Not surprisingly, over one third of the Americans support the Occupy movement according to a Huffington Post poll, and why not? Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired of a broken politicial and economic system which appears to be dominated greedy corporate bosses; the nasty one percenters. Of those surveyed, the majority were Democrats (64%), followed by Indies (22%) and Republicans (14%). But, before they start burning the likes of Murdock and Trump in effigy or reciting Sergi Nechayev's "Revolutionary Catechism ", I think the Occupy movement might want to take a step back and reevaluate for a moment.
There's no doubt that greed and corruption runs amuck on Wall Street, the banking industry and plenty of other industries. But, greed ain't doing too shabby on Main Street either. No one forced the tens of thousands of homeowners to jump into mortgages they knew they couldn't afford (granted, some were mislead by some crooked mortgage lenders), but that doesn't waive our own responsibility for knowing our personal financial situation. No one made thousand upon thousands to run up debt on credit cards they knew they couldn't afford., or for that matter, buy the latest gadgets, vacations or whatever. To be sure, I'm not letting the Lehman Brothers' or Goldman Sachs' of the world off the hook, or even Obama for bailing out the rich crooks while leaving Main Street largely high and dry.
What I am suggesting, however, is that we are responsible for keeping our own financial houses in order. No one is going to do that for us (not should they), although I'm sure some government bureaucrat somewhere is hard at work trying to figure out how government can. What I am hearing out of the Occupy movement right now is that someone else is somehow responsible for their troubles when, in fact, there is plenty of blame to go around. If we truly want to fight back against the one percent, our best weapon is using financial commonsense such as buying within our financial means. Don't incur debt unless you're able to pay it off within 90 days...tops. Second, we need to buy American every chance we get. Odds are that it's not going to be that much more than something made overseas, and the job you're helping to keep in America might just be yours. Buy local. If you can't, buy regional. If that doesn't work, buy national, and as an absolute last resort, buy globally.
With that said, the Occupy movement needs to focus. It has no leadership and no sense of direction. This is what ultimately imploded the "old" Left of the 60's and 70's. Historically, the lack of direction has lead to the failure of many a Leftist movement whereas the Right, though usually smaller in number, has tended to be better organized and focused, and, thus more successful. They need to redirect their attention back on Washington. They are the ones who make the rules that allow the one percenters to do what they doing. How about an election cycle where no one votes for incumbents just to shake things up? How about demanding that every candidate you support guarantee...in writing...to term limits. If they renege, take them to court, start a recall campaign, or protest at the offices, in their neighborhood, and in front of their home. The Occupy movement also need to take into consideration what is "greed" and what creates growth (ie: jobs). Not everyone who is wealthy is a "fascist tool" as I recently heard someone call a company CEO.
There is no doubt that our political system is broken, as is our economic system. Perhaps they're broken beyond repair. But before we tear it asunder, we need to have something to put into its place. Like them or hate them, the Tea Party came together with clear vision of what they wanted and to accomplish their goals. As a result, the Tea Party has achieved many of their objectives and is still evolving and growing. Perhaps it's time to address an entirely new tax code or increasing government restrictions based on company size (small companies = few restrictions. Large multinational companies = heavy restrictions). Maybe require all meetings with corporate lobbyists to be made public; no corporate money in public campaigns; mandatory waiting period of 5 years before an ex-government official can become a lobbyist. Unless the Occupy movement can decide what it wants to be when it grows up, they'll burn brightly before fading into yesterday's news.
If you would like to read the results of poll mentioned above, here's the link to the Huffington Post article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/23/occupy-wall-street-poll_n_1027109.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk1%7C106703
While you're at it, I recommend you read this article on the Occupy movement from the National Post as well:
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/reaping+what+they+sowed/5564849/story.html
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hank Got Yanked!
Are you ready for some football? Well, I am and so is just about every red-blooded American, but what we got last week was some petty tit-for-tat petty politics. Country-Western performer Hank Williams Jr. had the audacity to utter an unflattering personal opinion about "the Messiah". No, I'm not talking about Buddha, Jesus, or even Mohammad. I'm talking about Barrack Obama of course (well, isn’t that what he’s called?).
It seems that ole Hank doesn't like Obama's economic policies (referring to America as the “United Socialist States of America”), particularly in this case, his policy towards Israel. Williams commented on the Fox show Fox and Friends that he thought Obama playing golf with Israel's PM, Benjamin Netanyahu was the moral equivalent to Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. The result was ESPN pulling Hank's signature theme "Are You Ready for Some Football" from its Monday Night Football game.
Now, I'm not going to get into whether Hank should have kept his mouth shut or not or if ESPN overreacted. Hank had a first amendment right to speak his mind, and ESPN had a right to speak theirs by yanking Hank’s song. But it's no secret that Obama has adopted a highly supportive Arabic/Moslem attitude, beginning with his presidential apology tour at the start of his term. Indeed, Obama has been doing some serious arm twisting on one of our best allies and the only democracy in the region. Perhaps if some other Israeli was prime minister, Israel may have cried "onkel" by now, but "Bibi" as he is known is no ordinary Israeli, or politician for that matter.
A conservative "take no prisoners" politician, Benjamin Netanyahu has proved to be one of the strongest leaders in the region, adding a strength of character that is badly needed in a hostile and unstable region. So, just who is this guy at the heart of the controversy?
Benjamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in 1949, the year after Israel’s creation. He attended high school in Philadelphia before returning to Israel. He served in the Sayeret Matka unit (reconnaissance and intelligence) of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He served in War of Yom Kippur (both on the Suez and the Golan Heights) and took an active part in several hostage rescue missions, reaching the rank of Captain. Obviously, not faint of heart.
After his military service, he returned to the US to attend MIT and obtained a BA degree in architecture and later, obtained a MA degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management as well as studied political science at Harvard University. Imagine a politician who is also a “thinker”!
He’s served on several peace delegations; UN Ambassador to Israel; and twice as Prime Minister, and these are just the high lights! Netanyahu is a member of the center right Likud political party (think moderate Republican). Like all of the Israel’s previous prime ministers, Netanyahu is committed friend of America.
On the other side of the coin, we have Barak Obama who has been “wishy washy” toward Israel at best while promoting a less the subtle pro-Arab foreign policy. He has more than once been critical of Israel’s need to security. Friendship is a two way street. Israel is not just our sole democratic friend in the region; it is the sole democratic country in the region! It provides critical stability in a part of the world where we and the West depend for our economic life blood --- oil. It is a valuable trade partner, especially in the areas of medical equipment and computer technology. Militarily, Israel provides not just a strategic base, but is the key partner in our intelligence gathering network (they had even warned the CIA of the 9/11 attacks several days before the event).
So, where does this leave us? Well, Hank got his signature song yanked from ESPN, but it is too imbedded in the American psyche to matter. ESPN is airing the National Anthem until they can find something to summon the America’s testosterone pool to the TV at 8:00 Mondays. In the end, Hank has a new song about the ballyhoo where he takes a well-earned swing at both sides entitled “I’ll keep my …”, so he’ll make out alright. Benjamin Netanyahu’s popularity has increased both here and at home. And Obama’s foreign policy looks like so much kiddie doodle. Meanwhile, me and my rowdy friends just wanna watch some football.
Suggested Reading:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/10/us-hankwilliams-idUSTRE7954ZM20111010
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/defiant-hank-williams-jr-cuts-new-song-20111010
It seems that ole Hank doesn't like Obama's economic policies (referring to America as the “United Socialist States of America”), particularly in this case, his policy towards Israel. Williams commented on the Fox show Fox and Friends that he thought Obama playing golf with Israel's PM, Benjamin Netanyahu was the moral equivalent to Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. The result was ESPN pulling Hank's signature theme "Are You Ready for Some Football" from its Monday Night Football game.
Now, I'm not going to get into whether Hank should have kept his mouth shut or not or if ESPN overreacted. Hank had a first amendment right to speak his mind, and ESPN had a right to speak theirs by yanking Hank’s song. But it's no secret that Obama has adopted a highly supportive Arabic/Moslem attitude, beginning with his presidential apology tour at the start of his term. Indeed, Obama has been doing some serious arm twisting on one of our best allies and the only democracy in the region. Perhaps if some other Israeli was prime minister, Israel may have cried "onkel" by now, but "Bibi" as he is known is no ordinary Israeli, or politician for that matter.
A conservative "take no prisoners" politician, Benjamin Netanyahu has proved to be one of the strongest leaders in the region, adding a strength of character that is badly needed in a hostile and unstable region. So, just who is this guy at the heart of the controversy?
Benjamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in 1949, the year after Israel’s creation. He attended high school in Philadelphia before returning to Israel. He served in the Sayeret Matka unit (reconnaissance and intelligence) of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He served in War of Yom Kippur (both on the Suez and the Golan Heights) and took an active part in several hostage rescue missions, reaching the rank of Captain. Obviously, not faint of heart.
After his military service, he returned to the US to attend MIT and obtained a BA degree in architecture and later, obtained a MA degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management as well as studied political science at Harvard University. Imagine a politician who is also a “thinker”!
He’s served on several peace delegations; UN Ambassador to Israel; and twice as Prime Minister, and these are just the high lights! Netanyahu is a member of the center right Likud political party (think moderate Republican). Like all of the Israel’s previous prime ministers, Netanyahu is committed friend of America.
On the other side of the coin, we have Barak Obama who has been “wishy washy” toward Israel at best while promoting a less the subtle pro-Arab foreign policy. He has more than once been critical of Israel’s need to security. Friendship is a two way street. Israel is not just our sole democratic friend in the region; it is the sole democratic country in the region! It provides critical stability in a part of the world where we and the West depend for our economic life blood --- oil. It is a valuable trade partner, especially in the areas of medical equipment and computer technology. Militarily, Israel provides not just a strategic base, but is the key partner in our intelligence gathering network (they had even warned the CIA of the 9/11 attacks several days before the event).
So, where does this leave us? Well, Hank got his signature song yanked from ESPN, but it is too imbedded in the American psyche to matter. ESPN is airing the National Anthem until they can find something to summon the America’s testosterone pool to the TV at 8:00 Mondays. In the end, Hank has a new song about the ballyhoo where he takes a well-earned swing at both sides entitled “I’ll keep my …”, so he’ll make out alright. Benjamin Netanyahu’s popularity has increased both here and at home. And Obama’s foreign policy looks like so much kiddie doodle. Meanwhile, me and my rowdy friends just wanna watch some football.
Suggested Reading:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/10/us-hankwilliams-idUSTRE7954ZM20111010
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/defiant-hank-williams-jr-cuts-new-song-20111010
Sunday, October 02, 2011
The Gale Winds of Change
The gale winds of political change have begun to blow. These winds come every so often. They are born of idealism and anger and when they pass, the political landscape is altered; sometimes beyond recognition. The first of these winds was the Tea Party. Comprised mainly of older, well educated, and mostly conservative remnants of the middle class, they burst on to the scene to protest the government excess, corruption, and the revolving door of the corporate/government complex. They opposed the bailouts of Wall Street and the bank industry and the abandonment of the Middle America. Their mass movement was at first ignored by main street media. After it became apparent that the winds of change were going to be sustained, corporate media jump into action to ridicule the Tea Party as "fringe", "radical", “extremist” and full of the "crazies". The majority of Americans ignored the commercially sponsored organized propaganda from the talking heads of corporate media and pursued their own investigation and discovered a different truth.
Now, another, perhaps most telling wind has begun to blow. This wind calls itself "Occupy Wall Street", and like the Tea Party, it has spun off hundreds like itself. This wind condemns much of what the earlier tempest did---corporate greed, government ineptitude and corruption, destruction of the environment, unfair taxation, and outsourcing of jobs. But the key difference is that this storm brings with it the energy of youth. The Tea Party never contained much of the youth. The "Occupy Movement", if one is to call it that draws its strength from the younger crowd, as well as the unemployed and underemployed blue collar; the working poor; the lower middle class; as well as many others.
Thus far, the corporate media has largely ignored or under reported what's happening in places like San Francisco, Chicago, and, of course, New York City. These protests against governmental, if not societal failure are spreading like wildfire. There are literally hundreds of similar groups springing up across the nation. At its heart, are the failure of both political parties and the capitalist model of economic pillage and imposed serfdom. The "99%" of Americans, who received no government bailout; who received no loans; who received no relief from toxic mortgages and foreclosures. But corporate America did, and the American taxpayers paid for it while Washington listened to their K Street paymasters. We've seen no curbing of illegal immigration. There's been no fence built, yet we've told the federal government to build one dozens if not hundreds of times. We still have to request to hear our own language.
We are seeing the first effects of global climate change. Does it really matter if it’s man made or part of natural cycle? What no one can dispute is that something is happening. The results are the same. We must take steps to alter our societal behavior, if only to slow global warming down. Corporations have done much to stall or derail any serious efforts to create cleaner energy sources like solar or wind. On the other hand, they've given us "feel good" media about all they've done out of a sense of corporate citizenship, so why blame them? Gotta love public relations and clever folks in marketing.
So where does that leave us? We have two distinct groups basically seeking the same goals. One is the Tea Party, who tend to be older, better educated, and slightly more affluent. The other is the Occupy groups, who seem to include more college age students and blue collar individual. Together, they represent what’s left of the middle class, blue collar workers, and lower income individuals. Their object of their combined frustrations is Washington, including both political parties, and the corporate elite who run Washington. Yes, there are differences besides their demographics. The Tea Party is more conservative, though not as extremist as the media portrays. For instance, they would like to see a small federal government. The other appears to be more liberal leaning. They would like to see a more responsible though not necessarily smaller government. But there is common ground and common cause between them. I urge both groups to explore ways to combine, if not coordinate their efforts. I urge you dear reader to plug in to which ever group you feel most comfortable with and work for the change we need to save this country for our children and their children. The time is now.
Check these Out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/occupy-wall-street-protests-new-york_n_989221.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl3%7Csec3_lnk1%7C100783
http://www.thedailyactivist.com/
http://www.occupytogether.org/
http://www.teaparty.org/about.php
Now, another, perhaps most telling wind has begun to blow. This wind calls itself "Occupy Wall Street", and like the Tea Party, it has spun off hundreds like itself. This wind condemns much of what the earlier tempest did---corporate greed, government ineptitude and corruption, destruction of the environment, unfair taxation, and outsourcing of jobs. But the key difference is that this storm brings with it the energy of youth. The Tea Party never contained much of the youth. The "Occupy Movement", if one is to call it that draws its strength from the younger crowd, as well as the unemployed and underemployed blue collar; the working poor; the lower middle class; as well as many others.
Thus far, the corporate media has largely ignored or under reported what's happening in places like San Francisco, Chicago, and, of course, New York City. These protests against governmental, if not societal failure are spreading like wildfire. There are literally hundreds of similar groups springing up across the nation. At its heart, are the failure of both political parties and the capitalist model of economic pillage and imposed serfdom. The "99%" of Americans, who received no government bailout; who received no loans; who received no relief from toxic mortgages and foreclosures. But corporate America did, and the American taxpayers paid for it while Washington listened to their K Street paymasters. We've seen no curbing of illegal immigration. There's been no fence built, yet we've told the federal government to build one dozens if not hundreds of times. We still have to request to hear our own language.
We are seeing the first effects of global climate change. Does it really matter if it’s man made or part of natural cycle? What no one can dispute is that something is happening. The results are the same. We must take steps to alter our societal behavior, if only to slow global warming down. Corporations have done much to stall or derail any serious efforts to create cleaner energy sources like solar or wind. On the other hand, they've given us "feel good" media about all they've done out of a sense of corporate citizenship, so why blame them? Gotta love public relations and clever folks in marketing.
So where does that leave us? We have two distinct groups basically seeking the same goals. One is the Tea Party, who tend to be older, better educated, and slightly more affluent. The other is the Occupy groups, who seem to include more college age students and blue collar individual. Together, they represent what’s left of the middle class, blue collar workers, and lower income individuals. Their object of their combined frustrations is Washington, including both political parties, and the corporate elite who run Washington. Yes, there are differences besides their demographics. The Tea Party is more conservative, though not as extremist as the media portrays. For instance, they would like to see a small federal government. The other appears to be more liberal leaning. They would like to see a more responsible though not necessarily smaller government. But there is common ground and common cause between them. I urge both groups to explore ways to combine, if not coordinate their efforts. I urge you dear reader to plug in to which ever group you feel most comfortable with and work for the change we need to save this country for our children and their children. The time is now.
Check these Out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/occupy-wall-street-protests-new-york_n_989221.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl3%7Csec3_lnk1%7C100783
http://www.thedailyactivist.com/
http://www.occupytogether.org/
http://www.teaparty.org/about.php
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