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Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Donate Now
: What now?
I have been following the Republican talking points throughout the week. The basic contention by the Republicans was outlined by Senator Brown in the Republican Weekly Address on Saturday:



I have written about the Scott Brown election and the potential danger signs that the White House needs to be aware of going into the MId-terms. But, Scott Brown needs to also remember that he was elected by the People of Massachuttes in part because he understood what Massachuttes Politics demanded. Why are the Republicans so afraid of reform? Don't they realize what is truly going on in "Main Street"?


I have noted that the Republicans are interested in one thing and one thing only: Power. They have said it. They seem to subscribe to the notion that they are able to defeat the President because they claim that the Healthcare Debate is the advent of Socialism and the loss of America's way of life. The America that I know is an America that will insure that everyone is taken care of and a reasonable sense of security is at hand so that people can build a life that they are proud of. I have asked this question and will ask it again: Is 100 years enough?

The irresponsibility of the Republicans and their arrogance in adopting an know-it-all view of the world is dangerous. A traditional loyal opposition must act responsbily and provide solutions. Solutions should not be to destroy, but to build and improve. The Republicans saw to it that the Clinton Agenda came to a halt before the so-called Gingrich Revolution. Bill Clinton had the smarts to overcome it and coopt many of the ideas. The Republicans did pull off an impeachment anyway. It was amazing how the business of the country somehow continued while all these games were being played. There was one case of utter irresponsbility that the Republicans pulled off which really made me truly mad. GOP Senators fillibustered changes to a mining law. They have the right to do it as the minority. The problem was that the fillibuster led to the Government was forced to sell 10 Billion dollars worth of gold rights to a Canadian Company for less than 10,000. I would have loved to have been part of that bid. What would Senator Brown's reaction be to such height of irresponsible behavior? When will the business of the peole will actually be done?


As the domestic debate continues on, there is the little matter of the wars America is fighting. America is spending $ 750 Billion Dollars on Defense. What was discussed by Eric Margolis during this clip must give us all a moment of pause:

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More at The Real News


The true realities in America has to be realized. Bill Gross of PIMCO reminds us that there is a "new normal" that all must adjust to which will dictate how fiscal policy must be designed around. The Republicans must take stock of what Einstein reminded us all. What he told us was that, "....We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them....". Why are the Republicans continuing on this path? What will force them to wake up and face the true realities?
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: ....and the Republican Beef is?
The Republicans have been on a continued warpath to circumvent Barack Obama's agenda at every turn. The healthcare debate has shown that all they are interested in an outright power grab to implement their narrow idelogical vision on the country. They are opposed to anything that remotely insures that the average person has a fighting chance. Paul Ryan's plan to replace Medicare with vouchers is just one of those extreme examples.

While the Republicans have continued to dominate the airwaves and win the public relations war, the real world goes on. There was a spike in unemployment not withstanding the 51,000 hires for the Census temporary jobs. The "real" unemployment rate stands at 16.8 Percent, on par with Spain. What Republicans should take notice of is a speech by the US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue. He spoke and made five key points:

* First, we can create jobs by doubling U.S. exports in five years.
* Second—we can create jobs by rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
* Third—we can create jobs with major investments and breakthroughs in energy.
* Fourth—we can create jobs by expanding credit across our economy.
* Fifth—to create jobs we must ease the uncertainty over tax increases as well as health, environmental, labor, legal, and fiscal policies.

What the stimulus did was to insure that all items were addressed. What he also noted was that the US Infrastructure is "running out of capacity" and has to be rebuilt to deal with 21st Century challenges. This is as China came out with growth anticipated to be around 8 percent per year because it has undertaken a massive investment to continue on the cutting edge on all fronts. The full speech can be accesssed at: Really Long Link

Mr. Pence called the current path by the Adminstration "a failure". I hope that Mr. Pence (who apparently has Presidential aspirations) to take the time to review the Chamber's recommendations and not merely hold on to the old ways of just tax cuts and more tax cuts. There needs to be a concerted effort to actually invest too. There should absolutely be a concerted effort to make sure that we deploy resources in a smart and responsible way. This should not be at the expense of creating a society of haves and have nots.

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What Should We Focus On?

January 5th 2010 08:09
: Why Should we care?
A very good friend turned me on to the National Priorities Project Website. With the Continued challenges we face in America, I was fascinated by what they had done. There is a cool feature that actualy analyzes what could have been done if the monies spent would have somehow been routed towards long-term sustainable development. I realize that some will question the analysis and the rationale. But the implications are staggering:


Source: Really Long Link retrieved 1/5/2010

Taxpayers in Congressional District 48 (Campbell) will pay $2.4 billion for Total Defense Spending in FY2010. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

995,079 People with Health Care for One Year OR
43,192 Public Safety Officers for One year OR
34,154 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year OR
363,340 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
451,900 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5350 OR
7,237 Affordable Housing Units OR
903,742 Children with Health Care for One Year OR
289,194 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR
34,724 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
4,307,675 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year


If this is in fact true, then the question is whether America has its priorities straight or not. What I find bothersome is the number of teachers. Right now, teachers are being laid off or being asked to forgo salaries in the name of "saving money". The challenge is for us to figure out what matters in the end.

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Davos: Reflections

January 30th 2009 05:43
: Wow!!!!
The world is right now fascinated with Davos. The rich, the famous and the powerful are all there in paradise talking about the world and all the problems. There is enough being said by all pundits which will speak for itself on Davos. But, two key things occured which I wanted to note:

1) Turkey's Prime Minister Edrogan stormed out of a discussion with Shimon Peres during discusisons on Gaza. Edrogan was given a minute by David Ignathius of the Washington Post to rebute a lengthy comment by Shimon Peres. I think the gesture by Mr. Edrogan must be taken seriously by Israel. It shows the frustration with Israel and the fact that as Amr Mousa said, Israel "does not listen". I was quite disappointed by David Ignathius when he did not grant equal time during the discussions. It seems to me that Dinner could have waited


[ Click here to read more ]
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