More RAIN Support
RAIN Refresher: From now until the presidential election day we will begin each post with a review of the Remove All Incumbents Now (RAIN) campaign. A good rain washes clean all the road scum, dust and filth. We hope that a cleansing of Congress will result in the firing of the legislators who are part of the group that bailed out Wall Street with nearly a trillion dollars, at least 150 billion of which was blatant authorized pork by Democrats to appease Republicans who had previously rejected the bill then changed their vote allowing it to pass after being seduced by pork. We are not sure how much of the bailout, if any, was actually needed.
Response is overwhelming: We have heard from average working Americans across the country. Each as promised to forward our RAIN campaign to all on their respective contact list. Today we spoke to a friend and physician who not only agrees 100% with throwing the bums out due to a corrupted system, he suggested term limits of two terms be imposed on Congress and that the presidency be limited to one six-year terms as is done successfully in many other democratic country. The campaign continues.
No comment on the presidential debate: The debate, such as it was included enough Pabulum that we will not bother to comment on it. As we have stated before, we encourage you to vote as you please for the presidency but PLEASE vote every single incumbent out of office. Fire them and continue each election until the corrupt cronyism of the system has been purged. This is serious stuff so we will take a bit of a respite with some political quotes by politicians and pundits. We will begin and conclude with quotes by founding Father Thomas Jefferson: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."
Thomas Jefferson
OTHER POLITICAL AXIOMS
'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed;
If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.'
-Mark Twain
Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a member of Congress....
But then I repeat myself.
-Mark Twain
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
-Richard Armour
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity
is like a man standing in a bucket and
trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-Winston Churchill
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul
can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw
A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man
which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
-G. Gordon Liddy
Democracy must be something more than
two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
-James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from
poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
-Douglas Casey,
Giving money and power to the government is like
giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
Government is the great fiction, through which everybody
endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
-Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)
Government's view of the economy could be
summed up in a few short phrases:
If it moves, tax it.
If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Ronald Reagan (1986)
There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
-Alexis de Tocqueville
I don't make jokes...
I just watch the government and report the facts.
-Will Rogers
In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.
-Charles de Gaulle
Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.
-Plato
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where they is no river.
-Nikita Khrushchev
If you think health care is expensive now,
wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
- P.J. O'Rourke
In general, the art of government consists of
taking as much money as possible from
one party of the citizens to give to the other.
-Voltaire (1764)
Just because you do not take an interest in politics
doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!
-Pericles (430 B.C.)
No man's life, liberty, or property is safe
while the legislature is in session.
-Mark Twain (1866 )
Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.
-Unknown
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.
The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
-Winston Churchill
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist
is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
-Mark Twain
The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)
There is no distinctly Native American criminal class
...save Congress.
-Mark Twain
What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)
A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson
I will continue to write daily about RAIN both in my blog and my news media column at: http://drforgot.com (my blog) and at http://vegasbuzznews.com/ where I am a featured columnist.
A little blogging music Maestro: From Glen Yarbrough, “Baby the RAIN Must Fall.”
Dr. Forgot
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
RAIN - 28 days to E- Day
Skies and Congress refresh with RAIN
RAIN Refresher: From now until the presidential election day we will begin each post with a review of the Remove All Incumbents Now (RAIN) campaign. A good rain washes clean all the road scum, dust and filth. We hope that a cleansing of Congress will result in the firing of the legislators who are part of the group that bailed out Wall Street with nearly a trillion dollars, at least 150 billion of which was blatant authorized pork by Democrats to appease Republicans who had previously rejected the bill then changed their vote allowing it to pass after being seduced by pork. We are not sure how much of the bailout, if any, was actually needed.
“I would love to vote out all incumbents, but…”: Several comments have been sent to me both via the Dr. Forgot blog and Vegasbuzznews.com column. A persistent theme goes something like this: “I love the concept. I agree that our political system is corrupt and that the only way to cleanse it is to vote them all out. But I am a staunch (fill in your party here) who has never voted (the other party here) and believe the (other) party will bring our country down with its (fill in the issues). My local Congressperson has fought to bring money to my state and to be reelected to (his/her) office with tough contested races the last (fill in a number) elections and I cannot vote for a member of the (other) party.”
HELLO! That is the very point! The corruption supersedes both parties – it is systemic. Anybody who has served multiple terms has been tainted by the corrupt system and needs to be voted out of office to send a message to those remaining that the corrupt system is dead. It makes no difference which party is in or which party gets voted out. Both parties are members of a corrupt system. If your candidate is really able to function in a cleaner political environment, then vote them out this election and support them the next. That will allow the system to be purged.
Who is to blame – Democrats or Republicans: The answer is simple – the system is corrupt. Neither party has clean hands. If you lean to the left feel free to beat up the current administration on whose watch the bubble burst. If you are a card carrying Republican feel free to dredge up those emails that blame the Clinton administration for starting the slide and the Democratic Senate majority for the past two years. It makes no difference who the bigger thieves are! Both sides are culpable. The problem is with Congress. The system is broken. Newly elected legislators with high ideals who want to do the best for their country are quick to get the Little Lord Fauntleroy knocked out of them when they discover they can either compromise their ideals and play ball with the corruption or become impotent by being shunted off to minor committees, with no power to make changes. Cross a lobbyist, get punished by fellow legislators. Play ball and get rewarded and promoted. The story is an old one but the depth to which corruption has permeated Washington Congressional life has played a large part in the downfall of American banking and possibly the downfall of our country.
Where to assign the blame: Was it President Reagan whose deregulation and trickle down theories led to the Washington version of a “Girls Gone Wild” tape? Was it President Clinton who signed the bill to ease restrictions so more people could get Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac loans? Was it the Bush administration under whose watch the budget went from the largest surplus in history to a national debt so large that the debt monitor in New York had to be rebuilt to accommodate a 10 trillion dollar debt which increases by a million dollars every six seconds? The answer is yes, yes, and yes. In order to be nominated by a party and elected to the presidency Republicans must kiss the feet of their religious right wing base. Democrats must worship at the altar of the left wing. Such is the corruption cancer that recently exploded with a Wall Street economic meltdown followed by giving the crooks that caused the meltdown more money than they can count in hopes of making things better.
Only You can Prevent Forest Fires: And only you can purge the cancer of corruption from our system of government. November 4 a president must be elected. Although citizens are tempted to stay away in droves given the filth and smears that have become rampant during the presidential campaign that is exactly the wrong strategy. I call on you to vote for your candidate for the presidency but fire every one of the bums who are on the ballot seeking additional time feeding at the legislative trough. Vote against every incumbent. Remove All Incumbents Now must be the mantra of Americans for the next 28 days, Forget party loyalty during this election. Forget getting more money for your state while your Congressman gets rich from side deals and cronyism. Vote the bums out. Support the RAIN campaign. If enough people will do so, and enough incumbents are thrown out, only then will those remaining get the message. Only then will the system that rewards longevity and cronyism be broken. Only then will young enthusiastic legislators have the clout to tell lobbyists to take a hike. Be a RAIN maker. Make it RAIN on election day.
I will continue to write daily about RAIN both in my blog and my news media column at: http://drforgot.com (my blog) and at http://vegasbuzznews.com/ where I am a featured columnist.
A little blogging music Maestro: From Sting, “After the RAIN has fallen.”
Dr. Forgot
RAIN Refresher: From now until the presidential election day we will begin each post with a review of the Remove All Incumbents Now (RAIN) campaign. A good rain washes clean all the road scum, dust and filth. We hope that a cleansing of Congress will result in the firing of the legislators who are part of the group that bailed out Wall Street with nearly a trillion dollars, at least 150 billion of which was blatant authorized pork by Democrats to appease Republicans who had previously rejected the bill then changed their vote allowing it to pass after being seduced by pork. We are not sure how much of the bailout, if any, was actually needed.
“I would love to vote out all incumbents, but…”: Several comments have been sent to me both via the Dr. Forgot blog and Vegasbuzznews.com column. A persistent theme goes something like this: “I love the concept. I agree that our political system is corrupt and that the only way to cleanse it is to vote them all out. But I am a staunch (fill in your party here) who has never voted (the other party here) and believe the (other) party will bring our country down with its (fill in the issues). My local Congressperson has fought to bring money to my state and to be reelected to (his/her) office with tough contested races the last (fill in a number) elections and I cannot vote for a member of the (other) party.”
HELLO! That is the very point! The corruption supersedes both parties – it is systemic. Anybody who has served multiple terms has been tainted by the corrupt system and needs to be voted out of office to send a message to those remaining that the corrupt system is dead. It makes no difference which party is in or which party gets voted out. Both parties are members of a corrupt system. If your candidate is really able to function in a cleaner political environment, then vote them out this election and support them the next. That will allow the system to be purged.
Who is to blame – Democrats or Republicans: The answer is simple – the system is corrupt. Neither party has clean hands. If you lean to the left feel free to beat up the current administration on whose watch the bubble burst. If you are a card carrying Republican feel free to dredge up those emails that blame the Clinton administration for starting the slide and the Democratic Senate majority for the past two years. It makes no difference who the bigger thieves are! Both sides are culpable. The problem is with Congress. The system is broken. Newly elected legislators with high ideals who want to do the best for their country are quick to get the Little Lord Fauntleroy knocked out of them when they discover they can either compromise their ideals and play ball with the corruption or become impotent by being shunted off to minor committees, with no power to make changes. Cross a lobbyist, get punished by fellow legislators. Play ball and get rewarded and promoted. The story is an old one but the depth to which corruption has permeated Washington Congressional life has played a large part in the downfall of American banking and possibly the downfall of our country.
Where to assign the blame: Was it President Reagan whose deregulation and trickle down theories led to the Washington version of a “Girls Gone Wild” tape? Was it President Clinton who signed the bill to ease restrictions so more people could get Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac loans? Was it the Bush administration under whose watch the budget went from the largest surplus in history to a national debt so large that the debt monitor in New York had to be rebuilt to accommodate a 10 trillion dollar debt which increases by a million dollars every six seconds? The answer is yes, yes, and yes. In order to be nominated by a party and elected to the presidency Republicans must kiss the feet of their religious right wing base. Democrats must worship at the altar of the left wing. Such is the corruption cancer that recently exploded with a Wall Street economic meltdown followed by giving the crooks that caused the meltdown more money than they can count in hopes of making things better.
Only You can Prevent Forest Fires: And only you can purge the cancer of corruption from our system of government. November 4 a president must be elected. Although citizens are tempted to stay away in droves given the filth and smears that have become rampant during the presidential campaign that is exactly the wrong strategy. I call on you to vote for your candidate for the presidency but fire every one of the bums who are on the ballot seeking additional time feeding at the legislative trough. Vote against every incumbent. Remove All Incumbents Now must be the mantra of Americans for the next 28 days, Forget party loyalty during this election. Forget getting more money for your state while your Congressman gets rich from side deals and cronyism. Vote the bums out. Support the RAIN campaign. If enough people will do so, and enough incumbents are thrown out, only then will those remaining get the message. Only then will the system that rewards longevity and cronyism be broken. Only then will young enthusiastic legislators have the clout to tell lobbyists to take a hike. Be a RAIN maker. Make it RAIN on election day.
I will continue to write daily about RAIN both in my blog and my news media column at: http://drforgot.com (my blog) and at http://vegasbuzznews.com/ where I am a featured columnist.
A little blogging music Maestro: From Sting, “After the RAIN has fallen.”
Dr. Forgot
Sunday, October 5, 2008
RAIN - 29 Days to E-Day
Continue the RAIN
RAIN Refresher: From now until the election we will begin each post with a review of the Remove All Incumbents Now (RAIN) campaign. A good rain washes clean all the road scum, dust and filth. We hope that a cleansing of Congress will result in the firing of the legislators who are part of the group that bailed out Wall Street with nearly a trillion dollars, at least 150 billion of which was blatant authorized pork by Democrats to appease Republicans who had previously rejected the bill then changed their vote allowing it to pass. We are not sure how much of the bailout, if any, was actually needed.
A press release from a major news source follows:
Dateline October 1, 2008: “Tonight the Senate passed the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill by a vote of 74-25. This follows the rejection of the bill by the House on Monday.” According to a poll, 62 percent of Americans opposed the giveaway, but the lobbyists are did everything possible to assure the rejection was overturned. According to Bob Borosage, co-director of The Campaign for America’s Future, House leaders "are bringing in the small business lobby and the banking lobby to buy the twelve Republican votes they need."
The Senate took up the bill to bribe House members who voted against it to change their positions when it returned to a vote on the House floor on Friday. This procedure may be unconstitutional, because revenue bills must originate in the House. As another means of inducement—or blackmail—the bill includes the repeal of the alternative minimum tax. Three days later the bill passed the house by a margin of 253-171.
Economists call the bill a fiasco: One esteemed economist was quoted as saying,
"a disgrace: a bailout of reckless bankers, lenders, and investors that provides little direct debt relief to borrowers and financially stressed households and that will come at a very high cost to the US taxpayer."
The debacle started with homeowner defaults on subprime mortgages but now includes other types of mortgages as foreclosures spread. Soon mortgage brokers began to falsify borrower income information to allow loans that normally the borrower could not qualify for. Borrowers could get a loan with zero down and paying interest only. Qualifying was done with a wink and a promise. Such loans in the industry became known as “Liars loans.” But like any other Ponzi scheme borrowers simply waited until their home value had inflated, sometimes a matter of weeks, and sold or “flipped” the house at a profit in some cases in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Often homes were “flipped” several times before being built!
Who stood to gain from the housing Ponzi bubble? Huge numbers of executives, managers, and shareholders throughout the financial and real estate industries, were enriched and the scheme provided jobs to millions of people. The bubble also brought back foreign capital to U.S. markets that had been scared away by the dot.com bust of 2000-2001.
Everyone seemed to benefit, but it was those at the top who skimmed the greatest profits. And for an economy that had already given away millions of its best manufacturing jobs, the bubble acted as a kind of substitute economic engine. It also resulted in tax revenues that allowed the current administration to implement its 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the rich and provide funding for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Of course these tax revenues were not enough, as the national debt has soared to over $10 trillion. (much of the above information was gleaned by an article in Global Research by Richard C. Cook, a former U.S. federal government analyst)
Who is to blame – Democrats or Republicans: The answer is simple – the system is corrupt. Neither party has clean hands. If you lean to the left feel free to beat up the current administration on whose watch the bubble burst. If you are a card carrying Republican feel free to dredge up those emails that blame the Clinton administration for starting the slide and the Democratic Senate majority for the past two years. It makes no difference who the bigger thieves are! Both sides are culpable. The problem is with Congress.
The system is broken: Many a young legislator has run for office with an eye toward making America better. Often they are fiscal conservatives with high ideals who might represent either party. They have a plan and a platform and change in mind. Once elected and to Congress they are slapped with the reality of the corrupt system. To be in a position to make any changes they must be appointed to a committee by senior members. Unless the young idealists are willing to set their ideals aside and support the senior members, they will wilt in a corner with few or no committee assignments.
Senior Congress people have already been corrupted by lobbyists who represent special interests with huge budgets and plenty of Congressional clout. Oftentimes lobbyists, many of whom are former congressmen who know the system well, actually write legislation that will suit their purpose, at the expense of the American taxpayer. The young, idealistic legislator has one of two choices - spend the term as an impotent legislator with no power to make change, or be seduced by the system and give up his ideals. Neither is a good option for the American people who elected him.
How to fix it: I offer a plan called RAIN for Remove All Incumbents Now. Just as a good rainstorm washes away all grime, dust and accumulated filth, so will this RAIN cleanse Congress. When you go to the polls November 4, vote as you please for president, but vote AGAINST every incumbent (those running for re-election) on the ballot. Those lucky enough to not be running this election will provide stability for all the newcomers but the message will be clear and if they do not change their ways it is just two short years before the next RAIN storm will wash away more stench, grime, and filth.
I am but one person and for this campaign I have no budget, no political affiliation, and no corps of volunteers to help. This is a grass roots movement in the truest of American traditions. I ask you to forward this on to anybody who you feel agrees that the corrupt system needs to be changed including other bloggers and media sources.
In the meantime I will continue to write daily about RAIN both in my blog and my news media column at: http://drforgot.com (my blog) and at http://vegasbuzznews.com/ where I am a featured columnist.
A little blogging music Maestro: From the Broadway musical Les Miserables, “A Little Fall of Rain.”
RAIN Refresher: From now until the election we will begin each post with a review of the Remove All Incumbents Now (RAIN) campaign. A good rain washes clean all the road scum, dust and filth. We hope that a cleansing of Congress will result in the firing of the legislators who are part of the group that bailed out Wall Street with nearly a trillion dollars, at least 150 billion of which was blatant authorized pork by Democrats to appease Republicans who had previously rejected the bill then changed their vote allowing it to pass. We are not sure how much of the bailout, if any, was actually needed.
A press release from a major news source follows:
Dateline October 1, 2008: “Tonight the Senate passed the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill by a vote of 74-25. This follows the rejection of the bill by the House on Monday.” According to a poll, 62 percent of Americans opposed the giveaway, but the lobbyists are did everything possible to assure the rejection was overturned. According to Bob Borosage, co-director of The Campaign for America’s Future, House leaders "are bringing in the small business lobby and the banking lobby to buy the twelve Republican votes they need."
The Senate took up the bill to bribe House members who voted against it to change their positions when it returned to a vote on the House floor on Friday. This procedure may be unconstitutional, because revenue bills must originate in the House. As another means of inducement—or blackmail—the bill includes the repeal of the alternative minimum tax. Three days later the bill passed the house by a margin of 253-171.
Economists call the bill a fiasco: One esteemed economist was quoted as saying,
"a disgrace: a bailout of reckless bankers, lenders, and investors that provides little direct debt relief to borrowers and financially stressed households and that will come at a very high cost to the US taxpayer."
The debacle started with homeowner defaults on subprime mortgages but now includes other types of mortgages as foreclosures spread. Soon mortgage brokers began to falsify borrower income information to allow loans that normally the borrower could not qualify for. Borrowers could get a loan with zero down and paying interest only. Qualifying was done with a wink and a promise. Such loans in the industry became known as “Liars loans.” But like any other Ponzi scheme borrowers simply waited until their home value had inflated, sometimes a matter of weeks, and sold or “flipped” the house at a profit in some cases in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Often homes were “flipped” several times before being built!
Who stood to gain from the housing Ponzi bubble? Huge numbers of executives, managers, and shareholders throughout the financial and real estate industries, were enriched and the scheme provided jobs to millions of people. The bubble also brought back foreign capital to U.S. markets that had been scared away by the dot.com bust of 2000-2001.
Everyone seemed to benefit, but it was those at the top who skimmed the greatest profits. And for an economy that had already given away millions of its best manufacturing jobs, the bubble acted as a kind of substitute economic engine. It also resulted in tax revenues that allowed the current administration to implement its 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the rich and provide funding for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Of course these tax revenues were not enough, as the national debt has soared to over $10 trillion. (much of the above information was gleaned by an article in Global Research by Richard C. Cook, a former U.S. federal government analyst)
Who is to blame – Democrats or Republicans: The answer is simple – the system is corrupt. Neither party has clean hands. If you lean to the left feel free to beat up the current administration on whose watch the bubble burst. If you are a card carrying Republican feel free to dredge up those emails that blame the Clinton administration for starting the slide and the Democratic Senate majority for the past two years. It makes no difference who the bigger thieves are! Both sides are culpable. The problem is with Congress.
The system is broken: Many a young legislator has run for office with an eye toward making America better. Often they are fiscal conservatives with high ideals who might represent either party. They have a plan and a platform and change in mind. Once elected and to Congress they are slapped with the reality of the corrupt system. To be in a position to make any changes they must be appointed to a committee by senior members. Unless the young idealists are willing to set their ideals aside and support the senior members, they will wilt in a corner with few or no committee assignments.
Senior Congress people have already been corrupted by lobbyists who represent special interests with huge budgets and plenty of Congressional clout. Oftentimes lobbyists, many of whom are former congressmen who know the system well, actually write legislation that will suit their purpose, at the expense of the American taxpayer. The young, idealistic legislator has one of two choices - spend the term as an impotent legislator with no power to make change, or be seduced by the system and give up his ideals. Neither is a good option for the American people who elected him.
How to fix it: I offer a plan called RAIN for Remove All Incumbents Now. Just as a good rainstorm washes away all grime, dust and accumulated filth, so will this RAIN cleanse Congress. When you go to the polls November 4, vote as you please for president, but vote AGAINST every incumbent (those running for re-election) on the ballot. Those lucky enough to not be running this election will provide stability for all the newcomers but the message will be clear and if they do not change their ways it is just two short years before the next RAIN storm will wash away more stench, grime, and filth.
I am but one person and for this campaign I have no budget, no political affiliation, and no corps of volunteers to help. This is a grass roots movement in the truest of American traditions. I ask you to forward this on to anybody who you feel agrees that the corrupt system needs to be changed including other bloggers and media sources.
In the meantime I will continue to write daily about RAIN both in my blog and my news media column at: http://drforgot.com (my blog) and at http://vegasbuzznews.com/ where I am a featured columnist.
A little blogging music Maestro: From the Broadway musical Les Miserables, “A Little Fall of Rain.”
SPECIAL WEEKEND EDITION
Let it RAIN, RAIN, RAIN – Special Weekend Edition
A refresher for the refreshing RAIN: A quick review, “As one who has lived in the desert for the past half century I can tell you that nothing is so fresh as the air and ground after a good rainstorm. In the desert they are often referred to as ‘gully-washers,’ and they take with them everything in their path. Street grime is gone. Chocking dust is washed away. Everything that impedes progress becomes so much flotsam that rolls downhill and into a lake. Of course, some items of value are lost as well but the calm after the storm allows for rebuilding a stronger and better place than had existed before. With that thought in mind I will offer a solution to the Washington corruption and call it RAIN. Be sure to read my next post but in the meantime remember what your Congress has done for/to you.”
RAIN – REMOVE ALL INCUMBENTS NOW: This campaign calls for political activism. American citizens can no longer sit idly by and watch our great country crumble as other great countries have done. The system that seduces young, new elected politicians has been corrupt and punitive if those newly elected officials refuse to play ball. They are emasculated by being ignored and not placed on any important decision-making committees if they don’t buy into a system that is gilded by lobbyists, many of whom are former elected officials who have “gone to the dark side” to pimp for large corporations. Once the newly elected solon sells a little bit of his soul he is placed on a committee. The more selling, the better the committee that oversees spending of the federal budget until the new idealistic person who wants to do the right thing no longer has a political soul. That is how the corrupt system works.
The power of committees: Committees effectively control the flow of your tax money. The Appropriations Committee, for example, was established by the constitution to oversee all government expenditures, “No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law, and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time."
- US Constitution, Article 1, section 9
Imagine the power of sitting on that committee. The Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee has the following charge: 1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at the commencement of each Congress and shall continue and have the power to act until their successors are appointed, with leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their jurisdictions:
(d)(1) Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, to which committee shall by referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials and other matters relating to the following subjects:
• Banks, banking, and financial institutions.
• Control of prices of commodities, rents and services.
• Deposit insurance.
• Economic stabilization and defense production.
• Export and foreign trade promotion.
• Export controls.
• Federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System.
• Financial aid to commerce and industry.
• Issuance and redemption of notes.
• Money and credit, including currency and coinage.
• Nursing home construction.
• Public and private housing (including veterans housing).
• Renegotiation of Government contracts.
• Urban development and urban mass transit.
(2) Such Committee shall also study and review on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to international economic policy as it affects United States monetary affairs, credit, and financial institutions; economic growth, urban affairs, and credit, and report thereon from time to time.
A gaggle of committees reside in the Senate: The committees in the Senate alone include the following: Agriculture, Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking, Budget, Commerce Science and Transportation, Energy and Natural Resources, Environment, Finance, Foreign Relations, Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, Homeland Security nad Governmental Affairs, Judiciary, Rules and Administration, Small Business nad Entrepreneurship, and Veterans Affairs. The house has their own committees, 21 in all, and there are several joint Senate and House Committees. Congressmen can sit on more than one powerful committee. The more seniority one has, the more potential for power.
How lobbyists influence spending: Bills that determine how your money is spent come out of the committees. Lobbyists, often former Congressmen are paid by corporations and organizations that want to promote a certain agenda, or who want to have favorable legislation for their industry (such as removing clean air regulations to save money or getting tax breaks for their industry, or even pressing certain political agendas such as gun ownership and regulation) write legislation. They then give the written documents to their “pet” congress-people who in turn introduce it as law. It is that simple. It is that potentially corrupt.
How can the voter change things: My campaign suggests that first, EVERY REGISTERED VOTER get out and vote November 4. Whenever an incumbent is running, cast a vote against him or her with the purpose of voting out every incumbent and thereby crippling the “good ole boy” seniority system. The very potential for corruption by rewarding freshmen Congressmen will be shattered and a new group of leaders will emerge.
The need for stability: Those congressmen who are fortunate enough to not be running – and by design 1/3 of the Senate must run every two years will get the message. In 2010 another 1/3 will be up for reelection and if they have not cleaned up the mess another third can be bounced out on their ears. House members terms are six years so many will not be up for reelection but again they will hear the voters loud and clear.
This is not a cure-all but a start: Even those who are bounced out of office will continue to receive obscene pensions and health care for them and their families for life, but it is a start. Those elected will be the first reformers and will have the power to change many of the rules that are bankrupting our country both economically and morally. We will continue this campaign daily until the election. Please share this information just as you would a political email. There is strength in numbers. Use your strength.
A little blogging music Maestro... Anything by the New Kids on the Block.
Dr. Forgot
Read me also at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/dr-forgot-andrew-r-nixon/
And http://drforgot.com
A refresher for the refreshing RAIN: A quick review, “As one who has lived in the desert for the past half century I can tell you that nothing is so fresh as the air and ground after a good rainstorm. In the desert they are often referred to as ‘gully-washers,’ and they take with them everything in their path. Street grime is gone. Chocking dust is washed away. Everything that impedes progress becomes so much flotsam that rolls downhill and into a lake. Of course, some items of value are lost as well but the calm after the storm allows for rebuilding a stronger and better place than had existed before. With that thought in mind I will offer a solution to the Washington corruption and call it RAIN. Be sure to read my next post but in the meantime remember what your Congress has done for/to you.”
RAIN – REMOVE ALL INCUMBENTS NOW: This campaign calls for political activism. American citizens can no longer sit idly by and watch our great country crumble as other great countries have done. The system that seduces young, new elected politicians has been corrupt and punitive if those newly elected officials refuse to play ball. They are emasculated by being ignored and not placed on any important decision-making committees if they don’t buy into a system that is gilded by lobbyists, many of whom are former elected officials who have “gone to the dark side” to pimp for large corporations. Once the newly elected solon sells a little bit of his soul he is placed on a committee. The more selling, the better the committee that oversees spending of the federal budget until the new idealistic person who wants to do the right thing no longer has a political soul. That is how the corrupt system works.
The power of committees: Committees effectively control the flow of your tax money. The Appropriations Committee, for example, was established by the constitution to oversee all government expenditures, “No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law, and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time."
- US Constitution, Article 1, section 9
Imagine the power of sitting on that committee. The Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee has the following charge: 1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at the commencement of each Congress and shall continue and have the power to act until their successors are appointed, with leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their jurisdictions:
(d)(1) Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, to which committee shall by referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials and other matters relating to the following subjects:
• Banks, banking, and financial institutions.
• Control of prices of commodities, rents and services.
• Deposit insurance.
• Economic stabilization and defense production.
• Export and foreign trade promotion.
• Export controls.
• Federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System.
• Financial aid to commerce and industry.
• Issuance and redemption of notes.
• Money and credit, including currency and coinage.
• Nursing home construction.
• Public and private housing (including veterans housing).
• Renegotiation of Government contracts.
• Urban development and urban mass transit.
(2) Such Committee shall also study and review on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to international economic policy as it affects United States monetary affairs, credit, and financial institutions; economic growth, urban affairs, and credit, and report thereon from time to time.
A gaggle of committees reside in the Senate: The committees in the Senate alone include the following: Agriculture, Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking, Budget, Commerce Science and Transportation, Energy and Natural Resources, Environment, Finance, Foreign Relations, Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, Homeland Security nad Governmental Affairs, Judiciary, Rules and Administration, Small Business nad Entrepreneurship, and Veterans Affairs. The house has their own committees, 21 in all, and there are several joint Senate and House Committees. Congressmen can sit on more than one powerful committee. The more seniority one has, the more potential for power.
How lobbyists influence spending: Bills that determine how your money is spent come out of the committees. Lobbyists, often former Congressmen are paid by corporations and organizations that want to promote a certain agenda, or who want to have favorable legislation for their industry (such as removing clean air regulations to save money or getting tax breaks for their industry, or even pressing certain political agendas such as gun ownership and regulation) write legislation. They then give the written documents to their “pet” congress-people who in turn introduce it as law. It is that simple. It is that potentially corrupt.
How can the voter change things: My campaign suggests that first, EVERY REGISTERED VOTER get out and vote November 4. Whenever an incumbent is running, cast a vote against him or her with the purpose of voting out every incumbent and thereby crippling the “good ole boy” seniority system. The very potential for corruption by rewarding freshmen Congressmen will be shattered and a new group of leaders will emerge.
The need for stability: Those congressmen who are fortunate enough to not be running – and by design 1/3 of the Senate must run every two years will get the message. In 2010 another 1/3 will be up for reelection and if they have not cleaned up the mess another third can be bounced out on their ears. House members terms are six years so many will not be up for reelection but again they will hear the voters loud and clear.
This is not a cure-all but a start: Even those who are bounced out of office will continue to receive obscene pensions and health care for them and their families for life, but it is a start. Those elected will be the first reformers and will have the power to change many of the rules that are bankrupting our country both economically and morally. We will continue this campaign daily until the election. Please share this information just as you would a political email. There is strength in numbers. Use your strength.
A little blogging music Maestro... Anything by the New Kids on the Block.
Dr. Forgot
Read me also at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/dr-forgot-andrew-r-nixon/
And http://drforgot.com
Friday, October 3, 2008
RAIN - REMOVE ALL INCUMBENTS NOW!
Let it RAIN, RAIN, RAIN
When bailout bill pork is less sweet, more sour: As of this writing the House has not voted on the bailout bill but the Senate passed it 75-24. The passage in the Senate went forward despite the citizenry reportedly registering opposition by as much as 200-1 AGAINST the bill. This was several days after the Senate passed a similar bill which flunked the House causing the revote. But before the revote the bill was “whored up” with pork and concessions to the House members who had originally voted against it. The pork included a tax break for the company in Oregon that makes children’s arrows (Section 502), $ 223 million in tax breaks for Alaskan fishermen (Section 503 – six pages), $ 128 million in tax relief for manufacturers of race tracks for NASCAR states (Section 317), $ 10 million in tax breaks for TV and movie producers ( Section 502), and other tax cuts and pork including Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308), American Samoa (Sec. 309), Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310), Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311), Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312), Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315), Railroads (Sec. 316), District of Columbia (Sec. 322), and Wool Research (Sec. 325) will add more than $ 100 BILLION to the bailout bill.
If not blatant corruption, then accidental corruption: My faith in all serving members of Congress is at an all time low. Of the presidential candidates I believe Senator Obama will do less harm if he lives up to his promises to operate counter to the tactics and decisions of the current administration. His lack of experience is a two-edge sword – it is true that he has been in the Senate for a limited period of time, but that seems to be an asset given the above-mentioned fiasco as part of a systemic failure. I would rather have a person who graduated at the top of his class and a vice president who has endured personal hardship rather than a president who boasts that he graduated fourth from the bottom of his class and a vice president who offers style rather than substance. Hence although my leanings are toward Senator Obama I still encourage all Americans to vote for the candidate of their choice for the presidency.
Dirt, scum, grime, and puke can be washed away by RAIN: To review my comments from yesterday’s post, “As one who has lived in the desert for the past half century I can tell you that nothing is so fresh as the air and ground after a good rainstorm. In the desert they are often referred to as “gully-washers,” and they take with them everything in their path. Street grime is gone. Chocking dust is washed away. Everything that impedes progress becomes so much flotsam that rolls downhill and into a lake. Of course, some items of value are lost as well but the calm after the storm allows for rebuilding a stronger and better place than had existed before. With that thought in mind I will offer a solution to the Washington corruption and call it RAIN. Be sure to read my next post but in the meantime remember what your Congress has done for/to you.”
RAIN and how can it change America: From this day forward, I am promoting a campaign I will call RAIN, an acronym for Remove All Incumbents Now. My plan is for every voter to go to the polls November 4 and vote AGAINST ALL INCUMBENTS. If you feel that somebody in office has done you or your community a favor and therefore vote for him/her, you are indirectly perpetuating the very crony system in Washington that has caused the mess our country is in today. If the nation rises up and votes against all incumbents, the only ones to escape will be those whose term is not up this fall. That will leave a core of people who have some level of stability. BY following the RAIN plan there is also the risk that a few crackpots will be elected. To that I say, there are probably more than a few crackpots who will be thrown out!
But the new politicians may also become corrupt: By removing all incumbents and cleansing the Congress of those who are addicted to money, fame and power at the expense of their constituency, a message will be sent to those remaining few who have been lucky enough that their terms did not expire this election – that they had better change their ways and govern as the founding fathers had intended. Some new electees might be smitten by the drug of fame and power but strong oversight of their activities with regular reports will give the electors an opportunity to evaluate them each time their term expires – something the American public has been lax in doing to date, which in part has led us here.
Other bits of tid: Many other tidbits must go into reframing our system of government including banning ousted solons to become lobbyists for a period of time, limiting the types of gifts and favors lobbyists are permitted to give to serving Congressmen and a host of others. These are issues that can be addressed at another time in another forum. For now, please pass this information to every voter, much like the one-sided political emails are forwarded to your mailing list. This is a non-partisan, grassroots effort to change America.
A little blogging music Maestro... “A New Day” by Celine Dion.
Dr. Forgot
Read me also at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/dr-forgot-andrew-r-nixon/
And http://drforgot.com
When bailout bill pork is less sweet, more sour: As of this writing the House has not voted on the bailout bill but the Senate passed it 75-24. The passage in the Senate went forward despite the citizenry reportedly registering opposition by as much as 200-1 AGAINST the bill. This was several days after the Senate passed a similar bill which flunked the House causing the revote. But before the revote the bill was “whored up” with pork and concessions to the House members who had originally voted against it. The pork included a tax break for the company in Oregon that makes children’s arrows (Section 502), $ 223 million in tax breaks for Alaskan fishermen (Section 503 – six pages), $ 128 million in tax relief for manufacturers of race tracks for NASCAR states (Section 317), $ 10 million in tax breaks for TV and movie producers ( Section 502), and other tax cuts and pork including Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308), American Samoa (Sec. 309), Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310), Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311), Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312), Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315), Railroads (Sec. 316), District of Columbia (Sec. 322), and Wool Research (Sec. 325) will add more than $ 100 BILLION to the bailout bill.
If not blatant corruption, then accidental corruption: My faith in all serving members of Congress is at an all time low. Of the presidential candidates I believe Senator Obama will do less harm if he lives up to his promises to operate counter to the tactics and decisions of the current administration. His lack of experience is a two-edge sword – it is true that he has been in the Senate for a limited period of time, but that seems to be an asset given the above-mentioned fiasco as part of a systemic failure. I would rather have a person who graduated at the top of his class and a vice president who has endured personal hardship rather than a president who boasts that he graduated fourth from the bottom of his class and a vice president who offers style rather than substance. Hence although my leanings are toward Senator Obama I still encourage all Americans to vote for the candidate of their choice for the presidency.
Dirt, scum, grime, and puke can be washed away by RAIN: To review my comments from yesterday’s post, “As one who has lived in the desert for the past half century I can tell you that nothing is so fresh as the air and ground after a good rainstorm. In the desert they are often referred to as “gully-washers,” and they take with them everything in their path. Street grime is gone. Chocking dust is washed away. Everything that impedes progress becomes so much flotsam that rolls downhill and into a lake. Of course, some items of value are lost as well but the calm after the storm allows for rebuilding a stronger and better place than had existed before. With that thought in mind I will offer a solution to the Washington corruption and call it RAIN. Be sure to read my next post but in the meantime remember what your Congress has done for/to you.”
RAIN and how can it change America: From this day forward, I am promoting a campaign I will call RAIN, an acronym for Remove All Incumbents Now. My plan is for every voter to go to the polls November 4 and vote AGAINST ALL INCUMBENTS. If you feel that somebody in office has done you or your community a favor and therefore vote for him/her, you are indirectly perpetuating the very crony system in Washington that has caused the mess our country is in today. If the nation rises up and votes against all incumbents, the only ones to escape will be those whose term is not up this fall. That will leave a core of people who have some level of stability. BY following the RAIN plan there is also the risk that a few crackpots will be elected. To that I say, there are probably more than a few crackpots who will be thrown out!
But the new politicians may also become corrupt: By removing all incumbents and cleansing the Congress of those who are addicted to money, fame and power at the expense of their constituency, a message will be sent to those remaining few who have been lucky enough that their terms did not expire this election – that they had better change their ways and govern as the founding fathers had intended. Some new electees might be smitten by the drug of fame and power but strong oversight of their activities with regular reports will give the electors an opportunity to evaluate them each time their term expires – something the American public has been lax in doing to date, which in part has led us here.
Other bits of tid: Many other tidbits must go into reframing our system of government including banning ousted solons to become lobbyists for a period of time, limiting the types of gifts and favors lobbyists are permitted to give to serving Congressmen and a host of others. These are issues that can be addressed at another time in another forum. For now, please pass this information to every voter, much like the one-sided political emails are forwarded to your mailing list. This is a non-partisan, grassroots effort to change America.
A little blogging music Maestro... “A New Day” by Celine Dion.
Dr. Forgot
Read me also at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/dr-forgot-andrew-r-nixon/
And http://drforgot.com
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Baby, The RAIN Must Fall
A Rose by any other name Still Stinks
Bailout – a real crisis solution or prestidigitation?: Wall Street sneezed and the country caught pneumonia. Our elected officials began to run around bumping into each other just like so many Chicken Littles warning that the sky is falling. Our esteemed leader of the free world decided to take a page from his second in command and retire to an unknown location. Our Hero fiddled while the economy burned. Finally he made an appearance. After crawling out from whatever rock politicians hide when the going gets too tough around election time, he made an announcement well after the economic earthquake and several aftershocks. His reassuring comments were as follows: "Without immediate action by Congress, American could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold,"
Let the folks who broke it try to fix it: The Treasury Secretary, on whose watch the economic sky fell, endorsed a plan put forth by the President. And we were told that we had better pass it or else! Or else we’d all lose our homes, retirement, and first born sons. Some of the text of the first fiasco is as follows:
(b) Necessary Actions.--The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;
Other highlights allow the Secretary to ignore the law and issue any regulations that would allow him to carry out the Act. But the most bizarre, arrogant part of the proposal was section 8 which reads as follows:
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
In other words, the President was doing his best to use the same politics of fear that got us into Iraq to give us the bums rush to get the bailout bill signed and give total control to the Secretary. After watching the erosion of civil rights and control of the constituency over Washington, this fit into what we’ve become used to seeing, but it is as wrongheaded in this case as it has been in the invasion of Iraq, tax cuts for oil companies, spying on citizens, constantly moving more power from the citizenry to the Whitehouse.
Irony of ironies – Bailout gets dumped by Bushies: The bailout bill was pushed by the president with fear-mongering tactics and as usual the spineless members of the Democratic Senate were tricked and fooled into supporting it. Ironically the right wing conservatives who got their candidate elected twice were the ones to scuttle the bill. Guess what? The sky didn’t fall. The country did not complete its trip to Hell in a hand-basket, and the world as we know it did not come to an end. But still the economy shook and shivered so the bill was rewritten. This despite the fact that calls were running as high as 200-1 against the bill’s passage. The bill was gutted and “whored up” to make it passable to those who voted against the first try. The biggest two changes were the increase in FDIC insurance on savings in banks, and providing authority of securities regulators to suspend asset-valuing rules. I’m not sure if the latter is a good thing or just so much more hocus pocus that has been the standard in Washington for decades.
Bipartisanship or capitulation rules the day: After the bill passed the Senate 75-24 on aq late night vote, Senators spent the next couple next couple of hours patting themselves on the backs and announcing how the group came together for the common good of the country. If you believe that one I know of some nearly new FEMA trailers in New Orleans that you could get for a song. The very nature of the political process in Washington is designed to enhance one’s own position economically and politically, and of course get reelected. This is most efficiently accomplished by pandering one’s own beliefs in an effort to continue to get reelected. The system is corrupt and it corrupts those who enter it.
What they promised to do in ‘92: If you are old enough to remember the 1992 elections you will remember a group of young, idealistic, mostly Republican political novices who ran on the platform “one term and out.” They believed that, as stated above, professional politicians get sucked into a corrupt system. They promised to serve one term and leave just as the Citizen Politicians did during the countries early years. The group for the most part were swept into office and within four years, nearly every single one became drunk or corrupted with power and continued to run for reelection. The concept was right but the naïve, uninformed (dare I say STUPID?) public who makes their decisions based upon 10-second sound bites, voted for them over and over. Perhaps the American voting public has finally become so disgusted with the mismanagement, corruption, and graft spawned by lobbyists, and promoted by politicians who make laws conducive to corporations and big business at the cost of the rest of the population. Perhaps the weighty burden of the few who have been enriching themselves by raping, pillaging, and looting the average citizen has become so heavy that a rebellion is in order.
Dirt, scum, grime, and puke can be washed away by RAIN: As one who has lived in the desert for the past half century I can tell you that nothing is so fresh as the air and ground after a good rainstorm. In the desert they are often referred to as “gully-washers,” and they take with them everything in their path. Street grime is gone. Chocking dust is washed away. Everything that impedes progress becomes so much flotsam that rolls downhill and into a lake. Of course, some items of value are lost as well but the calm after the storm allows for rebuilding a stronger and better place than had existed before. With that thought in mind I will offer a solution to the Washington corruption and call it RAIN. Be sure to read my next post but in the meantime remember what your Congress has done for/to you.
A little blogging music Maestro... “Rescue Me” by the Von Bondies.
Dr. Forgot
Read me also at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/dr-forgot-andrew-r-nixon/
Bailout – a real crisis solution or prestidigitation?: Wall Street sneezed and the country caught pneumonia. Our elected officials began to run around bumping into each other just like so many Chicken Littles warning that the sky is falling. Our esteemed leader of the free world decided to take a page from his second in command and retire to an unknown location. Our Hero fiddled while the economy burned. Finally he made an appearance. After crawling out from whatever rock politicians hide when the going gets too tough around election time, he made an announcement well after the economic earthquake and several aftershocks. His reassuring comments were as follows: "Without immediate action by Congress, American could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold,"
Let the folks who broke it try to fix it: The Treasury Secretary, on whose watch the economic sky fell, endorsed a plan put forth by the President. And we were told that we had better pass it or else! Or else we’d all lose our homes, retirement, and first born sons. Some of the text of the first fiasco is as follows:
(b) Necessary Actions.--The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;
Other highlights allow the Secretary to ignore the law and issue any regulations that would allow him to carry out the Act. But the most bizarre, arrogant part of the proposal was section 8 which reads as follows:
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
In other words, the President was doing his best to use the same politics of fear that got us into Iraq to give us the bums rush to get the bailout bill signed and give total control to the Secretary. After watching the erosion of civil rights and control of the constituency over Washington, this fit into what we’ve become used to seeing, but it is as wrongheaded in this case as it has been in the invasion of Iraq, tax cuts for oil companies, spying on citizens, constantly moving more power from the citizenry to the Whitehouse.
Irony of ironies – Bailout gets dumped by Bushies: The bailout bill was pushed by the president with fear-mongering tactics and as usual the spineless members of the Democratic Senate were tricked and fooled into supporting it. Ironically the right wing conservatives who got their candidate elected twice were the ones to scuttle the bill. Guess what? The sky didn’t fall. The country did not complete its trip to Hell in a hand-basket, and the world as we know it did not come to an end. But still the economy shook and shivered so the bill was rewritten. This despite the fact that calls were running as high as 200-1 against the bill’s passage. The bill was gutted and “whored up” to make it passable to those who voted against the first try. The biggest two changes were the increase in FDIC insurance on savings in banks, and providing authority of securities regulators to suspend asset-valuing rules. I’m not sure if the latter is a good thing or just so much more hocus pocus that has been the standard in Washington for decades.
Bipartisanship or capitulation rules the day: After the bill passed the Senate 75-24 on aq late night vote, Senators spent the next couple next couple of hours patting themselves on the backs and announcing how the group came together for the common good of the country. If you believe that one I know of some nearly new FEMA trailers in New Orleans that you could get for a song. The very nature of the political process in Washington is designed to enhance one’s own position economically and politically, and of course get reelected. This is most efficiently accomplished by pandering one’s own beliefs in an effort to continue to get reelected. The system is corrupt and it corrupts those who enter it.
What they promised to do in ‘92: If you are old enough to remember the 1992 elections you will remember a group of young, idealistic, mostly Republican political novices who ran on the platform “one term and out.” They believed that, as stated above, professional politicians get sucked into a corrupt system. They promised to serve one term and leave just as the Citizen Politicians did during the countries early years. The group for the most part were swept into office and within four years, nearly every single one became drunk or corrupted with power and continued to run for reelection. The concept was right but the naïve, uninformed (dare I say STUPID?) public who makes their decisions based upon 10-second sound bites, voted for them over and over. Perhaps the American voting public has finally become so disgusted with the mismanagement, corruption, and graft spawned by lobbyists, and promoted by politicians who make laws conducive to corporations and big business at the cost of the rest of the population. Perhaps the weighty burden of the few who have been enriching themselves by raping, pillaging, and looting the average citizen has become so heavy that a rebellion is in order.
Dirt, scum, grime, and puke can be washed away by RAIN: As one who has lived in the desert for the past half century I can tell you that nothing is so fresh as the air and ground after a good rainstorm. In the desert they are often referred to as “gully-washers,” and they take with them everything in their path. Street grime is gone. Chocking dust is washed away. Everything that impedes progress becomes so much flotsam that rolls downhill and into a lake. Of course, some items of value are lost as well but the calm after the storm allows for rebuilding a stronger and better place than had existed before. With that thought in mind I will offer a solution to the Washington corruption and call it RAIN. Be sure to read my next post but in the meantime remember what your Congress has done for/to you.
A little blogging music Maestro... “Rescue Me” by the Von Bondies.
Dr. Forgot
Read me also at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/dr-forgot-andrew-r-nixon/
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Congress
Are we dire to the wire or is he a liar?
The politics of fear: These are scary times, right? Look, there goes a terrorist! Whoops. Sorry, it was just a New York cab driver. It’s those damn Iraqis, right? Didn’t they bomb the World Trade Center? No, actually the people who did it were mostly from Syria. Ok, but what about North Korea. Aren’t they one of the “Axis of Evil” who are getting ready to bomb us with nuclear weapons? Well, not exactly. But things are urgent, no DIRE! Just listen to our president. Bin Laden’s Al Qaida radicals, mostly Syrians, blew up part of New York and we invade Iraq because the situation is dire. Did you follow that?
We must protect ourselves: Ok, once we’ve gone after the wrong bad guys we must now do everything to protect ourselves so the bad guys, real or imagined, will never do that again. The situation is dire. The president creates the most expensive, audacious, inconvenient national security apparatus in history. Some borderline idiot from England stuffs a dud explosive in his shoe and the situation is dire. Hence, we all have to remove our shoes at the airport for a detailed inspection. Lucky he didn’t shove the explosives up another part of his anatomy or everybody would have to have a proctologic exam before uh, passing through security. And we’d obey, like so many trained seals.
Pour more into security – situation dire: Military tribunals. Mandatory registration. Mass detentions. Electronic surveillance. Government secrecy. Executive privilege. Office of Total Awareness. Perpetual war. All these things because the situation is dire. The Bush/Cheney Whitehouse are masters of the politics of fear and it works over and over again just as surely as Peanuts Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown. In a February column conservative Bill Kristol suggests that is Hillary Clinton wants to overtake Senator Obama in the polls she should employ “the politics of fear.”
The financial sky is falling: Less than two weeks ago a financial meltdown began on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers went under, 6.1% of Americans are out of work (never mind that the unspoken corollary is that 94% of Americans ARE working), house prices have plummeted, gas prices have skyrocketed, people are losing their health care and their houses. The situation is dire. Or so say the parroting pundits from the Big Apple.
Bush on the economy: July 2004, "Our economy since last summer has been growing at the fastest rate in 20 years." Actually the economy had grown by 3.1% the previous year, hardly a 20-year record, but hey, what’s a few percentage points? Just last January as he pressed for an economic package for our dire economy, the president said, “Passing a new growth package is our most pressing economic priority.” After the collapse on Wall Street, the President said on September 25, "Without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold," More politics of fear. And sure enough, the market fell by 777 (no jackpot for Wall Street, however) September 29. The president continued that the damage will be “painful and lasting” if congress doesn’t pass his bailout bill. They didn’t.
Little Orphan Annie: The Sun’ll come up tomorrow: The day after the dire speech by the president, a funny thing happened on Wall Street. The market rebounded and regained nearly 500 points of the previously lost 777. The sky didn’t fall. The banks didn’t close. There were no runs on banks by people anxious to get their money out before a total collapse. Oh, it is true the economy does stink – much like the politics of fear that have been manipulating the American public for the past eight years. Each time the president wanted to get something passed, he and his team created an artificial crisis. Sort of like the boy who cried “Wolf.” Remember the parable? A boy who tended sheep got lonely so he cried “Wolf” and the townspeople came running several times only to discover the boy had lied. Finally a wolf did appear but the little boy’s cries fell on deaf ears. Such is the case of our president. He cried “Wolf” once too often and the following day the market proved him wrong. Oh there might really be a financial disaster now, but the jaded townspeople – American voters – are urging their congress-people by 200-1 NOT to pass the bill. The politics of fear that have worked early and often for the current administration has failed them and perhaps the American people.
Honest, we really didn’t want to: The Senate passed the bill 75-24. The House votes on it tomorrow. The bill has been “whored up” to make it palatable to those who would not have otherwise voted for it. The Senators spent over an hour on CNN, Fix News, MSNBC and the other cable news outlets whose living depends on reporting politics. Ho hum. Can you say, “Politics as usual?”
A little blogging music Maestro... “Politics” by KoRN.
Dr. Forgot
Read me also at http://vegasnews.squarespace.com/dr-forgot-andrew-r-nixon/
The politics of fear: These are scary times, right? Look, there goes a terrorist! Whoops. Sorry, it was just a New York cab driver. It’s those damn Iraqis, right? Didn’t they bomb the World Trade Center? No, actually the people who did it were mostly from Syria. Ok, but what about North Korea. Aren’t they one of the “Axis of Evil” who are getting ready to bomb us with nuclear weapons? Well, not exactly. But things are urgent, no DIRE! Just listen to our president. Bin Laden’s Al Qaida radicals, mostly Syrians, blew up part of New York and we invade Iraq because the situation is dire. Did you follow that?
We must protect ourselves: Ok, once we’ve gone after the wrong bad guys we must now do everything to protect ourselves so the bad guys, real or imagined, will never do that again. The situation is dire. The president creates the most expensive, audacious, inconvenient national security apparatus in history. Some borderline idiot from England stuffs a dud explosive in his shoe and the situation is dire. Hence, we all have to remove our shoes at the airport for a detailed inspection. Lucky he didn’t shove the explosives up another part of his anatomy or everybody would have to have a proctologic exam before uh, passing through security. And we’d obey, like so many trained seals.
Pour more into security – situation dire: Military tribunals. Mandatory registration. Mass detentions. Electronic surveillance. Government secrecy. Executive privilege. Office of Total Awareness. Perpetual war. All these things because the situation is dire. The Bush/Cheney Whitehouse are masters of the politics of fear and it works over and over again just as surely as Peanuts Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown. In a February column conservative Bill Kristol suggests that is Hillary Clinton wants to overtake Senator Obama in the polls she should employ “the politics of fear.”
The financial sky is falling: Less than two weeks ago a financial meltdown began on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers went under, 6.1% of Americans are out of work (never mind that the unspoken corollary is that 94% of Americans ARE working), house prices have plummeted, gas prices have skyrocketed, people are losing their health care and their houses. The situation is dire. Or so say the parroting pundits from the Big Apple.
Bush on the economy: July 2004, "Our economy since last summer has been growing at the fastest rate in 20 years." Actually the economy had grown by 3.1% the previous year, hardly a 20-year record, but hey, what’s a few percentage points? Just last January as he pressed for an economic package for our dire economy, the president said, “Passing a new growth package is our most pressing economic priority.” After the collapse on Wall Street, the President said on September 25, "Without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold," More politics of fear. And sure enough, the market fell by 777 (no jackpot for Wall Street, however) September 29. The president continued that the damage will be “painful and lasting” if congress doesn’t pass his bailout bill. They didn’t.
Little Orphan Annie: The Sun’ll come up tomorrow: The day after the dire speech by the president, a funny thing happened on Wall Street. The market rebounded and regained nearly 500 points of the previously lost 777. The sky didn’t fall. The banks didn’t close. There were no runs on banks by people anxious to get their money out before a total collapse. Oh, it is true the economy does stink – much like the politics of fear that have been manipulating the American public for the past eight years. Each time the president wanted to get something passed, he and his team created an artificial crisis. Sort of like the boy who cried “Wolf.” Remember the parable? A boy who tended sheep got lonely so he cried “Wolf” and the townspeople came running several times only to discover the boy had lied. Finally a wolf did appear but the little boy’s cries fell on deaf ears. Such is the case of our president. He cried “Wolf” once too often and the following day the market proved him wrong. Oh there might really be a financial disaster now, but the jaded townspeople – American voters – are urging their congress-people by 200-1 NOT to pass the bill. The politics of fear that have worked early and often for the current administration has failed them and perhaps the American people.
Honest, we really didn’t want to: The Senate passed the bill 75-24. The House votes on it tomorrow. The bill has been “whored up” to make it palatable to those who would not have otherwise voted for it. The Senators spent over an hour on CNN, Fix News, MSNBC and the other cable news outlets whose living depends on reporting politics. Ho hum. Can you say, “Politics as usual?”
A little blogging music Maestro... “Politics” by KoRN.
Dr. Forgot
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