The CEO President

You know what really gets to me, Christians that love to hate.  I’m referring to Christians who are willing to kill their neighbor because maybe they’re a Muslim, a Jew, a Black, or something like that.  And I ponder now on why would a Christian whose life is guided by the Prince of Peace, who tells them to turn the other cheek and love their neighbors, why would a Christian do something like that?  I think its because there is something fundamentally gullible about believing in a virgin birth.  Not even all the Gospels agree about a virgin birth.  It seems to me that Mary’s virginity is a myth.  Yet many Christian sects depend on that myth to justify their doctrines. 

Christians are willing to believe that Mary was a virgin, that Jesus was completely chaste and never had sex or children, and that women need to be subservient to men.  Many Christians believe that you can go to hell with yourself on Saturday night, then go confess your sins on Sunday morning where Jesus will love and forgive you no matter what you did the night before. 

That person will also be gullible enough to believe that the 9/11 attackers did it because Muslims are fundamentally maniac jihadists.  They may also believe that Muslims need to be wiped off the Earth.  I ask, what if those same people found out that it was really an inside job, perhaps the CIA, that planned the 9/11 attacks that destroyed the Twin Towers?  And that it was CIA put George Bush in office, and arranged the Supreme Court to overrule the Florida Supreme Court in a state’s rights issue. 

Maybe it was the CIA that told George Bush to say, “I am the CEO President.”  You know what?  I should have realized it then, but I realized it today.  Bush declared in 2000 that he was going to be the CEO President and run the country like a corporation.  I’ve got to say that there is absolutely nothing democratic about a corporation.  It is run from the top down whether it has stockholders or not.  The main purpose of a corporation is to make profits.  If there are stockholders, then the main purpose is to generate earnings per share to the stockholders, and profits for the CEO and other administrators. 

A Democracy, or a Republic, is made of the People. A republic is a form of government in which the people retain supreme control over the government and there is no guy at the top calling all the shots.   A Democracy is for the People.  As far as I can see in our government, the President is the executor of what the Congress tells him to do.  Congress is the legislator that represent the People.  Their job is to enact legislation according to the needs and will of the People.  And the President is the executive that carries out the will of the people.  Such is a democratic republic.

A corporation is run by the Board.  Similarly, a democracy is run by the houses of Comgress.  In a corporation, the Board of Directors is responsible to the stockholders to the ultimate result of EPS (earnings per share).  Yet, a democracy is responsible to the total electorate to provide services for the protection and welfare of the People and the Commons.  How can you provide for the welfare of the People if you don’t also protect the Commons?  And so, a democracy is not a profit driven venture.  Our government and country are not for profit; they are for people. The top down governance plan of a corporation is neither democratic nor to benefit the public.  So when GWB stated in 2000 that he was the “CEO President,” I should have known then that the corporations had taken over our country, lock, stock, and barrel. 

The NAACP asked me about civil rights

Here is my response:

Hate is clearly on the rise worldwide.  As has been the practice over the centuries, hate is a tool of those in power to unjustly acquire cheap labor and natural resources while fomenting the general public to carry out the injustices based on the derogatory status of the hated population.  Whether the object of hate is blacks, browns, asians, Germans, Russians, Iranians, women, jews, muslims, commies, hippies, pagans, witches, etc., it is all a device to control the masses by those in power. 


As long as our government spends more money on perpetual wars than on the health, welfare, and education of our citizens, generations of youths will be raised in an environment of hate.  It will be all they'll know. 

Legislation is no longer a viable solution.  Legislation and regulation validate the unjust conditions by definition.  The legislators and regulators are more beholding to the war-profiteering corporations than they are to the electorate.  The Constitution has become irrelevant. 

We need a NON-VIOLENT revolution to replace our government with folks who will represent the People instead of the war-profiteers.  The cause of the NAACP is legitimate, as is NOW, NARAL, Greenpeace, NRDC, SPLC, ACLU, Amnesity International, etc., etc.  But I need to focus all my energy on the fundamental ROOT CAUSE of the injustices that are giving rise to hate and racism: corporate power controlling the government. 

BP should restore the Gulf to pristine condition

For over 30 years, the annual Rainbow Gathering has constructed a city in pristine wilderness for up to 30,000 to occupy.  The city is constructed using fallen timber lashed together, rocks and mud, all found right at the site.  By the end of the Gathering, new roads, footpaths, pit toilets, and trash are to be found everywhere.  For the next month, a team of dedicated volunteers comb the area and carefully pick up every candy wrapper and cigarette butt until no trash can be found.  Teams of naturalists loosen the soil along all newly trodden areas and painstakingly transplant the same natural flora that can be found in the untouched areas.  By 3 years later, it is impossible to have known that there was a city of 30,000 people on that spot.  The pristine condition of each wilderness area is meticulously restored. 

I would like to see BP, Exxon, and other oil drilling companies held to the same standard as the Rainbow Family of Living Light.  First of all, the government that issues the drilling licenses must keep a bond for each oil well equal to the estimated cost of cleaning up a spill.  In the case of a 5ft pipe tapping into a well the size of the Gulf of Mexico, that bond would be several hundred billion dollars. 

Next, BP will need to not only remove 98% of the oil from the water, coast, sand, and coral reefs, but also restock the Gulf with all the natural species that were there before they started drilling.  That would necessitate a complete study of the flora and fauna of the drilling area before a drilling license can be issued.  In the case of the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe, that would mean cleaning all the sand on the floor of the entire Gulf, all the coral reefs, restoring the pH of the water, removing all toxic dispersant chemicals from the water, re-oxygenating the water, and restocking fish and wildlife from manatees to coral to plankton. 

BP has set off a catastrophe that threatens all life on Earth; no amount of money or effort will be able to restore the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea back to pristine condition.  Since this process is virtually impossible, then all offshore drilling should be permanently banned. 

We Have No Seeker to Close the Crack in the Earth

I am a fan of a TV series called, The Legend of the Seeker.  One of the major themes in the series is that the Seeker has to close a crack in the Earth from which the Keeper (the master of the underworld) is sending up creatures of death to destroy mankind.   

The petroleum catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico reminds me of the rift from which the baylings spew forth on the TV series.  The Seeker’s evil brother, Darken Rahl, hungry for power and in league with the Keeper, seeks to outwit the Seeker and unleash the End of the World.  To me Darken Rahl represents the petroleum companies.  The Sisters of the Dark remind me of the Republicans, and the equally devious Sisters of the Light remind me of the Democrats.  The series is rife with power hungry double dealers and intrigue; you never know whom to trust.   

Unfortunately, today’s world has no honest Seeker accompanied by a Wizard and a Mother Confessor to close the rift.  There is no hero that’s gonna pull us out of this one.  The oil companies have let the genie out of the bottle and all life on Earth will pay the price.  A total ban on offshore drilling is overdue.  Call your members of Congress and tell them to BAN OFF SHORE DRILLING! 

Desolate in Broward County

November 8, 2004

Greetings from south Florida,

I just came from a birthday dinner celebrating my mother's 88th birthday.  Much of the discussion around the table was about last week's election. 

 

My mother was too distrustful of the system in Florida to vote by absentee ballot.  She stood on line a total of 5 1/2 hours over 2 days to finally cast her vote.  She was sure to press the review button to make sure all her votes were correct before she pressed the vote button.  Everyone she spoke to on line for those many hours was voting for Kerry.  My mom lives in Broward County. 

 

Aunt Rita said that her friend pressed the review button and found a straight Republican ticket.  Her friend called the election monitor who cancelled the ballot and allowed her to vote again.  The second time, the review was correct.  And then she pressed the vote button.  My mom's friend Henny didn't review her ballot.  My nieces were volunteer lawyers at the polls.  They reported that the Republicans at their polls were very calm and courteous.  They suspected the calmness of the Republicans in face of the fact that all the people on line were talking about voting for Kerry was due to the pre-arranged victory of Bush in Florida.  The Republicans were acting like they had nothing to worry about. 

 

We discussed the investigations currently being mounted by various organizations like BlackBoxVoting.org

.  My mother, who is often wise and has seen much in her 88 years, said there's no use in investigating it.  She said the investigations will go on for a while, and then they will disappear, and no one will mention it anymore.  Like when Senator Kerry was investigating the elder Bush's involvement with illegal drug trade during the Iran-Contra Affair, and suddenly it disappeared inconclusive.  My mom said she is so sick with the results of the election and the outright rampant corruption of the Republicans and the impotency of the Democrats, that she can't even watch the news anymore.  She is totally burnt out on the one party system our government has evolved into.  She just wants to live out her remaining years. 

I feel utterly desolate in Broward County

Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
"The world desires to be deceived; therefore it is deceived. "
(Attributed to Petronius)

An Open Letter to California Assembly Speaker John Pérez

Honorable John Perez,

I heard that you are considering cutting funding for In Home Support Services.  I strongly hope you retain funding for IHSS. 

I am a Credentialed School Nurse with a Masters Degree in Nursing.  I have been laid off my school nurse job and replaced with an unqualified, inexperienced nurse because with my level of education and experience, I am too expensive for school.  All other school nurse positions within 100 miles have either been filled by a neophyte nurse, or not filled at all.  School districts around California no longer can afford to comply with CA Ed. Code or Federal IDEA laws or American Disabilities Act laws regarding school nurses. 

Therefore, my main bread and butter right now is IHSS.  I took a pay cut from $5000/mo as a nurse to $1200/mo as an IHSS worker.  The SEIU also provides me with medical insurance, but will not insure my 2 sons, who are currently uninsured.  My job with IHSS pays most of my mortgage.  Thanks to this job, we have a roof over our heads. 

In addition, thousands of seniors and disabled people are living cheaper in their own homes with the help of IHSS rather than moving to nursing homes and board & care institutions.  There are not enough beds in nursing homes and board & care institutions to accommodate all these people.  I assure you, I have searched far and wide to find a placement for the disabled Korean War veteran that I take care of, but either they can't take a person who needs his level of care, or it is beyond the veteran's meager budget. 

Thanks to the SEIU, IHSS workers earn $9.90/hr.  The SEIU worked hard for several years to raise this rate up to where it is now.  The previous rate, and even the current rate, is not a living wage.  All IHSS workers have to have several jobs in order to live.  I took this job because the previous IHSS workers of this Korean War veteran would steal his stuff and sell it, pilfer his pockets for forgotten money, and steal his credit cards.  The previous IHSS immediately before me racked up $4500 in credit card debt for the disabled veteran in a period of 7 weeks paying her cell phone, PO box, 4 new tires for her car, personal skin care products for herself, magazine subscriptions, and daily restaurants for dinner.  She didn't cook.  It was elder abuse. 

Low wages for IHSS workers leads to elder abuse.  Discontinuing IHSS altogether will overload the system with indigent seniors and disabled people with no beds available in our current institutions. 

If your aim is to stimulate free enterprise by dumping the impoverished seniors and disabled on to the streets hoping to stimulate private investment in beds for people who can't afford to pay for them, you are very, very mistaken. 

IHSS is part of the social safety net that our government is designed to promote for the general welfare of the people as is stated in the preamble to the Constitution of the United States.  In addition, God commands us in the Bible to provide for the sick, elderly and disabled in our communities.  Since the state of California no longer values the education or health of our children and has followed a course decades long of cutting public education and public health, it obviously has higher priorities than serving our youth, jobs, and future industry.  Now the state of California wants to cut off funding for IHSS which keeps the elderly and disabled safe and cared-for in their own homes. 

The state of California sounds like it is in a suicidal, self-destructive course, yet continued paying a decade worth of cutthroat rates for energy based on fraudulent contracts signed with ENRON in 2001.  It seems OK to violate the social contract the elected leaders have with the electorate to serve the Common Good, but it is not alright to violate the fraudulent contracts made with ENRON.  I think the budget priorities of the state of California are very mixed up. 

The state has already cut me down to my knees by cutting funds to public education.  Don't cut me down to the ground by cutting funds to IHSS, my main income and the only way my Korean War veteran boss can continue to live at home on a small fixed income. 

DON'T CUT IHSS!

Bush turns his greatest failure into his greatest victory - old post

Having suppressed and ignored good intelligence, having fired the agents who provided it, having sent the air defense teams to Canada to do “exercises” so that they were unavailable on 9/11, and having sat dumbfounded in a classroom in Florida allowing 3 more planes to be highjacked after hearing the news, George W. Bush turned his greatest failure into his greatest victory by declaring himself the “War President” and carrying out a retaliatory vendetta in the Middle East.  With a little spin, Bush will turn each of his monumental failures into a glorified victory which will require even more suppression of civil rights, more job losses, more vendettas abroad, and more debt for our unborn grandchildren to shoulder.  It is truly amazing how Bush’s spin masters can keep the wool pulled over the eyes of America. 
9/1/2005

These Crazy Times - Comment from Grandpa Dan

Let Obama hear this.  If you want to know the opinion of the grassroots, then read the opinion of Grandpa Dan, 

Subject: These Crazy Times

     This is one of those times when the purpose of my writing weighs more on its therapeutic value to me ,  than imparting information....sort of like  a Catholic at the confessional or an orthodox Jew at the Western Wall.....

     Yesterday I received my latest issue of "Mother Jones".....The front cover shows a photo of an American soldier beneath which is the caption, "Age of Treason-This soldier is ready to take up arms against the Obama Administration. A further photo shows the same soldier holding a pistol across his chest, forefinger "At The Ready".... He is not alone".......

     I found the accompanying article depressing for a variety of reasons , not least of which is the wide number of well known's who lend approval to what this soldier represents......

     While reading this disturbing tale of modern day dissidents, my mind drifted back to my teen-age days when "The Young Communist League" and "Bund  Meetings" were in full bloom.....All of the malcontents, the extremes , both left and right , had suddenly found their voices ....loud and clear....  

     The biggest difference between then and now is that Then it was more or less subterranean, and mostly all talk , and now it appears to be preparation for an armed rebellion..........Never in my memory did participants attend public political gatherings , armed with sidearms , rifles and shotguns.....Open talk of violence against the U.S. Army and the Administration....Hidden is the racial bias which belies the supposed advances we have achieved in social justice.....

     Normally I shun quotations , but the coalition of the very far right  has taken on dimensions which appear to me as more dangerous than any outside enemy could possibly pose....The open hostility they display is so widespread that it resembles an uncontrollable wildfire .....Some quotes follow:

     "He , (Lee Pray, the soldier on the cover) , considers the Bushmaster (a $ 5600 rifle and scope ) his preparation to take on the U.S. Government when it declares martial law"..."His belief that that day is imminent has led Pray to a group called "Oath Keepers" ...."A patriotic org . of the 'Right'....."Established itself as a hub in the sprawling anti-Obama movement that includes Tea Partiers, Birthers, and 912ers , Glen Beck, Lou Dobbs, and Pat Buchanon have all sung it's prases"....

     "What makes the Oath Keepers unique is that its core membership consists of men and women in uniform, police, and veterans....At their ceremonies , they pledge to protect the Constitution , but then vow to disobey" Unconstitutional" orders from what they view as an increasingly tyrannical government"...                                                                                     

     "........They are recruiting military buddies, stashing weapons, and ammunition ,  running drills, and outlining a plan of action" ...."The Brass would be shocked by the number of soldiers willing to turn against their Commanders"  ...."Pray is both a Birther and a Truther...He believes that he is following an illegitimate , foreign born president, in a war on terror launched by a government plot --9/11".............And much more .....

     It is all too easy to brand these dissidents as crackpots but the likes of " Glen Beck,  Michele  Bachman, and Sarah Palin, all  share the same animus" .....It seems to be a pandemic....You may have noted the revival of the notorious  Birch Society ....

     The days ahead bare close scrutiny.....Love, Grandpa Dan       

                                                                                             


Grandpa Dan is a WWII veteran living the American Dream.  He was born of European immigrants fleeing Pogroms.  He was drafted into the military and served in WWII.  The military taught him watchmaking, and he used GI Bill to open a jewelry and watchmakers shop after he got out of the service.  His business grew, he retired to Florida where he became friends with my mom.  He now lives in assisted living where he enjoys the good life with his wife and writes political commentary to his personal friends. 


I also would like to comment that it is unconstitutional to have private militias on our own soil, yet we tolerate firms like Xe/Blackwater building bases in North Carolina.  Then we cut domestic spending in order to bankrupt our treasury waging endless foreign wars paying top dollar for "security services" from private militias funding their massive buildup of strength.  

When US militaries and National Guards all are exhausted from endless foreign wars, the private militias building up on our own soil will easily overtake the skeleton crew left behind by budget cuts. 

An Open Letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

Your administration and your party are in trouble. That is clear from the elections in Massachusetts and Virginia, from the drop in your approval rating, from the rise of conservative opposition groups.  In fact, the whole USA is battered and on its knees waiting for the final blow. 

This is a time when progressive forces in this country need to mobilize to prevent a backlash that will take this country further to the right.  Without decisive Congressional action to benefit the Common Good, opposition candidates will win big in the next election.  Progressives, as well as your own supporters, are disappointed and demoralized. Look at me.

In 2008, I realized that "Hope and Change" is not a substantial political platform, and remembered that George W. Bush ran on the same platform.  I understood that when you talked about getting out of Iraq, that it meant waging wars elsewhere.  I realized when big media, while broadcasting over the public airwaves, excluded all "peace" candidates from the presidential debates, that they were pre-selecting for the US public exclusively pro-war candidates.  I was not fooled by your vacuous rhetoric of Hope and Change.  I did suspect that you might attempt to put through populist programs while appeasing the war profiteers with endless foreign wars.  But you haven't. 

As 2010 dawns, change looks to me like more of the same.  We got more war, more torture, more innocent collateral damage, more fodder for spawning new, young terrorists.  Your concept of health care reform is to mandate Americans to buy private health insurance without any real cost controls.  You block what is known to work well, Medicare-for-All, and instead, provide a massive giveaway to the health insurance industry.  Health insurance companies are reporting record profits for 2009 and are raising their rates by 40%. 

After being laid off my job at school due to the budget cuts, I am now working 7 p/t jobs and barely making ends meet.  My union-provided insurance has high co-pays and deductibles and doesn't cover my children.  My income is too high for them to be covered by Healthy Families, so they remain uninsured. 

On the environment, one of your top priorities, you came back from Copenhagen with yet another non-binding resolution, more clean coal & clean nuclear, and a closed-door decision to wait until the planet's average temperature rises another 2º to catastrophic levels, to boot. 

Instead of helping struggling homeowners and small businesses during the financial crisis, bank executives were protected and rewarded and we have yet to see reform.  And Ben Bernanke, who enabled the world-wide financial collapse, was reappointed!  Wall Street firms ended 2009 with record bonus and profits while unemployment remains in double digits.

President Obama, after the Citizens United decision, I am hopeless!  Your concept of change is to exacerbate the injustices enacted by the Neo-Cons.  The change I believe in puts people and our planet before industry, it promotes Peace, international law, and human rights instead of militarism. As you are asking Congress to approve the largest Pentagon budget in history, plus another $33 billion to pay for your Afghan surge, the prophetic works of Dr. Martin Luther King sound a clarion call: A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.  The endless wars are also bringing our country to economic death. 

We have 3 branches of government that all collaborate with big business instead of defending the Constitution and the well being of the natural people. 

We need renewed leadership, we need you to show us—not in words but in deeds—that you can stand up to corporate interests that are blocking us from real healthcare, environmental and financial reform. We need you to show us—not in words but in deeds—that you will stand up for the Constitution, for due process, for the rule of law.  We need you to show us—not in words but in deeds—that you lead this country out of endless war to a nation that lives in peace with its neighbors.

In the meantime, without a change from pro-corporate to pro-populist policies, I pledge to replace your administration and Congress with a new guard (and mobilize others) that will not collaborate war-profiteers and other big business, but enact and defend policies of social and environmental uplift.

May 2010 be a year of renewed commitment and movement toward the change we so desperately need.

Sincerely,

Liberation in Buddhism

In Buddhism, there is nothing to depend on.  There is no force outside that will give us salvation.  There is nothing permanent that we can always count on.  Some say we can only depend upon ourselves.  Others say that even our selves are not dependable.  That leaves us with nothing permanent in which to set anchor. 

Many people have a high value for Hope.  In fact, the last 2 presidents used Hope as their campaign platform.  The proselytizing Christians bring Hope for Salvation to people of color with a blonde, blue-eyed God man while exploiting these same people for natural resources and cheap labor.  Hope in Buddhism is defined as Delusion.  Delusion believes, for example, that something is nothing, and that nothing is something.  Delusion is a form of ignorance, which is the root of all becoming (making Karma). 

Buddhism Dictionary on Delusion (Ignorance):

"Delusion refers to belief in something that contradicts reality.  In Buddhism, delusion is ... a lack of awareness of the true nature or Buddha nature of things, or of the true meaning of existence. "

In the same way, every thing (karma, n.) only has the meaning that we ascribe to it.  There is nothing to hang on to.  Its a true wonder how much of our existence is constructed on beliefs.  And how so many of our beliefs are founded upon nothing more than morés. 

The facts that there is nothing permanent to hold on to, or that things have no intrinsic meaning other than what we ascribe to them, or that our own self may be completely void of anything substantially permanent beyond a force of becoming, is not depressing, but good news!  "Freedom's just another word for 'nothin' left to lose, but nothin' ain't worth nothin,' but its freeeeee." 

It is here when we realize the joy of putting down the Wheel of Karma, and just terminate the becoming force (bhavanga).  Making no more Karma doesn't mean dead or nihilist.  It is a state of Grace in which the right thing occurs without the Ego craving or clinging.  Such a state of Grace is full of joy and energy.  Quite the opposite of depressing.

Another Catastrophic Blow to Democracy

Just when you thought that every last vestige of Democracy had already been shot down, now it's official.  Corporations no longer have to hide the cash they invest in our elections.  Thanks to the recent decision by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, corporations now have the right to donate unlimited amounts of money to politicians.

The 5-4 ruling reverses a century’s worth of federal legislation and court decisions limiting the influence of corporate money in politics.  From now on, all elected officials and the laws they enact will be funded by big corporations.  It is the worst decision made by the Supreme Court since Dred Scott in 1857, when the the Court ruled that people of African descent were not protected by the Constitution, could not be US citizens, and no law could prohibit slavery in federal territories. The Dred Scott decision resulted in the Civil War.

I wonder if Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission will instigate another civil war?

Get free bumper stickers to protest this injustice:

	Help Us Give Away Action Bumper Stickers! Put a sidebar button on YOUR site (like the one to the right) linking to the bumper sticker page. Here is the code:

We Have All Been Betrayed

After eight years of the Bush & Cheney Whitehouse, we all thought that sanity would resume once the Democrats were in the majority.  There arose an historic opportunity with 60 Democrats in the Senate and a large majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives, that policies favoring the Common Good of the public would finally return to America. 

Yet, our Democrat majority Congress continues to bankrupt our nation with the escalation of unending wars, mandates to enrich private medical insurance companies which unethically gouge prices, bailouts to banks with borrowed funds which they don’t even know who are the recipients, and a predetermined accord to allow the planet’s ambient temperature to rise by 2º before reducing carbon emissions.  Not only have the American People been betrayed, but so have all the people on our planet.  

Our government was instituted to secure and protect the rights of the people, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, and promote general welfare, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.  When the government ignores the majority of the people, which want Peace, universal public health insurance, and a binding accord to save the planet from global climate change, and instead become destructive to these ends for the protection of corporate profits, then it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it. 

Governments long established should not be changed for light causes.  But when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariable the enrichment of a handful of mega-profiteers at the expense of all the rest of the people, as well as most of the other species on Earth, it is the right and duty of the people to throw off such a government, and provide new guards for our future security and welfare. 

We must therefore acquiesce in the necessity to hold our own government, Democrat, Independent, and Republican, Executive, Legislative and Judicial, all responsible as unlawful tyrants, and replace them with a government that will serve the welfare of the people. 

The founders of our country were armed militant revolutionaries, but enough blood has been spilled already.  Unlike George Washington, Marquis de La Fayette, and Ernesto Che Guevara, we must overturn the tyranny within our government by dropping our differences and uniting in opposition.  We, the People are an overwhelming majority, if only we could resolve our petty differences and unite.  We must unite NOW! 

People, as they are, prefer to unite under a charismatic leader.  We thought that leader was going to be Barak Obama.  Although Obama may be charismatic, his bent is toward protecting profiteers at the expense of the public.  Who will be the charismatic leader to galvanize the public and convince the armed forces to defend Democracy rather than corporate interests? 

 

How Long Will We Be Able to Bail Out the Boat?

Working 50 or so hours per week while "unemployed," I have thus far managed to avoid financial ruin and lean only lightly on my dwindling savings.  Curiosity led me to analyze my current income and major expenses.

I managed to bring in about $32,000 in the first 10 months of 2009.  This includes the ample salary of the job that laid me off last June, wages from p/t work in my profession, plus p/t work doing computer repair, graphic design, health assessments for insurance companies, selling nutritional supplements, rents from rental units, giving care through In Home Support Services, and unemployment insurance.

I was curious to see where I spent that money.  As expected, 13.75% went to groceries for my son and I, that's $93/wk.  I don't know about you, but $93 seems to buy no more than 2 bags of food.  Lucky for us, we grow a lot of our own food, mostly fruits and vegetables.

13.75% groceries.
11.9% automobile expenses including repairs and gasoline.
 4%     dining out.
 5.9%  donations.
 7.5%  out-of-pocket medical expenses inc what insurance denied.
11.1% taxes.
35.4% mortgage interest excluding the principle.
23.1% to insurance.
113%

The most surprising portion, 23%, was paid to insurance companies: malpractice insurance, life insurance, auto insurance, homeowner's insurance, cell phone insurance, and medical insurance with large copays that doesn't cover my children who remain uninsured. 

Considering that the mortgage interest is a premium on a tangible asset which provides my family with shelter from the elements as well as safety and comfort, our home can be considered well worth the more than third of my income paid to the bank as loan service.  But the quarter of my income paid out to insurance companies will never be seen again.  It just seems appalling that families need to pay out such a large proportion to a predatory racket that is tantamount to extortion.  Insurance lobbies may soon get Congress to make all insurance mandatory.

113% of my income in 2009 was spent on food, automobile, medical expenses, mortgage interest, donations, taxes and insurance.  Additionally, I also purchased clothes, house repairs, utilities, telephone & internet services, school supplies, gifts, bank fees, union dues, cleaning supplies, mortgage, credit card debt, travel, and membership in the health club where I work out 2-3 times/week.  Going to the movies is beyond our budget; we watch free DVD's from the public library, or stream movies on the internet.  I can't afford to pay membership to my professional organization this year, thereby forgoing the perk of free vouchers for uninsured students to get eye exams.  Fortunately, I saved some money when I still had a f/t job with benefits, which we now draw upon to survive. 

All I can say is that we are the lucky ones.  We have kept our heads above water and have not skipped any mortgage payments.  By word of mouth and with the help of my friends and unemployment, my son and I have been treading water.  The fact that I have to draw upon our savings to keep us afloat is like bailing out the boat while the hole in the bottom gets bigger and bigger.  How long will we be able to bail out the boat? 

Capitalism is conflated with Democracy

 The Gringo in Chile wrote to me and said:

Good Morning Bodhi,

As for our new administration.  To me,  it feels like America is making great moves towards global unity.  I am some what confused about our involvement in Afghanistan.

What's your take on this "hot" area?  I feel this Administration is making more progress with health reform and global peace that I have seen during my entire life.  Love to hear your opinion.  

From Chile,

Gringo

My reply: 
The war profiteers own our big media corporations that control the mainstream airwaves.  Anti-war political candidates are excluded during election campaigns from airing their voices on mainstream media.  They are ridiculed and belittled, with character assassinations.  The only candidates that we see on TV are the ones that have agreed to collaborate with the war profiteers. 

That said, Obama got elected with a little help from the war profiteers.  Don't forget, Obama refused public financing of his campaign and therefore, raised more money than any other candidate in history.  A significant portion of his campaign funding came from the war profiteers. 

Now that he has been elected, his campaign promise was to get out of Iraq and fight the REAL war in Afghanistan where Al'Quida is located.  He was never the "peace" candidate.  Now that he is in office, he doesn't necessarily have to comply with the generous supporters that want favorable conditions for more war.  On the other hand, if he crosses the war profiteers, they will assassinate him - DEAD.  If he crosses the peace-niks, they will complain without violence, maybe have another sit-in.  If someone constantly had a sniper pointing a killer weapon at you just in case you slipped-up the rhetoric, what would you say? 

I believe Obama will maintain perpetual war to keep the war profiteers happy while he tries to slip in some popular reforms under their noses.  The same with Wall Street and Health Insurance.  He took their money for his campaign also.  That's why he is approving more corporate giveaways to banks and insurance companies. 

In Peace,  Bodhi

Gringo replied:

Good Morning,

Great piece of work and very clear.  Oh!

Guess its difficult to stay optimistic while being aware of the facts.  

I have no idea how we can continue to finance these wars.  

As a people we must continue to downsize.  Grow our own food.

Be Peace,  share Peace,  just maybe someday Peace will prevail.

Been researching quite a bit about this incredible Che Guevara, as he is so popular with Latin Americans.  His photos are everywhere in Chile.  I started by taking an American, capitalistic attitude towards this guy but after some research I find myself understanding this Man.  In fact,  I am beginning to like him!

In two days we'll begin this 900 mile trip to the central coast....taking the same path that "Che" did in, what, 1957?  I have decided that southern Chile, although quite beautiful, is to pro-German.  Everyone is trying to be white and caught up in this western mentality.

My reply re: Hola Bodhi

Did you mention Che Guevara because you read my comments about him in my blog?

I also began with the usual capitalistic hype about Che.  He is portrayed as an insane, revolutionary thug.  But now I understand that the CIA disinformation campaign prefers to keep us intellectually uninformed, and emotionally charged against such an "enemy" of capitalism.  Additionally, American education has historically conflated democracy with capitalism.  In regard to Che Guevara, they want us all to be Tea-Baggers.  And they have succeeded for 40 years. 

Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism are economic systems.  Democracy, theocracy, plutocracy, dictatorship, monarchy, feudalism, are political systems.  There is nothing automatic about capitalism being a democracy or communism being a dictatorship.  Such is the misinformation in our American educational system. 

On the contrary, when you think about it carefully, capitalism is an economic model where a corporate CEO that usually answers to a corporate Board of Directors dictates all policies from the top down.  There is nothing democratic about it at all.  On the other hand, communism is an economic model in which classically, all the factory workers own the means of production equally, and theoretically all have equal say in the management of the assets and the profits.  That sounds far more democratic to me.  I say classically, because Marx and Engels did not include farmers in the proletariat.  Mao Tse Tung was the one who expanded the proletariat to include not only factory workers but also farmers.  And I say theoretically because the major models of communism in the world today are dictated in practice from a central committee, quite contrary to the theoretical model.  An economic system in which all the workers have a say in the management of the assets sounds way more democratic than the capitalistic system.  How did the disinformation campaign ever convince us of the opposite?

593 H1N1 deaths generates a National Emergency

Although Obama recently declared the H1N1 flu a national emergency, it still remains that there are 36,000 deaths in the USA from the regular flu every year, but there has been less than 600 deaths this year from the H1N1 flu.  President Obama is not calling a national emergency for the 36,000 that die from regular flu. 

Preventable deaths last year in the USA that were not declared a national emergency:
MD errors (iatrogenic)        2,200,000
Nosocomial                        2,000,000
Tobacco                                440,000
Obesity                                 287,000
Diabetes                                 71,300
No medical insurance              45,000
Influenza                                 36,000
Suicide                                    33,300
Infant deaths                           28,527   (2500 of them from SIDS)
Alcohol                                    22,000+
Anaphylaxis                            15,000+
War in Iraq & Afghanistan         5,130 (American GI combat deaths only)
                                                         (pvt contractors, deaths in
                                                         hospital from war injuries,  
                                                         friendly fire, and accidental 
                                                         deaths not included)
Asthma                                      4,000+
Domestic violence                     1000-1600
H1N1 flu  2009                            593     Only this one is declared a national emergency. 

I am confounded at the hullabaloo caused by the H1N1 flu rather than the sharp increase of smoking among youths and young adults, or obesity rates of 1 in 3.  I believe the H1N1 "pandemic" preparations are nothing more than a drill for the real pandemic in the unknown future. 

If only they could get MD's to wash their hands, we could prevent the majority of the 2M annual deaths from people catching a contagious disease in the hospital (nosocomial disease).  Where's the national emergency about this?  Maybe they can rush through a vaccine that will prevent hospital patients from catching diseases before entering the hospital.  Or better yet, a vaccine that will promote hand washing among doctors.  How about a vaccine that will prevent greed in corporate executives? 

I believe the declaration of a "national emergency" is nothing more than the means for another corporate robbery of taxpayer funds to pay BigPharma for a vaccine that grandfathered in safety testing from another similar vaccine. 

ObamaCare

We are currently at an historic moment culminating 100 years of effort toward health care reform.  Many people are criticizing Obama for not providing the nation with HIS plan for health care reform. 

I would like to praise our professor of Constitutional law, now President, for restoring the Executive Branch to its Constitutional role of carrying out the laws written by Congress.  Obama is not playing the Unitary Executive of Alexander Hamilton or George Bush.  Instead, he is allowing Congress to follow their Constitutional mandate to heed the calls of the electorate and craft legislation for the Executive Branch to execute. 

On the other hand, our elected representatives in Congress are jockeying around the issues as usual, not sure whether to represent the electorate or their corporate donors.  Therefore, it is paramount that We the People contact our Senators and Representative in Congress in every way and as frequently as possible to tell them what kind of health care we want.  Call, write and fax them everyday until health care legislation is passed. 

Response to Kucinich re renewing the authorization for war in Iraq

Honorable Representative Kucinich,

You asked for my comments regarding your 2002 opposition to the authorization for war in Iraq and the current issue of renewing it.

Since both houses of Congress on both sides of the aisle have been collaborating with the war profiteers against the best interests of the American people, Democracy in America is nothing more than a myth, a ruse to keep the public satisfied.  There is barely a handful of honest Congressmen who look look out for the Common Good.  They are overruled by the overwhelming opposition of Democrat and Republican sellouts who have ascended into office.  At this point in history, the war profiteers are calling the shots. 

I recall 1984 when the CIA was mining the harbors of Nicaragua.  It was in the alternative press for months before a British ship was struck and became an international incident.  Even though a committee of Congress had approved the illegal mines, even though Russian and Panamanian ships struck mines earlier and was denied in the US press, even though the Prime Minister of Nicaragua had formally appealed to the US government against the mines, Congress all pretended to be surprised once the British ship was struck.  They all claimed they knew nothing about it.  I call that the "pretend game." 

Today, Congress on both sides of the aisle continue to play the pretend game when they authorize more funds for a war that now obviously was initiated on false premises.  The war profiteers have them in their pockets.  And if they aren't being paid off, then they are probably being threatened.  It is a sad state of affairs. 

As long as the government divides the people with fear and race baiting, the opponents of war will never unite and become the overwhelming majority that they are.  There is barely an honest face in Congress.  The American people have been sold out. 

Being Prepared for Disaster

I recently commented on a FaceBook friend who had taken up jogging.  I mentioned that it is important to stay in shape in order to be able to pick up your children and run when the next holocaust arrives.  Some people were very disturbed by this comment.

Is there anything negative about preparing for a disaster?  Should we keep our head in the sand?  I always say, if it happened once, it can happen twice.  When we look back on history, even within the last decade, we see one genocide after another.  From the Hebrews killing the Canaanites, Amalekites, and Midianites, the 6 recorded genocides in Chinese history, the several times the Jews were targeted, to the current genocides in Darfur, Rwanda, and slaughter of the Sunnis in Iraq, the list is too long to even mention here, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocides_in_history) who knows when the leaders in power will choose to scapegoat you or me next?  And what if it is a natural disaster instead?

I remember reading the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.  She described a scene in which her mother got an early warning that the Japanese were marching toward Nanjing.  She put all her family heirlooms into a wheelbarrow with her two children and headed north out of the city.  She walked until her wheelbarrow broke, and abandoned it at the side of the road.  She picked up her children, one in each arm, and ran until her shoes broke.  She discarded the shoes, and ran until the soles of her feet were raw from broken blisters.  She was exhausted.  She made a difficult decision.  She sewed family photos and money into the vests of her children and left them at the side of the road, and continued running.  Like Sophie's choice.  As war foments around us, as long as governments believe war is justified for any reason, you or I may be the next ones running for our lives.  

Does it upset people to think about preparing to escape from an earthquake, flood, or forest fire?  Someone called me "negative."  I guess it is a negative thing to learn from history.  It must be a negative thing to stay in shape in order to rescue your children from potential disaster.  I suppose my critics mean it is positive to think of staying in shape to look sexy, or for cardiovascular health, and ignore the oft repeated lessons of history. 

Access and quality are not the only health care issues

Today President Obama replied to my appeal for the Public Option.  In his letter, he mentions that "there is broad consensus among the American people on the need for affordable, high-quality health care.  The rising cost of health care is the most pressing financial challenge for families and for our Nation, and controlling this cost is essential to bringing down the Federal deficits we inherited.  We must end unfair insurance practices that leave millions of Americans without coverage, denying them access to care, and exposing them to extraordinary burdens."  Although he signed the CHIP legislation, "still more must be done to lower costs, expand coverage, and improve the quality of health care."

The following is my response to President Obama: 

9/16/09
Honorable President Obama,

Thank you for the prompt reply to my appeal for Medicare for All.  In it, you emphasize that the most pressing issue is affordable, high-quality health care.  You then mention insurance reform.  Access to health care, high quality health care, and health insurance are 3 very different issues.  I believe you are confusing the issues.  I disagree with you that these are the principal issues needing reform. 

Another major issue is moral.  Even Senator Kennedy mentioned the moral issue in his final letter.  
The first issue is the moral imperative for a nation to protect its citizens.  Protection is not only by military at the borders of the country; we also protect our citizens with laws, police, judges, firefighters, public health, etc., all paid for with taxes.  It is a moral imperative for a developed nation to provide health insurance to ALL citizens. 

The second is whether it is moral or ethical to profit from ill health?  Should health care be a free market commodity?  All the aforementioned protective services are free for everyone and not market commodities.  I believe a free market for a person's life is immoral. 
One of the biggest issues has been the immorality of the health insurance companies which has driven us into this crisis. 

Your reform doesn't even mention morals or ethics.  You talk about reforming the health insurance industry but not reforming their morals.  Selling health insurance for profit is like selling a slave.  Slaves also should not be free market commodities, and profits made from trafficking are also not moral.  Medicare is a not-for-profit health insurance policy. 

Please, don't give this "reform" away to the insurance industry.  Make the insurance industry the "private option."  Medicare for ALL is the only moral choice. 

The Public Option is a tiny step toward Medicare for All

On 9/9/09, President Obama said, "I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn’t, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch."

I contend that Medicare works. Medicare is one of the most popular and successful legislations in American history. Let's build on Medicare to expand it to ALL. Expanding Medicare to all would NOT be "starting from scratch."

Health care for profit by private insurance companies is unethical and obviously doesn't work. We should expand Medicare for ALL with a private option.

Our nation has been attempting to provide health care for all for over 100 years. It took about 50 years of incremental legislation to culminate in Medicare in 1964. Now, 55 years after Medicare, the PUBLIC OPTION will be a tiny step toward Medicare for All.