Corporate Responsibility

It is a serene day on the Gulf Coast. Early in the morning, entire towns say goodbye to brothers, fathers, and friends as they board their fishing vessels for another long day out at sea. Meanwhile, a dangerous and unsafe oil rig finally does the unthinkable and explodes. 11 people lose their lives while the rig sinks to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and tens of thousands of barrels of oil start gushing into the sea. The unsuspecting fisherman and communities along the coast have no idea what is about to happen to them.

British Petroleum, the company that owned the rig, has failed America and the world. They operated an unsafe rig and then failed to have any plan in place for if or when the unthinkable were to happen. They have consistently tried to downplay the amount of oil in the water and the ecological and economic damage caused by their recklessness. They have not paid the fisherman, whose livelihoods are probably ruined for at least a decade, and the process for receiving any funds from them is set up as a complicated process that will prevent people that need it most from receiving it. Every clean up effort they have attempted to establish has been hastily thrown together and lacks any credibility. Ultimately, it is another example of a corporation that has placed an entire region of America at risk.

Sarah Palin had a post on her infamous Facebook page that asked the American people to overlook this "isolated incident" and still trust the oil companies with our energy needs. Sorry Sarah, but this is the final straw. If nothing else can be gleaned from this tragic event, we should at least realize our need for alternative fuels and energy sources. One oil rig has successfully taken down an entire region of America and it is not done yet. From Exxon Valdez to the Gulf Disaster, it has been proven that we need another form of power to lead America into the future. It is time to put the money and resources that we would be using to prevent another disaster and instead start putting those into developing clean, reliable, and safe fuels that can be used by everyday Americans in everyday situations. We can do it. It is not decades away anymore. If we buckle down, fight the propaganda, and finally decide to lead again, we can never again be afraid of being punished for a corporation's mistakes.

The Two Party Game of Charades

Rewind. No, not the dvd you are watching but rather in your mind. Rewind to the year 2001. The Republican Party had won the Presidential Election, had control in Congress, and looked toward moving the country forward after the Clinton era. September 11, 2001. The most tragic day in American history. Thousands of people died in planes, skyscrapers, and a field in Pennsylvania. Everything changed. Democrats seemed crazy, blaming President Bush and his business partners. Republicans, however, kept a cool head. I wasn't very old then. In fact, I was in the 4th grade when the greatest legislative disaster in American history happened, The USA Patriot Act. I did not know it then, but the rule of law had been trampled upon. The Constitution is not a list of suggestions as to how the nation should be run. Rather, it is a stiff, inconvenient, unchanging list of rules that severely restricts what the government can or cannot do. And that is because that is what it was designed to be. The Republican Party did not care, as Senator Jeff Sessions put it on the Senate floor, "Some people love the Constitution more than the security of this nation.". When I came of age and realized the travesty that had occurred, I could no longer call myself a Republican.

So after that fiasco, I decided that I would look for a new party affiliation. I couldn't find a legitimate third party to side with, so I settled in as a Democrat. 2006 and 2008 were both really good years. Democrats finally took back control of both houses of Congress and the White House. Everybody was feeling optimistic and encouraged about the healing that was supposed to take place. The illegal, undeclared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were going to be brought to a much needed end. Guantanamo Bay was going to be closed. The abomination known as the Patriot Act would finally be allowed to expire. Executive power was supposed to be brought back to appropriate levels. And then...President Obama decided to renew the Act, closing Guantanamo has been stalled from the start, and Afghanistan continues without an end in sight. Healthcare reform was passed. But the final package was only a watered down version of what the country truly needs and even that is under threat of repeal. Any way you look at it, I was let down yet again and therefore can no longer be called a Democrat.

When it comes down to it, both Parties are the same Party. We are convinced that all third party candidates are crazy, extremists, or unqualified. We have been trained to believe that we either choose between the Democrats or the Republicans. Anything else is just a wasted vote. NEWSFLASH: All votes cast in every election dominated by the two major parties has been a wasted vote! Either party is not interested in representing your voice, opinion, belief, or stance. Rather, they are interested in saying or doing whatever it takes to get elected. Republicans use fear of the unknown and creeping "socialism" to make you feel unpatriotic for not electing them. Democrats use lofty promises, unattainable goals, and "change" to get put into office. Both use you. Both use me. Both manipulate and deceive in order to get power. They are in control of Presidential debates. (See Ralph Nader Presidential Debate 2000). They are in control of ballot access. They control every aspect of democracy, which makes this nation a farce of a democracy.

What can we do? Let's waste our vote. Let's rally behind a Libertarian, Green Party, Constitutionalist, or even a Socialist Party candidate. Let's show the Republicans and Democrats where they can stick their control, manipulation, and deceit. Chances are that if you look into those candidates, you will find passionate, patriotic, devoted, and honest men and women who want to lead by common sense and principle. It is possible to change the landscape in the election of 2010. It only takes one. Whether it is a governor, congressman, or senator, one third party candidate winning can open the floodgates. I am tired, you are tired, we are all tired. Now, let's do something about it.

Made in the USA

Imagine a serene coastal town. Imagine life in said town being relatively calm for centuries, avoiding the ravages of war, disease, famine, and weather disasters. People and society are both complex and concrete, being passed from generation to generation. Now imagine a ship filled with disease carrying, woman violating, violent people landing on the coast near this town and claiming the land for their far-away nation. I give you America's first immigrants.

Some may wonder why I tell the tale of these intrepid men of adventure. Well, it seems our good friends in Arizona have decided that our nation's history of immigration does not matter and all immigrants should be treated as criminals. In one of the greatest pieces of racial profiling ever committed by government, the state legislature has given Arizona authorities the right to detain anyone "suspected of being an illegal immigrant". That's right. Suspected. Not convicted of a crime. Not having their immigration status checked at a workplace or when arrested for a crime. Nope. Just by looking the part, United States citizens will now have to prove to skeptical law enforcement that they belong in this nation.

We have gone a long way from taking other nation's sick, poor, and oppressed. I guess the generosity of America cannot extend to everybody. Let alone Constitutional rights. Asking American citizens to prove who they are based on outward appearance is a grave step toward a police state. How are police officers not supposed to racially profile against Latino people when they are told that anyone of them could be here illegally. Forget where you stand on the immigration front. It should not matter whether you support deportation or paths to citizenship. The heart of the matter is that an entire state legislature has now told an entire race of people that they will be subject to search and seizure for looking the way that they do. They do not have to commit a crime or violate state law in any way. Police now have the authority to detain whoever they determine to have "suspect" immigration status. "I am sorry that you are a fourth generation American, Mrs. Sanchez, but you look an awful like the people that come through here. We have no other alternative. But, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." There is nothing to fear, except the extreme violation of Constitutional protection, racial profiling, and unwarranted confrontations with law enforcement...

When will we wake up? When will we finally realize what we are allowing people to do? There should have been protests outside that capitol building loud enough to keep the officials from hearing themselves think. There should have been people yelling and screaming outside to keep this insane law from happening. Where were the TEA Party Protesters then? Where were the people that claimed the violation of Constitutional rights when the health care bill passed? Where was Sara Palin? Glenn Beck? Michelle Bachmann? Where were the people on this issue? It is time that someone stand up for those that are being disenfranchised by our politicians. It is time that we yell and scream when something so bluntly racist and rights-destroying becomes law. It is time that all of those who have ranted and raved about losing rights to health care to not conveniently lose their voices when people are losing their basic rights to privacy and protection from unlawful searches and seizures. It is time. But the question, as always, remains: Will they step up?

Repeal, Repeal, Repeal!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is the time of year when televisions across America are flooded with campaign commercials. One candidate is running for office, and the other one is trying to stay in office. The guy trying to defeat the incumbent is always trying to point out how different they are from the person already in office. What amazes me, though, is the central theme in all the Republican candidates' commercials and websites. They all seem to be pushing for one thing, repeal. According to them, we need to completely repeal the health care bill that was passed and start over. We need to put, "common sense reforms", in place that the "American people want". My question is this, what are those plans?

It seems to me that they aren't working toward reform, as much as they are working toward being put into office. The Republican candidates, especially those endorsed by the Tea Party Movement, do not have a definite plan for what they would replace the bill with. What do you replace banning Pre-existing conditions with? What do you replace banning removing coverage from a sick person with? What do you replace establishing Insurance Exchanges, a simpler way of comparing and purchasing insurance, with? There was no bill from a single Republican in office outlining their plans for after Repeal. It seems as if the members of the Right have gotten all caught up in their fiery rhetoric and their doomsday predictions. Rather than establishing a clear, concise alternative to the plan being implemented, they have made people so angry and afraid that they don't need said plan. The candidates in the "Tea Party Express III" do not need clear, logical ideas that counter the ones put into place. They do not need a legitimate plan to be put into action once they would get elected. The reason that the Tea Party will stop being a legitimate force in any election after 2010 is that there is no substance. They will either lose a majority of races and be seen as a barking dog without teeth, or their candidates will get into office, repeal the health care plan, and try to come up with something that will never amount to anything because they did not have a plan put into place. Americans are a funny people: they get excited/zealous about their politics to the point of being blinded, but they are also very fast in pointing out when they have been duped. People that support and sustain the Tea Party may feel victorious in November, but they will feel betrayed from that point forward. Because rhetoric is nothing, if nothing is holding it up.

Homeland Security

My radio is frequently filled with angry conservative show hosts who rant and rave about how bad the country is under the "Obama Regime". They claim he is taking America back before Ronald Reagan with a new nuclear arms treaty, a topic I will tackle later, and with new energy taxes. It really is a head-scratcher to hear conservatives from coast to coast rail against funding for new, alternative energy forms, then turn around and say that liberals are anti-national security. It would seem like the opposite argument would be made by the party that is bent on keeping all of America safe and secure from the scary mass that seems to be creeping into our perfect land of opportunity. While new energy taxes would raise the cost of motor oil, gasoline, heating oil, and other petroleum products, it would also allow new energy options to be fast-tracked with increased funding. While we cannot ignore the benefits of off-shore drilling, it is not a long-term fix. It is like giving a person with a concussion a bottle of Tylenol. While the pills would relieve the headache for a little bit, the underlying condition would only get worse.
The energy provisions in this bill would finally accomplish what every president from Nixon to Obama has claimed to work toward, ending our dependence on foreign oil. Why is that so important? One nugget of information is that with every dollar increase in the price of oil, before the climate/energy bill passes, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and the other extremely friendly OPEC nations receive an extra cool billion dollars in profits. So when the price of gas rises to the projected $4 a gallon from the average $3 a gallon it is now, all of our friends in the Middle East will be $1 billion richer. I do not claim to be an expert in the oil business, but for a party that passed the USA PATRIOT ACT for our security, opposition to giving OPEC nations more money just seems wrong. Maybe it is something they overlooked when they started their multi-million dollar advertising campaign, or maybe it is just a contradiction they are willing to overlook so long as they get elected into office. Whatever the reason, I guess I will never understand the minds behind conservative radio.

Another one bites the dust

I am of the pedigree that believes in a well educated society. Nations that have populations full of educated, learned people happen to find themselves with lower crime rates, fairer societies, lower unemployment, and overall better standards of living. With this as this background, you can see why a person such as myself would grumble at education cuts here in Indiana. However, our fearless leader Mitch Daniels insisted that all parts of the government were feeling this pinch. We were told that Hoosier families were tightening their belts, so the government should as well. While we still choked, we swallowed the cuts as a necessary evil for the good of everyone.
And then,

"The governor has said he's skeptical the lawsuit can succeed. But he says his assessment is based not on analysis of the constitutional issues involved, but on the courts' historical reluctance to limit federal powers."(http://www.wibc.com/news/Story.aspx?ID=1212765)

that happened. Governor Mitch Daniels, after slashing millions of dollars from the budgets of schools, colleges, and universities, publicly applauded the Attorney General's office for joining a lawsuit against the Federal Healthcare legislation. We all took a double-take.
It was not enough to tell the children in Indiana that their future was not important. It was not enough to cut teachers, increase class sizes, cut after school programs, and increase tuition for thousands of students in our public university system. My Man Mitch had to slap Hoosiers in the face one more time and play politics over their children's futures. This lawsuit is not about protecting the rights of Hoosiers, but scoring political points from the loud and intimidating Tea Partiers outside his office. While the programs that were keeping kids off the street and in school disappear, he can feel good knowing that the extreme Right is satisfied with his political maneuvering. While class sizes double and children across the Hoosier state see their test scores drop, Mitch Daniels can see his poll numbers go up as he considers a run for President. While yet another generation can expect to see themselves become dumber than their parents, Mitch will be applauded for how smart this move was. My generation is dumber than the one that came before us, test scores prove it. The one that comes after me is also expected to suffer the same fate. Generations of politicians using public education as a quick piggy bank in times of crisis has finally caught up to us. We have written and signed the sentence for children not yet born. We have taken things like this time and time again during Daniels' two terms in office. We can lay down and allow him to trample over our children, our future, and our hope once again.
Or, on November 2, 2010, we can rise once more and say that enough is enough. That we are tired of our children's future being mortgaged for political points on the national stage. That we refuse to allow the Daniels Administration to continue to dumb down our future generations for short term political gains. It is not too late. We can change the way business is done in the State of Indiana, and across the United States of America. We can do it. The future rests in our hands and the only thing I have to ask is this; Will you join me?

The Case for Real HealthCare Reform

Picture a pristine day. A local teenager goes to the hospital to visit a sick friend and has to wait in line at the front desk before he can find out which room the friend is in. He normally doesn't ease drop on other people's conversations, but this was different. Because the lady in front of him wasn't having a typical conversation, but was instead begging for her husband's life.
Sounds ridiculous, huh? It isn't all that uncommon. The woman in the hospital wasn't crying because her husband needed life saving surgery or had an untreatable disease. Rather, he was a diabetic, who like millions of us, had lost his job and taken whatever he could find in order to feed his family. He wasn't "wasting his money away on luxury items" or "drinking his paycheck away before he got to the bank.". He didn't qualify for health insurance at his new job and had trouble putting food on the table, so he did what many have to do and cut out medical expenses. Except, the expense he cut was the one keeping him alive, insulin. His wife, without his knowledge, had gone to the hospital to beg the administrators for a sample or two to get him through the next week. "He had trouble waking up these past two weeks, and almost didn't get up at all today..." she said through sobs. The overwhelmed clerk had her take a seat and called in someone to talk to her.
I don't know what happened to that family, and it really shouldn't matter. When citizens of the wealthiest nation on the planet are reduced to begging samples of life saving medication off of institutions because they couldn't afford to pay another institution to cover them for it, it is time for a change. Not this stupid excuse for a change that just puts more people at the mercy of the insurance giants. Not this stupid excuse of a change that makes people the slave of businesses. Not this stupid excuse of a change that forces people to pay companies thousands of dollars a year for the hope of being kept alive when they need that same company to come through. It is time that we demand more from our government. There will be people out there that rant and rave. They have health coverage and don't want anything to change. As one tea-party sympathizer put it to me, "Healthcare is a privilege for those who can afford it; not a right. Where in the bill of rights does it mention healthcare?". They were right, it doesn't mention healthcare as a right for all Americans. Of course, the Founding Fathers didn't imagine that a land of unlimited potential and prosperity would eventually force it's citizens to fight and claw with tyrannical systems to have the basic necessities. Things need to change. People need to rise up. Not through violence or screaming. It will be the quietest and most peaceful Revolution in the history of the world. As one voice, the poor, lonely, and dejected will rise up and take back America. We will finally say that it is time for the American public to be taken care of without question or hesitation. And when that day comes, the establishment will put their tails between their legs and run like hell. And not a single soul will miss them.