4 More Years

Today America votes for a President or a "Decider and Chief".  Let's hope we have a President for the  next four years.  God only knows what we will have if Romney were elected.  I have been decidedly quite during this campaign cycle.  I'm speechless when it comes to understanding Republican voters.  I'm saddened by the stupidity of people and the process that has created disgust for a great President.  I am disgusted by a man running for President that stands for nothing; no, I mean everything; no, I mean flip a coin.  How the hell can any intelligent being vote for such a dolt as Willard Romney? The etch-a-sketch candidate was very well phrased.

Romney; the schoolyard bully that will send our troops to fight his battles.  His kids won't be fighting, you can be sure of that.  Romney's character can be simply determined by understanding the nature of a man that would hold another human being to the ground and cut off his hair because he saw him as potentially gay.  Romney; the candidate that organized counter protests that favored the war in Vietnam but had no intention of entering the military.  Romney; the candidate that did not once stand up to the hatred exhibited towards his opponent.  On the contrary, Romney endorsed the hatred.  Romney encouraged the hatred.

Barack Obama said it best when he told the American people that Romney's foreign policy was from the 80's, his social policies were from the 50's and his economic policies were from the 30's.  I could not say it better.

Last night I watched Obama's last campaign speech from Iowa. What a class act - enough said!  We will be hearing from Barack Obama for many years following the end of his presidential service in 2016.  The world wants a winner and America has been lifted to great heights because of Obama's leadership.

What has also saddened me this election cycle was the passing of a great man that made the election of Barack Obama more likely.  That man was George McGovern.  George McGovern was a true World War II hero.  McGovern was a pilot of a B24 bomber and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery during war time.  McGovern had to crash land his flying fortress aircraft on 3 occasions and each time brought his crew to safety.  On one occasion he had to pick out a small island in the middle of the Adriatic sea.  He always offered his men the opportunity to bail out but they always trusted him to bring them to safety.  McGovern was a man that saw the necessity of war yet hated war.  He was a man that was to be trusted while "Tricky Dick" was not.

McGovern once said that it was better to be right than to be elected.  I suppose this will provide solace to anyone from the losing side.  One thing for sure; McGovern was no loser and he helped establish the politics of the left and gave us the opportunity to elect a person as great as Barack Obama.  I am proud to have known George McGovern and I'm proud that I stood by him in 1972 and in 1984 as his Rhode Island campaign manager.  You will always be within my thoughts.

In the picture, McGovern and wife Eleanor are standing at the podium in Syracuse New York on October 31, 1972 (not my picture and I apologize for losing the credit).  I am standing in the 3rd row waiting to hear his speech.  As he begins to talk, the church bells begin to ring and drown out his voice for many minutes (probably a Donald Segretti trick).  A little old lady stands behind me and is struggling to see him.  I say to her, "please, stand in front of me so you can see better".  She accepts and moves to the front for 30 seconds then turns to leave.  I say to her, "where are you going?"  She says to me, "I just wanted to see him, I didn't want to hear what he has to say."  Unfortunately, a lot of America is like this.

tomtoak

Obama - the fiscally responsible president

There has been a lot of coverage lately on the Internet and in the news in general about statistics provided by the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office and Haver Analytics.  The data shows clearly that Barack Obama has been a fiscally responsible president.  The annualized growth of federal spending has been reduced to just 1.4% during the Obama Administration compared to 8.1% during Bush II's second administration. (click here) .

Needless to say, there has been a lot of push back from conservative bloggers and Republicans in general.  We all know that statistics can sometimes play with the truth.  If we want to prove something, just turn to statistics.  The funny thing here is that this information comes to us from non-partisan sources.  In reality, the slow pace of Federal spending is hurting economic recovery.  Paul Krugman has been a critic of Obama from time to time because of his fiscal restraint.  We all know that Congressional obstruction is behind the slow economy.  If you don't know that by now, you live in a bubble!

Barack Obama's plan to increase Federal revenues through a modest tax increase on the wealthiest Americans is a step towards fiscal sustainability.  Republicans are blind to the fact that government needs to pay for wars, fix infrastructure, protect our environment and improve the lives of everyone by raising revenue judiciously. Republicans and the wealthiest Americans used to be true patriots.  They are not anymore.  There seems to be no sense of responsibility to this country when it comes to paying for the freedoms we all enjoy.  I guess that includes the freedom to hide your money is Swiss bank accounts and accounts in the Cayman Islands-Mitt Romney.

As for those that feel violated by the facts displayed in this government report, I'm sure you will read your conservative blogs and find lying vindication.  I suggest however that you turn to the Politifact analysis of the debate where you will learn that Obama has slowed the growth of Federal spending more than any president in the past 60 years.  Politifact rates the Obama spending story as mostly true.

If you want your government to be fiscally responsible, the chart demonstrates the need to elect Democrats.

tomtoak

Catholic Church leadership continues to spew nonsense

I really don't want to post this article but I am compelled to.  I grew up Catholic and did my 12 years; if you know what I mean.  Nothing has upset me more than recent attacks by the church hierarchy on President Obama.  I hope my mother never sees this (she would not understand), but I feel I have to share my opinion to others.  What I am about to say does not speak to the majority of church officials that think otherwise and that have always lived up to their vocation.

Lately, I have been upset by stories I have seen on the History Channel that relate to World War II and the role of the Catholic Church in facilitating the escape of Nazi war criminals that were Catholic.  These criminals included Adolf Eichmann, Martin Bormann (who was presumed dead) and Josef Mengele.  Eichmann was responsible for developing the "final solution" and designed the gas chambers, Bormann was the "right hand man" to Adolf Hitler and we all know the disgusting things that Mengele did.  These three criminals escaped through what was known as the "ratline" that was orchestrated by many Catholic leaders.  The church was responsible for hiding these Nazis for 5 years until they provided a means for their escape to Uruguay in 1950.  Creating false documents and passports were all part of the church conspiracy and the evidence has been well documented.  Additionally, I learned that after the defeat of Germany, many Bishops in some European countries required all parishes to offer their Mass on Easter Sunday to Adolf Hitler.

This is very disturbing to learn at this point in my life, but it does not stop here. Just yesterday I had to be treated to the hate filled garbage from Bishop Daniel Jenky from Illinois who proclaimed that Barack Obama is traveling the same footsteps as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.  This occurs just weeks after Pope Benedict (member of the Nazi Youth) appoints Bishop Timothy Dolan of New York to the College of Cardinals to further ensure the extreme conservative agenda of the Catholic Church in future leadership voting.  You may remember that Bishop Dolan recently asserted that the Catholic Church did everything right in the sex abuse scandal and the controversy was aimed at destroying the Catholic Church.  Forget the fact that the church reported nothing, forgave the sins of the priests time and time again and neglected to help those abused.  I can't begin to speak of how I feel about the church position on contraception. 

I am furious with the Catholic Bishops and each and every Catholic should be furious too.  I am tired of reading anti-Semitic stories of Bishops abusing their power by selling nonsense.  Do you want to see something very scary?  (Watch this interview). Do you want to see the truth about the Holocaust and the involvement of the Catholic Church in its aftermath?  (Watch this documentary).

I don't think the leadership of the Catholic Church is walking anywhere near the footsteps of Jesus Christ.  I think the church is lost in the wilderness.  Barack Obama won the vote of 57% of Catholics during the 2008 election; lets hope he gets 99% in 2012!!

tomtoak

We need to take back our country - What?

It's time for me to move away from state issues and begin to focus more on the upcoming election of 2012. The phrase in today's politics that upsets me the most is; "we need to take our country back". Back from whom? Even Barack Obama jumped into the fray with his state of the union speech by proclaiming, "our country is back". Obama is referring to the return of a healthier economy, but what do Republicans mean by proclaiming; "we need to take our country back"?

There have been 56 presidential elections in US history and 44 Presidents. Barack Obama won the last election by 9,549,105 votes which is the 5th largest margin of victory in US history. Only Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower and Franklin Roosevelt for one of his four terms had a larger margin of victory. Obama's victory was 1 week old before Republicans started proclaiming the need the take "our" country back. Who the hell is "our"? What about my country and the majority of Americans that chose to support Barack Obama? Republicans continue to claim they speak for all of us when clearly, they only speak to a minority.

What did Barack promise in 2008 and has he lived up to the promises made to the majority? Let me recall a number of promises; end the war in Iraq, universal health care for everyone, increase our efforts in Afghanistan to better pressure al Qaeda, maintain middle class tax cuts and only increase taxes on those earning over $250,000 each year, end "don't ask, don't tell", support gay unions but not gay marriage, promote equality for women in the work place, pass a stimulus package to jump start the economy and get people back to work, save the US auto industry, pursue greater regulation of Wall Street, work towards a secure energy future, support alternative energy and close Guantanamo Bay prison.

That was a lot of promises and that is what the 9+ million majority expected out of this President. Has Obama delivered? I grade his performance as an A-. Obama has delivered on most promises although some solutions required compromise. Obama has not been able to close down Guantanamo Bay because of intransigence in Congress. His health care plan leaves a lot to be desired, but it's a start. Nobody has been able to achieve what he has on this difficult issue. Obama has performed remarkably in an atmosphere of hatred towards his presidency.

Let's be honest, "we need to take back our country" is all about racism. I don't think you could find a President that has so closely aligned his governing with his promises. Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana gave the Republican response to Obama's address to Congress and stated that there are fewer people working in the United States today than at any point during the last 3 years of the Obama presidency. Is this propensity to lie going to be the future of our politics? Republicans that can't make the facts fit their agenda just like to make things up. We have had steady job growth in this country in 18 of the previous 24 months, there has been 15 consecutive months of steady job growth and the unemployment rate has declined from 10% to 8.5% nationally during the past 24 months. Given the state of our union when Obama became President, I think he is truly heading towards being one of our greatest leaders.

For the racists and haters out there that want to "take our country back"; love it or leave it! It's my country!

tomtoak

Random Reasonings XVII

An occasional column of random thoughts and observations:

• No COLA for 19 years is what Rhode Island's General Treasurer came up with? I was willing to give some back for the benefit of everyone but I am not going to get raped without fighting.
• Regarding the RI rape of retirees; I wrote the governor, treasurer and every single legislator. You should all do the same. I wrote the Providence Journal today that reported the average retiree ($27,000 pension) will lose $9,286 over the first 10 years of the treasurer's plan. Fact checkers at the Providence Journal are too stupid to do the math as is the treasurer's office. The $9,286 is the loss of income in year 10 alone. What about year 1 through 9? The average state employee will lose $48,805 in the first 10 years and $165,142 in the 19 years of the treasurer's plan.
• Barack Obama has been the greatest foreign policy president in my life time. I wonder if he was born in the United States?
• Did you hear that Mitt Romney said Obama's job program would make everyone millionaires and then we would all have to pay higher taxes? Nice one Mitt: make me a millionaire, the 99% are all for it.
• Did Dick Cheney's pace maker stop? I thought I heard a sucking sound!
• That sucking sound was actually public employee retirees leaving Rhode Island and moving to New Hampshire or Florida to avoid paying state taxes on their pensions.
• Only democrats can overthrow terrorist regimes without losing a single U.S. troop. Obama - great job in Libya and Clinton - great job in Bosnia.
• Funny; the Iraq war is over but the Republicans are still fighting it. I guess they are still looking for the WMD.
• Herman Cain - be serious - order pizza!
• Rick Santorum - do you still practice rhythm - I hope so.
• If the General Treasurer of Rhode Island is raping the retirees, can we all have access to abortion?
• There is no truth to the rumor that Sarah Palin has a "thing" for Herman Cain. There may be truth to the rumor that Sarah had a "thing" for Barack Obama. He was a black basketball player and they both spent time in Hawaii. Was that before Hawaii was a state?
• What Tea Party?
• What will happen when 10% of Rhode Island's population moves out of state because of General Treasurer, Gina Raimondo? I would not even invest in a McDonald's in this state.
• Obama has delivered on almost all of his campaign promises, the exception being the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison.
• Raimondo and Chafee make Wall Street look like it has compassion on a par with Mother Teresa.

tomtoak

Obama needs to get out of the middle of the road.

As the saying goes; a man in the middle of the road is more likely to be the one hit! This is exactly what is happening to Barack Obama and it is really the first time I am seriously questioning his leadership.

The recent fall of the stock market because of the S&P downgrade of the U.S. credit worthiness is directly related the handling of the debt crisis by the President. Obama can cry foul all he wants, but he had the opportunity to make sure that did not happen no matter what Congress eventually did.

Obama should have stepped up as Bill Clinton suggested and used his authority to put congress in its place. Obama should have used the 14Th amendment to the Constitution. What does the 14Th amendment say? "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, ..... shall not be questioned." The 14Th amendment goes on to say that Congress should police this article.

Obama chose the wimp approach - the middle road - and simply waited for Congress to do its job. A job which Congress new it had to do regardless of what the President said. A month before the default date, Obama should have come out strong and told the world that America will never default on its debts as it is not permitted in our Constitution. He should have gone on to say that if Congress does not do its job which they are sworn to do, then he will do his job under the Constitution to which he has sworn allegiance. President Obama should have used his office to ensure that U.S. debt will be honored and if Congress failed in its duties, he will extend the debt ceiling by executive order.

Obama failed the American people on this one and he needs to realize that the Republican Congress will do every thing it can to see him out of the White House. It's time Obama stood tall and fought back. It's time Obama gets out of the middle of the road. He is going to get rolled over and may never recover.

I'm a fiscally conservative liberal Democrat and I'm mad as hell!

Tomtoak

Republicans are killing democracy

OK: I admit, that is a pretty strong statement in the title of this post. With the recent Supreme Court decision that treats corporations as individuals, moneyed interests will buy the future and buy the votes. It is so hard for me to believe that 48% of Republicans are Republican. Walk into any trailer park and I'll bet you will find significant majorities voting Republican. Why? I understand the top 2% of the Republican party voting Republican, but don't tea party folks realize that the Republican leadership wants to strip them of social security and their medicare benefits.

For you middle class Republicans, you have to realize that it is the Democrats that have fought for better lives for all citizens. The private sector has some great people providing jobs throughout this country (people of both parties), but in the end, every American needs to be worried about their future. Social Security and Medicare are easily fixed by raising taxes only slightly on the rich in this nation. Hell - During the Eisenhower administration, citizens making over $1 million per year were taxed at a 91% rate. World War II had to be paid for. All Obama is asking is for the wealthiest in our society to pay 39% instead of 36% of income (Clinton level taxation). Bush pushed the tax cuts for the middle class and the rich but this long ugly experiment simply has failed. Government needs to raise revenue just like any business. Our wars need to be paid for and with the wealthiest calling the shots, they need to pony up.

I would ask Republicans to join "Patriotic Millionaires For Fiscal Strength" and I would also urge everyone to read "Bush era tax cuts the largest contributor to the public debt."

I could never be more eloquent on this issue than a former Supreme Court Justice:

"We can have democracy..... or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both". Justice Louis D. Brandeis

With the current Republican intransigence, I ask you; are Republicans killing democracy?

tomtoak

A cool President Obama just minutes before decision to take down Bin Laden

Well: You need to see President Obama's comments at the Correspondents dinner in Washington DC. He not only takes down Bin Laden, he really takes down Donald Trump without firing a shot if you know what I mean. How Obama could multi-task at this crucial moment in American history is simply worthy of praise. How could anybody not think Obama is up to the job of leading this country? If you did not respect Obama, you damn well should respect him now. Please check out Obama's comments (click here)

tomtoak

Where the hell have I been during the take down of Bin Laden?

Sorry to be missing in action again, but this time I was really missing in action. I severely hurt my back 4 weeks ago, washing a kitchen floor - believe it or not! The back pain has been so bad that I can't really spend any time at the computer. I will be having surgery in less than 2 weeks so I hope to be able to regain my full use of my back and legs.

The raid on the Bin Laden compound was absolutely one of the finest political acts of our time. Barack Obama can easily be defined by one word; courage. Barack's entire team should be congratulated for their guts. I certainly never saw guts like that during the Bush administrations.

At any rate, you have to see the act by Seth Meyers at the President's correspondence dinner that was being held at nearly the same time as the raid on the Bin Laden compound. As I have said in this column before, the U.S. simply can not trust the Pakistani government. I am so happy that the administration is on the same page.

Good bye Bin Laden forever: Rot at the bottom of the ocean with all of your pornography!

tomtoak

Federal taxes are at their lowest point in decades

After filing my taxes for 2010, I noticed that my effective tax rate was just under 10%. This is about as low as it has ever been. Why all of the Tea Party angst? Republicans continue to keep screaming about taxes while they have no concept of economic reality. The reality I'm talking about is the need to raise revenue to pay for their ridiculous war in Iraq and the failings of the Bush administration to keep the economy on course. It's funny how Republicans never mentioned the deficit when Bush was President but they blast Obama daily for inheriting his mess.

There is a great web site that I happened upon the other day called; "VisualizingEconomics.com". In one article, the top marginal tax rates from 1916 to 2010 are charted. Categories of taxation on the chart include income tax, corporate tax and capital gains for the period. Just look at the picture; a picture is worth a thousand words in this case. I'm still not sure that Republicans will get it as they are still tied to Reagan voodoo economics that has caused our massive Federal deficit.

I have a smaller problem with lowering the corporate tax rate from the current 35% to 25% as even Obama has suggested. The key here is to have 100% of U.S. corporations paying taxes, not the current 25%. Corporate lobbyists have done a great job making sure their interests avoid taxes. The middle class has no such luxury in this country.

So why all of the fuss about taxes? It's truly a ruse created by the Republican Party to win votes through radical propaganda. Barack only wants to turn the green line on the chart back to where it was during the Clinton administration. Remember, this is only being considered for those incomes that exceed $250,000 per year (35% to 39%). Please note that this rate was 91% during the Eisenhower administration and at 50% during the Reagan administration.

Republicans continue to say that America has spoken because of the 2010 election. I hate to clue them in but, Barack Obama won in 2008 by over 5 million votes and ran on this very concept. Barack stood in front of the American people and insisted that the top marginal tax rate needed to be where it was during the Clinton administration. Tea Party Republicans are simply wrong.

tomtoak

Election 2012: What will it look like?

Palin, Bachmann, Huckabee, Romney - Pawlenty, Barbour, Paul or Trump - who will win Republican minds, radio radicals and tea party butts? OK; sorry for the funky posing of the question, but I feel that it is time for me to make a few predictions before the s--t hits the fan. Noticeably absent from the list of Republican hopefuls is a name we all know; Bush! I do not think that Jeb Bush is stupid enough to enter the fray in 2012, even if they wanted to draft him. Jeb bush is waiting for 2016.

I have made a few predictions in this column and they have been accurate to date. I predicted that Sarah Palin would get a job with Fox news but that would be the extent of her career. Since she quit as Governor of Alaska, I have no reason to back off of that prediction. Even many Republicans hate her - she stands no chance! She did take a job with Fox news: I'm not looking bad at this point. If you study these pages, you saw that I urged people to buy stock in Ford Motors when the price was at approximately $2.00 per share. Check the ticker; you would be rich if you had listened to me.

Now I'm going to put my "Nostradamus" hat on and make a few predictions. Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee. He will have tremendous problems getting the nomination; but look at the field - my God - there is no crystal ball here. The big question is who will be his nominee for Vice-President. This is where things get real complicated, but not for the reasons you might perceive.

In the final analysis, I see the Republican Vice-Presidential choice coming down to a toss-up between Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi and Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas. My prediction is Haley Barbour because of all of his connections to the oil money. Money always "trumps" ideology. Sorry Donald; you already went bankrupt once and screwed a lot of people in the process.

Why Haley Barbour as Vice-President? Romney lacks no credibility with the evangelical right in this country and his Mormon faith will drag him down. Romney will need to address this problem with his pick. As I see it; he has two choices, Huckabee or Barbour. Neither of these guys can light a fire in the Democratic states. Barbour will be detestable to the Democratic voters but they won't care. Huckabee would have a greater ability to pull in the independent voter and the evangelical right, but only in the states the Republicans are going to lose anyway. This raises Haley Barbour to the surface because Republicans need to win states like North Carolina and Florida. Barbour will be strong with the evangelical voters but more importantly, he will bring in money. Scads and scads of money from the oil companies that will continue to bleed the middle class until we are all walking the streets!

What about the Democrats? Do you really think that the ticket is going to be Obama/Biden. That worked once, but maybe, just maybe, the ticket to success will be changing the ticket. I don't think this is a long shot, but how about an Obama/Clinton ticket? That's Hillary Clinton! Obama is going to need to infuse some excitement after his middle of the road first term.

So here is my early prediction: Obama/Clinton vs Romney/Barbour. I would not throw Joe Biden out the door. Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State are positions that come to mind for Joe Biden that has served his country well.

OK; I've laid it on the line early on. Let's see what happens. By the way; if Romney and Barbour win, the Mayan's were right!

tomtoak

Donald Trump and any "Birther" are just stupid

Well, I wanted to stay away from this issue because it is stupid for me to be talking about it; however, I have to say something again. Republicans continue to jump on the "birther" bandwagon and it is so bad that almost 50% of Republicans think that Obama is not an American. You are all stupid beyond belief, but nobody is more stupid than Donald Trump. Donald Trump, the self serving ego maniac thinks that he is presidential timber when all he can talk about is Obama's birth certificate? What a sick and increasingly stupid country this is becoming. If Donald Trump wants to be president, why doesn't he talk about .. ahem.. the economy?

Do you want to see Obama's birth certificate? It is there for everyone to see (link to Obama birth certificate). How about a picture? Do you want a picture? Oh! What about the raised seal from the state of Hawaii ? It can't be official until we see that.

How about independent unbiased verification? That means verification from people that are not stupid. Try "FactCheck.Org" . I would bet that there are many Republicans working for "FactCheck.org, they're just not the stupid 50%. How about official government verification? Do you want to see a picture of that? Just go to the "FactCheck.org" site.

Here is the bottom line. No president in our history has had to face such insane questioning. I wonder why this is happening now? Well Donald Trump, its called racism and if you think that it is anything different you are not only stupid, you have serious personality flaws. I for one do not want a psychiatric head case running for president. It seems like the Republicans have many head cases that have an interest in the White House.

All I have to say to the 50% of stupid Republicans is that I am very happy that our white house has become a black house. That's right; the White House is now occupied by a family that has an almost unbelievable American story that far surpasses any story coming at us from the Republican side of the isle. At least Barack Obama insists that his children stay grounded and stay in school (unlike Sarah truancy coordinator). The continuing reluctance of key Republicans to correct the record with the stupid people just ruins their ability to reach the independent voters. Fine by me!

tomtoak

Public Pensions and the Fight Ahead

Governor Scott Walker, Republican ideologue from Wisconsin has done something that I did not think possible a few months ago. Walker has mobilized unions that will serve as counterweight to any Tea Party movement in this country. Governor Scott has ruined chances for Republican leadership in my estimation. Good for him; keep talking Scott Walker, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, you guys are the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party since Franklin Roosevelt had to step in and clean up the Republican mess left by ideologues like you. Remember Republicans; Democrats won 5 consecutive Presidential elections and they only lost because a moderate for all of the people stepped forward to rescue the ideological bankrupt Republican Party. Dwight was a guy for all of the people.

Walker's attempt to strip employee unions of power has nothing to do with the reality of state financial burdens. Everyone needs to read the current McClatchy Report; Why employee pensions aren't bankrupting states. This is a great report that underscores the true reason why Republicans are trying to gain political capital by scapegoating public employees and attacking their pensions.

In Rhode Island, our new Democratic Treasurer, Gina Raimondo has had the nerve to say that she believes that retirees may not own their pensions nor do state employees. Oh really: Who the hell do you think put the money into the fund? Employees put 8.75% of their income and school teachers put 9.5% into the system over their careers of 30+ years, and the state matches that whenever they feel like it (this is the problem), and now you say that system is taxpayer money? Gina Raimondo, you border on delusional and do not belong in a position to speak for the citizens of a free country! You will not get my vote next time around and never will get my vote unless you apologize to all of the hard working public employees across this state.

Governor Lincoln Chafee will be proposing steps to help secure the state's financial position tomorrow. One recommendation will be to increase state employee and teacher contributions to 11.5% for an interim period until a comprehensive pension overhaul can be achieved. Rhode Island employee contributions are already the highest in the Nation and now the move is to increase that by 2% for teachers and 2.75% for state employees?

At first I was really angry at the idea, then I realized it may well be brilliant. The Congress just reduced contributions to Social Security for workers and employers by 2%. This is something that Obama should never have agreed to do. Republicans will use this loss of revenue to argue for privatization of social security. Chafee's plan will result in little change in take home income for public employees that pay into state retirement as well as social security. Money that formerly was going to the Federal Government will now accrue towards the state's retirement plan.

Union workers do not want their pensions decreased. My guess is that most union workers will see this as a step toward fully funding the promises. I must admit though, until the state of Rhode Island taxes all of the yachts in Narragansett Bay, I find it hard to take money away from the hard working middle class.

One last comment that I have already made a half dozen times before in this blog. Donald Carcieri, our past ideologue governor attacked pensions and attacked public employees every day for eight years. Carcieri took 3000 state employees out of the system and yet his final budget proposal called for a 9% increase (from $7 billion to $7.8 billion). Employees are not the problem as salary, fringe and benefits of all employees account for 17% of the entire budget on an annual basis. Public employee pensions are not bankrupting the system. Republican privatization practices are bankrupting the system (more money to their friends).

tomtoak

What to do about Afghanistan

As time goes on, Afghanistan has become Obama's war. Barack Obama has been totally honest with the American people. While he was running for President, he clearly stated the need to pick things up in Afghanistan and begin a withdrawal process from Iraq. He has met his promises regardless of what some progressives are saying about the Afghan war.

Now nearly 2 years into his administration, Obama rightly fears a trap if he is left without an exit strategy. Obama should have trouble sleeping at night. Afghanistan is not some country; it is a collection of tribes and families that will never unite in this decade, this century, or this millennium.

How can Obama begin to shake things up? The real fear here is Pakistan and the risk of deteriorating relations with this country. Let's face it, Pakistan is not really our friend. This country continues to hide Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network. How can Pakistan be our friend? As time goes on, al Qaeda's influence in this region will continue to grow, putting at risk the very nation we wish to partner with.

Enough is enough! I feel strongly that the United States has an option here, although I'll grant you that it is a risky option. I believe that the U.S. needs to move on the diplomatic front and challenge Pakistan to produce the criminals within the al Qaeda network. Pakistan needs to arrest and deliver Osama bin Laden to the United States. I would give Pakistan 6 months to bring bin Laden to justice.

If Pakistan does not deliver, I would begin to provide advanced military technology to India, Pakistan's mortal enemy. Let's face it, if Pakistan is lost to terrorists, India is going to need a stronger military. I would promise Pakistan 2 things. 1). I would promise Pakistan no military aid and no aid what-so-ever if they do not deliver the criminals within the next 6 months. At the same time I would promise to make India the second most powerful military nation in the world. 2). If Pakistan were to deliver the criminals, the U.S. should promise to ensure that all military aid to the region would be balanced. Any aid given to India would also be given to Pakistan.

Somehow the U.S. needs to put some fear in the hearts and minds of Pakistani leaders that are not in pursuit of justice. India holds the key and may be the only solution. Leave Afghanistan to the disparate tribes of the past.

tomtoak

The Mock Interview with a Tea-bagger!

Sorry for my absence! It seems like the United States is going to hell in a hand basket woven by the Republican Party. At any rate; through all the non-sense, I am intrigued by the misguided energy of the tea-baggers. I would love to interview a few and I think this is how the conversation would go.

Tomtoak: Mr. Tea-bagger, could I ask you why you call yourselves the Tea Bag Party?
Mr. Tea-Bagger: Didn't you ever hear of the Boston Tea Party? We're a tax protest just like the Boston Tea Party.
Tomtoak: Mr. Tea-bagger, the Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation. I don't see a parellel. Barack Obama won the election by 6 million votes and won in many traditional Republican states. You have representation - you lost.
Mr. Tea-bagger: So what! I want my taxes lowered.
Tomtoak: Well Mr. Tea-bagger, are you aware that President Obama has lowered taxes on 95% of the citizens as he promised during his campaign?
Mr. Tea-bagger: He's a Muslim. This country is going to hell and we're headed for financial ruin and Obama is to blame.
Tomtoak: Mr. Tea-bagger, did you forget that this country was headed for another depression unless drastic steps were taken to calm the financial markets and do you realize that the Dow Jones average has improved by almost 4,000 points since Obama took office? Do you realize that this significantly improves every one's financial situation?
Mr. Tea-bagger: Obama is like Hitler, he's leading us down the path to socialism and no good can come from him!
Tomtoak: Do you realize Mr. Tea-bagger that the rest of the world has been quite impressed with our last election and U.S. foreign policy is far stronger because of Obama's leadership. Obama even won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Mr. Tea-bagger: Ya, if that is so great, why is he getting our boys killed in Afghanistan and he hasn't done nothin yet!
Tomtoak: Mr. Tea-bagger, I admit that even liberals don't like the war, but lets be fair; President Obama promised action in Afghanistan all through the election as this country's primary target must be the al Qaeda network; and haven't you noticed that there has been far better cooperation from Pakistan in seeking to bring these terrorists to justice? Did you not read about the recent disarmament talks with Russia and the treaty that will lead to a verifiable reduction in nuclear warheads between the 2 countries?
Mr. Tea-bagger: Are you trying to insult me? I can read; you're trying to knock Sarah Palin aren't you.
Tomtoak: Me, knock Sarah Palin; no, she does not need help from me to look like a fool, she is capable of doing that all by herself and constantly, I might add.
Mr. Tea-bagger: Obama has done nothing about growing jobs in this country and we need the Republicans to straighten out this mess.
Tomtoak: You know Mr. Tea-bagger, this is one topic that truly confuses me. I've heard all of the Republican leadership say that "Government never created one job", and now, the Republicans want to focus on jobs. Why don't they just tell the private sector to go create jobs and keep the government out of it?
Mr. Tea-bagger: It's all about taxes; cut taxes and there will be plenty of jobs.
Tomtoak: Mr. Tea-bagger, are you taxed when Exxon-Mobil raises the price of a gallon of gas from $2.50 to $4.50 in a matter of weeks? You see, insurance companies and businesses that approach monopolies in this country can tax us at will. I guess that is OK with you!
Mr. Tea-bagger: And that's another thing, I don't want to pay for the health insurance of a bunch of illegals and Obama is making us all pay.
Tomtoak: You have been paying all along my friend. Health care legislation protects you against the whims of the insurance industry and outlines a process by which everyone can assume responsibility over their health care (A Republican idea I must say). It's not the solution I wanted, but progressives need to be willing to compromise.
Mr. Tea-bagger: Compromise nothin!!! Obama is not even American. We need to take back this country!!!!
Tomtoak: Take back this country from whom? From Me? I'm an American and I'm very proud of this country. When one person determined who our 43rd President would be after he lost the popular vote by 500,000 votes, I was devastated. I did not go around this country claiming that George Bush was a Nazi. I suggest that you thank God we have an intelligent leader that cares about our future and that is capable of doing more in 15 months than George Bush accomplished in his entire life.
Mr. Tea-bagger: We'll see about that! Sarah Palin will beat that n_____!
Tomtoak: Oh; and I'm sure that race has nothing to do with this. Keep the faith Barack!

Birthers are absolute idiots!

Of all the political squabbles that surround us, the "birthers" movement is the saddest commentary on the United States of America. We all believe in free speech, but to continue to advance pure fiction in the name of truth is traitorous. That's right, all you birthers are traitors, idiots, imbeciles and morons. You don't have a point; you are just sick in the head and I'm getting tired of listening to your crap.

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii when it was a state. The newspaper announcement makes this issue perfectly clear as does his legitimate birth certificate. Even if Obama was born before Hawaii became a state; and this is not the case, Hawaii was a legitimate U.S. incorporated territory. Why is this so important? It is important because the Panama Canal Zone was only an unincorporated U.S. Territory until the "Torrijos-Carter Treaties of 1979".

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in (Downes v. Bidwell) in 1901 that unincorporated territories are not the United States. In 1905, in (Rasmussen v. United States) the courts ruled that the Constitution only applies to incorporated territories of the United States. Children born in the Panama Canal Zone were subject to the Naturalization Act of 1795, which granted statutory U.S. citizenship at birth. With the ruling of 1905 however, persons born in the Canal Zone only became U.S. nationals, not citizens.

Congress moved to correct the situation and passed a law in 1937 that grants citizenship to those individuals born in the Canal Zone after February 26, 1904 that had at least one U.S. citizen parent. I have found no reference as to whether or not the law passed in 1937 has ever been constitutionally challenged. Is John McCain a natural born citizen as our Constitution requires in order to hold the highest office in the land?

Why question Obama's credentials when McCain's are far more suspect? The only thing that truly bothers me in this discussion is that I remember the time when Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut was denied a chance to run for the Presidency because he was born in Paris, France. His parents, both U.S. citizens were living at the U.S. Embassy as his father was a U.S. diplomat. The mere location of Weicker's birth made him ineligible to run for President.

Well, I'm not tyring to make a case here because I don't want to be called a birther in my own right. Hell, then I would be the traitor, idiot, imbecile and moron. Personally, I feel that McCain had every right to be President and Lowell Weicker too. Weicker would have been a great President in my estimation. There can be no question about Obama's credentials for the job!

And to the "birthers" out there - get a life. That means you, Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs.

tomtoak

Obama's "stupid" comment - stupid?

I guess even a politician as smooth as Barack Obama can say something stupid every now and then. I cringed when I heard Obama make the "stupid" comment during his press conference and I was immediately concerned. I knew that he would spend days away from the debate on health care to mend a few fences.

To Obama's credit, he responded like a decent human being should. He admitted to adding to the problem, not resolving it. I can imagine how difficult it was for Officer Crowley to approach a situation where a break-in is reported. You know the adrenalin would really be pumping. It is very important for an officer to take immediate control of a situation such as this.

I understand the position of Louis Gates and his anger at being questioned on his own property. What Gates should have understood was that the police were there to protect his property. Gates should have cooled down to explain the situation and should not have been pumping up the adrenalin on a potentially volatile situation. I agree with officer Crowley that Gates was in total control of the possible outcome.

What remains unclear to me is why Gates was arrested, brought to police headquarters, fingerprinted and photographed. What was the initial charge? Breaking and entering? Into your own home? It seems to me that no matter how loud and obnoxious Gates became, he must of been telling officers that the home he was in was his. A simple question to a neighbor or a little more patience on the part of the police may have resolved the tension. Hauling Gates down town did have a certain level of stupidity in it. Gates screaming at the police had a greater level of stupidity, after all, those guys are carrying guns and I'm sure some officers had guns drawn. If they didn't, they should have.

So I think there is enough stupidity to go around; Obama was stupid, Officer Crowley was stupid and Gates was stupid. I hope they can all come together now and have a beer at the White House as has been reported.

What still perplexes me though is that the presumption is that this was a race related event. I don't think it had anything to do with race. Most of the officers on scene were black from the photographs that I saw that day. I would hope that the police would have responded in a similar fashion if this incident involved a white person. Officer Crowley has an excellent record and personally has been concerned about racial profiling. Officer Crowley gets a bum rap in this regard.

tomtoak

Obama's call to support health care

I'm back and again I must apologize to readers as I have been totally consumed with visiting relatives that I have not seen in a long time. The beat goes on in my absence however, as Republicans keep finding new ways to astonish all.

Take for example, Michael Steele being asked a simple question; what company is your health care provider? That's right, the Republican Party Chairman does not know his health care provider. Now there is stupid and imbecilic. Michael Steele is definitely the latter. This is probably far worse than John McCain not knowing how many houses he owns. And these folks want to tell Americans what is best for their health care needs? How about that Sarah Palin, quitting her Governor's job (first term half way through) and thinking that she can remain a force in politics?

President Barack Obama has called upon progressive bloggers to jump out and support his health care plan. This is exactly what I intend to do. Obama was solidly elected on a platform of providing health care opportunity for all Americans and legislators that stand in the way need to watch out for the train that it going to hit them right between the eyes. The United States does not have the best health care in the world. Health care is a right - it's part of that silly "pursuit of happiness" thing.

One thing is for sure, the health care plan when passed will not be perfect. There will be a lot for people to debate and complain about. Obama is absolutely right however, let's get started and find answers along the way.

"Thank God I voted for Obama"; sounds like a good bumper sticker to me!

tomtoak

Backing a company that is too large to fail is an Obama mistake

I have never been a fan of consolidations in government or business. If you track back to my May 31st and June 2nd posts, I explain my position in greater detail. Cost savings are always disguised when the entity grows larger and more complex. Some of GM and AIG's problems grew out of the consolidations of the past.

Of all of the economic maneuvers of the Obama administration, the strategy that has me most concerned is the continued financial backing of companies that are still considered too big to fail. AIG, GM, Chrysler and major banks have been the recipients of tax payer bailouts. I continue to maintain that no company in America can become so large that it's failure would significantly damage our Nation.

I just came across this quotation that I think the Obama team needs to live by:

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex......It takes a touch of genus-----and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." Albert Einstein

While the auto industry (GM) is shedding divisions like Pontiac, the underlying intent is to make GM as strong as ever. GM officials will seek to do this in a way that would avoid competition. Removing a Pontiac from the market place will water down the competition for GM. Money thrown at AIG and the banks is going to end up in the hands of overpaid, over-egoed executives. This has already been widely reported to have happened. As for the working middle-class; they have been the ones that are forced to "sacrifice".

I keep going back to the AT&T model here. I think that it took courage to bust apart an American corporate icon that simply became too big and controlled too large a sector of the American economy. I maintain that GM needed to be broken into 4 separate corporations left to compete for our dollars. Insurance and banking industries need to be separated and appropriately regulated. We can no longer afford to let this failed marriage experiment in capitalism lead our lives. If we don't move in the opposite direction as Einstein proposed, our problems will remain with us for decades to come.

tomtoak

Wisdom from the Woods X

Wisdom from the Woods is an occasional column that outlines complex issues.


Today's picture is another view from the Holyoke Range in Western Massachusetts. It's in the woods where I think anyone can do their best thinking. Too bad Mark Sanford wasn't in the woods walking the Appalachian Trail as first reported, he could have really cleared his head if he had done that. He'll have a lot of opportunity to be walking the woods in the future though.

Today is kind of a special day as it marks my 100th post to this blog. I started the blog 141 days ago and I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing my thoughts. I am also pleased with the number of people that have been reading these pages and I'm most impressed by the average time readers are spending here (approximately 6 minutes per visit). At some point I will share with readers additional numbers, but I want to have more information because I have only been tracking the traffic for 2 months now.

Today I want to just say a few words about the most important complex issue of our times, nuclear proliferation. North Korea is really scaring me and because of their deteriorating economy, it won't be long before they make a move against the South. I hope that the Obama administration is making preparations for this disastrous possibility. This is another mess you have gotten us into, George Bush.

Why pick on Bush here when the upper Korean peninsula has been a problem since World War II? I'll pick on George because he accelerated the nuclear arms race throughout the world like no other peer. He started his 8 years after being selected as President by Sandra Day O'Connor by calling North Korea, Iraq and Iran; "the axis of evil". Bush then proceeds to launch a preemptive invasion of Iraq based upon a series of monumental falsehoods (lies if you will). Now ask yourself; if you've been labeled the "axis of evil" and the people doing the labeling invaded without cause one corner of the triangle, you sure as hell would be making preparations for protecting your country.

The problem Obama faces is the American political system itself. Even if Obama could wheel and deal with some of our adversaries, they know damn well that the next American leader could end up being another Bush (I'm choking here). Eight years is not a lot of time to deal with such a complex issue. Knowing that the United States never invaded a country with a nuclear deterrent is all the evidence any country would need to accelerate and build a nuclear arsenal. Given the messages sent by the Bush administration, is it any wonder that the world is now going to have to deal with 2 unfriendly nations that posses WMD?

This is not a pretty picture and I don't hazard a guess at the outcome. I do know this; George W. Bush was a disaster for the United States and the world. I wonder; if Sandra Day O'Connor had a second chance to pick a President, would she still choose the worst mistake in American history? Al Gore won the election by 500,000 votes and he won the state of Florida. One person (the deciding vote on the Supreme Court) is responsible for the current day nuclear proliferation and the economic morass that we are in. The Florida Supreme Court had it right with their unanimous vote (to count all of the votes). George W. Bush, the selected President lived up to his reputation of failing at everything he had his hands in.

Do you remember historically it was the American strategy to keep the Winchester rifle out of the hands of American Indian? We wanted that distinct firepower advantage over our perceived enemy. Certainly the American Indian knew that they were perceived as an enemy. Wanting weapons to even the fight is just human nature and many rifles were acquired by the native tribes. While the consequences of nuclear proliferation is far more dangerous, the human nature behind acquiring the weaponry remains the same.

Perhaps the Obama administration can change the tone by changing perceptions. It is my feeling that the possibility for success is extremely low. I don't think that perceptions will change fast enough to prevent these nations from building nuclear arsenals. Change in North Korea is especially problematic because that is truly a "closed" society. I hope I'm wrong!

George W. Bush; because of all your stupid bullying tactics, you have accelerated the potential growth of nuclear weapons in the hands of dangerous people. Your legacy can be summed up in one word; "failure" (during the Bush years if you googled; "failure", it would take you directly to the White House).

tomtoak