Essay: "Down to the Wire: If Economic Doomsday Occurs, Tea Party Largely to Blame"

Essay: "Down to the Wire: If Economic Doomsday Occurs, Tea Party is Largely to Blame"

In two or so days, if Democrats and Republicans do not come to an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, a worldwide economic doomday could happen. Perhaps radio preacher Harold Camping was right after all. Sort of like how the weird sisters in Shapespeare's McBeth cryptically said that only one "not of woman born" could kill McBeth, when coockoo Camping said the world would end on May 21, 2011 he not only got the date wrong, but the circumstances. He predicted that only "true believers" would survive on that day, but if an economic doomsday occurs it would be due to right-wing stubbornness rather than inevitability. I'm sure the super rich will survive just fine, but as for the rest of us, we're basically screwed and SOL. Perhaps by design, the rich will be even richer while the poor and vulnerable will be allowed to suffer. The Bernie Mad(e)off- with- our- money Wall Street types, those who after all largely caused this mess will be rewarded; while the weak, the sick, the old and disabled (on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements) will be punished by the hardnosed, callous, right-wing policies and agenda which the conservative con-artists in Congress are trying to coerce Obama and the Democrats to accept.

Essay: "An Economic Butterfly Effect?"

Essay: "An Economic Butterfly Effect?"

According to Wikipedia, the "Butterfly Effect" is the theory that small changes in a point in time can lead to huge, unintended consequences in a future point of time. The current debt crisis could arguably be considered an economic and political 'Butterfly Effect'. If an agreement is made to cut both taxes for the wealthy and services for the poor the following might very well occur: Corporations will hoard money and refuse to hire new personnel; Ordinary people won't spend money other than on real necessities (i.e. food, clothing and shelter and the like), resulting in more layoffs and business closings. Banks won't lend money, so would-be entrepreneurs won't dare establish new small businesses (the main source of new jobs in the American economy). As a result, more people will need government services (i.e. food stamps, unemployment, low-income housing vouchers, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.), but they will be basically SOL because there will be few or no services to be had. There will likely be more hunger, homelessness, crime of every kind, alcoholism and substance abuse, widespread anger, an increase in domestic violence, stress, heart attacks and suicides. Meanwhile, the rich will get even richer and the poor will get even poorer. If things get bad enough, widespread social unrest could very well result. Perhaps all of this and more can result from the rigid, my way or the highway stubbornness of extreme right-wing ideology and the short-term thinking so typical of politicians who care more about being reelected by their base than what is best for their constituents and fellow countrymen.

Essay: "A Ruthless, Heartless, Mean-Spirited Ideology"

Essay: "A Ruthless, Heartless, Mean-Spirited Ideology"

The only thing most politicians can be counted on to do is "Legislative Larceny" : in other words having the gall to vote for pay raises for themselves while screwing over the majority of their constituents and fellow citizens.

The extreme right-wing of the Republican Party, now unfortunately the mainstream of the so-called Grand Old Party (GOP) has a ruthless, heartless and mean-spirited ideology/agenda/policy list which in my view is diametrically opposed to the best interests of the majority of the citizenry and electorate. They openly idolize Ronald Reagan and are eager to reimpose the same failed Supply Side "Voodoo Economics" which trickled down derision rather than affluence as its adherents claimed it would for the majority of us. The agenda of the ultra-conservative con-artists is potentially about to destroy or break the back of the economy by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, cutting benefits for the poor and vulnerable, and refusing to impose that the few wealthy and corporations among us pay their fair share in taxes. They don't care who it hurts. They don't care that our roads, bridges, and infrastructure are starting to crumble. All they seem to care is that one: Obama doesn't get reelected and two: that the rich get even richer and the poor get even poorer. As was the tagline in the movie "V for Vendetta": ' The government should fear the people, not the people should fear the government.'

Essay: "Cleaning Up After Elephants"

Essay: "Cleaning Up After Elephants"

Cleaning up after elephants is never pleasant or fun. It doesn't matter if it's at the circus, the zoo or in Washington, D.C., where the intransigent G.O.P. pachyderms are currently gumming up the works in Congress and many apparently don't care if they ruin the economy for nearly everyone in the process. In the nineteenth century cartoonist Thomas Nast (if I remember correctly) came up with the symbol of the Republican elephant. Today, the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party ought to be symbolized as a big horse's rear end. Anyway, before Obama was elected we had eight years of reckless spending, many years of unneeded tax cuts for politically powerful corporations, millionaires and billionaires. Incidentally, thousands of corporations pay zero in taxes, even ones that outsource jobs abroad or set up headquarters in offshore tax shelters. Thanks to George Dubya Bush, his neocon-artist advisors, and the hard right of the Republican Party, and some Democrats in Name Only (DINOs) we have two exorbitant and unnecessary wars (now three exorbitant and unnecessary wars, if you include Lybia). Thanks to the right-wing Congress, and so-called conservative Democrats we have policies of deregulation which led to the housing meltdown, ruthless foreclosures by banks and the like, and the near demolition of the entire economy by reckless Wall Street firms like Enron, AIG, Financial Freedom, and other greedy, self-serving corporations. In addition, the conservative majority in the Roberts Supreme Court passed the ludicrous Citizens United decision to allow corporations and millionaires and billionaires to anonymously donate unlimited funds to candidates who support their interests at the expense of the interests of the Common Man and the rest of us. The extreme right-wing seems to have a three-pronged agenda: give tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy, cut the social safety net and needed government programs to the bone, and to defeat Obama so their pernicious policies and insidious agenda will easily be approved by a conservative Republican President. Unfortunately, Obama is all too willing to compromise (in other words to cave in) with the uncompromising their way or the highway right-wingers. He should know if he makes a deal with the political Devil we all get burnt. I pity Obama. No matter who became President would have a Herculean task of dealing with a post 9/11 world of unnecessary wars, financial meltdowns, and the incompetent, not so bright policies and agenda of an ultra-right-wing President

named George Dubya Bush. Unless, Bush did all this as a ruse to destroy policies which Democrats advocated and instituted.

If the Republicans allow the domestic and perhaps international economy to be obliterated by refusing to raise the debt limit, they better hope and pray that their constituents and non-constituents alike don't take the fourth paragraph of the Declaration of Independence to heart: "...Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends ("Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"), it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government... "It is their Right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." Unfortunately, the extreme right-wing fears the TEA Party, which is perhaps 20% of the electorate tops and their wealthy, elite, heartless and ruthless base , more than their minimal concern for the vast majority of us.

Essay: "Shared Sacrifice My Ass"

Essay: "Shared Sacrifice My Ass"

All politicians basically suck. Some suck more than others. In my view, the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party (now the 'mainstream' G.O.P.) sucks most of all. In the latest pissing contest between the Republican Right and the arguably more sensible Democrats, our whole economy may hinge on these jerks coming to some kind of agreement to avoid a nationwide or worldwide financial catastrophe. Hopefully this agreement, if it happens, won't widen the vast gulf between the few politically powerful Haves and the politically powerless and largely ignored Have-Nots. A lot of talk by both the Right, Left, and Middle, the Democrats, the Republicans and perhaps Independents talks a lot about "shared sacrifice". Shared sacrifice is pure BS. It appears obvious that all of the sacrifice is to be borne by the poor, needy and vulnerable among us. All the extreme right-wing seems to care about is preserving tax cuts for their rich base of supporters. Both sides seem to want to win our three unnecessary wars in spite of human and trillions of dollars in economic casualties. Like children, the extreme right-wing appear to prefer the entire economy be obliterated than to risk that Obama might be reelected. As I see it, the Dems policies work for the majority of our collective best interests, while the hard right's policies only work for those who make large political donations or who have already made it in life so could potentially make donations to evade the responsibility of paying their fair share in taxes (particularly millionaires and billionaires).

Essay: "Fireworks Now Legal in RI but still Illegal in Mass.

Essay: Fireworks Now Legal in RI but Still Illegal in Massachusetts

On a recent ride to Rhode Island I noticed a number of places legally selling fireworks such as firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman Candles and a number of other kinds in preparation for the Fourth of July. I heard that M-80s, which are equivalent to a quarter stick of dynomite, are still illegal down there. Firework sales have been going on in New Hampshire for years. I'm sure many repressive Red States openly allow the sale of fireworks, while ruthlessly locking up or executing convicted criminals. However, in the supposedly liberal and 'open minded' Blue State of Massachusetts fireworks continue to be illegal for the use of the average citizenry. Perhaps it is a remnant of the repressive and uptight Puritanism streak which brought us Blue Laws and other arcane rules, regulations, statutes and bylaws, but in my view our state should allow the sale and use of firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman Candles and the like without fear of recrimination from the police or other authorities; especially on Independence Day. Naturally, fireworks should be used safely and not by children under a certain age.

COMING SOON: "Thanks but no thanks to Michelle Bachmann"