Is Labor Day A Communist Holiday?

There was a time when Americans could agree to disagree.  There was a time when rational debate was possible, when one side would listen to the other and would then respond with their criticisms and their own point of view.  No more.  With the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency, Change has occurred – but not the Change we were expecting.  This Change has come from the “right” – the extreme “right”, which sadly now seems to include most of the Republican Party.  It seems the Change to the Republican Party took place almost overnight.  Leaderless after the McCain/Palin combo failed to win the election, the flailing Party faithful looked for new inspiration.  They looked for other voices to lead them, and they found people like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, people of dubious intellectual ability, to provide a new vision for the Party. And a Hellish vision it is.

Remember the Town Hall meetings of the summer?  Remember how free speech was throttled by a well organized gang of “American”  thugs who refused to hear or discuss any plans for health care reform? Their only plan was to prevent the exercise of free speech and an intelligent discussion of the issues.  Now, the new Republican Party, a faint shadow of its former self – no longer recognizable as an American institution, but rather an instrument that strives to stifle public discussion and prevent the free expression of opinions, has sunk to a new low.  It’s members are now shrieking about President Obama’s planned speech to the school children of America. In doing so they have forever demeaned the office of the Presidency, and they have done so without reason nor regard for our values of freedom of expression and our culture of holding the office of the President of the United States in high regard.

Today, the President will release the text of his speech in advance in order to prove to the Republican Gestapo that his message is not political but is instead intended to simply encourage children remain in school and do well.  But the damage has been done, not only to the reputation and culture of the United States, but also to the reputation of the Republican Party.  This formerly legitimate political party has descended into some sort of imbecilic Hell, a morass of rotting ideas and lunatic leaders.  More and more they have concentrated their appeals to the lunatic fringe of America – people who refuse to believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States, people who have stocked up on guns and ammunition in the insane (and dangerous) belief that President Obama plans to somehow restrict this right. These are people who are unable to debate an issue intelligently, and thus would rather drown out the opposition with screams and shrieks and rants. Anything to prevent free speech.

Today is Labor Day in the United States.  So where is Glenn Beck?  Shouldn’t he be ranting insanely about how this holiday – Labor Day – celebrates unions and labor? Surely, if  he can connect the dots, in what serves as his brain, and determine that President Obama is either a Socialist or a Communist, shouldn’t he also determine that our Labor Day holiday places us in solidarity with worldwide Socialism and Communism? Shouldn’t the Fox television network be staging a day-long campaign to ban this un-American holiday?  Shouldn’t people who take Labor Day as a day off from work be investigated for their obvious Communist sympathies?  How did Glenn and Rush miss this? Or could it be that noting this close association between an American holiday and the united workers and unions around the world doesn’t suit their propaganda campaigns against the President?

The Republican Party, and its mouthpieces and minions, have taken a desperate path.  They have taken the path of denial of free speech and the deliberate distortion of truth  – all to gain political advantage. They have done so at the expense of our Constitution and our Freedom of Speech, and now they have done so at the expense of the dignity of the Office of the President.  In their insatiable lust for power and wealth, the Republican Party has crossed a line.  They are deliberately destroying those rights and values that they claim to treasure.  They have descended into hypocrisy for the sake of gaining political power and in doing so they are endangering our nation and its long held values of fairness and freedom of speech.

I suppose Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh would defend themselves by saying they are inciting all of this chaos for the “good of the country”.  What else would you expect them to say? Perhaps besides enjoying our Labor Day today, we should pause for a breif moment and take note that this is also a truly a sad day for America. A major political party has completely lost its sense of American values and has turned to the politics of desperation, and now allows itself to be led by men who admit to having chemically fried their brains.

I suppose it won’t be long before they start saying that Jesus was a communist too.

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A Couple of Great Stimulus Ideas that Are Not in the Stimulus Package

Well, I think they’re great, anyway.  I guess Barack and I aren’t quite on the same page yet.  Here’s the way I see it:

There are two basic ways to structure an economy: the economy can be cash-based or credit based.  An economy that is cash-based is essentially a barter economy where your cash represents a tangible object that could have been exchanged for your cash.  For example, I could trade you an ear of corn for a carrot, or I could give you a dollar for your carrot, both of us having agreed that both an ear of corn and a carrot are each exactly worth a dollar.  We also agree that my dollar simply represents an ear of corn in my warehouse and you can redeem it at any time for your ear of corn.  The dollar simply makes it easier for us to carry out our trading transactions.  This sort of economy can grow in a way that the dollar can be used to represent many other things, like maybe 5,000 dollars represents a car or a boat.  The essence of this economy is that there are only so many dollars and they always actually represent something tangible and they can be redeemed for these tangible goods.  Such an economy can be very stable but it is unlikely to grow very fast because of a scarcity of dollars for investment.

A credit based economy could have the same value for a dollar, but in this economy cash transactions are augmented by credit transactions. For example, I tell you that I will give you a dollar for a carrot next week, right after I sell my corn.  You agree and give me the carrot trusting that you will get the dollar next week.  This type of economy can grow fast because it makes use of the promise of future dollars rather than an actual exchange of dollars at the time of sale.  Our U.S. economy is very much this type of economy. Credit is absolutely essential for this economy to operate; however, we now find ourselves in a situation where the usual granters of credit – the banks – are afraid to grant credit.  Without the credit the economy withers, and when the economy withers the banks become more afraid to grant credit, and the economy then withers even faster. That is what is happening now.  Our credit-based economy is spiraling downward to a dreary cash-based economy – also known these days as a depression.

If one wishes to stimulate our economy, it is not enough to pump dollars into the economy by creating jobs.  It is not enough to give dollars to the banks.  It is not enough to reduce taxes.  Because the U.S. economy is not a barter type economy, and it is based upon credit, credit must be restored.  Unless the banks are willing to provide massive credit – and they are not – we cannot recover from this recession (or depression).  That is really the essence of the problem now.  So how do we make the banks grant credit? I suggest that the U.S. government create a set of  rival, government-operated banks that do provide credit – almost unlimited credit to almost everyone (for reasonable purchases of course – not for buying and flipping houses). The government can do this because it can always get back any money it loses through future taxes.  There is no real risk involved for the government.  Once people are able to obtain low cost credit from a government bank the economy will start to grow. Almost immediately, when the private banks realize that the government banks are lending money, they will start lending too because 1) they will have to compete if they want to make money and 2) they will feel confident that with the government directly lending money the economy is once again a really, really good bet.  Our government’s  stimulus package should include this capability, but it doesn’t.

Let’s suppose we gave every single person a $1,000 stimulus check today, with the stipulation that it had to be spent right away and not banked.  What would happen? There would be a huge buying spree and lots of things would be sold. Good for the economy, right? Sort of – for a while anyway. Why? Because when everyone goes out and buys all their stuff, we will find that most stuff these days does not come with a tag saying “Made in USA”.  Most likely it says “Made in China”. Or Mexico, or Pakistan, or Egypt, or a lot of other places.  And the money we spend on our stuff will eventually migrate to Mexico and Pakistan and China and Egypt and everywhere else.  So how does that stimulate the U.S. economy?  Not very well, or not for long anyway.  We are in a global economy now and things that worked pretty well in 1933 probably won’t work so well this time.  I think our country’s stimulus response could be rather muted and short-lived.

Our country leaks money, and we can’t create jobs here if we don’t make things here any more.  Our job stimulus needs to create new jobs here, and not jobs that can easily be outsourced.  Some sort of new high tech industry might be good. Especially if it creates a product that sells well and is only made here – maybe something like 3-D televisions or a new health food where the more you eat the more weight you lose.  The roads and bridges thing is good, but it’s a temporary blip.  It’ll create some jobs initially, but the money will eventually wind up in China’s economy, not ours.  That’s because the people who build the roads and bridges will spend their money at Wal-Mart and other stores and these stores will turn around and send the money to China so they can get their next shipment of stuff.

So, I guess my two cents says to first create Federal Lending Banks, and second, fund lots and lots of high tech, really far out ideas.  The first concept will stimulate our economy (and our banks) immediately by providing badly needed credit again, and the second will create a new, vibrant, modern American economy with jobs for Americans that won’t be outsourced tomorrow.

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Barack the Magic Negro Destroys the Republican Party

It’s official, the Republican Party is in full blown self-destruct mode.  The inmates are now running the asylum as the Grand Old Party lurches towards its inevitable end as a viable U.S. political party.  A candidate for the leadership of the Republican Party, Chip Saltsman, recently sent out CDs of the song “Barack the Magic Negro” to Republican Party Committee members in the belief that it would help him to win the Chairmanship of the Committee.  His actions are being defended by the usual gang of Republican apologists saying that it is all in good clean fun. It’s the American way of satire they say.

Back in May, Rush Limbaugh played the song on his radio show, which still has a few fans in the hills and hollers of Red Neck America.  Rush thought is was great fun and no doubt believed it would advance the cause of the Republican candidates in the Presidential election.  Instead there was an outpouring of criticism by decent Americans who were offended by Limbaugh’s blatant attempt to appeal to the racist inclination of America’s rapidly disappearing population of rednecks.

So this is what the Republican Party has finally come to: a weird collection of extremely rich, self-centered, misanthropes; a group of sadly misled Evangelicals, who in their search for Christianity follow equally misled demagogues who only preach ancient Judaic Law; and ignorant, racist, poorly-educated, hicks who swallow everything Rush Limbaugh has to say as if it were the spoken word of God.  Limbaugh has long tried to use his radio platform to try to define and influence Americans but now, as the Republican Party dissolves into a little puddle  of nastiness, Limbaugh and his followers can now be seen for what they truly are: they are not mainstream Americans, they do not represent America or its values, they have become the definition of America’s lunatic fringe.

While Limbaugh has been chuckling over his adolescent prank of playing racist parodies on the air, the entire world has embraced Barack Obama as no other President since John F. Kennedy.  Remember the crowds that turned out to see him in Germany?  Remember his warm reception by both Arabs and Israelis?  Remember the excitement about Barack in France and England?  He is loved and admired around the world and many nations would be proud to claim him as one of theirs. As an example, listen to this song about Barack from Ireland.

Limbaugh doesn’t get it.  He’s beyond redemption. There are many in the upper echelon’s of the Republican Party who don’t get it either. We’ve moved on.  It’s a new world and the 21st Century will see a blending of the races and cultures. The old, selfish, misers of the Republican Party don’t get it.  Their day is over. Their scheming financial policies, and their complete lack of integrity has nearly destroyed the financial systems of the entire world. Yet, they still think they can rally people to their side with racist songs and idiotic gibberish from people like Rush Limbaugh.

Change is coming and will soon sweep over us like a roaring tsunami, but the blind don’t see it.

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Pastor Rick Warren: Obama’s First Blunder?

Barack Obama’s recent selection of Evangelical preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation prayer at the Presidential Inauguration has set off a firestorm of protests among the lesbian and gay communities in America. Warren is one of the leading Evangelical preachers in America and has a very large following. He has very strong views on some topics and is not afraid to state them. Obama claims that by having Warren participate in the Inauguration it will bring us together.

If there is a consistency in Obama’s actions since he won the election it is in his choices of people to be on his “team”. He has opted for diversity of opinions. It is clear that he believes that the answer to America’s fragmented society is a shotgun marriage of the spokesmen for these diverse groups into a single working entity. At least that seems to be the strategy with his Cabinet and it also seems to be the approach he is taking for his Inauguration. I suppose that, for completeness, he will now have to find some other spokesman for the people that Warren preaches against who will also have a role in the Inauguration. It is an interesting approach that Obama has taken, but it leaves me wondering about one thing: what is Obama’s own position now on religion?

For many years he was a member of the black Christian church community, but he decided to put some distance between him and that church after the antics of Pastor Wright caused considerable damage to his campaign. So, does this mean that Obama has renounced the black church? I recall that, in 1961, John F. Kennedy asked Cardinal Cushing to give the invocation at his Inauguration. Although Kennedy was the only Roman Catholic ever elected to be President of the United States, and there were plenty of people who were afraid that he would inflict his Catholic views on the nation, Kennedy went ahead and asked a Roman Catholic Cardinal to give the invocation. He remained true to his religious associations despite the potential for controversy.

While Obama’s search for unanimity and cohesion is admirable, I have to wonder if he is sacrificing something here that should not be sacrificed. What about Obama’s inner core? What about his core beliefs? He has renounced Pastor Wright as his spiritual adviser. Does this mean that Obama no longer has any spiritual adviser? Does this mean that, in his mind, the principal purpose of the invocation prayer is to provide an opportunity for more political and national bonding?

So far, his choice has clearly infuriated the gay and lesbian community and may have turned them against Obama. There are also many of other positions held by Pastor Warren that various Americans disagree with. So has Obama’s choice backfired? Was it a blunder that could burst into Inauguration day protests in D.C.? Has it really served to pull us closer together? How many Catholics are thrilled with his choice? How many Jews? How many Mormons? How many Lutherans or Episcopalians? The fact is that there is no one he could choose for this task that would serve to bring us together. Almost any choice he could make would be controversial. He would have been better searching for a preacher from the black church who more accurately represents his own inner beliefs – at least that would have been an authentic choice.

Barack, this was a blunder. There are times in government when you need to compromise, and there are times when you have to be true to your inner core. This was one of those “inner core” times. There are many Americans, not just gays and lesbians, who fervently hope that Pastor Warren doesn’t speak for your own strongly held inner beliefs.

I wonder, is it too late to reconsider your choice?

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Just Who Is Barack Obama? Sarah Palin Wants to Know.

Aren’t you getting just a little tired of Sarah Palin?  It might be different if she had something intelligent to say once in a while, but she doesn’t.  She just goes on and on with her mud-slinging, muck-raking, in-the-gutter type of campaigning that apparently has served her well in Alaska.  Her latest campaign ploy tries to paint Barack Obama as some sort of shady, terrorist associating, unknown quantity that might even be dangerous. If you ask me, it is Sarah Palin who might be dangerous because she has so little regard for the truth and seems to have only a passing acquaintance with honesty and straight talk. I thought that perhaps I could help Sarah out and fill in some of the blanks for her since she is apparently too lazy to find out for herself.

Barack Obama was born in the United States of America, in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961. He is a United States Senator from Illinois.  His father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., was born in Kenya, and his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas. His mother was of Irish-American descent.  His parents were divorced when he was two years old and he was raised by his mother until she died from cancer in 1995. At that time his maternal grandmother, Madelyn Lee Payne, took over his care. Madelyn’s husband (Barack’s grandfather), Stanley Armour Dunham, was a veteran of World War II and died in 1992. He is buried in Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. One of Barack’s great-grandfathers was named Falmouth Kearney, an immigrant from Ireland who arrived in New York in 1850, a refugee from the Irish famine.

Barack Obama went to the first grade through the fourth grade in Indonesian public schools and then he returned to the U.S. He spent most of his childhood growing up in American households that had both Irish-American and English-American values. He went to the exclusive Punahou School in Honolulu as well as Columbia University and Harvard University. He spent a good part of his early adult life helping the poor people of Chicago.

For comparison, let’s look at John McCain. He is a United States Senator from Arizona.  He comes from a decidedly military family. He is self-described as Scots-Irish, i.e. Ulster Scots who were imported and “planted” in Northern Ireland in the 17th Century by the English government as part of their successful plan to subjugate Ireland.  His father, Admiral John S. McCain Jr., was Commander in Chief Pacific Command (CINCPAC) during the Viet Nam war. His grandfather, Admiral John S. McCain Sr., had several commands in World War II. He participated in the battles of Guadalcanal and Okinawa.  His great-great-grandfather, William A. McCain of Mississippi,  was a private in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and was killed in battle. He had been a slave owner with fifty-two slaves who worked on the family’s 2,000 acre plantation in Carroll County,  Mississippi.

Sarah continues to speak at rallies strongly implying that Barack Obama is a terrorist or a terrorist sympathizer. I wonder if she also thinks that John McCain advocates slavery?

I hope these very short biographies help her to understand the truth. Both of these men are 21st Century United States Senators, and both are ardent supporters of the United States, its people, and its constitution.  However, they do see things differently and they have different solutions for the problems that confront the country and the world. But the patriotism and fairness of both men is beyond reproach.  If rabble-rousing Sarah can’t figure that out, or if she is simply Hell bent on distorting the truth and misleading the American public simply to win an election,  then she has no business pretending that she is capable of being Vice President of the United States, nor is she worthy of the title and its responsibilities.

Perhaps it’s time for her to do the right thing for America and step down.  It would be the patriotic thing to do.

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