We don't need to see facts to convince us, we know, deep in our core, that our system is out of control. We know that there is too much money. We know that there are very powerful forces at work influencing decisions. We know that often the best decisions are being killed in favor of no decision or worse yet the wrong decision.
Will we choose to paddle hard back to shore or will we be carried away by the raging torrent of money that is flooding our political system?
The idea that religion, being religious, being a good person of high moral character is the explicit domain of one party is as corrupt, confused and cynical an idea as anyone could have. Exploiting religion for personal gain, for political gain, to distort truth itself is as fundamental a misunderstanding of the word as there could possibly be.
The voices on the right want you to believe that government is always evil, and business is always good. Neither of these is true, nor is the opposite. This stark unyielding mythology of government and business has done much to harm our nation and push people out of the process.
Current Energy Policy Strengthens Others While Weakening Us.
If the need for a national energy policy is so vital to our nation’s future, then yet again the right has failed to deliver a meaningful or beneficial strategy. Any responsible energy policy would look at responsible uses of today’s energy while developing a comprehensive strategy to move to the energies of tomorrow.
We’ve been hearing about trickle down for decades. No matter the problem, no matter the circumstance the right argues that the answer is to concentrate more wealth in the hands of the wealthy. They argue that when the wealthy have money it will trickle down.
Unfortunately, the facts of the last 30 years don’t support our national experiment with trickle down economics.
Conservative, as defined by Merriam-Webster means one who supports existing views or institutions. So let's break this definition down and weigh the claims of the modern conservative against it.
Yesterday Eric Cantor when speaking about the Payroll Tax Cut Extension said "People across America are scratching their heads, wondering what Washington is doing." This is just the latest example of what is arguably the historically greatest do nothing congress we have ever seen. In the middle of the greatest economic downturn since the great depression the GOP / Tea Party response has been to do nothing. Their response time and again has simply been "no".
Our very Grimm Congressman was at it again yesterday, spouting shear nonsense and vitriol among the rhetorical right wing talking points he dutifully delivered. If you are going to speak with such force, it's helpful to have the weight of the facts on your side. Yet again our representative failed to follow this simple rule.
Why We Should Be Doing More Than Police Crackdowns
Much has been made and said about the Occupy movement in the last two months, but not much has been done. Our media and our government have largely feigned ignorance as to the source or cause of the Occupy movement. Increasingly we find a more determined dialog, but the real question is why has it taken so long and why did it have to come to occupation to start the conversation?
A Convenient Excuse To Avoid Confronting The Realities Of Modern American Society
Lazy is the insult heaped upon so many other injuries Americans endure on a daily basis. Lazy is the convenient excuse used by the right to belittle those they oppose and to mitigate the guilt of defending the wealthy few. Lazy is the laziest possible approach to solving our problems.
As much as I support the efforts of the Occupy movement, I firmly believe that we must do more than Occupy, we must Act. Ultimately we will need to do more than express our frustration, we will have to do something about it. We will need to change our government, our elected officials, our communities, and ultimately ourselves.
The description and goal of Bank Transfer Day is straightforward: If you currently have checking and savings accounts (deposit accounts) with a big bank, the organizers encourage you to remove all of your funds, close your accounts, and place your money in a new deposit account with a not-for-profit credit union or local bank.
Good for the haves but abhorrent in the have nots.
It’s interesting to watch the voices on the right point and ridicule all of us lazy Americans who are taking government handouts. If one were to believe the right, it is the greed of the poor and middle class that is killing America.
With Life So Good, Who Needs the American Jobs Act?
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today, "From 2000 to 2010, median income in the U.S. declined 7% after adjusting for inflation, according to Census data. That marks the worst 10-year performance in records going back to 1967." The Walt Street Journal goes on to say that they don't expect incomes to recover until 2021, even then only about 5% will be regained. This announcement comes on top of our 9.1% unemployment with actual unemployment more like 20%. Welcome to the Republican JobTopia.
The Republican Party Has Done Nothing, Nothing, Nothing...And Worse
"Jobs, Jobs, Jobs" it's what House Speaker John Boehner said was the number one issue of the 2010 election. It's the one thing I can confidently say that I agree with John Boehner on, jobs, American jobs are the number one issue facing us as a nation. This fact begs the question, why haven't the Republicans done anything to promote job growth since the 2010 midterm elections? Why if the election was about "jobs, jobs, jobs", have the Republicans done nothing, nothing, nothing?
Worse than nothing, the republican party has actively sought to undermine American jobs, American wages, American workers and the American economy.
There are many ways to look at many issues. Typically we hear how complicated the world is and how complicated the issues are. Taxes however are pretty simple. The right argues that it is our excessive taxation that is the source of America’s problems. Americans are overburdened. We can’t create jobs. We can’t live our lives. We can’t solve the critical problems ahead of us because of taxes.
As the republicans continue to make unrealistic demands in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, and President Obama continues to offer unbelievable concessions to the republicans without putting up much of a fight, I'd like you to consider this number, 3%.
A simple understanding of the english language would allow anyone to conclude that our founders use of words like "people" and "[wo]men" clearly indicate that citizens are, well, people. This truth is self-evident.
On Sunday an energized group of 15 citizens from Bay Ridge and Brooklyn joined with over 25,000 other Americans at over 1,500 Rebuild the Dream events nationwide. We spent about two hours getting to know and understand each other’s perspective on the American Dream and then we got down to the business of discussing and debating the key issues of our day.
The jobs numbers just came out and they are at best dismal. We added just 54,000 jobs. So many of us are unemployed or underemployed that I don’t need to explain to you how important job creation is during this recession. Let me offer my radical jobs proposal. It’s so unthinkable, so impossible, yet so easy and 100% effective…and it doesn't involve the government.
