The Rise and Fall of The United States of America

January 24, 2010 | Posted by dadepfan

Here are some of my recent thoughts from my Face Book page.

Pentagon Releases Names of Prisoners It Didn’t Have – The shame and disgrace brought to America but Bush and the Republican Party can never be forgiven. Of course, since the great American coup of 2000 I have been an anti-Republican, and since then they have proven that decision to be absolutely correct. Unless you are wealthy or a big business executive, why would you ever vote for a Republican???

ELECTION — Mass. Chaos – Again, people in MA voting against their own self-interests because they have been deceived by lies from the Right which are reported by mass media without being exposed as lies.

Tell Democrats: Don’t learn the wrong lesson from losing Kennedy’s seat. – Democrat weakness is how we got into this mess. We now need to be as ruthless as the Republicans.

Stock market this morning seems to be reacting to the stupidity of Independents in MA. Independents in MA evidently forgot about the 8 years of crimes and devastation caused by Republicans under Bush.

You know, the Republicans have just as much control as when they had the majority in Congress. This is stupid. I know the Democrats are not the liars and cheaters that the Republicans are, but that does not mean we cannot be ruthless and strong (as long as we are fighting for the true American ideals). Eight years o…f lies, loss of liberties, deceit, loss of privacy, crimes, attacks on the Constitution, and disastrous economic and foreign policy decisions under Bush, and the voters in MA have forgotten already! How can that be? Well, the wishy-washy, gentle, make everyone happy Democrats in Congress need to take a good portion of the blame. Let’s KICK SOME ASS Dems!!!

Let’s Finish Reform Right – I am a 63-year old Vietnam veteran, recently retired and facing an 18-month medical care gap between the end of Cobra and the beginning of Medicare. I am sick and tired of the Democrats in Washington handling the Republicans with kid gloves when the Republicans are ruthless, lock-step, and committed to stopping anything good being done for the people of America that cuts into corporate profits, even to a tiny extent. Trying to be bi-partisan when the other Party will do ANYTHING to turn America into a single-party, corporate suck-up, wealthy-minority, poor-majority country! Will I live to see the day when Democrats in Congress actually stand up for what is right and not cower in the corner trying to be liked? A fine choice we have in the country – the Party of evil or the party of cowards.

t r u t h o u t | Right-Wing Populism Gets Help From Democrats – Democrats acting too much like Republicans. This is a war between those that have power and wealth, and the great masses of people in this country. Democrats represent the people, but cave far too often to pressure.

Close Guatanamo | Democrats.com – As a Vietnam veteran myself, I continue to chaff under the shame and disgust that the Bush Administration brought to the America I love. It is bad enough that we are not prosecuting these criminals for the war crimes they committed (never mind the MANY other crimes they committed as well), but it is also shameful that…, after a year, we have not completely eradicated the vestiges of those crimes from out country, our policies, and our military.

MoveOn.org Political Action: Democracy in Action – Talk about cutting off your arm to save your finger!! Frustrated with progress by the Democrats, so you go back to the Republicans?? The current economic situation was CAUSED by the Republicans, and the Republicans are still fighting for the same policies that lead this country (and the world) almost into complete economic ruin. Obama and the Democrats have adverted the worst of what was going to happen, and the economy is indeed recovering. So because the recovery is not fast enough, you elect a Senator who will vote to stop the recovery and head back into the chasm??? By what logic or reason does that make sense?? GEEESH!!!

People For the American Way: Amend the Constitution to Allow for Limits on Corporate Influence in Elect – It is insane that we sell the elected offices to the highest bidder in this country. That just guarantees that big business and big money will continue to control Washington. My idea would be that political contributions can NEVER be made to ANY particular candidate, but instead you contribute to the RACE itself. Th…e money would then be divided equally among the major candidates.

t r u t h o u t | Supreme Court Decision Radically Overhauls Campaign Finance Laws in Favor of Corpo – Well people, the entire government of the United States has just been sold to Corporate America by the US Supreme Court. Welcome to The United States of Wall Street!!! The Republicans, of course are celebrating and raking in the money. The people should be mourning.   People, the Supreme Court of the United States today sold you out to big business. Allowing large corporations the right to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns and advertising, will mean that they can buy as many seats in Congress as they want. THAT will allow them to pass ANY law they want. The Supreme Court has once again soiled the… See More under pants of their integrity. The feces five that sold us out today were the same (with one replacement) feces five that appointed George Bush to the Presidency, against the will of the people, in 2000.

Time for Bold Leadership: Pass Real Health Care Reform – After today’s Supreme Court decision, we could be in the last Congress that will EVER be able to get anything done for the people. Get it done now, because this may be your last chance!

Add your name: Don’t let special interests drown out the voices of ordinary citizens. – Karl Rove bragged about “a permanent Republican Majority.” The people rejected that with the elections in 2004 and 2008. Now, 5 political and biased justices on the US Supreme Court (the latest of which was appointed by Bush, and the other 4 appointed Bush to office against the will of the people)have once again soil…ed the under pants of their integrity and made a decision that will guarantee a permanent majority for the Party that is bought and paid for by big business – The Republicans. The people lose, America losses, and the Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves.

Op-Ed Columnist – Do the Right Thing – NYTimes.com – Republican support of ANYTHING a Democratic Administration and/or majority in Congress tries to do is a complete MYTH!! The Republicans are at war with the very people the represent. They are funded by, and only represent, the wealthy and big business. If the Democrats cannot accomplish anything with the current majority in Congress (and Obama in the White House), then this country is truly doomed!

Beck’s “shocking” and “disturbing” documentary caps month of suggesting progressives are prone to vi – “The Enemy Within” in this country is the control and mass dissemination of false, misleading, and dangerous information, disguised as “news.” And, by far, the largest component of this enemy is Rupert Murdoch and his Fox news.

www.peaceteam.net – Since the 2000 election and the USSC decision in Bush Vs. Gore, it has been very apparent that the 5 conservative Justices were biased and political. They do not protect the Constitution as they should. One of those justices is gone, but the replacement has now shown himself to be just as biased and political. This …latest decision is shameful and extremely dangerous!!

www.peaceteam.net – Five conservative justices on the US Supreme Court made an extremely biased and political decision in 2000 when they appointed George W Bush to the Presidency, against the will of the people. The result of that unconstitutional and treasonous decision has been the worst 8 years imaginable, with the Bush Administration… committing numerous criminal and illegal acts, including WAR CRIMES! Now, five conservative justices (4 of which are the same!!) have made an even more dangerous and devastating decision that could ruing this country completely. These decisions have nothing to do with the law or the Constitution, but have everything to do with politics, power, and wealth. I say we IMPEACH the SOB’s!!

t r u t h o u t | Progressives: Don’t Mourn, Organize – Make no mistake, this is all-out war between the power brokers (the wealthy and big business) against the people of this country. The Republicans, and I mean ALL of them, are just the front men & women for the power brokers. Every word that comes out of their mouths is a damn lie.

t r u t h o u t | The Supreme Court Just Handed Anyone, Including bin Laden or the Chinese Governmen – Don’t let complacency and our long history of weathering threats to this country ease your mind about the danger we face now. Five Conservative Justices on the US Supreme Court have just done what all the enemies of freedom (both internal and external), liberty, and our way of life over history have not been able to d…o. They have opened the door to ANYONE with money to gain control of our government. Think about that people!

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Geesh!

January 20, 2010 | Posted by dadepfan

I am a 63-year old Vietnam veteran, recently retired and facing an 18-month medical care gap between the end of Cobra and the beginning of Medicare.  I am sick and tired of the Democrats in Washington handling the Republicans with kid gloves when the Republicans are ruthless, lock-step, and committed to stopping anything good being done for the people of America that cuts into corporate profits, even to a tiny extent.  Trying to be bi-partisan when the other Party will do ANYTHING to turn America into a single-party, corporate suck-up, wealthy-minority, poor-majority country is stupid!  Will I live to see the day when Democrats in Congress actually stand up for what is right and not cower in the corner trying to be liked?  A fine choice we have in the country – the Party of evil or the party of cowards.

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Compassion Not Needed

January 19, 2010 | Posted by dadepfan

I am not a religious man, just logical and analytical to a fault.  Those who already are well off seem to consider “redistribution of wealth” an evil thing, and they may be right.  I believe that “redistribution of opportunity” is a much more logical goal.  Let’s set compassion and humanity aside for a moment and look at this from a greedy perspective.

Most of the wealth and power in this country comes from (or came from in the past) some sort of enterprise or business.  The success of business and enterprise depends greatly on the economy and the consumer.  In order to consume, an individual needs to have a certain level of financial success.  The more success the more consumption.  The economy itself gets it strength from the people, and the more poverty, the more drain on the economy.  So, my point is that a redistribution of wealth is a good thing for the wealthy, unless you are only concerned with the extreme short term.

However, I am not an advocate of simply moving money around.  I am not a big fan of welfare.  Individuals who have a degree of financial success contribute to the economy, to society, and to the strength of America.  There are many paths to financial success, but unless you inherit money, two things are absolutely necessary – potential and opportunity.  If you are now wealthy, then either you or someone in your family (past or present) had potential and was given opportunity.  Most likely, living in America helped to provide the opportunity, so one could say that you owe a debt that can be paid by making sure other Americans with potential have the same kind of opportunity.

I do not believe that any financial class, race, geographic location, or nationality has a monopoly on potential.  There is just as much potential in the ghetto as in places like Beverly Hills.  But, there is a world of difference in opportunity.  Reading this, you may be thinking now “oh, here it comes – Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action!”  But that is NOT what I am talking about.

If I had to sit down and design a system that would make the wealthy more wealthy and the poor even worse off, I would fund education from local property taxes.  Is that now how most public education in this country is funded?  If we really wanted “no child left behind,” then we would ensure that the per-student funding for education was equal across the country.  Funding should be equally divided, at least at the state level.

Immediately, I can hear the Beverly Hills resident saying “Why should my property taxes pay for education of students in Watts??”  The answer is because it is good for the country, good for the economy, and in the long run, good for your own bottom line.  Of course, it is also the right, humane, compassionate, and just thing to do, but I contend that is is also the logical, reasonable, and even greedy thing to do!

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You Can Fool Some of the People….

January 18, 2010 | Posted by dadepfan

The fact that a Republican may be elected into the late Senator Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts is astounding to me.  When it comes to politics, there is a serious disconnect in this country between reality and what the people believe to be true.  Although neither Party is perfect, the fact of the matter is that the Republican Party is nothing more than a front organization for the wealthy, power-hungry, and big business.  If you are not wealthy or a big-time executive, voting Republican is voting against yourself.  Certainly, if you are a minority, gay, or poor, you should not be caught dead voting Republican.

Yet, in a country where the government is made up primarily of elected officials, The Republicans continue to hold their own.  How the Hell does this happen?  This is where the reality disconnect comes in.  Many, many people in this country constantly and unknowingly vote against their own self-interests.  That is because they have been fooled.  They have been hood-winked, lied to, deceived, mislead, and generally disconnected from reality.  The Republican/Conservative SPIN machine, attack machine, or whatever you want to call it, is VERY good at lying to the people.  But of course, they have a tremendous advantage – they own the mainstream media.

This is the vicious circle that drags America down into the muck.  People believe what they hear from mainstream media, mainstream media is owned by the wealthy and big business, The wealthy and big business are only concerned with money and power (at the expense of the people), Republicans are bought by the wealthy and big business, misleading the voters is the only way Republicans can stay in power, the mass media is the most effective and powerful tool for misleading the people, people believe what they hear….  You get the idea.

Yes, the right to vote comes with the responsibility to stay informed, but there is a smaller vicious circle within the larger one.  The lower down on the financial scale you are, the more of your time and energy you have to devote to making money, and the less time and energy you have to devote to becoming informed.  Some of the blame falls on the people, but not much.  The blame really belongs on the way information is disseminated in this country.  We all abhor the idea of state-run media, but is wealthy-run, conservative-run, or Republican-run media any better?  I think not.  Journalistic integrity is dead and needs to be revived.  It may be the duty of voters to stay informed, but it should also be the duty of government and the media to provide information that is truthful, unbiased, and informative.  If the FCC can regulate how much skin we see on television, why can’t it regulate how many lies are passed off as truth?

Sound like a scary concept?  Not as scary as the reality of what we have now.  The thing is, freedom of speech is not absolute.  You cannot exercise your freedom of speech in such a way that is false and harms others.  The extreme is yelling “fire” in a crowded theater.  But we also have liable and slander laws designed to prevent harmful lies from being broadcast as truth.  What can be more harmful than telling a voter lies that cause him or her to vote for someone that is going to make their lives worse?  Take health care for example.  “Research released this week in the American Journal of Public Health estimates that 45,000 deaths per year in the United States are associated with the lack of health insurance.”  We’re talking about people dying!  When Sarah Palin perpetuates this insane situation by lying about death panels in the health-care bill, why can’t the families of those 45,000 dead people sue her for wrongful death?  More importantly, how can any pundit with media access to millions be allowed to report on Palin’s statements WITHOUT pointing out that it is false?

In this country, “ government of the people, by the people, for the people” is a myth, and the “people” do not even know it. 

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Health Care Reform – Down the Toilet??

December 16, 2009 | Posted by dadepfan

It is absolutely ridiculous!  I am now officially pissed!  How the Hell does the insurance industry control what the Senate does as much as they do?  The goal here is not to pass a bill, but to REFORM health care!  A bill without reform is NOT worth passing.  What the Senate bill has been pared down to is nothing but a windfall for the already wealthy insurance executives, and an absolute disaster to the people of this country who are already suffering the most from the broken system.

Joe Lieberman should switch to the Republican Party, because he is already acting like a Republican.  People are dying!  People are going bankrupt!  People’s lives are being ruined!  Mr. Lieberman should be stripped of any station or power in the Senate.  He is a traitor to his constituents, as is the entire Republican Party. 

Today is the 12th of December, 2009.  Everyone should go to the MSNBC web site and read or view the special comment from Keith Olbermann on his Countdown show this evening.  He says it much better than I ever could.  The Republicans and Joe Lieberman have betrayed the people in this country, and Obama and the Democrats have, once again, lain down and allowed themselves to be run over.  This is sad and disgusting.  You and I, and everyone in this country except the wealthy, have been betrayed by Congress.  We need to let them know that we, the people, do not intend to take it lying down.  Call, write, protest, blog, and do everything you can to make sure they know how we feel.

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How Soon We Forget!

December 15, 2009 | Posted by dadepfan

I understand that, as opposed to the narrowly focused Right Wing, we have Liberals, Progressives, and Blue Dogs on the Left.  The Left has a much broader range of philosophical ideal, in keeping with the tolerance and understanding of differences that is a hallmark of Liberalism.  I also understand that, in the short 10 months Obama has been in office, he has failed to keep all his promises, and he has not accomplished everything we expected him to.  His popularity has dropped a little, and some of his supporters are disillusioned.

Well…  GET A GRIP PEOPLE!!!

Have you forgotten the 8 years of national nightmare we just got out of?  Comparing 8 years of Bush to 10 months of Obama is a no-brainer.  Just stopping the bleeding has been such an accomplishment that they gave Obama the Nobel Peace Prize – that’s how bad the Bush years were!  Just in case you have forgotten, let’s review some of the accomplishments of the Bush Administration.

• Bush came into power by suppressing the will of the people, preventing valid votes from being counted, and eliciting the help of 5 corrupt justices on the US Supreme Court.  He was indeed appointed instead of being elected.  It is now a known fact that Gore got more votes in Florida in 2000 than Bush.
• Under the watch of the Bush Administration, this country went from record budget surpluses to record deficits.
• Bush and Cheney ignored the warnings and allowed 911 to happen.
• Bush and Cheney doctored intelligence and lied us into the Iraq war, allowing the perpetrators of 911 to go free in the process.
• Under the watch of the Bush Administration, positive sentiment for America went from an all-time high following 911 to an all-time low towards the end of their 2^nd term.
• Cheney exposed the secret identity of a CIA agent in order to punish her husband for exposing some of the Administration’s pre-war lies used to justify the war.
• The Bush Administration imposed unprecedented and illegal privacy and civil rights violations with a warrant-less spying program on American citizens.
• The Bush Administration attempted to politicize the Justice Department by firing judges and justices with Liberal political views, and replacing them with Conservative (less qualified) people.
• The Bush Administration, with the help of Republicans in Congress, spent 8 years de-regulating the Hell out of everything.  This was a direct cause of the “recession & on the way to depression” economy handed over to Obama when he came into office.

And these are just some more publicized crimes and un-American behaviors of the Bush Administration.  There is little doubt that the Bush Administration was one of the most secretive, deceitful, abusive, power-grabbing, and disastrous administrations in history.  It was obvious that they had no respect for the truth, for the Constitution, for Americans, for justice, for the law, or for anything other than more profits for big business and money for the wealthy.

So, let’s keep the pressure on Obama and Congress to do the right thing, but NEVER forget that we are 1000% better off now than over the last 8 years.  Also, let’s NEVER suggest that going back to Republican rule will EVER be a positive thing.

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Keep Your Morals to Yourself!

November 29, 2009 | Posted by dadepfan

A while back, I caught part of an interview with some church leader (I do not remember who).  This was someone who was calling for making abortions illegal, and prosecuting anyone who performed an abortion.  He was asked how we could legslislate morality.  The response was that we do it all the time.  At first I thought this was a pretty good comeback, but it got me to thinking.

On the surface it might appear that the purpose of laws is to restrict behavior, and the behaviors we make illegal are behaviors that society deems to be immoral.  Even if this is the case, the church leader being interviewed was not mentioning the fact that we need to ask “who’s morals are we making legal or illegal?”  The simple answer is society, as represented by the majority of the members of society.  Do the majority of Americans want abortion to be illegal?  Do they want doctors who perform abortions to be prosecuted? I suspect not.

If we take a deeper look however, an argument could be made that legally restricting behavior is not about morality at all, but rather about upholding the rights given to American citizens by the Constitution and this country’s founding documents. Is murder illegal because it is immoral or because it takes away another’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  Morality is far too subjective to be the basis for making laws.  Behavior should not be restricted because any one person or group thinks the behavior is immoral, but rather the impact of the behavior on others, specifically, does it do others harm, should be the basis for restriction.  No one should have their behavior restricted unless that behavior is causing some harm to others.  Otherwise, we are restricting the pursuit of happiness.

This is the reason that the separation of church and state is so important, and why candidates like Mike Huckabee are so dangerous (he actually said that we need to start amending the Constitution to bring it more in line with Christian beliefs – as if there are no non-Christian Americans!).  Freedom OF religion is impossible without freedom FROM religion.  We all have a right to our beliefs and particular moral philosophies, but none of us have the right to force them on others.

To automatically become a citizen of this country, you have to be BORN here, or BORN anywhere to American citizen parents.  So, technically, you must be born first before you are guaranteed the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  This is true until such time as society, as a whole, decides that “life” begins some time before birth, and not at birth.  Until then, abortion cannot be illegal.

So, enjoy your beliefs and morality, but keep them to yourself!!

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Global Warming – Not a Political Question

October 15, 2009 | Posted by dadepfan

Written for Blog Action Day!

No matter how many conservatives and big-business slaves in Congress try to dismiss the scientific facts about global warming, global warming itself does not care.  Global warming is happening and will impact all our lives regardless of the political posturing of the Right.

Vice President Gore called it “An Inconvenient Truth.”  Well, the truth in never inconvenient, it is simply the truth.  What is inconvenient for those who are profiting from activities that are contributing to global warming is having the truth exposed and known.  Because, in the short run, making changes to reduce global warming will cut into their profits.  Sadly, in the long run, NOT making changes to reduce global warming will cause such severe climate problems, that they may lose ALL their profits.

So, to protect their short-term profits, big business, and the Republicans they have bought and paid for, try to turn science into just another opinion.  They point to a fringe 1% of the scientific community who deny global warming and pretend that this holds as much weight as the 99% of the scientific community who know that global warming is a real problem, and believe that something must be done.

This is a tactic often used by those who do not have the facts on their side.  It is called SPIN, and conservatives and Republicans have perfected it.  In the case of global warming, trying to fool people into believing it is not really a problem is particularly insidious, short-sighted, and stupid.  Climate change and the disasters it can cause are not Republican, Democrat, Liberal, or Conservative.  It does not listen to political SPIN and it does not care about profits.  It will only respond to preventative measures, and those trying to claim that preventative measures are not necessary are not doing themselves or the world any favors.

See more posts on this subject at http://www.blogactionday.org

Dave

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Health Care Terrorists

October 12, 2009 | Posted by dadepfan

The health insurance companies in this country are equivalent to domestic terrorists.  They target innocent Americans and cause extreme hardship and even death in order to advance their own agenda.  Their agenda is ever increasing profits, and to achieve these profits, they use tactics and policies that exhibit all the careless disregard for human suffering and human life as a terrorist bombing of a public location.

The parallels to terrorism are many.  Terrorists cause the injury and death of anyone who happens to be in the public area when the bomb goes off.  Health insurance companies prevent the health care industry from stopping the death and injury of innocent, non-wealthy Americans who happen to become ill or have an accident.  A terrorist bomb causes collateral damage to property and innocent bystanders and health insurance companies cause collateral damage to families and loved ones of those who die because of being barred from health care.

Now, it is true that the terrorist’s actions are overtly doing something to people while the health insurance companies are more covertly not doing something FOR people, but the results are very similar.  One major difference is in the numbers – health insurance companies are contributing to many MORE deaths than terrorists – almost 45,000 Americans each year.  And physical, emotional, and financial suffering resulting from the the actions of health insurance companies, thought not as well documented, impacts millions of Americans.

Dave

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Life, Liberty, and the Persuit of Happiness (if you can afford it!)

October 10, 2009 | Posted by dadepfan

For those Americans who cannot afford health care, especially those almost 45,000 Americans who die each year because they do not have health care, sickness, death, and bankruptcy prevent them from having any of the inalienable rights so boldly set out in the Declaration of Independence.  The Declaration of Independence is one of the founding documents for this country, and expresses the basic philosophies, opinions, and goals of the Founding Fathers.  Therefore, I believe it is the responsibility and duty of the Federal Government to do everything it can to provide affordable health care to all American citizens.

Health care is not a privilege only for those who can afford it, it is a requirement for the inalienable rights that are supposed to be guaranteed for all Americans.  Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  If the individual states are not providing affordable health care, if capitalism and private insurance companies are not providing affordable health care, then it is most certainly up to the federal government.  This is not socialism, this is a fulfillment of a basic responsibility intended by the Founding Fathers.  It is barbaric to allow those who do not have the money to be crippled, maimed, to die, to lose everything they own in life, all because they cannot afford health insurance.  This is equivalent to kicking the old out of the cave because they are no longer useful to the tribe.  In other words, it is barbaric.

A public option is the only viable way to close the gap between civilized and barbaric.  The private insurance companies are not going to do it.  In fact, I now refer to them as health care terrorist organizations.  They indiscriminately punish and harm innocent people to advance their agenda – increasing profits.  They are terrorists.  And the sad fact is that they are going to lose all their profits if the entire economy collapses because of the un-sustainable increases in the cost of health care.

Dave

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