Sunday, February 10, 2008

Chicken Doves and Waterboarding for God

I have some questions thanks to the wake-up call I received in reading Ray McGovern of Common Dreams and Matt Taibi of Rollingstone.  

Why have none of the moderated debates for either party questioned the candidates about:

  • reversing Bush's unitary executive office?
  • impeachment of Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, et al
  • reversal of No Child Left Behind
  • ending to corporate welfare
  • the false piety of the Republican Elite
  • the hypocrisy of the Evangelistic Leadership as non-questioning supporters of Bush
  • etc., etc., etc


Why wait for a debate?  Why haven't any of the candidates asked these questions of each other? By not making known what they believe on these matters and countless others that don't make the manufactured news, each of the candidates -- regardless of party --  leaves us ready to assume that come January 2009 nothing will change but the White House letterhead. 


Monday, February 4, 2008

Republicans and Biblical Justice for the Middle Class

Even Huck the Bible Thumping Bee can't pull it off with his (not so) Fair Tax but given the chance so far NONE of the Republicans have mentioned any long term direct help to the middle class in their economic plans.  And we all know the current "stimulus package" will not come so enough for most -- read April the 15th -- and be roughly equal to a "Title Pawn" as a boost to the economy.  With too many Democrats joining them they sing,  "Let's spend our way out of this recession."  

Here's what Jeremiah said,

"For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a basket full of birds, their houses are full of treachery; therefore they have become great and rich, they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of wickedness; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?"" Jeremiah 5:26-29, RSV. 

and before you think I'm out of line check this info from PBS' Frontline:


10 Reasons America's Two-Income Families Aren't What You Think
(According to Harvard Law professor and bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren)

  1. Two-income families today make 75% more in inflation-adjusted dollars, but have less money to spend than one-income families did 30 years ago. 
  2. Two-income families today spend: 21% less on clothing, 22% less on food, and 44% less on appliances compared to one-income families a generation ago. 
  3. Every 15 seconds an American family files for bankruptcy. 
  4. This year, more kids will live through their parents' bankruptcy, than through their parents' divorce. 
  5. 1.6 million families will file for bankruptcy this year, 9 million more are already in credit counseling. 
  6. Home mortgage foreclosures are up more than three-fold over the last generation and car foreclosures have hit record levels. 
  7. More than 62% of families say that they worry about making ends meet. 
  8. The average family spends 69% more in inflation-adjusted dollars on their home mortgage than their parents spent a generation ago. 
  9. The average family spends 61% more on health insurance, than their parents spent a generation ago. 
  10. Credit card default rates are at a record high.