Where do we stand in order to keep the ship upright?

In today’s political scene the people have a rough time of maintaining an even keel. Those on the religious right are running to the far side of the ship, screaming about bad moral decisions and how we are corrupting the fabric of the nation.

Along with them we have the corporatists demanding that the nation be formed in their free market idealism which is based solely on their view of major profits and no regulation. We might have a chance if this country had only one type of citizen who all believed the same way and worshiped the same way. However we were never meant to be that way. Even among families there are differences of opinion, so how can we ever find common ground?

The founders knew that a consensus of the people could never take place. In their wisdom they tried to work around that by setting up a system that could rely on the use of compromise .... one that could benefit all the people instead of just a select few.

This compromise has worked well for many years, and no-one got it entirely their way. If there was a time it became unbalanced there were ways to allow the people to regain that balance.

When the slaves in this nation were given freedom they had to struggle in order to have equal rights ...... and that struggle continues today. Women were the next to battle for the same rights as men. Workers gave their blood to have fair treatment from the oppression of business owners. One must also never forget the Native Americans, who perhaps gave up even more from the time of the creation of this nation.

The men and women of the working class battled and gave their life’s blood to forge this nation. Once again we face a battle. The middle class has once again found itself trying to keep a balance. The workers, the women, minorities and people of different religions are currently in a fight for their lives and well being.

The other side seem to have the upper hand, but the citizens are not ready to sit up and beg for what is theirs. Their rights were given to them in the Constitution, so they have taken a stand for those rights and are growing stronger every day.

A call to war?

On Thursday, Judge George Daniels of Manhattan signed a default judgment finding Iran, the Taliban and AL-Qaeda liable in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The ruling came in a $100 billion lawsuit brought by family members of victims of the events. Really? Why was there no mention of the Saudi link? We would like to see his evidence. When all investigations after the attacks found no proof where did he get his?

If he were to bend over, I think we may have the answer. Dick Cheney and the military complex/corporations have, for years, been trying to fabricate something to allow them a reason to get back into the oil fields of Iran. This, like the WMD in Iraq, may give them the opportunity. Add some prefabricated lies and stir in large doses of hate with a healthy pinch of fear and blame and we have the recipe for a continuing war.

Who would benefit from another war? Certainly not those of us who are forced to send our husbands, wives, or children to shed their blood in the sands of a far off land. Those who stand to profit largely from the sale of the weapons of war or from the rape of the resources of the country we invade are more than eager for others to sacrifice blood for their profit.

People like former VP Cheney who, since the overthrow of the Shah, and the removal of his company from the rich oil lands of Iran have not thought of anything other than a way back. He had taken the rejection there as personal and it fueled his obsession for payback in Iran.

The Iranian government, like any government, is corrupt, as governments have been proven to be worldwide. Corruption is the one thing is guaranteed to trickle down. Where corruption goes greed is sure to follow.

Now we have what could be used as a rally to war by this judge over 10 years from when it happened. Those who have the money and power feel no loyalty to the nation. They see themselves as citizens of the world living in their secluded gated communities.

With their own private army, far and above the average man, the burden of war is carried by its citizens......never by those of power, money, or influence. They are unable to feel compassion because they have never faced to same hardships or the life and death situations that have been forced on so many people.

The value of money

With the Citizen United ruling we have witnessed the proclamation that money is speech. That ruling has opened the floodgates to allow corporations an opportunity to attempt to drown out the speech of the average citizen. In a country that had, for 200 years, worked at becoming a nation that allowed every person an equal voice it is appalling.

But we may be seeing that money, even though some see it as a symbol of greatness, may be losing its effect on many. During the recall election this spring in Wisconsin, and the vote this fall in Ohio, we saw that in some cases money didn’t influence as many voters as they hoped.

Since that time the citizens of the state of Wisconsin have launched a recall drive on their Governor, with a massive outpouring of angst against the sitting Governor. All this despite the Governor funneling huge amounts of money on ads to counter the recalls, or perhaps because of it, in less than a month they are nearly at their goal.

The Governor and his out of state supporters have funneled over 5 million dollars into his effort, while the other side has less than half a million in their coffers. Still, his hold seems to be slipping away.

Could it be that the people are starting to see his ads for just what they are ..... a payoff from corporate interests? Can this be a sign that the people of Wisconsin have decided that their lives don’t have a price tag?

The occupy movement has opened the eyes of many in this country to the corruption that people of wealth and power have been using to protect their selfish interests.

This could be the start of a whole new era of US governance ....... one of more involvement of the people and less from outside forces. One in which the people will take a active role in the leading of this nation and not just follow blindly.

We may be witnessing an entire new chapter in the history of the United States of America ...... the second revolution against corporate rule. The power OF the people and power TO the people!

When is green not green?

It is not easy to be green if you’re the focus of political criticism. Just ask poor Kermit the frog. He has been labeled as red in the courts of Republican opinion.

Will we see him bought before congress to be investigated and maybe forced to show his commie card? Will he be blacklisted from ever working in Hollywood again? The political arena has taken a plunge in the deep end of the pool wearing cement footwear.

Consider the state of the economy and the plight of many citizens. The fools elected to fix the problems are more concerned about stick puppets than actually working on correcting the problems that got us here.

After viewing some of the far-fetched laws being introduced by some of the freshman state Congressman I am not shocked. There was the one to allow hunting with a spear or hunting using a silencer on your gun. Is this really more important than helping families find employment? What could be the reasoning behind this?

The silencer is only necessary if you’re trying to hide the fact you’re attempting to shoot someone or something. The spear thing? .... well, maybe if we let the Bubba types hunt that way for bears we could thin out the gene pool some.

Could it be they have no answers to the problems faced by millions or is it they don’t care? Wouldn’t it make things so much easier for the public if at the debates they were hooked up to lie detectors with a huge needle behind them showing whether they were telling the truth or not? Or how about they get a shock every time they tell a lie….. Oh wait we won’t have anyone willing to run for office.

Perhaps we need a simple test for those running for office like asking "have you ever put your socks on the wrong feet?" Do you put a sock, sock, shoe, shoe, or sock, shoe, sock, shoe? When is green not green, but red?

Walker.... the governor that keeps on taking.

Again we see Scott Walker acting like a drowning man grasping at anything to keep afloat. This is how the Tea Party and the Republicans seem to respond when they find that the public has rejected their push for outrageous reforms.

Would any reasonable man condone violence by the citizens if he were the Governor? Mr. Walker has not taken a stance against the actions of his supporters, and by not doing so he has signaled his perceived support.

The latest issue to make the rounds is that he wants all signatures that are not legible to be rejected on those grounds only. The GAB is apparently not doing a good enough job for the Republicans in preventing recalls so now, after four years, they feel it is necessary to change or remove the GAB so recalls can be stopped.

Now that there is a challenge to the voter ID issue that it may not go into effect until after the current recall they are panicked. It seems to be standard operating procedure for Republicans to change the rules in mid-stream. They had pressed for the redistricting to take effect for the current round of recalls to benefit their party. When that didn’t work they had to find other ways to tip the balance in their favor.

The Republicans have become a party of haste and damage control. The damage is done by their ignorance. They leap off the cliff before they realize it is further down than they thought. They are like toddlers. They need someone to hold their hands or they would dart out in traffic.

They also give no thought to the fact that the laws they propose will be able to be used against them in the future when they are not in the majority. They preach of smaller government but do just the opposite.

They are now frantic to stack the deck in their favor one has to wonder why. Is it that they have displeased their masters and are fearful the piggy bank may dry up? Now that the majority of people in the state have shown their disdain through recall petitions why have the Tea Party/Republicans not taken notice?

This is your chance VOTE!

When I was in grade school, I remember the Eisenhower and Stephenson campaign. I couldn’t have been but maybe in the 1st grade. It frightened me.

I heard Mr. Stephenson claiming that if Eisenhower was elected President we would be attacked. To a child who was young after the World War era and in the midst of the Korean conflict, it had a profound effect on me. We had nuclear attack drills once a month, and although I am not sure how my classmates felt, I perceived that I saw fear even on the faces of the adults.

Those early years formed my belief that voting was of utmost importance in the formation of this nation, and was necessary in order to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to have freedom and liberty.

I clearly remember the 1959 election. I stayed up until the TV stations went off the air (yes, they were only on a certain number of hours each day) to see the coverage. Yes. I was a Republican, and continued to be a Republican even during my time in the military.

I received a fax from Congressman Tom Reynolds asking if I would accept an appointment to the National Republican Congressional Committee and serve on the Business Advisory Council representing my state. I accepted, even though I was in the middle of starting a Corporation.

It was during those 3 years that I saw a new membership of the party that was very frightening - the Neo-Conservatives. This bunch was so far from the principles of the party I had supported that I felt I could no longer be a part of it.

My concern was justified after the 2010 election cycle, and the Citizens United ruling, when the keys of governance were turned over to corporate powers and the ill-informed.

I saw a once proud party reduced to a party of ridicule ..... not only in this country, but worldwide. I am not the only Republican to hold that view. There are many besides me that have said enough is enough.

We are referred to as RINOs (Republicans in Name Only). Since we are using acronyms, we can be described more accurately as RERO's (Republicans Enforcing Reality Only), and we will REPO our party from the hijackers.

In the meantime, we will work to bring the nation back into balance. Regaining that balance must come from the people using their power and voting. We must never allow this hijacking of our government to occur again. We need to have compromise ........ not just the will of the few forced on the many.

United together we must stand!

Let's be honest here. Whether we are Christian, Muslim, Liberal, Conservative, or Independent we all desire the same things ...... freedom, liberty, being able to provide for our families and to give our children a good life.

These are a parents' goals and purposes in life and that is as it should be. We must remember that no matter where we stand we need to protect those in our care and give them the best chances to prosper.

Let’s admit it. The majority of US citizens are middle class, and dream as you might, most will die as middle class. It is, therefore, up to you and I to ensure that the life of the middle class is made as stable for future generations as possible.

Denying your neighbor simply because he or she doesn’t support your views is ripping the very fabric of this country. It has divided what was the strongest force in this country and rendered it powerless to stop the takeover by corporations. Takeover is their agenda.

The middle class, as long as one side mistrusts the other, is weak and defenseless. Corporations know this and are using it against the people. People can have their differences, but we have to recognize who the real enemy is. Let's stop this foolish bickering and come together for the sake of generations of future Americans, our children, so we can preserve the freedom and liberty that has so hard fought over the centuries.

We must be able to find that common ground where we are not just liberals, conservatives, Christian, Muslim or Atheist, but where we are Americans first and foremost. We have to make a stand, united as one people, for the good of every American citizen.

The middle class is the very fiber of this nation and the backbone that has allowed us to stand straight and tall over the centuries. Remember ..... it was the sweat and blood of the middle class that built and held this nation together. It was the strong callused hands and bent backs that toiled to build this nation and caused it to prosper.

The corporations did nothing but provide the middle class with the tools to create that end. Corporations, without the support of the middle class, are nothing but empty shells. They have no power and no strength without the middle class doing the work for them and buying the products they produce.

The attack on the working class.

Somewhere over the last few decades the working class of Americans has become the enemy of the state. In the eyes of the Tea Party they are people to be kept in place and under the thumb of the upper class. They are considered undereducated and unruly ..... people to look at with disdain .......to be used for the advancement and profit of the wealthy.

It is easy to see where the wealthy got that view. One had only to observe how easy it was for them to sway some of the Tea Party to join them .... and get them to blindly follow ..... even though what they are doing is going to hurt them also.

The working class seems to be an easy target. After all, they lack the money and the power to be much of a threat to the wealthy ........ or at least that is what the wealthy thought. The middle class population has lost their voice. Even though they have huge numbers, they are fearful because the wealthy have shown them they must kneel and worship them or they won’t allow them the right to exist.

This scenario has changed for a large majority of Americans ..... those who are struggling with unemployment and being underpaid. One aspect the wealthy overlooked was that when a person has nothing left to lose the hold you once had on them is gone.

They used the Republicans and the Tea Party to con people into thinking it is the wealthy that create jobs. The only thing the wealthy create is a vacuum as they suck the money from the working class.

The people have decided enough is enough and started the Occupy movement. In a few short months it has built not only in this country but in other parts of the world. This has the wealthy terrified and some have given it another thought and taken refuge on the occupy side. They realize that once the tipping point has been reached they may need some insurance so they don’t go down like many will.

Whether they will be spared only time will tell, but the anger isn’t just limited to the corporations and is growing toward those who pull the strings in government. Those people are viewed as puppets and both sides are being seen as corrupted ........ a cancer that has to be removed before it devours freedom and liberty.

To those who belittle our troops.

I just read a article from Thomas Walker, a “lecturer in the intensive English and orientation program” at Iowa State University about how the troops stationed in the Middle East, namely Afghanistan, are creating terrorists.

I wonder about his age, because he sounds like those who protested the War in Vietnam. They would condemn those of us who were serving to the point we couldn’t even wear our uniforms in public.

It didn’t seem to occur to them that we were not the ones who declared the war or the ones who had chosen to be there.

Walker is disturbed because people are sending care packages to the deployed troops. Why? The only reason you can say the things you do without fear of retribution is because those you decry as terrorist-makers are actually protecting your cowardly butt.

During the Vietnam conflict, care packages from the civilian world were few and far between unless they were from your family.

I know the Viet Nam war was a real sore spot in American history. The troops were less than popular, as one could tell by the reception we received when returning home.

I will be honest. I was hurt by the welcome received by the troops coming home from Operation Desert Storm. That was recognition no Vietnam veteran ever got.

I got over it. I am no longer bitter, but I AM disgusted by the lack of respect the men and women who are serving our country now are receiving. Once again in this country, complaints come from a few who have never had to endure battle or even serve in the military.

You may have a bone to pick about the reason we are in places like Afghanistan and Iraq in the first place, but to point your finger and blame the men and women of the armed forces shows how low you are.

You should be joining forces against corporate profit as the corporations surely are to blame for the wars in today's society. By blaming our service personnel you are spitting on the grave of every soldier who has ever given his life for this country.

Focus your anger at the ones who are profiting and gaining riches ..... not on those who are serving .... and not on their families, who must endure the stress of waiting for word that their father, mother, son, or daughter is safe.

I pledge......

When I was in school all those long years ago we said the Pledge of Allegiance. "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation, under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."

We were told this pledge showed our loyalty to the flag and to our country. Today we have abandoned much of that. There seems to be more allegiance given to the almighty dollar.

The republic is talked about, but now it's about how they want to strip its powers and render it a neutered and powerless from. Indivisible? We have become divided between the "haves" and "have nots". A country that is no longer willing to compromise on something so simple as whether it is a Christmas or Holiday Tree.

The last has become a joke…. only liberty for the ones we choose that fit our likeness and justice for only those we feel deserve it. Liberty and Justice for all? Not any longer. Let's disrespect even those who have served this nation if they don’t follow our beliefs.

People seem to forget that liberty and justice was meant for all ..... not the few .... and liberty and justice has a price which many have paid with their lives. In today’s world, however, many seem to have taken the sacrifice of those before and tossed it into the gutter to be replaced by greed and the desire to force the will of the few on the many.

We see corporations using their hold over the masses to force them to be compliant with their wishes. They know that under today’s economic hard times they have the upper hand by forcing workers to become slaves, and they are exercising that power.

This agenda has forced the showdown by the Occupy Wall Street movement ..... one that has dwarfed so many before it and has angered Wall Street.

The religious stiff necks fresh from Sunday Bible thumping get their undies in a bunch if unbelievers refuse to fall in line. This is how they see the world to be and it must be that way or we are going to Hell.

Can a nation so torn from within stand and flourish?

The Tea party going out with the tide?

The Tea Party swept onto the political scene with the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate.

They roared into power in the 2010 mid-term elections, taking control of many states and the Congress. Taking no time to test the waters, they drove in head first. Those waters proved to be cold and very shallow. Within six months after taking office they were seeing heavy resistance to their agenda. They had over-extended their popularity and, in many cases, their welcome.

The people had seen though their exterior and were able to see things Americans couldn’t accept ...... things like their inability to work with the people for compromise (their way or no way) .... their willingness to cut all safety nets (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits) ..... their total hatred of the middle class, and their willingness to deny other citizens their equal right to live as they chose.

In a republic founded on liberty and freedom this concept wasn’t looked on favorably, and was soon rejected. After many attempts to ram though legislation and after being shot down by the voters, they still kept the same tactics and goals. This type of behavior shows a complete lack of social skills and maturity ...... something one would expect from a child, and certainly not from a group of adults.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for their loss of popularity was that it was discovered just who was funding them …. the corporate brothers and Birchers, the Koch’s. People soon realized that corporations had led to the economic collapse of the nation ..... hell, the world. It was a given that their agenda was doomed.

Then there were the links to a group known as the Posse Comitatus, a radical group based on extreme violence toward the government ...... to the point where they had killed two federal marshals and devised plots to bomb federal office buildings. I am sure that not all those in the Tea Party would support these domestic terrorists, but their objectives and goals are very similar.

Even many of the original founders of the Tea Party have expressed their disappointment in how the movement has gone, and admit it wasn’t how they envisioned it. As with any movement, one must be careful that it isn’t hijacked and corrupted by those with the desire to force their beliefs and agendas on every American.

Grover Norquist ....a God in his own eyes.

Grover Norquist .... the little man who sees himself as Napoleon .... the man whose only claim to fame is his tax pledge, which was signed by the majority of Republicans. Norquist says the pledge is to the voters, but he is the one who holds the power, not the voters. If it were the voters, it would be clear that they wish taxes to be raised, as a poll in July showed, by over 60%.

It has become clear that Norquist has an over-inflated ego and that his pledge has nothing to do with the majority of voters. People have started to view those people who take these pledges as not displaying real leadership abilities, and offer them as an example of a simple follower.
Instead of pledging their allegiance to the nation, they have given it to Norquist. This demonstrates poor leadership that needs to be addressed by, and rejected by, the voters. They can’t serve two masters, which means they are either serving the people or Norquist.

Recently some of those who took the pledge have had regrets as they realize doing so could spell an end to their careers .... one way other another, through the people's wrath or Norquist's.

They have been frantic to find a loophole, and it appears one man may have found one. Senator Pat Toomey says that if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, the taxes would be higher. If they were to raise them by 39.6 % it won’t be an tax increase.

However President Obama has said he won’t extend the cuts without dropping the ones for the upper income group. Norquist has stated he feels that both houses and possibly the Presidency will be in Republican hands by then.

I have to remind Norquist that unless the Republicans intend to seize control of the government this isn’t likely to happen, simply because the public is fed up with the antics of the Tea Party. They are on their way out. This means his pledges are not going to be worth the paper they are written on. He may find a use for them, but I warn him paper cuts in that area could be very painful.

 

The downfall of the Republican Party

The Republican Party has become the chameleon party. A party that is most concerned with pushing the extreme in order to get elected.

The Republican party, over the last few decades, has changed their colors so many times that those holding office under the party name have no idea where to stand from day to day.

When the tea party made their takeover of the Republican Party with their calls for smaller government, the party thought they had to fall in line. The problems lie in the fact that no Republican has ever created a smaller government. They just don’t know how, so they have been stumbling like a drunk who is off balance.

The Republican view is one in which the government needs to have stricter control of the public, as is evident in many laws being fostered in the halls of Washington these days. The right wrongly states that the laws they are creating will lessen the role of government, but will need a larger government to enforce the new laws.

What they evidently mean by smaller is for corporations to have a freer hand, without repercussions, in workplace safely and pollution violations. Rules have been made for car manufacturers on fuel efficiency and for manufacturers to build better systems to handle the pollution going into our water systems.

The people who once made up the Republican Party ..... those who were the moderates ..... have been appalled by the forceful takeover by the extreme and radical neo-conservatives. They have either turned to the Democratic Party or the Independents.

The Republicans thought that by joining forces they could create a larger force. However, they didn’t foresee that the Tea Party would create a divide, turning away many that refused to allow or accept the direction the party has taken.

The party has become a bunch of marionettes whose strings are being pulled by corporate lobbyists and even the Tea Party. Even though they refuse to open their eyes to the fact that they are being played as lackeys, and that they have been since the first day they took corporate money.

Corporations are now demanding a return on their investment. To them it was all an insurance policy to give them a bigger return on their profits ..... purely and simply GREED. Like PT Barnum said, "there is a sucker born every minute," and we see the proof of that in the Tea Party Republicans.

Write a reply...

Is the Occupy Wall Street a force that corporations can't buy?

In 2009, the government was talking about opening an investigation into the dealings of Halliburton corp. Dealings taking place with the Iran Government in the development of nuclear enrichment. It was suddenly dropped and all talks just vanished.

Recently there was information linking the Koch Brothers to deals with Iran and just as suddenly those disappeared.

My question is how much is ones soul worth? What is the going price for those who make the laws that they are willing to sell out ones country? Should we ignore the signs that corporations are being allowed to set themselves above the laws of this country? All that influences a corporation is the profit margin. They have no feelings, no conscience, and no loyalty to other than the God of profit.

To a corporation there is no conflict of interest when it comes to business or profit. If a corporation had a mother would it be willing to sell her for profit or to pimp her out to the highest bidder?

In 2010 we had a new political force come on the scene they called themselves the Tea Party claiming to be a grassroots party, but it was soon learned they had prostituted themselves to corporate money from the Koch brothers (Astroturf).

They quickly showed their stripes after gaining control of many seats in state and federal government, but their ignorance was soon displayed and rejected by the majority of Americans.

As quickly as they rose, their downfall took place. They then tried to grab on to the shirt tails of a real grassroots effort, the Occupy Wall Street movement, thinking they could regain power. Their masters the corporations, however, wouldn’t allow them to abandon ship.

The corporations were the focus of the OWS movement and corporations couldn’t allow them to go over to the other side. The corporations had at first tried to ignore the OWS but as they grew they changed tactics. They funneled huge amounts of money into city coffers in order to buy the favor of city fathers against the thugs that were the OWS movement.

That led to the cities using excessive force against peaceful protestors, and that had resulted in many being severely injured. Now, in the city of Seattle, the police have taken the first life .....allegedly that of an unborn child.

How much was the life of that child worth? To the corporations who will portray it as the mothers fault, it means nothing. To the officers, it was that they were just following orders. You see, corporations cannot be held liable for their actions. They can kill and maim without any concern or accountability.

How long can religious freedom survive here?

How long can religious freedom survive here? We are seeing the evangelist movement demanding that the government be set on their view of the bible and insisting that it was the wish of the founding fathers.

If they are allowed to have their way all other religions will be banned or outlawed and only the Christian religion practiced. How long will we tolerate this in a nation that was founded with the separation of church and state woven into the very fabric of the nation.

Where would it lead if they get their way? Will everyone be required to pay the church a tax? ....or officially belong to one in order to get the opportunity to cast a vote, hold office or own property? To be forced to attend services every Sunday or be ostracized from the community?

You may say it can never happen, but that was how things were when each state had their own religion. That was before a few enlightened men, some even members and pastors, saw that church and government were a wrong mix .

In 1877, New Hampshire was the last state to revoke the section stating "House of Representatives. Article 14. Amended 1877 deleting requirement that representatives be Protestants. Senate. Article 29. Amended l877 deleting requirements that senators be Protestant."

The latest figures show the majority of Americans (60% to 76%) identify themselves as Christians. Despite this seemingly high level of religiosity, only 9% of Americans in a 2008 poll said religion was the most important thing in their life, compared with 45% who said family was paramount in their life and 17% who said money and their career were paramount.

Where does that leave the rest of American society? Will they be outcasts?...... second class citizens to the evangelists? Will all other Christians be welcomed or shunned?

I feel that our forefathers had the right idea ....... to allow the freedom to choose how you worship, and to put no restrictions on it. Welcome other forms and beliefs. After all, this was a new nation with new ideas so why not let the people decide for themselves whether to pray or not? Let's try to honor their concept of religious freedom and to worship or not in the manner you see fit.

The evangelists feel that their beliefs should be forced on others, and they wish to dictate to others that they follow their teachings. They believe they should be able to tell women how to treat their bodies, and if one might have put their life in danger in childbirth they should die in order to preserve the unborn child.

This is nothing like what I was taught to believe true Christians feel. Does one condemn someone who lives another lifestyle to death or punish one for exercising a given right?

They seem to feel that they should have the authority to say if a woman has the right to birth control. Does any human have the right to dictate to another how to live one's life as long as they are not committing a crime? To create a crime where it once was accepted, simply on religious grounds, is unacceptable.

While I am not a deeply religious person, I would never think of denying a person his or her right to worship as he/she likes. I have known people of many different beliefs .... from Christian, to Muslim non-believers to Wiccan. I respect their beliefs, and find that under it all they are humans with the same desires, concerns and feelings as you and I. They just view things differently than I do.

Ask yourself if you are ready to accept an extreme religious view or do you accept that Americans have the right to choose?

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The American dreamers

GOOOOD MORNING AMERICA:

While you have been asleep during the last 30 years you had a nightmare …… but guess what? It wasn’t really a nightmare after all.

Corporations really have been busy infiltrating the world in an attempt to control it and profit from the "lower class people" - the 99%. Now that you’re awake are you going to tolerate it?

Consider this the first day of the rest of your life. From this point on, life will never again be dull. What is at stake will affect every single one of the 99% and our descendants for perhaps, like forever.

What is at stake is the dreams you, and pretty much all of us, have to be able leave our children and grandchildren a better place in which to live. If man isn’t able to dream life has no meaning.

It was dreams that built this nation. It was dreams that spawned advancements in technology and art. Dreams have been the staple of the middle class, and it has been the middle class and those dreams that built this nation.

Even those mega corporations were at one time a simple dream by someone who was part of the middle class. After decades those dreams have become greed, and once greed worms its way into society it takes root and becomes a cancer.

We are a nation of dreamers and we believe that we can do things and build things. As a team there is nothing we can’t accomplish. After all our ancestors carved a new world out of this land with little more than determination and desire. We have put a man on the surface of the moon and taken pictures of distance planets. We have ventured deep under the oceans and ice packs and we have flown faster than the speed of sound. Mans dreams have no bounds as long as we have the freedom to dream.

Today a few have decided that the middle class has no place beside the wealthy and are better if kept under tight control. They are determined to dash the dreams of the middle class and subjugate them to a world with no dreams or hope.

How soon they have forgotten that they may have started in the middle class themselves and that with their dreams they had the ability to forge ahead. Now they seem bent on denying others that same opportunity.

One can only hope that the day will come that their fortunes hit a snag and they find themselves back among the middle class. It happened before when greed overtook compassion, and it can easily happen again.

A nation in danger

What we are seeing is the reawakening of the concept of liberty and freedom. It has been struggling to re-emerge after decades of repression and being taken for granted. People had been lulled into a false sense of security and thus disregarded the warning signs.

During that time forces undermined them and worked their insidious way into the very foundation of our government. They have led the misinformed with deceit in order to betray the principles of liberty.

James Madison foresaw the danger when, in the federalist papers, he noted the problem of a majority in a sense oppressing itself by passing laws that were only as temporary as the passions and fashions that make them seem desirable.

He wrote of the dangers of "mutable government" in Federalist Paper 62, and a small part of what he said was, "It will be of little avail to the people that laws are made by men of their own choice ... if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is today, can guess what it will be tomorrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule which is little known, and less fixed."

He also said, (Federalist Paper 63) "an institution may be sometimes necessary as a defense to the people against their own temporary errors and delusions.... ...there are particular moments in public affairs when the people, stimulated by some irregular passion or some illicit advantage, or misled by the artful misrepresentations of interested men, may call for measures which they themselves will afterwards be the most ready to lament and condemn. In these critical moments, how salutary will be the interference of some temperate and respectable body of citizens, in order to check the misguided career and to suspend the blow meditated by the people against themselves, until reason, justice, and truth can regain their authority over the public mind?"

By not recognizing the danger of an unbalanced government we also endangered the values put in place long ago.

We have only ourselves to blame because we failed in our duty to uphold those values .... values entrusted to our care by those who preceded us. We neglected our role in the defense of our nation to safeguard it from those who seek to destroy it, even from within. But hopefully we can regain and strengthen our resolve to negate the danger while allowing equal rights for all citizens.

We have seen religious leaders in this country advocating the death of their fellow citizens, all the while claiming religious freedom and free speech, simply because they don’t agree with their lifestyle. These same men are openly endorsing political candidates and those candidates are not speaking out against it. By doing this they are reinforcing this train of thought and giving it legitimacy.

The people of this nation must remain very vigilant, even against those in charge of governing. Maybe these people must be watched even more so because they are charged with representing all the people…. the majority and the minority ..... and especially those most vulnerable ... the young, the old and the sick and the weak.

We must also discourage the advocacy of death against other citizens of this nation and speak out to let them know that their beliefs are not welcomed or tolerated in this society….. a society of freedom and liberty.

The Religious right is dragging this country back to the the 16th century.

Once there was a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

The people struggled to uphold these values for centuries, and many young men and women gave their lives in defense of that nation. Then a change slowly emerged. The people no longer seem to care. An uprising of extreme religious beliefs began. The nation that was once a haven of religious freedom was pushed toward domination by one religion. All other beliefs were not accepted, and those who believed in them were demonized.

The extremists felt they were justified, for they had a holy book they said gave them the right to force their views on others. They had been given the power by God. Government gave them the right as well, in the last election the nation had held. They were confident that the majority supported them and that gave them the right.

The nation had been one that was based on the separation of church and state. It was set up that way by its founders. Prior to that the church had control over the people. They set what church one could attend and forced them to worship there.

The new nation wanted to give its citizens the freedom to worship as they pleased. Each state had its particular religion, expect for a few like Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and guess what? Georgia. The churches required the citizens of each state to pay taxes to the church.

If you were not part of the state's religion you could not hold office or vote in an election.

Massachusetts - Official Religion: Congregational Church Original Charter Date: Mar. 4, 1629

Like many who arrived on these shores in the 17th century, the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay came to America seeking religious freedom. The freedom they sought, however, was for themselves and not for others. The Puritans felt called by God to establish 'new Israel,' a holy commonwealth based on a covenant between God and themselves as the people of God.

Though there were separate areas of authority for church and state in Puritan Massachusetts, all laws of the community were to be grounded in God's law and all citizens were expected to uphold the divine covenant.

Very early in the Massachusetts experiment, dissenters arose to challenge the Puritan vision of a holy society. The first dissenter, Roger Williams (c.1603-1683), was himself a Puritan minister, but with a very different vision of God's plan for human society.

Williams argued that God had not given divine sanction to the Puritan colony. In his view, the civil authorities of Massachusetts had no authority to involve themselves in matters of faith. The true church, according to Williams, was a voluntary association of God's elect.

Any state involvement in the worship or God, therefore, was contrary to the divine will and inevitably led to the defilement of the church.

Banished from Massachusetts in 1635, Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, the first colony with no established church and the first society in America to grant liberty of conscience to everyone.
Some states realized that religion had no place in government.
North Carolina - Official Religion: Anglican/Church of England
"Article XIX. That all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences.

Article XXXI. That no clergyman, or preacher of the gospel, of any denomination, shall be capable of being a member of either the Senate, House of Commons, or Council of State, while he continues in the exercise of pastoral function."

You can see more about the religion of each colony here: http://undergod.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=69

Today there is a call that people must recognize that this nation was founded on the Christian religion, even though by 1877 none of the original colonies had an official religion and it remains like that today.

Many citizens are asking why the nation, one that was hailed as a melting pot and based on freedom and liberty, has to become one ruled by only one religion ..... much like those that are so hated by some that profess the gospel … and exist even now in the Middle East. Would they become what they so fear and hate and despise?

The first shot in a new revolution.

Tuesday November 8th, 2011, a shot was fired that was heard nationwide. The shot was fired by voters exercising their democratic right to have a voice in the government. The shot was louder than all the money pouring into Republican coffers from corporate neo-conservatives.

This was just a small victory in a scrimmage. The main battle still awaits us. We must not relax or take our eyes off the goal. Those on the other side will be discouraged by the results, but they will attempt a counter-offensive.

Led by corrupt puppet masters ….. fostered by lies and fear-mongering and funded by stacks of corporate money. they will make an effort to strike fear into the hearts and minds of other Americans. They have used the fear card to their advantage in the past, so they will pull it out again.

Or perhaps they will use a front group with an innocent-sounding name to try to deceive the public and gain supporters ....... groups like “Americans For Prosperity.” They know Americans desire prosperity above all, and they use that to mislead people into thinking that by siding with them they will share how they came into their riches, or perhaps might feel generous.

Wake up people. Don’t be fools. They are not in this to help you, but to use you to create more money and power for them. The prosperity they are referring to is their own.

I have been involved in researching front groups for some time, and what I always find is that there is a false bottom. One that hides their true agenda. Most times it hides the desire for more profit or is established to garner support and lessen pressure on an industry or corporation.

It is used to deceive the unsuspecting because they know that if the truth was known they would have no support. Corporations have only one goal, and that is to generate profit. After all, that is their propose.

They don’t have any feelings .... no remorse, no empathy, no compassion. They are incapable of feeling. Feelings are reserved for humans.

The Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling was a real slap in the face to liberty. In that ruling they gave an non-living entity ...... one created not by a natural process but conceived under law ….. a Frankenstein creation .... a voice.

They twisted every law of nature to create a monster made up of parts from different humans (the CEO's, CFO's, Board of Directors and shareholders). They then let it loose on the citizens of this nation.

Rick Perry's ties to paramilitary groups.

Home spun paramilitary groups (Militias) are becoming bolder as they see support from tea party members and tea party elected officials.

The question is do we want armed groups parading in town streets much like we see in third world countries? Do we need war lords independent of any laws but their own? To declare war on neighboring groups, turning the nation into warring clans battling for domination?

These groups openly profess the overthrow of any form of government, refuse to pay taxes, and vow to only follow laws they endorse.

Now these radical groups are obtaining a voice in government via the tea party fanatics and who knows? ........ they may even be funded by the likes of extreme billionaires.

Far too many people see the tea party as a harmless group of Americans who only want to repair government, but in reality they are backed and supported by the most illogical and dangerous members of government and business.

One of the Republican presidential candidates has contacted these groups and helped to pass legislation they had been proposing ...... even after the said groups had committed numerous felonies and treason against the federal and state governments.

Governor Rick Perry has been flip flopping on the idea of secession. Well, when he was still for it, before he made his run for President, he garnered the support of a very radical and dangerous militia group ....... the Republic of Texas militia.

This militia, which has a long history of terrorism, including plots to assassinate a Republican governor (who later became President), a sitting Democratic President, and attempted attacks on a US Army base and federal building, and even attempted to acquire missiles and biological weapons http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/11/07/rick-perry%E2%80%99s-ties-to-a-terrorist-militia/.

Can a man be trusted who has shown such a lack of respect for the form of government he is now wanting to be the leader of? Can the people depend on him to uphold his oath of office?

I, for one, wouldn’t trust him. Nor do I trust those who, while campaigning, don’t disclose entirely what they propose until after they are sworn in.

Wisconsin's total recall!

In a few days a new recall battle in Wisconsin will begin. The time will be short, but the fight will be intense. The collectors have only 60 days to get the signatures that are required but, if the last recall effort was any example, there will be a lot of determination.

I am sure the Republicans are feeling like they are under a bit of pressure. Why else would they attempt to block the recalls or put as many roadblocks as possible in the way?

Walker, as a new Governor, is lacking in popularity. His numbers have plummeted as he seems to have focused on aiding corporations and done nothing to actually help the people of this state.

Walker’s stance of non-negotiation with the majority of the voters may have caused his downfall. When a governor has to take funding efforts out of state it really has to hurt his image and self confidence.

Still the question will be can money buy him the recall? Or will people see past the lies and corruption of corporation buyoffs this time?

The people engaged in this fight know they are going against the odds. They know that money speaks very loudly over and over, but have the voters awakened now and learned to desire a real balance in the governance of our state?

The Tea Party has had a taste of power and are not willing to relinquish that, nor are the corporations who have bought and paid for those they put into office.

I see the possibility of violence as tensions are at an all time high and, with the new cowboy attitude after the conceal and carry law was passed, we most certainly will have some tense moments. I would like to stress caution for those who take to the streets in the coming months.

We should know by the first of January whether this recall will be successful. There have been mixed signals as to the amount of support that's out there. The people doing the recalls have had experience and success in the past, so we will see if the people will speak louder than the corporate money this time.

Disrespecting the Veterans

Being a Nam vet, I remember returning home vividly. We were told not to wear our uniforms while traveling because many in the public weren’t supportive of us. So we returned home under the cloud of dishonor. We had done our duty for the nation, but we were expected to slink home with our heads down.

There was no hail the returning heroes......only a silent welcome back. Once home we weren’t told what to expect or what benefits we had coming. We were just home and had to deal with it.

PTSD still wasn’t given any credibility and unless you were prepared to fight an uphill battle you were never going to get anything. Agent Orange couldn’t be cause for concern. It was, after all, "harmless to human"s. I know many Vets from that era who are STILL waiting to get treatment for problems linked to Agent Orange.

Veterans are easy to overlook once they are not on active duty any more. They are no longer a part of the solution, but are now considered part of the problem. They have become a liability. Shame on them for outliving they’re usefulness. A dead Vet is less expensive than a live one.

Today we have been in a war, well two wars, for the last ten years ...... with talk of engaging in yet another. Our military members fighting overseas have been on the front lines serving extended tours for several years. Many have suffered traumatic wounds, not only to their bodies but to their minds also.

The answer from Washington is that we must cut benefits. This is supported by people who have never served in the military, let alone in combat.

If we were to believe those in Washington, we would believe that returning Veterans should "suck it up" and not be a burden to the nation.

They understand so little of the stress of not knowing if you will live to see tomorrow and of witnessing the carnage of twisted bodies and torn limbs.

How dare they judge unless they have been there? What if they make a war and no one shows up?

Damn those in Washington.

I am sick of those who choose not to serve their country.....especially those who complain about the benefits and the cost of caring for those who did serve.

When I see the likes of Michele Bachmann, Eric Cantor and many other non-service members of government taking a platform to cut all benefits earned by those who put their lives aside to defend those back home it makes me want to take them out back and whale the tar out of them.

The cowards who didn’t have the backbone to stand and defend the citizens of this nation now have the gull to bitch about those who return from combat. Truth is those wimps would not have been able to get their education without service members keeping this nation free.

They owe everything to the men and women who took up the fight on foreign soils to protect their sorry asses. Instead, they are used and used up, only to return to an ungrateful nation not willing to work on providing jobs for them or for a safe place for them and their families.

The corporate whores are not concerned about the lives they ruined by sending these people off to fight, leaving jobs and their families for years, to further the profit lines of the defense industry.

Now these service people are returning to no opportunity to provide for their families and to a bleak future ahead ...... one where those holding office are more concerned about the next election outcome and about protecting the profits of their rich benefactors than about the welfare of the citizens of this nation. If politicians refuse to represent their constituents they are not doing their elected jobs and need to be replaced.

We must reform the base of governance of this nation by tossing out every elected official and starting over. We should jail any banker that bought this country to the brink of economic collapse and prevent corporations from having undue influence on the lawmaking process.

If we don’t do these things we will lose our freedom and liberty. Our children and grandchildren will not know that their fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers gave up their lives to defend those freedoms and liberties.

Who is next in the line up?

A new chapter in the history of the “rise and fall” of the Republican Party. The remarkable thing is, that instead of decades, this time it has only taken two years.

They will have a return because people in this country tend to forget. I give it, oh, maybe two years again.

We can only hope this time that the connection to the Tea Party will have been forgotten. The Tea Party had tossed it's hat into the ring with some questionable candidates for a very short-lived run ........ or should it be referred to a sprint?

As of today we have seen none of the frontrunners as being long distance athletes. We had Michele Bachmann, who came out of the gate in Iowa as the Tea Party favorite. That lasted for a few months until her half truths and outright flubbing of American history took their toll. She was soon shown to be outclassed by even a public high school student. After that, her numbers sunk lower than the Titanic.

Enter Rick Perry, hell bent on a crusade from the State of Texas. He shot out of the gate and kept barreling along until he took the stage and showed that even with big money backing him he was just a tiny firecracker in the big world of public debates.

It was soon obvious that he had been shooting blanks in the big boy’s world. He gambled that the public wasn’t upset about the Republican attempt to discard the Social Security program, and bet his campaign on it. The mainstream folk didn’t buy it. So he tried the birther and flat tax issues, but those were like trying to dribble a lead basketball.

Now we have Herman Cain polling well in a mine field where, in the last week, he has managed to step on every mine. His connections to the Koch brothers were revealed, which put the spotlight on some questionable campaigning schemes. Then behold! Oh my goodness ......a sex scandal which he couldn’t remember. Oh wait, he did, but it was nothing ...... or was it?

Did these people really think they could come to a presidential campaign and not take some hits and digs? The presidential race is a no holds barred contest with the entire country looking on and demanding to know everything.

Will we ever learn?

 The year was1932. The country was deep into the great depression. 12 million people were out of work and 12,000 more were added every day. 20,000 businesses had gone bankrupt. 23,000 people had committed suicide.

The response of the then President was that people should not ask for help, but should help themselves, and that is still the view of the Republicans of today.

In Herbert Hoover's own words "It is not the function of the government to relieve individuals of their responsibilities to their neighbors, or to relieve private institutions of their responsibilities to the public."

Although Hoover did release $300 million to create jobs, the Republican-controlled states refused to use the money. "Prosperity is just around the corner" was believed because a depression can't last forever. That was the end of 13 years of Republican rule.

We are again facing the same rhetoric from the same party that led us into the great depression and bought us to the brink of financial collapse. The Republican-controlled states had an opportunity to take funding to create jobs but, just like what happened in 1932, they refused and the American public had to suffer.

We had been given an opportunity to bring about recovery. However, many were not satisfied or patient enough for recovery and demanded it happen overnight. When, after two years, it hadn't progressed as fast as they liked they were ready to scrap all efforts and change direction.

They chose to place the control back into the hands of the very party that had once again led us to the edge. Only this time they were fed by distrust of the nation's first black President. That fueled racial fears and hatred from an group of extremists.

The President offered a bill to restart the economy by creating jobs, but again the Republicans stopped it. Government can't create jobs, but they also shouldn't prevent jobs in an attempt to gain political favors.

Our economy is sitting in a wagon racing towards the cliff's edge with the parties fighting for control. Will we regain our sanity before it plunges over the edge?

Small business has a huge responsibly.

Today's small business has a huge responsibly. They have been forced to carry the weight of the nation's economy and employ the bulk of American workers.

They do so without the subsidies given to the large corporations that have abandoned American workers. They do so without the massive tax breaks and incentives given to large corporations. In today's world where they employ more than half of all workers ..... 52%! Check the figures http://economics.about.com/od/smallbigbusiness/a/us_business.htm

All they get from Washington is empty promises. There has been some token legislation proposed which has been blocked at every step. It is devastating to watch the lockstep takeover of Washington and State legislators by lobbyists from mega corporations.

To restart the economy, the focus has to be placed on the small business sector. If they can get the tax breaks and incentives instead of the mega corporations, they can expand and increase their workforce.

Let's stop backing programs that have put Americans and this nation in jeopardy .... the ones that force small businesses to take a back seat to the lobbying forces of the mega rich. These programs have put all Americans and small businesses in a financial burden by chipping away at the disposable cash of those who use their goods and services.

How can the Oakland police justify last nights incidence?

Last night on the streets of Oakland CA a Veteran of Iraq may have given his life …… not on the battlefields of IRAQ, where he formerly fought against a foreign aggressor. He was fighting  protesting what he felt was injustice in his own country.

Scott Olsen, 24, was stuck in the head by an object fired from a gun or thrown by an overly aggressive police force against unarmed citizens.

This is an action all of America should demand a state and federal investigation of before these acts of violence get out of hand and before we have bodies littering of streets as we have seen in some foreign countries.

Today he is in a hospital, hopefully awaiting surgery to save his life. This show of force is deplorable in a country that gives its citizens the right to protest. The thugs in black who caused this had better rethink their actions. After all, they must continue to live and walk amongst other citizens.

They should be reminded their pay doesn't come from the coffers of corporations but from the pockets of the same taxpayers they are brutalizing. The excuse of "just following orders" doesn't cover the taking the lives of unarmed citizens expressing their Constitutional rights.

Every police officer in the field that night should be removed from duty until it is determined who was responsible. If the mayor gave the order she must also face a charge of murder if this man dies.

Main Street vs Wall Street

Main street, to my mind, is a picture of small town life. Of course this is from growing up in the 50's when main streets were still lined with trees and you could often cross the street with no traffic signals.

We have progressed from those times to those that have expanded our horizons. The world is a much smaller place now that we are able to communicate with people from all over the globe with just a stroke of a keyboard.

We, the middle class, are now finding ourselves locked in a struggle for survival. The battle is against Wall Street. They are well armed, seem to have the high ground, and are well entrenched. On Main Street, our numbers actually outnumber the forces of Wall Street, but the battle will be fierce.

Those from the middle class who have allied themselves with the dark side out of fear that they may punish them, bow down and kiss the feet of Wall Street. They feel that the security of siding with Wall Street will give them financial benefits.

Security is actually a very weak spot on the bridge of life ....... one that can give way at anytime, taking one's dreams and hopes away at a moment's notice.

The Occupy movement has gained strength and continues to build across the globe. Can this movement stay on course through the winter? Can it maintain its focus and not be corrupted as the Tea Party was? Those questions will be answered in the coming months.

As for the statement that the occupy movement has no focused direction and no real leadership. So what if there is no central leader? The movement is still in its infancy, so one will emerge.

For now, those behind the computers and those who march in these protests are leading the fight. Like those who took a stand against injustice in the creation of this country, they are determined to lead the revolt.

The world in revolt.

The world seems to be in revolution mode. Citizens everywhere are fighting against the domination of corrupt rulers. The reasons maybe varied, but the root of them is the same - a desire for liberty and personal rule.
Whether it is here or across the globe, the objective seems to be the same ...... to throw off the yoke of those who wish to force their narrow views on the world to gain monetary control.
These are the type of people who are not satisfied with a large slice of the pie but demand the whole thing. It doesn't matter if they are dictators or CEO's they are of the same personality type. They all seem to need the same thing ..... to control and influence the masses. Some use bullets and others use money, but their goals are still the same.

The people of the world are making a stand, and the power mongers are being threatened. At first they tried to ignore those who were protesting and then they resorted to violence, which soon led to the slaughter of their own citizens.

It happened here in the US when the citizens of the new world decided they wanted freedom, and many of our citizens gave up their lives to reach that goal. For over 200 years we defended that concept of freedom, until a few decided to take the whole pie for themselves.

This is happening in all corners of the globe, but now the common man is making a stand and declaring that greed and corruption are not a acceptable parts of freedom. People from every culture and region have awakened with the resolve that liberty is worth one's life to achieve and hold.

If our brothers in other cultures are willing to face death, isn't the defense of liberty worth some discomfort in our own nation?

The war may be over but not for those returning.

• • The troops will be coming home from Iraq by the end of this year.
    
    After the joy and excitement of their homecoming comes the next set of hardships. The jobs they left many years ago are no longer here for them, and not only will they face problems brought on by extended deployment and readjusting to civilian life, they will also find a job market that has no place for them.
    
    They will have to realize that the legislators who, at the start of this conflict, demanded they go to fight no longer support them. Instead, those same legislators wish to cut funding for VA programs.
    
    Many will suffer from the effects of PTSD and, like the Vets from Viet Nam, they will have to deal with a world of non-veterans who have no idea of the trauma those returning will have to cope with. Add to that the stress of adjusting to life at home with little prospect of employment and we will undoubtedly witness an increase in domestic violence and suicide.
    
    The irony is that those coming home may face an even bigger challenge than they had in Iraq. They will find that we have become a divided nation of haves and have nots ....... a nation in which, after fighting for us all these years, they may find it will be difficult, if not impossible, to vote.
    
    They may find that their views are not favored by those on the other side of the political fence. I remember returning home in '73, when wearing ones uniform was actually advised against. My hope is that they never have to feel the way many Nam vets felt coming home.
    
    In today's political climate they are returning to a scene where those not fortunate enough to have employment are viewed by many as undesirable, as lazy and as freeloaders ..... a scene in which if you're not willing to work for minimum wage, without any benefits or pension, you are unlikely to be able to secure work. Even worse, many companies will no longer hire you if you're not already gainfully employed.
    
    My prayer is that those who hold the reins in Washington will not cut the funding for the service men and women that gave this nation the security and service that was asked of them.

Iraq a casualty of corporate greed.

After being entrenched in Iraq for the for the last eight years, it may finally be drawing to a close this year. This conflict was born from the desire to confront a dictator we once had allied with in his fight against Iran.

Picking the wrong side has always been a sore spot in our foreign relations. My question is why do we insist on taking sides when we are not the world police. Isn't that the duty of the UN?

Why should we put our nation in danger? We did that and the end result was the 911 attack on our soil that cost the lives of 3000 citizens, as well as the ensuing war that cost us 5,554 service men and women and left thousands wounded ..... not to mention the trillions in debt our nation has endured because of it.

In Iraq alone 31,882 were seriously injured and 4,482  died. This doesn't include the loss of Iraqi and Afghan civilians and the damage to those countries' infrastructures which we poured money into to repair. This is money that the tax payers will never recover, but that padded the bank accounts of the construction and security firms that were hired.

This is a high cost in life alone for an unnecessary war in Iraq ....... one based on faulty intelligence ...... or was it staged intelligence?

We have become a nation of aggression, based on the military complex and the nation building for profit. The military businesses revels in the opportunity to establish a foothold in the oil rich middle east where, before this, they had no chance of influencing and taking control of the region. Now, with the backing and support of the military, they have taken power.

For those families devastated by this war ..... those who have lost fathers and mothers and children ....... the cost is even much greater than the money this nation has lost to the corporate instigators of an unjust war.

Let them eat cake!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Ask yourself how you want to live it. Do you want to isolate yourself from all the pain in the world and ignore that others sometimes, though no fault of their own, have fallen on bad times? I guess for some it would be much easier to do that.

Some choose to place the blame squarely on the disadvantaged. After all, this is the land of opportunity where one only has to pursue their goals to be successful. But today's job market has changed, a person could, at one time, find a job overnight and never worry about being unemployed.

Those days have disappeared, and the unemployed are taking the blame for their own lack of jobs. Who are the ones pinning the blame on them? The rich 1% sitting in their ivory towers counting their money and looking down on the lazy 99%.

They are being called lazy because they are the middle class ..... the people who work with their hands ..... the ones who do manual labor ...... those who were satisfied with not taking more than their share and doing without if necessary.

It is easy for the advantaged to look down on those beneath them. After all, they are not anything like those scum and low life's who are forming mobs and marching in the streets. They are blessed and have the resources to live in comfort. Why should they have any feelings or concerns?

They used the system to raise above the masses and can now look down at them with disdain. They have every right to lord it over the 99% because they are entitled to it by virtue of their position in life. Let the people eat cake. They should be thankful the 1% allow them that.

More corporate influence when will we put an end to it?

• • With 50 million people in this nation food challenged, and the courts having ruled that citizens have no right to grow their own food what is one to do?
    
    Even before the ink had dried on the signing of this decision, the judge who made the ruling resigned his office to take a job with one of Monsanto’s corporation law firms. Was this a payoff by a corporation for services rendered?
    
    At a time when many Americans are facing dire circumstances and with the government facing a budget crisis, and having cut programs to feed people, wouldn't it be wise to allow people to produce their own food so they are not reliant on big government?
    
    No ..... corporations only see the bottom line and that it may affect their profits. This is another attempt by corporations to maintain a monopoly by telling citizens they can only eat the food they sell you.
    
    Corporations have, for decades, used their money and power to influence the courts and laws in nearly every civilized country in the world. They have taken control of the financial sections to insure cooperation of governments and monopolies formed in the media used them to limit information being released to the masses.
    
    They are using that power to write laws and force them on the public though groups like ALEC, which is nothing more than a corporate lobbying group. Political Action Committees (PAC's) funnel money from corporations into ads that front candidates for office, which gives them clout with those they back by spreading their message.
    
    In order for the citizens of the free world to take back liberty they must remove ALL influences of corporations and limit them to doing business ......not running governments by using their wealth to unfairly corrupt the world, simply for profit and greed.

Why are Republicans not afraid of election fraud?

Once again the issue of voter fraud has taken center stage. Every time an election nears, the Republican base tosses it up in hopes it will stick. This time around, with Republicans in control, they saw their opportunity. The rush was on to prevent what they saw as a threat to their goal of domination.

When you are a party that has a minority of members how do you garner a better position? By making it more difficult for your opposition to vote. Who are the most likely to vote following the other parties lines? Well the young, collage students, the elderly, and the poor.

The laws they passed without public debate are an example of their real concern with the people. It only shows that they know the majority won't go for it. They pushed it though and did not allow the people to speak. So what if it gets challenged and tossed out? The tax payers can pick up the legal tab.

Many will ask what is wrong with stopping voter fraud ? Nothing is wrong if it is a legitimate problem, however all investigations into voter fraud have revealed that it isn't a real problem in this state.

Out of the millions and millions of voters only a few cases of illegitimate voters have been found. We here in Wisconsin are being forced to pay over 12 million dollars to prevent a total of 7 bad votes over the years ....... votes that would have had no effect on an election whatsoever.

Our focus should be on the very real problem of EVM's (electronic voting machines), which have been shown to allow their programs to be altered. The real problem isn't voter fraud, it's election fraud
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We have EVM's being used in nearly every precinct in this state that are costing the public millions of dollars and have been proven to be insecure. Each year, more states and county officials spend our tax dollars to purchase these machines that are so easy to manipulate.

It must be demanded that the people require more transparency in the election process ....... not a secret coded corporate-programmed machine that allows for no one to observe the counting of the ballots

Where do we go from here?

Where do we go from here? Our focus must remain on the one issue that is the cause for the occupy protests, and that is Corporate influence. If we don't address this corporations will continue to dominate ever aspect of our lives. We are witnessing to what extent they are capable of going to if unrestrained. Their greed knows no bounds and they have no regards for the working people which they see as the means for higher profits.

The fate of every man, woman, and child depends on the masses taking a stand and raising their voices in unison. This isn't the issue of one party against the other but rather a non partisan concern of every person. We have been given the opportunity with the upraising against wall street that has gained momentum across the free countries of the world. We must join forces and become unified in this common goal.

This has become WW3 the enemy are the ones driven by greed and corruption whose only goal is to rape and plunder the resources of this world and that includes every thing they see value in.

If we allow them to continue unchecked we will leave our children a bleak future one of polluted streams and rivers fouled air and infertile land all in the name of greed. So not only is our form of government in jeopardy but the future of our children and of the entire world. The first step necessarily is to take the power they hold over the elected officials and their ability to write and pass laws that benefit their interests. So are you ready to play dead and allow corporations to run our life or are you a real citizen of the world and ready to stand united against the enemy?

Where are the adults?

I don’t like you so I am not going to play with you or have you on my team. Sound like playground antics? Well this is coming from our elected political figures.

All the while this is going on, our country is crumbling ....... its citizens being fed fear and lies while many struggle to put food on the table or maintain a roof over their heads. This immature and juvenile behavior belongs on the grade school playground not in the hallowed halls of our government.

In the state of Montana legislators proposed some of the most outrageous laws ever heard about:

Legalize hunting with hand-thrown spear (Senate Bill 112)
Eliminate educational requirements for persons seeking job of State Superintendent of Schools (HB 154)
Omit Barack Obama’s name from the 2012 ballot because his father was born outside of America (House Bill 205)
Allow guns in schools (House Bill 558)
And Lift the prohibition on carrying concealed weapons in bars, churches and banks (House Bill 384)

Let’s face reality. These laws seem like the kind of things you would expect to hear from two drunks sitting at the bar after a day of Alabama slammers instead of coming from supposedly sober elected officials.

All across the US have had some pretty outrageous laws proposed by the new tea party freshmen. Most are directed at challenging the authority of the federal government to execute powers that are granted by the Constitution.

Experts doubt the current bills will have much practical impact or leave a long-term legacy, but that doesn't stop them from being proposed.

"These bills are nothing but symbolic grandstanding for conservative constituents," says Erwin Chemerinksy, Dean of the Law School at the University of California at Irvine. "States cannot violate federal law or authorize the violation of federal law. The laws are clearly unconstitutional, but that does not keep conservative politicians from introducing them."

What is needed is a level of sanity to return to state and federal capitols and for those elected to office to focus on the concerns of their constituents and not push their personal priorities.

For those who were elected based on a platform of job creation ..... what are you doing to fulfill your promises?

Who are the masses to the rich?

To the rich and wealthy the masses are little more than the means to larger profit margins. We are expected to make their products at the lowest cost to them but in turn we are expected to purchase the same products at a high rate of return for them.

I cannot fault them for wanting a good return on their investments. After all, that is business, but in today's world one has to be mindful of those around them.

The world is a much smaller space that it was 100 years ago. The resources are more limited and there is less open area, so contamination is more concentrated. One has to be aware of this and factor it into doing business.

Too many mega corporations wish to return to no regulations on what they can do with their waste because disposing of it in an environmentally friendly manner affects their bottom line and reduces the profit margin. Pollution in the water ways flows downstream so why worry? ..... the ocean is endless. What can it mean in the long run if it doesn’t affect their end of the business chain?

It all comes down to greed ..... the addiction of making more and more money. That is what it has become. Money is the only measure of success for the wealthy and that is a power trip for them. They will do whatever is necessary is add to their power, even though that money will not give them a better spot in the hereafter they have to create more of it.

It doesn’t matter that it can’t improve their lives here. They consider it a measure of greatness while they are alive. How sad their lives are focused on something as meaningless and unsatisfying as monetary gains?

These types of people must really laugh at those who devote their lives to bettering the lot of those who suffer from economic hardship. All the while many of the wealthy are hording every cent they can in order to achieve power and greatness while alive.

They don’t realize that power is gone once they die, and that their memories will fade faster than their bodies return to dust. Being rich doesn’t make one right.

Improving another's life is never left unrewarded, whether it is for someone who works for you or for a stranger who is lost on the path of life. Greed goes unnoticed, but generosity always has its rewards ....... maybe not the kind you can hold in your hands, but the ones you can feel deep within.

Occupy Wall Street has exposed a raw nerve.

When the Tea Party took to the streets in protest, the media said they were patriots taking back the country and reducing the size of government. Why did they get the support of the media? Simple .....the media are corporations and the Tea Party was bought and paid for by corporations. The corporations saw an opportunity to buy the favor of a group of Americans and took it.

Now we are seeing another upraising led once again by Americans, only this time the corporations are not happy. They are working to discredit this group and paint them as a disorganized mob. Some that support the Republican Party have actually come out and endorsed hitting protestors with cars to discourage them. They have used the police to intimidate and carry out violence against them even though they have been for the most part non-violent.

The protests have gained in popularity and have been taken up in many parts of the world. This has to have the corporations very upset. Unlike the Tea Party, which they have control over because of the money they had used, they have no control over this grassroots movement that is free of the influence of greed.

One Wall Street banker described the protesters as "a bunch of whiny people who are lazy or incompetent and have nothing to do with their time." He also said he was concerned the rhetoric could escalate to violence. "Who's to say they won't storm NYSE or throw something at the window of Goldman Sachs, that in turn inspires them to grab an investment banker and throttle him?" Guess it is time they realize they may not be as protected behind the ivory towers of Wall Street as they thought.

It was announced just today that South Korea has joined in the OWS protests. The world is awakening, still groggy from the nightmare fostered by the corporate world, and is ready to take back reality.

Some Wall Street employees who initially dismissed the protests as disorganized and unimportant are also starting to worry that they may lead to punitive policies in Washington, such as higher taxes for the wealthy.

"I think this thing will continue to grow," said Robert Siegfried, a partner who works with financial clients at the communications firm Kekst & Co. "Wall Street is just a term here that represents the huge disparity in income levels and the distribution of wealth in this country. For anyone to dismiss it, that's a terrible underestimation of the sentiment behind this phenomena."

Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein canceled a planned lecture this week at Barnard College, a liberal arts school in Manhattan, as students prepared to protest his appearance.

Goldman Sachs has been painted by some lawmakers and activists as the epitome of Wall Street greed following investigations into its actions leading up to the financial crisis. Blankfein, who has headed the firm since 2006, has frequently been the target of populist rage.

Last week, an Occupy Wall Street protester marched with a gory image of Blankfein's head, impaled on a stick, according to the financial blog Business Insider. In late-September, an anonymous hacker posted his address and other personal information on the website Pastebin.

Goldman spokesman Stephen Cohen declined to comment on the protests and said Blankfein canceled the lecture because of a scheduling conflict.

The battle against corporate domination

In the dead of night a group of men dressed as Indians and armed with hatchets and clubs, they filed though the streets of Boston. Their target was a group of three British merchant ships docked at Griffin’s Wharf.

The year was 1773, and according to a young man who was a member of the group, they were out to do damage to a cargo of tea belonging to the massive corporation called the East India Company.

George Robert Twelves Hewes (August 25, 1742 – November 5, 1840) recounted what happened that night as he and others took the first step to throw off the yoke of corporate domination.

So began the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution. In Mr. Hewes' own words, this was not an action against the crown of England but against the corporate rule of a company that was intent on monopolizing the tea trade in the colonies. He remained a poor man his entire life, and it wasn’t until he was in his 90’s that he was recognized as the last revolutionary hero from that era.

Once again we are witnessing corporations rising in domination, intent on making their profits at the cost of human life if necessary. Today, however, the names of those who unknowingly began the march to independence and the birth of a new nation are being dishonored. They are being backed and funded by the same origins that the former group had fought against.

How can people be so misaligned as to disregard history simply for greed? The push against corporations has taken a worldwide stage. Not only is it no longer limited to one nation, but it is spreading and growing.

The movement is young and little is known about how it will turn out. We hope it can remain peaceful, but we have seen that corporations are not willing to surrender the power and money they have gained though the corruption of governments. The people are looking at yet another long hard fight against them.

Let’s hope that this time we make it harder for them ever to regain their former power by enacting the laws needed to limit them before that happens.

The founders never dreamt that corporations would ever again be allowed to take control ....... or that other Americans would aid them in doing so. Unfortunately this is what happens once history is allowed to become distorted and forgotten.

We do this in the memory of men like George Hewes, whose only thought was to improve his life and that of the other colonists ...........not to amass riches and fame, but to right an injustice. We must build momentum on Main Street. We will not be deterred or distracted until we achieve our goal.

Rebirthing Pains?

We are witnessing the rebirth of a nation ..... one lost to the disinterested and the disillusioned. A nation that has awakened to the fact that one must be active in the governing of one’s country.

This year, in the cold of a Wisconsin winter, people took to the streets to protest things they felt were unfair. That protest grew, and the state created a record in the history books for recalls. This was a small victory, and the gains were modest, but this sparked others to follow.

The desire and drive seen in Madison Wisconsin brought to life other protesters across the nation. The latest result of this is the Occupy Wall Street movement - a drive to abolish corporate influence in the governance of the country.

Those on the right are fearful this effort could undermine the Tea Party movement ..... one they know changed the face of politics in the last election. They also know it could overshadow it and take an entirely new direction ........ one over which they will have no control.

The thought of losing the power they now have, thanks to the backing of corporations, frightens them and is making them desperate. They are resorting to intimidation and violence. Ignoring the protestors didn’t work and only increased them in numbers. The violence even strengthened the resolve of those on the front lines and spearheaded the movement to multiply across the nation.

The corporate media has tried to discredit the Occupy movement by printing stories that say the effort has no real direction and no common goals. It is historical fact this nation was conceived by revolutionists whose only desire was to free themselves from religious and corporate domination. Is it too difficult to imagine the ancestors of that group doing the same today?

Even those who founded this country came here with the desire to pursue their dreams and live them in freedom. Freedom and liberty come at a cost. They require a commitment from every citizen to be active in the political process. A citizen cannot stand idly by and allow freedom to slip away. It is everyone’s responsibility ..... young, old, or in between. It is our duty to defend our freedom.