August 29, 2014

The United States Of America, A Super Power In Decline?

Your negative prejudice on big government is not helping. Your pessimism and cynicism against fellow man, yeah, I gotta tell ya, it’s not helping. Being the curmudgeon, the detractor, the scoffer, the doubting Thomas… Yeah, I’m talking to YOU… the person who is going to tell the rest of us how it is and why it doesn’t work, and why it can never work… Yeah, YOU! — You are part of the problem! You can continue to show your attitude, give us lip, tell me I’m being cliche by saying America is at a crossroads, but that is where we find ourselves. Either our best days ARE behind us, or many require a serious attitude adjustment.

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August 27, 2014

Mitch McConnell And His Oligarchic Constituency

It’s a comforting realization that Senator Mitch McConnell, while attending a Koch Brothers hosted conference, told a crowd of millionaires and billionaires that they don’t have to worry about him wasting time on “gosh darn” things like voting on a minimum wage increase. It’s always good to see a member of congress looking out for his constituents. And in the newly christened oligarchy, formerly known as the United States of America, those constituents pay no less than $5,000 a plate.

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August 23, 2014

Do Most Americans Agree That Police Militarization Is Over-The-Top?

Does a small Massachusetts police force, in a town of 10,000, need two M16’s (noted by MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki)? Do any small town (or even large city) police departments around the country need grenade launchers? How about tanks? Do most Americans agree that police militarization is over-the-top? Or, as I suspect is the case, are most Americans fine with a continued erosion of civil liberties in the name of public safety?

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August 21, 2014

The Untenable Yet Persistently Pursued War On Drugs

The United States spends over $50 billion per year to wage a war on drugs. Our prisons overrunneth with non-violent drug offenders, their sentences varied, but all assuming a life-long second-class citizenship status once they return to society. This creates a cycle of repeat offenses because it’s harder to earn a living when many companies won’t hire a person who has served prison time. These repeat offenses are a burden on our judicial system, costing taxpayer dollars, and made worse by conflict-of-interest ridden for-profit prisons, who would like to see higher recidivism rates. With over two million Americans incarcerated, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. All of this in a country where a “dangerous” drug called alcohol is legal. And the argument in support of the drug war is that drug legalization would exact too high a cost on society. If you ask me, we are paying a pretty hefty price already.

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August 18, 2014

Ferguson And The Event That Changed Everything

9/11 changed everything. – That is the refrain we heard over and over in the years after that tragic, but singular event. Why people felt the need to use that phrase escapes me now, but I think at the time I subscribed to that thought process. My cerebrum has since awoken, but many others have not quite let go. What exactly changed? The threat that existed pre-9/11 was always there, so in many ways what changed was our awareness. But what also changed is our fear-fueled response. It turns out 9/11 changed everything because we allowed it to. And if there was ever a time when “the terrorist won” rhetoric should apply, this would be it. How does this relate to the events in Ferguson, Missouri? Because we believe 9/11 changed everything, we decided militarization of our police forces was an acceptable curtailment of our civil liberties. And we our witnessing that abridgment of rights at this moment in Ferguson.

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August 18, 2014

I Want To Trust The Police, But…

I want to trust police, but I will not offer them trust or even respect if they give me reason to question their morals, their ethics, or purity to their oath of office. We make a huge mistake if we offer carte blanche to anyone, and that includes the police, elected officials, judges, justices, or even the President of the United States. Nobody deserves automatic respect without first considering situational awareness. If given no other reason, we can default to respect. If given no other reason, we should be gracious and well-mannered. But we are thinking human beings, and that means if someone gives us a reason to revoke our respect, regardless of stature in society, we must follow through.

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August 17, 2014

Why Do Police Officers In The Suburbs Wear Camouflage?

On Saturday’s MHP show on MSNBC, Melissa Harris-Perry asked, “Why do police officers in the suburbs wear camouflage?” I will add a few more questions. Why do police officers in the suburbs need an MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle? Why do police officers in the suburbs point their loaded weapons at a crowd of peaceful demonstrators? Why do police officers in the suburbs treat the citizenry as a war zone threat that must be neutralized? Why do police officers in the suburbs closely resemble American forces in Iraq or Afghanistan? And last, why are so many Americans indifferent to these questions?

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August 17, 2014

Liberals Are Lame

Yes, you heard me, liberals are lame. The problem with many fellow liberals is that they are not motivated enough to pay attention to what’s going on, and more importantly, vote. And you know what, I’ll even include myself in this critique, because I can be lame too. Sometimes you just have to disengage. But that’s still no excuse for not voting. And now we are hearing talk of the possibility of Republicans taking control of the Senate and that is all the evidence I need to posit once again that liberals are lame. If we actually went to the polls in mid-term elections, maybe we might get election outcomes that better represent the will of the people. Instead, liberals don’t show up, allowing a low voter turnout comprised of circus clowns, civil war reenactors, and loony bin escape artists, to set the agenda for years to come. And then when we do engage, because we’ve allowed this to happen, we feel the need to punch the lamp off our desk in frustration, which then causes us to disengage once again, and then sit out the next election. Somehow conservatives don’t seem to suffer from this affliction. They dutifully turn out to vote in each election. We could match them, and then raise them, but we don’t, because liberals are lame.

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August 15, 2014

Governmental Abuse Of Power

With today’s news that Texas governor Rick Perry has been indicted on abuse of power charges, a thought crossed my mind. It seems we can expect Republicans to set aside their usual big government rhetoric and come to the defense of Perry, but of course if this was a Democratic governor, Republicans would hold this up as yet the latest example of big government corruption. And that usual rhetorical refrain from Republicans implies that government is somehow more corruptible than some other entity like private enterprise. Is that really true? Is the public sector inherently more corruptible than the private sector? Or, is it that the public sector is held to a higher standard? And if it’s the latter that is true, it seems to me the ideological radar of many conservatives is candidate for a long overdue calibration. After all, if conservatives praise the private sector as the shining example of how to accomplish things efficiently and cheaply, why is it the public sector is held to a higher standard? And could it be true that the private sector is equally as corruptible, only, since it’s the private sector, we don’t know about it?

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