Some perspective please.

The media has been reporting non stop, the story of the Minister in Florida with 50 congregants, who wishes to burn Korans tomorrow. This man is a nobody. There are fringe groups in other parts of our country with countless more members whose actions never get an ounce of press. This guy, however, on the heels of the NYC Islamic Center story, seems to warrant media attention according to the geniuses at the news agencies. What a bunch of clowns. Feed more fuel to an already restive and prejudiced group of extremists. Real smart. We have a republican party who is standing in the way of job creation, economic progress, health reform and that also refuses to denounce many of the extremist activities of its right wing. This is the story. Elected officials that refuse to honor the words of the Preamble...to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility etc. One party whose obstructionist vision for America, without a single goal for our country other than to embarrass the President
is single handedly killing the soul of our nation. The republicans may have some short term gains in the immediate future, but long term, it is doomed to a Whig like death. I say to the media, have some perspective. Republican obstructionist behavior is the real story. These buffoons hate our country and choose to forget their awful stewardship of it for most of the past decade. Some perspective please. Where are you Americans for reason and truth.

Awakening

President Obama laid out a host of business incentives and tax breaks to stimulate small business hiring and yes, it will cost some money. What did the Republicans say? NO, of course. No surprise there. Anything for a vote. Anything to see our President fail. Anything to win back the Congress after years of their failed policies. Their hope is we forget and according to polls, we may be forgetting. However, 725,000 jobs have been created this year thus far versus the 8,000,000 lost under Republican leadership since the start of the recession. The doldrums of July and August are behind us. Let us hope that September brings an awakening of our memories, memories of Republican policies that led to the near collapse of our economy, two unpaid for wars and an endless stream of policies that ignored the vast middle class of our great nation. Remember. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

More facts to ponder.

Yesterday, Erin Burnett from CNBC was being interviewed by Al Hunt. Obviously, the topic of the interview was the economy with varying degrees of disagreement about the situation: the size of the stimulus, Presidential leadership, Congress's low approval rating, tea parties, jobs, unemployment, taxes, etc. etc. etc. and then, in the middle of this rocky and painful ride, came Erin's statement, based on economic facts recently released. I paraphrase- "This has been the fastest recovery of any of the recessions in the last 25 years." Again, "THIS HAS BEEN THE FASTEST RECOVERY OF ANY OF THE RECESSIONS IN THE LAST 25 YEARS." Of course it seems slow and agonizing to those out of work. This amazing statement in the throes of all this gloom and doom talk seemed to be ignored and is being ignored. Before we throw all the bums out in November, perhaps we again need to think about where we were and where we are and then cast our votes. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Headlines...Yikes

This morning's headline: "Speaker Boehner in Waiting". Oh my G-d. Let us all pray that this does not happen. Americans are placing blame in the wrong direction. Look a little closer at Mr. Boehner. We need qualified people to be in succession to the Presidency. Fear this headline people. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Truth Distorted

I was listening to a radio broadcast this morning on Bloomberg News. The guest was being asked his opinion on how to stimulate the economy. His response was to not allow the big upcoming suggested Obama Tax increase. The Obama Tax increase? Hold on a minute. This is a REPUBLICAN TAX INCREASE people. Wake up. Under a Republican Congress and President, new tax rates were temporarily set with the intent to expire in ten years. The Republicans passed this legislation with full knowledge and intent for its expiration. Therefore, if the Republican legislation moves ahead as scheduled, blaming Democrats for a tax increase is simply untrue and unfair. It is perfectly acceptable to debate policy and to alter legislation based on the circumstances of the times, but if even one person after the debate does not have his tax rate restored to Clinton levels, it will be in reality an OBAMA TAX DECREASE. The President is leaning toward restoring tax rates for all those earning over 250,000 dollars and keeping the Bush temporary rates in place for everyone else. If this or any such version happens, it will be a Democratic President and perhaps a Democratic Congress changing Republican legislation resulting in a relative tax decrease for most Americans. So, Americans, stop listening to those who suggest differently. They are just plain wrong. They are distorting the truth. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Fight or Lose.

Democrats are running scared. Apparently they are running away from their own policies and accomplishments for fear of reprisal by the voters. The same voters that voted for the Democrats to do exactly what they have been doing...legislating while the opposition continues to obstruct and lie. Yes, people are mad and frustrated, but good leadership involves confronting frustration, telling the truth and campaigning on your positive record of accomplishments. If a Democrat cannot be happy about saving us from economic collapse, giving us the beginnings of health reform, ending combat operations in Iraq, passing a stimulus with proven successes as evidenced by Republican governors gleefuly accepting the funds as they oppose the legislation, saving the domestic auto business and providing record incentives to small businesses and first time home buyers, then they ought to lose. Democrats should fight, stand up for themselves, challenge Republican lies and show pride in their record or go to down to ignominious and deserved defeat. Fight or lose. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

My Greatest Fear

John Boehner as Speaker of the House is my absolute greatest fear. He is incompetent, inarticulate, unable to think outside the box of Republican talking points and is an absolutely unqualified and disastrous legislator. No to Boehner. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

IRAQ

The President made his speech about ending combat operations in Iraq and Republican leaders had the gaul, the absolute nerve and unbelievable chutzpah to suggest he thank George Bush and the supporters of the war. This is what we have to be thankful for?:
4400 dead. No government in Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction. No connection to 9-11. Taking our eye off the ball in Afghanistan. Billions of dollars spent helping to exacerbate the recession. Claims that Iraq oil revenues will fund the war totally unfounded. Tens of thousands wounded. An unsuccessful surge Mr. McCain...there is no stable democracy in Iraq and a heap of lies after lies and no accountability for those who did lie while the Republican party supported this fiasco. This is what we have to be thankful for? What a rotten, smelly, despicable group of Republican leaders we have. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Doom, Gloom and Politics

Listening to talk radio, watching cable news and reading polls of late, you get the feeling of malaise that makes you want to stick your head in the oven. Bad news makes us feel bad, but it also sells. Republicans are seizing upon bad news or making up bad news to anger a restless population prone to swing faster than a nuclear powered pendulum. The strategy of saying NO and feeding anger seems to be working if you believe what you are hearing. Today, the Case Schiller real estate report said that housing prices rose in June. The Intuit small business report reported that since November 09, 329,000 small business jobs were created. According to Bloomberg news, the August consumer confidence report showed an improvement in sentiment in opposition to what the pundits were expecting. The economy continues an anemic pace of growth, but growth it is. The TARP money is being paid back to taxpayers, the domestic automobile industry is no longer teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and the banking sector is once again alive and well although stingy with its loans. Lastly, the collective corporate earnings report of the last quarter, shows the highest rate of earnings since 1988. If you report the FACTS like I just did, and then listen, you may not put your head in the oven after all. The doom and gloom of politics, is just that, politics. Americans need to separate from the rhetoric, the hate, the partisanship and mean spiritedness and realize that America is slowly recovering, has looked depression in the face and said no. The American engine is slowly moving ahead after two years of being totally stalled and impotent. POTUS is loudly calling for more small business help, recommending extending tax cuts for the middle class, appropriately condemning Republican obstructionism and bringing troops home. Now onto jobs. So, fellow citizens, as bad as things seem, they are getting better. Don't listen to the McConnell/Boehner clan. They just want you to forget that they created this mess. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Private sector responsibility.

While those of us that follow the political news in this country watch and listen, sitting quietly on the sidelines is the capitalist engine known as corporate America. We listen to their whining about uncertainty, not knowing what the regulations will cost them, how much will health care reform cost, how will the new credit regulations affect them etc. etc. They complain while they build up amazing stockloads of cash, pay dividends to the shareholders and declare collectively, record earnings at levels not seen since 1988. They encourage the mean spiritedness of the political scene by complaining and blaming Obama and the Congress for failed economic policies. These companies are run by smart people who can easily estimate the costs that may be incurred by recently passed legislation. They can take these estimates and do what they always do, pass them on to the consumer and to their employees. Instead of whining, they should hire people. They certainly need the labor as evidenced by increasingly long work weeks and increasing amount of overtime being paid out to current workers. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, lobbying against any regulation at all, against any legislation that may cost money and encouraging the nastiness of the debate, if they really cared about the country, they would put people back to work. It isn't the Government's job to find you a job, but to put conditions in place that allow the capitalist engine to make money and thrive. The government has done their job. Now it is time for the private sector to do theirs. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Thank You Glenn Beck

While I am writing this post, Glenn Beck, the most obnoxious, self serving charlatan I can think of, is holding a rally in DC by asking Americans to turn back to G-d and reclaim civil rights. This on a day and at a place, made famous by MLK's Dream speech. ( Just a coincidence...right) What rights are we reclaiming? Which rights did we lose? The fact that Beck and Limbaugh can lie and say anything certainly is an example that we haven't lost our right to freely speak. What needs reclaiming? And what if you don't believe in G-d? Are you unwelcome at the rally? Are you less American? These types of rallies bring out a certain extreme kind of language and person and they will be worthy of a blog or two and some cable news coverage, but most Americans do not like the spector of G-d being publicly displayed. They prefer to practice their faith in the privacy of their homes and chapels. Thus, our religious nation by individual, is uncomfortable when we collectivize G-d and by implication, certain religions only as Beck is doing today without saying it. And Mrs. Palin is there as well to annoint the rally and combine grizzly bear moms with G-d. I think this will be a good thing for Democrats and the upcoming election. If R's and Independents look at Beck as one who aligns with Anti-Pelosi, Anti-Obama rhetoric, they may fear voting for R's because of their greater discomfort with G-d on public display. While Lincoln's statue hovers over this rally, it is a stark reminder that real civil rights are not wrapped around a flag in the name of G-d, but separate from religion and we are more comfortable that way. So, thank you Glenn Beck. You may be the D's secret weapon this November. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

John McCain

John McCain the right wing Republican Senator from Arizona won yesterday's Senatorial primary in Arizona. He was challenged by another right wing member of the Republican party. Six months ago, moderate maverick Senator John McCain was working on a comprehensive Immigration reform package to include a pathway to citizenship for those Immigrants who have been in the country for many years but without the appropriate legal documents to be here. 18 months ago, Senator McCain told us the fundamentals of the economy were fine in the middle of an historically bad recession. Since the Presidential election, Senator McCain has been talking about how bad our economy is and how awful the President's policies are for economic recovery. In his book, John McCain boasted about his maverick behavior within the Republican party. During the primary campaign, John McCain distanced himself from the maverick label and laughingly said he was no such thing. All for votes. Which John McCain did Arizona vote for yesterday? The John McCain that would sell his values and his beliefs for a few votes. This patriot and war hero, talking about honor and earning respect is simply another member of Congress for whom the job is more important than their beliefs. Shame on you John McCain. The nation got it right in 2008, Arizona got it wrong yesterday. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Frightened by Ignorance

What much of America has never appreciated is the need for leaders to be smart enough to understand the complexity of issues. Clearly, love him or hate him, President Obama does. The same people, however, who challenge his birth, or his religion, or his fitness, also view intelligence as elitist, perhaps because they themselves do not understand. It is easier to listen to a cliche or a political slogan or a sound byte than to do the work required to understand. This is what is so frightening about Sarah Palin. She is great at capturing the ignorance and running with it for media exposure and book sales, but truly the most frightening thing is that she doesn't think understanding complexity is important. She views intelligence and educational background as unecessary baggage. She is not an elected official and may we all pray that it remains this way. Ignorance is not bliss and we should be frightened by it. What is most scary is that all the criticisms I just leveled against Mrs. Palin, apply to the most important Republican in the House, a man who could be second in succession to the President after the November election. Be frightened, for his ignorance is only exceeded by the intensity of his tan. John Boehner's upcoming possibility as Speaker is the greatest incentive Democrats and the nation have to vote. Ignorance is frightening. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Republican Tax Increases

10 years ago, a Republican President supported by a Republican Congress, passed tax law that reduced tax rates for a temporary ten year period. That ten year period is up at the end of the year and with their short, distorted, disingenuous, inaccurate and mean spirited memories, Republicans are now calling for an extension and they have the audacity to blame Democrats for a tax increase. They go on to claim that their law won't increase the deficit, which it will by 3.2 trillion dollars. R's are running against deficit increases but won't pay for a change to their own law. If this sounds nuts, it is, but we seem to be listening to these idiots, responding to their lies and are not being a rational or fair minded electorate. There is still time. Where are you Americans for Reason and Truth?

My day

Yesterday I went to the city of my birth, New York, to see my mother. My mother's dad, my grandpa, came from Russia which later became the Soviet Union our deepest enemy for decades. My grandfather was a tailor, lived and worked in the city, raised three daughters and was accepted in the fabric of our immigrant society. He wasn't associated with Soviet Communism and treated with extreme prejudice. My mother lives in Queens with my dad. In their neighborhood, many Chinese people and Korean people live and work. They have businesses, send their kids to public schools and when I walked the streets yesterday, no one was humiliating them because North Korea is a dangerous and dysfunctional enemy and China remains a nation without freedom. While in NYC yesterday, I ate a falafel, food from the Middle East. Delicious. I went to the store, run by Arabs, paid my money, was treated well, thanked for my business and enjoyed the food. This business is always packed with lines into the street with people waiting for the delicious food they serve. This type of food comes from an area of the world that continues to be unstable and filled with Anti Western rhetoric, but I didn't think of this at all. I enjoyed the fact that I could get a wonderful lunch from wonderful people without even thinking about their religion or nation of birth, or immigrant status. I can give dozens of examples of this kind of diversity and experiences from yesterday or any other day living in America. Our greatness comes from our principles and our acceptance. Yet, for weeks, I am seeing polls about Obama's religion, and hearing discussion about where the Mosque should be, or listening to the most extraordinarily bigoted and prejudiced comments from an extremist segment of our population. Their association of this Mosque with terrorism and bigotry toward a religion is the most outrageous and despicable ignorance that reminds me of the days of internment camps and racial hatred toward blacks. Most sad, is the fact that our media establishment has piled on and is quite responsible for giving these people a louder voice than is necessary while setting the news priorities of each day. My day, is more representative of reality. A reality based on acceptance, respect and tolerance on the part of the vast majority of Americans. Don't get sucked up by the maelstrom of ratings and hate. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Why I vote

I vote because it is my responsibility as a citizen to try and elect a government that can serve my needs and the needs of my country. As a republic, we elect candidates to do our bidding because it is not possible for a country of our size to directly decide every single issue through referendum. So I vote to put people of conscience, respect, knowledge and good will to do what is right. So what have I gotten? Mean spirited, partisan lightweights who would rather perpetuate a lie for a vote, feed the irrationality of extremists, and scream cliches that sound good to the time strapped voter but have no depth or basis in fact. I get politicians who weigh in on issues that they are totally unfamiliar with just so they can feed the anger and fury of bigots and idiots as a down payment on their votes. I will continue to vote, but the reasons have become less clear. We are not being served well as a nation where hate, religion, race, the color of your tie and your tan, trump what is important. We better change, or we are in deep deep trouble. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Not so Fast

Congratulations to those marvelous combat troops who are in Kuwait and have left Iraq. You are and have always been in our hearts. Now let's talk about reality. Before we commend Pres. Bush for the surge, Pres. Obama for honoring his campaign committment and the military for saying we won, not so fast. We do not have a government in Iraq, we do not have any conciliation between Sunnis and Shia, Iraq cannot provide electricity to its citizens, and insurgents are continuing their violence. We are not leaving a stable country and haven't accomplished much in the past seven plus year no matter how hard the politicians try to spin it. While this investment in military life, limb and equipment was deployed, we allowed the Taliban to re-arm, Iran get closer to nuclear weapons and now are entrenched in a violent and unsure struggle in Afghanistan with no end in sight and no accomplishment of real significance to date. Almost 5,000 dead and an investment in dollars that is growing the deficit and keeping valuable resources from needed investment in jobs, health care reform, deficit reduction and small business incentives. Not so fast. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

One more Mosque comment: I have heard people all support religious freedom and the right of any religion to build its facility wherever, but then comes the kicker, "should they build it there". So what is the motivation to challenge the location? No debate, it is because of the specific religion. Because the terrorists were Muslim, it is insensitive to build a Muslim cultural center. It is all about the specific religion, it is all about prejudice, and both statements are irreconcilable. And that's that.

Maureen Dowd...It's not easy

I love Maureen Dowd. I read her columns always and generally agree with her sentiments. However, it is easy to sit as an esteemed member of the press, with no official portfolio of responsibilities to government and "We the People" and criticize the President for weakness, nuance and ineffectiveness. Ms. Dowd's recent criticism of POTUS was his handling of the Mosque controversy. She said he fumbled the ball. I cannot quite agree. This President is a smart man, and anyone who thinks he did not realize the firestorm that his remarks would create, is not paying attention. He knew darn well and our reactions as a nation are no surprise to Obama. So look what has happened. We are currently in a debate about the principles of our first amendment. We are discussing religious freedom and tolerance and reflecting on our values. The extremist bigots in this country will never change and the Gingrichs and Palins of this world will continue to stir the pot of prejudice and anger. The vast majority of us, however, will be more thoughtful and realistic in our approach to things. We will weather this controversy, come out stronger and try not to feed the flames of extremist and hateful language. In fact, we will continue to progress toward even more tolerance and appreciation of diversity. And yes, even for Muslims. So, thank you Mr. President for allowing us to discuss, debate and live our values. It isn't that easy Ms. Dowd. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Second Class

No one likes to think of themselves as second class. In our country, the rhetoric has always been that we are the strongest, most innovative and greatest nation on Earth. Due to our inherent patriotism, we have come to believe it and get quite upset if people talk about the failures of the United States. It is deemed unpatriotic by many Americans to talk ill of your own nation, but if we continue to live within the falseness of our rhetoric, the United States may become a second class nation. Our public education system is far from the top of the list of the bests, our infrastructure is eroding, we have no national rail system that is quick and efficient, we rely on oil from the most unstable part of the world, many scoff at the realities of global warming and as such, we have done nothing to improve our commitment to alternative energy, we are fighting expensive wars that are going nowhere, squandering resources that could be used to fix the real problems of the world, we have a political process that is mean spirited and does not work on behalf of the people, we have a trade deficit and an anemic manufacturing sector and we have a business community that still believes that any government is bad government and paid lobbyists have used this feeling to ramp up populism while leading to near financial ruin. Despite Obama's best efforts, we still have a mismanaged and dysfunctional health care system which will continue to be costly and not really universal in nature. Lastly, we have dangerous and incapable people rising to the top of the heap of potential future leaders wihout the appropriate abilities that are needed. These individuals portray our nation in simplistic and dangerous ways preferring fear over accomplishment and bigotry over our values. These are facts and if we choose to ignore them and reside within the bluster of American greatness, we will find our country not so great. The hopefulness we felt once President Obama was elected was tied to his recognition of these facts. When one fairly listens to his agenda about the future, he gets it. Our frustration with him according to polls, is unwarranted, unfair and just plain stupid. Americans must embrace change, embrace the future and lift us from the manufactured rhetoric of greatness to the reality of greatness. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

I would Rather

I would rather be represented by leaders who appreciate the Constitution and try and educate people to understand the greatness of America's values, than to be lead by fearmongers who prey on American bigotry and ignorance for the sake of a few votes. You decide which ones you prefer and live with yourself. Instead of leaders calling the Mosque in NYC an election issue, they ought to be telling those who are against religious freedom why this Mosque represents who we are as a nation. Trumped up bigotry and prejudicial language from elected officials can never be good for our nation. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?