Another Episode of The Sitcom "Washington Is Broken"

The long running sitcom “Washington Is Broken” aired this past weekend.  The plot centers on how Democrats and Republicans continue to put party, politics and job preservation ahead of the will of the people.

The episode starts with the President giving another eloquent stump speech to Democratic supporters.  “We need to reduce the deficit.” he says. (Applause)  “We need to reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.” (More applause)  “We need to create jobs and put Americans back to work.” (Cheers)  “And we need to stop playing politics and do the peoples’ business...RIGHT NOW.”  (The crowd erupts)

The scene then shifts to the White House where the President and his staff are debating whether to support the Keystone pipeline.  The Keystone pipeline will carry oil sands from Canada to Texas.  The construction project alone will create thousands of jobs.  It will reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil; and it will not add one penny to the deficit.  Oil barons love the idea.  Conservationists hate it.  The President likes the pipeline.  But the staff warns that with the expectation of a very close election in 2012 it would be risky to choose this time to alienate the conservationists.  A decision is made…the President will delay support of the pipeline until 2013…after his second term is secured.

After a commercial break the scene moves to the Capitol where Republicans are debating an extension of the payroll tax cuts that are due to expire at the end of the year.  The Republicans hate tax increases.  Most of them have signed a pledge to never, ever, ever vote for a tax increase for as long as they live.  They have defeated every Democratic proposal to increase taxes on their breadwinners…the rich.  They have argued that increasing taxes during this weak economy is the worst thing they Congress can do.  If the payroll tax cuts are not extended the result will amount to an average annual tax INCREASE of $1,000 per wage earner.  But Republicans decide to block the payroll tax cut extension even though it will increase taxes on most Americans.  Why?  Because the tax increase would mostly fall on the middle class…not the “rich job creators” that Republicans work so hard to protect.  And the last thing Republicans want to do is give Democrats and Obama a big “win” right before the election.

And so ends another episode of “Washington Is broken.”

Tune in today and watch as Speaker Boehner performs his version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  On Saturday the Speaker voiced his approval of the Senate’s passage of a short term extension of the payroll tax cuts.  Watch now as Boehner moves to block the very same bill as it moves back to the House.         

GI Bill Stll Paying Dividends

We usually channel surf whenever a program breaks for commercial.  But we saw one this morning that gave us pause.

The ad is promoting MSNBC’s “Last Word with Lawrence O’ Donnell.”  O’ Donnell is seen reflecting on the end of WWII.  He says (paraphrasing):  At the end of WWII millions of GI’s returned home looking to start their lives.  The GI Bill gave them the opportunity to get the college education they could never have afforded on their own.  Many GI’s used that education to make a better living and in turn provide their children with a better education.  My father was educated thanks to the GI bill.   He used  that education to make a better living and send his five children to college. 

He concludes by saying: The GI Bill is one of the most successful government programs in our history.  The critics called it welfare.

What O’Donnell doesn’t say is that many of today's conservatives who complain about the socialist state and the welfare programs were able to achieve their success thanks to an education provided by their parents…parents who got a leg up thanks to the GI Bill.    

146.4 Million Americans Living In Poverty

According to a recently released report by the US Census Bureau, 146.4 million Americans are now living below the poverty line.  That’s 48% of the country.

The newly anointed members of the “poor class” are not crack heads, bums and scam artists.  They are hard working middle class Americans who through no fault of their own find themselves unemployed and unable to meet their obligations.

These startling numbers are further proof that the middle class in this country is disappearing right before our very eyes.  Due to the largest job loss in over 70 years, the gap between the haves and the have nots is growing ever wider.  The American Dream is fast becoming little more than a pipe dream.  If we lose the middle class we lose the very cornerstone of what this country is all about.

They say that information is power.  So now that we have this information…what are we as a society going to do about it?

Iraq War Officially Ends

Today is Thursday December 15, 2011.  At 5:00 AM eastern time in the city of Baghdad the United States military command lowered its colors and officially brought to a close the military operations in Iraq.  After 8 years, 8 months and 25 days the war in Iraq is over. What began with “Shock and Awe” on March 20, 2003 ended this morning with a somber ceremony at the Baghdad airport.

Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, presided over the ceremony.  He praised the troops for their efforts and their sacrifice.  He said that they were leaving behind a stable, sovereign country led by a democratically elected government.

The President addressed the troops at Fort Bragg.  Their unit, the 82^nd, was the first unit in and the last combat unit to leave the Iraqi theater.  For almost 9 years each and every one of them knew someone who stood in harm’s way.  The President, on behalf of a grateful nation, welcomed them home.

Back home the critics wasted no time blasting the President’s decision to withdraw the combat troops.  Senator John McCain took his familiar position at the head of the war hawks, stating that the President’s decision to withdraw was based more on his election timetable than the conditions on the ground.  Critics fear that the country is too unstable and too susceptible to Iranian influence.  They fear that our lack of military presence will cost us all that we have gained.  Their concerns are valid.

The fact is that the Iraqi government and the country are in a very precarious position, and things are not as rosy there as our government might have us believe.  Unemployment is high.  Raw sewage still runs through the streets of Baghdad and most areas have electricity for only a few hours a day.  We have trained over 700,000 Iraqi security forces but the police force is poorly trained and ill equipped.   Sectarian violence and civil war are a very real possibility.  The democratically elected government that we are so proud of is populated by a number of sectarian factions; the most prominent of which is extremely hostile to our interests.  And the Iranian influence that critics fear will surface is already there.  Fifteen flights a day travel from Baghdad to Iran…more than any other country by far.  And if you hail a taxi you will almost certainly find yourself driven by an Iranian driver.

The critics say that these facts are evidence that we are leaving too soon.  But they cannot say with certainty that the conditions will be any different if we leave next year or five or ten years from now.

There are those that believe that we should maintain a permanent military presence in the Middle East.  Led by McCain, Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyle, they believe that we should invade Syria, bomb the nuclear facilities in Iran and remove the Palestinian threat to Israel.  They portray those who follow their lead as patriots and those who disagree as weak and lacking love of country. These people recklessly spout their venom with little understanding of the toll that this unnecessary war has had on our society.

For while the future of Iraq is by no means certain there is one thing that seems quite clear.  No matter what course history has in store for Iraq it will never be worth the 4,850 dead, 32,000 wounded and over 1 trillion dollars that we invested in that future.

           

Here We Go Again...

The government will run out of money…again…at midnight Friday evening.  The fix is the passage of a continuing resolution that will fund the government for days, weeks or months depending on the Congressional mood at that time.  When passed this will be the 7^th continuing resolution in the past 900+ days.

The holdup stems from the fact that some members of Congress want to tie passing a continuing resolution with extending the payroll tax cut…or approval of the Keystone pipeline…or tax increases on the rich…or any number of other ideological shenanigans that both parties like to use to get what they want.

At risk are federal payroll paychecks, social security checks, unemployment payments, veteran’s benefits, welfare funds and a whole host of other government services that the public counts on receiving each month.

If all of this sounds familiar…it should…because this happens whenever the time period for the last continuing resolution draws to an end.

The reason that Congress has to go through this ridiculous process is because the Senate has not passed a federal budget in over 900+ days.  Why?  Because no one in Congress has the stones to make the tough decisions necessary to pass a realistic, fiscally sound budget.  They just kick the can down the road hoping that someone else will risk his or her political career to do the right thing.

There really is a simple solution to this problem. 

The public should demand passage of a federal law that simply states that if Congress fails to pass an annual budget…then Congress doesn’t get paid.  Perhaps they could forfeit their lucrative health insurance benefits as well. 

Let’s see how they like having their benefits withheld.

After all if there isn’t any money to pay the elderly, the infirmed or the veterans then how can we afford to pay congress their salaries or their other lucrative benefits?

Sounds like a plan…

   

NTSB Got This One Right

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has unanimously recommended that all states ban the use of cell phones while driving.  This recommendation comes on the heels of a sharp increase in deadly crashes attributed to the use of cell phones, including one in which a teenager sent or received 11 text messages in 11 minutes before causing the deadly crash.  The teen died in the accident.

Small government conservatives are already lashing out at the recommendation; calling it just another example of big government intrusion into our daily lives.

Rather than get into an ideological debate…let’s just look at the facts.  Let’s start by putting things in perspective.

From 2003-2011 4,484 young men and women died while serving their country in Iraq.  From 2001-2011 1,855 young men and women died while serving their country in Afghanistan.  And on 9/11 3,000+ men and women were murdered in the terrorist attacks.  We are horrified by this senseless loss of life.  We mourn these losses each and every day.  These events changed our culture and forever changed the way we live our daily lives.

Meanwhile…

From 2002-2007 16,141 people died in car accidents attributed to cell phone usage.  In 2010 alone 3,092 traffic fatalities were attributed to cell phone usage.  Each year 570,000 traffic accidents resulting in minor or serious injury are attributed to cell phone usage. Each of these occurrences could have easily resulted in a fatality.  We are looking at the new DUI.     

Given our horror at the death toll from two wars and the 9/11 tragedy; why do we simply shrug at the carnage occurring on our roads each and every day?

We understand that in our Facebook, Twitter society some people have an obsessive need to feel connected.  We know people who even have a name for this phenomenon.  They call it FOMO…Fear of Missing Out.   To be without a cell phone even for a brief period leaves many in a state of panic.  Some people do not even know how to turn the damn things off.  The cell phone has become like another appendage…a third arm or leg that we cannot do without.

We would never condone a brain surgeon texting while conducting an operation.  And we would be horrified if a policeman tweeted while brandishing his firearm.  So why do we allow people to text, tweet or gab while propelling a two ton missile down a crowded highway at high speed?

This is not about ideology or big brother.  This is about public safety and the common good. 

NTSB got this one right.     

Orgainzed Efforts To Alter Elections Are Working

For those of us who are political junkies the battle being waged by the Republican candidates is must see TV.  The televised debates, the gamesmanship and the personal attacks are emblematic of all that is good…and bad…about our political process.

But while the candidates are cooking up new ways to make their case in the national press; there is a pot boiling on the back burner that has a real stench about it.

Republicans are very concerned about voter fraud playing a major part in the upcoming elections.  Their angst stems from the large influx of illegal immigrants flooding across our borders…IE: Mexicans.  Legalized Latino voters typically vote Democrat.  Republicans believe that these illegal immigrants somehow will flock to the polls and sway what promises to be a tight race in favor of the Democratic candidates.  Therefore Republicans have moved to enact tougher voter ID laws in over half the states.  They say these laws are needed to protect against double voting, non-citizen voting, fictitious voter registration and voter impersonation.

For those of you that don’t speak the language of “ideology” allow us to translate.  What Republicans are really trying to do is make it as difficult as possible for minorities and lower income families, who typically vote Democrat, to cast their votes.

Don’t believe us?  Google “voter fraud statistics” and read the findings.

Every statistical survey conducted during the past decade shows that voter fraud is wildly exaggerated.  During the last election cycle, out of over 30 million votes, there were 9 convictions of voter fraud.  During that same period 382 people were struck by lightning.  And the new voter ID laws would have not had any effect on those nine convictions.  Voter fraud occurs countrywide at a rate of 0.00004% of the votes cast.  Most of these are for failure to properly complete the necessary voter registration paperwork.  Voter fraud is nothing more than a hyped up scheme designed to discourage traditionally Democratic voters from going to the polls.

These efforts seem to be working.  According to the latest USATODAY/GALLUP daily tracking poll, the number of registered Democratic voters has dropped by 5% since the last election cycle while the number of registered Republican voters has increased by a like percentage.

In addition to tamping down voter turnout; Republicans are looking for any other means possible to sway the upcoming election in their favor.  In those states where Republicans control the state legislatures there are organized efforts to redraw the local voting districts to favor Republican candidates.  For example, Ohio is the home state of Republican House Speaker John Boehner.  According to public records obtained by the voter advocate group: Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting, Mr. Tom Whatman, executive director of Team Boehner, the political wing of the speaker’s office, participated in the redistricting process with map making consultants, the National Republican Congressional Committee and various other legislative leaders including Republican Senate President Tom Niehaus.

  The report found that redistricting decisions were not made in public, public input was ignored , there was limited opportunity for the public to review proposed maps, the public was not provided relevant data for the proposed districts, nonpartisan redistricting criteria were not used and the criteria used to evaluate the plans were never publically identified.  The two people hired to draw the maps were each paid $105,000 for 14 weeks work.  They were in touch with the National Republican Congressional Committee on a daily basis.

Much like the aforementioned voter ID laws; these redistricting efforts seem to be working as well.  A number of incumbent House Democrats have already stated that they will not seek re-election; citing new redistricting laws and an atmosphere in Washington that is hostile toward moving the country forward.  Most notably Massachusetts Representative and House Finance Committee Chair, Barney Frank has announced that he will not run for re-election.  A long time advocate for progressive ideals, Frank cited the new redistricting laws within his state, and said that he could be more effective working outside Washington than battling within the current system.

There is a concerted effort in this country to alter the election process and deprive citizens of their right to vote.  While the circus that is on display in front of the cameras may be good for a few laughs; what is going on behind the curtain is no laughing matter.