Republicans Prepare to Lose 3rd Straight Presidential Election

You gotta love the Republicans as they head to Iowa. Each and everyone is stumbling over the other to get as far right as possible. Whether it is Scott Walker wanting to eliminate the 14^th amendment or Ted Cruz introducing a bill named for the woman killed in San Francisco that attack the Latino community and characterize them as criminals and miscreants, or maybe you like the idea that Donald Trump will send 11 million undocumented Latinos “home” even children who are legally Americans. The kicker is that they are courting the Latino vote which this election cycle could amount to 28 million while trashing them. This is the way to win a Presidency.

This is not the only front that these self-styled Republicans are going after Americans that they hope will vote for them. Women are their next problem. They have drummed up a phony attack on Planned Parenthood. Let me disclose that my wife and I donate monthly to Planned Parenthood. So in a country that boasts the best healthcare system in the world why is the following happening:

Each year, about one million infants around the world die on the same day they’re born. That figure includes about 11,300 U.S. babies — the highest first-day infant mortality rate of any other country in the industrialized world, according to a new report from Save the Children (Tara Culp-Ressler, Think Progress).

Now these Republican men and woman want to defund an organization dedicated to all women’s health issues, and to correct their false statements this organization does not use any taxpayer monies for abortions that they perform. More than this, they want to eliminate or severely cutback cancer screenings and other vital preventative medical procedure from working poor and low income women in American. With 55% of the women voting for President Obama, there could be a statically significant up tic for the Democrats in 2016. Nice work Republicans

You would think that Republican plates would be full with everything that they want to take away from average, hardworking Americans, but they are not through. For them, to be a true American you must give up your healthcare unless it is employer sponsored and offered as a benefit. The rest of you who have received healthcare because of the Affordable Healthcare Act need to suck it up and get a job that provides such luxuries, but wait there is more to it. They want to destroy unions so that even those medical benefits can be denied because it might negatively impact the bottom line.

Maybe Republicans see their election predicated on invading Iran and that these other issues are merely irksome ancillary problems as Mr. Trump has so bluntly asserted. These Republican stooges seem to believe that sacrificing American men and women for oil and under the pretense of stopping a nuclear Iran is the best foreign policy plan. Diplomacy be damned. We need to be able to unprovoked invade a second country because they are Muslim Infidels with sweet crude that we so desperately want to pump into our cars, trucks, and SUVs.

These ignorant sycophants have only begun their Don Quixotesque quest for the Presidency tilting at windmills while setting themselves up for their third presidential loss in a row and the 5^th in the last 7 elections. Keep acting with impunity you Republican court-jesters as it will lead to an impotency so great that all the Viagra and Cialis in the world cannot save you from yourselves.

The Radicalization of the Political Process

The highlights of the RedState meeting after the first Republican debate concerned everything they are going to take away from Americans. What a bunch of nutjobs.  Mike Huckabee will make sure that healthcare is taken away from the poor as he proposes personhood for the unborn. Which means that a living adult that carrying a fetus will have fewer rights than the fetus gestating in the uterus.

You got to love these guys and one gal who want to be president of America of 1923. I call them the Calvin Coolidge clones. This may not be a far analogy for poor Calvin, but he presided over an anachronistic time that made sure to segregate society between the haves and have nots, the whites from all people of color (unless they were a maid or some other form of servant), and kept unions at bay so that wages could be kept low and profits high.

When you are able to appeal to the lowest common denominator by yelling and repeating some outrageous lie, get to work and get it done like Ted Cruz did when he shouted to the heavens that “…President Obama was ‘funding radical Islamic terrorism’.” That sort of Intellectual dishonesty will bring the house to its knees in praise of your brave stance.

What does all this radicalization of the political process do? Nothing good. It sets up dynamics that perpetuate the inflexibility and intolerance that is sweeping through the country at all levels of the political arena. It ain’t going away anytime soon. In fact the Republicans will double down on their hate rhetoric as long as they see it as a means to an end. Look at Ferguson where white armed militia decided to show up to put the black people in their place.

So for the next 16 months, the American people will be entertained with outrageous and divisive statements as a means for these Republican candidates to try and distinguish themselves from the herd, and after the nomination, they will try to publicly walk them back while privately staying true to their feigned policy positions. I call this the Mitt Romney Effect.

Watching these clowns bend over backwards to please their puppets masters and money machines is sickening and disgusting. There is no single person vying for the Republican nomination that is their own man or woman. All they do is pander with their hand out for the next greenback.

You may say, “Wait a minute, what about that Trump character?” You’re right; his hand ain’t out begging for a handout because it’s trapped deep in his own pocket pulling out his own nickels and dimes to say fuck you to those other billionaires who hide behind closed door a feared of the public finding out who they are and the agenda that they are pressing on their puppets. More than the money the Donald pretends to be Mister Honesty and General No It All who will with a wave of his hand solve all of America’s problems.

As the old saying goes, “Money talks and Bullshit walks,” is completely wrong in this Republican nominating process. It is Bullshit that talks and brings in wheelbarrows of money, and the more desperate the candidate the greater the amount of Bullshit that emanates from his or her pie hole leaving any normal American shaking their heads in disbelief.

It is the Money and Bullshit that is radicalizing the Republican field as they watch their chances to win the presidency again evaporate before their eyes because of they need to gratify their base at all costs and ignore the rest of America. Radicalized politicians won’t win because they are shackled to their cause and not the needs of the American people, which is a shame because we once had two parties that presented competing but competent ideas to help America. We are left with but one…

America: Home of the Right-Wing Nut Jobs Ready to Kill

It is dumbfounding to think of all the crackers that live and breathe the same air as me. I spent 15 of my first 18 years living in Alabama or Texas during the 60’s and 70’s. It is these same people that want to take our country back in time much like our jihadist friends in the Middle East. Whitey as I like to call these crackers are ignorant and too often homicidal. Check out the latest attack in Louisiana.

These dumbass jackalopes make fools of themselves whenever they are interviewed or seen in public with their Confederate Flags and automatic weapons strapped to their chests and back as they stroll through Walmart. It makes the average citizen like me disgusted with this infantile behavior.

Unlike other places in the world where war has broken out and thrown society into chaos. We Americans go about our business as if nothing is happening. We find other issues to focus as we kill over ten times the number of innocent American citizens than any other industrialized, first world country.

I am not talking about a shooting here and a shooting there. I am talking about mass shootings that no other industrialized country experiences. Since the Newtown massacre of babies, America has experienced approximately 75 mass shootings, which means that at least four persons were killed in each incident.

Who were the majority of the killers in these shootings? White men! These cranks seem to taking out their frustration of their own poor choices on the rest of society. They have decided that they are God and can take others’ lives. This chills me to the bone because anyone can be the target of their ire and frustration be it a family member, co-worker, boss or random innocent people who happen to be in their purview.

Too many of these attacks are created by the hate stirred up on right-wing radio and the internet. Our first Amendment allows these purveyors of hatred to fill the airways with their loathing for the present and future. And, helps these nut jobs to focus their misguided hate and anger on the innocent too often but not exclusively brought on by those that wave the confederate flag.

I want to thank our confederate flag waving brethren who use this symbol to advertise their fear of progress, their ignorance, and their hatred of freedom for anyone but themselves. Their intolerance for any kind of dissonance is astounding. The only way they can deal with the world is on their myopic terms and anything or anyone who sees it differently is Anti-American and must be put in their place.

Their heroes are people like Rush Limbaugh or Alex Jones or Glen Beck whose bigoted world view leaves no room for the majority of Americans. If these men had their way, we would have the vagina police and the bedroom police to make sure that they or their cohorts could control the minutest details of American life. For the ignorant, we call this behavior FASCISM.

So, all you dumbass crackers out there who listen to all this garbage on the radio and computers, and believe that the black helicopters are coming for your guns and give your freedoms to (fill in the minority of your choice) better get your bunkers built because the rest of society is moving forward as you run to a past that never existed except in your fantasies.

White men made this the greatest nation on God’s green earth!

There is nothing that right-wing conservative Christians like to preach more than the idea that too many Americans rely on government assistance for things like food, housing, medicine and heat; they see these people as freeloaders that are ruining this the greatest country on God's green earth. They feel that you must do for yourself, and be independent to be a true American, furthermore, they are threatened by the idea that a woman or a homosexual or an immigrant or another ethnic or religious minority would make America their home.

Beyond those ideas, what they refuse to see is how the wealthy rob the taxpayer for their own greed and self-interest. This thievery has created a ruling class that are parasites much in the same way that Jesus saw when he threw out the money changers and profiteers from the synagogues. Moreover, there is no one to defend the economically marginalized as they have no PACs or SUPER-PACs to represent their interests.

The problems for America go beyond the financial robbery of our country by the wealthy; it is the intellectual and spiritual larceny that is at the heart of what ails America. The use of television, radio and the internet to poison minds on a daily basis is abhorrent to a healthy society, yet it is this type programming that makes money for the rich and powerful at the expense of all Americans. These professed right-wing, Christian hatemongers spout their venomous rants 24 hours a day to a willing and angry citizenry that is searching for a way to lash out at those they see as being less than them so that they can justify their lot in life.

From the lips of these religious fanatics we can thank God that America knows exactly how Jesus would feel about President Obama and the rest of the Democratic party as well as the progressives that support scoundrels who want to have background checks on gun purchases, make sure that more Americans can get medical coverage, and put hot food into the bellies of children who through no fault of their own are hungry too often.

These conservatives want to harken back to the past when we were a country of radicals like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson Davis who decided that war was the only way to create the America that could evolve in the country we are today in which all Americans can expect be treated with respect and dignity.

A country in which fairness is celebrated in marriage equality; a country in which evenhandedness is rejoiced in equal pay no matter your gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation; a country in which politics is by and for the people such as the Koch Brothers, Bank of America and Apple to name a few lesser known individuals trying to make a living for their families.

I did go in the wrong direction when I used the word evolved when talking about our right-wing Christian brethren. They in no way will admit to evolving or anything of the sort. For these people, evolve is a four letter word on par with progressive or liberal. And, never shall any of those words cross their lips except in contempt for the ideas that they represent.

I can see why evolution or equality or fairness is so frightening to these right-wing Christians: dread. They dread losing their ability to control their world by putting others beneath them; whether, it is based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or immigration status they are losing control of their environment as others step up demanding their place at the table.

This idea of insisting and expecting everyone in our society to be treated the same no matter their belief system, gender, ethnicity, or immigration status is utterly absurd and contrary to the moral fiber that runs through any good, right-wing, God loving Christian.

They know that you must earn your spot in heaven and only the righteous will be allowed into such a divine place; therefore, all you illegals, atheists, Jews, racist/sexual pejoratives, and women need to remember that it was white men that made this the greatest nation on God’s green earth and your behavior needs to reflect that fact.

Guns Don't Kill

I am sick of hearing that guns don’t kill or maim people. That argument’s logical fallacy is based on the idea that it is a human that kills. No shit Sherlock. I would like to thank Captain Obvious for that tired and overused contention. Guns give a killer an enormous advantage when seeking revenge or murder over lower tech means of killing such as knives, swords or a hatchet. They also provide the killer a way to separate themselves from what they have done. They do not have to get personal with their victims in the same way they would with those lower tech devices.

Moreover, using that tired and worn out logic the making and selling of bombs to the American public should be legal because bombs don’t kill people and Ted Kaczynski should have his sentence commuted because he used bombs that don’t kill people to kill people. Bombs like guns are inanimate objects so there is no way that they can harm another human. Maybe Timothy McVeigh should never have been executed since the inanimate object he used could never have killed all those children.

For those of you who have no idea what a gun or bomb is let me give you a history lesson, this goes out especially to our American NRA members and Michael Medved who when it comes to guns like to use pretzel logic to explain away gun violence. For all you history buffs, as you are well aware, guns were invented to kill and maim other humans in such a way that swords and knives and hatchets became obsolete and delightful killing devices used significantly less because they did not have the killing power of a gun.

Let’s take that one step further, think about this, our military buys many, many guns and other countries’ militaries buy many, many guns. Based on Michael Medved’s logic, there is no reason for governments to provide their military with guns because guns don’t kill or maim their enemy and militaries need technology that does kill and maim their enemy, so why do so many countries have militaries that buy many, many guns? Furthermore, this need to constantly restock gun inventories makes no sense if you listen to the amusing stylings of the Michael Medved show and the NRA stooges that flood the radio airways.

Logic be damned. Let the good times roll and make sure that the media and the entertainment industry extol the virtues of the American gun culture by selling it to American children. Without this cowboy mentality, where would America be today? There is no way that we would be the last standing superpower. Our willingness to strap on that six-shooter sets us apart from those quaint cultural icons the Germans, Russians and Chinese who never saw guns or bombs as a necessary evil. Hell, the Chinese only like to sell Americans pretty exploding devices to light up our skies on the Fourth of July.

It comes as no surprise that America’s love of guns is coming back to haunt us in the most unlikely of places: our schools. There are many, many more young Americans murdered in our streets, but that has become so common we and the media don’t raise an eye brow to those killings. It is inevitable that it won’t be too long until we have the same reaction to school shootings which is exactly the way gun manufacturers and their mouthpiece the NRA want Americans to view guns and their predictably destructive nature. School shootings must be seen as the natural course of life and death in America, thus, there can be no real or thoughtful dialogue concerning this truly American epidemic.

Tea Party Corporate Shills

It’s time for the working Americans to stand up and fight for what is right: a living wage. It is time for shareholders to take a backseat to those that toil; down with these vampires that effortlessly reap the benefits of backbreaking work. It is revolting to see that the pendulum has swung so far to the right that too many worker rights, which were won in the fifties and sixties are being lost, and today’s workers are being attacked for wanting job security, health benefits and a livelihood that keeps pace with inflation. 

Tea Party Corporate Shills lead the charge against American workers pushing the following obscene ideas: keep the working class in fear for their job, and make sure they are struggling financially, so they are thankful for what little is thrown their way. If you are a working stiff, make way for the big dog or you’ll be run over by one of these self-righteous, evangelical, libertarian goons who are out only for themselves at the cost of everything that makes America great.

What is so grotesque and repulsive is the fact that right-wing, conservatives aka Tea Party Thugs use radio and television shills to act as if they have no rights in this country while they deny economic equitability to working Americans. When it comes to satisfying their baser needs and desires (excessive profits at the expense of their employees), they act like henny penny and cry that the sky is falling because they don’t get everything that they want, and pretend that their profits are being whittled away by the competition all the while stealing from their employees and lining their corporate pockets. As they are doing this, these same crooks take their corporate holding off-shore so that they don’t have to pay taxes to help with the maintenance of the concrete and virtual infrastructure of our country.

If that is not bad enough, these conservative, media collaborators spread outrageous lies about the lack of religious freedom and the moral decay of America, furthermore, these same “morally superior” Christian broadcasters push the idea of a new crusade and demand America put more boots on the ground in the Middle East to destroy the infidels. Moreover, these same people believe that their religious superiority gives them the right to exploit their fellow Americans for their own personal financial gain in the name of their god all the while praising that lying, drug addict Rush Limbaugh for his misogynist rants.

If you’re crying wolf on the radio, publishing books reminiscing about the good old days, and running televisions networks dedicated to the dispersal of half-truths and complete lies how are your freedoms being curtailed? Those suppositions are merely subterfuge so that these con-artists can profit from using misinformation to prop up their fiefdoms and falsehoods to the American working men and women. The most irritating aspect of these alligator tears is that it is all about control and domination, and sad to say too many hard working Americans are buying what these Tea Party Conspirators are selling.

This need for unfettered power is based on the idea that these people believe they know what is best for America, and that the rest of us need to shut the hell up, bend to their will, and when that happens, then, America will return to its true course. Read the book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff Sharlet to clearly understand the inner workings and politics behind these conservative Tea Party evangelists.

Until Americans wake up to the perversions that these Tea Party liars are perpetuating, there is no way to stop this landslide of greed and cronyism.  We are witnessing the resurgence of the ugly side of capitalism, and I am sorry to say that there is no Teddy Roosevelt to take on the corporatists that are funding the political hijinks that we call Congress, moreover, the only grievance they will redress are those brought to them by the money changers.

Corporate Greed: An American Tradition

It is extraordinary to see that our country is moving in the least promising direction it has moved in the past one hundred years.  We are now headed back to the point where the corporate abuses that led to the rise of trade unions will lead to their demise.  Through our congressional leadership, corporations are able to black mail the American worker to give up hard fought benefits through their ability to gain concessions based on the idea that we will no longer be able to compete in the world market.

Moreover, this corporate gambit is based on the concept that to save individual jobs the American worker must sacrifice so that the shareholders gain on a quarterly basis.  Look at the case of a Mercer Island woman in Washington State who not only lost her computer position to outsourcing, but was required to travel to India and train her replacements, so that she could earn a paycheck as long as possible.  Think about that: she was coerced to make herself replaceable so that she could keep working a few more weeks before she was forced to go on unemployment.  Once she had completed her task, she was now the property of the U.S. government, and the company that she once worked for has washed their hands of her.

There is nothing new about this idea.  It is as old as private enterprise; however, in this age of global malaise and America bashing, it is ironic to see that the most proficient bashers live right here at home. Our corporations instead of lowering their profit margins and looking at the long haul have become more and more short-sided as CEO’s and CFO’s look for ways of boosting their personal wealth because their life expectancy at the top of the corporate pyramid remains limited. Is this the way that life should be run for the millions of Americans who rely on corporate honesty?

Of course not, but that is the way the world spins, so it is time for the American workers to fight for themselves and attack the power structures that are more concerned with corporate parties then corporate dental plans.  Money talks, and now that the Supreme Court has spoken; companies are persons, so said companies if they have the funds will not only be able to blackmail their workers, they will be able buy any legislation they want as they act as individual agents looking for new government entitlements. 

That is not the only way today’s corporations stiff America. If fleecing American workers is not enough, these self-styled oligarchs feel as if paying taxes is just too burdensome, and they are seeking relief, so that their shareholders can earn more revenues. Why should they be in the business of helping anyone other than themselves? They are able to use their new status as a person to leverage political advantage in the form of large unchecked donations, which acts as sort of a wink of the eye quid pro quo.

These huge corporations are vampires that are sucking the life blood out of America for their own personal gain. But, as we know, these are people whose greed is so unquenchable that they will lie, cheat and steal all the while blaming government for the economic collapse of the American middle class while the NASDAQ, Dow Jones and the S&P 500 reach heights never before imaged.

You have to hand it to people like the Koch brothers and Burger King and Apple and Microsoft for finding a way not to pay their fair share of taxes so that a greater burden is placed on small businesses, as well as the working and middle class. You are a tremendous example of what America is all about: CORPORATE GREED.

The tax burden is so overwhelming to large American corporations that our politicians have made sure to eliminate the possibility that these special people be required to pay taxes and help pay for the infrastructure that they so desperately need to run their businesses. Or, help pay for the police that protect their businesses. Or, help pay for the educational institutions that create the workers that will make their businesses profitable.

The Me Generation of the late ‘60’s and early 70’s has come home to roost. You billionaires who are willing to outsource thousands of jobs, spend hundreds of millions of dollars to rig political contests or on pet projects, but refuse to participate in the upkeep of our democratic principles and way of life: shame on you.

White Authoritarian Bigotry

When does stealing cigars mean you get murdered? When does smoking pot mean you get murdered? Only when you are an unarmed black teenager. I wasn’t there when Michael Brown was shot and killed, but when I see the right-wing hit machine on full auto attack mode, I know that there is a big problem, whether, it is Jim Pinkerton’s disgusting attempt to blame Michael Brown for his death or Bill O’Reilly’s need to lecture black America on how they need to behave.

We have set off a new wave of white authoritarian requisite desire to justify their behavior against people of color. White America has not come to terms with the lingering effects of discrimination. This can be seen through right-wing talking heads attacking any and everyone that does not look or act the way that they feel people should act, just listen to Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck when they go off on some lecture about how Black America needs to conduct themselves, and these sermons also includes thinly veiled racial attacks on the President of the United States.

It comes as no surprise that Michael Brown’s character is being dragged through the mud in the days and weeks following his murder. This is the typical response of the right-wing hit machine. They want to make sure that Black America understands their place in society, while trumpeting the moral superiority of White America, therefore, the unstated idea is that White America is under siege and must do any and everything in its power to protect its economic, social and political positions. They pretend that equality exists because a Black American was voted for two terms as president.

What they refuse to tell you is that these same right-wingers who feign color blindness have done everything in their power to discredit President Obama through personal and political attacks on anything action that he has taken as president be it healthcare reform to equal pay for women to protecting all Americans (not just white men) against discrimination even when the Supreme Court does its best job to keep inequity alive. Just today, Mitch McConnell said that if the Republicans take control of the Senate, he has vowed to hold the president and the American people hostage if he does not get his way on legislation. This is another example of the right-wing’s need to control and dominate all conversations.

It doesn’t stop there; the right-wing hit machine has helped to promote and incite the astronomical growth of the white hate groups in America. These groups are not only against people of color, but they are against federal, state and local government agencies that will not cow-tow to their every whim. When a white man (Clive Bundy) breaks the law, these vigilantes are armed and ready to fight the federal government. When a young black man is murdered by an officer of the government, they are nowhere to be found. How would the story have changed if a young white man had been gunned down?

More than likely, the right-wing hit machine would be all over the government concerning overreach and the militarization of the police. They would be screaming for an investigation into the shooting and demanding the arrest of the offending officer. Because it was a black man, in their eyes, the officer is being victimized and unfairly ostracized for carrying out his job. These behaviors demonstrate the incredible racial divide that is America today.

We have not evolved in a way in which racial discrimination has been eliminated. White America pretends that this problem no longer exists, however, the murder of Michael Brown demonstrates how deeply divided we are as a country and how little progress has been made in shoring up racial inequality since Martin Luther King’s death.

The root of America’s racial distrust transcends Michael Brown’s murder, and as a country, we need to acknowledge that work needs to be done when it comes to racial and gender discrimination. Moreover, as a society, we must rise above the right-wing hit machine that only wants to focus on things like black on black murder and black incarceration to justify their discriminatory positions. This hidden bigotry is a disease that is slowly eating away at the fabric of America, and leaving too many Americans on the outside of justice looking in.

Shameless Right-Wing Talk Radio Warmongers

The unequivocal nature of right-wing radio and bombastic talking heads like Ben Shapiro, Michael Medved and Laura Ingraham is devastating to the fabric of America in the same way the slavers of the south were to our union over a hundred years ago. These pompous blow-hards are pitting American against American, and their words and actions are shameless and destructive to the values that they pretend to embody.

What they like to hide behind is the bible and the Christianesque teachings that they pick and choose to illustrate the certainty of their positions so long as it matches their end goals, moreover, these Christianesque radicals act as if Islam is the only religion of hate and destruction. I guess they never sang the song Onward Christian Soldiers during a Sunday service.

What is most disgusting about these religiousesque fanatics on the radio is they feel as if their righteousness is all that is necessary to condemn men, women and children to their deaths because Islamic terrorists use these innocents as shields. They blame all but themselves as they sit back in their studios and watch the murder and obliteration of the blameless, all the while using biblical passages and xenophobic language to assuage their guilt, yet leaving blood on their hands.

Where is the humanity in all of this? It is nowhere to be found; there is no compassion in their words only calls for military action, and these men and women that demand such provocative interventions are morally bankrupt, phony prophets. Their obsession with using violence to answer all inflammatory acts is a sign of a declining empire. An empire that has lost is sense of perspective and direction due to their lack of concern for humanity.

I am saddened beyond belief each and every time I hear these men and women say things like, “God bless America; the greatest country on God’s green earth.” This statement says that any decision that is made here in America is morally superior to the rest of the world, moreover, these words go beyond provincialism because they act as bellicose, provocative stances on the many conflicts facing America and the world today.

 What is more grotesque in these local and national right-wing, Christianesque radio shows is that they see themselves as the truth and the light. That is a position which is solely left to Jesus if you believe such things, and it takes an incredible amount of hubris to position yourself thusly. Their hate of all others that refuse to think their way borders on the pathological in that these disembodied voices are assembling the next religious war.

In this day and age, it is so easy to be a pundit and talk about what America should do on the world stage. These right-wing talkers are ready to send more young men and women to their deaths without a second thought. They know in their hearts that our religious righteousness will prevail over all that do not see the world as they do, and that the murder and obliteration of any society not aligned with their religious belief system is morally justified no matter the cost in human lives.

This shameless Christianesque warmongering leads us all the way back to 1095 AD and Pope Urban II who led the first of many crusades against Islam which we are still perpetuating a millennia later. We have learned nothing if not that power comes from imposing our will through the use of armed conflict, furthermore, it is these right-wing pundits (who have nothing to lose) who shout for more violence as my son sits in the wings ready to do battle for their greed and intolerance.

What betrays the totality of their ignorance as right-wing radio pundits is their lack of understanding when it comes to our military withdraw from Iraq.  It is astounding in so much as these right-wingers have no idea the complex issues that led to the withdraw of American troops from Iraq. One significant issue was the fact that the Iraqi government would not protect our soldiers from prosecution for murder and other crimes if we stayed. So we left. They did not want us there. The Iraqi power structure that had been held in check by Saddam Hussein was after revenge and control and with America there, they would never be able to gain the power they so desired.

Today’s right-wing pundits only want to regain the imaginary power and control that they lost with the election of President Obama to a second term. They will say or do anything to hurt his presidency, so long as it puts them back into power in a way that they feel they are entitled. It matters not if they tell the truth or care what is in the best interest of the American people here or abroad. Like the Iraqi government, these pundits are after power for the sake of power, no matter the cost, so buyer beware.

Republican War Machine

Daily political drama debases everyday experiences and has lead us into being a country of political whiners and sycophants. This trivialization of life has created such wanton cynicism that we as a society are nonplused when a child is murdered needlessly, or worse when thousands of innocents are murdered in the name of war, and they are not seen as the victims, but merely as collateral damage and dehumanized by the combatants and the voyeurs. Our Republican politicians perpetuate these problems with their war on America in words and deeds.

As I watch the world turn and witness the blatant lies, misinformation and propaganda being spewed by the Republican war machine, I am disgusted by their tactics. Whether it is Liz Cheney on FOX News refusing to acknowledge that we tortured detainees in Cuba or in one of our other secret prisons, or Louie Gohmert lying about the invasion of south Texas by Al Qaeda.

More to the point, the Republican leader in the Senate in all of this drama is Ted Cruz the darling of the Tea Party. He and his cronies are attacking the heart of America by denying insurance to Americans; he was so successful and persuasive in his assault against the Affordable Care Act that millions of low income Americans will not be able to get insurance as many states refused to enact Medicare expansion. Got to love those Texans who keep voting for his hatred that keeps going on and on like the energizer bunny. Ted makes America proud with his misogynistic and xenophobic speeches and votes.

Let us not forget the Speaker of the House John Boehner and his idea of leadership for America. His leadership has centered around one issue: healthcare. He has led the least productive congressional session in the history of our great republic. The most telling thing about Speaker Boehner is his latest attack on insurance for Americans in that he feels it is necessary to sue President Obama for using executive authority in regards to the Affordable Care Act. This action will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. What is more interesting is the byproduct of this action in that it will add to the deficit, which Republicans say they are against.

All those guys are fun and exciting to have in positions of power, but there is more to the idea of negation in our political realm.  Senator Mitch McConnell made sure that American corporations that ship jobs overseas will not be penalized and can abuse the tax code with prejudice as they put more Americans out of work. Mitch, thank you for looking out for hard working Americans and putting their needs above the needs of unpatriotic businesses. I almost forgot; corporations are people, so Mitch and his gang like radio talk show host Michael Medved really are looking out for America.

All of this self-serving debasing of America has taken its toll on the average citizen by helping them to disengage from political and social discourse in any meaningful way. We have become so inundated with images of destruction, words of distrust that only the few are seen and heard in the echo chamber we call Washington DC. It is a sad fact that too many Americans have become immune to the misery that makes up to large a part of our society, and the politicians market their wares to a smaller and smaller number of constituents.

As this happens, society is left with a hollow and dysfunctional government that serves only those that oblige the politicians, which leaves infrastructure to disintegrate, people to die and cynicism to run rampant. A change needs to take place so that America can become what it should be: a place where freedom and ideas are paramount and the weakest are given a hand up not left in a gutter to fend for themselves.  It is time to end the Republican War on America.

The House of Republicans

There comes a time when you either laugh or cry at the insanity, which we call the House of Republicans. For the past 6 years, the Republicans in the House have been screaming that the ACA, aka Obamacare, must be repealed and replaced or the sky will fall. They are now threatening to sue the President over the employer mandate as a means of stealing healthcare from millions of Americans. True to their word these House Republicans do nothing to make life better for average Americans except act like Henny Penny and squeal about the end of civilization as we know it.

That last statement is not completely true. The House of Republicans has taken many votes and held elaborate committee meetings trying to prove one scandal after another to show the American people how despicable the Democrats are and in particular the current President. The IRS is in trouble for looking at Republican organizations that are claiming tax exemption while playing partisan politics, oh the audacity to question the ethical standards of the House of Republicans.

In particular our friend, Ted Cruz has taken his lies to a new level in that he blames the Democrats for all the obstruction that is taking place in the House of Republicans, which is to say that the Democrats won’t do whatever the Republicans desire in the House of Republicans. It is a shame that Democrats want to think for themselves, and will not knuckle under the bullying tactics of the House of Republicans be it on the mall or the airways or in print.

Of course in the House of Republicans, if you don’t vote to take away insurance from the American people, then, you are obstructing congress. If you don’t want to give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and corporations, then, you are obstruction congress. If you want to end the hostilities in Gaza, then, you are not only obstructing congress, but you are aiding Hamas and an anti-Semite. You sad little libertine, you need to be taught proper decorum and deference to the House of Republican’s moral superiority.

Really, what all this means is that if you think of yourself and don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh or watch Sean Hannity, then, you are an obstructionist that is out to destroy all that is good about America. It gets better than this for progressives when you listen to Mark Levin who wants to destroy all who oppose his way of thinking. The irony for me with all these House or Republican ideologues is that they represent the book burning fascists that they claim the progressives embody. It is only ironic in that they are unable to understand how they exemplify that ideology. Sad but true.

In their world view, all liberals are extremists and all they want to do is create a dictatorship, but more to the point the Democrats have a king in the making in Washington DC because he uses planes, helicopters and cars to travel around the country and the world. Why do they always confuse the idea of a Monarchy with a Dictatorship?  I find their missed up metaphors so confusing. Anyway, you have to remember that no Republican President has ever used any of these modern gadgets during their Presidencies, or traveled on vacations or played golf or any of the other things that President Obama has done while living in the White House.

Let’s compare Presidential vacation days. President Bush took over 350 vacation days while in office; President Obama has taken just under 100 days, which means that President Obama must take a little over 250 vacation days in the next 2 years to tie President Bush. Interesting, so, on a yearly basis, President Bush averaged approximately 44 vacation days a year or about 6 weeks. On the other hand, President Obama has taken on average 17 vacation days a year or 2 weeks. Who seems to have been on the job more? It is easy to see if you live in the House of Republicans: President Bush.

As you can see, in The House of Republicans both inside and outside of Washington, history has a strange way of fading away like the fact that President Ronald Reagan in 1982 presided over the largest tax increase in American history, but that fact seems to have been eliminated from the House of Republican History books, or the fact that he used executive orders to circumvent congress. No, he was carrying out the will of the people with those signing orders not acting as a Monarch/Dictator above the law. Only a Democratic President could be acting so recklessly.

If I recall, Ronald Reagan ordered the funding of a secret war in Nicaragua. That little adventure was not against the law and it in no way circumvented the congress. I forget that as a Republican you are allowed to act as a Monarch/Dictator and make your own rules or lie to the American people.

A few years back I remember a president that lied to congress, lied to America and lied to the world about weapons of mass destruction. Those lies have wounded or killed 50,000 Americans. Why wasn’t that President brought up on Articles of Impeachment for lying. Of course, he was a card carrying member of the House of Republicans so he was immune from any such prosecution.

The House of Republicans has a very different set of rules and judgments for likeminded people who carry out immoral actions. They are given honors and held up as examples of how a statesman operates in the modern world: roar loudly and carry a big stick to bludgeon anyone that would dare to question your moral authority. So, we progressives are in for more of the same when it comes to actions against President Obama be it from the House of Republicans or their cronies in the media. Their persecution of President Obama only serves to cover up their unpatriotic deference to their base and not to America as a whole.

Right-wing Talk Radio Throws it Against the Wall to See if it Sticks

The crisis in the Border States is a conspiracy for Russian spies and Middle Eastern terrorists who are secretly crossing the border as American border agents’ attention is focused on Central American children. More tails from the crypt. This is the latest bizarre idea that has been flung out by the right-wing wackadoodles on the Steve Deace show Tuesday evening, June 15, 2014. The guest host didn’t in anyway question the idea; he let it fly across the airways unchallenged.

Whatever is said on right-wing talk radio does not stay on right-wing talk radio. It infects more than who listen, and these heinous lies spread like a virus through their listeners and contaminate all the people those listeners contact. Right-wing talkers are more toxic, then, the bubonic plague because you can kill the rats that carry the infected fleas, but these talking rats are paid millions to spew their disease and spread it unrestrained through their mindless minions and beyond.

The more outrageous their idea the longer the shelf life, e.g. Obama was born in Kenya (still living). This is happening from the local to the national level. Here in Washington State we have a member of the Tea Party who professes to believe that it is the environmentalists that have caused global warming. He blames our current energy crisis on the fact that we are not running multiple nuclear power plants in the state. Based on his logic if those darn environmentalist hadn’t stopped the nuclear revolution greenhouse gases would not be what they are today.  It is good to see that Mr. Cicotte recognizes that there is greenhouse gas pollution.

Unlike Mr. Cicotte, right-wing talkers have been so ostracized by the rest of the world that they are never allowed to speak their peace, yet somehow, they seem to be doing a great job of it on the radio. Living in Seattle the only talkers outside of sports talk shows are right-wingers spinning all kinds of crazy-talk.  My favorite in their latest anti-Obama chorus: President Obama is the reason that the Malaysian airliner was shot down in Crimea.  Of course he was.

This invariably leads to the idea that Iraq is falling apart because we are not still acting as an occupier. It is not the fact that Bush and his minions destroyed the political infrastructure as bad as it was, and replaced it with warring factions that want to kill each other to retain or regain power. No one on the right seems to remember that all occupiers end up being run off by the occupied. Being an occupier is a zero sum game and that is why empires crumble, e.g. The Soviet Union in the 1990’s or maybe Iran in the 1980’s.

In the eyes of the right-wing talkers, there is no need to look at history because none of that matters since we are the greatest country ever, so we will not fall prey to historical precedence. From their point of view, the present problems in Iraq were never caused by our invasion. The present quagmire that is Iraq was brought about due to the fact there is not enough military hardware being used by American men and women.

These right-wingers have learned nothing from our past behaviors, so they want to act as if our military might will be able to solve any and all problems that arise. These right-wing talkers want us all to remember that the use of military action is doing so well in all corners of the globe such as Egypt, Syria, Chechnya, Crimea, Southern Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan to name a few.

While these right-wingers scream about how the world is falling apart and that President Obama is sitting on his hands, they have no alternative plans. They offer no policy ideas except, “Send in more troops”. Well, it is an election year, so you don’t want to put yourself out there with ideas; it is always better to scream and shout about of the evil that is in the world and how the president is taking no action, then, to actually have a plan to put on the table.

Darrell Issa has the right idea: make up a phony crisis, spend hundreds of millions of tax payers’ dollars, then, vote against unemployment benefits for hard working Americans that have fallen on tough times. Maybe his diversionary tactics will work, and the American people will vote against their own best interests, thus, sending the Republicans on to victory in November. Go right-wing talkers may your contrived crises be heard around the country and bring prosperity to all. 

Right-Wing Political Evangelicals Find Their Jihad In 2014

What I find so interesting about right-wing, Republican, Christian conservatives is how they like to throw out the term dogma when talking about progressives. When one talks about dogma, you must remember that the idea behind this word is that it is a set of beliefs that religions hold to be true. In America today, the only religion that is trying to trump changing social conventions is Evangelical Christianity with its need for all to genuflect and bow down to their values and vision of the world be it hawking a new war, attacking people’s sexual orientation or demanding that women give up the right to determine what happens to their bodies.

As a society, this idea (dogma) is contradictory to what progressives believe in that they are looking to break away from a religious doctrine in dealing with the present social and political problems. Whereas, our conservative, right-wing Republicans want to use religious dogma to govern modern culture in that they scream that their religious beliefs must supersede all other thoughts as to what should be considered as true and decent.

Take the Hobby Lobby ruling by SCOTUS; in this instance, the religious right is celebrating the fact that they won and are able to impose their values on people that do not hold those tenets to be true. This situation is dogma at its most fundamental, and in no way, defeats a progressive ideology in so much as it imposes religious principles above the established civil and social code of our country. The irony in this situation is that the intolerance associated with sharia laws is being actualized by the Supreme Court and imposed on an unwilling society with this religious based ruling.

Of course there is nothing new in this type of behavior by the Supreme Court or the religious right as they have over the years used their brand of dogma to attack progressives, liberals or anyone that will not kowtow to their belief systems. As a child, I witnessed the use of religion to justify the separate but equal doctrine that was based on the Plessy v. Ferguson case in that the court’s majority “…contended that the law separated the two races as a matter of public policy.” Of course this was overturned in 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, but the damage was done and is still being felt all over America.

As Americans we are facing renewed attacks on our freedom in the name of religious intolerance and being called out by the right-wing, conservative Evangelical Christians who see it as their duty to try and impose retroactive beliefs that are no longer seen as mainstream, but represent age old bigoted tactics used to bludgeon your enemy. These are all signs of a religious revival set in motion by men and women bent on proving their morality and righteousness by denying others the same.

For them this is a holy war, and there can be only one victor and that victor must not be anyone that could be labeled a liberal, progressive or a Republican that does not validate their ideology and principles by following their strict moral compass. Jack Schwartz writes eloquently on this exact point in his piece for the Daily Beast, “The Tea Party Isn’t A Political Movement It’s A Religious One”.

For these religious fanatics, blood must be spilled both metaphorically and literally for them to see victory. The sad news in all of this is that politicians that hold no deep religious belief system, but want to gain power through this process have attached themselves to this movement and have formed groups that want to use violence as a means of political pressure and change. This is what is most disturbing about this religious movement in that it can and has morphed into violent responses as in forcing women to be probed by a doctor prior to an abortion..

Helping to foment hate and distrust are right-wing radio talkers who casually add fuel to the fire by attacking any and everyone that refuses to follow their political and religious positions as stated on air. They beat the drum of suspicion, xenophobia, and intolerance. While they act like the victims, they attack calling for liberals and progressives to be disemboweled, thus, trying to turn our democracy into a theocracy in which they control political ideas through religious intimidation.

They base their positions on their misguided interpretations of the Constitution in that they say, “What would the founders do in this situation?" They have decided that they and only they have the correct insight into the way the founders (in other words white, Anglo-Saxon men) of this country thought and would interpret moral, religious and legal issues facing America today, therefore, these conservative Christians like to throw out words like dogma when explaining any idea that does not fit neatly into their rigid view of conformity.

That is the rub for America.  Will the minority determine what is to happen to the majority? It is a woeful fact that too many Americans are disengaged in the political process, thus, giving rise to a small but vocal group that has set out to reverse America's course. They see the acceptance of homosexuality through marriage equality and abortion as personal and religious affronts, and they are ready to fight their own jihad in the name of their god to stop the madness no matter what it takes, just ask Bruce Bradly in Iowa or Mary Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky they each have a story to tell.

Absolutism: The Tea Party Theology

It looks like all over the country the American people are not buying what the Tea Party has to sell. Senator Cruz and Sarah Palin are losers once again, and they are mad as hell about this fact. These Tea Partiers are flailing about against the Republicans, Democrats and anyone else that refuses to follow their party line of absolutism.

Absolutism is at the core of the Tea Party which has loosely based itself on the idea of Puritanism. This theory has political as well as religious implications such as the ideas that truth and morality are absolute and not conditional upon human perception. And, if you refuse to follow these precepts, then, you are immoral or worst amoral.  Of course you will not be able to understand these absolutes unless you unquestioningly but into the Tea Party point of view.

This political and religious belief system leaves no room to question the authorities be they religious or political. You must follow what they say and prescribe or you will be punished if not in this life in the next. These concepts are why these Tea Party and religious radicals have such a hard time understanding the idea of freewill or the idea that morality can and will change as society evolves and changes.

At the heart of the Tea Party’s animus today, is marriage equality. These religious terrorists are livid about the idea that marriage is between one man and one woman, moreover, that marriage is all about reproduction of the species. For them, marriage is not about love and caring and companionship, but about deciding who is allowed to love (publically) and forcing the rest of society to accept their view of marriage. Tangled in this web of loathing is the idea that being homosexual is a lifestyle choice that must be changed or these amoral people will suffer in the fires of hell.

Their hostility for ideas that they cannot control does not stop there. The thought that a woman can choose an abortion or that she has the right to control what happens to her body by using birth control or refusing sexual advances is outrageous and has led some of these religious terrorists to murder in the name of God. It demonstrates the dishonest nature of the religious right and their corresponding Tea Party minions that are willing to carry out these heinous acts.

Bombing of abortion clinics, killing doctors are disgusting and immoral acts, but they pale in comparison to the political treachery that is taking place in state legislatures across the country. These white men pretend that they are trying to protect women’s health by making it nearly impossible for women to have health screenings by forcing clinics and doctors to meet regulatory standards that they know will shut down the majority of women’s health clinics that do significantly more than abortions in that they carry out important health screening and contraception distribution to low and middle income families. The irony is that these legislators pretend to believe in less regulations for American businesses unless of course said businesses do not follow their moral directives.

All of these issues revolve around moral imperatives and the absolutism that so profoundly dominates their perspective of how Americans should behave. When you are as intractable and rigid as these political operatives, there is no reason to compromise and share power or ideas or opinions because concessions are impossible.

In the world of the Tea Party absolutists, strength can only be seen by unflinchingly clinging to your strict autocracy at all costs even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary as in the case of Karl Rove questioning the outcome of the last Presidential election on national television and left holding the bag.

The foundations of this country have demanded compromise. If it was not for George Washington and his ability to broker an agreement between opposing factions, our present day Constitution may not exist, thus, we may never have existed as the country we are today. If President Lincoln had not stood his ground against inflexible tyranny and fought for the equality we presently enjoy, we may not be the country that we are today. And, if we do not stand up to the tyranny of the Tea Party, there is no telling where we are headed as a country.

That last statement is completely erroneous in that it is clear as to what kind of country we will become if we allow corporate America to buy elections; we will transform from a Representative Democracy to a Technocratic Oligarchy in which our elected officials will only serve their corporate sponsors due to the rigidity of an electorate that does not understand or appreciate the fact that absolutism is what hundreds of thousands of American soldiers have sacrificed their lives and wellbeing for over 200 years.

Puritanical Dogma and the Tea Party

It is intriguing that the far right Tea Partiers believe that the idea of Puritanism is based on freedom and tolerance. They have decided again to rewrite history for their own prurient reasons, which can only be guessed, but self-interest, power and control are at the top of the list.

For the Tea Party, puritanism equals freedom and tolerance unless of course you don’t believe the way these modern day Puritans believe. In fact, in many ways, the father of the entire movement was Oliver Cromwell who they seem to model themselves after. His belief in freedom and tolerance was decided different then what most Americans today would view as such.

It is time to give Steve Deace and the Tea Partiers a history lesson, because they seem to have forgotten the ideas that drove puritanism to our shores. Mr. Cromwell set the tone for puritanism in that he went to Ireland to decimate the Catholics. By the time he was done in Ireland, Cromwell had made sure that only 10% of the land was owned by Catholics who made up 80% of the population. There was not much tolerance on his mind as he annihilated the Irish Catholics as the 1 percent today tries to crush the middle class.

Moreover, in 1647, he banned Christmas and other religious holidays, declaring them to be pagan festivals as well as theater. In this way, he fits right into the wheelhouse of the religious right and their Tea Party apologists who want to ban everything from abortions to the Dream Act because these actions play into their own self-interest and   from their perspective serves to highlight how they are victims in America today.

Furthermore, immigration reform and the thought that other immigrants want to come to America because of the safety and opportunities that present themselves in our society and cannot be found in their countries of origin is an abomination. While many of these people are forced flee their own countries due to economic and social ills, the Tea Parties response is, “TOO BAD”. From their perspective, immigrants in the past have never fled to our shores (can you say Ireland?). None of these right-winger families came to America illegally seeking their fortune or safety from oppressive regimes. The irony of this situation completely escapes these modern day Puritans.

From the Tea Party’s perspective, we need to put up a no trespassing sign and a lock on the gate of our southern border. Too bad there is no way to do this or the Tea Party Republicans would have a solution to the border issues. More to the point, the most important parts of Puritanism were piety, obeying religious rules as the Puritans determined. What exactly does that mean? Love thy neighbor as you would thyself unless they speak a different language, have a different skin color or a different idea as to how to solve America’s problems.

Modern Puritanical ideology is not about freedom and tolerance. It is about power and control and how to dominate social mores. They like to couch their ideas in terms of doing God’s will. I am fully aware that early Puritan ministers like Jonathon Edwards preached that God is angry with man because of our sinful ways. I wonder if hating undocumented workers and their children is sinful? These religious zealots want the rest of society to believe that they know what must be done to curry God’s favor and through these actions America will thrive.

To help of the rest of society to understand their positions, these modern day Puritans point fingers at what they see as society’s ills. Bobby Jindal’s speech at the Faith and Freedom rally is a perfect example of finger pointing.  He “…accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of waging wars against religious liberty and education…” Where was his proof? Just saying these words does not make them true or accurate. Where was his solution? He had none. He wanted to stir up the pot of dissatisfaction because it serves his purpose of aligning with his base. There is no leadership present in those words, only self-interest.

He is the same governor of Louisiana that refused federal dollars to expand Medicaid insurance to the poorest Louisianans. Where in the New Testament does Jesus refuse to help the poor and the sick and the downtrodden? I must have missed that idea in my religious upbringing. I hope my Puritan freedom loving believers can show me where this occurred.

Be aware, the Puritan idea of freedom is on the march again, and it is anything but freedom. It is a dogma that allows no dissension (just ask the women put to death as witches in Salem, Massachusetts). It is a doctrine that dictates absolute truths that only they through their worship of God know to be true. Moreover, it reinforces the idea of intolerance for anyone or anything that contradicts their belief system.

Republican Amnesia

Amnesia is a great state to live if you are a right-winger. When you are in this state, you never have to remember what happened in the past and you get to make up anything that you like to take its place. You get to blame the Democrats for the state of affairs in Iraq and Afghanistan. You get to rant about the end of the world as we know it, and how ISIS is going destroy the America we love. This is the perfect storm to gin up political outrage. Without Muslim terrorists you could never say I told you so.

Iraq is a great example of the Republican state of amnesia. Iraq is imploding much like Bosnia did in the 1990’s. A brutal dictator was vanquished in each and in his place warring factions went after each other and all their grudges and hatreds that had been bottled up for years overflowed in massive and destructive violence. Once again Pandora was allowed out of the box.

The difference between Bosnia and Iraq is that the Iraqi extremist not only want to kill each other, but they want to go after the heathens better known as the United States of America. The Bosnians had no global plans; they only wanted to act locally, and that is what they did quite successfully.

My right-wing friends seem to have forgotten the lessons of Bosnia and its impact on its neighbors when they decided to invade a stable if not grotesquely ruthless Iraq. They did not think that the Iraqi extremists hatred for the west and what we stand for such as freedom (if we think that you deserve it) or independence (only if you do it our way) was such a good thing since we had put such a vicious dictator in power to protect America’s interests in the middle east and attack our sworn enemy: Iran.

These same right-wingers don’t like to let facts get in the way of their rants against Democrats. Let’s look at some facts: the Republicans were in power when 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center, a Republican President landed on an aircraft carrier and said mission accomplished as 4,500 American soldiers died in Iraq and Afghanistan, but none of this should get in the way of their present attacks on Democrats.

The Republicans left a mess in the Middle East and expect the Democrats to clean it up all the while pretending that there was nothing wrong with the actions that tore Iraq apart and opened the way for al-Qaida to set up training centers that were once housed in Afghanistan. Bully for the right-wingers. They are like the neighbor kid that comes to your house and helps destroy your son’s or daughter’s room then leaves the mess for someone else to clean up.

More than that. Each time the Democrats take care of business in regards to al-Qaida, the Republicans poo-poo it. They act as if the killing of Osama bin Laden was no big deal; this is after a Republican president said that the man who organized the deaths of 3,000 people on 9/11 was not important enough to apprehend, then, this same President went off on a foreign adventure in Iraq that more than ten years later is still in shambles.

These same right-wingers pretended it was not essential to kill Anwar al-Awlaki an American setting himself up to be the next bin Laden. Or acknowledge the significance of the latest capture of the organizer of the Benghazi attacks, Abu Ahmed Khattala. It is more vital to spend millions of dollars to see that there is no hidden conspiracy in regards to the Benghazi attacks.

It is the Republicans’ need to live in a state of amnesia and bring along fellow amnesiacs that is most frightening. As the world gets more complicated, these right-wingers think that we can go back to a time when America could flex its muscles and the rest of the world would flinch. This is no longer the case, however, this won’t stop them from using present and past events to gin up political indignation without having a solution outside of putting more American troops at risk.

Republicans keep pretending that your simplistic and childish world views will save us, and I’ll pretend that you don’t love Muslim terrorists because you believe they will provide the cover needed so that you can take control of this country. Muslim terrorists just what the Republican doctor ordered for the 2014 election cycle.

Gun Right Extremists

I love right-wing talkers like Mike Gallagher who profess to be outraged by alleged second amendment issues, first amendment issues and are ready to begin impeachment proceedings against President Obama. They scream scandal at the drop of the hat. Of course, this is all for ratings and to get the crazies out and behaving as if their hair is on fire. I have no idea if Mike Gallagher really believes what he spouts on the radio, but it would be rather disingenuous if he didn’t.

The idea that any of the amendments to the constitution do not have limitations is absolutely absurd. There are limits on all our freedoms. If, as a public school teacher, I began to espouse my religious beliefs and tried to recruit students to whatever religion I was selling I would be terminated. If, as a public school teacher, I went on a racist tear I would be terminated.  If as a public school teacher, I brought a gun to school to demonstrate my second amendment rights I would be terminated. These are realistic limits to constitutionally guaranteed American rights.

It is a false precept to believe that because some idea is in the constitution that it goes unfettered as these phony Second Amendment apologists would have America believe. The crux of all their arguments is that their freedoms no matter the topic are being restricted and that is un-American. What is un-American are these right-wing groups trying to force their opinions on the rest of society.

The guns rights group are a fantastic example of taking the Second Amendment to the extreme in that they feel it is their right to press their position on the rest of us. I would hate to be a cop in today’s world. These jackalopes feel that they are entitled to unencumbered restrictions as to where and when they can carry their gun. They will also be the first to cry foul when one of their ilk is shot and killed in a confrontation with the police because they were carrying their weapon and refused to follow the requests of the authorities.

The idea that any and everyone can walk around with a loaded weapon is completely idiotic. This is the type of behavior that works in failed states such as Somalia or Syria not the United States of America. There is no need to brandish a weapon in public. I am all for gun safety classes and shooting competitions and firing ranges, but when citizens openly carry guns, bad things happen.

I guess the right-wing pundits like Mike Gallagher have forgotten about the retired police officer that decided to shoot a movie theatre patron because said patron was being too loud. No weapon on the shooter’s person and one man is alive and the other is not in jail, but why should logic dictate behavior be it on the radio or on the streets.

Yes, there are restrictions to gun ownership as there should be. The constitution does not say that you can carry your gun on your person when and wherever you travel unless of course you are a police officer or federal agent. Maybe we should allow open carry on airplanes?

The second amendment does say, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” What state or federally mandated militia are these people representing? Who are they protecting?

Of course, I forget. These modern day citizen soldiers are protecting me from those left-wing extremists known heretofore as progressives or Democrats who are out to subjugate the masses, and will not only take all their guns away, but also take away their hard earned money, and will give it to those ne'er-do-wells that are sucking the life out of our country: BIG BUSINESS.

Sergeant Bergdahl

In the world of politics, Sergeant Bergdahl’s release has become the right-wing’s latest red herring. With a son who was a former army ranger that served in Afghanistan, I asked him how he felt about the release of Bergdahl. Unequivocally, he said, “We leave no one behind.” There were no if or buts in his statement.

We went on to discuss other issues with the release. What if he was a deserter? Or a douche-bag? He told me that none of that mattered. He was an Army soldier and we, as a country, needed to do whatever was necessary to bring him home. All the other issues were subterfuge.

He let me know that there were men in his unit that were left stateside when he deployed to Afghanistan because they were deemed to be unfit or were seen as a detriment to the unit in a combat zone. If Sergeant Bergdahl was seen as such a bad soldier, why was he in Afghanistan? Who did not do the proper vetting prior to his deployment? Was it his direct commander? The head of his unit? As I understand it, there are channels to take care of problems like this.

Once in country, why did no one take the steps needed to prevent Sergeant Bergdahl from walking off his post? Were there no signs that problems were on the horizon? Someone needs to get to the bottom of that question. Did his aberrant behavior pop up out of nowhere? Where is the written documentation to back up the claims in his unit? Or, was it a sergeant or lieutenant or captain or someone even higher in the chain of command that dropped the ball and didn’t address the problem of Sergeant Bergdahl?

I am dumbfounded by the way others in his unit talk about Sergeant Bergdahl.  Where is their responsibility in all this? Why did they not take action to see that this young man was pulled back? This issue goes much deeper than anyone seems to be looking? However, it is much easier to blame Sargent Bergdahl than see where the system failed.

Many of the men that have spoken out against Sergeant Bergdahl said that they signed essentially gag orders. Why? What is the Army trying to cover-up? Why is Sergeant Bergdahl being made the scapegoat? He is at fault for walking off his post, but there is a hell of a lot not being talked about as it relates to this case.

But for right-wing pundit and politicians, it is easier to point fingers than to search for the truth. In this they can try to gain political points in lieu of seeking the truth behind the story. Six servicemen dead in the hunt for him makes for great headlines. Unlike Army drop the ball and knew Sergeant Bergdahl mental state was deteriorating, but left him in the rotation.

In the world of right-wing punditry, he is a coward, deserter; a man who so shamed the uniform he wore that we should have left him behind to rot for the rest of his life. These talkers have become judge, jury and executioner. Where is their honor? They have none. But it does not stop there.

They are incensed that five Taliban leaders were released. Were we to imprison them in perpetuity? Exactly how are they going to harm Americans? They are not going to harm anyone in this country. In fact, they may lead us to people serving in al-Qaida. Once out of Qatar, they may rejoin the fight to retake control of Afghanistan, but they are never going to be a threat to us here in America. This fear-mongering is a stratagem to gain political points as to who is best at protecting us from our enemies and their answers remain the Republicans.

These five men in no way will do anything outside of Afghanistan, but they can lead us to people that want to do us harm here and across the world. When President Obama says that we have eyes on these five men, he means that we have their DNA, voice recognition, finger prints, and facial recognition. They can go nowhere without us. The hope being that people in al-Qaida will want to interview them and we will gain new information.

 

Why they will never harm us is the fact that these five men will never be accepted into al-Qaida because they do not in any way have the skill sets that al Qaida requires such as language skills, computer skills, and financial skills to name a few, everything that is needed to operate outside of Afghanistan.

Finally, this exchange was a smart move because it saved an American life. It is not the first nor will it be the last time that America negotiates with terrorists. Lest we forget that Ronald Reagan negotiated with Iranian terrorists to bring home hostages in 1980, and in that case, he traded arms for Americans. When a Republican negotiates with the enemy, then, he is a hero, end of story.

 

Welcome home Sergeant Bergdahl. You have come back to a place where many on the right want to make an example of you. It seems as if we have learned nothing from Vietnam. Political gamesmanship is much more important than saving an American soldier even if it is from himself.