The Future of Medicare

Medicare has already been compromised by a thousand tiny pieces of legislation - what the Republicans want is to get their HANDS on all that money (it comprises an ENORMOUS chunk of the budget). They will continue passing seemingly innocuous bills in order to be able to spend that money on things they want. They are ASKING us to ALLOW them to malappropriate funds - right out in the OPEN! They have been"borrowing" against Social Security for years and have yet to pay it back. Then they say that SS is about to collapse and we can't sustain it etc... it is one of the most successful programs we ever had in this country financially - THEY just want to spend the funds elsewhere... If they are looking for money they should be looking at the Pentagon with its billions of dollars of corrupt cronyism WASTE and put an end to corporate welfare.

Mexico and the USA - we were at war once

Most United States' citizens know little about the Mexican American War. Here's your first hint about this war: In Mexico it is called "La Intervencion NorteAmericana" or The North American Intervention.

Most people think it was about retaining Texas. And it was, of course. The Mexicans never accepted the "loss" of Texas but one of the pivotal points was SLAVERY. The Mexicans refused to grow cotton, and refused to incorporate slavery into their laws. So what was our response? Our response was to swoop down and GRAB California and New Mexico. It is quite amazing how horrendous we have been throughout the Ages. Our reasoning? How do you suppose we justified grabbing this enormous land mass away from the sovereign country of Mexico? Manifest Destiny, of course.

It always amazes me when people complain about Mexicans coming into this country to work and improve our economy and our communities to very little benefit for themselves (money doesn't last folks). For God's Sake, we stole some of their best property - and how do they react? Do they come over here with bombs strapped to their bodies walking into schools and hospitals? No, they come over here and do the work nobody else in this country would do - and this is the important aspect - for MORE than a FEW MONTHS. Sure, there are Americans who would mow your grass, clean your clothes and watch your children, but not for the paltry sums we want to give them. And if you think any American would work in a poultry factory for more than nine paychecks, you're dreaming pal.

Don't Be Fooled by Rove's Latest Trick

Rove is truly a sinister man. He has called for Republican candidates to use a trick that they used here in Georgia last election. It was a really dirty underhanded trick: using robocallers to call voters. They begin the phone call by stating that they are calling "with information" about...fill-in Democratic candidate name here. When you hang up, they continue to call back endlessly. If you stay on the line with them long enough to get past the truly boring robo-voice introduction, you discover that they are, in fact, Republicans, and you will get a scathing diatribe against the Democratic candidate. Most people hang up after the first few long boring minutes and then are harassed by the callbacks, and the only name they've heard is the name of the Democratic candidate. Don't be fooled by this cynical move. Rove is truly a sinister man.

Remember Katrina

If you are poor, working class, or middle class - remember Katrina when you step into your poll booth this coming Election Day. Remember how quickly all those officials who head the GOP rallied together to cover up their ineptness, their nepotism and their greed. Remember how they dismissed all complaints that issued forth. They didn't apologize, instead they tried to issue blame elsewhere while they patted each other on the back. Okay, you say your candidate didn't have anything to do with Katrina. But he/she did. If they are a member of the Grand Old Party, they were every bit as much a part of that horrendous episode as were the top Administration officials of our government. As members of the party, they support and are supported by the Bush Administration. But, more importantly, as members of the party, they kept their mouths shut and have continued to keep their mouths shut, while this country lost one of the most vibrant and culturally vital cities we have. And it IS gone. New Orleans was not destroyed by Katrina though, it was destroyed by the GOP, and the 'politics as usual' mentality.

Waiting on the World to Change

As John Mayer so eloquently puts it, this generation feels completely powerless. I don't blame them - things have been spiraling downward for a couple of hundred years now. Our system of democracy, a constitutional democracy, only works if all its citizens understand the compact. Giving people an 'incentive' to vote, like a chance to win a million, is a laughable idea perhaps, but what if the 'incentive' were a MESSAGE that made all voters BELIEVE that their vote COUNTED? That the man they would be sending to office actually represented THEM. That can only work if we go back to 'real' community districts. And that can only happen with a lot of work on our part. Let's start spreading the message that volunteerism is political ACTIVISM. Because it IS. You want to help MAKE a change, start participating in local community politics. Keep in mind that gerrymandering is the FIRST blockade we must break down. Gerrymandered districts represent NO ONE except the party that made it - and we all know that the PARTY stands for nothing but ITSELF.

Georgia Free Speech RIGHTS

Okay, again we find that officers and government officials who are sworn to protect us and uphold our laws continue to violate these promises. In March, a Georgia resident was pulled over by a policeman and issued a $100.00 ticket because she had placed a popular decal that says, "No More Bushit" on her car. I used to have one of those too, but it got ruined when some neocon keyed it off my bumper. I assume it was a neocon, no one else is that rabid a fascist in this country that I know of (at least not yet).

The thing about the ticket this woman was issued is that 15 years ago this stupid Georgia law that so obviously deters FREE SPEECH was repealed. The law was first enacted against "lewd or lascivious speech" and other supposedly "offensive" language. But it was REPEALED 15 years ago. The law no longer exists. So how come this officer gave her a ticket for violating a non-existing law? Probably for the same reason an officer in Massachusetts arrested a woman who was putting up anti-Bush posters. Both officers are a pair of overly eager neocons that seem to find it so easy to get by in our constitutional democracy. Let's hope the suit the Georgia woman filed against the city of Athens, where she received the ticket, will put a damper on these puppy-like followers of that old oppressive-style governance that Americans all claim to hate.

Georgia Voting RIGHTS

For God's sake, it's been like what? 40 years since the Voting Rights Act? Hasn't it? And Georgia is still trying to keep voters from the polls. Last week a judge ruled the new law that the Republicans are trying so very very hard to pass (requiring that all voters present a photo ID) to be unconstitutional. But did that matter to the Republican governor and his campaign managers? Not one bit. In the style of Republicans everywhere, this group completely disregarded the Constitution that their voted-in governor, Purdue, is sworn to uphold, and sent out letters to 200,000 voters here stating that they needed the photo ID in order to vote. This was done AFTER the courts ruled it unconstitutional. How can these people consider themselves to be upholding the constitution? And if they aren't doing that, what the hell are they doing in office?

Fear is for Fascism

Again, today, I read another article in which the interviewee did not want to be identified. This time, the interviewer asked them why not? Their response was that they were scared. They were scared that they would be targeted by the government, OUR government, under the terrorism laws. Is it possible? Have we gone that far? Or are these people being paranoid? Maybe I should just shut up, huh?