they just worship the wealthy, in the vain hope they too will become wealthy? No matter. Either way, or both ways, it still has all the characteristics of cult worship.

Such selfless acts of delusion in the name of dismantling democracy in favor of a powerful minority are quite a spectacle. They're like American Kamikazes, in a way. They’re willing to sacrifice, unto death it would seem, their own interests to their own infallible Emperor/god.

They are more than willing to shut down government and public services to protect every nickel of billionaires’ wealth. Fanaticism may even be too mild a term for their devotion to wealth and greed.

What else could describe the many self-identified Christians so dedicated to serving Mammon? Do they think Jesus is impressed by that? Are they so twisted to think their Savior would be down on Wall Street, a temple of Mammon if there ever was one, admonishing the demonstrators and defending the banksters? I would have to conclude they are indeed that warped out from reality.

Some things seem certain. The cult servants of the aristocracy are oblivious to the concept that taxes are the price we pay to live in a civil society. And they are oblivious, or even contemptuous, of the concept of democracy. They utterly fail to understand, or be concerned about, the fact most people disagree with their views. They have no idea they are the ones out on the fringe. But this bears little effect on the absolute certainty of the authoritarian mindset. It is with absolute certainty they hold their sacred belief in wealth and minority rule by the wealthy.

No clue.

Big Surprise

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:25:00 +0000

The Republican’s have filibustered Obama’s jobs bill. Big surprise.

Also not surprising is the fact that about two thirds of Americans support the jobs bill. In fact, according to Gallup, “Americans Favor Almost All Proposals in Obama's Jobs Plan”. And we’ve known that approximately the same percentage favors restoring previous tax rates on the top one percent.

In a nation that values and respects democracy, the politicians would have no doubt how to proceed.

But not here.

The entire Republican Party and a couple corporatist Quisling Dems, Nelson and Tester, have killed it.

Senator Harry Reid offers his keen insight.

“The president’s plan contains many ideas Republicans have consistently supported over the years, especially when their party controlled Congress, the White House or both. Republicans oppose those ideas now. . . . I guess Republicans think if the economy improves, it might help President Obama.”

If it has taken the Senate Majority Leader this long to “guess” the obvious truth, then the Democrats may as well capitulate to the Republicans’ one-party dictatorship. What’s that? They already have?

Defenders of Democracy

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:08:00 +0000

The economic elites, or as FDR put it, economic royalists, are now looking out their Wall Street windows at Americans gathering in their neighborhood. Americans who are not only waking up to the fact they were ripped off, but are assembling and drawing attention to it. Attention from the ever so reluctant corporate media, which we all know would rather cover a dozen Tea Cultists than thousands who speak for the majority. The elites are probably getting a little nervous. Nothing worries a thief like having his victim near his lair.

I still hold little hope for reform, with only a bit of lip service from politicians. Corporatism’s choked hold on our democracy is nearly complete. I hope I’m wrong.

The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations are also giving Americans a glimpse of what democracy looks like. Unlike the corporate manufactured Tea Cult, this group is representing the vast majority of Americans who have been swindled by Wall Street and their political puppets.

It’s a good lesson for our youth. Once upon a time the majority of Americans wanted to end a pointless bloody war of aggression in Vietnam. They marched and made their wishes visible to the powers waging that war.

Now the voices of democracy protest a class war waged on 99% of Americans.

One of my favorite signs carried there reads, “It’s only “class warfare” when we fight back!” And its way past time the people fought back.

Since Reagan. Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II shifted our government rightward over the past thirty years, we’ve see the results of the “trickle down economy” they lied about. The rich have been getting very richer. Turns out it was all a “trickle up” scam.

Gradually at first, and then suddenly in September of ’08, the working class and manufacturing base of America suffered their greatest loss since the Great Republican Depression. That was also triggered by the crash of a de-regulated market back in 1929.

The lessons of de-regulation needed to be learned all over again. The problem this time is we have non-stop corporate media giving Republicans face time to insist regulation, government and taxes are to blame for everything. The Wall Street Banksters are rewarding them for that service by contributing more to their election campaigns.

We now live under the greatest income inequality any alleged democracy has seen. The top one percent takes in about a quarter of the nation’s income, and they control even a larger share of the total wealth. This gives them more political clout than a democracy can survive.

And thanks to the vast Right Wing echo chamber of FOX(R) and extremist talk radio, they have loyal legions of indoctrinated members from the very class they’ve been screwing. Their cultists are rabidly defending the elites from the “tyranny” of paying a dime more in taxes, as if they can’t afford it. Talk about a great con. The duped minions are demanding they themselves pay more of their share to cover the debt and bills, all while receiving fewer public services. Astounding.

The elites all but own the politicians as well. Few speak out against Wall Street. Why? Thanks to the corporatist Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, Big Money has a lock on our elections and government. As former Senator Durban said, “They own the place”.

If someone still wonders what the protests on Wall Street are about, Former Florida Representative Alan Grayson put it eloquently.

Grayson and PJ O'Rourke were on Bill Maher last Friday. The Occupy Wall Street movement came up and the following exchange took place between O'Rourke and Grayson.

Grayson: Let me tell what they're talking about. They're complaining about the fact the Wall Street wrecked the economy three years ago and nobody's held responsible for that. Not a single person has been indicted or convicted for destroying twenty percent of our national net worth accumulated over two centuries. They're upset about the fact that they have iron control over economic policies of this country and that one party is a wholly owned subsidiary of wall street and the other party caters to them as well, that's the truth of the matter as you said before. And…

O'Rourke: Get the man a bongo drum, they've found their spokesman!

Grayson: If I…

O'Rourke: Get your shoes off, get a bongo drum, forget where to go to the bathroom and it's yours.

Grayson: If I am the spokesman for all the people who think we should not have twenty four million people in this country who can't find a full time job. Who should not have fifty million people who can't see a doctor when they're sick. That we shouldn't have forty seven million people of this country who need government help to feed themselves. We shouldn't have fifteen million families who owe more on their mortgage than the value of home, OK, I'll be that spokesman.

For more on the cancer of wealth concentration in hands of the few, see “Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% at Vanity Fair.

It’s no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. That response would be misguided. While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall.

We might still have a choice between democracy or corporatocracy. But we better make it soon. We know democracy’s adversaries are unrelenting, and they are winning.

Electing more Alan Graysons and fewer Bachmanns and Ryans would be a good start.

Cult Trolls

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:07:00 +0000

“The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief. And by dangerous I don’t mean thought-provoking. I mean: might get people killed”. – Sarah Vowell, “The Wordy Shipmates”

This post started out as a comment under the previous post, but I think it needed to be more prominent. It also serves as a fitting follow up to the “Five Pillars”.
***

This will be my final response to an anonymous comment in this thread. Why? First, because I have previously announced I have my limit for trolls. This one gets a second and final response because he posed a reasonable interest in a source for my claim. I will offer the courtesy of providing it for him. Afterwards I will explain further why I’m finished with him on this thread.

You see, I don’t mind an occasional post from a cultist as an example of indoctrination or entertainment value. In fact I will honor this person by posting here what he wrote to me at Tom Degan’s blog.

Dave Dubya,
I won't declare you a Communist like you are complaining about being called on your blog, but you definitely belong to the general species "ism":

Liberalism, Socialism, Marxism, Communism, Progressivism or Nazism, etc; they’re fundamentally all the same – just separated by varying degrees of evil. Every time someone wants to “control” the population, bad stuff happens. The game-plan is always the same too, Social Engineering through Wealth Redistribution and fueled by Class-Hate.

See what I mean about both cult indoctrination and entertainment? Ok. I admit I have a bit of a sick sense of humor.

Here is the source for my statement about Republicans believing Obama is the antichrist. It is from a Harris poll discussed at livescience.com.

14 percent of Americans say President Barack Obama may be the Antichrist. When split by political party, 24 percent of Republicans and 6 percent of Democrats viewed the nation's leader in this way.

Looks like some stupid Democrats go to the wrong church or something. Fear and ignorance are contagious.

Here’s more cult indoctrination:

38 percent say he wants to take away Americans' right to own guns.
32 percent say he is a Muslim.
29 percent think he wants to turn over the sovereignty of the United States to a one world government.
25 percent say he was not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president.
25 percent say he is a domestic enemy that the U.S. Constitutions speaks of.
23 percent say he is a racist.

Amazing! ...And depressing at the same time, isn’t it?

We all know damn well the Anonymous types fit into this picture.

I limit my time with these cult trolls because I won't waste time with people who think the Earth is six thousand years old, or who believe Obama is a Muslim, socialist, racist, and yes, even the antichrist.

These people are cultists every bit as much as Moonies. You know, the Washington Times owner and Republican friend of the Bush family, Sun Myung Moon’s Moonie cult. Seriously, there is something wrong with them, and that reflects what is wrong with our country. They are misinformed, gullible, ignorant, fearful, hateful and pathetic human beings.

I wish we could help them, but they don’t want help. They are stubbornly devoted to their cult beliefs. And they are stooges for the rising new Amerikan fascism.

If this doesn’t shock, sicken and awaken enough sane Americans into voting against Republicans, we can kiss our freedom, democracy and standard of living goodbye.

Five Pillars

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Dubya) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:40:00 +0000

Have you ever been called a commie by a radical Right wing fanatic? I have, and if you are at all like me you have probably been called a commie too. Many of us who dare point to the extremism of the American radical Right have been accused of being a communist. Consider it a badge of honor. You are now a pro-democracy freedom fighter.

Seeing this happen again and again got me thinking I should discuss this issue further. People are getting fed up with all this authoritarian hate mongering on behalf of a corporatist agenda. We finally have our freedom movement taking a stand on Wall Street, not that most Americans know about it, thanks to a corporate media that would rather cover a small Tea Cult gathering than a real grass-roots popular movement.

The members of the American radical Right are programmed to attack unions, public employees, teachers, and every other non-wealthy American who dares to think for himself, who dares to vote against the party of minority rule.

When fascism comes to America, "conservatives" will celebrate their victory over "socialism", while living in more squalor than ever before.

But they will already have been indoctrinated on who to blame. We liberals would be the equivalent of the German Jews in fascist Amerika.

The extremism of the neo-Republicans has even alienated long time conservative Republicans like former senators Chuck Hagel and Arlen Spector. So who does that leave in control of the Republican Party? Fanatics.

I suggest reading retired GOP Congressional staffer Mike Logren’s account of his finally leaving the cult. Yes cult. You see, I’m not the only “commie” calling the extremist party a cult.

He writes:

“It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe. This trend has several implications, none of them pleasant.”

And:

“It is this broad and ever-widening gulf between the traditional Republicanism of an Eisenhower and the quasi-totalitarian cult of a Michele Bachmann that impelled my departure from Capitol Hill.”

This cult is the greatest threat to our freedom and democracy. They have a major political party and the power of vast wealth behind them. They must be called out for being a cult of American proto-fascism. It is beyond corporatism. They hate us for our freedom and democracy.

There are five pillars of Right Wing fanaticism shared by radical Republicans and fascists. Both promote rule by an authoritarian tyranny of the minority that is of, by and for the economic and political elites.

In addition to their mutual desire for minority rule and opposition to democracy, they also love to label their opponents as communists. This is essential to their Reich Wing ideology.

They hate unions. We’ve all seen the Tea Cult Koch brothers using their lackeys to crush unions.

The radical Right also regards public education, journalism, science, and all other endeavors to seek and share truth as threats to their radical belief system. Noted climate scientist, and oxy-moron, Rush Limbaugh is a great example.

The Nazis gave us the Big Lie. Orwell gave us, “Ignorance is strength. Freedom is slavery. War is peace.”

Republicans have expanded the Big Lie list. Pick almost anything said by Palin, Bachmann, Coulter, Beck, Hannity, or most of the FOX(R) propagandists. No wonder millions of Americans still think Obama is a Kenyan Muslim.

Thanks to them we can add “Tax cuts for the rich create jobs,” and “Saddam has ties to al-Qaeda and is building WMD’s with his “nuklular” aluminum tubes.” We heard Bush’s mouthpiece Fleischer tell us, “Americans need to watch what they say,” and of course, Dictator Dick Cheney’s advice to voters in ’04, "If we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again." And last but not least, “Expanded health care would become “death panels”. Note the especially threatening and ominous tone of the latter three.

They’ve added so much to the list of phrases that constitute neo-fascist creed and indoctrination.

Both Fascists and Republicans love their Big Lies. They love them so much they forget to thank the “liberal” corporate media for spreading them.

So in review we see fascists and radical Republicans share these characteristics:

1. Authoritarian opposition to democracy and advocacy of minority rule.

2. Fanatical hatred of unions and scorn for workers’ rights.

3. Red baiting and scapegoating anyone who disagrees with them as a commie.

4. Contempt for education, journalism, and science that questions their radical Rightist indoctrination.

5. The proven Propaganda method of the Big Lie.

There are surely more characteristics shared by radical Rightists, but I think I’ve covered the most prominent ones.

Cultists are going to hate me for saying this, but as FDR said, “I welcome their hatred”.

It is no virtue to tolerate the intolerant. It is no vice to stand up and demand justice, freedom and democracy.