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The Republican Leadership–They Just Don’t Get it
It is completely unconscionable how far the Republican leadership has strayed from
anything resembling responsible governance. While they thrive on their claim of
patriotism, their petulant obstructionism during one of the most serious financial
crises in American history betrays a total disregard for this nation, and an absolute
disdain for the American people. Their childish behavior is nothing short of political
malfeasance.
But true to form, they claim that their attempt to sabotage President Obama’s rescue
program is for America’s own good. They claim that they’re concerned about
reckless spending, and the huge debt that the president’s initiative is going to leave
our children. But that claim is disingenuous on it’s face. Where was that concern
when they literally threw away a trillion dollars, off budget, in Iraq–a meaningless
war that only served to enrich Republican cronies, and has caused so much wear and
tear on the U.S. Military, that it’s going to cost us an additional trillion in order for the
nation to recover.
And where was Republican fiscal responsibility when they committed to building an
embassy in Iraq that’s rivaled only by the Vatican in terms of size and opulence? The
embassy that was originally budgeted to cost 592 million to build is now estimated to
cost $736 million at last count, due to the shoddy workmanship of the Asian labor
force imported to do the work--Bush spent all of that money and the fire suppression
systems didn’t even work. It is by far the largest embassy in the world, built on 104
acres of land, and it has been estimated that it is going to cost a billion dollars a year
to maintain.
The Republican Party’s fiscal responsibility also seemed to be missing in action
when, according to a Washington Post article, the Defense Department’s inspector
general says that the Pentagon "cannot account for almost $15 billion worth of goods
and services ranging from trucks, bottled water and mattresses to rocket-propelled
grenades and machine guns that were bought from contractors in the Iraq
reconstruction effort." And the article goes on to indicate that "The Pentagon did not
have the proper documentation, including receipts, vouchers, signatures, invoices or
other paperwork, for $7.8 billion that American and Iraqi contractors were paid for
phones, folders, paint, blankets, Nissan trucks, laundry services and other items."
The article also points out that "the inspector general found deficiencies in accounting
for $5.2 billion of U.S. Payments to buy weapons, trucks, generators and other
equipment for Iraq's security forces. In addition, the Defense Department spent $1.8
billion of seized Iraqi assets with "absolutely no accountability."
But now that it comes to rescuing the American people, the Republican Party has all
of a sudden found Jesus. And just as suddenly, now that they’re in the minority, they
also see a moral imperative for bipartisanship. This, from the party that forced
Democratic lawmakers to meet in the basement when Republicans were in the
majority.
Now that they’re in the minority, they seem to be fully embracing Rush Limbaugh’s
position that "There is no bipartisanship in President Obama's plan. President
Obama's definition of bipartisanship is when Republicans cave and agree with his
plan so he can then claim it's bipartisan." Limbaugh goes on to say;
"Mine is a genuine compromise. So let's look at how the vote came out, shall we?
Fifty-three percent of voters in this country -- we'll say, for the sake of this proposal,
53% of Americans -- voted for Obama. Forty-six percent voted for Senator McCain,
and 1% voted for wackos. Let's give the remaining 1% to President Obama, so let's
say that 54% voted for President Obama and 46% voted for Senator McCain. As a
way to bring the country together and at the same time determine the most effective
way to deal with recessions, under the Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009,
$540 billion of the one trillion will be spent on infrastructure as defined by President
Obama and the Democrats. The remaining $460 billion, or 46% that voted for
Senator McCain, will be directed towards tax cuts, as determined by me." Someone
needs to point out to Limbaugh and the Republican leadership that their newly
embraced idea of bipartisan governing is un-American. They’re proposing another
form of government–a coalition government--and that’s not how we do things in the
United States. If we did govern in that manner, however, Al Gore would have
controlled the government after the 2000 election. After all, he did win the majority of
the votes.
As usual, Limbaugh’s retreaded, Republican answer for everything is tax cuts for the
rich. But we’ve been down that road before, several times, and it’s always been a
disaster. Why should we give the very same people who recklessly wasted the initial
bailout money even more tax cuts?
The fact is, this Republican plan, as all Republican plans, is nothing more than yet
another attempt to undo the New Deal. The Republican Party’s only reason for being
for the past seventy years has been to reverse the provisions of President Franklin
Roosevelt’s landmark legislation that literally rescued Americans from having to sell
apples on the street to survive. But the New Deal is much too popular to be
successfully attacked legislatively, so the neo-cons decided to use this farce of a war
in Iraq to both rob the American people of the means to fund the programs created
by the New Deal, and at the same time, enrich themselves beyond measure. But their
greedfest got out of hand, as it always does (see Ronald Reagan disaster), which led
directly to our current condition.
The Republican stimulus plan is ridiculous on it’s face. In short, it’s a scam. Fact:
No one is going to create jobs until the average American has enough money to
purchase what is produced. It is that fact that has always made Republicans
miserable failures in managing the economy, going all the way back to the Great
Depression.
So why should we listen to Republicans? Why should President Obama even
consider allowing people who lost their own child for child abuse to become foster
parents? If it was up to me, I’d relegate them to the basement. That’s the only good
idea they’ve had in seventy years.
It is completely unconscionable how far the Republican leadership has strayed from
anything resembling responsible governance. While they thrive on their claim of
patriotism, their petulant obstructionism during one of the most serious financial
crises in American history betrays a total disregard for this nation, and an absolute
disdain for the American people. Their childish behavior is nothing short of political
malfeasance.
But true to form, they claim that their attempt to sabotage President Obama’s rescue
program is for America’s own good. They claim that they’re concerned about
reckless spending, and the huge debt that the president’s initiative is going to leave
our children. But that claim is disingenuous on it’s face. Where was that concern
when they literally threw away a trillion dollars, off budget, in Iraq–a meaningless
war that only served to enrich Republican cronies, and has caused so much wear and
tear on the U.S. Military, that it’s going to cost us an additional trillion in order for the
nation to recover.
And where was Republican fiscal responsibility when they committed to building an
embassy in Iraq that’s rivaled only by the Vatican in terms of size and opulence? The
embassy that was originally budgeted to cost 592 million to build is now estimated to
cost $736 million at last count, due to the shoddy workmanship of the Asian labor
force imported to do the work--Bush spent all of that money and the fire suppression
systems didn’t even work. It is by far the largest embassy in the world, built on 104
acres of land, and it has been estimated that it is going to cost a billion dollars a year
to maintain.
The Republican Party’s fiscal responsibility also seemed to be missing in action
when, according to a Washington Post article, the Defense Department’s inspector
general says that the Pentagon "cannot account for almost $15 billion worth of goods
and services ranging from trucks, bottled water and mattresses to rocket-propelled
grenades and machine guns that were bought from contractors in the Iraq
reconstruction effort." And the article goes on to indicate that "The Pentagon did not
have the proper documentation, including receipts, vouchers, signatures, invoices or
other paperwork, for $7.8 billion that American and Iraqi contractors were paid for
phones, folders, paint, blankets, Nissan trucks, laundry services and other items."
The article also points out that "the inspector general found deficiencies in accounting
for $5.2 billion of U.S. Payments to buy weapons, trucks, generators and other
equipment for Iraq's security forces. In addition, the Defense Department spent $1.8
billion of seized Iraqi assets with "absolutely no accountability."
But now that it comes to rescuing the American people, the Republican Party has all
of a sudden found Jesus. And just as suddenly, now that they’re in the minority, they
also see a moral imperative for bipartisanship. This, from the party that forced
Democratic lawmakers to meet in the basement when Republicans were in the
majority.
Now that they’re in the minority, they seem to be fully embracing Rush Limbaugh’s
position that "There is no bipartisanship in President Obama's plan. President
Obama's definition of bipartisanship is when Republicans cave and agree with his
plan so he can then claim it's bipartisan." Limbaugh goes on to say;
"Mine is a genuine compromise. So let's look at how the vote came out, shall we?
Fifty-three percent of voters in this country -- we'll say, for the sake of this proposal,
53% of Americans -- voted for Obama. Forty-six percent voted for Senator McCain,
and 1% voted for wackos. Let's give the remaining 1% to President Obama, so let's
say that 54% voted for President Obama and 46% voted for Senator McCain. As a
way to bring the country together and at the same time determine the most effective
way to deal with recessions, under the Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009,
$540 billion of the one trillion will be spent on infrastructure as defined by President
Obama and the Democrats. The remaining $460 billion, or 46% that voted for
Senator McCain, will be directed towards tax cuts, as determined by me." Someone
needs to point out to Limbaugh and the Republican leadership that their newly
embraced idea of bipartisan governing is un-American. They’re proposing another
form of government–a coalition government--and that’s not how we do things in the
United States. If we did govern in that manner, however, Al Gore would have
controlled the government after the 2000 election. After all, he did win the majority of
the votes.
As usual, Limbaugh’s retreaded, Republican answer for everything is tax cuts for the
rich. But we’ve been down that road before, several times, and it’s always been a
disaster. Why should we give the very same people who recklessly wasted the initial
bailout money even more tax cuts?
The fact is, this Republican plan, as all Republican plans, is nothing more than yet
another attempt to undo the New Deal. The Republican Party’s only reason for being
for the past seventy years has been to reverse the provisions of President Franklin
Roosevelt’s landmark legislation that literally rescued Americans from having to sell
apples on the street to survive. But the New Deal is much too popular to be
successfully attacked legislatively, so the neo-cons decided to use this farce of a war
in Iraq to both rob the American people of the means to fund the programs created
by the New Deal, and at the same time, enrich themselves beyond measure. But their
greedfest got out of hand, as it always does (see Ronald Reagan disaster), which led
directly to our current condition.
The Republican stimulus plan is ridiculous on it’s face. In short, it’s a scam. Fact:
No one is going to create jobs until the average American has enough money to
purchase what is produced. It is that fact that has always made Republicans
miserable failures in managing the economy, going all the way back to the Great
Depression.
So why should we listen to Republicans? Why should President Obama even
consider allowing people who lost their own child for child abuse to become foster
parents? If it was up to me, I’d relegate them to the basement. That’s the only good
idea they’ve had in seventy years.
| Opinions expessed on this Website do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Community Voices LLC. Community Voices LLC has no control over, thus no responsibility for, the content of Linked sites to this Web page, financially or otherwise. Issues concerning content should be directed to Community Voices LLC Voicemail (269) 343-4653 Write: P.O. Box 424, Kalamazoo, MI 49004 Fax (269) 343-2270 E-Mail Comvoices@aol.com |
Remembering Mr. Asa Phillip Randolph
* He was called the most dangerous black in
America
* “Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never
given; it is exacted.”
* He was born on April 15, 1889, in Crescent City, FL; son of
James William and Elizabeth Randolph; married Lucille E.
Campbell, 1914.
* His father was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME)
minister.
* His father was well-read and his views reflected the daily
mandatory reading of books and religious magazines he
imposed on himself and his two sons.
* Asa and his older brother, James, excelled in school.
Both graduated at the top of their classes at the Cookman
Institute, the first high school for African Americans in
Florida.
* In 1911, he traveled to New York with a friend, secretly
hoping to become an actor.
* He took classes at City College, and, bowing to his
parents’ objections to an acting career, switched from
drama to politics and economics.
* He helped organize a Shakespearean Society in Harlem
and played the roles of Hamlet, Othello and Rome.
* He was arrested for speaking out against World War I.
* He spoke for all the dispossessed: blacks, poor whites,
Puerto Ricans, Indians and Mexican Americans.
* He attained for black workers their rightful seat in the
house of Labor.
* He stood up against the Nazi-Soviet Russia pact.
* In 1925, Randolph founded and served as President of
the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The organization
represented black porters who worked for the Pullman
Company. Randolph was able to secure a railroad contract
with the Pullman Company in 1937.
* His unremitting pressures forced President Franklin D.
Roosevelt to sign an Executive Order calling for fair
employment practices in war industries.
* He was the father of the civil rights revolution which began
in he 1950’s.
* He organized the 1957 prayer pilgrimage for the Civil
Rights Bill.
* He inspired the 1958 and 1959 marches for school
integration.
* He organized and led 250,000 persons in a March on
Washington in 1963 in the struggle for jobs and freedom.
* It was Mr. Randolph, as a Labor Leader, who gave Dr.
martin Luther King, Jr. the mass base to launch the Civil
Rights Movement.
* Mr. Randolph spoke and fought for ALL people.
MOTTO: EDUCATION, REGISTRATION, GET-OUT-THE-
VOTE.
* He was called the most dangerous black in
America
* “Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never
given; it is exacted.”
* He was born on April 15, 1889, in Crescent City, FL; son of
James William and Elizabeth Randolph; married Lucille E.
Campbell, 1914.
* His father was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME)
minister.
* His father was well-read and his views reflected the daily
mandatory reading of books and religious magazines he
imposed on himself and his two sons.
* Asa and his older brother, James, excelled in school.
Both graduated at the top of their classes at the Cookman
Institute, the first high school for African Americans in
Florida.
* In 1911, he traveled to New York with a friend, secretly
hoping to become an actor.
* He took classes at City College, and, bowing to his
parents’ objections to an acting career, switched from
drama to politics and economics.
* He helped organize a Shakespearean Society in Harlem
and played the roles of Hamlet, Othello and Rome.
* He was arrested for speaking out against World War I.
* He spoke for all the dispossessed: blacks, poor whites,
Puerto Ricans, Indians and Mexican Americans.
* He attained for black workers their rightful seat in the
house of Labor.
* He stood up against the Nazi-Soviet Russia pact.
* In 1925, Randolph founded and served as President of
the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The organization
represented black porters who worked for the Pullman
Company. Randolph was able to secure a railroad contract
with the Pullman Company in 1937.
* His unremitting pressures forced President Franklin D.
Roosevelt to sign an Executive Order calling for fair
employment practices in war industries.
* He was the father of the civil rights revolution which began
in he 1950’s.
* He organized the 1957 prayer pilgrimage for the Civil
Rights Bill.
* He inspired the 1958 and 1959 marches for school
integration.
* He organized and led 250,000 persons in a March on
Washington in 1963 in the struggle for jobs and freedom.
* It was Mr. Randolph, as a Labor Leader, who gave Dr.
martin Luther King, Jr. the mass base to launch the Civil
Rights Movement.
* Mr. Randolph spoke and fought for ALL people.
MOTTO: EDUCATION, REGISTRATION, GET-OUT-THE-
VOTE.
BENEATH THE SPIN
By Eric L. Wattree
Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles (Watts). He’s a columnist for The
Los Angeles Sentinel, The Black Star News, and a contributing writer to "Your Black World," the
Huffington Post, and several other online sites and publications. He's also the author of "A Message
From the Hood."
By Eric L. Wattree
Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles (Watts). He’s a columnist for The
Los Angeles Sentinel, The Black Star News, and a contributing writer to "Your Black World," the
Huffington Post, and several other online sites and publications. He's also the author of "A Message
From the Hood."
father of the civil rights
revolution which began in the
1950’s”
revolution which began in the
1950’s”