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GOP economic plan: take America back…to the Middle Ages

Romneynomics: same old joke.

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According to the obfuscations of mainstream corporate media, neither President Barack Obama nor former governor Willard “Mitt” Romney has laid out a coherent economic plan for the thoughtful consideration of American voters.

Huh?

President Obama’s blueprint for economic recovery is simple: put America back to work rebuilding our crumbling bridges, roads, schools, and hospitals; and increase revenue by asking our wealthiest citizens to pay their fair share of taxes. Result: the middle class has more money to save and spend; we lead safer, healthier, better-educated lives; and those fortunate enough to earn more will be more apt to re-invest their excess earnings here at home rather than gambling it away or spending it overseas.

Why hasn’t the Obama plan been implemented? Because the do-nothing Republican House and filibuster-happy Republicans in the Senate don’t want the American economy to rebound. That would be bad for them at the polls come November and run counter to their expressed goal of making Obama a one-term President. Cynical? Yes. But that’s what the Republicorp Party is all about these days: anti-American transnational corporate greed wrapped in a flag of “American Exceptionalism” and pseudo-religious self-righteousness. As personified by their standard bearer, Willard Romney.

Speaking of whom…

The Romney economic plan is equally simple: decrease taxes for the rich, end corporate regulation, strip the labor force of all power, cut education funding, keep women in their place, and make sure only the “right people” are allowed to vote. Sound familiar? It’s the same insane supply-side “trickle-down” economics that’s been a disastrous failure for the past 30 years. Only now it’s coupled with a comprehensive strategy to keep workers weak, stupid, subservient, and powerless at the polls.

Welcome to the Republicorp vision of America: an all-powerful oligarchy propped up by a dumbed-down, minimum-wage workforce who dream one day of magically joining the aristocracy. And does this, too, sound familiar?

It was a time called the Middle Ages.

When Tea Party Republicans shout about “Taking America Back,” they mean waaaaaay back.

Originally published at http://www.examiner.com/article/gop-economic-plan-take-america-back-to-the-middle-ages?no_cache=1344614760

Chick-fil-A unveils Bigot Burger

Chick-fil-A finds bigotry a tasty addition to their menu.

In the aftermath of the recent tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, it became abundantly clear that the right-wing culture of fear and anger received its talking-point ammo and lockstep marching orders from the National Rifle Association and draft-dodging, flag-waving Republican chicken-hawks.

Now Chick-fil-A has joined the ranks of fearmongers and demonizers, with President Dan Cathy (which would make a great name for an LGBT rock band, mind you) expressing his distaste for same-sex marriage.

Why are all these chickens crossing the political road? To try to make a u-turn. Back to the days when it was perfectly fine to discriminate against folks who don’t look like us, think like us, or love the way we think they should. Which is apparently one white man and one white woman. Preferably in the missionary position. Amen.

Now maybe, just maybe, Mr. Cathy does not subscribe to the Tea Party screed that President Obama is a Kenyan. And a Muslim. And a Socialist. And a Nazi. And maybe, just maybe, Mr. Cathy doesn’t believe the right-wing talk radio lie that undocumented immigrants are the greatest threat to our economy and national security since Pearl Harbor. Or 9/11. Or Islamo-terrorists. Or the very first Japanese transistor radio. But, given that Mr. Cathy shares the fundamentalist right-wing hatred of The Other, it’s a safe bet he believes all of the above.

Listen: Mr. Cathy has every right to express his opinion on gay marriage. And we liberals have every right to call him out for that opinion.

Mr. Cathy, you walk like a chicken, peck like a chicken, and talk like a bigot.

Mr. Cathy, you are a bigot. And fair-minded Americans ought not patronize your Chick-fil-A establishments anymore. Period.

We’ve fought your back-of-the-bus, separate-but-unequal kind before, Mr. Cathy, and beat you like a chicken-fried steak. Civil rights will win again.

Oh, one more thing. Here in Washington State, we’re promoting marriage equality through organizations like Washington United for Marriage and ballot measures like Referendum 74.

And, no, Mr. Cathy, I don’t want Waffle Fries with your Bigot Burger.

(originally published here)

Chicken-Hawks, NRA, drive GOP agenda of fear, anger

Does the Second Amendment guarantee our right to kill? GOP plays on fear disguised as freedom.
Does the Second Amendment guarantee our right to kill? GOP plays on fear disguised as freedom.

At least a dozen people shot dead in the Colorado slaughter, and the RepubliCorp Party remains eerily silent on the issue of gun violence in America.

Worse yet, most Republican lawmakers continue to kowtow to the National Rifle Association’s greedy screed of guns for all and all for guns.

Even worser (which ought to be deemed a genuine word given this grisly context), many armchair vigilantes on the Far Right grouse that the abattoir in Aurora could’ve been avoided if only the audience had been scattered with gun-totin’ good ol’ boys who’da brung down that crazy sumbitch with their own god-fearin’ firearms. Apparently terms like “innocent bystanders” and “collateral damage” are foreign to these “Second Amendment” whack-doodles. Too many syllables, most likely.

The gun-rights gang is the self-same gaggle of Tea Party pseudo-patriot know-nothings who constantly vote against their own best interests, idolize the rich, and despise the poor. Even though they themselves are often one paycheck, government/military pension deposit, or Social Security check away from joining the hated “poor.”

Why the lust for violence? Why the hatred of misfortune?

Because 21st century Republicans, like 20th century National Socialists, are the Party of Fear. In danger of being outnumbered by the combined demographic of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and (gasp!) non-Christians, old white guys (and the good ol’ gals who worship them) fearfully rally behind a Confederacy of Anglo-Saxon Idiocy, listening to and watching only the bombastic propaganda and outright lies of right-wing talk radio and Fox “News.”

And angrily casting ballots for cowardly draft-dodging chicken-hawks who ran away when their country called them to serve but eagerly wrap themselves in the American flag when it comes time to send other people’s children to war. After all, these Republican chicken-hawks have to serve their true masters. Like oil companies, drug companies, insurance companies.

And the National Rifle Association.

As far as the RepubliCorp Party is concerned, the more guns the merrier. Keep us angry, afraid, and armed to the teeth. And, oh by the way, keep Those Other People from voting.

Remember that next time you cast a ballot.

Or go to a movie.

(Originally published at examiner.com)

Good, Better, Best: How to Speak Liberally, Part 2

How else might liberals re-tool their rhetorical game plan and regain control of political playing field?

Traumatized by incessant propaganda from Republicans, will Democrats fight back by speaking plainly and Trumanizing their message?

• How about the anemic economy? We keep hearing it referred to as some sort of amorphous “economic downturn.” Far-right talk-show hosts even suggest it’s President Obama’s doing, as though the recession magically materialized the very moment he took the oath of office. No, this is the direct result of 30 years of trickle-down sneak-o-nomics and deregulation. The “Reagan Republican Recession,” that’s good. Even better, thanks to the (non-budgetary, unpaid-for) Bush/Cheney Invasions of the Middle East, Bush tax cuts and bank bailouts that sealed the deal: “The Bush Recession.” Best, if you’re suffering through it like most of us, “The Bush Damn-Near Depression.”

• And exactly why is nothing being done by our elected representatives to lead us out of the Bush Damn-Near Depression? Corporate media pundits point the finger at a deadlocked Congress, as though it’s merely a matter of partisan bickering. Even President Obama and progressive web sites like USA Action lay the blame on “Congress” in general. So you might say this is a “Do-Nothing Congress.” But in fact, several job-creating bills presented by Democrats have died in the House and/or been filibustered in the Senate by anti-American Republicans who simply want President Obama to fail (and, yes, that was decided by powerful members of the GOP shortly before Obama took the oath). So, perhaps “The Do-Nothing Republican Congress” would be a better description. Still, let’s not forget who bought and paid for the “Tea Party Revolution,” and who continues to bankroll the right-wing oligarchy’s faux-libertarian agenda. Best deadlock description goes to…”The RepubliCorp Job-Killing Congress.”

• But how exactly to accurately portray these greed-mongers who promote a speculation-based international investment economy over labor-based, made-in-USA manufacturing? These plutocratic job-killers couldn’t care less about American jobs or genuine innovation and competition. A good portrayal: they’re the “Un-American Corporate Welfare Socialists.” Better: “The Fascist (hold on now, look up the definition, it fits) Koch Brothers Cabal.” Best, in the spirit of the current election circus: “The Out-Sourcing, Downsizing Romney Robber Barons.”

So, class, next time you’re at the water cooler, a barbeque, or a family reunion, try the Liberal Good-Better-Best approach. Stand up, speak plainly, and tell it like it is. Watch with glee as the brainwashed Fox News heads of your “conservative” friends and relatives simmer to the boiling point prior to exploding. Oh sure, they’ll attempt to recover by unleashing their standard barrage of wildly inaccurate, completely illogical, and patently untrue right-wing talking points. But—who knows?—maybe you will have planted a seed of light deep within the wasted recesses of their dulled senses.

Best of all, you’ll know that you’ve begun to stand up against the tyrannical forces of corporate propaganda. Welcome to the OccuPatriot New American Revolution!

Originally published at Examiner.com.

Good, Better, Best: How to Speak Liberally, Part 1

It’s abundantly clear—loud and clear, in fact—that, when it comes to political debate in this country, conservative corporatists not only own the field of play, they make up the rules to suit their game plan.

What used to be known as the “news media” has been bought out and fashioned into primarily a rumor-mongering, ratings-chasing sideshow of sex, fires, car crashes, murders, and horror-show disasters of all stripes. With the occasional feel-good homily about Sally’s fundraising lemonade stand and nudge-wink reference to the latest UFO sighting thrown in for good measure, of course.

Fox News: all the latest right-wing rumors and propaganda all the time.

In short, investigative journalism has been unceremoniously replaced with info-tainment. The pyrrhic lesson of impeccable former CBS News anchor Dan Rather has not been lost on a subsequent generation of journalists who now busy themselves chasing celebrities and avoiding the wrath of well-paid right-wing legal flying monkeys lurking in the corporate woods awaiting any outbreak of genuine information or revelation of truth. Rather, you might recall, had the unmitigated gall to reveal the truth about George W. Bush’s draft-dodging past. Can’t have that! Swarmed, threatened, and attacked by the Wicked Witch of the Right’s aforementioned aerial minions, CBS banned rather from Oz. Although Rather has resurfaced doing excellent work—reporting (gasp!) actual news—he’s now consigned to remote cable channels. No longer welcome on the oligarchic playing field.

What, in the name of Dan, are we liberals to do? Re-gain home-field advantage by speaking plainly, for starters. F’rinstance…

• The mainstream corporate media, and even most die-hard Democrats (Jay Inslee, campaigning for governor here in Washington State, comes to mind) continue to refer to our horrific incursion into the Middle East as “The War in Iraq/Afghanistan.” Excuse me, what war(s)? A good (i.e. more accurate) phrasing would be, “The Oil Wars in the Middle East.” A better one, “The Invasion of Iraq/Afghanistan.” Perhaps the best, “The Bush/Cheney Invasions of the Middle East.”

• How about health care reform? “The Affordable Health Care Act” ain’t bad. “ObamaCare” is even better, giving proper attribution to insurance reform that is even now beginning to benefit everyone in America. But the best may be, “O’RomneyBamaCare,” since it was Willard “Mitt” Romney who, in conjunction with the right-wing Heritage Foundation, laid the groundwork for affordable health care when he was Governor of Massachusetts. Whatever happened to Willard, anyhow? The boy should stand up and accept the appreciation of a grateful country, don’t you think?

Get the drift? There’s more to come. Meanwhile, just start telling it like it is to your whacked-out Uncle Bob who gets his gospel from corporate lackeys like Limbaugh and Hannity every day.

Originally published at Examiner.com.

Fighting for the Message: Liberal Guerrillas Need to Work on “Left Hook”

We’ve heard it all before, over and over and over again: “Obama’s a Kenyan/Moslem/Socialist who’s bent on taking away our liberty/guns/free market by encouraging illegal immigration/building secret FEMA detention camps/wielding unconstitutional executive powers!”

Those Americans who actually take the time to become informed instead of inhaling viral conservative emails, absorbing Fox News propaganda, and plugging what remains of their brains into right-wing talk radio, recognize all such bizarre conspiracy theories and leaps of logic for what they are: hateful claptrap designed to fuel the fears of angry white men and the subservient women who bow before them.

But the astonishingly sad fact is that a great many brainwashed and blow-dried citizens actually believe such nonsense. And they vote. How has our nation’s political dialogue become so vapid, degraded, and contemptuous of facts? It’s simple, really.
For one thing, liberals boast a long-standing tradition of not fighting back when smacked in the nose by conservatives. Result: conservatives own the field of battle.

Cassius Clay used a steady diet of lefts to defeat his opponents. Muhammad Ali remains The Greatest to this day. 'Nuf said?
Cassius Clay used a steady diet of lefts to defeat his opponents. Muhammad Ali remains The Greatest to this day. ‘Nuf said?

For another, when they do deign to respond to the aforementioned conservative claptrap, liberals hold forth with long, drawn-out explanations featuring facts, figures, charts, graphs, and copious footnotes. Conservatives reply with quick, stinging jabs, repeated ad infinitum regardless of truth. Guess which approach wins with low-information voters who feel they simply don’t have the time to be bothered with facts, figures, charts, graphs, and have no earthly idea what “copious” means?
In boxing parlance, liberals need to work on their messaging—their “left hook,” if you will—to counter the constant barrage of conservative right jabs.
In terms of the New American Revolution, the liberal guerrillas and OccuPatriots of the 99% Brigade need to be constantly attacking the rear guard of the Kings Koch CorpaTories, nipping away at the heels of the oligarchs, and waging a war of attrition.

This is a battle for hearts and minds. And, yes, liberals really do need to “dumb down” their message into simple sound-bites and punch back hard when bullied by plutocratic lackeys disguised as “libertarians.”
Let the battlefront strategizing begin. We may have won the Battle of ObamaCare, but the defeat in Wisconsin and the never-ending supply of CorpaTory weapons from Citizens United loom large. There’s no time to lose…

Originally published at Examiner.com