Shared Sacrifice and Balance? Ha!

Amy Goodman plucked away on my nerves in a column she wrote for the Nation of Change!
by Charlie Leck

In an article in Nation of Change, called War, Debt and the President, Amy Goodman builds a solid case that our President has not been able to carry the water for those progressives who supported him.

“President Barack Obama touted his debt-ceiling deal Tuesday, saying, ‘We can't balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have borne the biggest brunt of this recession.’ Yet that is what he and his coterie of Wall Street advisers have done.

“In the affairs of nations, Alexander Hamilton wrote in January 1790, ‘loans in times of public danger, especially from foreign war, are found an indispensable resource.’ It was his first report as secretary of the treasury to the new Congress of the United States. The country had borrowed to fight the Revolutionary War, and Hamilton proposed a system of public debt to pay those loans.”

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As I go through Goodman’s piece, she touches on a number of truths that pluck at my nerves and raise my hackles.

She uses the word “compliant” in referring to a Congress that so easily agreed to fund the George W. Bush wars. How did they fund those wars? Reread the second paragraph in the quote above. We relied on our national ability to borrow money from the people and other nations. We’re broke now because of those wars. Every time you hear Ms. Bachmann of Minnesota claim it is because of the expense of Social Security and Medicare, please remember that we had to borrow trillions (that’s trillions with a “t”) of dollars to fund those wars.

As every one of us who uses a credit card knows, there comes a time when one has to pay the piper. Times up!

I’m very unnerved by Goodman’s assessment that the boys (boys becoming men) who fought those wars and paid the price with their life and limbs will be the ones whose care will now not be properly funded

It was like someone was strumming on my nerves when Goodman quoted William Hartung, of the Center for International Policy. Hudson points to Dwight Eisenhower’s presidential warning to us about the “military industrial complex.”

“Essentially, he’s to the left of Barack Obama on these issues.”

Ping! My nerves are vibrating wildly and chills are running up and down my spine. Old Ike knew what of he spoke. Ask yourself: Just who did profit from the trillions of dollars we spent on the Bush Wars? The answer, of course, has to be: Multinational Corporations!

Goodman reminds me, with a dubious shake of her head, just what the recent Congressional legislation on our national debt does:

“The Budget Control Act of 2011 assures drastic cuts to the U.S. social safety net. Congress will appoint a committee of 12, dubbed the ‘Super Congress,’ evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, to identify $1.2 trillion in cuts by Thanksgiving. If the committee fails to meet that goal, sweeping, mandatory, across-the-board cuts are mandated. Social services would get cut, but so would the Pentagon.”

Do you think that those corporations and their CEOs who profited so richly from the Bush Wars are going to help us pay the piper through increased taxes on them? Do you think the Republican House, where so many of the Representatives have signed a no new taxes pledge, will allow it? Of course not! We, the people, get the shaft again! I assure you!

Goodman is plucking wildly at my nerves, which are out of tune. The sound in my mind is worse than fingernails on a blackboard. I am rattled!

“President Obama's debt-ceiling deal is widely considered a historic defeat for progressives, a successful attack on the New Deal and Great Society achievements of the past century. Congresswoman Donna Edwards, D-Md., summed up the disappointment, in which half the Democrats in the House voted against their president, tweeting: ‘Nada from million/billionaires; corp tax loopholes aplenty; only sacrifice from the poor/middle class? Shared sacrifice, balance? Really?’”

Ooooooh!

If you’ve got the nerve, go ahead and read her entire column!

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The Speech

As my old lady would have said: “The man certainly has the gift of gab!”
by Charlie Leck

President Barack Obama is a gifted speaker. I can’t imagine anyone doubts it. I was amazed last night at his communicative skills. Half the joint had its hackles up as they listened. The other half wondered how he’d keep hope alive for progressives in this country.

Well, he did a right fine job, as a good farming friend of mine would say. “He did a right fine job!”

Who could disagree with the President’s broad strokes and his basic goal? He wants America to win the future. He quoted Bobby Kennedy in saying that “the future is about achievement.”

Then, in a carefully organized and logical speech, he went on to lay out a plan for how we get to a better future in a highly competitive world.

Spark the imagination of people!
We make our living through innovation the President explained. He used the space race of the 60s as an example – we came from nowhere to clearly win that race and establish ourselves as the world’s leader in space technology. We can do it again, the President insisted, if….

If
The if is, of course, the big dark hole in the speech… It’s what the two parties will now begin to argue about.

It seems that no one could argue about the President’s education goals. He wants America back in first place in educating its citizens so we can win the future. He wants good teachers rewarded and he wants us to “stop making excuses for bad ones!” He called out to America’s talented young people to become teachers. “Your country needs you!”

America, he said, has fallen to ninth place in college degrees awarded to its students. Some of that has to do with the high cost of a college education. He said that Congress must make a higher education within the reach of every American. He proclaimed his goal, and hopefully Congress will join him, to make American number one again in the number of college degrees earned by its students by the end of this decade!

This won’t be cheap. Will a highly divided Congress figure it out?

And, he wants to rebuild America in many different ways beyond rebuilding its education system. He wants our infrastructure rebuilt. He wants us to have the best transportation system in the world. He wants high speed rail and high speed Internet to tie the country completely together.

This won’t be cheap. Will a highly divided Congress be willing to make the investment?

The President wants to get rid of “rigged tax codes” and make paying our taxes simple and clear to everyone. He wants to lower corporate tax rates so that our companies can find ways to sell more products around the world.

The President declared that we cannot permanently extend tax cuts for the wealthy. A few Democrats applauded him. Otherwise, there was a grim silence in the chamber.

How will a divided Congress figure out a way to do deal with tax reform?

The President was strong about Health Care. He conceded that weaknesses in last year’s bill should be corrected, but the repeal of the law would cost the nation billions of dollars. He was firm about not going back to the day’s when preexisting conditions prevented one from getting insurance. The President made a major concession to conservatives when he said there must be reform in medical malpractice laws to eliminate frivolous law suits.

How will a divided Congress deal with health care?

When the President declared that Social Security must be strengthened and not eliminated… well, what is the line about the proverbial fart in church? Yes, you could have heard one. I think I did hear one.

The President wants America to live within its means. He wants to reform government as a means to save billions of dollars. He’ll provide Congress with his plan to do so. It will mean eliminating many agencies and merging others in order to make a more efficient and less expensive means of governing. He wants a 21^st century government!

How will a divided Congress manage to cooperate on government reform?

The President declared he will veto any law that comes to him from Congress containing even one ear mark. At first there was stunned silence and then everyone slowly rose in applause. How could they not?

In 21^st Century America, “America’s moral example must always shine.” And we must remember that “America’s Muslims are a part of our American family.” Polite applause!

We’ve kept our commitment in Iraq and now it is time to go and let that nation determine its own future. We are keeping our commitment in Afghanistan, but the time is near for that nation to govern itself and for us to go. Our troops will begin coming home in July.

Our military is fabulous, but it must learn to live on less and that process has begun.

As for our returning veterans, the President declared that we have a debt to them. “Let us serve them as well as they have served us!”

He showed his pleasure that gays can now serve openly in the military. Now that this has happened, he said, it is time for all college campuses to open their doors again to military recruiters.

Though we all have political differences, the President said and then asked: “Who would trade places with anyone in any other nation in the world?”

“God bless America!”

The game is on!

Oh yes, Michele Bachmann thought it was a terrible speech!

Alessandra Stanley description of Congresswoman Bachmann’s rebuttal is perfectly written.

“It wasn’t just what she said, though she used words like ‘explosion’ and ‘exploded’ and ‘Obamacare’ a lot. It was the way Ms. Bachmann spoke, smiling and gesturing with an intensity that almost cracked the screen. ‘Instead of a leaner, smarter government, we bought a bureaucracy that now tells us which light bulbs to buy and which may put 16,500 IRS agents in charge of policing President Obama’s health care bill,’ Ms. Bachmann said, as she stood in front of a huge chart of unemployment figures.”

Michele Bachmann, again last night, showed herself to be an ass!

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A New Obama

I no sooner than write a scathing blog about Obama’s lack of skill in working legislation through Congress, when (boom!) he turns around and looks like a master in working the START Treaty through the Senate.
by Charlie Leck

START is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. It is our agreement with the Russians about the number of nuclear weapons, and launchers for those weapons, that we may each hold on to. Yesterday, the Senate ratified the treaty in spite of Republican leadership’s desire to hold it over for the next Congress. A number of Republicans broke rank to support this treat.

It must definitely be considered a victory for President Obama.

In my last blog I wrote about the President’s ineptness in working with the national legislative bodies and that “Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell” had passed in spite of the President’s failures. The White House is trying to spin it quite differently and credit Obama with a major victory in getting this legislation passed. Forget it, Dude! I’m not buying it.

I received a pot-load of email from readers condemning that blog. My readership sure gets irked by any criticism of the President. Lighten up folks and try to think about it objectively. This is a President who has had difficulty with his congressional relations. It’s possible the blame could lay with Rob Emmanuel, Obama’s departed Chief of Staff, who has gone off to run for Mayor of Chicago. He was well known for his gruff and tough approach to negotiations. Now Obama has several aides working Congress, including a couple of woman (I’ll write about here soon) who have a much softer and gentler approach.

However, I’ll tip my hat to President Obama over the Senate’s ratification of START. This was a victory and it may also be a sign, and a good one, that the President and the Congress may well be able to work together for the good of the country; though I do admit that the next Congress will be a more difficult one than this one.

Kudos to the President.

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Right About Now, We Need a Good Laugh!

Obama rocks the house!
by Charlie Leck

A few nights ago, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama attended the white-tie Al Smith dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Both had an opportunity to talk to the assembled dignitaries. It’s traditionally a light-hearted affair and the crowd expects to have a good time and a few good laughs.

Barack Obama gave them some laughs. Indeed, he sparkled in the role and rocked the house. He’s not a born comedian by any means, but he dryly belted out one-liners one after another.

I found myself chortling, giggling and out-right belly-laughing as I watched the MSNBC video on YouTube. You should be sure to watch it.

Of the housing crisis, Senator Obama pointed out that John McCain is feeling it 7 or 8 times more than most of us.

He also informed us that it was mere rumor that he was born in a manger. He actually came here from Krypton – sent by his father to save the earth!

Of his middle name, he said it was obviously given to him by someone who never dreamed he’d ever be running for the presidency.

He admitted John McCain was correct in his accusation that he was palling around with some blatant low-lifes, but then pointed out that he had noticed McCain present in some of those meetings of the U.S. Senate, too.

The laughing was raucous and warm at the same time. The comedic timing might not have been perfect, but the tone was ideal.

Don’t miss watching this wonderful 10 or 15 minutes of delightful video. [Go here]