LET’S PRETEND

by Ruth A. Sheets

As I followed the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives and the lead-up to and beginning of the Senate trial, one thing is crystal.  The Republicans as well as the Democrats know perfectly well that Donald J. Trump is guilty of the charges brought against him through impeachment, and probably of a lot more too.

I was pretty sure of this a month ago, but my thinking clarified as I listened to the rules set up by Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader of the Senate.  These rules were set to govern the proceedings of the trial.  None of the rules were designed in any way to promote fairness or justice.  They were carefully designed solely to protect Mr. Trump from accountability for his actions:  no witnesses, no documents, few reporters and those with no writing implements or recording devices, one set of cameras, etc.  When one sees this it is hard to imagine these moves are to learn the truth.

I wondered how this pretense could have been allowed to happen.  Then, I thought back over Mr. Trump’s behavior before and after his election to the presidency of the United States.  What did and does his behavior remind me of, that of an 8-year-old bully.  This is obvious to a lot of people and we can’t help but ponder why would any adult want to be governed by a childish bully.  I am coming to think it is because his childish behavior has triggered the natural human tendency to protect children.

Mr. Trump cannot give a coherent speech.  He yells a lot, then has to mumble something that either supports what he has just shouted or contradicts it.  None of it makes sense, but those listening feel compelled to reach out to help him to make sense, the way a parent does to a child who is being incoherent.

This feeling in Republicans, Evangelicals, and some other conservatives has essentially been unchallenged for more than four years.  The media and supporters act as though Mr. Trump’s behavior is “normal” and just shows Mr. Trump is a strong leader.  They have no real evidence of this strength, just the loud bullying, insulting, rude, trouble-making child who needs them to protect their Donnie from the big bad Democrats, Muslims, immigrants, left-wingers and anyone else who might criticize their child.  It sure reminds me of the parents who rush into a school to complain that a teacher who gave their child the grade he deserved, was picking on him.

When the Republicans senators sitting as a jury having taken a solemn oath vote to acquit Mr. Trump without witnesses, documents, or any of the other critical pieces necessary for a fair trial, Mr. Trump will claim victory and those Republicans will walk off knowing they did the wrong thing, but will go right on protecting their Donnie, the defenseless child, the one who started a trade war with China, then claimed victory when part of that war was stopped by himself.  This is the child-man who sets Iran up for war, then claims victory when Iran decides not to go to war directly with the United States.  This is the Donald Trump who sways with the winds of lobbyists and the swamp-dwellers with whom he surrounds himself.

Like so many child bullies, Mr. Trump breaks the rules (law), then claims not only that he did nothing wrong, but that the other person was at fault and he did everything just right (perfectly).  That person should be locked up, even killed for treason.

He is a child who was never told “no.”  Money lets a kid get away with that.  So, this child has lied to everyone all the time, more than 13,000 times in 3 years, losing no support from his protectors who can’t allow their child to be blamed for anything, and “they were only little, insignificant lies” after all,” the say.

Mr. Trump is a lot like the child kings that have periodically ruled.  These children have no idea the level or consequences of the power they wield, but are willingly used by others for their own purposes as long as they get what they want.  Like kids playing war, Mr. Trump slides into the role of leader and if the other kids don’t go along with what he wants, he smashes their toys and makes them leave.  Mr. Trump wants also to be like a Mafia Don who can order people to disappear and is furious when they don’t.  The child-Don keeps pushing the limits of his power and because his protectors are only focused on protecting him at any cost, they don’t realize that they too could be among those whom he will want to disappear.

One can’t help but ask what the protectors are getting from this.  Well, they are getting the good feeling that comes from protecting a child.  Then, they know they can use the child’s power to get what they want.  They got an extra Supreme Court justice.  They got all kinds of environmental regulations rolled back for the companies that support their campaigns.  They got lots of judges for lower courts whom they are sure will rule in their favor for decades.  They got a huge tax break for their wealthy selves and their friends.  They created groups to hate so their appalling behavior will be obscured by targeting those horrible people:  immigrants, Jews, Muslims, women, LGBT, abortionists, etc. and etc.    The child they are protecting may be aware of what they are doing, but he doesn’t care because he doesn’t even understand more than that he will be taken care of, and if he isn’t, he will destroy those who are in his way.

It is so embarrassing to hear “grown” men defending the obviously guilty Mr. Trump, then claiming that the Democrats don’t have a case.  These grown” men posture for the television, particularly Fox “News” that is also using and manipulating these men for their own purposes, and those vary over time.  They claim Mr. Trump’s poor playmates are not guilty, and even more, are falsely accused of the crimes they have actually committed.  

I know this is sexist, but I thought it was mostly women who were caught up in the almost blind desire to protect children, but in Donnie’s case, it is “grown” men who stand up, spreading as many lies and false accusations as they can on his behalf, pretending he is guilt-free.  They should be ashamed, but they have no shame.  If they did, they would have to admit they have been had by a child bully, Donald Trump.

The GOP's End To Democracy

by muon

The word “coup” is defined as a seizure of power from the government, usually sudden and violent, usually having to do with military activity. But there’s another kind of subtle political coup that’s oh so much more diabolical because it happens slowly.

The government of the United States, as set down in our Constitution, is supposed to be a government of, by, and for the people. It’s a democracy in which its citizens ought to have the ultimate power by the use of their vote. And it was constructed with three branches ~ executive, legislative, and judiciary ~ which are supposed to remain independent of each other, so that no one man nor one group would be able to seize absolute power and destroy our democracy.

The Republican Party has been trying to do just that ~ stage a political coup at the Federal level of the government, and through non-democratic means. In order to maintain a majority in Congress, the GOP has developed gerrymandering and voter suppression to an art form. Because of Citizen’s United, they’ve been able to shift power from ordinary citizens to corporations and the very wealthy. Power has even been given to foreign interests who seek to fund candidates and influence elections.

In the past 2 years, the line between executive branch and the Republicans in the legislative branch has completely disappeared. Most GOP congressmen support Trump without question, giving him the confidence to act like a dictator, while they turn a deaf ear to the vast majority of voters. Laws these days aren’t legislated, but come down from the White House as executive orders, or as Trump probably thinks of them, empirical edicts.

Still, we used to be able to rely most of the time on the Supreme Court to be the fair and impartial conscience of the country (albeit, not always ~ Dred Scott, for instance). Now, beginning with the Merrick Garland fiasco, the GOP has repeatedly ignored procedures set down centuries before, in order to manipulate the judiciary to their own will instead of the will of the people.  The Kavanaugh nomination is only the latest symptom. Legal minds and institutions from all over the country say Kavanaugh doesn’t have the temperament for the Supreme Court. Even former Justice Stevens believes Kavanaugh shouldn’t be appointed. Yet, the GOP is plowing forward, ignoring prudence and precedence from the beginning. Nothing about this confirmation process has had anything to do with true democracy. It’s all about illegal seizure of power from the voters of the United States.

This is why the 2018 general election is so important. Voters on both sides of the political divide need to take their power back from congressmen who’ve been in office so long, they think somehow that it’s their birthright. We need to remove people from office who have no respect for the separation of the three branches of government, who think our government is about their own power and wealth.

Only one political party is seeking to merge the 3 branches of government into one. The Republicans are staging a coup, pure and simple. You need to vote this November before that right is taken from you as well.

WHAT HAVE REPUBLICANS DONE FOR US? (revisited)

We all hear Republican candidates claiming they want to “Make America Great again,” and before that "Take America back again."  They seem to want to return our nation to some mythical time when things were better.  I can’t help but wonder, better for whom. 

If we look at what Republicans have done in the past few decades, it is not clear what that mythical time looks like to them.  It certainly is not a place most Americans would like to live in.

I have been trying to think of one thing the Republicans have done for America in, let's say, the past 40 years.  That should be long enough for a party to do something positive for the nation.  It is true they have made the rich richer, given tax breaks to the wealthiest, started a few wars, tortured a lot of prisoners, vastly increased the prison population of the country, ran a completely incompetent "war on drugs," but what was gained by  any but the top 1%?

I have only considered contributions by Republicans to American society since 1980 or so.  Going back further would have been too painful.  Check out these important categories that touch the lives of most Americans and Republican contributions.

Education:  Republican education reformers came up with vouchers which take tax payer money and give it to private and religious schools while neglecting the public schools as much as possible.  Charter schools were introduced, a vehicle for giving public money to private companies and individuals to provide educational services, whether or not those people or companies are competent.  The current Secretary of Education is totally behind these measures and contributes part of her fortune to promote them. 

Health care:  Republicans tore down every attempt to introduce programs that could assure each American of affordable medical services.  They convinced many Americans that “Obamacare/socialized medicine” would be terrible for Americans when what they meant was it would be terrible for the wealthy medical insurance companies who sponsor their campaigns. (It actually  did not.)    Even extending insurance to poor children involved a fight.  They are still working hard to get rid of the Affordable Care Act that provides many millions with coverage they can afford, through sneaky underhanded means, tucked in bills passed at midnight.

Jobs:  Republicans say they create jobs, but they are not too interested in the quality of those jobs and whether or not those jobs provide a living wage.  They work constantly to break unions and to fight raising the minimum wage.  Most Republicans barely blink when a presidential candidate tells poor people that their kids should be hired as janitors so they can learn to “show up on Monday,” as Mitt Romney did in 2012.  The unemployment rate is going down, but wages are barely rising. 

Family Values:  Republicans would have us believe they have a lock on what it means to be family while ignoring their own principles.  It is OK, though since they ask forgiveness after they are caught and are immediately assumed to be repentant.  Some of the most prominent among Republicans speak of the sacredness of marriage while not honoring it very well themselves.  Their hatred of immigrants allows them to break up well established stable families so one or some of the members can be deported.

Women's Rights:  I know this is not really a Republican issue, but since nearly 50% of Republicans are women, it automatically becomes one.  Many of not most Republicans want to prohibit use of all birth control as well as abortion but do not want to provide assistance after the baby is born. "That would foster dependence on social programs."  The Republican  position should accurately be called “Right to Birth,” not “Right to life.”  It is not sufficient that they choose not to use these family planning techniques themselves, they want to dictate what everyone else is allowed to do. Republican state legislatures work very hard to criminalize abortion and the women who choose to have one.  At midnight they pass laws that outlaw abortion before most women are even aware they are pregnant.  They would prefer that abortions never be granted, that is, of course unless their life or their wife's life is at risk.  

Government Programs:  Republicans don’t want to have Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, Social Security or other Government programs, yet these are often the only safety nets that stand between citizens, even Republican citizens, and disaster.  Republicans do not create better programs, they just put barriers in front of people who need what currently exists.  Why, In their minds, of course there should be work requirements for those receiving Medicaid, the poorest, most struggling people among us.
  
Civil Rights:  Most bills that have come before Republican Congresses and presidents related to civil rights have been either ignored or watered down to mean essentially nothing.  Police are being militarized and that equipment is often used against people of color.  Segregation in our communities, schools, and other public places is nearly as strong as ever.

Size of Government:  Republicans claim Government is too large, and should be "drowned in a bathtub."  But under every Republican administration, our government grew significantly, particularly in the areas of the military, the war on drugs, homeland security.  Growth is good as long as the right people benefit.

Tax Reform:  Republicans HATE taxes.  They want all the benefits of having decent roads, police, fire, and deportation services, safe bridges, airports, sports stadiums but they don't want to have to pay for, and will work hard to avoid paying for them.  Companies are permitted to take profits off-shore, and for quite a while, companies were given tax breaks for moving abroad.  Any tax breaks go mostly to the wealthiest 1%.  Republicans think that's fair.

Environment:  President Nixon signed the Environmental Protection Agency into law in the early 1970's, but despite the amazing clean-up it has overseen, current Republicans are working very hard to dismantle the regulations that protect our air and water, so even the one really positive thing Republicans have done is being corrupted.  Make as much money as you can and to hell with the destruction caused.  Someone will clean it up later. 

So, what do Republicans have to offer America?  It is certainly not anything to benefit average Americans.  If the past is any indication, unless we can get some Republicans out of office, our nation will continue on this destructive course, and the rich will get richer and the rest of us poorer.

IF A DEMOCRAT HAD DONE THAT... !

by Ruth A. Sheets

For years, I have cried out over and over, “If a Democrat had done that... ”  Republican politicians have been involved with, even done appalling, illegal, unconstitutional, or just plain immoral things.  Their acts are then dismissed as unimportant, sad, a moment of forgetfulness. 

The list is long.  It seems after Nixon’s Watergate “bad judgment,” Republicans just can’t be held accountable for anything happening either on their watch or directly as a result of individual members’ actions.

Some of the highlights include: 

- President Reagan’s Iran-Contra scheme, clearly illegal, but poor Mr. Reagan didn’t know anything about it and his minions were just following orders.”  (Whose orders, no one is quite sure.)

- Shutting down the whole government twice to prove a point. What point was clear neither time.

- 9/11 happened under George W. Bush, but he was seen as a president heroically bringing people together while Jimmy Carter was brought down because of the Iranian Revolution and Hillary Clinton was blamed and pilloried by Republicans for the raid in Benghazi.

-Candidate Donald Trump lied about every one of his opponents, made racist and sexist comments and maligned the family of a soldier killed in the Bush wars, accused a president of not being a legitimate citizen, yet was elected.

Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions lied to a Congressional Committee in his confirmation hearings and most Republican senators are okay with it because he was “probably talking with the Russian ambassador about issues related to the Senate Committee he was a member of, not on behalf of Mr. Trump on whose election committee he was serving.”

Replace a Democrat’s name for any Republican named above and he or she would have been hung out to dry.  Remember, Bill Clinton was vilified and impeached for the kind of sex act that Mr. Trump brags about. 

I think of the Republican Party as the Teflon party.  Nothing negative they do sticks to them.

Comedian Bill Maher, though, has a better name for this phenomenon.  He calls it “The Magic R.”  If one has the Magic “R” behind his/her name, one can do practically anything and have it dismissed as some minor occurrence or nothing at all.  Cheat on your wife, no problem if you have the Magic R.  Lie to Congress, my goodness, “You must have forgotten.”  Insult fellow citizens from your high office?  No big deal, “He actually didn’t mean what he said.”  Lie to the American people, that’s okay, “the real Americans know you were just a bit angry with those other guys.”  Freeze up when you hear the news about 9/11, “Don’t worry, we’ll write a speech for you that will let you seem tough and in charge.”

And so it goes.  I do not know how to un-magic the R.  Republicans are very good with the language of deceit, finding phrases/slogans that sound good but mean the exact opposite:  “Right to Work bills” that actually lower wages and working conditions, “Religious Freedom bills” that make acceptable discrimination against people whose religion or practices they don’t like, “Voting Rights bills” that deliberately intend to keep specific groups of people from voting.

Maybe the way to remove the magic is to point it out every time we see it.  The media needs to call the “Right to Work,” the “Union-busting, Worker Repressing Bill” and “The Voting Rights Bill” the “Keep People (mostly Democrats) from Voting Bill.”  They started that with the bills discriminating against transgender people “Bathroom Bills.”  Good journalists will call the R’s out on all their hypocrisy so people can see it. Then, if citizens continue to vote for the hypocrites, they will know they are doing it and can be held accountable. 

I know, I know.  wishful thinking! 

Is This the America They Really Want?

by Ruth A. Sheets

For the past thirty years or so, Republicans/Conservatives (Hypocricans) have been working very hard at all levels to shape an American society which closely reflects their stated ideals. 

What are those stated ideals?  Well, they change slightly over time, but essentially, the visible components of their “platform” include, but are not limited to the following.

1.  Cut Government spending at all levels, especially the spending on things not related to the military or security.

2.   Decrease or end regulation on everything, particularly businesses and money-making organizations.  Businessmen care about their businesses, so won‘t do anything to harm their customers.  Minimum wage stifles business growth and development. 

3.   Eliminate labor unions.  They keep businesses from growing and make workers get paid too much.  Low wages are OK for the poor and those who didn’t work hard in school.

4.  End welfare.  Those people are takers and don’t deserve help.

5.  Limit Social Security.  If that is not possible, privatize it.

6.  Privatize everything.  Private companies may not do as well as the government does, but at least it’s private and tax payers don’t have to pay for it.

7.  Get your candidates elected at all costs.  If they are unqualified, just be sure they are people who will rubber stamp anything the agenda calls for.

8.  Limit voting participation of those who are likely not to vote for your candidates:  young, Black, Hispanic, Native American.  This will probably cut down on some of the old people who would vote for you, but they are worth the sacrifice for the greater goal.

 9.  Promote anything that will advance rich white men.

10.   Include a few tokens of the various minority groups in America.  It is possible to find a minority person who holds any position, just as it is among the white majority.  Use those folks.  Make sure they are visible at your events.

11.  Pass the most outrageous laws at all levels of government so that when the things you really want come up, people will accept them saying “at least these ideas aren’t as crazy as what was already proposed.

12.  Support anything the military industrial complex wants.  They will keep you in office and keep patriotism alive by returning coffins and wounded warriors to the society.  Don’t support programs to help them when they get back, though because that won’t bring you any profit.

13.  America is a Christian country, so whatever conservative Christians say they want is OK.  Ignore people of other religious groups as much as possible.

14.  President Obama is BLACK!  He can’t possibly want anything we white guys want, so stand against everything he is for.  Be sure to say over and over that it is not racism.

15.  Women are gaining power and moving into our space.  Pass any laws that will keep women barefoot and pregnant in the home.  Be sure, though that men aren’t held accountable for the children who result.

16.  Our ancestors came to this country legally.  Everyone else should have done that too.

17.  Claim “States’ Rights.”  Even if the people of your state don’t want what you want, pass it anyway and say it’s your right.

18.  It isn’t necessary for everyone to have medical insurance.  If they can’t afford it, dying is an acceptable option, just so WE don’t have to pay for any of it.

These planks of the Hypocrican platform are moved into place one at a time.  Most Americans don’t get the big picture.  Much of what is proposed is based on lies, but of course, the end justifies the means. 

The society that would result from enacting the above would be so far from the Constitution the Hypocricans claim to revere and so far from any of the founders’ vision that it is nearly impossible to contemplate. 

Is this the America they really want?  Do the rest of us have to go along with their selfish, egotistical, racist, classist, power-hungry, greedy vision?  Not on your life.  Let’s fight every plank, every splinter, every day. 

Overwhelmed

by Ruth A. Sheets

I just checked back and saw that this is near the anniversary of the founding of the leastheardfrom blog.  I also noted that I have not made a contribution to the blog for a few months. That is really pathetic. It is not that I have nothing to say. There is a lot going on that screams for comment.

I realized as I sat down this evening that I am overwhelmed by the avalanche of dislike and disdain that some elements of America have aimed at the vast majority of Americans. 

I had hoped that with the victory of President Obama in November that some civility would seep into the work and rhetoric of Republicans. I  thought they would notice that the country is crying for some degree of unity.  Boy, was I naive!  If anything, the anti-Obama talk and the smear tactics Republicans crafted for 2012 are still in force.  The Republicans are still in “oppose everything” mode.

Sensible gun regulation should be a no-brainer, after the mass killings and the ongoing gun violence.  However, Republicans, along with their NRA handlers are doing their best to see that no changes in gun laws happen.  Well, not exactly, they want more people to own and carry guns, even in our schools.

Immigration reform should have been at the top of the Republican agenda since they received fewer than 30 percent of the Hispanic vote in November.  Nearly four months after being sworn in, this congress still has not even begun to seriously look at the topic. They want more and bigger fences before they do anything for the people involved.

Republicans whine that they are not perpetrating a “war on women.”  They even send their squad of token women out for interviews on shows that claim to present a balanced  view of the issue.  While these women gush that they have everything they need, Republican legislatures are significantly limiting women’s reproductive choice and equal pay. Men in the military are allowed to dismiss cases against convicted rapists, just "because."   

Our Republican “friends” are determined to limit Social Security and Medicare because it supports the folks they refer to as “The Takers” while of course, the Republicans are “The Givers.”  Even President Obama is caving and willing to stop cost of living increases for seniors to placate Republicans who have no intention of allowing the rich to pay their fair share.

The Republican assault on education continues. Vouchers, charter schools, funding cuts all undermine our real public schools. Then, in Atlanta, the teachers who cheated on the state tests so their kids could get more funding and resources were imprisoned with bails that murderers and rapists rarely see.  Isn’t it nice we don’t have to seriously look at the relationship between low scores and poverty?  It’s teachers who are to blame for all that.

Our Supreme Court talks of “racial entitlements” and complains that same-sex marriage is just too new to be ruled on effectively.  They didn’t seem to have any trouble giving the money-soaked corporations opportunities to influence our elections anonymously, calling these corporate players,  “persons.”  What about the real persons who just want their relationships to be recognized?

So, possibly like you, I am overwhelmed.  I am appalled that we taxpayers support Republicans in congress who are not working for us.  They can’t give up cherished biases for the good of the country.  In fact, I suspect that most elected Republicans have no idea what “the common good” is.  The sad part is that I am not sure how much more aware Democrats are.  They too have their handlers for whom they must perform. 

Where does that leave those of us who do know what “the Common Good” means?

 

One-Issue Decision? Not This Year

by muon

I made a list last night of all the issues, off the top of my head, that seem to hinge on this election. I'm sure I forgot something. Here's my list, in no particular order:

Unemployment
Education
Energy independence
Climate change
Renewable energy
Equal pay for women
Middle East, terrorism, war, national security
Healthcare
Women's healthcare, including contraceptives, abortion, and Planned Parenthood
Medicare and Social Security
Immigration
FEMA and crisis management
Infrastructure
Welfare, food stamps, other poverty issues
Science, Arts, PBS
Deficit
Gun control
Citizens United
Supreme Court appointees
Banking/mortgage industry problems
Foreign and Domestic Trade
Wealth imbalance

For all of you still undecided folks out there (if any), really, all you have to do is go down this list and decide who you trust to make policy for you on these issues, at the Presidential, Congressional, State and Local levels. For instance, if you're hit by a natural disaster in the next 4 years, do you want someone who acted the way President Obama, Governor Christie and Mayor Bloomberg acted this week, or say, the way President Bush acted during Hurricane Katrina? Do you want a president who'd shut down FEMA and tell the states to handle disasters themselves, even when their infrastructure is completely compromised?  You might say, oh, but I don't live in a natural disaster prone area. I thought so, too, until Hurricane Sandy.

These issues are the main reasons I'm voting, not only for Obama, but for all the Democrats on my ballot.  I say main reasons because there are others.

I refuse to vote for a party that condones and spreads the blatant lies of its presidential candidate. This week Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders pressured the independent Congressional Research group to suppress a report showing that tax cuts for the wealthy do nothing to help the economy. I won't vote for anyone who has such a contempt for truth.

GOP leaders have gone out of their way to make voting more difficult this year. Voter ID laws, voter roll purging, laws restricting registration drives, reduced early voting in many states, and intimidation measures aimed at African-American and Latino voters are all forms of voter suppression. For the first time, the UN has sent monitors to the US to observe our elections. I'm not voting for the party that made all this happen.

Legislation in this country shouldn't be influenced by anyone but the voters. Many Democrats are in the pockets of lobbyists as much as Republicans, but the worst offenders right now--the Koch Brothers, Grover Norquist, the NRA, far-right religious fanatics, and Big Oil--are GOP cronies.

So that's the election in a nutshell for me. You're on your own.

We're All In This Together

by muon

I was thinking last night that maybe we need a national pep rally more often. Not just Democrats or Republicans or Tea Party or Occupy, but everyone. The only time Americans seem to cheer for Americans is during the Olympics. I think we need to cheer for more than our sportsmen. We need to cheer for each other, and not only every four 4 years.

The DNC was for the most part a very positive event. The speeches didn't ignore what was wrong with America, in fact, many brought to light nuances of issues that voters may never have considered, but the tone of most of the speeches was that, working together, we could fix things. By the end of the convention last night, I think every person in that auditorium felt more empowered than they did at the opening gavel. Chances are, lots of TV viewers were effected the same way.

What difference does it make?

When FDR took office in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, he spoke to the nation frequently. The tone of his words was very much like that of the speeches of the past week. He communicated an optimism in America's capabilities that went a long way toward Americans picking themselves up and making the nation economically healthy once more. We hear about things like consumer confidence, and that's part of it--that is, people feeling secure enough to spend money they otherwise would save for a rainy day. Optimism--a light at the end of the tunnel--makes people quit waiting for someone else to help. If they see something better, they work toward it. Fear, as FDR said, makes us hesitate, then despair makes us sit down and stop trying.

Political views aside--considering solely the tone of the discourse--I can't describe the GOP Convention as optimistic or uplifting. The speeches dwelt on who to blame for America's problems. When the subject turned to mending those problems, we heard, essentially, Romney, Ryan, private companies, and the Religious Right will fix everything (details to be disclosed after the election). The tone was "We'll decide what's right for America," taking even their own audience out of the process.

I prefer to be asked "What's good for America? And how can we all make it happen?"

As former President Clinton put it: "We're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own."

WHAT HAVE REPUBLICANS DONE FOR US?

by Ruth A. Sheets

 Lately I hear Republican candidates claiming that they want to “take or win America back.”  They seem to want to return our nation to some mythical time when things were better.  I can’t help but wonder, better for whom.

I have been trying to think of one thing the Republicans have done for America and Americans that was positive and did not primarily serve the wealthiest few.  I considered contributions by Republicans to American society since 1980.  Here are some important categories that touch the lives of most Americans

Education:  Republican education reformers came up with vouchers which take tax payer money and give it to private and religious schools while neglecting the public schools as much as possible. Charter schools were introduced, a vehicle for giving public money to private companies and individuals to provide educational services, whether or not those people or companies are competent. 

Health care:  Republicans tore down every attempt to introduce programs that could assure each American of affordable medical services.  They convinced many Americans that “Obamacare/socialized medicine” would be terrible for Americans when what they meant was it would be terrible for the wealthy medical insurance companies who sponsor their campaigns.  Even extending insurance to poor children involved a fight.

Jobs:  Republicans say they create jobs, but they are not too interested in the quality of those jobs and whether or not those jobs provide a living wage.  They work constantly to break unions and to fight raising the minimum wage.  Most Republicans bearly blink when a presidential candidate tells poor people that their kids should be hired as janitors so they can learn to “show up on Monday.” 

Family Values:  Republicans would have us believe that they have a lock on what it means to be family while they ignore their own principles.  It is OK, though since they ask forgiveness after they are caught and are immediately assumed to be repentant.  They speak of the sacredness of marriage while not honoring it very well themselves.  Many Republicans want to prohibit use of all birth control as well as abortion but do not provide assistance after the baby is born.  Their position should be called “Right to Birth,” not “Right to life.”  It is not sufficient that they choose not to use these family planning techniques themselves, they need to dictate what everyone else is allowed to do.

Government Programs:  Republicans don’t want to have Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, Social Security or other Government programs, yet these are often the only safety nets that stand between citizens and disaster.  They do not create better programs, they just put barriers in front of people who need them.

  

Size of Government:  Republicans claim Government is too large, but under every Republican administration, it grew significantly, particularly in the area of defense.  Growth is good as long as the right people benefit from it.

Environment:  I won’t even begin to address environmental issues. In Republican eyes, environmental regulations just get in the way of people making money, no matter the destruction that results.

.

So, what do Republicans have to offer America this year?  It is certainly not going to be anything that will benefit average Americans.  If the past is any indication, and Republicans gain any more power, we are all in for a rough time, except maybe the one percent.

Growing Number of Americans Believe Obama is a Republican

President Asked To Produce Voter Registration Card

In the emerging field of GOP presidential candidates, only one acts remotely presidential. Maybe because he IS the president.  What's disturbing is that he's acting Republican, too.

The logic here is that something like 1/3 of registered Republicans believe President Obama is Muslim.  Many of them believe he was born in Kenya. I'm pretty sure ALL of them believe he's a liberal.  Well, it's been proven he's not Muslim, and wasn't born in Kenya, so doesn't it follow that he's not a liberal?

This week the president has been engaged in tete-a-tetes with Speaker Boehner.  The plan they seem to be agreeing on sounds an awful lot like Speaker Boehner's original plan, with maybe one or two concessions on the Speaker's part.  Seniors citizens will still be allowed to breathe, for example (assuming breathing isn't contingent on decent healthcare and a home to live in).  Millionaires and billionaires will still get a share of the tax money the rest of us pay in.  If all these rich folks would hire just one person per household with their ill-gotten tax-cut gains, more than 8 million more Americans could be employed.  A recent poll showed that none of the extremely rich are creating jobs at all.  Surely, if we're giving them money to create jobs, why aren't we demanding they do so?  If I give you $5 to go get me a sandwich, you'd better show up within a reasonable amount of time with my food or I'll come looking for you.  At best, I'd never trust you to go get me a sandwich again.  At worst, you'll know better than to volunteer again.

If President Obama is agreeing to all this nonsense, regardless of the fact that the plan won't pass the Senate, I think it follows that, in 2012, the president will be on the Republican ticket. Because, really, who else have they got?

But then, who have the Democrats got?

Peace,

muon