TIME FOR A COMPLETE SYSTEM OVERHAUL!

THE FOUNDING FATHERS HAD NO IDEA WHAT AN ALBATROSS THE SENATE WOULD BECOME!

By Glenn S. Reiner

IF THERE IS ONE GLARING MISTAKE our founding fathers made when designing our three-branch government, it was the creation of the Senate, a blunder “We the people” have come to pay for dearly — both literally and figuratively — as time has passed.

If Thomas Jefferson and company were looking for a way to create a lasting representative government, they couldn’t have found a worse means than by creating the upper chamber of Congress.

The House of  Representatives, the only true representative legislation body, is based on per capita population. Each congressional district is formulated with ceilings on a maximum number of constituents. The figure began at 30,000 at the Constitution’s inception and has expanded in proportion to the nations growth over time. This was supported mostly by the large states (Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania). But the smaller ones demanded equal representation for each state , regardless of population.

And this is exactly why I’ve  always found the 10th Amendment — which created the whole idiotic notion of ’states’ rights’ – utterly counterproductive and a travesty of Democracy,  as it completely negates the concept of  “one man, one vote.”

Eventually, the states’ delegates  reached what was coined the “Connecticut” or “Great Compromise,” which established the House of Representatives to provide representation proportional to each state’s population and the Senate to give each state equal power.

But the major problem didn’t just lie in the mere creation of the Senate as much as its bizarre procedures, the absolute worse being  the almighty “filibuster”  – which allows a minority of 41 or more on any proposed legislation to block  it from even coming to the floor for a final vote.

Perhaps, the greatest tragedy as a result was the exclusion of Civil Rights in the Bill of Rights and Constitution. Although favored by the larger northern states, because of the filibuster power of the Southern representation, it was postponed for a “better day” — which turned out to be 188 years later — as  Senators from Dixie successfully prevented it from coming to a floor vote until then President Lyndon B. Johnson, the powerful former Senate majority leader  of the ’50s, called in all his political markers from his former Bible Belt colleagues.

The irony in LBJ’s success in pushing through the Civil and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, respectively, was Johnson’s once conservative cultural roots as a Texan.

But the filibuster has never become more obvious and decisive than this year during the ongoing attempt to pass major healthcare reform — which seems to have taken an eternity and has virtually taken up all of the lawmakers time, making it next to impossible for the Congress to take care of any other substantial  business.

In a true representative Democracy, this should have been a no brainer, as the vast majority of Americans support the “Government Option,” which the GOP and Conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats — whose previous campaigns have been bankrolled by the insurance industry — have opposed. This is despite  public opinion:

CBS GOVERNMENT HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN LIKE MEDICARE (October 20)

Favor                               62%

Oppose                           31%  

And not surprisingly, the House — which truly represents the people — passed a version of the bill in question with a  clearly-defined pubic option. Then again, there is no filibuster in its procedural guidelines. No, all it takes is a simple majority in the true spirit of Democracy.

Yet, the way business is conducted in the Senate is – and always has been – a different story altogether, a sad one at that.

If this country is to become a true representative government “Of the people, by the people and (most importantly) for the people,” a group of gutsy Senators is someday going to have to take the bull by its gonads and change the upper house’s procedures to eliminate the filibuster — altogether!

This would be a terrific start in moving the nation in the most just direction in its history. But to complete the job, both houses of Congress must take the initiative to change election campaigns laws “The greatest country on Earth.”

It must follow the lead of our Western allies and eliminate the current system of private contributions for one which is publicly funded. That means both candidates in any federal election would receive an equal amount of cash to mount their electoral offensives. It also means Corporate America would be prohibited to contribute a penny, thus permanently eliminating their power on Capital Hill.  And thirdly, and of most importance, the lawmakers would be solely responsible to their constituents, their one and only bona-fide employers.

This is not a revolutionary concept! It means Congress couldn’t continually get away with giving themselves these excessive pay raises annually or other perks without the people’s consent — especially in times like these when so many are unemployed and getting tossed out of their homes by the heartless mortgage banking industry — which, coincidently, has also perennially filled these so-called “public servant’s” pockets.

Sens. John McCain and Russ Feingold, of Arizona and Wisconsin, respectively, had exactly this in mind when they wrote and submitted their Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002. Although it is now law, the legislation actually looked like a sliver of its original form. I mean, after all, why should Congress do away with a system that significantly thins out their wallets — especially when the ignorant American public has never taken a stand for it?

Ah, so that’s the answer: The people!

Granted, some pretty ballsy folks on Capitol Hill will need to get the ball rolling. But it is ultimately the voters that will have to take a more active role in their country and keep on their legislators cases like velcro! This, indeed, is a true manifestation of patriotism.

Conservatives who wave flags and call those who exercise their First Amendment right to take issue with the government  “Subversives” are actually “Archie Bunker patriots” at best and are unequivocably shallow, misguided and uninformed.

And if there’s anything that has prevented this country from reaching its true potential for the past 233 years, it is clearly that brand of ignorance!

 

GOP’S STOCK DROPPING DAILY!

THE MOUTH THAT ROARS: AS DICK CHENEY KEEPS FIDDLING, THE GOP BURNS!

By Glenn S. Reiner

SO JUST WHAT IS the Republican Party’s end game?

To the average Liberal — as well as moderate and even Blue Dog — Democract, the answer would appear obvious: complete extinction!

The dedicated GOP Conservative, however, who currently occupies perhaps 99 percent of that party, would most likely argue the steady decline of the Grand Old Party for the more than two years is just part of a historical political trend. He/she will tell you with complete confidence (denial), the GOP will again emerge on top as it has in the past under similar circumstances.

While this sounds like a logical argument, I believe it is quite shortsighted on a number of fronts.

First off, in my 56 years, I have never seen the GOP lose anywhere near this much ground. It’s last accent from purgatory, in 1994, occurred while Centrist Democrat Bill Clinton still occupied the White House. Thus, their power was just as limited by the same presidential veto pen Congressional Democrats experienced during the final two years of the Bush Administration.

Conversely, the Party of FDR, JFK and LBJ now dominate both the Executive and Legislative Branches of government and are on the threshold of obtaining a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate this summer when Al Frankin is expected to finally emerge as #60 from the quagmire of Minnesota legal red tape which has prevented him from filling the lone vacant seat he rightfully earned by virtue of his November victory over incumbent Republican Norm Coleman.

But 60 Democratic Senators will not cut always cut it, as the Blue Dogs will clearly dissent from party on certain matters.

Yet, the Party of Obstruction on the other side of the aisle has both angered and frightened so many former members, only 21 percent of all registered voters are willing to identify with it. I expect that number to drop to 13 percent — precisely the same figure as Dick Cheney’s approval rating upon his departure last January — by the 2010 elections.

Speaking of which, the former vice president has become the Democrats most effective marketing tool as of late. Unable to keep his trap shut, his omnipresence in the media only serves to remind the electorate why it laid its trust in the Party of Barack Obama last November!

The gut feeling here is that the Democrats will be able to run at least more moderate candidates against the Blue Dogs in their respective primaries next year. In addition, if my instincts serve me, don’t be surprised if the Dems pick up an additional 7 seats from incumbent Republicans as well!

Adding insult to injury, I get the feeling the GOP’s two remaining moderates — Maine Senate siblings Olympia  Snow and Susan Collins — will fellow Arlen Specter to the other side of the aisle by next summer.

What exactly does that spell for the future of bullet-ridden GOP?

I have little doubt the massive Conservative majority will have it’s way, “purifying” itself and becoming the “Christian Conservative Party.” In fact, it might not be a bad idea for them to officially change their name right now, laying their cards out for the American public face up — perhaps for the first time since the death of Abe Lincoln!

This would be the second name change for the political party that began as the “Whigs.” But it would clearly spell out their values and objectives in a new millenium where they would be interpreted just as archaic as slavery became by the turn of the 19th Century!

PTSD VETS CHEATED BY PENTAGON!

WHILE MEMORIALIZING THEIR CASUALTIES, THE PENTAGON HAS KNOWINGLY RIPPED OFF PTSD VICTIMS OF THEIR BENEFITS!

MSNBC VIDEO. PLEASE VIEW!

By Glenn S. Reiner

IT WAS FOUR YEARS AGO when I met the first of many returning Iraqi War veterans at a VA Medical Center. The 21-year old had recently been discharged with all the tell-tale signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The former GI was extremely bitter and resentful with the Army’s bizarre decision to diagnose his illness as “Adjustment Disorder” rather than PTSD.

Simultaneously, the VA disability filing and evaluation process began to surpass two years, significantly longer than the 90-day procedure when I was discharged from the Navy in 1973 with an disorder later to become known as PTSD.

This was just the first testimony I received of what has become another federal scandal with its roots firmly planted during the Bush Administration.

Adjustment Disorder is the Army’s way of avoiding disability payments to those truly deserving by blaming the serviceman’s traumatic experience overseas on personality disorders existing prior to enlistment.

But wait! Don’t the Armed Forces give a whole battery of psychological exams to all recruits before accepting them?

They sure do and have done so for the longest time.

A personality disorder is something an undergraduate psych student would be capable of diagnosing. So how does the Pentagon explain this massive number of combat vets escaping detection by fully-credentialed mental health professionals who administered those tests?

Actually there is a simple explanation, especially when the previous administration and its relationship with the all-mighty dollar always seemed to trump humanity!

Although there was no actual diagnosis on the books for my disability 36 years ago, the VA was far less concerned at that time with a medical label than a patient’s symptoms and personal discomfort level.
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What folly this is! “W” left office virtually three months ago and this country is still stinging from the Bushing we took on all fronts.

Can you remember how many times Bush and Cheney publicly avowed their support for our troops in Iraq? But behind the scenes they were simultaneously looking for the means – any means –to pay the debt on that war. Their determination: decrease veteran benefits.

Despite the multitude of differences that have long existed between Congressional Republicans and Democrats, they do both possess a passionate desire to eliminate wasteful government spending. But even with this concept, the parties are far apart on their respective perceptions of what constitutes “wasteful.”

For the GOP, it is any “entitlement” program that enables the disadvantaged to get back on their feet and into the mainstream of life. This includes Social Security, Medicare, college federal grants and loans, vocational rehab for those who grew up in rat-infested ghettos and weren’t privy to those services earlier.

Sadly, the Republicans hit list also includes the United States Veterans Administration — our nation’s primary health care organ for former servicemen. For nearly 80 years, the VA has been the mainstay for an array of veteran benefits.

The Democrats, in contrast, equate wasteful spending to non-bid government contracts (Dick Cheney conveniently arranged these for all his old cronies in the Military Industrial Complex),  massive tax breaks and loopholes for the top five percent of affluent Americans and their multi-billion Dollar corporations, stockpiled nuclear weapons, outdated military equipment and do-nothing government oversight departments that allow the private sector run wild.

Regardless how the Bush White House and hyperbolic news agencies like the FOX New Channel have attempted to put a positive spin on the war in Iraq, Americans have watched in disbelief the shabby treatment experienced by those who volunteered to serve us over there. In addition to the defected, inept equipment military personnel received for the first few years of the war, more than 4,200 of them have been killed and 10,000 additional injured. The death toll for Iraqis has surpassed 1.3 million.

And it has cost us a whooping 10 million dollars monthly for the past six years.

During this time, only the final veteran spending bill was supported by the Bush Administration and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill. Yes, even former Mighty Squid, himself — John McCain — repeatedly voted against veteran funding.

This has been such a dismal embarrassment for any man or woman who has ever worn the uniform of our Armed Forces. Even our European friends could smell the stench all the way on the other side of the Atlantic after each vote.

Given the prohibitive cost of combat itself, I can’t see how any decent man would try to save a few dollars treating the disabilities of those who participated in America’s least-justified war.

No doubt, President Obama is doing everything possible to completely reverse direction from the Bush years. And without a single complaint, he has taken on a far-oversized plate from day one.

And I’m sure this calamity has already been added to his agenda – which more resembles the passenger list of a 747 – and he will take corrective action.

But again, like so many others, I can’t understand how we all allowed this to go on for so long. It is perhaps the worst “dirty” bomb America ever built.

GOP’s Boehner Plays Like A Broken Record!

COLD AS ICE: HOUSE MINORITY LEADER JOHN BOEHNER

 

By Glenn S. Reiner

OBSTRUCTIONIST-EXTRAORDINAIRE JOHN BOEHNER is doing everything humanly possible to personally undermine any economic recovery this nation and its anxiety-ridden people are looking to the Obama Administration to facilitate.

The House minority leader – a thorn in the side of political stability on Capitol Hill – has been the clearly-defined catalyst behind the public’s perception of the Republicans as the “Party of No,” as he continues to lead his conservative troops in a unified stand against virtually every fiscal initiative to come out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Boehner — who bears an uncanny resemblance in both appearance and personality to the warden from the “The Shawshank Redemption” — could very well be the coldest, most distant and dispassionate politician this side of former GOP Vice Presidents Dick Cheney and Spiro Agnew.

His nauseating daily sound bites depicting Obama spending measures as a one-way ticket to financial Hell disingenuously paints a picture of his party as the more fiscally responsible.

This is completely absurd, given how the Bush Administration, with the full support of a Republican-dominated Congress for the first six years, managed to convert a budget surplus inherited from the Clinton White House into the largest deficit in modern history before the new president took office.

Boehner’s amnesia of political histroy also includes the huge spending programs of the Conservative Republican Reagan Administration throughout the ’80s.

The Ohio congressman insults the collective American intelligence with his attempts to convince us every problem currently facing this country — from the economic crisis to the devaluation of our education system — is the president’s fault.

While a strong bipartisan effort ensued on the Hill this past week to battle the AIG scandal – the first sign of any significant cooperation across the aisle since 9/11 — Boehner was once more running his mouth, faulting the new administration, especially Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner, for the insurance giant’s contractual indiscretion with its executives.

Boehner was well aware that Geitner has been operating with a skeleton staff from day one. He has also around long enough to realize this is not unusual for a new Cabinet member who has been on the job for less than 45 days.

What the House majority leader refuses to own up to is that the agreement signed with AIG in the first place occurred during the latter part of the Bush years. Yet he remains steadfast in accusing the president and Geitner of “missing the boat.”

Then again, how many boats can one board at the same time? The list of inherited calamities this administration has already been attempting to rectify is as long as a line for a new Robert Di Nero movie!

Even political scientists and media analysts generally reserve  major judgment on a new administration until at least after its first 100 days, and generally longer. But from the moment Obama was inaugurated, Boehner began ripping apart every move he’s made.

The Ohio Republican couldn’t possibly have already forgotten the major beating his party took lat November — mainly due to its inept, antiquated conservative policies – you know, the ones which in less than eight years turned our economy upside down, while destroying our credibility worldwide.

He has been relentless articulating how his party could again gain ground with the American electorate by moving – yet — even further to the right, a deluded contention of the first order. His sense of reality is microscopic at best!

Boehner fails not only to recognize his party no longer has any power in the House whatsoever, but could only be two seats away from complete extinction in the Senate after the 2010 election (actually one after laid-bakc Minnesota finally certifies Democrat Al Franken as its new junior senator.

Denial – a state of mind traditionally used in psychological terms –is defined as an individual’s subconscious unwillingness to accept and deal with a painful reality about themselves or their life. Yet somehow, the stoned-faced GOP leader has made this dysfunction part of the political lexicon as well, and in record time.

Although considered “the ego’s shock absorber” by mental health professionals, denial always has a way of eventually backfiring, ultimately compounding an already bad situation exponentially. And this is exactly what we are seeing right now with Boehner and his followers.

By refusing to recognize the devastating effects his party’s ideological flaws has had on the nation – not to mention the GOP itself – the “distinguished gentleman” from Ohio is slowly leading his maimed party into oblivion.

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Obama’s Trust In Conservative Repbulicans Betrayed

NEOCONS ON CAPITOL HILL UNSUCCESSFULLY TRIED TO STIFLE THE PRESIDENT’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY PACKAGE!

By Glenn S. Reiner

BARACK OBAMA was forced to pull another proverbial rabbit out of his hat this week, opting to again use the same sure-fire strategy that put him in the White House last month.

After extending a political olive branch to GOP Conservatives, who were maimed last November, he was betrayed by the minority party.

Rebuking unrelenting criticism of his economic stimulus and recovery plan from Conservative Republicans, the president took to the road once more, making stops in Elkhart, Indiana and Ft. Meyers, Florida to insure these two especially economically-strapped communities his plan would bring them relief. He also held his first prime-time nationally-televised press conference.

The president attended town-hall style meetings in both places, fielding questions from the participants, while asking for their support to prevent any further delay of his plan. Ironically, the president lost badly in both places last November.

Although a Liberal, the president showed a willingness to govern from the center in order to bring peace to Capitol Hill for the first time in 16 years.

True to his word, his cabinet choices included three Republicans, an unprecedented number in a Democratic administration. While in office for the past three weeks, he’s reached out to GOP leaders in key meetings at the White House.

And in a display of good faith, he traveled last week to Capitol Hill, huddling with House and Senate Republicans in separate meetings, hoping to solicit their support for the stimulus package.

Presidents generally don’t meet with opposition party leaders on their turf. Normally, they come to the White House. But he wanted show them respect in the classiest way.

However, GOP House leaders, true to form, called a meeting of its members an hour before his scheduled arrival, instructing them to vote against the legislation. Yet, not a single word was said to him to about the preceding party caucus, leaving the president optimistic of bipartisan support.

The bill did ultimately pass in the House, but only because the Democrats own a resounding majority — courtesy of the American voters, who were fed up with perennial GOP values that favored Corporate America and the affluent at the expense of the middle-class and the impoverished. Yet, not one single Republican voted in favor of it.

Then when the legislation reached the Senate later in the week, Republican leaders grandstanded against it, referring to the legislation as ‘just another liberal tax-and-spend plan.’ The GOP had used this talking point with great success for 28 years, but the voters finally saw it for what it was worth last November: political sewage.

The party’s leaders rushed in front of cameras outside the Capitol and in the studios of the three major cable news outlets all week, offering bizarre commentary of how they could have done job better at half of price.

And how would they accomplish that? By cutting the better portion of the money designed for necessary programs to help America’s most hard hit by the recession, creating an estimated three million jobs and long-term fiscal stability.

The GOP also wanted to slice any programs in the bill that would have aided the nation’s impoverished and children. But as always, the Republicans proposed further tax relief — especially to Corporate America, the author of this recession.

With 58 seats in the Senate, the Democrats were two short of the required 60 to avoid a Republican filibuster that would have killed the legislation and intensify an already volatile economy as well as the worst unemployment crisis in 26 years.

This is when a bipartisan group of five moderate Senators banded together behind closed doors and crafted a fair and decent compromise package.

Democrats Joe Lieberman (CT) and Bill Nelson (NE), as well as Republicans Arlen Specter (PA) and Susan Collins and Olimpia Snow — both from Maine – worked relentlessly through the entire weekend, much to the chagrin of GOP leaders.

With help from the three moderate Republicans, the $833 billion substitute legislation finally passed, 61-37.

But Senate Republicans refused to cut their losses, accusing their colleagues across the aisle of failing to satisfy Obama’s desire for bipartisan passage.

The House and Senate versions of the plan differed somewhat, and a final $789 billion final measure was hammered out by a Conference Committee a few hours ago.

The legislation will now go back to both houses for a final vote – which should again pass. The president will most likely sign it next week.

Essentially, the president’s bigest mistake was his willingness to work with the  Conservatives in the first place. He never imagined they would play Russian Roulette with lives of so many Americans, utilizing this vital legislation to trash his party.

The president should have learned a lesson from the campaign last fall, knowing these neocons are completely unscrupulous and not capable of compromise.

He should have remembered their futile attempt to discredit him as a candidate with bizarre lies and hyperbole. But we can feel confident White House Chief of Staff  Rahm Emanuel will never allow him to forget that again.

For the GOP, this was no more than political theater of the worst proportions. By opposing the stimulus package, the party launched an overly premature campaign to recapture both houses in 2010, similar to the one former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ran so brilliantly in 1994 – two years after Bill Clinton was elected.

But what they might have done instead is cut their own throats. Barrack Obama is a president who is clearly loved, respected and trusted by the vast majority of Americans, according to all major polls.

The voters, I believe, can now only perceive the Conservatives as the obstructionists they are and have been for a long time.

As long as the trio of moderate Republicans is willing to work with the president and their Democratic colleagues, he will have no need to deal with the Conservatives again, many of which will lose their seats in two years anyway!

FREE AT LAST!

GOOD RIDDENS! George W. Bush leaves Washington for the last time as this nation’s commander in chief .

By Glenn S. Reiner

THIS IS A TIME OF ELATION and hope for a resounding majority of Americans. It is also the beginning of what will inevitably become America’s greatest comeback .

Today will be remembered for Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th president of the United States, in front of a record-breaking crowd.

But it will also go down in history as the electorate’s signing of America’s second Declaration of Independence.

Our first emancipation was declared 232 years ago from the rule of Britain’s King George III. Today, we gained our freedom from yet another George – the one who incompetently and corruptly occupied the White House for the last eight years and left office with a overwhelming reputation as this country’s worst president ever.

It was on this date in 2001 that Bush’s predecessor, Bill Clinton, left the nation with its first budget surplus in three decades, record rates of new jobs created and — relatively speaking — friendly relations with most of our global neighbors.

Conversely, the Bush Administration legacy includes the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, astronomical unemployment figures and two wars — one which has been entirely unjustified from the start and has cost this nation in excess of $10 billion monthly for almost seven years, as well as 4,000 American casualties.

Our preemptive strike on Iraq almost six years ago, as well as our continued presence there, has also lost us the respect of most of our treasured allies, while intensifying dissension with perennial detractors.

The Bush White House’s legitimization of torture during its interrogations of Islamic prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, a clearly-defined violation of the Geneva Convention,  was America’s first in recorded history. The administration’s actions also constituted war crimes, which Bush and several of his subordinates could be called in front of the International Court in the Haige to explain.

The use of domestic spying without FISA Court warrants arrogantly breached the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of illegal search and seizures. Racial profiling of U.S. citizens of  Muslim decent following 9/11 defied another long-held American precept. These transgressions could very well be investigated and subsequently prosecuted by the new president’s justice officials.

Not only is this day one of redemption for the U.S, but has given rise to a global celebration as well — one that offers major change and hope – not to mention the reversal of heinous Bush policies.

No longer will the world have to put up with Bush’s ignorance, arrogance and self righteousness. They have seen the last of his “Either you’re with us or you’re against us” mentality!”

No longer will our president be the butt of jokes among world leaders and their respective citizenry — not to mention the media worldwide.

No longer will the nation collectively experience that prolonged feeling of depression that swooped over it like a stagnant storm cloud, one which felt as if would remain forever.

No longer will the affluent and Corporate America be given a free pass to treat its  middle-class workers as second-class citizens, continually giving them the royal shaft as these greedy bastards record exorbitant profits.

No longer will the country’s neediest — the impoverished, disabled, elderly and our veterans — be taken out like the trash and dumped.

This is why history will record today as America’s  second Declaration of Independence. It so clearly evokes the final words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I have a dream” speech:

“Free at last. Free at last. God almighty, (we’re) free at last!”

GOP MAKEOVER OFF TO BAD START!

This Can’t Possibly Be The Republicans’ Idea Of How To Attract Black Voters!

By Glenn S. Reiner

FOR CHIP SALTSMAN – who recently sent a  2007 parody song called “Barack the Magic Negro,” sung to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon,” to Republican National Committee leaders during Christmas –   to defend his bizarre behavior is absolutely mind boggling!

How could someone with so much political expertise and savvy even try to pull off something so suicidal for his party, especially now?

I can’t even fathom how he actually believed RNC members would find that imbecilic, racially-charged spoof of the classic Peter, Paul & Mary folk hit entertaining.

Saltsman is one of a multitude of candidates seeking the RNC chairmanship, which the committee is expected to name soon. No doubt, this clearly wasn’t the most intelligent strategy to secure the job.

This is a time when the GOP is desperately looking for ways to attract Blacks and young voters in future elections. It was only two months ago when the American electorate — highly fueled by the vote of those two demographic groups — evicted the Republicans from the White House while strongly diminishing their numbers in Congress.

Saltsman, a senior adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, as well as the unsuccessful manager of Mike Huckabee’s failed presidential campaign, left his party with a strike-one count in its quest for broader support outside the Bible-thumping Deep South and Plain States. How he could have thought this asinine stunt would gain his party brownie points with African-Americans or even favor with independents and moderates is beyond comprehension!

Believe me, it’s not my intention to psychoanalyze this human bastion of retrograde conservatism. That would almost certainly take a team of psychiatrists from Geneva.

Just the name of the song – “Barack the Magic Negro” – is so completely indicative of a mindset that has become increasing unpopular over the last 40 years. Just when was the last time you heard African-Americans referred to as ‘Negroes’? Certainly, those born since 1968 haven’t. And that encompasses two voting generations.

Unfortunately, Saltsman’s actions clearly still reflect a portion of the GOP’s thinking — particularly its right wing, although the party itself would never admit it.

Yet, the Republicans as a whole have shown little compassion or concern for the Black population in this country since the Lincoln Administration.

They have forever favored spending cuts and even the total elimination of federal programs that were designed specifically to help minorities earn a fair piece of the proverbial American pie, especially in the realm of education and vocational training. And how have these rotten souls preferred to spend those funds: on tax breaks for the wealthy and their greedy corporations.

The GOP wants to reinvent itself as a more tolerant, ‘Big-Tent’ party — at least on the surface. This is why many of its leaders quickly and publicly condemned Saltsman, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – who could very conceivably be the party’s nomination for president in 2012.

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson, another candidate for the RNC’s top spot, has even gone as far as to resign – begrudgingly I’m sure – from his exclusively white country club. Frankly, I didn’t even realize such clubs still existed in 21st Century America, even in the South?

One stark reality is the lack of success the GOP’s proposed face lift will have for at least a half-century. The damage already done has far too much depth and won’t be forgotten for quite a long time!

The vast majority of African-Americans in this country clearly don’t believe  Republicans are even capable of such a transformation – especially given their track record since the Reconstruction.

The antics of the GOP won’t play any better with the younger generation of voters, who have grown up in a society where biracial relationships and marriages have become commonplace. It is obvious these kids are far more liberal than any preceding generation since the highly-successful counter-culture youth of the late ’60s and early ’70s.

Unless the Grand Old Party — which has only shown itself to be old — puts a lid on loose cannons like Saltsman,  not only will it fail at any comeback attempt, but likely could fall into extinction!

Defiant Governor Drops Bombshell

ONE THING CAN BE SAID FOR IL GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH: HE DOES HAVE GUTS OF STEEL!

 

By Glenn S. Reiner

NO ONE WILL EVER ACCUSE Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich of buckling under pressure. No matter how you feel about him, you have to give the man his due.

He offered proof positive again today announcing to a national televised audience his appointment of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.

I have to admit I feel quite ambivalent about the governor’s current legal and political issues. While I’m sure his ploy to sell the president-elect’s Senate seat is a clearly-defined ethics violation, I don’t honestly believe he has committed a crime. And I am not ready to convict him quite yet, not at least until I can completely examine all the facts, as well as the case law as it pertains to his actions.

So just what are the facts?

Well, for one thing, they haven’t even been presented yet in their entirety to a trial judge and jury. Like you, all I know is what U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has disclosed to the media.

I have no idea what the governor’s defense is, which his attorneys smartly won’t reveal until the government takes their client to trial, following a full disclosure of its entire case to them beforehand. That hasn’t happened yet.

So in truth, we don’t know all the facts — only a portion of them.

With respect to case law, the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides Blagojevich with the same presumption of innocence until guilt is proven that you and I are entitled to.

Therefore, I have to honor the man’s constitutional rights and wait until, and if, his case goes to court.

The wire-tap tapes released to the press by Fitzgerald clearly establishes Blagojevich sought money and future favors  in exchange for Obama’s seat. But I don’t believe this, on its face, violates federal law.

What the tapes do not establish is the governor following up on his rhetoric and actually committing the act, which would no doubt be illegal.

Let me offer an analogy:  When a drug dealer offers to make a sale to an undercover cop, he hasn’t yet committed a crime and cannot be arrested. It’s only when  he actually exchanges the dope for cash that the officer can slap the cuffs on him.

Another good comparison is when a married person attempts to hire a hit man to off their spouse but ends up with an undercover homicide detective instead. Before the detective could legally arrest that person, he has to ask them, “Are you sure you really want to go through with this?” In fact, many ask twice. If the person changes their mind and no money has been exchanged, charges cannot be filed.

Therefore as current governor of the great state of Illinois, Blagojevich – until convicted or extricated from office by the Illinois legislature — has every legal right to carry out the responsibilities of his office. This includes the Senate seat appointment.

“The people of Illinois are entitled to have two United States senators represent them in Washington, D.C. As governor, I am required to make this appointment. If I don’t make this appointment, then the people of Illinois will be deprived of their appropriate voice and vote in the United States Senate,” Blagojevich said at today’s press conference.

And he’s 100 percent on the money as far as I’m concerned. Not only are Illinois citizens entitled to two senators when the new Congress convenes in less than a week, but the Senate Democrats deserve to be fully staffed as well when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid commences the new Senate.

In all fairness, I believe the governor made a very intelligent choice in the notably rational and political squeaky-clean Burris, who apparently has all the makings of the perfect successor to Obama.

“Very, very low key,” said Don Rose, a former Democratic political consultant in Chicago, describing Mr. Burris, 71, to the New York Times. He’s just not a terribly exciting figure. But there’s never been a breath of scandal about him.”

Democratic Senators can threaten to block Burris from taking being seated all they want, but that would be unconstitutional.

I sincerely doubt there is a federal judge in this country, at any level, who would side against the currently sitting governor. And the Eighth Amendment leaves absolutely no room for partisan judicial interpretation.

To do so, would violate the oath that judge took to “uphold, protect and defend the constitution” — subjecting him/her to possible impeachment and subsequent removal from the bench.

_________

On January 15, 2008, Roland Burris was admitted into the U.S. Senate with the blessings of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durban, Illinois’ senior senator — filling Barack Obama’s vacated seat.

 

EVEN AFTER BAILOUT, BANKS CONTINUE DECEPTION OF TAXPAYERS!

This Will Become America’s Second Declaration Of Independence!

By Glenn S. Reiner

AS A SOCIAL-DEMOCRAT, I haven’t trusted a major corporation – especially the major banks on Wall Street – in nearly 30 years. Then again, my distrust for unregulated Capitalism has been supported by the greed of Corporate America since the Reagan years.

But I never thought these sociopaths in Brooks Brothers suits would come up with the 14-karat chutzpah to again scam the American people, who these Banks’ very existence has been, at least temporarily, expanded by the taxpayer’s generosity to the tune of $700 billion.

That money was intended to aid homeowners from further foreclosure, while stimulating the economy and stopping the mass unemployment that has plagued this society for the past year.

With almost half of the bail-out money dispensed already, there is no evidence a red cent has been used for that purpose. And when asked to account for how it has been spent, the smug mortgage bank executives – in their infinite arrogance – chose not to respond honestly or even at all in one case.

“We’ve lent some of it. We’ve not lent some of it. We’ve not given any accounting of, ‘Here’s how we’re doing it,’” said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman of JP Morgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. “We have not disclosed that to the public. We’re declining to.” 

The Associated Press recently contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what’s the plan for the rest?

Yet not one of the banks provided concrete answers.

This is exactly why so many Capitol Hill legislators opposed bailing out Wall Street in the first place. The only reason they passed the $17 billion auto rescue plan was to prevent a further hemorrhage in the unemployment picture.

When was the last time we have seen any form of integrity in Corporate America? When have they last shown an iota of compassion and concern for the middle-class and poor?

It’s too bad we can’t throw the lot of them in federal prison – where they belong for at least 20 years – while confiscating their personal fortunes. However, these insatiable, money-hungry thugs’ agreement breach with the government is strictly a civil matter.

If I were Timothy Geithner — President-Elect Barack Obama’s candidate for treasury secretary — I would call on the Justice Department of the new administration in January to litigate the immediate reimbursement of every cent foolishly given to them thus far. I would also ask the court to order them to pay interest and legal fees.

In addition, I would send the other $350 billion remaining from the original $700 million back to the Chinese, who lent us the money for this fiasco. Yet, incredible as it might sound, George W. Bush’s Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is currently attempting to convince the Congress to release that money as well to these rogue bankers.

Hasn’t Paulson done enough damage, disgracing his boss, the man who depended on him for a competent fiscal assessment of the Wall Street fiasco? Like most presidents, Bush is not an economist and relies on his “expert” for advice. Instead, Paulson is leaving him with even more egg all over his face – this coming as the president is trying to make some last minute sane moves that would help his already-tarnished legacy.

Something bothered me in the first place about the treasury secretary’s original proposal to Congress for the bailout, which completely lacked legitimate oversight. Not surprisingly, as with most Republicans, he was protecting the affluent at the expense of the rest of us – the very tactic that has put this country in the worse fiscal quagmire since the Great Depression.

The genesis of this financial downturn goes all the way back to 1980 when then President Reagan virtually deregulated big business. The fact it has come to a boil the past few months was inevitable.

Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money and a former hedge fund manager understands Wall Street as well as anyone. In an interview today with Mike Barnacle on MSNBC’s Hardball, he virtually called the $700 billion bailout the most corrupt act yet of the Bush White House.

Speaking of which, there are exactly 29 days before this administration gets shown the door. As far as I’m concerned, they couldn’t go by fast enough!

Staying In The Center Will Work For Obama

ULTRA-FEMINIST BONNIE ERBE TENDS TO OVERSTATE REALITY

 

By Glenn S. Reiner

The following is a column by angry feminist Bonnie Erbe,  contributing editor at US News & World Report and host of PBS’s weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbie. After reading it, you will clearly understand my response on her blog.

 

Barack Obama’s Cabinet Appointments: More Women Needed

Now that the Obama cabinet selection process is about over, the final tally is close to what I expected it to be, and disappointing to a number of the president-elect’s key constituencies. There is one cabinet-level appointment yet to be announced, out of 15 cabinet positions (filled with today’s announcements) and at least seven cabinet-level appointments. From among these 22 coveted jobs, five appointees are women. Since women are 52 percent of the U.S. population and Obama’s transition team promised a cabinet that “looked like America,” one would have to say that, in terms of gender, Obama has failed.

The stark reality is shown in living color on this New Agenda page link, which sports photos of the Obama cabinet members and makes an important visual point.

While Obama is breaking records for putting his cabinet in place more quickly than prior presidents, he broke no new ground with his female cabinet appointments. No woman had ever been selected to head the key Securities and Exchange Commission before Obama’s selection of Mary Schapiro, but she is not in the cabinet. He had ample opportunity to name female secretaries of defense, treasury, and even veterans affairs. He declined.

I’ve cited this post before, but it’s important to reinforce the fact that Obama’s breaking no new number with his female appointments.

At the start of his first term, President Bush nominated four women to his Cabinet. Bill Clinton had five women in his Cabinet at the start of his presidency, and George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan each had two, according to research conducted by New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service in partnership with The Washington Post.

Just because I’m talking quantity does not mean I’m not also concerned about quality. But read the New Agenda list of women he passed over. There were plenty of experienced, talented, professional women available to fill any of his cabinet posts.

Women should take this into account when he’s up for re-election four years from now. Women aren’t the only disappointed constituency. He’s annoyed many Southerners, as well as liberals who see his selections as too middle-of-the-road:

CHICAGO—President-elect Barack Obama spent the campaign fighting the notion that he’s an unabashed liberal. Now he can point to Exhibit A: a Cabinet that’s a middle-of-the-roaders’ dream. Consider the scorecard: The centrist Democratic Leadership Council claims ties with half the group. Movement progressives count a single one, California Rep. Hilda Solis at Labor, a union favorite. But if Obama gives with Solis, he takes away with former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, a free-trade advocate for trade representative, no union favorite. Classic Obama, some grumbled. “We just hoped the political diversity would have been stronger,” said Tim Carpenter, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America. “We see a lot of recycled Clinton folks and he gets a strong ‘D’ on the policy side. We hope he will hustle them to be more progressive.”

And then there’s this:

“Women’s groups who have been hoping for an historic breakthrough in the numbers of women and feminists in the cabinet are looking at a Cabinet now that has lower numbers of women than the Clinton Administration,” said Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal. “With only three Cabinet positions remaining, the women’s groups are pushing ahead not only for more women in the Cabinet, but for more women to be appointed to the thousands of plum jobs that are available. A number of groups have formed a Feminist Appointment Wiki Project to make sure that more strong women and feminist names are put forth.”Ellen Malcolm, the president and founder of Emily’s List, told The Washington Post that Obama “obviously started off with a bang, with Janet Napolitano, Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice . . ..we’ve been disappointed to see women suggested for some positions and not chosen.”Women’s groups are also very concerned about the economic recovery package, which so far is specifying the creation of jobs primarily in the construction industries, which under-represent women. Smeal commented that “we are also alarmed that the key components of the economic recovery package revealed to the public are emphasizing construction jobs, which notoriously under-represent women workers. Although we support a physical infrastructure stimulus package, we believe it must be accompanied with a human infrastructure component that will employ a majority of women workers. With women nearly half of the workforce, a successful stimulus package must include jobs that will employ significant numbers of women and men.”

Dear Bonnie:

The old adage, “You can’t please everybody,” seems so prevalent right now.

As you noted, the president elect promised us a centrist administration during the campaign, rebutting GOP claims he would take us radically to the left. Clearly, his cabinet picks have shown he is, indeed, a man of his word!

In choosing his team, he has angered several political factions, who — as always — ‘want what they want, when then want it.’ But doesn’t a mature political mind accept that ‘we get, what we get, when we get it.’

I have yet to see any other president-elect in my 55 years on this planet work as hard as he has during their transition periods. And does he receive gratitude for his efforts? No! Instead he has had criticism thrown his way from every direction.

I get you are a clearly-defined feminist. As a life-long Liberal, I supported the ERA, have done my best as a writer to advocate women’s rights, and have even donated money to NOW.

I believe our woman have come a long way since my birth in the ’50s. And I realize the job isn’t nearly done. I have also come to understand the collective American mindset, which historically has  been noticeably inert and has struggled with the concept of change — especially anything radical. Let’s not forget how our revered founding fathers wrote a Constitution that barely showed much respect for woman.

This is why Obama — deep, sensitive and astute politician he has proven to be — has done his best to create a diversified team, and I believe he has done a damn good job of it at that!

Granted, this clearly isn’t the all-liberal administration I have always dreamed of. Then again, it’s not the Nazi right-wing White house ‘W’ assembled either — Colin Powell and Condi rice being the only exceptions.

So to move to middle, I believe, is not only a proverbial quantum leap, but just what this country needs right now. It is also a huge step in uniting the nation for the first time since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Instead of complaining about which women you argue he passed over, why not be grateful his five female picks are still a record, even if only marginal. And let’s not forget — again with the exception of Condi Rice — the Bush woman were not only regressive, but hurt the middle-class, poor and needy badly.

For decades, my doctors have been women, as male physicians — with their emotional detachment to patients – have turned me off. I have felt a special kinship to women throughout my adulthood and have always treated them as equals. My mother was a feminist before the term was even coined, so I was brought up with an emphasis on broad-mindedness and forward thinking.

It is for this reason I perceive your stand as an overstatement at best. It would behoove you to take a deeper look within, examine your motives, and reevaluate your spin.

Respectfully Yours,

Glenn S. Reiner

(Coconut Creek, FL)