What if Tim Tebow was a Muslim, and he, instead of Tebowing (kneeling in prayer during and before and after games) he kept turning towards Mecca and went to his knees in prayer before, during and after games? One wonders if those same folks who think Tim is such a devout religious man would think the same of Tim Tebow, Muslim. By the way, if one truly is a follower of Jesus the Christ (as this writer happens to be, by the way) one would know that Jesus taught to not parade one’s beliefs in public prayer or ceremony. Rather, he said to go and pray in the upmost privacy or with another in the upmost privacy… and NOT in public displays of passion.

What if Israel had a Palestinian man who lived next door to you on their “terrorist watch list” for compensating the families of suicide bombers? This neighbor of yours was a congenial guy, with a good profession, and he was a darn nice neighbor at that. One day, the Israelis decide to “take him out” with a drone attack. It succeeded, but in doing so there is the collateral damage of the two homes adjoining his — one of which happens to be yours! You get that terrible phone call at work informing you that your spouse and your two kids are….dead!! Will you still support the politicians (of both corrupt parties, by the way) who advocate drone attacks into Pakistan and elsewhere?

What if you support this corrupt and disgraceful health care system of private insurance OR the so called “Obama Care” which continues to feed the private insurance beast? You refuse to stand firm and demand that we have the option for buying into the Medicare system at obviously lower prices and somewhat better coverage than what private insurance now offers. What if you or your spouse or your teenage child gets a devastating illness that private insurance cannot cover completely? The costs are astronomical and they come after you, once the dust settles, for tens of thousands of dollars that you do not have?

What if you continue to support this military industrial empire that takes over 50% of your federal taxes each year? You buy the lies that this is necessary for our defense, while you notice more and more budget cuts are happening around you… locally, statewide and nationally. Your schools are being abandoned, library funds cut drastically, police and fire personnel being cut down. You see layoffs and foreclosures abound, and the “rally round the flag” festivals and events increase. They tell you to “support our troops” as they are sent to occupy, control and destroy other nations that pose no real threat to our national security. When unemployment and uncertainty suck the very life out of your community, and you see more and more homeless, destitute and desperate folks walking about — when is “enough really enough” ?

So, keep buying into the con job that “your vote counts” as you support either of these two corrupt political parties. Keep thinking that an annual visit to a voting booth is enough to counteract the empire’s tentacles. Don’t dare get out and stand in public for a better world… week after week, month after month until more of your neighbors begin to “get it”. No, just keep saying, “Oh, what can I do anyway?” as we all slide into the black hole caused by apathy and self interest. Remember, the greed and the violence and the corruption that many of us disdain must still have some elements of them imbedded within our own psyches or we would finally rid our society of them.

According to international law and all measures of morality and rationality we illegally invaded and continue to occupy Afghanistan and Iraq.  We destroyed much of the basic infrastructure of both nations. We killed hundreds of thousands of their citizens, many being women, children and the elderly. So, is it not time to immediately end both occupations and return home all our service personnel, as well as cancelling all contracts for the 100,000+ private mercenaries AKA military contractors? Then, we should dismantle our 800+ military installations in over 100 countries, a decision that would help ease the tremendous anger most of the world’s populace has for our country.

Cut Military Spending by Minimum of 25% and…

Going by fiscal year 2011, those savings would be around $168 billion. As a short term fix, that sum would equal what it would take to help all 50 states balance their budgets completely! Translated: No major layoffs or cuts in services, as our cities would be getting the revenues they need to keep their public sector jobs and services. This would save our schools, police and fire departments, libraries, public hospitals, Medicaid and many other programs that now help the indigent and working poor. In year two of such a plan, we could see these transferred revenues going to lower property taxes and fix our roads and public transportation and perhaps begin helping homeowners who are now ready to be foreclosed. This brings me to:

Community owned and operated nonprofit mortgage banks

Instead of bailing out banks, why not subsidize local city or county-owned non-profit mortgage banks? Imagine this: You go to such a bank and you are approved (after being vetted) for the purchase of a new home. The rate would simply be the overhead for running such a mortgage bank, which means perhaps 1.5 % to cover salaries and office space etc. You want to see real economic stimulus? Think of how many of you out there would now be able to afford owning instead of renting? Who needs a landlord when the monthly mortgage payments would be the same as paying rent? This would cause a snowball effect that would increase the housing market unbelievably! Home builders, carpenters, cabinet and door makers, hardware essentials, wood and concrete.  On and on we would see such a massive stimulus, all from one simple action: taking the profit out of the mortgage business. Plus, the local non-profit mortgage bank would hold the paper on that home, for the life of the mortgage — the way things used to be!  These loans should only pertain to homes where buyers actually will reside in them.  No loans to investors or absentee landlords.

Federal Surtax of 50% on Income over 1,000,000 a year

Some call this the ‘Millionaires tax,’ and it would help stifle the greed and corruption of the corporate world. Why?  Well, to begin with, anyone earning up to one million dollars per year would still pay at the current tax rates. It is only on income beginning with dollar $1,000,001 that would see a flat surtax of 50%. Cannot a very wealthy individual live comfortably on 50% tax free of the mega millions he or she earns? The CEOs who are making tens and hundreds of millions while their own employees have to struggle day in and day out financially, cannot they be happy with 50% of such wealth? Think of how that added revenue would allow Uncle Sam to further help this economy grow. To those super wealthy who say “I give money to charity or my foundation does this and that,” now they can say they are doing their share of helping the rest of us. Let the local communities receive that extra revenue from Uncle Sam and use some of it to help the sick and indigent and struggling. As we all may one day wind up in some nursing facility or hospital, perhaps some of that 50% Surtax can go to give pay increases to the aides who clean the **** from our elderly parents and grandparents and bath them and dress them. It is a disgrace that most aides who do this type of difficult and needed work are lucky to be earning around $9-10 an hour to do, while the top management of these facilities earns in the millions! The greatest benefit of this tax would be added revenues to allow us to:

Nurture Small Business and the Employee with a Payroll Tax Forgiveness

We need to forgive the FICA contribution (around 7.5%) from both employee and small business owner for the first $20,000 of wages. This would accomplish a great deal. First off, it would put in the pocket of both parties up to $1500 a year, to be used as each sees fit. For the employee, this money addition could help to purchase a needed car, or dress the kids, or fix the home or apartment – more economic stimulus. The business owner could keep all the savings or use it to upgrade the business or even as a pay raise or bonus for employees. The important thing is that if a business owner simply pockets the savings, maybe his competitors will do differently. If a business owner wishes to keep good employees from going to work for competitors (the ones who would share this money more equitably)… you get my drift. As far as limits to this plan, it should only apply to a maximum of 50 or 100 employees per business location. Such a plan, for those worried about undocumented workers, would stifle “off the books” hiring. Why take the risk when you won’t be paying into FICA for the first $20k of salary? Most of the hiring of the undocumented concerns wages well below that per year.

Let’s move toward public funding of all elections

Let’s face it, this would take a constitutional amendment to get around the “Money is free speech” ruling of the Supreme Court (Buckley vs. Valeo, 1976). My candidacy will not accept more than $100 per donor, and a limit of $200 per family, and NO business or corporate donations at all! If the public, the voters, tell candidates “I won’t vote for you, PERIOD, if you do not adhere to this policy,” well, strange things can happen. We need to evolve into a system where NO private money is allowed in campaigns — PERIOD!  This would break the monopoly that the current 2 Party System has on elections. With public funding we can have a multi-party system, and more important than that, independents can actually have a chance of winning.

There are certainly many more bold and innovative ideas to consider. Yet, let’s just keep it simple for now. The aforementioned do get to the nitty gritty of key changes needed to save our republic and to usher in true and sincere democracy. I need YOUR vote, or more importantly, our nation needs your voice on these issues.

So we have an anniversary coming up next month, and not a very cheerful one except for those who love war and empire. The acts of terror upon the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were direct segues into our attacks and invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Sadly, many Americans still do not realize that 9/11 had nothing to do with Iraq. Yet, the posse which cowboys Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld conducted had already decided to go in and occupy the region. The subsequent Shock & Awe carpet bombing campaign destroyed more than just tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, including young children and infants. It destroyed the most advanced infrastructure and civil society in that region. That invasion and occupation of another sovereign nation destroyed everything that made America a great nation. We were just like those individuals on that posse who yearned for payback in blood and guts!  In that condemned man’s note from the ‘Ox Bow Incident‘ if you substitute the word invasion for the word hanging, you have my point. Yet to this day so few of us actually understand that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was both illegal and immoral. Many more of our fellow citizens believe that we have to ‘Fight them there so they won’t come here’, or ‘Well, we should never have invaded, but… Now that we are there, we just cannot leave until we stabilize the country’.

On this upcoming 10th anniversary of the horrific events of September 11, perhaps it is time to look into what may have really transpired and why and how. Many scholars and scientific experts have come forth over the years to dispute what was fed to America and the world by the 9/11 Commission. The commission was created to be more of a political event than it was a truly investigative one. Having a commission made up of entirely political operatives, whether they are Republican or Democratic Party members, in itself was a travesty. As we have now seen by the performance of Mr. Obama as President, it really doesn’t matter which of the two parties occupies the seat of government.  A stooge is a stooge no matter what affiliation he or she wears.

Anthony Summers was one writer who I always enjoyed reading. His books exposing both J Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon were fantastic. Sadly, his most recent book, The Eleventh Day, is a poorly written and presented work. He refutes almost all of the investigative research that many scientists presented to show that those Twin Towers could not have been pan caked down by burning jet fuel alone. He also refutes the theory that the Pentagon attack could not have been by an American Airlines 767, that it had to be most likely a missile or drone. Summers, along with his wife as co author, dismisses the theory that Bldg 7 was most likely detonated with explosives and not taken down by the debris from the Twin Towers.  He dismisses the theory that flight 93 over Pennsylvania was most likely shot down by our own military.

It is not my place to go over a whole book filled with conspiracy theories and Summers’ rebuttals etc.  What really set my red warning light off was one key bit of information that Mr. Summers just glanced right over.  It was exactly on the same day that the terrorists hijacked four planes, September 11th, that NORAD, along with the Pentagon, was conducting its annual exercises using simulated plane hijackings!  One day a year and it just happened to be that day!  From the tape logs of air traffic personnel we can hear many individuals asking “Is that one on my screen another fake one, or is real?“

Now I ask you, did the Pentagon publicly announce such exercises well in advance? Surely, in a climate as the one we had been in for years involving Bin Laden and acts of terror, wouldn’t that information be kept Top Secret? Yet, these Arabs a half a world away would have needed that info far in advance so as to plan the best day for the hijackings etc. Come on Anthony Summers! Give me a break! What Summers bases his whole book on, in reality, is to sell the same **** that has been sold through the mainstream media AND both political parties since the attacks.  It was the incompetence of the FAA and NORAD, oh yes, and the lackadaisical attitudes of the Bush gang that allowed 9/11 to happen so easily. That was as far as Summers and wife would dare to venture in this book. A disgrace! I mean, come on, the most important leader in the world is sitting in a classroom at a school in Sarasota, Florida that the whole world knows he is going to be in that morning. Before he arrives at the school he is told about the first plane, thinking it was some small aircraft that had pilot error.  Then, while in the classroom, he gets whispered into his ear “The other tower just got hit by a jumbo jet… we’re under attack! “And he remains in his seat and continues to read to the kids for another five minutes!? You have all seen the movies… for years! At the slightest hint of trouble, the Secret Service surrounds and grabs the President and rushes him away. Anthony Summers, instead of disparaging David Ray Griffin and his work, answer the question: Why no such actions by the Secret Service and the President’s staff? Why?

Ten years after 9/11, and almost nine years after the invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq, and what have most of our fellow Americans learned from it all? They still display the flag and slap on the yellow and red ribbons on their cars. They still believe what Hitler himself laughed about as The Big Lie, that our nation has never done anything wrong to the world… rather the other way around. “Why do the hate us? “is the mantra sold by the media and politicians over and over? They refer to our young soldiers as brave warriors, when in retrospect; they are merely pawns being used on the great Military Industrial Complex’s chessboard, the one that Ike himself warned against over 50 years ago! This empire is going broke as do all empires eventually. You see, you cannot send armies and navies to occupy a large portion of the world, decade after decade, without finally paying the piper. It seems the ‘piper ‘now speaks Chinese, and he is owning us more each day. Why not? He spends less than 10% on his military budget as we do, and he has a hell of a lot more stomachs to feed. So, American fools out there, keep saluting this empire until you hands become numb as will your wallets and your very hearts and souls!

For six plus years now, this writer has stood on the street corners of my town, with but a handful of fellow progressives, to oppose the invasions and occupations of Iraq & Afghanistan. We hold signs advocating cuts in the bloated military budget and closing the nearly 800 bases we have offshore (in over 100 countries) and using the savings to save our economy. When Bush and his crew were in power, we attracted a larger number of demonstrators. However, as soon as Barack Obama was a candidate for President, the numbers dwindled to what they are now. Move on.org and Progress Florida chose to ignore our protests, and the countless others throughout America. Why? Well, look at what the Democratic leadership and most of its members in Congress (and now the White House) support and vote for. Yes, they support the continuance of our occupations and bases in those countries. Yes, they vote to increase, not to cut, the military spending… They refuse to hold hearings on the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, or on the illegal and immoral policy of torturing suspects.

When Mr. Obama and his party leadership sold us all out with that phony health care bill, by taking out a public option for Medicare for All, where was Move on.org? As soon as the Democrats rallied behind this disgraceful sellout to the private insurance industry, all these so called ‘progressive’ organizations, like lemmings, followed the pied pipers right off the cliff of reason. All the rah rah rah ended when the Democrats caucused and followed our corporate president. Once again ‘Politics trumps principles in 21st century America. As far as most of the major unions and their leadership, well, I won’t even take that path at this time. You can note by their absence at any demonstration that does not have to do with their individual contract negotiations to get my drift. So, all in all, we face a situation that is not getting any better. All these rallies protesting the budget cuts etc are great ideas but… if you don’t connect them with real and viable solutions, what good are they? Ranting and raving about cuts in public services and jobs without showing where the money will come from is foolish. It is just one more way in which one corporate party wants to get you to vote for their corporate candidate.

It is time for the good and decent 9 to 5 Americans to say to Moveon.org to ‘Move over or join us!’

Is there a solution? There most certainly is. The beauty of this solution is that it transcends both political parties. Matter of fact, true libertarian conservatives like Rep. Ron Paul and progressives like Ralph Nader agree 100% on this issue: We need to drastically cut military spending! Taking the mantle, there is a nationwide citizen’s movement, totally non partisan, that is out there speaking about this. We call it The 25 Per Cent Solution. Since our military budget is well over 650 billion dollars a year, which is almost double what it was 10 years ago, it is time to make major adjustments before it is too late! Congress has the power to do this without even creating or changing any law. Why? Well, military spending comes under the onus of Discretionary Spending. Congress has the power of the purse, given to it by our constitution. Discretionary spending can be altered by a simple vote.

We the people are supposed to control our Congress, not the other way around. If enough of us stand together and demand these cuts in a bloated and unnecessary military budget, we can save our cities. Doing the math, one finds out that 25% of 650+ billion comes out to around 160+ billion dollars — about the same amount as the total budget shortfalls of all 50 states combined! All we citizens of this great republic need to do is contact our Congressional representatives, city council members, state legislators, and of course our President, stating: If you don’t support this plan, we will NOT vote for you in the next election. Matter of fact, any new candidate who runs for office that will not support the 25% Solution should not get our vote. Tell them as much the minute they announce their candidacy.

Community Owned Mortgage Banks

Imagine, if you will, that local towns or counties opened up non- profit mortgage banks. What would happen is that instead of the current rate for a home or commercial mortgage being an average of, let us say, 5 or 6%, we would see rates of 2% (enough to cover overhead). Think of how many people who now have to rent an apartment or home could afford to own one… without getting overly deep in debt. For commercial properties, small businesses could afford to own the space they inhabit rather than lease it. Plus, the mortgage paper on any such property would remain in the hands of the local community bank.

County or City Owned Power Companies

Why should there be profit in the necessity of electricity or natural gas coming into one’s home or business? Think of how much lower the rates would be if the community owned the utility. Why should we call these things public utilities and then see the CEOs and top executives earning mega millions per year? Again, with rates being discounted by 25 to 30% in a non-profit system, think of how many folks could use those savings for other things:  home or business improvements, education, new car, investments…. Anything is better than putting it in the pockets of a few ‘fat cat’ rich folks. The added benefit of all this non-profit truly public utilities would be Economic Stimulus!

The ‘Millionaires Tax‘

Why not leave the tax rates as they are and simply issue a 50% flat surtax on all personal income over one million dollars a year? This new surtax would include any source of income, whether it is through savings, inheritance, investments, and bonuses or, of course, salaries. In 2007 America had over 16 million households of millionaires, so there is lots of revenue for Uncle Sam to accumulate with such a tax. Why not a national referendum each year to allow we citizens to choose how the added revenue should be used?

The 25% Solution

The 2009 Fiscal Year saw the highest military budget ever at over 550 billion dollars! This was almost twice what it was ten years previous, and over two times what it was during the cold war with the Soviet Union. The solution to this, actually a first step, is to cut 25% off of the military budget immediately! Our American empire now has 800 military installations in over 100 countries, and with hundreds of thousands of our young troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus an equal number of high priced private contractors AKA mercenaries (remember the Hessians of the Revolutionary War?)  At a cost of around 100 billion dollars per year is totally foolish. Our cities and states are going bankrupt, and what is the Congress doing? You see, Congress subsidizes our military budget through what they call discretionary spending. Thus, no laws need to be changed or created to simply… Cut!

Since our states are in budget shortfalls totaling 170 billion dollars, 25% of the 550 billion dollars budget would wipe most of that out completely. Translated: States could have the money needed to provide services and to help their cities stay afloat. When Colorado Springs has to cut street lights for a large portion of the night, and cities start charging for basic services…. Well, you should see my point. Plus, if we started closing military bases worldwide, maybe the people of those nations would lessen their anger towards America. If we used some of those savings to maintain a strong ‘First Provider’ system at home, when natural disasters strike (and more will) we will be able to save lives, homes, businesses.

Public Funding Of All Elections

If we did not allow private money in electoral politics, we could have level playing fields. This would mean that if a prospective candidate got enough legitimate signatures from registered voters in his or her district, the ballot would contain more than just the two major parties and one or two independents. Public funds would be equally distributed to all candidates to spend on campaigns. Plus, the whole system of Lobbying would be changed. What could a lobbyist offer a politician or candidate if donations were not allowed?

A special interest like a corporation or industry or individual would have to bribe someone under the table….  This is a convictable offense. Imagine an election whereupon all those on the ballot received the same money to spend and the same free airtime (since we the people own the airwaves).  We would have a democratic Republic that had average 9 to 5 working folks holding office, and not the myriad of millionaires we now have. Tell me, who better to understand the problems and needed solutions for 99% of us than someone from our ranks?

Medicare & Dental Care for All

Let the private health insurance companies operate as they do. Simply pass a law that allows any American who wishes to pay into a non profit universal health and dental plan. With the savings we as a nation would see from community-owned utilities and mortgage banking Americans would gladly pay into such a Medicare type system. The use of  one ‘form fits all’ claims administration and the need for only one oversight mechanism would insure that the costs would be lower than in the current privatized system…. With much better coverage!  Plus, we could all have dental insurance as well since the savings and the individual ‘Pay In’ would enable it to work. As far as fraud, if under this socialized system any practitioner was found to commit fraud or abuse…. Take away his or her license to practice medicine! They have a ‘Three Strikes and You’re Out’ for others… do it for doctors and dentists too.

Nationalized Weapons Industries

As progressive scholar and talk show host, Jay Diamond, states: “Why should there be profit in war? Why should private interests  be manufacturing and selling weapons, planes, tanks or any means of war?” He is correct. Do we have private for profit police departments locally or nationally? No, the citizens, through the community or government, own and operate them. Why should we have corporations making profit on our being at war? It is scandalous to say the least. Go and read General Smedley Butler’s essay (written in the mid 1930s) entitled War Is a Racket. He shows how much is made financially by private interests when our nation goes to war. It is time to take the profit out of war and then perhaps we won’t so easily have them.

Payroll Tax Forgiveness Plan

If we took the savings from many of the aforementioned changes, we could afford to really aid both the small business owner and all American workers. If American workers had their FICA contribution (around 7.25% for Social Security and Medicare, etc) forgiven on the first $20k of income (around $1400 a year) think of how that would stimulate the economy? Now if we could allow the same forgiveness on the matching contribution by the employer, think of how that could save many small businesses from going under, especially during these hard times. We could set a cap on the employer’s contribution for only the first 100 workers at any business.  Now here is the important caveat: The contributions to FICA would still be made in each employee’s name by the government, so as to not penalize workers for this forgiveness plan. This is very crucial.

There are a myriad of innovative uses of socialism that I have not covered here. All I ask is for you to just digest what has been proposed.  Each one of the aforementioned ideas must first see a groundswell of citizen support. That means that we who make up 99% of America should stop allowing the media talking heads and our politicians from disparaging the ideas proposed here. After all, logic and rational thinking should trump distorted propaganda… or we will continue to flounder and fade away as a civilization.

Well, those of you out there who do even a little ‘non mainstream media‘ research and study, know the hogwash of all that. America is now, and has always been, ruled by the very wealthy, through corporations and their servants in political office. Barack Obama is just one more example of how a working class person gets co-opted by the vested interests.

So what to do? Well, first off, we who know better must focus our energy on what can be explained to our neighbors (who do not yet know) and then gain their needed support. You see, the only thing these very wealthy and powerful entities fear is a ‘gathering storm’ of the masses — focused on one issue. There are a myriad of great and important issues. Yet, if we dilute our group energy from one key issue at a time into streams of many issues, we fail.

There is an movement that brings many activist groups together under one banner: The 25% Solution. So simple, yet so vital for any real substantive change in our economy and national focus. Basically, the idea is to demand that Congress cut the military budget by 25%, and use the savings to keep our states and cities from facing immediate crisis or bankruptcy through budget shortfalls. Let’s face it: Our states are already in budget shortfalls and our cities are in freefall. Schools, police, fire, hospitals…. Even street lighting is being rationed in cities across America. Libraries , day care, Medicaid, local city services of every kind are being cut or discontinued. Yet, the 2009 military budget was almost $ 600 billion… nearly double what it was 10 years ago. We have at least 800 military bases in over 100 countries, costing us hundreds of billions. We are knee deep in Iraq and Afghanistan at the cost of hundreds of billions a year, not to mention the loss of so many lives. A select few companies are collectively raking in hundreds of billions of your tax dollars in contracts to keep this empire’s evil engine running.

Does anyone out there really think that our national defense will be threatened by pruning this terribly bloated military budget by 25%? If we A) got the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan and B) closed most of those 800 bases worldwide, the majority of the people on this planet would applaud us for it! We could ship the personnel and the equipment back home, save a trillion dollars in just two or three years, and save our economy. We would most likely have more secured borders, and no need to close our domestic military installations — to the joy of the local economies nearby.

Being a loyal and patriotic American means caring about your country more than the flag waving disingenuous Military Industrial Complex that has subverted our Constitution, Bill of Rights, Congress and Presidency!

This writer can recall his teen years in Brooklyn N. Y. Christmas was such a wonderful season. I would stroll down the avenue and buy all my Christmas gifts. First stop was the ladies store, or whatever it was called. I purchased a blouse for my mom, nightgown for one grandma and towels for the other. Down the street I came to the Men’s apparel shop. I bought pajamas for my dad and handkerchiefs for my grandfather. The leather goods shop was next and I bought my brother a nice new wallet. After shopping, I went into the produce store and bought a few tangerines for snacks. Then I went into the German deli and got myself a nice hero sandwich for lunch. All on the avenue.

America used to be a Union nation. Many working folks belonged to a union. You paid your dues and, with some exceptions (company controlled ‘sweetheart unions’) , you were protected from cuts in pay and sudden layoffs. My dad and grandfather belonged to the ILA (International Longshoremen’s Association). Yes, it was mob controlled and far from perfect, but…. Better than not having a union. My mom would take us, when we were ill, to the ILA’s free clinic in downtown Brooklyn. My dad and grandfather got paid vacations, lots of sick pay, and salary increases on a regular basis. Of course, things could have been better if the mob did not have its hands in the till. Yet, during the last three years of his time as a longshoreman, my dad had seniority , and the union had a guaranteed pay clause in their contract with the shipping companies. Translated: since they did not need all the workers the union had, the shippers had to guarantee the salaries of those not needed to work, meaning men with seniority. So each morning my dad got up, ate breakfast and drove to the union hall. He showed his badge, signed in, and then was sent home… With a full day’s pay owed to him. That is what a union could do.

Today, less than 15 % of American workers are unionized. Of that number, most are government workers. In the private sector less than one in ten is in a union. In essence, American workers are truly at the whim of the employer. You look at the boxstores like Wal-Mart (America’s #1 private sector employer) and see how we are a nation of indentured servants.

Let’s look at the numbers and see what I mean. What is the average salary for a Wal-Mart associate (the label is such a joke in itself)? Maybe he or she earns $9.00 an hour. OK, let’s make it $10 an hour for argument sake. They work 40 hours, meaning a gross of $400 a week. Take out the approximately 7% for FICA and then federal withholding and the take home is what?  About $300 a week, just for argument.  The employee has no employer paid health coverage to speak of. If they do, it is probably with a high deductible and CO pay. That means if the worker gets sick, money has to come out of pocket, and not just $10 . More like $40 or $50 and that doesn’t include the cost of medicine. If the Wal-Mart worker has a young child and is a single parent (which is over 50% of the workforce) the child has to have day care if not yet in school. That takes money. Then you have rent for a two bedroom apartment (or they both share one bedroom — most likely) and a car payment, gas for the car, repairs for the car, food and clothing.  Need I go on? How in the hell is a single parent earning $300 a week take home pay going to afford all that !?

In the not so good old days they had company towns with company housing etc. In the feudalistic days they had the farm with the manor house and living quarters for the workers. Check out the fine Swedish film Pelle The Conquerer to see how that looked. All in all, these folks were what we call indentured servants… In ‘debt’ to the employer. Tell me what is so different from that Wal-Mart worker? Unfortunately, many Mom and Pop businesses are not immune from this mindset. A friend once worked as a carpenter for a local cabinet manufacturing shop. The employer paid a few dollars above minimum wage to the 4 or 5 craftsmen he had working for him. In a union shop, the workers would have earned 25% more and received better benefits. This shop did not pay for health coverage. Of course, the owner made sure his two children and his wife (and himself) all had brand new BMW cars…. On the company nut.

Some reading this would say ‘Well, God bless him to take care of his family. After all, he started and built up the business and why shouldn’t he have the very best?’ My answer is what the Japanese instituted decades ago. It was called the 15 times system (now it may be up to 30 times) . It followed a structure that the very highest earner in a company could not make more than 15 times his lowest full time worker. Do the math, even at 30 times and see if that cabinet shop owner would be buying BMWs for the whole family. In America, the Fortune 100 companies have CEOs who average over 400 times the pay of their lowest paid full time employee.

As the economy tanks again and again, the question is how much longer will the indentured servants quietly trudge into work each day? When will the majority of us who make up the workforce say ‘Enough is enough’?

Upon graduating, he decided to do what many young Italians chose to do, and he emigrated to the United States. He married a pretty young Neapolitan girl that he met in New York City, and they settled down to raise a family. She could only bear one child, a son, in 1915.

Her husband could not get his Tunisian university degree to count for anything here, so he found whatever work he could. They even saved and opened a small neighborhood candy store on Ave. S in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.  The depression hit, and the business failed.

Their son, a gifted student, had just been accepted at Brooklyn College, a very difficult school to get into at that time. By the end of his second semester, he had to drop out and seek employment to help the family. They all worked: mother in a factory, the son as a messenger and dad secured a skilled job as a machinist. Yet, the pay was low for all concerned, and many nights they would eat broccoli rabe sandwiches for dinner.

The 1930s was a rough time for all who labored…. Or sought work. The ranks of the unemployed were so great that companies would pay as little as possible to their employees. The smell of strife filled the factories and warehouses and offices throughout NYC. Strikes were as common as a rain shower. Many picket lines became battlegrounds as violent as the trench warfare of the first world war. The police and the hired thugs took few prisoners…. And the strikers gave back as good as they got. Tough times.

The Sicilian went out on strike with his CO workers, and he battled on those picket lines with his powerfully built body. One day, during a vicious exchange with the police and hired goons, the Sicilian was arrested for assault. He called home to his wife: “I need to make bail!” She didn’t have the money in their savings drawer to get him out. So she and her son went throughout the neighborhood begging for any sort of handout to get her husband, the only man she ever loved, back home to her. Finally, after a day of humbling and humiliating pleas, she raised the money. Her husband was free…. For now. When he returned to his job at the machine shop, the foreman told him the bad news: You’re fired, and you will never work in this trade again. You’re blacklisted!

By late 1940, the Sicilian had spent three years doing odd jobs for lousy per diem pay. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to get on Home Relief (welfare) and the waiting list was very long. His wife and son were working full time to keep them in their apartment. He became more and more despondent each day.

On December 1, 1940 , bitter cold and cloudy, the wife had just returned home from a long shift of factory work. She was tired, and her legs were so rubbery from standing for ten hours. She needed a nice warm bath to take the chill out of her, and perhaps cheer up her tired face.

As she opened the bathroom door, she could sense something was not right. The shower curtains were pushed outside of the tub. When she walked closer, she saw what no human being should have to see. The gun had fallen outside the tub. He had made sure that no blood would spill onto the bathroom floor. He was always so neat that way.

My grandfather, Pietro Farruggio, was dead!

Walt arrives the earliest. He is 81 and looks like William Holden would have looked at that age. Tall, with wavy grayish white hair that twists with the wind currents, Walt has spent over 55 years as an activist — for civil rights, against the Vietnam War, as a union organizer, and now for Peace in our time.

Charlie comes down next. He is almost 80, one more year to go. Charlie was a builder in this area for many years. He marched for civil rights for blacks when few white men locally would do so. Charlie lost many building jobs because of this, but he still stood for something more permanent than a house or a check in the mail. His too many surgeries now keep him off his feet and onto a chair as he proudly holds his sign for Peace.

Barbara comes next. She is a hard nosed ‘New Yawk‘ super liberal who worshipped FDR like so many right wingers now canonize Reagan. Barbara got her Ph.D. just recently, in her 80s, and troops onward for many facets of justice. She will give her opinion, anywhere and anytime, to whomever will listen.

Finally, John arrives. Being a Gemini, he dances to his own tune and his own time frame. He grabs a sign from my car and walks the line. John was so vehement in his anti war protests during Vietnam that it landed him in the slammer. He never once traded in principles for anything. He is 82 and thinks and speaks like someone 30 years of age.

What troubles this writer is ‘why‘? Why is it that four 80 something folks can come and speak up for vital issues, if only for but one hour each week, and 59, 99? cannot? These folks already have better health care (Medicare) than most of us. They do not have to find or keep a job (Social Security) as we all do. Yet, they care! They care that our nation is being led down the tubes by what Mark Twain labeled ‘Crooks and scoundrels’.

These four seniors will never have to go and fight in phony wars. They will never have to ‘suck it up‘ and take some dead end or hopeless job just to support a family. Yet they care enough for those of us out there who will have to bear the heavy weight of American neo-feudalism. If only more of my neighbors would follow these great and dedicated souls and join with The 80-Something Club.

Now that Mr. Obama has shown everyone just where he stands on foreign policy, some Democrats have returned to our corner… Not yet enough! Rita, before she passed away in ‘ 07, was vehement in her disdain for the party she supported her entire adult life. After the Democrats took control of Congress and did nothing about the run-up to the invasion of Iraq (no hearings as Rep. Conyors promised us) Rita was livid. I recall our phone conversation a few weeks before she died. She told me, “Philip, I will never again vote for a Democrat, unless he or she is like Dennis Kucinich. I hope the Republicans win; perhaps then the Democrats will finally realize how hypocritical and phony they have become!”  Rita would never have supported Mr. Obama either. His rhetoric was just that…. Rhetoric!

My dear departed friend also had some words to say about others in our community who ‘talk the talk but won’t walk the walk‘.  She was a member of the Unitarians for many years. She had been with them during the civil rights struggles and the anti-Vietnam War protests. Before she passed on, Rita became disenchanted with the Unitarians of our area. “Philip, I stopped going to their church, and I refuse to give any more money to them. I always donated to them, and now it is over! They ignore my pleas to them to become active on this Iraq situation. They won’t come out and stand with us or come to our meetings. I am tired of their lip service!” When she died, the Unitarians came out in force to honor Rita but never to our street corner to take up her mantle.

So we stand, a handful of us, each and every week. We hold meetings once a month at the library, attracting again but a handful. The cars flow by us each Tuesday, and many folks honk and wave support. When, in God’s name, will they realize that we are not out there to represent them? We are there to invite them to join us.

In France, in Spain, in Greece, millions march and protest government policies…Especially when those policies are hurting the average working stiff. Yet, here in America, progressives are always so proper. We think that the vote is what counts. The Fat Cats and their “College of Corporations” use that knowledge to control and manipulate us. They know that by owning both political parties, and by subverting any viable third party movements, they cannot lose. So long as the public refuses to join with folks like us, then the Fat Cats win. They divide us by Red State vs. Blue State and Republican vs. Democrat hogwash! They use our taxes to subsidize this Military Industrial Complex to the tune of hundreds of billions each year. They bail out phony and corrupt Fat Cat bankers to the tune of one trillion tax dollars, and they watch us scrape and scrounge for the crumbs.

Instead of street corners filled with Rita Bs, we have a stupid and ill-advised Tea Party of fools who blame it all on illegal aliens and Big Government. The same big government that takes 48 cents out of each dollar they pay in federal tax to continue this empire of phony wars and 800 plus military bases worldwide.

So when the current economic downturn soon after becomes a downfall, it may be too late for protest to have influence. Now is the time for all good people to … Or have no one to blame but themselves!

To my good fortune (tongue in cheek) I secured an interview with a major linen supply company located in downtown Brooklyn. Someone from their corporate human resources department interviewed me, and, to my joy, I got the job!

I can never forget my first day at work. It was a bitter cold January morning. I trudged from the subway station through a few inches of freshly fallen snow and arrived at the plant. It was this giant block long concrete building, gray and unassuming.

Inside, they ushered me into the office of the manager. He was this overweight Italian American guy who spoke with a New Jersey accent (we Italian American NYC folks could tell the difference). He had on a suit and tie that you knew he didn’t like wearing, and his hair had too much Brylcream or Vitalis for my taste. The sweat poured from his ‘ I need to lose 50 pounds ‘ face and brow, his office being as hot as the outside was cold. Prior to taking me around for a tour of the plant, my new boss summed it all up with one sentence: “Kid, remember, the more we in management save the company in expenses, especially labor, the more we receive in bonuses.”

Our first stop was the vast area of the plant where the washing and drying of the linen took place. This tremendous area, enclosed by steel doors, looked like the inside of some prison movie set… You know, the workroom where the inmates did their jobs. It had to be at least 100 degrees, as the washing machines and giant dryers were giving off unbelievable heat!

As he showed me around I couldn’t help but notice that he and I were the only white people. From up above us I saw a sea of black faces, mostly women. They wore outfits that must of come right off the Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix box. I imagined how the plantations during the Antebellum era down south must have looked as we floated by at least two hundred sets of eyes. “You see, kid” , he laughed, “they fear me here. They know that one misstep, and I’ll can their black asses!” Had I been transported back in time over 100 years?

My second day at work was spent with one driver out on his route. I rode shotgun on a truck that had seen better days. We made so many stops, at bakeries, butcher shops, coffee shops, restaurants… Any sort of business that utilized linen: towels, wipes and aprons. This route happened to be in the Bronx, and I got some education on the many neighborhoods there.

On each stop I was to accompany him into the business and help a bit. I soon found out that these drivers had a really shitty job. You see, the dirty linens were not always neatly piled or bagged up for him. No, he had to search the premises for them. These were dirty, wet towels, aprons and wipes, full of horrible odors, blood, grease and grime. In one bakery we had to search the premises for linens. As we stepped down into this rather dank and dark basement, I could see the rats scurrying about the railing. I almost fainted! He just laughed and said “They’re as scared of you as you are of them.”

Back in the truck, the driver told me about his union. “This is what they call a Sweetheart union, kid. The companies got the union officials in their pocket. We complain about all kinds of conditions and about our shitty pay, and all we ever get is lip service.”

By the end of the day I could see how right this guy was. By the end of the week, after going out with three other drivers on their routes, I quit! I walked into the manager’s office on Friday afternoon, as he and his boss, the GM, were drinking coffee. I thanked them for giving me the opportunity, and told them I had found another job in my field. They looked at me and then to one another. The GM, a 50 something thin and balding guy, dressed in a fine fitting expensive suit, said to my manager, “I told you, we can’t send our new guys out with those **** drivers…. They’re all **** commies!”

They both scolded me for not giving the standard two weeks notice, and when I asked for my pay I was told I had to wait until the next payroll period. How long, I asked ? “Hey, you’ll get your pay, just be patient. Ask Muriel in the office as you leave and she’ll tell you when.”

After waiting 10 days for my check to come in the mail, I asked my buddy, Torch, to drive me down to the plant. Torch (real name Elliot) was a Vietnam vet who had a tremendous chip on his shoulder. We walked into the lobby of the plant and I asked Muriel for my pay. She gave me this look that told it all: I wasn’t going to get paid, or I would be waiting a long time to get it.

Torch reached inside her sliding window and almost grabbed her by the throat. “Hey, give him his money! Or else!” She buzzed her buzzer and out flew the manager from his office. “What the hell is going on here!?” Torch turned to him and said, “Hey fatso, either my buddy leaves with his money or you leave with a broken **** nose!” The GM now hurried out of his office. Before things got out of hand I said “Listen, if I don’t get my pay which is coming to me, I come back with the cops!” They had Muriel write me a check, and we left.

From that moment on, I realized what American feudalism was all about. Do you?

I find it strange that, now, 2010, my town (and countless others) has decided to construct a Veterans Memorial in our city center. What they are doing is to take those who fought for defense of our nation in WW2 and bundle them with those who were used to extend our empire in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Iraq and Afghanistan. All those brave young men (and women) were shipped to those places to fight not for our defense or liberation, rather to keep this newest of empires churning.

We now have over 780 military bases in almost 100 countries. I ask, how would you like it if the Chinese had a military base in your town? How would you like to see Chinese troops, tanks, weapons, all staring in the faces of your family, friends and businesses? You know you wouldn’t like it…. And you shouldn’t want it. Well, what about those citizens being occupied? Are they less human than you? So when a town decides, during the height of not one, but two major US illegal occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq, to build such a memorial, I question it.

Over 4000 of our young kids have been killed in Iraq. Now the focus shifts to Afghanistan, where they are dying as well. Not to mention how many of the other soldiers lose legs, arms, eyes, genitals, and their minds (check out the skyrocketing suicide rates) during these occupations. Then, those of you out there who still maintain some sort of humanity, turn your attention to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan civilians destroyed by our army and air force! The drinking water supplies ruined, electrical grids not functioning, hospitals under equipped and understaffed, food shortages, crops and arable land destroyed… Depleted uranium slowly sucking the life out of tens of thousands. Need I go on? All for lies and empire!

So I say, you wish to put up memorials? Great idea. How about a memorial for all the victims of aggression and oppression, which includes our brave young soldiers? You see, to simply wave that flag, or wear it on your lapel or car, is not enough. To read the names of the dead soldiers is not enough. There needs to be a shift in consciousness by our neighbors and our community. People need to understand that our towns and cities are broke because nearly 50% of our federal taxes go to pay for War Spending a.k.a. Defense Spending. As long as our fellow Americans accept that and say nothing… The empire continues to eat up the world and itself!

Rita Buell was a nurse and mother of four back home in Springfield, Ohio, when she first became an activist during the late 1960s. She admired Martin Luther King Jr., and the Civil Rights demonstrators. So she too became one. Soon after, she became an activist for ending the Vietnam War. Rita made as many enemies where she lived in Springfield as she did friends. It meant very little to this highly devoted and conscious lady. When I met her, five years ago, at a Kucinich For President meeting, I admired the fact that Rita always carried such a wonderful and radiant smile. Even while standing , during the early street corner protests of 2004, when many neighbors of ours supported the Bush-Cheney invasion and occupations, Rita never let the naysayers and nasty ones affect her attitude. She would just smile and wave her peace sign back to them.

Rita Buell did not tell many on the corner about her health problems. She had the late stages of emphysema, and had tremendous difficulty breathing. Yet, she showed up each and every week, driving that old jalopy of hers, adorned with a myriad of progressive bumper stickers. She always arrived before me, and I was the organizer. Many times Rita would implore others from the corner to come visit my cafe business, and have a bite to eat with her. She always supported a friend. And friends we were. I recall a change in Rita’s attitude, after the 2006 mid term elections, when the Democrats regained the Congress. Rita was a lifelong Democrat, never straying. Even when progressives like this writer jumped onto the 2000 Nader bandwagon, Rita would not follow suit. She voted Democrat, even if she had to “bite her lip” at times. Well, when the Democrats took back the Congress in ’06, and decided to not pursue investigations on the run-up to our attack on Iraq, Rita got pissed off ! I had never seen her like that. She got more angrier when the Democrats refused to filibuster the Alito and Roberts nominations to the Supreme Court. Finally, when the Democrats refused to investigate the torture of detainees, holding those who ordered it accountable, my dear friend Rita really exploded! ” Philip,” she told me a month or two before she passed away: “I will rather see those lousy Republicans win office than vote again for these cowardly, hypocritical Democrats! Shame on them!” Yet, never did Rita have any disdain for those Democrats like herself who stood out on the street corner with us. Her ire was for the leaders of the party, both in Washington, in Tallahassee, and right here in Volusia County…. The ones who were AWOL for so long on most national progressive issues.

One wonders how my dear friend Saint Rita, gone from us over two years ago, would have felt if she watched our President speak the other night. Or how she would react to what the Congress is doing regarding health care reform, or the bailing out of corrupt and greedy Wall Street concerns…. Or the increased military funding for the illegal occupations of two sovereign nations. I knew Rita Buell well, and all I can suggest is that she would be standing with us each week on that corner, allied to no one but the Truth! Happy birthday, dear Rita! ( December 4, 1929 )

Now allow me to give real and well deserved thanks to a few out there who deserve it. Thanks to all my friends and neighbors (not many left nowadays, only a few handfuls) who stand out there with me each and every week, for Peace, Accountability in Government/Business, Medicare for All Americans, and many other progressive issues. Let me single out three such persons, two of them 80 something years of age, and the other “around the corner” to them in age. My dear friend Walt DeYoung, who has “scar tissue on his soul” from years of labor and civil rights organizing, environmental activism, and especially (to me) anti-Vietnam War and Iraq invasion protesting. Then there is Charles Barcelo, retired builder from our area, who stood up, 40 plus years ago, for black folks right here in Daytona, when Jim Crow was alive and well. Charlie risked his business and his life by being so outspoken. Now, he has devoted his time for World (and inner) Peace. Finally, John S., 81, who risked his entire career over 40 years ago to speak out against the Vietnam War. He went to prison, and still comes down and stands with us against torture and our presence in Iraq.

If only more of our neighbors would take one hour per week and stand with these men. That would be something to truly be thankful of!

Say hello to Senator John McLess. Here is a man, with all due respect to the courage and strength he exhibited as a prisoner of war, that now lacks the courage of conviction. He was caught up in the Keating 5 scandel of the 80s, whereupon he said he became “born again” regarding money in politics. McLess co-sponsored the McCain-Feingold law, which was, to this writer, only the tip of the iceberg concerning the influence of money in politics. It actually did absolutely nothing to address the stranglehold that the lobbyist system has on our elected officials. Companies and (groups of) individuals could continue to “bundle” money to politicians. The state of Maine (1996) passed a Clean Elections Law which finally addressed the need for public funding of campaigns. Matter of fact, in the first election cycle the new law was active, 2000, almost one third of those who won office did so by not accepting or spending private funds. Amazing! Due to the Supreme Court ruling of 1976 (Buckley vs. Valeo) state governments (and the feds) could not outlaw money donations from campaigns. Thus, the Maine law had to be a voluntary system. Yet, if John Mcless really is the maverick he pretends to be, he would have stood up in the Senate and pushed for legislation to (at least) get rid of the lobbying system. How dare he, or any Congressperson, not be outraged that members of their club can leave office and go, almost immediately, into lobbying the same people they once sat with in the halls of Congress. Shameful! Senator McLess, when he announced for the Republican Party nomination, could have done what former California Gov. Jerry Brown did. Brown, running for the presidency in 1988, announced that he would only accept up to 100 dollars in campaign donations from any one person. Imagine, if you would, the precedent that could have been set. By now, 20 years later, our whole system of electoral politics as we now know it could have been reshaped. No, Senator McLess is too busy sucking up to the fat cats and Bush regime to dare touch that tip of the iceberg.

How about the subject of torture? Here we have a man, McCain, who was brutalized by the North Vietnamese for what, over five years? Now, understand, this writer realizes that McCain could have been convicted by those North Vietnamese for being a war criminal. After all, he was violating their sovereignty by flying over their air space in an act of aggression. But, weren’t we at war in Vietnam, you may ask? Forsaking the crap about the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, our nation never declared war on North Vietnam. Never! McCain, like hundreds of thousands of our brave young men at that time, was being used, perhaps illegally (according to both international law and our very own constitution) to carry out warped foreign policies. Did his captors have the right to torture him for his actions? Absolutely not!! Yet, he now turns a “half blind eye” to what the Bush gang has been doing. One the one hand, McCain speaks out against torture. Then refuses to hold this administration and its minions accountable for it. What message does that send to the rest of the world ?” Do as I say, not as I do.” McCain became more and more of McLess each time he ignored the Bush gang minions who sat there and out and out insulted the intelligence of the American public! And, these jokers still do it! This new gem of an Attorney General, Mooqueasy, sits there in front of the Senate committee and dares insult every family in every part of the world that has had a loved one (or themselves) “water boarded.” How dare the Congress and the press not stand up and shame this man out of office! Shame on my old grade school chum, Senator Schumer, for backing the nomination of this disgraceful man! As to Senator McLess, he of all people should have lambasted this new Attorney General. Lambasted him!

So, one could write a treatise on the reasons not to ever wish to see Senator McLess as president. His foolish sing song of “Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran” was perhaps the lowest of the low. His support for hacks like Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts on the highest court in the land is an insult to the intelligence of any American who studies history. By the way, how about this “clean cut” Johnny Boy Roberts, who the Democrats fawned over and rushed through confirmation (don’t forget that Obama voted to confirm him)? Roberts was a Reagan administration lawyer, at the time, who wrote the draft for the unitary executive principle. Matter of fact, Robert’s draft was so over the top that the Reagan boys pushed him out. Now, the unitary executive principle is what Bush Junior has been using each time he issues a “signing statement.” In layman’s terms, this ever dangerous unitary executive is when the president disregards enforcing laws that Congress passes. Rather than use his constitutional right to veto, Bush follows Johnny Boy Roberts’ credo and simply signs the law. With pen still in hand he then smugly states that he will refuse to enforce it. Do I hear monarchy anyone?

So onto this Obama Drama , but one more Democratic Party scam perpetrated on you by the rich and powerful who run politics. To all those sincere and dutiful Afro American neighbors of mine , sorry, but this guy is not even what you pray him to be. My brother, a white man, is married to my sister-in-law, a black woman, and they have two children. Are their kids white? Black? No, they are a mixture of two proud heritage’s. When I look at my niece and nephew I do not see color. Rather a blend of colors. So what!? Yet, Barack Obama played the race card (or allowed it to be played) when he ran for statewide office in Chicago. It served him then and it is serving him now. So much for that.

Change.

Senator Obama preaches it, over and over. Yet, when his top foreign policy advisor was interviewed by author Jeremy Scahill (Blackwater) , the question of using private military contractors was brought up. Scahill was told, categorically, that as president, Obama would still use private military contractors (AKA mercenaries) to operate in “any foreign situation where our military or business interests were involved.” Change. Hey third world countries, “The Prussians are coming, the Prussians are coming!” Does one need to recite the laundry list of negatives in having Blackwater, or any other private military contractor (AKA Mercenary Army) patrolling the streets of some foreign nation in our name? Isn’t it bad enough that they were doing their neo fascist shuffle in the streets of New Orleans right after Katrina? Read Scahill’s book and make up your own mind.

Change.

Senator Obama refuses to support Hearings of Inquiry into the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. He refuses to support Rep. Kucinich’s articles of impeachment (read Bugliosi’s new book The Prosecution of George W Bush). Senator Obama also voted to let the telecom companies off the hook (no pun intended) for their covert aid in spying on Americans under the guise of national security. Senator Obama has consistently voted more and more funding for the (illegal, by the way) occupation of Iraq. He now wants to transfer American forces into Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. This is the same Taliban that America once wholeheartedly supported until they a) reneged on an oil pipeline deal with Unocal and b) made it their policy to destroy the opium business that the warlords were running. Yes, the Taliban were fanatical religious dictators. But to Clinton and then to Junior Bush they were our bad guys. This was the same thinking that recent administrations had for Saddam Hussein for decades prior to the 1991 Gulf War.

Change.

Senator Obama, as President Obama, refuses to push for comprehensive Windfall Profits Taxes on Big Oil, though they secured record profits while the rest of our economy sputters. Senator Obama supported the bailout of Bear Stearns, at our taxpayer expense, while many of his Wall Street donors continue to earn tens of millions, hundreds of millions a year.

Iraq. What to do? Well, many in the Congress and the alternative media implored the Democratic Party to “Just Say No” when the annual funding bills for the occupation of Iraq came to the floor. No money, no occupation. The Democrats, 99% of them in fact, stated over and over again that it was a mistake to invade Iraq. They railed how we need to “get our troops out of harms way and leave Iraq to the Iraqis” etc. Blah Blah Blah!! Yet, the Democratic party never once supported those of us who were brave and principled enough to stand up and protest in our towns and cities across America. Few , if any, Democratic politicians would come and stand with us. Locally, we have a man running for Congress, Clint Curtis, who did just that. He came out for cutting funding for the occupation when he ran against incumbent Republican Tom Feeney in ’06. He stood with us on street corners. Now, the Democratic elites are running someone against him, a woman with lots of money behind her. She was AWOL since before the invasion of Iraq, never speaking out against it, right up to now. She supported the funding for the Iraq occupation. Matter of fact, she is on board with most of what the DLC (Democratic Leadership Committee) spews. Where is the Obama Drama on all this? He was so outspoken (he says) against invading Iraq. How often and how passionate did he speak at rallies and demonstrations in ’02, ’03, ’04 , ‘05, ‘06… You get the drift? No, Obama was too busy voting along with the mainstream Democrats on just about every major issue and bill. Did he join with 19 other Senators who wanted to filibuster Alito? Did he vote against the confirmation of Ms. “Smoking gun” Rice for Secretary of State ? Yeah, folks, real… Change.

Well, we do have choices in November. For those from the purist conservative way of thinking, you can vote Libertarian. For we on the progressive side of politics, there is Cynthia McKinney with the Green Party or Ralph Nader. Isn’t it time for the best choice to be the principled one?