Don't Cry for Me, Kathleen Parker

Propagandist Kathleen Parker writes in today’s Washington Post about a new tv commercial being produced by the same old conservative propagandists that brought us the myth that was Ronald Reagan.

"In 1984, Americans were more optimistic about their future. Now, Americans feel uncertain and are deeply concerned about the direction of the country. . . .” she quotes from the new propaganda peice. Kathleen Parker isn’t quite blaming Obama. She’s just sad. Awww.


Here’s what I am sad about: Since Ronald Reagan came to office in 1981, we have had twenty years of Republican “leadership” in the White House and ten years under Democratic administration. In that period of time, this country has seen a steady loss of jobs, a steady decrease in income as compared to inflation and a steady shrinking of the middle class. Those things have wrought the destruction of the American Dream.

You want to talk about blame?

Let’s see…
Whose policies were so pro-business that they encouraged companies to hide their profits in off-shore accounts and relocate their factories elsewhere?

Which party encouraged the breaking up of unions which eventually contributed to joblessness and the lowering of the American wage?

Which President granted amnesty to illegal immigrants, in turn encouraging more to come and take American jobs?

Which party turned its head while American businesses courted more illegal immigrants to come to this country in order to continue to drive down the wage?

And what President, upon leaving office, took a one million dollar paycheck to stand before an audience in a foreign country and trashtalk the American worker?

Was it Keynesian economic policies that the majority Republican Congress enacted between the years of 1994 and 2000, or was it a new, neo-conservative, free market approach that undid all of the regulation and separations in the financial industry in this country that were put into place to protect the citizenry?




And then Parker dutifully repeats the latest Republican meme:

“Nevertheless, it is probably fair to say that Obama's ideas were too big for America's appetite. It would have been nice had he made a few incremental repairs to the economy and left the transformative events for a less stressful time.”
Yes, poor America. Obama cared more about his socialist agenda than he did about the country and its citizens.

More propaganda from the People For The Status Quo.

How fucked up are things in this country? Very. How much more fucked up can they get? VERY, VERY.

And who continues to benefit from the combined misery of the people of this country? Politicians, yes, but mostly the corporate ownership. Profits are rising again and the recession is over for them. While the rest of us wallow, the machine grows.

And Kathleen Parker is in no danger of becoming destitute tomorrow, unless she tells the truth. So, as a wise man said, “…And so it goes.”

If it is true what the pundits say, and Americans are so lacking in intelligence, knowledge, facts, evidence, and simple common sense that they vote Republicans back into office after the way they have slowly destroyed everything this country once was and once stood for, then woe be to the Republicans and the people of this nation. The Republican Party will bring us more of the elitist, rich-get-richer, trickle-down on the working man policies that have gotten us to where we are today and this nation will continue to suffer.

HOWEVER, if this Republican revolution does not occur, Democrats can take no satisfaction in knowing that their current policies are not innovative enough or progressive enough to turn anything around either. All the time in the world will not heal this economy without change in policy. True progressive economic policies, including more stimulus and a bottom-up approach that stops favoring the corporate/banking power structure and starts empowering true small business, especially manufacturing, is needed to turn this mess around. Obama and the Democrats haven’t brought these things to the table yet, and may missed their only chance.

Oh, and in case I didn't make it clear, if you want to know who is responsible for the mess that we are in -- I BLAME THE CONSERVATIVE POLICIES PUT IN PLACE BY WHOEVER ADVOCATED, WORKED TO ENACT AND ENACTED THEM FOR OUR CURRENT PLIGHT. THIS INCLUDES DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS AND SPINELESS PROPAGANDISTS THAT REPEAT THE MEMES AND MYTHS THAT CONTINUE TO LEAD US AWAY FROM SOLUTIONS AND CONTINUE TO BENEFIT THE WEALTHY AND POWERFUL.

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Dangerous Times

The citizens of this democracy have become complacent and taken their democracy for granted. The natural course of things is degrading what was once the beacon of hope for all the world. This nation now more resembles the closed society of Communist USSR that we were taught to fear as children than it does the free and open society of Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. BUT CHANGE IS COMING.

There is an excellent article on OpEdNews that clearly outlines the encroaching danger of the loss of civil liberties in this country. It is a must-read for anyone that questions how bad things have actually become. It may be depressing news, but there is a silver lining.

Change can happen in a good way, if everyone stands together. These are dangerous times, but in dangerous times it is our duty to stand up to tyranny. We can do this; our forefathers risked no more or less than we will and we stand to gain back all that they won. And we owe it to future generations to pass on what was gained so many years ago. If we have allowed it to slip away, it is our responsibility to regain it.

Don't believe that this election will fix anything without the vigilance, sheer force of will and determination by the people to win back all that has been lost. It is OUR government and we have to fight for it. But WE CAN DO IT. And NOW IS THE TIME.

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Who's Controversial??

Did you hear the statements made by Reverend Jeremiah Wright?
If you watch any television at all, you most likely did. Of course, you heard them completely out of context.

In the modern “journalistic” style, the media did not provide any context for the statements, just put them out there and called them “radical,” “extremist”, etc., as is their tendency.
These words might not sound so “incendiary” if you heard what came before the “controversial” statements and even what came after.

What you heard on television was Reverend Wright saying “God damn America.” Inflammatory rhetoric. But just who was attempting to inflame what?

The context of the sermon addressed the notion that governments change over time, but God does not. Reverend Wright talked about the framing of the Constitution, the differences of opinion regarding slavery that almost prevented the Constitution from being signed. Then he spoke of Abraham Lincoln and the freeing of the slaves. He touched on the inhumane treatment of the Native Americans, the internment of the Japanese during World War II then the way that laws changed as a result of the Civil Rights movement.

Reverend Wright’s infamous phrase came after he pointed out some particularly heinous things that the American government has been responsible for and of which God would surely not approve. He spoke of God damning the government for its actions.

Yes, if you believe in God, and believe that the Bible is the word of God, he would be damning the actions of our government. It IS written in the Bible, as the right Reverend stated.

You can disagree with his phrasing, or have difficulty relating to the context under which his statements were made, but what people are truly angry about is that truth was spoken.

Oh, how the American public hates to hear the truth.

Reverend Wright is now branded a radical, controversial, racist, extremist, blah, blah, blah, ad nauseum. This is the media attempting to inflame racial tensions and to question Barack Obama’s patriotism by innuendo and sensationalism. It only works if you buy into it, folks.

So now I must ask-- do we despise all truth-speakers or is it particularly hard for us to hear the litany of our collective history of sin coming from the mouth of a black man?

Slavery was legal here long after it was abolished everywhere else in the World. It took a deadly, perilous war to finally rid this country of the scourge, but it did not rid us of the sin that haunts us still. Nor did it bring equality for black Americans, who then had to fight for decades for the rights that they were entitled to under the Constitution.

Black Americans have been treated horribly in this country, but they are supposed to leave their bitterness in the past. What’s past is past and can’t be righted. So they are told to look to the present. But what about the present?

Has institutional racism been eradicated? If so, then;

Why are there more black men than white men in prison ?

Why are there more black men than white men on death row?

Why are there less black men in college?

Why are there less black men in management positions, positions of authority, government leadership?

Why is it easier for blacks to get a payday loan than a mortgage?

Why were so many blacks targeted recently in the subprime mortgage debacle and why did it take an international crisis to finally bring attention to these predatory loan practices?

Racism exists today. It is a FACT of life for black people daily. Prejudicial practices occur in real estate, credit-lending, employment, commerce, education and many other areas that white people may not even realize.

Americans don’t like to hear that from black people, but does it sound any better coming from a white woman?

It is time for the white people in this country to STOP pretending that racism is a thing of the past, that racial profiling is justifiable, that there is equal opportunity and/or equal justice for people of color in this society. The facts do not support this idea and it is time for the denial to end.

If we won’t admit that we see black people pulled over by police in our suburban neighborhoods far more often than whites;

If we can’t recognize that we see college-educated black men taking jobs in grocery stores because they can’t get hired in the jobs for which they are qualified;

If we refuse to acknowledge that many African American families still suffer from the effects of the complete destruction of the cultural family unit during slave times;

If we blind ourselves to the fact that the life experiences of and opportunities open to the half-white man that is running for President this year are not the same as those that exist for the average black man;

If we can’t stand up and recognize the problems that still exist for many black Americans every single day in this society, and the historical evolution of those problems, how can they ever be resolved?

As long as we can’t admit any responsibility for the problem, it will always exist.

That’s a good lesson for us to learn now, as it also applies to the terrorist threat.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright also said some supposedly controversial things regarding 9/11. “America’s chickens came home to roost.” He isn’t the only one that has said those things and the truth is that there are facts to support that statement to a certain extent.

Our government’s policies created Osama Bin Laden. Our government’s current policies continue to inflame tensions in the Middle East. Our government’s policies in Iraq have created a whole new arm of Al Queda and a whole generation of people who may potentially hate all Americans for what has been done to them, their country, their families. These are the ugly facts.

Nobody said that the 9/11 terrorists were justified in their actions against innocent Americans, but we must acknowledge that they believed they were and we must examine whether our government’s policies contributed to that in any way.

If we don’t acknowledge any responsibility for the problem, it will continue to exist. Fighting it the way we are now is just destroying this country, its military, its economy and its families.

Barack Obama should not have to apologize for the true statements made by Reverend Wright.
The fact that he felt it necessary, that the talking heads declared it necessary, that some “commentators” are saying that he didn’t go far enough; these facts prove that America is not prepared to move forward and/or act rationally on either the issue of race nor the problem of terrorism.

[And on a side note, the fact that Hillary Clinton has joined in on the attack on Obama for not going far enough, shows what a lousy President she would make. Shame on you Hillary; your ugly side is showing].

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