THANK YOU! & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

To those of you who have so generously given of your time to follow this space…THANK YOU!

Words cannot express our heartfelt appreciation for your support.

May 2014 bring you and yours happiness, peace and prosperity.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Mr. President!

2013 is drawing to a close.

It has been one helluva year.

If you happen to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, you have to be glad it’s over.

The president started the year poised to aggressively move forward on his very progressive agenda.   Buoyed by a sound electoral thumping of his political opponents, the president believed that he had a mandate to implement his vision for the country.  He made his intentions clear in his State of the Union address.  “Elections matter” he said. 

But no sooner had those words left his lips than a series of events occurred that tore those best laid plans to shreds.

- It is discovered that government agencies are tapping the phones of AP reporters.

- The IRS is found to be targeting conservative non-profit organizations.

- Erik Snowden reveals that the NSA is data mining Americans phone calls and internet activity.

- The Benghazi Mission is overrun by terrorists and the Libyan Ambassador is killed.

- The critical rollout of the Affordable Care Act is a disaster when the website crashes.

- The president ways in personally to pass legislation requiring background checks on all gun sales.  The measure fails to win congressional approval.

- The president pushes for a major jobs bill.  The measure gains no traction in congress.

- The president pushes for a comprehensive immigration reform bill.  The measure dies in congress.

- The Boston Marathon falls victim to a terrorist attack.

- Tea Party conservatives succeed in shutting down the government.

- The president presides over the first budget compromise in a decade.  But it fails to extend unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans.

In the midst of all this negativity, 2013 has held some positive moments for the president.  Twelve more consecutive months of positive job growth run his string to 45 and counting.  The economy continues to grow.  The GDP grew by 4.1% last quarter…the largest growth in the last five years.  Housing starts are up.  The auto industry is booming.  The DOW posts record highs seemingly every other day.  The rich ARE getting richer.  But it is the poor and the middle class that returned this president to office.  They are not fairing so well.

The president has one more year to get something done; one more year to break through the gridlock, the obstruction, the obfuscation and yes the racism that plagued his administration throughout 2013.  Then all thoughts will shift to Hillary and Christie… and this president will become the lamest of ducks.

We have always believed that rightly or wrongly a sitting president gets the credit and the blame for everything that happens on his watch.  Overall we would consider 2013 a loss on the political scoreboard.  Presidential losses don’t bode well for the country. 

Let’s hope he can put a win on the board in 2014…for the country’s sake.

             

Happy New Year!...You're Cut Off...

1.3 million Americans will lose their unemployment benefits today.

Congress couldn’t find the money to extend these benefits for the long term unemployed.  The money is needed elsewhere.  There are armies to fund and roads and bridges to build in countries far away.

Democrats hope to revisit the subject when they return from their holiday recess.  Republicans have no interest.

Republicans say that these benefits create a culture of dependency.  They consider the recipients druggies and slackers who prefer to scam the system rather than earn a days’ wage.  They feel that they are doing the unemployed a favor by cutting these benefits; encouraging them to become less dependent and more productive.

Let’s examine the logic behind that train of thought. 

If by cutting “government handouts” we encourage the poor and the unemployed to be more independent and productive; then why do we give tax breaks and subsidies to major corporations and the very rich?  Are these tax breaks and subsidies not “government handouts” as well?            

The vast majority of the long term poor are those who want to work but have been unable to find a job.  They are not druggies or slackers but people who through no fault of their own have lost their job.  They want to support their family and pay their bills.  But there are 3 applicants for every 1 job; and the longer they remain unemployed the harder it is to find that one job.  So they turn to unemployment.  And for that they are labeled as losers.

The average recipient of unemployment benefits receives $1,166/mo.  It’s hard to support a family and pay your bills on $1,166/mo…$13,992/year. 

Republicans believe that these “slackers” snort this money up their noses or blow it on booze.  Several Republican governors set up laws that require applicants to pass a drug and alcohol test before receiving benefits.  99.98% passed…sober as a judge.

The truth is these “slackers” will put that $13,992 right back into the economy…buying food, diapers and medicine.  Cutting off these benefits hurts not only the unemployed but the economy as well.

We can build schools, bridges, roads and hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan…but we can’t take care of our own.  The money is needed elsewhere.

1.3 million Americans will lose their unemployment benefits today.

Apparently, we are doing them a favor.

Happy New Year!  You’re cut off!

  

  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

Wishing you and yours a joyous and peaceful Christmas Day!

Does Budget Reflect America's Values?

There is an old adage in politics that says a country’s budget mirrors the values of its people.  

If that is true then you have to wonder just what exactly we value as a country.

The Senate passed the House budget by a 64-36 vote.  The budget now goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law.  When it comes to America’s values, this agreement poses more questions than answers.

-We must not value jobs…because there is nothing in this budget to encourage job growth.

-We must not value the unemployed worker…because this budget does nothing to renew the unemployment benefits set to expire on December 28.

-We must not value our veterans…because this budget cuts their benefits in 2016.

-We must not value those living in poverty…because this budget continues to cut food stamps and makes no mention of the farm bill nor increasing the minimum wage.

-We must not value our children…because this budget does nothing to address the fact that our children continue to lag behind those in other developed nations in math, reading and science.

-We must not value fair taxation…because this budget fails to mention tax reform.

-We must not value the needs of the fastest growing segment of our population…because this budget fails to address immigration reform.  

-We must not value our long term financial stability…because there is nothing in this budget that deals substantively with our deficit or long term debt.

-We must not value the continuation of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security…because this budget does nothing to address their impending financial demise 20 years from now.

-We must not value our word…because this budget does nothing to guarantee that we will pay the debts that we have already incurred.

-And finally, we must not value our economy…because the failure to address all of the above imperils our future economic prosperity.

What this budget DOES provide is a guarantee that our politicians will not have deal with a politically perilous government shutdown for another two years…

…and it gets them home for the holidays.  

 

Hat's Off To The Obama Administration!

Hat’s off to the Obama administration.

The White House announced the delegation which will represent the US at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Most notable on the list of dignitaries are two openly gay athletes: tennis great Billy Jean King and two time Olympic ice hockey medalist, Caitlin Cahow.

Notably absent from the list:  President Obama, Vice President Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The chattering class sees this as a direct rebuke of the harsh and often brutal anti-gay policies of the Putin government.  If that is their intent…well done!  The White House isn’t saying.

President Putin will undoubtedly note the hypocrisy of the gesture given our own discriminatory shortcomings.  He would be right…we still have a long way to go.

Our diversity is a large part of who we are as a country.  We should embrace the advancements that we have made in terms of equality and diversification while acknowledging that our work is far from over.  Bringing everyone to the table is hard, messy work.  But we should never allow the difficulties of the journey to deter us from reaching our goal…a nation where all men are created equal.

To its credit, the Obama administration has celebrated our diversity while leading the way to a more tolerant and inclusive America.

We applaud this very proud and public display of who we are as a country.          

Snowden Vindicated?

In a scathing rebuke of the government’s controversial surveillance program; Federal Judge Richard Leon found that the NSA’s bulk collection of American’s telephone records is likely a violation of their fourth amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Leon’s 68 page opinion pulled no punches.  He disputed the government’s assertions that the NSA program was a key component in the governments’ fight against terrorism noting that the government failed to cite one instance where the program “actually stopped an imminent terrorist attack.”  “I have serious doubts about the efficacy of the metadata collection program as a means of conducting time-sensitive investigations involving imminent threats of terrorism.” Leon referred to the program as “indiscriminate,” “arbitrary” and “Orwellian.”  Channeling our Founding Fathers, Leon said that James Madison would be “aghast” at the scope of the agency’s collection activities.

The government responded to the ruling with a brief statement:  “We’ve seen the opinion and are studying it.  We believe the program is constitutional as previous judges have found.  We have no further comment.”

While this ruling is limited to the plaintiff’s noted in the complaint, and is “stayed” pending a certain  government appeal, it is noteworthy as it is the first time that the NSA program has been adjudicated in open court.  Previously, warrants authorizing the collection of American’s metadata were obtained through the FISA Court.  Deliberations in the FISA Court are held in secret with only one side, the government, providing testimony.  This historic venture into open court will certainly pave the way for a wide range of challenges to the program’s authority and legality.  The Supreme Court will have the final say.

This is what Eric Snowden said he wanted all along…a deliberation of the constitutionality of the NSA surveillance program in open court.

The jury is still out on Edward Snowden.  Whistle blower or traitor! 

One thing is certain.

Without Edward Snowden’s revelations…we’re not having this conversation.