Month: December 2019

According to Robert Reich, “…the American oligarchy is shafting Americans by siphoning up the wealth of the nation for itself and corrupting our politics.”  The super wealthy have used their money and power in politics to rewrite “…the rules of the economy in their favor …creating a vicious cycle of economic inequality …funneling more wealth to the wealthy.”  This has created an economy in which 78% of Americans are working paycheck to paycheck.  This is wrong!  The economy must work for all, not just the few!

Robert Reich states that we need to build progressive power by forming a coalition of our multiracial working and middle class workers to renew our democracy and by creating a fair economy.  He says we need to have a commitment to democratic principles including political equality, equal opportunity and justice for all.  And, most importantly, we need to get big money out of politics.

He continues by saying we need a bold agenda including a basic income, jobs guarantee, medicare for all and free public college education.

In order for this to work, he suggest that we need to put aside our differences and to not allow Trump and his enablers to continue to divide us with confusion and despair.

I believe we tend to see rich people as somehow smarter and more clever than average Joes like us.  And that they have achieved the ultimate American dream through hard-work when in fact they have cheated and rigged the system in their favor!  They rob us and then blame immigrants for our lack.  We need to take back the economy for all and to stop the cheating robbers of our wealth.

 

check out robertreich.org

On December 18, 2019, President Donald J. Trump was impeached by the United States Congress for abuse of power and obstruction of justice.  He is only the third president impeached in 231 years.  The articles of impeachment will be sent to the Senate where a trial will be held to determine if the president will be removed from office.  A two-thirds majority (67 votes) will decide the outcome.  The Senate currently holds 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and 2 Independents.  That means if all the Democrats and Independents vote for removal 20 republicans will be needed to make it so.  That seems highly unlikely.   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  and outspoken Senator Lindsey Graham have already declared that they plan to not be impartial and intend to quickly dismiss the articles and exonerate the President.  However, recent polls show that 70% of Americans want a fair trial and want to hear from the relevant, first-hand witnesses.  America wants the truth not a cover up!  Even if the President is not removed, he will always be branded as impeached.

 

 

 

How did we end up with Trump?  How did we end up with the most unfit and most corrupt President in my lifetime or even the worst U.S. President ever?  Did it really all begin in the late 80’s to save the failing AM radio stations?  “The Rush Limbaugh Show” premiered on AM radio in 1988.  How did an aggrieved, disgruntled, former DJ, first-year college dropout who must have been thoroughly ashamed to be the failure in a family who included several lawyers, judges and public servants, become the voice and director of the Republican party?  Deregulation in the form of the abandonment of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 and the subsequent implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which allowed companies to own more radio stations and to nationally syndicate, created the pervasive space for this destructive often false chatter that is tearing America apart.

Sadly, this allowed a racist, vile, uncouth, sophomoric,”insult-radio” host, four-time married, drug addict charged with prescription fraud, pro-porter of conspiracy theories, whose reported statements are often predicated with “claimed without evidence” or “despite providing no source or evidence” and whose rating on Politifact is 84% mostly false or pants on fire became a trusted radio personality. And according to Wikipedia, listeners of conservative talk radio in the U.S. tend to be white, religious Americans who are more prone to being ideological conservative and more likely men.

Limbaugh is a critic of liberalism which means he supports cuts to social safety nets and opposes civil liberty, equality, social justice, a mixed economy, the role of government in reducing inequality, providing education, ensuring access to healthcare, regulating economic activity and protecting the natural environment.  He is against all the things that make America great and exceptional.  He is also a critic of liberal media, feminism, environmentalists and climate science.

This man who has made tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars ranting and raving mostly nonsense on the radio paved the way for Trump to enter the Whitehouse despite being totally unqualified and spouting lie after lie.  Because of the false claims of Rush Limbaugh and several others who have followed in his footsteps, many American people can no longer distinguish truth from lies.

Hopefully, the era of this aggrieved whiner of untruths is coming to end.  It has been reported that NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered surpassed Limbaugh’s ratings in 2016.  Maybe evidence-based facts will once again rule the day.  KNOW THE SOURCE OF YOUR INFORMATION!!!

 

We currently have the lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years.  However, while nearly every American is working, over 50% are struggling to make ends meet and many families are food insecure and may be only a $400-emergency away from eviction.  Until jobs numbers and unemployment rates reflect livable wage jobs, they are irrelevant to the true success of our economy.

It is a disgrace that in the richest country in the world 50% of its hardworking citizens are not earning a livable wage.  Having someone labor for less than a livable wage is exploitation!  Voting for economic fairness is your way to right this wrong!