Monday Musings: March 7. 2011

It’s been an oddly nice weekend - quieter and more relaxing than usual. That always seems to happen when you’ve made big plans to go somewhere, things fall through and you end up making the best of it. Maybe we’ll try to do this more often.

Well, it’s been relaxing when I’m not trying to explain how email exists in ‘the cloud’ to Mr. Maven. He battles email - having made it into a huge boogeyman/bane of his existence. It’s the one ‘thing’ with the internet and computers that he can’t get his head wrapped around. I alternate between trying to keep my own head from exploding - “why do you even care how many emails exist on Yahoo’s servers?” - to forcing myself to sit down and once more explain that Outlook isn’t Yahoo and neither is his iPhone. I think …. I hope I’ve got it through that to affect what shows up in Outlook or the iphone has to be ultimately managed from the Yahoo source. Maybe.

But if you hear a scream of anguish from my direction, you’ll know why. I know that, at 79-years-old, it’s remarkable that my husband (who successfully flew jet airplanes for a living!) even gets on the internet at all, not to mention be the undisputed king of keeping our finances and investments in fine tune on Quicken. This irrational email boogeyman was one reason I was hesitant to encourage him to get an iPhone. Yet, he took to that like a duck to water - big toy. He immersed himself in the Dummies book, and now goes around the house all plugged in to the ipod playlists that I loaded - merrily humming and singing to himself.

Sigh. If somebody else wants to take a crack at explaining it, be my guest.

I want you to read the essay by Michael Moore on the Impurely Maven page. Seriously, this expresses everything that has been running through my head for months now.

Moore is spot on right.

America IS NOT BROKE.

America HAS PLENTY OF MONEY.

Unfortunately, we are short of cash right now. Why? Moore explains:

“Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer “bailout” of 2008, now have more loot, stock and property than the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can’t bring yourself to call that a financial coup d’état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true.”

That’s right. Every credible economist that I’ve been reading for the last two years has been saying essentially the same thing - in more academic, high faluting terms, perhaps. Which may explain why so many haven’t been listening. Robert Reich has said it. Simon Johnson has said it. Paul Krugman has said it. Joseph Stieglitz has said it.

Now if we could just get the message where the average American will see it and get it - like during the Super Bowl halftime show, or a NASCAR race, or as a question on Millionaire … sigh.

These 400 uber-wealthy folks are probably laughing over some very pricey wine tonight. It’s got to be hysterically funny to watch the theatrics of Americans tearing themselves apart, tripping each other to grab pennies out of the gutter to pay the bills of state and society … when if we still had OUR SHARE of that enormous wealth, we’d be having a much different national conversation. Like which expensive university to send the kids to.

The bad people stole our national wealth, and then - brilliantly! - got us blaming each other for wanting a freaking paycheck, health care and a retirement that we forgot to form a posse and go lynch them!

How stupid is that? Not quite as stupid as it is to keep on fighting each other and letting the 400 bandits get away with it completely - as the once richest country in the world descends into madness.

As airline people, what Moore says about the modern day airline pilot - hoping for a few hours more sleep before he flys a trip, having slept in the car in the employee lot to save money, resonates with us. Capt. Ryan talks to pilots when we travel, and he always comes back shaking his head, saying that he and his fellows had the best of it, that the industry bears zip - zero - resemblance to his heyday in the skies.

We saw it happening years ago. The First Class section seemed to empty of what we used to think of as First Class Passengers. Movie stars. Famous writers. The wealthy. The movers and shakers. Champagne flights. Oh, the Mexico City and Honolulu ‘service’ was extraordinary. The “Only Way to Fly”.

That was back in the day, when tax rates were still high and there was a booming middle class.

Hmmmm. Where did they go? To corporate jets. No security line nonsense. No stale peanuts. Waited on hand and foot. First Class became where the ‘non-rev’s’ (pass riders) sat. Then it became where the regular passengers - those with upgrades sat.

Airlines are now the Greyhound of the skies. Carry on lunches from the airport fast food joint, and the ubiquitous water bottles.

And those that can’t afford an airline ticket today. Here’s where they are:

What’s that? 25% of today’s children are being raised in poverty? The largest number since the Great Depression? Yeah, and these are the people that stole the American dream with their demands for a living wage.

Wrong. Don’t you wish that the Tea Party Islamophobes in Orange County could quit raging against Americans who wear headscarves, and rage at the real problems? Like homeless kids?

I can’t listen to more of this ‘can’t afford to do this or that because of deficits’ - either in Washington or Nevada. It’s a false argument. A Red Herring argument, intended to divert our attention away from who stole our loot - the national wealth. It’s sound and fury signifying nothing but lies.

It’s the Big Lie. That America is Broke. We’re not.

Stop those two damn wars - and if we are going to send troops somewhere, send them to Libya or Haiti where they can actually do something right and good. Mexico might be a better place to exercise some military might against the drug cartels.

Take back the billions the military-industrial complex has stolen.

Impose an Estate Tax on estates valued over $1million dollars - before the donations to foundations and other gimmicks.

Apply a progressive income tax, with tax rates at what they were 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

Impose higher corporate income tax rates, and no ‘off-shore’ exceptions. Pay it or go do all your business in Bum-Fuck Where Ever.

The proceeds that go to hedge fund managers? Tax that just like ordinary income.

Enact draconian campaign finance reform. Legitimate candidates get their money from the Department of the Treasury. Take a nickel from somewhere else and you’re done. Get elected cleanly, without shadowy AstroTurf groups and you can exercise all the Free Speech for the People you want.

Then spend like crazy for education. Send every kid to college or advanced technical school - for FREE - and watch our economy grow.

Like Moore says, there are more of us than there are the 400 with all of our money. It’s time we all stood up and called a spade a spade, and insisted that we get our country back. It’s time to quit letting talking heads on 24 hour news cycles divert our attention from what is truly amiss.

We’re not broke. We’ve been robbed by the uber-wealthy.

-maven

'Dwight was right' by Michael Moore

I’ve been preaching this for years but it’s nice to know I’m not alone. The real question is - when will anybody listen and do something to stop them? -maven

By Michael Moore, OpenMike Blog

30 September 10

o … it turns out President Eisenhower wasn’t making up all that stuff about the military-industrial complex.

That’s what you’ll conclude if you read Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s War. (You can read excerpts of it here, here and here.) You thought you voted for change when you cast a ballot for Barack Obama? Um, not when it comes to America occupying countries that don’t begin with a “U” and an “S.”

In fact, after you read Woodward’s book, you’ll split a gut every time you hear a politician or a government teacher talk about “civilian control over the military.” The only people really making the decisions about America’s wars are across the river from Washington in the Pentagon. They wear uniforms. They have lots of weapons they bought from the corporations they will work for when they retire.

For everyone who supported Obama in 2008, it’s reassuring to find out he understands we have to get out of Afghanistan. But for everyone who’s worried about Obama in 2010, it’s scary to find out that what he thinks should be done may not actually matter. And that’s because he’s not willing to stand up to the people who actually run this country.

And here’s the part I don’t even want to write - and none of you really want to consider:

It matters not whom we elect. The Pentagon and the military contractors call the shots. The title “Commander in Chief” is ceremonial, like “Employee of the Month” at your local Burger King.

Everything you need to know can be found in just two paragraphs from Obama’s War. Here’s the scene: Obama is meeting with his National Security Council staff on the Saturday after Thanksgiving last year. He’s getting ready to give a big speech announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan. Except … the strategy isn’t set yet. The military has presented him with just one option: escalation. But at the last minute, Obama tells everyone, hold up - the door to a plan for withdrawal isn’t closed.

The brass isn’t having it:

“Mr. President,” [Army Col. John Tien] said, “I don’t see how you can defy your military chain here. We kind of are where we are. Because if you tell General McChrystal, ‘I got your assessment, got your resource constructs, but I’ve chosen to do something else,’ you’re going to probably have to replace him. You can’t tell him, ‘Just do it my way, thanks for your hard work.’ And then where does that stop?”

The colonel did not have to elaborate. His implication was that not only McChrystal but the entire military high command might go in an unprecedented toppling - Gates; Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. David H. Petraeus, then head of U.S. Central Command. Perhaps no president could weather that, especially a 48-year-old with four years in the U.S. Senate and 10 months as commander in chief.

And, well, the rest is history. Three days later Obama announced the escalation at West Point. And he became our newest war president.

But here’s the question Woodward doesn’t answer: Why, exactly, can’t a president weather ending a war, even if he has to fire all his generals to do it? It’s right there in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution: The President’s in charge of the military. And so is Congress: the army can’t just march over to the Treasury Department and steal the money for wars. Article I, Section 9 says Congress has to appropriate it.

In the real world, though, the Constitution’s just a piece of paper. In the real world, a President who fired his top military in order to stop a war would be ruined before you could say “bloodless coup.” The Washington Post (filled with ads from Boeing and Northrop Grumman) would scream about how he was the reincarnation of Neville Chamberlain. Fox and CNN (filled with “experts” who work for think tanks funded by Raytheon and General Dynamics) would say he was a girly-man who had to be impeached. And Congress (which experienced its own escalation in lobbying from defense contractors just as the Afghanistan escalation was being decided) might well do it. (By the way, if you want to listen to Lyndon Johnson talk in 1964 about how he might be impeached if he didn’t follow the military-industrial complex’s orders and escalate the war in Vietnam, just go here.)

So here’s your assignment for tonight: Watch Eisenhower’s famous farewell speech.

And then start thinking about how we can tame this beast. The Soviet Union had its own military-industrial complex, which is one reason they got into Afghanistan … which is one reason there’s no more Soviet Union. It happened to them.

Don’t think it can happen to us?

————————

If you appreciated this blog post by Mike, then read this one:

Five Ways the Democrats Can Avoid Catastrophe and Pull Off the Mother of All Upsets.

"I want the mosque built ON Ground Zero" Michael Moore

Amen.

If the ‘mosque’ isn’t built, this is no longer America.

By Michael Moore, Michael Moore.com

am opposed to the building of the “mosque” two blocks from Ground Zero.

I want it built on Ground Zero.

Why? Because I believe in an America that protects those who are the victims of hate and prejudice. I believe in an America that says you have the right to worship whatever God you have, wherever you want to worship. And I believe in an America that says to the world that we are a loving and generous people and if a bunch of murderers steal your religion from you and use it as their excuse to kill 3,000 souls, then I want to help you get your religion back. And I want to put it at the spot where it was stolen from you.

There’s been so much that’s been said about this manufactured controversy, I really don’t want to waste any time on this day of remembrance talking about it. But I hate bigotry and I hate liars, and so in case you missed any of the truth that’s been lost in this, let me point out a few facts:

1. I love the Burlington Coat Factory. I’ve gotten some great winter coats there at a very reasonable price. Muslims have been holding their daily prayers there since 2009. No one ever complained about that. This is not going to be a “mosque,” it’s going to be a community center. It will have the same prayer room in it that’s already there. But to even have to assure people that “it’s not going to be mosque” is so offensive, I now wish they would just build a 111-story mosque there. That would be better than the lame and disgusting way the developer has left Ground Zero an empty hole until recently. The remains of over 1,100 people still haven’t been found. That site is a sacred graveyard, and to be building another monument to commerce on it is a sacrilege. Why wasn’t the entire site turned into a memorial peace park? People died there, and many of their remains are still strewn about, all these years later.

2. Guess who has helped the Muslims organize their plans for this community center? The JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER of Manhattan! Their rabbi has been advising them since the beginning. It’s been a picture-perfect example of the kind of world we all want to live in. Peter Stuyvessant, New York’s “founder,” tried to expel the first Jews who arrived in Manhattan. Then the Dutch said, no, that’s a bit much. So then Stuyvessant said ok, you can stay, but you cannot build a synagogue anywhere in Manhattan. Do your stupid Friday night thing at home. The first Jewish temple was not allowed to be built until 1730. Then there was a revolution, and the founding fathers said this country has to be secular - no religious nuts or state religions. George Washington (inaugurated around the corner from Ground Zero) wanted to make a statement about this his very first year in office, and wrote this to American Jews:

“The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy - a policy worthy of imitation….

“It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens …

“May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants - while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

3. The Imam in charge of this project is the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet. Read about his past here.

4. Around five dozen Muslims died at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Hundreds of members of their families still grieve and suffer. The 19 killers did not care what religion anyone belonged to when they took those lives.

5. I’ve never read a sadder headline in the New York Times than the one on the front page this past Monday: “American Muslims Ask, Will We Ever Belong?” That should make all of us so ashamed that even a single one of our fellow citizens should ever have to worry about if they “belong” here.

6. There is a McDonald’s two blocks from Ground Zero. Trust me, McDonald’s has killed far more people than the terrorists.

7. During an economic depression or a time of war, fascists are extremely skilled at whipping up fear and hate and getting the working class to blame “the other” for their troubles. Lincoln’s enemies told poor Southern whites that he was “a Catholic.” FDR’s opponents said he was Jewish and called him “Jewsevelt.” One in five Americans now believe Obama is a Muslim and 41% of Republicans don’t believe he was born here.

8. Blaming a whole group for the actions of just one of that group is anti-American. Timothy McVeigh was Catholic. Should Oklahoma City prohibit the building of a Catholic Church near the site of the former federal building that McVeigh blew up?

9. Let’s face it, all religions have their whackos. Catholics have O’Reilly, Gingrich, Hannity and Clarence Thomas (in fact all five conservatives who dominate the Supreme Court are Catholic). Protestants have Pat Robertson and too many to list here. The Mormons have Glenn Beck. Jews have Crazy Eddie. But we don’t judge whole religions on just the actions of their whackos. Unless they’re Methodists.

10. If I should ever, God forbid, perish in a terrorist incident, and you or some nutty group uses my death as your justification to attack or discriminate against anyone in my name, I will come back and haunt you worse than Linda Blair marrying Freddy Krueger and moving into your bedroom to spawn Chucky. John Lennon was right when he asked us to imagine a world with “nothing to kill or die for and no religion, too.” I heard Deepak Chopra this week say that “God gave humans the truth, and the devil came and he said, ‘Let’s give it a name and call it religion.’ ” But John Adams said it best when he wrote a sort of letter to the future (which he called “Posterity”): “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.” I’m guessing ol’ John Adams is up there repenting nonstop right now.

Friends, we all have a responsibility NOW to make sure that Muslim community center gets built. Once again, 70% of the country (the same number that initially supported the Iraq War) is on the wrong side and want the “mosque” moved. Enormous pressure has been put on the Imam to stop his project. We have to turn this thing around. Are we going to let the bullies and thugs win another one? Aren’t you fed up by now? When would be a good time to take our country back from the haters?

I say right now. Let’s each of us make a statement by donating to the building of this community center! It’s a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization and you can donate a dollar or ten dollars (or more) right now through a secure pay pal account by clicking here. I will personally match the first $10,000 raised (forward your PayPal receipt to webguy@michaelmoore.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). If each one of you reading this blog/email donated just a couple of dollars, that would give the center over $6 million, more than what Donald Trump has offered to buy the Imam out. C’mon everyone, let’s pitch in and help those who are being debased for simply wanting to do something good. We could all make a huge statement of love on this solemn day.

I lost a co-worker on 9/11. I write this today in his memory.

Help Public Citizen fight for Medicare for all

After spending billions lobbying Congress, the health care industry is trying to take over the entire health care reform process to ensure maximum profits no matter the cost. And the cost is the 100 Americans who will die this very day because they lack basic health insurance.*

How many more men, women and children must suffer and die before we say “Enough!” to the immoral corporate profits insurers reap by denying millions of Americans health insurance?

Single-payer, Medicare-for-all reform is the only way to drive that number to zero. That’s why Public Citizen needs your help to fight the insurance industry lobbyists.

Our Board of Directors has pledged $20,000 if 400 people join us in this fight by making a donation to Public Citizen by midnight tomorrow! Please join the 151 people who have already contributed. Your gift could earn us an additional $20,000!

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Michael Moore: new movie trailer

This is the teaser for the Untitled Michael Moore bailout documentary film that focuses on the global financial crisis and the U.S. economy. In theaters October 2nd , this will explore the root causes of the global economic meltdown and take a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore described as “the biggest robbery in the history of this country” - the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.

Ain’t that a drag that we’re gonna have to wait?

Friday Fish Wrap:November 21, 2008

Updated on Friday, November 21, 2008 at 11:37 by mavenandmeddler

Well, the stock market really took another nose dive, barely hanging in just above the 7,000 mark. Just a couple of months ago, I listened skeptically as an analyst predicted it would go to 6,000, and I’m thinking right now that ‘hey, it could happen.’ This thing is worse than anybody has yet to comprehend.

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