Prison for Immigrants is BIG BUSINESS$$$

As local governments and states attempt to address budget shortfalls a new phenomenon is becoming more prevalent as it already has in certain pockets across the nation.

Prisons once only used to house those found guilty of committing crimes against society have been found to be a financial windfall for governments and the for profit private corporations that run them.

These facilities which were originally constructed to house and punish our nations law breakers yet they have found a new use although one they were not designed for and new private prisons again not designed to temporarily house detainees are being built everyday across this nation.

Rather than being detained to await quick deportation these unfortunate individuals are being housed in prisons which are designed for punishment even though these immigrants have been convicted of No crime. Also with language barriers and no access to any legal counsel some will be housed like convicts for quite a bit of time even years are not out of the question and are becoming increasingly normal for those exposed to this new realm of hell on Earth.

Guilt or innocence is no longer part of the equation, only a lack of a Green-Card will guarantee a spot in this ever growing industry. No longer just a place for those who commit murder, rape or bank robberies etc the only needed criteria is the lack of a U.S. Green-Card. The maxim, “Liberty & Justice for All” is of no consequence here punishment is guaranteed even if it is not warranted.

Now in Southwest Ranches, Florida the local government is cashing in thanks to the U.S. government by beginning to build what will ultimately be the Largest immigration detention center in America. The payoff will be a 4% cut of the profits from the For-Profit private agency hired to house these unfortunate human beings.

There is Big Money to be made here as other sites are also being contemplated in San Antonio, Texas, Essex County, New Jersey and Orange County, California.

The latest and greatest will of course be run by Corrections Corporation of America this nations largest private prison corporation. Immigration detention and housing are big business as they provide 12% or almost $200 million yearly to CCA’s corporate bottom line.

This new 1500 bed facility is expected to generate $1.5 million per year to CCA and local officials are now speaking of the commission they will receive for every filled bed.

No matter that this affluent communities residents do not want to have CCA as a neighbor dollar signs are blurring, distorting and blocking lines of communication. One official wrote, “I have been fully advised by our DC contacts that we should remain fully quiet on this one and to let our DC Leaders help without sparking a fire that will make it more difficult for them to assist”. The official who wrote the above referenced text is also a partner in one of Florida’s largest lobbying firms.

While the status of the illegal immigration issue has been garnering numerous news reports and even government legislation little if anything has actually been accomplished. Former President George W. Bush even signed legislation to build fences along our southern border with Mexico while also increasing the number of ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) agents.

However even legislation that has passed and been signed by the president is of little use when after signing the legislation President Bush never properly funded the program. The gesture while quelling public sentiment in the end did little to address the issue as no profit margins could be realized by the ever growing private for profit business sector or their lobbyists.

The Department of Homeland Security came to the conclusion that the mass detention of these individuals was the answer to the problem. It is of little surprise that this thought process will only enrich the for profit prison industry along with their lobbyists and the campaign coffers of the legislator’s involved.

Somewhere along the lines of 50% of immigrants detained in the U.S. are held in for profit facilities and these companies are trying more everyday to corner the market and increase profit margins as they grab up higher and higher shares of their needed customers or should I say prisoners.

It has become a self fulfilling prophecy as these facilities are built that they need to keep these prisoners coming to continue to grow the profits of their corporations.

The immigration detention figures speak for themselves in 1994 daily inmate counts stood at 6,785. In 2001 the figure had risen to 20,249 and by 2010 the count had risen to 31,200, this final figure was a 450% increase from 1994. Of course this only added to the financial profits of these for profit prison corporations while literally doing nothing to address illegal immigration into the United States.

However it did enrich a few particular segments of society; the private prisons, lobbyists and the campaign funds of various legislators. There was even a journalistic segment done by NPR (National Public Radio) that covered how the private prison industry had quietly behind the scenes helped to draft self-serving legislation in Arizona (Arizona Senate Bill 1070). There was also an Out and Out Lie that a Government official used quite often to justify the passing of the legislation and even though the proof that the statement was in fact a lie the official never changed their tune. No illegal had murdered a rancher a legal U.S. citizen had, oh well so much for facts.

The new state statute was extreme in it’s scope and polarizing across the nation. The new law requires police in Arizona to ask people for their immigration papers during traffic stops using an Undefined-Reasonable-Suspicion procedure that the person may be in this country of 300 million+ illegally.

Legislation was also passed in Alabama which is still feeling it’s effects with dwindling school populations and less funding dollars for those still in need of an education. Farm crops rotted in the field as Americans would not or could not do the work all to the dismay of farmers losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. With 7 million immigrants in the U.S. workforce and American workers are not the least bit interested in the jobs they hold or held to whom will America turn for this labor?

Over 15% of our national population is of Hispanic or Latino decent nationwide. However in the western regions of this country of which Arizona clearly falls into 42% of the citizens are either Hispanic or Latino. And Arizona is not the only state that wants to jump on this cash cow to enrich the states coffers several other states are following their lead hoping to cash in on this new captive audience to fill their bank accounts.

Again Immigration-Reform has taken a back seat to creating an enormously profitable enterprise for both the states and the private corporations. Rather then proposing, legislating, enacting and addressing immigration reform, states and the federal government are attempting and succeeding in cashing in on this issue.

The Director of ICE John Morton stated, “This isn’t a question of whether or not we will detain people. We will detain people, and we will detain them on a grand scale”. It is of little consequence that the vast majority of detainees present no danger to the public or are expected to flee the country. A cottage prison industry has been built and by God prisoners are needed to fill the beds within, there is money to be made and no one is going to stand in the way.

Even though $2 billion dollars a year is being spent housing people who should not be in jail in the first place is inhumane, wasteful and fails to address immigration reform in anyway the American taxpayer is on the hook for funding this charade.

NOTE THE LACK OF CORRELATION TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND VIOLENT CRIMES BELOW;

This subcontracting of America is continuing unabated from national security, foreign mercenaries, private prisons and the list goes on all the while our countries standing in the World community is suffering yet no one seems to care. Neither would you if you were a Bought-&-Paid for legislator or a corporation receiving untold funds thanks to your successful lobbying efforts.

Presently each immigrant inmate costs $166 dollars per day as the United States rapidly approaches 2.5 million of it’s citizens incarcerated for real-crimes and we are known across the globe as The-World’s-Jailer do we want to add to this horrific distinction?

Our prisons today are inhumane warehouse facilities with at least 20% of the population suffering from mental illness do we want to compound the problem. Over $70 billion dollars a year are spent housing our Real criminals a 660% increase from 1982-2006. Do we want to see the same exponential increase in our housing of illegal immigrants under even harsher confinement conditions?

In 2001 the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported it cost $62.01 per day to house an inmate. In 2009 the state of California reported it’s cost at $129.04 per day.

With private prisons charging $166 dollars per day this would be a profit margin any CEO would be proud of and would be continually trying to refill or increase the numbers of captive clients. Lobbyists would be beating down the doors of our elected officials in their attempts to further privatize the incarceration industry. Politicians as in the past will be happy to take the campaign contributions realized after successful legislation to this end, the full privatization of a once federal and state controlled job.

Why will our Washington legislators never effectively address illegal immigration in this country. It all comes down to money as is usually the case representing the United States citizen as they swore an oath to do has become nothing more than meaningless words. Corporations and Lobbyists control the USA, it’s government and it’s citizens to think otherwise is a fools paradise.

Americans can go to sleep every night in their comfortable beds after a nice dinner that was more than likely brought to them from slave waged illegal immigrants.

Drug addicts can continue to buy their illegal drug of choice. While our government does not condone it they do nothing to stop the illegal drug trade between the United States and Mexico, we even supply them with the needed ingredients, corporations need to make profits. However if we Truly wished as a nation to slow the tide of illegal drugs the U.S. could stop American corporations from selling Mexico the precursors for drug manufacture.

No one needs to worry about the countless innocent immigrants suffering often for years housed in prisons which were not created to Detain them, why even bother to think about it?

Only trying to find a better life cost this illegal his life.

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U.S. Income Inequality is Destroying the USA for the rich & Poor

During the 1970 period 15% of American’s lived in either poor or affluent developments. When we look at the data for 2007 a full 35% lived in one of the two neighborhood types. Between the 2000 and 2007 period there was a surge of Income Segregation for black and Hispanic family units while this was not as rapid as the 1970 to present era it was dramatic. This recent phenomenon Income Segregation has been only increasing in the last four decades crossing all racial boundaries without regard or concern it is just a merciless drum. There are those With alongside those Without and in the end we will all suffer for it as it will only greatly contribute to the decline of the United States of America.

While for some, those not having to share their affluent schools and social systems with others this may look promising to them. However it does not look promising for our or other countries poorer citizens or for the USA as a whole in the long run.

Also funding attitudes may change as further segregation continues with the affluent less likely wanting to fund programs that were funded in more segregated communities of times past.

The Brookings institution found that those American’s living in Extreme poverty rose by 1/3 from 2000 to the latter half of the decade. Those in the suburbs did not fare well either as there was a 53% increase in those living in poverty from 2000-2010.

Even those of the affluent classes are showing growing concern for this phenomenon as it will continue to be detrimental to the United States as a whole until it is addressed, yet this is mostly seen in Economists who really have a grasp of the big-picture. In a September 2011 study done by the International Monetary Fund it found that greater income equality positively correlates with a nation’s economic growth.

We are constantly told by our elected officials in Washington that the U.S. must reduce environmental regulation and reduce taxes. This in a country where the effective corporate/business tax rate is 17% not 35% as the thirty-five percent figure does not take into account all of the tax loopholes used by those corporations that do pay taxes. Many corporations pay little if any taxes via the use of offshore tax-havens, the figures estimated to be in the trillion dollar range. The top 1% has seen their income increase by 270% versus 19% for the bottom tier of Americans from 1979-2007.

CBO 2007 data

In the CBO report it was also found that between 2005-2007 that the after tax income of the top 20% of the U.S. population exceeded the remaining after-tax income for the rest of the nation. It was also found that the top 1%’s share of total market income increased from 50-60% while all other income ranges saw a decline.

Two factors were cited as the reason for this inequality one being an increase of each individual source of income; labor, business income, capital gains, capital income etc. The report noted that these sources of income were less evenly distributed in 2007 than in the 1979 period. For instance labor income has been more evenly distributed versus capital and business income with even more of a disparity in regards to capital gains. For the period 1979-2007 the share of income derived from capital gains and business income showed increases while labor income decreased furthering the economic divide which contributed to the greater distribution of wealth inequality in America.

Again our Washington government officials tell us that entitlement programs which benefit the under-classes must be cut while the taxes and regulations which favor the rich must be eliminated or reduced to tackle our $14 trillion dollar deficit.

This chart to the left shows a different picture where the Bush-Era tax cuts which primarily benefited the wealthy are in fact the driving force.

While the current Washington Republican stance that reducing taxes, environmental regulations and reducing or returning banking/investment regulations to per-recession levels totally contradicts the opinions of the World’s leading economists.

The International Monetary Funds 2007 report finds that Income Equality Positively correlates to Stronger economic growth. It was found that a mere 10% decrease in inequality increased the expected duration of economic growth by a full 50%. The comprehensive study using data collected between 1950-2006 found countries with more income equality stayed in or fell into deeper recessions. It was also found that countries with a more equal distribution of wealth, that their economic growth lasted much longer.

It was also found that income equality was of more importance  and corresponded more strongly to sustained economic growth than other economic factors. Restoring or attempting to address income inequality was further shown to be of a much greater importance than the lowering of debt levels.

The study authors stated, “Sustainable economic reform, is possible only when its benefits are widely shared.” The breadth of income inequality in the United States now more closely resembles the economies of Iran and Russia versus other developed countries.

Economists have attempted to explain that stagnant(not rising) wages for the last four decades as a part of the widening income inequality while the upper class have been those who have seen benefits increase over the more the forty year period.

Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz stated, “An economy in which most citizens are doing worse year after year — an economy like America’s — is not likely to do well over the long haul,” in an article he wrote for Vanity Fair.

So as the hard numbers from the most recent data point out along with a Worldwide consensus of economists.

Our Republican Washington legislators and followers of Grover Norquist have all gotten it Very Wrong.

Or is the reality that our politicians are really just bought and paid for by the top 1% who are only interested in one thing Money$$$ and the rest of the United States of America can go straight to hell.

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NEW Stimulus Spending Is A Very Viable & Needed Program NOW!

While our do nothing House Republicans (John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan etc.) along with their like minded Senate counterparts are mired in trying to destroy the EPA, eliminating financial reform and redistributing more wealth to the top 1% as they also attempt to destroy the rights of the American worker this listing is some of their objectives. As to what are their goals for America in the end who knows or one can only guess, yet average Americans are no where on their radar. In the Senate Republican Senator Mitch Mcconnell is in lock-step with them, he will jump right on their obstructionist train to nowhere at any given moment in time. It’s as if they are on some type of crusade to set back the clock to before the Gilded Age. The hard fought battles for American workers along with our historical albeit mediocre attempts to control pollution of our water, air, land and sea and other environmental efforts are just more cannon fodder for them to try to tear down.

It’s as though they only have a few months of life left on this Earth. And during this time they want to accomplish as much death and destruction as possible by setting back Environmental and hard fought Labor rights and safety all for the sake of pandering to their dark overlords. Who of course will give freely to their re-election campaigns and donate to their pet projects in their respective districts.

As for debt take a look at this chart;

Gutting a women’s right to choose, eliminating health-care for low income families. Other than blocking any useful legislative options and basically doing nothing until after the elections the American public waits and suffers as brinkmanship is the order of the day for the republican party. It doesn’t have to be right for the American public only the Lobbyists, Banks/Investment houses and 99% of the top 1% that’s all the republicans care about $$$.

Stimulus/deficit spending would benefit this country enormously and numerous economists believe in this methodology. Which would benefit our present and future generations if properly directed. It could also be argued that it would be cheaper in the long run to address our transportation issues in today’s dollars versus kicking the can down the road (pun intended).

Our interstate highway system was begun in 1956 under Dwight Eisenhower who championed its construction. Now in 2011 with the U.S. population in the 300mil+ range little has been done in maintaining this invaluable resource.

All across the country bridges and highways are crumbling our electrical infrastructure is outdated and our plumbing, sewage and water pipes are bursting with regularity.

Emergency medical first responders in Ohio are told to stagger their vehicles when responding to accidents and fires. This is occurring here and across the country for fear that if the fire trucks were not appropriately staggered that their combined weight could quite possibly lead to a bridge collapse.

In major metropolitan areas a bicyclist can make better time as cars sit engines running as they slowly inch their way to work. Even in areas with mass transportation the sheer mass of the populace requiring transportation is reaching a breaking point.

Recently the American Society of Civil Engineers gave America’s drinking-water systems a grade of D-minus. Roughly 10 billion gallons of sewage seep into these crumbling pipes each year, think about that as you turn on the facet for a drink or fill the tub to bathe your child. Ancient sewage and water systems along with decrepit water treatment facilities to name a few place hundreds of millions of people at risk. The EPA places the cost of fixing our Civil War Era water system at $335 billion.

Our railway systems which move over 42% of U.S, freight annually from oranges to nuclear devices etc and this does not include passenger traffic, are left to their own devices. Businesses which must be connected to each other to facilitate the moving of goods for countrywide & then worldwide distribution to name a few of the reasons for properly maintaining this method of transportation, yet it is taking a backseat. With almost $37bil dollars in revenue (2002 data) not including the billions paid in taxes, wages along with the 175 thousand+ employees (2002 data). There is also the ever important Coal which is transported via rail as over half of the electricity for our country is created with coal.

The electrical grid with its attached power plants and electrical distribution centers which are our lifeline are facing daunting challenges with little inclination towards a proactive versus reactive mindset. This places the average American in a precarious situation let alone the risks for companies large and small. Allowing our electrical system to continue to degenerate places all of us at risk as some of our recent large electrical outages have shown.

Congested skies outdated aircraft, radar systems, airports and telecommunications used by our airport systems are all in desperate need of repair or replacement. Our aging fleet of aircraft and the disastrous consequences of not properly addressing just this issue. Deregulation which promised more competition and safer skies has of course been proven dreadfully wrong.

Cost cutting, less comprehensive maintenance, if and when performed and using outdated aircraft coupled with an ancient infrastructure to support it have all proved to be extremely dangerous for the public in the skies across our country and the world.

The World Economic Forum rated the USA at #1 during the 2005 period however as of 2011 we are now ranked at 15th. There are the economic impacts said to be $129bil per year, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that this adds $97bil a year to the cost of motor vehicle operational costs. Then there are the economic consequences of flight and travel delays which add another $32bil to the equation.

It is suspected that if issues with the U.S. infrastructure is not dealt with immediately the consequences and associated costs will rise exponentially. For example, “Within 10 years, U.S. businesses would pay an added $430 billion in transportation costs, household incomes would fall by more than $7,000, and U.S. exports will fall by $28 billion.” as expressed by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

A study by one group of over 80 experts affiliated with the Urban Land Institute that $262bil dollars a year must be spent on our ancient crumbling infrastructure. This as we lose more economic ground to Brazil, China and India who are apparently doing a much better job at addressing these and other issues.

The recent squabbling by our congressional leaders in just dealing with the FAA funding issue shows that they are incapable of addressing anything other than their own personal agendas, governance is just a fleeting moment not often seized upon by our current Do-Nothing congressional leaders.

In regards to the report by ASCE congressional Representative Nick J. Rahall II stated, “Today’s report provides the cold hard truth that America’s economic recovery and long-term competitiveness will suffer if we continue to under-invest in our future, Slashing investments by one-third, as Republicans have proposed to do, will make the economic impact on America’s middle class even worse than the grim predictions by the economists in this report”.

Furthermore included in the report by the American Society of Civil Engineers there are other significant issues for Americans at large. The report states that 870,000 jobs will be lost and an economic impact of $3.1 trillion by 2020. To reverse or eliminate these last figures will require an investment of $1.7 trillion by the year 2020, pretty simple math if you ask me. The investment required versus what is actually being spent today differs by $94 billion a year according to the estimates.

The president of ASCE Kathy J. Caldwell said, “The link between a nation’s infrastructure and its economic competitiveness has always been understood. But today, for the first time, we have data showing how much failing to invest in our surface transportation system can negatively impact job growth and family budgets.”

Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Thomas J. Donohue said,

“Without more robust economic growth, the U.S. will not create the 20 million jobs needed in the next decade to replace those lost during the recession and to keep up with a growing workforce”. He also said the necessary spending was “not just transportation for transportation’s sake.”

Also the Economic Development Research Group spokesperson Steven Landau talked about the U.S. infrastructure dilemma. “Business will have to divert increasing portions of earned income to pay for transportation delays and vehicle repairs, draining money that would otherwise be invested in innovation and expansion”.

Yes we will be adding to the deficit however Revenue sources will offset some of these affects. Those with jobs have money, need newer cars, fuel to drive, new clothes to buy, groceries to feed their families and possibly a new house thanks to the salary of their new job. Economists speak of a lack of demand by our present economy by spending money on needed infrastructure projects part of that demand will be addressed.

Also multi-national corporations need reliable modes of transportation for their goods. Poor infrastructure leads to No capital improvements, corporations do not want to relocate to an area where reliable transportation of goods & services are questionable.

So instead of Gutting the EPA or trusting the Banks & Investment houses to act responsibly. Rather than giving tax cuts to large corporations & individuals and trying to Gut family planning clinics. As well as cutting whatever slim safety net we have in this country for the less fortunate the republicans in power are only interested in future elections and undermining the other guy, oh and screwing the less fortunate.

Rather than being obstructionist at every turn our congressional legislators could do something positive for this country. Rather then John Boehner backing the destruction of our educational system from kindergarten to college we could work to strengthen what we already have in this country. Rather then the calls to destroy our current education system and rebuild it with for profit collages possibly a more sane thought process can be found.

What we now need is more honest people like Warren Buffett and Russell Simmons even Bill Gates is open to Real Tax Reform. Not the ridiculous talk of John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan just to name a few of those more interested in following the money instead of serving the people of the United States of America.

If we can get some honest republican legislators who are interested in this country as a whole. And who treat this countries real problems instead of being in the back-pocket of cash-flush Lobbyists real change could actually occur.

President Barack Obama is trying everything he can to right the wrongs of previous administrations. President Obama is also trying to put America and the people who reside within it back to work.

Yet at every turn the Obstructionist House Republicans are there to screw up every positive opportunity to get this country back on the right track. Their Wealthy Overlords will not allow them to do the right thing they only want to make Millions More$$$, Screw everyone else in this country Only the Top 1% Matter.

Stand up America we need to fix this country and instead of electing bought and paid for politicians we need men & women of Honor & Integrity, not the politicians of today obviously, but a new breed of politicians that will do what is right for this country.

Barack Obama is a man of Honor & Integrity handed a broken country by George W. Bush. Trying to fix all the wrongs while being thwarted at every turn by legislators more interested in the next election cycle then doing what is right for the American public the President is fighting an uphill battle at every turn.

This while propaganda machines ostensibly acting as news organizations misrepresent, mis-quote, use spliced together video clips (it is of no consequence to them they are almost always taken out of context and misrepresent the truth) and attempt to indoctrinate ordinary U.S. citizens into talking parrots regurgitating republican talking points.

I voted for Barack Obama the last election and I will again without and regrets.

Our infrastructure is crumbling and needs to be rebuilt and maintained now, not next year or never if the fat-cat republicans have their way.

So stand up and be counted write, call, donate and do whatever you can this is our country all 100% of us not just the super wealthy 1%. If we don’t stand up now what world are we leaving for our children, Please do the right thing.

Let’s start fixing this country by putting the shovels and heavy equipment in the hands of the American workers who built this country and know what to do. Tell Congress were sick and tired of their Lies and Pandering, either put-up, shut-up or get out of town.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

The US State department attempts to corrupt the Constitution and diminish Obama

Barack Obama made a speech in Germany today which is now receiving rave reviews from around the world. However the State Department of the United States of America forbid any Foreign Service personnel from attending Mr. Obama’s speech, John McCain on the other hand is treated differently.

The State Department memo basically said:

The U.S. Embassy in Berlin has instructed Foreign Service personnel stationed there not to attend Sen. Barack Obama’s public rally today. However had the speech occurred in the US they would be allowed thanks to the Hatch Act which allows all government employees serving in the United States to attend such events.

But thanks to the Bush administration American citizens working in Germany were not allowed to attend a speech given by the presumptive future President of the United States.

However when John McCain recently gave a speech in Canada on June 20^th of this year no such memo was sent out by the State Department. It just shows how corrupt our government has become under George Bush thank God this war criminal will be gone soon.

But Mr. Obama as always took the high road and did not sink to the level of pond scum like our current administration and the world listened. Rather than be an isolationist nation that unilaterally attacks foreign countries for their oil, the world is really becoming quite fond of our soon to be President of this country.

Here is a sampling of the glowingly rave reviews from American media outlets:

Time Magazine:

Saying he had come to Berlin “not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen — a proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world,” presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama on Thursday night gave a soaring address that invoked echoes of the famous speeches in this city in which John F. Kennedy made common cause with Berliners against communist oppression in 1963 and Ronald Reagan called nearly 20 years ago to tear down the Berlin Wall.

The Times Online:

If the intended message was to show American voters that he could restore the tarnished image of the US abroad, then the rally – the only such event in his overseas tour – succeeded. Young girls dyed their hair red, white and blue, hand-scrawled placards declaring” President B.O” – most banners were removed by security guards – were held aloft and a few enthusiasts hung vertigously from the lampposts first erected by Nazi town planner Albert Speer.

The New York Times:

The response to Mr. Obama has been so warm that the coordinator for German-American relations in the foreign ministry here, Karsten D. Voigt, has tried to scale back expectations. He reminded Germans in interview after interview that Mr. Obama would have to support positions unpopular with the German public, like a stronger presence engaged in more fighting for the Bundeswehr, the German army, in Afghanistan.

First and foremost, Mr. Obama is popular because he is not Mr. Bush, who is wildly unpopular in Germany. Asked why they support Mr. Obama, his opposition to the Iraq War usually comes up first.

The Atlantic:

What’s so bad about Germans cheering an American, especially when the visuals were stunning? Hundreds of American flags, waving. 200,000 Berliners cheering an American presidential candidate.

A short speech, mostly, carrying the message that animates Obama’s presidency:

The message of the speech was the common values that unite the citizens of the world. Obama’s Berlin is a shining beacon of hope to the world, “where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is so challenge too great for a world that stands as one.”

Of course John McCain chimed in; “I’d love to give a speech in Germany … a political speech or a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in, but I’d much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate … for the office of presidency,” McCain told reporters in Ohio.

So for Mr. McCain to constantly attempt to denounce Barack Obama and his so called lack of foreign policy understanding here is John McCain telling the citizens of Germany I don’t want to talk to you unless it is as president, that’s real mature John.

Also Mr. McCain has shown again that his mental faculties are already failing him as MSNBC points out from a quote during an interview with John McCain which will air today.

“I would rather speak at a rally or a political gathering any place outside of the country after I am president of the United States,” McCain told O’Donnell. “But that’s a judgment that Sen. Obama and the American people will make.”

However, on June 20, McCain himself gave a speech in Canada — to the Economic Club of Canada — in which he applauded NAFTA’s successes. An implicit message behind that speech was that Obama had been critical of the trade accord. Also, McCain’s trip to Canada was paid for by the campaign.

The more you read about John McCain with his less than glorious past using the family name to get a free ride in the Navy. The unceremoniously dumping of his first wife so he could marry into money with his second wife. John’s first wife had an accident and had put on a few pounds while he was being treated like a foreign dignitary during his confinement in Vietnam. That really shows dedication John, no really it shows an opportunist at work that will do whatever he can to further His wants and wishes.

Barack Obama on the other hand wants to rebuild the deteriorating perception of the United States across the globe and his speech in Germany showed just that to the world at large. So he is traveling across the globe as well as the United States on his road to victory come Election Day. His speech today was a promising development and the people of this nation should be proud of our next President.

From the reaction overseas the people of the world are feeling better about the US as they see that a man with sound ideas and a comprehensive view of the world is about to take over the reins of the United States. The world witnessed that Barack is not going to wait until he is President before he begins his job of leading this nation out of the abyss that George Bush has placed us.

They see the realization that the American people will not be fooled again by voting in another Bush term by bringing in John McCain. No Barack Obama will not be able to make all the world’s problems disappear, however he will lead with a sound mind and body dedicated to all the people of this nation. Our standing across the planet will grow once again and we will not be perceived as a nation of war mongers who torture and kill without regard to the consequences.

Mr. McCain on the other hand would just mimic George W and the USA would suffer greatly under his style of leadership. But thanks to the stars above John McCain will never be President of this country.

Bailout Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, thanks George

It is looking more and more like the Chicago school free market economic policies of Milton Friedman are once again costing the Unites States it’s once cherished market dominance. The policies of the Republican Neo-Con administrations are on a one way ticket to destroy the American dream and the poor people who are not politically connected.

Unless you were born into or inherited enough money to weather the current economic storm you have been feeling the effects of Mr. Friedman and his cronies in the last few months. Billy Kristol of course could care less Friedman is still his idol as well as with the other moneyed and politically connected of his sect.

Friedman believed in almost no government intervention or regulation and that if left to it’s own means the market would correct for any irregularities. As it was posited by Friedman the market had it’s own equilibrium and would adjust and self correct as needed. As history has now shown again this is a severely myopic view with devastating consequences for the public at large.

While the government is only looking at a $300 billion dollar bailout or excuse me extension of credit which the American taxpayer is on the hook for a realistic loss of $30 billion with Fannie and Freddie, the free market does not seem to be correcting itself.

Lax banking standards coupled with lax investment house oversight are digging a hole deeper and deeper for the American taxpayer while the wealthy of this country are still making a killing. Even today with the financial mess that has been created the wealthy investment and banking houses are fighting any government oversight changes to protect the American populace.

The aggressive derivatives and mortgage markets coupled with the greed of banking executives hell bent on destroying the financial lives of it’s customers has brought us to this economic realization. The mortgage brokerages knew that the financial history of their client did not bode well yet they sold them into ARM hell and are now asking for bailouts from the government. Maybe now someone might think that the government should be a little more involved in regulating various industries.

Banks, investment houses and our rapidly deteriorating airline industry, wow this deregulation thing doesn’t seem to have worked out like we were told it would. But not to worry the after all the money has been bleed dry the government will bailout the banks after they destroyed hundreds of thousands of Americans of whatever dreams they may have had.

Yes it does cost money for the government to operate and sometimes they are not the most efficient entity to be found. But at least they will be consistent with their oversight and that is sorely needed right now and into the future. Deregulation was not the best of ideas and re-regulation is the pill we must take to correct for the wild west attitude now in place in the American economic system. The far right will cry no more taxes and Rush Limbaugh will crumble up his papers and yell into his microphone with his daily diatribe.

Well just remember that while we are in a war estimated to cost into the Trillion’s of dollars our President gave tax breaks to the ultra rich even as the dollar declined in value which has contributed to our current state of affairs.

There is little if any regulation in investment houses and mortgage companies with their get rich quick schemes that have sold us down the river for the foreseeable future.

I for one do not enjoy paying taxes either and would prefer the government wasn’t on my back however I will take the financial hit now rather than pay the price we are going to be paying even after I am gone. Rather than just thinking about yourself and screw the rest like the Neo-Con Republican mindset, why not look just a little further ahead and realize the government has to be engaged so that all Americans have a shot at the American Dream.

No you can’t put all of the blame on our current inept disengaged President it took some time to straighten out the lack of policy of the Reagan administration remember the S&L crisis when the leveraged buyouts and hostile takeovers were occuring right under his nose and he did nothing.

Well we finally got on the right track with Clinton in office who besides having some sexual endeavors in office was a great President.

Then came George who didn’t really get the government thing and he just did what his advisers told him to, well those advisers were from the Chicago school and look where we are now. Not to mention we did add fuel to the fire with a trumped up war and our illegal occupation of a couple of foreign nations.

So now the time has come for a change and hopefully we will not re-elect another Bush term under the guise of John McCain I for one don’t think this country can take four more years of failed policies.

So cry over your spilt milk eat some crow and digest some taxes so the dreaded government can step in and try to straighten out this mess again thanks to the Chicago school principles which have failed us again. It might not be what you wanted but at least the American public will get a fair shake even those without moneyed pasts and politically connected pasts.

So ask yourself do you care about your children and their future or do you only care about what is best for you and the rest of the nation be damned.

George W Bush gives Israeli’s Thumb’s up to Bomb Iran!

It has now been reported that President Bush has given the Amber light to the Israeli government to bomb Iran and the operation is expected to occur before his lameduck presidency ends this year.

Immanent is the operative word here as the government of Israel is fearful that a new administration would not allow for such an operation to occur on it’s watch. As Mr. Bush only has a few months left in office the window of oppurtunity is closing and the Israeli government Will strike while they still can and with their airstrike the United States of America will be drawn into another Middle Eastern conflict.

This type of operation has been predicted and while not unexpected it is truly a frightening reality. With gas prices already at all time highs this type of operation against Iran would drive oil prices into the stratosphere. To think that the Iranian government will not attempt some type of retaliation for such an attack is pure fantasy. The Iranians have already threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz a lifeline for the world’s oil exports in the Persian Gulf.

President Bush while giving the Amber light to the Israeli government to bomb Iran has also told them that they will be going it alone and not to expect any US help with it’s operation. However as recently reported with the attributed quote by the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet commander Vice-Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, “They will not close it. They will not be allowed to close it,”.

So even while our ever deranged President is telling the Israeli government don’t expect any help from the US his military commanders are presenting another side to the story.

As George has not done so well in Iraq and Afghanistan and the American public has had it’s fill of nation building by the current Neo-Con administration another war front is not within the realm of possiblities as the American people just will not stand for another invasion.

However if the decider doesn’t decide to go to war with Iran but just green lights the Israeli military to do so he can then have his dream fulfilled. It would go something like this, the Israeli’s attack Iran and the Iranians seek retribution by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Well King George cannot allow the life sustaining oil of the Persian Gulf to be disrupted so he and his corrupt government cronies now have their own green light to attack Iran.

This scenario is not a fantasy as the Iranian government has made it quite clear that if attacked this is exactly what it will do. Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari of Iran has been quoted as saying, “Naturally every country under attack by an enemy uses all its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy. Regarding the main route for exiting energy, Iran will definitely act to impose control on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz,”. He also stated, “If there is a confrontation between us and the enemy from outside the region, definitely the scope [of the confrontation] will reach the oil issue,” and , “After this action [of Iran imposing controls on the Gulf waterway], the oil price will rise very considerably.”

Mojtaba Zolnour, a deputy with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying, “If Israel and the US fire a bullet or a missile at Iran, its forces will attack the heart of Israel and 32 American bases in the region before the dust from such an attack has settled,”.

Currently the price of oil is at $147 per barrel however this type of unwarranted action could easily drive it over the $200 per barrel threshold with devastating effects to the world’s economy. This talk of $200 a barrel oil is a reality and a certainty if you believe this recent quote from Saudi Arabia’s former oil minister, “If the US or Israeli forces attack Iran…the oil price would go up to $200[/bbl] immediately.

Even with opposition from his own military commanders as well as the American populace who are unwilling to suffer the consequences of another foreign entanglement President Bush moves his deadly agenda forward. As Pentagon officials call for a more pragmatic position and are firmly against such an operation which would also put our military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan in further peril George dismisses this out of hand.

As the Israeli government is soon to be presented by an administration with Barack Obama as the US President who would be steadfast in his opposition to such an operation Tel Aviv feels as though they must act quickly. Another Pentagon official has been quoted as saying, “If I were an Israeli I wouldn’t wait,”.

So George has told the Israeli government that it is okay with him if they disrupt the already fragile world economy no matter what the consequences for the world at large. So it is not out of the realm of reality that while our President has not yet gotten his wish to attack Iran it should be coming quite soon.

Barack Obama the personification of what America needs now more than ever

Barack Obama, is not the atypical moneyed politically connected name often found in the American political experience. While definitely an American born on Hawaiian soil in 1961 his life has been one of challenges that he took on and fought with tears and sweat as he climbed the ladder to success against the odds as he was an African American born into this country so rife with prejudice.

John McCain has the gall to question Obama’s credibility

John McCain has the habit of making statements calling into question the fact the Barack Obama has failed to serve his country and that he has no foreign policy experience. So why not take on these questions Mr. McCain has been invoking and see if they have any validity.

Now more Lies to come forth on Tower Seven’s 9-11 collapse

In a soon to be released investigation into the unbelievable collapse of tower number seven on 911 the so-called experts are going to explain to a gullible American public their so called truth.

This structure known as tower seven was a 47 story building which collapsed seven hours after the twin towers had already fallen. The building housed among others the Secret Service, the CIA, the Department of Defence and the Office of Emergency Management.

Although it was the only and the first steel skyscraper in the world which obstensibly collapsed due to a fire none of the evidence was kept for inspection. Of all the thousands of tons of steel not one piece of evidence was deemed worthy of safekeeping for further inspection.

The fact that the destruction of tower seven had made architectural history no one thought to hold on to any of it’s components. Those deciders who chose to dispose of the evidence knew there would be an investigation that no amount of political will could stop, so they did the next best thing they destroyed all the evidence.

The fact that tower number seven was never mentioned in the 911 commission final report some would find also troubling. Another government agency FEMA stated during May 2002 that the building collapsed because of numerous fires which they said were fed by diesel fuel stored in the structure. However even this fanciful explanation was quoted as being of only a low probability.

The fact that a groups of architects, engineers and scientists say the official explanation that fires caused the collapse is impossible. Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth argue there must have been a controlled demolition.

This of course will all be dismissed by the upcoming report which will be sold to the American public hook line and sinker. The American media who no longer is willing to tell the truth will trot out the story and will not call it’s dubious findings into question for fear of being labeled anti-American.

They of course will tell us all exactly what happened even though all the evidence has been destroyed and that their 2 year investigation cannot be called into question.

So coming soon to a newspaper, television station or blog near you will be their pack of lies. You can keep believing them and the government, I on the other hand will choose not to as I prefer not to be a lemming.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

George W Bush and his homegrown Terrorists here and abroad

Diya Muhammad Hussein while not related to the disposed dictator of Iraq does have a common belief which is held by many of his countrymen and that is his desire to rid his country of the American occupiers.

While most sixteen year old children would be interested in school studies and their growing attraction to the opposite sex and the latest video games the teenagers of Iraq have much more dire thoughts on their minds.

After many years of American occupation and death and despair always at the door, hatred for the imperialists who occupy the land is foremost on their minds. After the many thousands of deaths in the quagmire of American design it is only logical that the youth of such a country would be more than willing to kill or be killed to put and end to the occupation.

The United States’ new backyard

When the US decided that its backyard would in future be a greater Middle East – from Pakistan to Morocco – it imagined that it could rearrange the region to suit itself. The results have been disastrous and will be long-lasting

By Alain Gresh

Donny’s Crazy tales to Protect His Wacky Bosses Back!

We all have friends who will take the heat for us while our other coworkers or neighborhood friends will cut and run and leave us to the wolves so they might have their dinner snack.

Donald Rumsfeld the former Defense Secretary for the Bush administration is one who would dig in and attack anyone who had the audacity to question any of George’s crazy wacky ideas.

As King George wants to wrestle control of the Middle East so that he can have access to all that oil and build spiffy military bases Donny Rumsfeld always came to his defense. In so far as George wanting to be the only hegemonic power in the region and topple the country of Iran as he is destroying Iraq and Afghanistan again Donny would lend his helping hand.

In what are called snowflakes, (ironic as both George and Donald are rather flaky in my opinion) good ole boy Don beat whatever drum he needed to keep Americans in the dark about foreign affairs. He wrote of the need to keep on elevating the terror threat level and that all government officials should try to link Iraq and Iran together to keep the public under the thumb of George’s wild ideas for global domination.

You see the former defense secretary hates the media especially when they try to tell the average American citizen the truth. Donald wants it to be his way and vision, or the highway for any other diverging view, even if the opposing view is valid and shared by the ordinary people in the United States and Europe. The former secretary didn’t like views that differed from his and via his propaganda machine he would attempt to reform public opinion, no matter that the public disagreed.

So on average Mr. Rumsfeld would write about 20 to 60 snowflakes a day, no matter that these destroyed relations with his fellow cabinet members, his thoughts must become part of the lexicon and quite possibly shape future policy for the United States.

During the year in 2004 Rummy was worried that the American public was waking up to the fact that the Iraqi conflict had been a mistake. He marshaled his minions to attack the pessimistic reports from the media, how dare they try to tell anyone the truth. Different standards just needed to be applied to turn around the American public and he wrote this missive, “They are looking for leadership. Sacrifice = Victory.”

We can clearly see today that the Sacrifice angle isn’t working anymore, but Donald kept up the delusion telling his staff to bring up various regional conflicts and to attempt to imbed the terrorist cry into our subconscious so that we would rally behind George and his far fetched ideas all logic be damned.

His underlings were also called to rally around Donny as many former United States generals who had been boots on the ground robots for him began to call for him to resign as they now questioned his power to reign supreme. No matter that these generals has served in Iraq and realized that the entire war had been a huge mistake Donald went on the offensive in the month of April in 2006 as they had the audacity to question his and King George’s wacky ambitions.

Donald wanted and needed a team to assist him in his quest and they needed to “go out and push people back, rather than simply defending” Iraq policy and strategy. “I am always on the defense. They say I do it well, but you can’t win on the defense,” he wrote. “We can’t just keep taking hits.”

He also lamented, “It is going to be a long war,” he wrote. “Iraq is only one battleground.” You see in Donny’s view Iraq and Iran are the same he even floated the idea of renaming the –war on terrorism- as a – Worldwide War on Insurgency. In his view no other nation in the world understood the so called big picture especially the United Nations as he thought he did.

In another of his reported quotations he stated that Muslims in general were nothing more than an oil rich lazy society who in his words were detached, “from the reality of the work, effort and investment that leads to wealth for the rest of the world. Too often Muslims are against physical labor, so they bring in Koreans and Pakistanis while their young people remain unemployed,” he wrote. “An unemployed population is easy to recruit to radicalism.”

In his mind if these not so lazy radicals got their hands on Saudi Arabia and its vast oil reserves this would become, “an enormous national security problem. On this point he is somewhat correct as it is the United States that wants to get its hands on Saudi Arabian oil fields as well as every other Middle Eastern oil field it can control with the United States vast hegemonic hands.

Later as calls for his resignation grew he demanded that a, “better presentation to respond to this business that the Department of Defense has no plan. This is just utter nonsense. We need to knock it down hard”, even in the midst that over 65% of Americans thought that George didn’t really have any plan and he still doesn’t to this day.

The New York Times had in his opinion the gall to say that the Army was ruined in November of 2006 in an editorial and Rummy said it was, “disgraceful”. There was a Brightside to the editorial which said that; “one welcome dividend” of Rumsfeld’s departure was that the United States would “now have a chance to rebuild the Army he spent most of his tenure running down”.

Donald Rumsfeld didn’t care for differing views on United States foreign policy and his tenure was one of attack and to never allow himself to be on the defensive no matter what the cost. The fact that over 3800 American soldiers and 90,000 Iraqis are now dead and over 3.2 million displaced is of little consequence to our government now or then for that matter.

Now we have George W Bush left to his own devices without Donny to help him out and Iran is firmly in the Presidents radar as his next victim. It doesn’t matter that the Russian and Chinese governments are adamantly against any military action in Iran, the rhetoric is already being ratcheted up to attack Iran.

This even as King George sees his legacy and public opinion crumbling around him. Even George must think if ever so rarely about the $4.2 trillion dollar debt for this needless unwarranted war that he will be remembered for placing this scar on American history. As the President makes no secret of his religious beliefs he must also occasionally think how he economically and spiritually took the United States down the path along with him.

How many laws were rewritten to allow for secret prisons and so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, which other civilized people would call torture. One can only hope that our President comes to his senses before he mires us in another conflict. He has already bequeathed the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq to a future administration and the debt for the war to the young populace of our nation with the added peril to our economy as another gift to the future of our nation.

Is there no one in this administration or our government at large who can counsel George to mend his ways and attempt to begin rebuilding this nation’s moral standing in the world? Or are we doomed to leap from one conflict to another as our armed forces are stretched beyond the breaking point and our nation plunges into the depths of hell.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.