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***AP REPORTS CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TICKED UP SLIGHTLY IN AUGUST:  The Consumer Confidence Index inched up from 51.0 in July, to 53.5 in August.  Economists had expected 50.5, following two months of straight declines.  A reading of 90 or above indicates confidence in a robust economy.  The survey indicates that American people are still in a sour mood, and with the current unemployment conditions it’s not likely to improve significantly any time soon.  Still, a rise in consumer confidence — however slight — is better than a decline.

***MISINFORMATION ABOUT FUTURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY:  Righties’ scare tactics about Social Security ‘insolvency’ involve citing  s  c  a  r  y  statistics.  Well, here’s one that’s actually pretty reassuring:  Social Security currently has a $2.5 TRILLION surplus, AND will pay 100% of benefits through 2037.  Worse case scenario:  it will pay 78% of benefits through 2084.  So, when they tell you it’s broke, they are lying, lying, lying!

Apples and Oranges/Dollars and Percents.  A favorite scare-tactic is when the Right tell us that there will be a $5.4 trillion shortfall through 2084 in the Social Security program.  AND that is a scary number, but when looked at in percentages the picture becomes clearer.  $5.4 trillion, over the coming 75 years, in percentages is 1.92% of taxable payroll, or 0.7% of GDP.  A highly manageable number with several options among Social Security“easy fixes.” 

***AND, HERE’S ONE SOCIAL SECURITY “EASY FIX” OPTION:  Check out this graph, prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.  This visual shows us that extending the Bush tax cuts for those with incomes over $250,000 (or the top 2%) would be about the same as the entire Social Security shortfall during the same period!  According to Kathy Ruffing and Paul N. Van de Water at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “Members of Congress cannot simultaneously claim that the tax cuts for people at the top are affordable while the Social Security shortfall constitutes a dire fiscal threat.”  Hypocrites! 

I know, I know — “It’s a vast right-wing conspiracy” is NOT going to gain a lot of traction.  So, let’s ditch the word “conspiracy” because it’s a loaded one that’s easy to caricature.

And yet, there does appear to be a concerted effort to undermine and de-legitimize President Obama.  According to Senator Russ Feingold, these efforts seemed to get underway right after the inauguration.

The so-called “grass roots” Tea Party movement is anything but.  It is organized and bankrolled by right-wing billionaires and the oil industry.

And recently jumping on the “Obama is a failed President” bandwagon are the very Wall Street movers and shakers that the President agreed to bail out when Bush proposed it via the TARP at the end of his presidency.  Their main complaint is that they don’t want to be re-regulated AND they don’t want their personal income tax-rates to go up from 35% to the Clinton era rates at 39.6%.

These complaints seem petty, especially when we consider that the de-regulation that benefited their ability to roll the dice and pocket BIG profits backfired so badly on the world economy.  But, the devastated world economy apparently has not effected their profits and lifestyles and so they see no reason to pay their fair-share, much less “pay the piper.”

We can see little legitimate reason for them to turn against Obama, nor do we think they would do so if they didn’t smell blood in the water.

And the blood-letting began with the Koch brothers, of Koch Industries.  These billionaire brothers are among the worse polluters on the planet, don’t want any regulation (you see, regulations interfere with their ability to pocket profits!), and are fervently anti-government libertarians.

The uber wealthy will do all in their power to prevent change in this country —  and one of their most successful tactics has always been the old “divide and conquer” approach.   They put clowns like Beck and Limbaugh out front to carry their message and distract the country from the reality of the results of their policies — the ever widening gap between rich and poor.  

Check out this article in The New Yorker about the Koch brothers and consider, just for a moment — What if all the anti-Obama, anti-government sentiment is being motivated by profit driven (and anti-patriotic as far as we’re concerned) greedy bastards?

CHECK-IT-OUT: Glenn Beck has been caught soo many times ranting on and on about “facts” that are provably untrue! We found this Keith Olbermann You Tube video from last month and just had to share it!  Keith’s lead-up to “The Worst Person in the Worrrrrld” in this clip is fun to watch too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdwB3I20dCU[/youtube]

OLBERMANN EXPOSES GLENN BECK AS AN IDIOT

Glenn Beck

Judge not, least ye be judged.  Amen.

Anybody remember the Republican’s endless, probing Congressional investigations of our last Democratic President in the 1990s?  Let’s refresh our memories.  The nation was held hostage to Republican partisan witch-hunts, from the Monica Lewinsky peep-show inquisitions — leading to presidential impeachment — to the total harassment by Congress when they took 140 hours of testimony (under oath) trying to ‘prove’ the Clinton White House had misused its Christmas card list!

And, just to take a moment to speculate:  While President Clinton was kept busy consulting with attorneys and giving testimony to respond to these petty congressional inquisitions, Al Qaeda was busy planning to attack New York City and Washington, D.C.  The self-proclaimed ‘party of patriots’ may have screwed our nation with their petty partisan inquisitions. 

Our presidents can focus on solving the myriad of problems facing our nation, or be distracted by being forced to spend time defending the administration from partisan attacks, motivated not by what will move our nation forward, but by political point-scoring.

If the Republicans win back the House that is exactly what we’re going to get again.  Repubs are not just threatening investigation after investigation of this administration and our President, they are promising to do it — and with zeal.  This time it’s going to be even worse.  We can all look forward to the probing investigation into Obama’s birth certificate!

And, it sure makes you wonder:  What was the point of the Dems forgoing investigations into the Bush administration’s war crimes and deliberate trashing of our Constitution?  We said, “Let’s just look forward, not back.”

Let’s see, should we investigate clearly illegal and unconstitutional torture OR Obama’s birth certificate?  Sigh.

The Congressional Budget Office has just sent a new letter that states that the health care law could “reduce their projected budget deficit by $30 billion over the next 10 years.”

The CBO also states that repealing health care reform — an idea Republicans are not only suggesting they’d do, but are actually running for office on! — would increase the deficit by around $455 billion.

That’s a swing of close to HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS.

Gosh, what a quandary for Republicans.  Hmmmm.  On the one hand they just can’t accept Obamacare (you know, actually doing something good for the American people) and giving Dems credit for doing anything right.  And yet, on the other hand, they are deficit hawks and are demanding to lower the federal deficit.

They say, if elected, they are going to repeal or defund health care reform — but then how do they explain the really huge increase in cost to the American taxpayers that they’d be causing?

Decisions, decisions.

We’re proud to publish the following article by freelance writer, Wendy Andary.  Wendy has recently specialized in articles about travel, and has been published in Instinct magazine — she was one of their Featured Contributors for April’s Green Issue.   Wendy has done Public Relations writing for the California Democratic Party and plans to do more soon in her role as a community activist.  Wendy lives at the beach with her close-knit family, loves animals and wine, and stays busy with her writing, community, and loving circle of friends.

 
WHAT A STATE OF MIND by Guest Contributor Wendy Andary

You’d think having a California address is enough of a calling card for most people. You know, the card that announces to the rest of the country:

“Hi. I’m overpaying for everything because I’m chasing that iconic, golden dream. I have an affinity for surfing and skiing on the same day and feel a little smug that living here allows me do just that. I drive a Hybrid AND recycle AND compost and have been doing so since WAY before it was cool. I relish the fact that the Pacific Ocean, the Redwood forests, Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Bohemia all call this chunk of land their home and quite often call each other neighbor. And please quit reminding me that my state’s broke because that irony is never lost on me, especially when I am paying my outlandishly high taxes. Still, I’d rather live here than anywhere else. And oh yeah, did I mention that EVERYONE here is a die hard liberal, follows the road less traveled and is tolerant of all sorts of lifestyles because that’s just the kind of state California happens to be?”

Yes, I admit it sounded pretty convincing up until that last sentence. And until recently, a good many of us Californians actually believed our state walked that walk. But that‘s where reality did a number on us and a little thing called Prop 8 reared it’s ugly head. Seems we may need to give those last few accolades of tolerance to states we too often dismiss because we view them as “not nearly as hip as their coastal cousins.”

So, exactly what does it say to the world when a state like Iowa takes a stand for civil rights and votes NO to legalizing bigotry and yes to gay marriage? A state like Iowa that proudly relishes the imagery it evokes in most of our minds  (Main Street USA, family farms and small town America at it’s finest) was also proud to stand up and tell the rest of the country that being gay and getting married were not mutually exclusive as far as they were concerned. And so as little city halls all over the heartland filled up with same-sex couples ready to exchange nuptials, we Californians watched helplessly as the campaign to overturn gay marriage here raged on into an embarrassing victory. No amount of love, commitment, protest or reason could soften the blow that every gay couple now feels when they want to get married here. THEY DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT. And why? Because a bunch of people took it upon themselves to decide who should have rights and who shouldn’t. Hello Jim Crow. Meet your cousin, Proposition 8.

But who is truly to blame for this assault on equal rights? Certainly many of us stood up and fought against Prop 8. (Or “Prop H8” as it widely referred to in our Lefty circles). The way I see it, nowhere is the stench of hypocrisy more palpable than in the offices of our elected lawmakers. You know the ones who spout off about gay marriage being the poison dagger that will kill the otherwise perfect institution of marriage. Then, of course after those speeches are done and their soapbox is put away, those same lawmakers go out and cheat on their wives with:

 A. A stripper

B. Their long time mistress

C. Their male intern

D. A prominent televangelist

E. All of the above

Where then is the outcry from their “marriage is between a man and a woman only“-loving followers? From those who say that they “Don’t mind gays but just don’t want their kids to be exposed to THAT lifestyle. You know, because it could confuse them. “Where are the picket signs telling these politico-charlatans that what THEY have done is the true assault on the sanctity of marriage? Where are the gasps and groans when someone mentions the idea of a “starter marriage” as they head to divorce court? And where is the outrage when marriage is nothing more than a paparazzi-laden mockery at a drive through casino/ wedding chapel where a drunken evening turns into the “hilarious idea of getting hitched.” (Annulment papers can be filed at same said chapel the next morning, of course).

When it comes down to it, opponents to gay marriage have long argued that if gay couples are allowed to marry that it would, in effect, redefine marriage. Apparently, in their minds, this would be a catastrophic thing. However, when you consider the current divorce rate, the highly publicized mistress-gates that keep popping up and the plethora of other ills that seem to plague this sacred institution, I submit that marriage could stand to gain a great deal from some thoughtful re-branding. So here’s what I suggest: How about a Prop 8 for those who think adultery is a natural part of adulthood? How about banning marriage from people who consider domestic violence and domestic bliss one and the same? How about giving a litmus test to every engaged couple to ensure that the vows they take to love, honor and respect one another are real and genuine and will last longer than it takes for the ink to dry on their marriage license? Or how about this: no matter where we choose to call home, we can agree to stop treating our friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives like second class citizens merely based upon whom they have chosen to make a life with. And here’s the kicker…we let them live their lives.

Stripping basic rights from people based upon what they look like, how they worship, where they come from or who they love is never the calling card for success. Anywhere. History has taught us that. History has also taught us that legislating this sort of hate and intolerance will mandate a collective guilt we will all have to share and also explain to our future generations.

~Sponsors of a proposed ballot initiative to make same-sex marriage legal again in California announced on April 12 they failed to collect the requisite signatures to qualify it for the November 2010 ballot.

“Hands off our freedom to let our houses burn down!”  

Paul Krugman explains why that is a really, really bad idea.   He likens McConnell’s stand against financial reform to calling for the “abolition of municipal fire departments.” 

Standing aside and allowing banks to fail and the free market “work its magic” is a policy that America tried in the 1930’s;  and we tried it again when the Bush administration let Lehman Brothers go down.  Immediately the stock market plunged and another Great Depression loomed.  When a large building is on fire the damage needs to be contained because fire spreads, and spreads quickly.  

“So it’s crucial to avoid disorderly bank collapses, just as it’s crucial to avoid out-of-control urban fires,” Krugman tells us.  And he explains why the Republican financial regulatory policy of:  “We won’t solve this problem until the biggest buildings are allowed to burn” can only lead to burning down our entire economy.  Check it out here.

Change is a lot harder than many of us thought it would be.  After the election it seemed as if the culture of our country had turned the corner for good — the majority was ready for change, the election declared!

I don’t know about you, but I’m weary already, and it hasn’t even been a year and a half into this presidency.  I thought, ridiculously as it turned out, that the Republicans would have a harder time demonizing President Obama than they did President Clinton — because, well…ahem, he’s black!

As it turns out, of course, they have absolutely no reservations in viciously attacking him — and are in fact using the old tried and true racist, “southern strategy” to defeat and discredit him.  The language being used, and the racist “dog whistle” moves being used by the right to rally their base, is actually stunning. 

The “southern strategy” is back in full force — from the Virginia Governor’s proclamation in celebration of the Confederacy (and his view that the Civil War had little to do with freedom for slaves), to the Tea Party’s deeply held belief that Obama’s policies benefit the poor at the expense of the rest of the country (i.e. minorities).

It appears that the right simply has no other moves.  Change is happening, and they are desperately trying to slow it down and benefit politically by fear-mongering.  But, they have to know — deep in their hearts — that the political benefits that they might enjoy can only be short-term.  Long-term, the demographics in America are not going to benefit the conservative right.  The youth is overwhelmingly more progressive, and the minority population is going to grow faster than the Republican’s white base.  The Republican Party’s subtle and not-so-subtle minority bashing will not serve them well as a long-term strategy.

It’s possible (okay, probable) that short-term political gains will be made, but they will be at the expense of their long-term viability as a party and a conservative movement.  People don’t forget the hateful, racist, homophobic political campaigns that are waged.  The right is permanently branding itself in a terribly negative light.

That’s why, though at the moment I’m weary, I know that in the end we will prevail.  There are more of us, and the right’s ideas are just sooo “last century.”

And, doesn’t it seem like a couple of things have begun to fall into place in the last few days?  I’m thinkin’ that the idea is truly energizing that both the CEO of the Massey Energy, Company (whose greed caused the death of 29 coal miners), AND Goldman Sachs (whose greed precipitated the worldwide economic Great Recession), might have civil and potential criminal charges brought against them.  Lifts my weary spirits!

It appears that Barack Obama looks long-term at the issues facing our nation.  The Republican right is currently looking only short-term.  So, we progressives get weary and frustrated with the daily political, short-term attacks and we want more “wins” in these daily battles.  Maybe — just maybe — our President knows what he’s doing, and we need to raise our gaze with him toward the long-term “win” for our country.