Dear Lou: look outside

Lou’s Line-Item Veto: Climate Change

Television

Tonight we investigate the Stimulus bill’s proposed $390 million for climate change research. We pose the questions Americans want answered. How will this $390M stimulate the economy? How many jobs will be created? And who exactly will benefit if the money is spent? Join us tonight for, Lou’s Line-Item Veto: Climate Change.

Lou wants to line-veto the study of climate change from the stimulus package. You've got to be kidding me. Lou: we have over two feet of snow outside our house... here, in Southern Indiana, where we rarely see snow at all. We're literally snowed and iced in. The temperature has only cracked 30 degrees a few days this entire winter. The lowest was -6. It never drops to -6 here.

The last two winters were too wet. Twice the electrical poles washed down the side of the hill due to erosion. Farmers were delayed in their planting by months because their fields had become lakes.

Two years ago, we had mosquito swarms on New Years Day. This winter is too cold; more like Chicago (or the Arctic) than Southern Indiana. Last summer we had an epic flood; our rivers overflowed and drowned several entire cities. No one alive has ever seen anything like it. Late summers have been drifting into drought conditions, killing the corn as it stands in the fields. And realize, this is the corn that was already planted late because of the flooding.

Are you starting to get it?

Our farmers are now struggling to grow corn. You know, corn -- this is the corn belt. Growing corn is what we do. We grow the food the country eats.

Do you live in a city, Lou? Then maybe you haven't noticed the chaos outside your window. Until you do, please leave climate change for the scientists and everyone who does look out the window. That scientific gag has been in place for eight long years, and its past time we found out what we're dealing with here. Those of us in Indiana know something is very, very wrong.

That, and we're now dodging tornadoes as late as Thanksgiving and even Christmas.

Tornado season used to be springtime... now its 'any time.' The one commonality in all of this chaos is that everything we see in the way of weather is extreme. Extremely wet, extremely dry, extremely cold. The rising and falling barometric pressure changes are now so steep - and happen so quickly - that many people suffer from migraines when a front moves in.

As for your claim that there are no jobs in the study of climate change; sure there are. There are jobs in every industry willing to hire American citizens.

Lou! You found the forest!

Is Lou FINALLY starting to get it?

It appears he has set aside his fascination for ACORNs, and focused on the veritable forest of nation-wide voting problems.

Lou Dobbs Tonight
Monday, October 20, 2008

Tonight, we continue to examine the state of our voting system, and most importantly, its integrity as voters prepare to flock to the polls in record numbers. A Superior Court judge ordered stepped up security of 10,000 electronic voting machines in New Jersey Friday. The machines have been proven to be hackable in seven minutes. The court also agreed to release a Princeton University professor's report that questions the reliability of the machines. Princeton's Coalition for Peace Action and others have sued to force the state to return to paper balloting. New jersey does not have a paper trail and electronic machines miscounted voted in the primaries.

Get a clue, Lou

Lou... I swear. Sometimes you're right on the money, when you talk about the way corporations have taken over our government. And then there are those other times... when you are way out in right field, parroting back the paranoid propaganda being spread around by the RNC.

I just received an email alert from Lou Dobbs, letting me know that 'Democracy is at stake,' simply because the Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling that challenged thousands of Ohio registrations (based on complaints by Republicans.) And of course... all the mainstream media can talk about these days is ACORN, ACORN, ACORN; talking points in hand, the wild, frantic drumbeat grows ever louder (and a little more desperate as it appears we're just not buying it anymore.)

Once and for all: ACORN isn't out to destroy Democracy. You can rest assured that no one named 'Mickey Mouse' will show up to vote in Ohio. Even if someone - deliberately or by mistake - had managed to register a Mickey Mouse to vote in Ohio, you can bet that everyone would notice if this



walked into the polls and tried to cast a vote. Deep breath, lose the hysteria.

What you are seeing is a concerted Republican effort to suppress new voters -- voters that are expected to vote overwhelmingly for Obama. Are they to be turned away simply because it benefits the GOP's self interest?

Lou: if you were the GOP, and you couldn't stop the flood of new voters, what would you do? Might you question the legality of their registrations in an attempt to somehow keep them out of the polls on election day? That might make sense if you were losing -- right?

Lou -- were you upset with all of the voting irregularities that occurred in Ohio - under a GOP state government - in 2004? Because these irregularities were the turning point in a very close election, and left us with another four years of George W. Bush. Amazing how such an unpopular president managed to miraculously dodge those exit polls and win Ohio, don't you think?

Registrations don't steal elections Lou... elections are stolen when the votes aren't counted, or are falsely invalidated after they have been cast, or when legally registered voters are turned away from the polls, or when absentee ballots somehow 'disappear,' or when votes are electronically hacked from a basement. All of this actually happened in 2004. Where were you then?

If you want to be enraged about an issue, be enraged about the fact that we still don't have voting machine paper trails in many states. No one can vote without an ID; but their votes can still 'magically disappear' after they are cast, depending on who within state government is in a position to manipulate the system once the votes have been cast.

And Lou... that just ain't ACORN.

For God's sake, do a little research... would you? The UK media is way ahead of you.

Lou Dobbs: Earmarks with bailout

Lou Dobbs, on the war path

Lou will be fun tonight. (I guess 'fun' isn't quite right; 'madder than a wet hen' might be a better description.)

Here is the email alert about tonight's show:

Lou Dobbs Tonight
Friday, October 3, 2008

Tonight, it’s official: Both houses of Congress have passed the $850 billion Wall Street bailout that rewards massive banks and corporations for their deceptive lending practices, shady accounting and reckless, greedy transactions.

Now it’s on its way to the president for a slam dunk signature. It’s another big win for the ultra-wealthy and another insult to the ordinary men and women who make up this country. We’ll have complete coverage.

Plus:

* House members are the latest to have to explain their votes on the mega-bank mega-bailout. They love to talk about ending pork, but this bill was loaded with it.

* California’s budget crisis is worsening. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson saying his state may need an emergency loan up to $7
billion. California is not the only state struggling for funding during this credit crunch. New Mexico and Massachusetts are considering cancelling large infrastructure projects.

* Congress is rushing through meaningless legislation ahead of its latest vacation, rather than addressing the major issues that matter to Americans. Congress didn’t pass appropriations bills, but instead lumped spending measures into a continuing
resolution. On the critical legislation like e-verify, lawmakers simply passed a temporary extension. And, Congress will break without passing real foreclosure relief for struggling families.

* Manufacturers, unions, and farmers groups are outraged at the way this country’s faith-based free trade policies created the current economic crisis. Today, the Coalition to Fix America's Economy will announced a proposal to revive our manufacturing sector and to make manufacturing and farming part of the economic dialogue for our presidential candidates.

(Lou - seriously - can we 'revive' a manufacturing sector that was shipped overseas to China?)

Whether you agree with his stance on immigration or not, you have to admit he's relentless when it comes to Congress, Wall Street and lobbyists.

FBI Investigates Wall Street

Go Lou!

Lou Dobbs goes for the throat

I haven't been able to catch Lou lately (and I grew tired of the immigration rants; I'm much more concerned with saving our Constitution and democracy.) But when Lou Dobbs takes off the immigration hat and puts on his anti-corpocrisy helmet... he's 'everyman' with a bullhorn.

Judging from my latest CNN email alert, tonight is going to be fun.

From CNN: Tonight on Lou Dobbs

* Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Lehman Brother and AIG under federal investigation. The FBI is investigating the companies as part of a broader look into deceptive mortgage lending and possible fraud in creating the current market mess. At least 26 firms are under investigation as well

* For years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac feasted on public trust and the promise that their stocks were backed by a line of Treasury credit. As they grew bloated, and executive salaries skyrocketed, some experts warned that the U.S. economy was being put at risk. But that was drowned out by a virtual army of lobbyists.

* Lawmakers in the House of Representatives finally passed a Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights yesterday after months of waffling, partisan bickering, and holding meaningless hearings while failing to address the issue with legislation. But that doesn’t mean regular men and women are suddenly going to get a fair shake against the greedy mega-companies that can boost fees and change the rules at any time. After all, the Senate still has to pass the bill and the president has to sign it – both have said they oppose legislation that helps the middle class and not multi-billion dollar financial companies.

Lay waste to them Lou! If we all keep pounding on them from every direction, we may save this country yet.

By the way... this is what real patriotism looks like. Its not a bumper sticker. Its not even a flag.

Patriotism is a unified sea of Republicans, Democrats and Independents - united by our love of freedom, Constitution and democracy - rising up as one wave; and crashing down on any attempted tyranny (be it financial or otherwise.)

All of us, together.

To hell with this 'blue' and 'red' BS the political machines use to divide, then conquer us. The word 'biparisan' is completely empty in the face of our united, collective wrath. They can't beat us if we stick together. Nation before party! (Finally!)

So... what is 'Unity08?'

There is a 'Proud to be a Unity08 Delegate' button on the side of this blog.

So what, exactly, does that mean? What is a Unity08 Delegate?

As I mentioned before, I have finally left the Democratic party and become an Independent. I have felt, for some time now, that the party has strayed from its roots and has been swallowed up by special interests -- and these special interests do not represent my interests. Some members of the party do seem to be on 'my page.' But the same can be said for some Republicans.

Both parties - in my opinion - are now completely compromised by special interests and their campaign contributions. And we are paying the price.

As Lou Dobbs has said - and I completely agree with him:

"I don't know about you, but I can't take seriously anyone who takes either the Republican Party or Democratic Party seriously -- in part because neither party takes you and me seriously; in part because both are bought and paid for by corporate America and special interests. And neither party gives a damn about the middle class."

Bingo.

Lou goes on to say:

"But as I discuss in my new book, "War on the Middle Class," what if we all resolved that we would not permit either the Republicans or Democrats to waste their time and ours with wedge issues? Both parties love to excite their bases by focusing on wedge issues like gay marriage, the pledge of allegiance, school prayer, judicial appointments, gun control, stem cell research and welfare reform.

Each of these wedge issues is important in varying degrees to large numbers of us, but none of them rises to the level of urgency or the requirement of immediate change in public policy.

These issues are raised by both political parties to distract and divert public attention from the profound issues -- like educating our youth, economic inequality and the war against radical Islamic terrorists -- that affect our daily lives and the American way of life. Imagine the consternation in Washington if both parties had to contend with a national electorate whose political affiliation had dramatically changed within a matter of weeks or months."

When I first heard about Unity08, I was a bit skeptical (I usually am - I grew up during the Nixon Administration, and one of my first memories of 'government in action' was Watergate.)

The more I read about their 'platform,' the more I realized that it is in sync with my own ideas about bipartisanship and the need to address real issues affecting this country - issues like healthcare - not just the usual, highly emotional wedge issues that appeal to the extremes on either side.

Imagine for a minute... a truly bipartisan ticket. Now wouldn't that shake up the establishment.

Now imagine that this bipartisan, 'Unity' ticket is:

"funded solely by small-dollar donations from everyday Americans. As a result the Unity08 President and Vice President will enter office not with favors owed to lobbyists and special interests but with a clear mandate from the American people to cooperate and provide courageous leadership on the most crucial, complex issues facing our country."

Sound interesting? I believe it is worth a try. Our political system, in its current state, is broken.

My Declaration of Independence

We are not all cut from either 'right' or 'left' cloth

I now consider myself an Independent, after a lifetime of believing myself a Democrat (based on ideology, which I now realize doesn't jive with actuality.) I wasn't asked, the last time I registered to vote, which party affiliation I now hold... so I never had the opportunity to formally announce my declaration of independence.

One of the main things that drove me away from politics, was partisan lock-step. So often politicians and their supporters appear to be strong on emotion and short on logic. Thus the partisan extremism, mudslinging and personal attacks that have become so common during election years. I am so turned off from that kind of behavior, that I generally boycotted all politics until Katrina. Partisan politics is tearing this country apart, and both sides lose in the end because we all need each other if we are going to survive.

As a result of rediscovering myself as an Independent, I am noticing partisan talk much more than I ever have in the past. Every article I read is slanted one way or another - I didn't notice to what extent until I divorced myself from this broken Democratic party. From my experience, people just don't fit comfortably into categories. These two parties have become much too strong, and much too polarizing. And neither one has remained true to its base. There is a lot of talk, a lot of ideology tossed about, but behind the scenes both parties are sticking it to us in favor of money - money in their own pockets. Lincoln would call this 'capitalists acting harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people.'

Both extremes - the far right and the far left - are so determined to have things their way, that they appear to run almost entirely on emotional intensity. 'Winning' becomes more important than finding common ground, negotiating, and finding solutions that benefit everyone. And this is just within our American society - never mind when we go out into the rest of the world and start trying to inflict our demands on everyone out there.

No one party's interests should trump the interests of the nation as a whole. Everyone from the individuals, to large businesses should be represented - and could be represented - if we were simply willing to compromise and be reasonable.

I have undoubtedly been something of an Independent in my thinking all along. I may lean more towards Democratic ideology, but the Democratic platform isn't what it used to be. I have no idea what they represent now... but I know what they once represented, or said they represented.

The Democratic platform used to profess to represent me, and those less fortunate than myself. I believe, for example, that unions exist for a very important reason: to serve as oversight on those businesses that care more about money than their workers. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need unions. But ask any coal miner and he will tell you in a heartbeat - this is no perfect world. Coal miners work hard, and they deserve to be able to feed their families and have good health care. God knows they need it. That said, unions can go overboard as well, and make unreasonable demands that would bankrupt many companies. When I think of union extremism, I think of professional sports. A livable wage - even a good wage - for an athlete is reasonable. Mega millions of dollars - just for hitting a ball with a bat - is frankly crazy (ARod... sorry buddy, you're wildly overpaid.) Balance. Reason. Both sides having a say, and compromises hashed out.

The Democratic platform promoted themselves as the party of corporate oversight, especially where food, drugs and the environment are concerned. Oversight is logical. We have to live on this planet. We have to drink the water, breathe the air and eat the food. It is totally illogical to sacrifice any of these life-giving necessities so that some corporations can become lazy, 'bad neighbors,' just to save money.

Balance... corporations aren't 'bad' unless they - like anyone or anything - become so powerful that they become a tyranny in our midst. With good oversight to counter their total focus on money, corporations play a huge role in our strength as a nation. But now they have run amok, and are even abandoning our country and moving their headquarters out of the U.S. so they can make even more money, basically enslave the populace in countries that have even less regulation than we do, avoid paying US taxes (what little they paid anyway...) its shameful. That should tell you all you need to know about corporate 'ethics.' It doesn't exist.

There must be oversight to protect the people (and that includes those who work in that corporation.) The corporations will never police themselves, not when their entire existence is based on making a profit at all costs. A corporation will generally only behave in a moral fashion if there is profit in being moral. That is just a fact of business.

I am a firm believer in oversight, because (having worked in business - I was an IS professional for 18 years,) I understand the beast pretty well. I saw and worked in some excellent working environments that were ruined when - in the interest of 'making more money' - an outside reformer would be brought in, rounds of layoffs would take place, and the resulting company would be so broken in spirit that in the end, the entire company went under. Everybody lost.

I learned from experience that people are the business - just as the middle class is the driving force behind our country's productivity.

I believe this 'attack on the middle class' that Lou Dobbs espouses started early in my IS career, with all of the 'reorganizations' that forced many of us to change jobs constantly, just ahead of the lay-off ax. I did enjoy a few great workplaces and I recall that I did my best work - my most productive work - in those nurturing environments. It seems completely illogical to me that someone would actually believe it possible to improve profits by destroying these great working environments. Every single time I went through it, the business suffered. Turns out, the productivity was the profit, and the workers were the productivity. Treat the workforce with respect and productivity will soar. People want to do a good job, but angry people lash out any way they can. I've seen this scenario over and over again.

People will give you 100% if they believe they are seen and appreciated. If they feel attacked, marginalized and used, they will rebel and productivity will plummet. Small businesses learn this quickly: if you want to provide good support to customers, ensure repeat business, and provide a consistent product -- you must keep your employees happy.

What I see in this new, 'Enron Republicanism' (not to be confused with old school Republicans and conservatives - there are many flavors;) is that same 'hack and burn to make more profit' philosophy. Anything for a buck, and not much thought going into the part played by the workers in assuring that profit. In other words -- profit over people.

Our middle class is very important to this nation - the middle class has been the pool, the fountain of our creativity, industriousness and new ideas for generations. You could say it was the middle class that made this country what it is today. The very wealthy may have funded it, but the middle class was the melting pot out of which came the ideas, scientific research, engineering, and entrepreneurial spirit that gave us the Internet, personal computers, the pharmaceuticals we use today, and modern medicine.

It is absolutely insane to wipe out our middle class - and especially crazy to deprive their children of the education that will ensure our future competitiveness as a nation. We can't possibly hope to keep our status as a world power without an educated and productive middle class. And yet it is true: the middle class is under attack from every direction now and education expenses are so high that soon we may lose this vast pool of intellect and creativity that has been a driving force in our national success for generations.

We need to find our balance again. We need a strong economy, a strong business world, a strong middle class. We also need to solve the problem of poverty in this country, as it diminishes all of us. That was very apparent in the aftermath of Katrina. We must salvage our reputation in this world - close down these illegal and immoral secret camps and ban torture again, restore habeas corpus and once again become a country that adheres to the rule of law.

I honestly believe that we have to move past partisan politics and find common ground. There must be a way for us all to work together and thrive together as a nation.

Compromise. Balance. An environment where both the corporate world and the average worker can thrive, where pollution is checked, where our food is protected, and health care is available to everyone who needs it. Our country will be stronger for it. Perhaps we need a bipartisan ticket after all... or maybe a third party. Its obvious something has to change.

I believe we also need to look deeply at the roots of crime in this country... why are our prisons so over-crowded? What can be done to address the underlying reasons for this problem? I watched a fascinating documentary on Nixon, and was stunned to see that he was doing just that... he actually sent someone into the prisons to find out why they were so crowded, found out it was due in great part to heroine addiction, and so he implemented a rehab program utilizing methadone. No one ever accused Richard Nixon of being stupid. Paranoid maybe, and vindictive... but not stupid. It is this sort of thinking - logic - that will help us overcome our problems. More logic, less knee-jerk emotion.

We all need each other. Its that simple. We can continue to tear each other (and thus our country) apart with partisan politics, or we can pull together and work out solutions that benefit everyone. I'd prefer the latter.