Connecting the Dots, Part 9…
In my last Dots post, on April 11, 2018, I talked about racism, antisemitism, and Facebook’s role in boosting the signal. This time I’m taking on Iran.
Tag: George H. W. Bush
I was off by a month. My bad.
When I started writing online, way back in 2004, my blogging was a combination of minutiae designed to keep a then-deployed husband in the loop on day-to-day life at home. We were not quite to the end of W’s first term, but it was already clear to me what his election meant to the country, in terms of an erosion of civil liberty, of a dramatic (but by no means complete) shift to the right, and long term lasting damage to our reputation as a world leader by his creation of the USA Patriot Act.
In an ever-increasing feeling of depression and anger over last November, I’ve lashed out repeatedly at people who still seem to think that we are operating “business-as-usual” even in the face of abject corruption and cronyism not seen in decades in this country, going all the way back to the Gilded Age of the robber barons. Continue reading “I was off by a month. My bad.”
Aftermath (Part 2): Bread and Circuses…
It’s been a while. Sorry about that. With all the distractions and changes between November 9 and January 29, it’s nearly impossible to take in everything that’s happening. There’s another name for these things: Bread and Circuses.
We are so used to paying attention to entertainment, to the spectacle, we’ve lost the ability to concentrate on what’s important. And the far Right know it. In fact, they’ve been working extra hard to ensure we’re too distracted to see what’s really happening here. Continue reading “Aftermath (Part 2): Bread and Circuses…”
Two weeks…
I am casting my vote for Hillary Clinton as soon as the polls are open for early voting. I’m not taking any chances.
Yesterday on FB there was a meme circulating about how Jimmy Carter was up by 8% before the landslide that lost him the presidency in 1980. Back in March, the article below suggested that Trump’s message wouldn’t serve to do the same damage in this election as the fight between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan did back then.
I disagree. Continue reading “Two weeks…”
The Big Social Security Lie…
Social Security isn’t entitlement and it isn’t an open gift to the government. It’s my money, taken by force out of my paycheck starting with my very first job in 1983. The government thugs who raided the fund in the first place should repay what they stole or go to jail, just like any other thieves.
Yes, all of them.
But who are they? Are they even still here? Well, that’s an interesting question. It requires some major fishing into the dark depths of history. Head all the way back to 1983 with me. That’s where it started.
Maybe you weren’t paying attention. I was, because I was receiving Social Security benefits as a teenager, thanks to the disability and early death of my mother. And here’s where it all began. With Ronald Reagan.
But not really. Actually, it’s Alan Greenspan who did the dirty work here. Reagan just signed off on the bill. Like the boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark, it’s going to crush all of us unless we figure out a way to get out of the way.
What follows is a bunch of link sausage. A lot of these links are thick with details that may seem unnecessary, but trust me, they build my case that this is, and has been, the whole goal of the GOP, ever since Reagan’s election. And with all that hindsight, it’s clear we’re getting screwed. And we’re not even getting the courtesy of a thank you or a payment for services rendered.
See, from my perspective, it started when Reagan decided that survivor benefits could be cut. First direct cut into my direct benefits as a college student. Forced me to get a student loan for my first year in college. Lucky for me, my grandfather was in a position to help with tuition, after he buried my mother.
From the first article, at FedSmith.com: Ronald Reagan and The Great Social Security Heist, some choice selections for the TL;DR crowd:
Instead of being a proud day for America, April 20, 1983, has become a day of shame. The Social Security Amendments of 1983 laid the foundation for 30-years of federal embezzlement of Social Security money in order to use the money to pay for wars, tax cuts and other government programs. The payroll tax hike of 1983 generated a total of $2.7 trillion in surplus Social Security revenue. This surplus revenue was supposed to be saved and invested in marketable U.S. Treasury bonds that would be held in the trust fund until the baby boomers began to retire in about 2010. But not one dime of that money went to Social Security.
…
The $2.7 trillion, which is alleged to be in the trust fund, was all spent for wars, tax cuts for the rich, and other government programs. If the money is repaid at some point in the future, we could say is was just “borrowed.” But no arrangements have been made to repay the money, and nobody in government is suggesting that the money should be repaid. So, if it is never repaid, the money will definitely have been stolen.
And that brings us to Iran-Contra, G.H.W. Bush, and Black Monday.
Black Monday? Yeah. Stock market crash. Under Reagan’s watch. Tied to a small oil problem with OPEC. Funny thing, the Bush family is deep into oil. So, we put an oil man in the White House.
And what happens then?
Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Fortunately for us, Bush fails to gain a second term. We have eight years of Bill Clinton’s administration, where we try to gain back some of the momentum, but we overbalance, and suddenly the GOP take the House. Hello, Contract With America. Goodbye cooperation in the House and Senate. For good and all, it seems in hindsight. And hello to the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
Another bubble, and then Enron, and suddenly the SEC is all over accountability. Finger pointing…goes nowhere. To be sure, it’s a problem, but soon forgotten in the post-election sorting out, 9/11 and infighting that comes out of the election, which put G.W. Bush in office. And like magic, the solvency of the Social Security Fund was an issue.
Again.
NPR: Bush Questions Solvency of Social Security Trust
Now to be sure, I’ve skipped hundreds of small details to get to this point, but I wanted you to have some background. What follows is essentially link sausage, but it all points to one thing: The GOP want you to pull your money out of what ought to be a stable financial environment and trust THEM to keep your money for you while you age.
So if you want some stomach-churning reading material, click away.
The Huffington Post: 7 Ways The Bush Tax Cuts Wrecked The Economy
The Hill: Scrapping the Social Security payroll tax cap
This. This is what we are fighting in the government. Were you born before 1965?
You’re going to see the hit, unless you die of cancer or heart disease first. Which is entirely possible if the GOP get their way and make the death…I mean health industry private for everyone.
With an entire subsequent generation in jail or jobless, and wages that are virtually unchanged in 30 years, we are indeed in a pickle, but it’s one we could have avoided if we’d managed to keep the greedy bastards from getting their hands on that money. MY money. YOUR money.
This is a disaster that could have been avoided.
How? By stopping these people from bankrolling the deception and the lies.
The Atlantic: A Guide to the Billionaires Bankrolling the GOP Candidates
Chew on this: How much have you heard the big buzz that privatization of social security is the only way to save it?
What does that mean? Pushing everyone to purchase stock, either outright or in funds.
Have you been paying attention to Wall Street this week? In just two days, my teeny tiny IRA has lost a third of its value, on three stocks. I’m not sharing which because that info’s irrelevant. Suffice to say, if I’d tossed the money into an index fund, there’d be even less. I might as well have invested the entire amount in PowerBall lottery tickets.
Welcome to the latest bubble. Tied to the sudden drop of oil.
And thank your stars the GOP hasn’t yet gotten its way, because if they had, many of you who might depend on Social Security for at least some of your income could be SOL right now.
Buy low, huh? Yeah.
Daily Finance: With Oil Prices So Low, Are Oil Stocks a Good Investment?
So, how long do you think it will take for oil prices to rocket skyward if the GOP takes the White House? Four months? Two?
And in the meantime, I hope your retirement fund, that IRA or 401(K) of yours survives. Because without that and your precious Social Security and Medicaid, you, my friend, are screwed.
This is what’s at stake with the coming election. Bernie Sanders knows it. So does Elizabeth Warren.
Do you?
Rant warning!!! And for the record, while I’m thinking about it…
You’ll rarely find a more patriotic individual that me. I excelled in civic studies throughout high school, spent time in the Model UN* and worked for Jimmy Carter before I could vote. But that doesn’t mean I have to swallow every last thing our current political administrators want me to swallow in the name of their interpretations of what’s right.
Unless or until it’s proven to me that changes to our existing laws are being enacted for the actual good of everyone, and not just for the conservative right wing thugs who have a grip on this country right now, I will NOT agree to allow those changes to occur. And they have a long way to go before I’ll be convinced otherwise.
I’m ranting about this right stuff now because we aren’t all that far away from the start of the next Presidential campaign. Our lame duck here would like nothing better than to use recent events to catapult his brother to the White House, ensuring another possible eight years of divisiveness, theocracy and conservatism. King George, Emperor George, Saint George W. – yeah, I do think that way.
I am still galled by the methods his father used to get us into the conflict with Iraq the first time (and no, I haven’t forgotten). I am deeply concerned his brother will attempt to win the presidency in two and a half short years, thus continuing this appalling, dynastic legacy. [Edit: I realized this afternoon that I failed to clarify that my issue is with the Iran/Contra scandal and Senior’s deep involvement with it. I’ve commented elsewhere to include links on the topic. Sorry for the confusion…]
I am trying to do what I can to help make people hear the truth.
If you don’t like what I have to say, there are other places you can go to read, but this here is MY turf, and I’ll say whatever I like, because I still have the right and privilege to do so (at least, until our right-wing, wrong-dealing administration finds a way to shut that down too, in the name of Patriotism). [Edit: and yes, I do mean the USA Patriot Act.]
I am defending our Constitutional rights, and the democracy for which so many people lost their lives almost 230 years ago.
And you are…?
*And did I mention…Iraq was the last country I represented for the Model United Nations, back in 1981, when we were still friends with them. I’ve also represented Ireland, Jamaica, and at least one other.
Thoughts on Iraq: What do we do now?
On September 11, 2001, I was moved to write a commentary on the mind-bogglingly horrific disaster that was the World Trade Center attack. Its ramifications were and are as dramatic as I imagined they would be, but in ways I only
suspected would be true at the time.
On this eve, I am marveling at the audacity of our federal government and its leadership. They have been confronted with the reality of war in the very terms I was afraid would be true back when President Bush vowed to catch those responsible.
Shortly after the attacks of 9/11, I wrote a letter to President Bush and Vice President Cheney, begging them to consider very carefully their actions in pursuing the responsible individuals. In the letter, I said the following:
The President of the United States said, “This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing.” I fear that he may be wrong.
If we move without first being absolutely sure of our targets, we will disrupt the alliances we seem to have forged against the perpetrators of this horrible act. It does us no good to anger the people who have united with us, simply to slake the thirst of those who want blood now. Striking out blindly at targets that are not accurate, and doing no harm to the ones who deserve it most, makes us look foolish and incompetent. This we cannot afford to do.
And while I say that I do not want to explain to my daughter why her father did not come home, I do not want the deeds of September 11th to go unpunished. I cannot in good conscience tell my husband that he
must stay here. If he is called, as I am certain he will be, I must support him in any way I can.But I say now, I will only feel good about making that sacrifice if the result is certain, appropriate and final.
So, I ask the President, the Congress, and the world to be sure that their actions are the right ones. Be careful about what you are doing, because what you could unleash may be much worse than what has already been done, as incomprehensible as that might be right now.
And, when you have decided, move swiftly, so that we can be sure that we do not miss the targets, and so our loved ones can come home.
This evening’s news speaks volumes about why my prediction remains true. As each minute passes, we find more individuals involved in the scandalous treatment of Iraqi prisoners. A Philadelphia man has been beheaded for our crimes. And at this writing Osama Bin Laden, the root of the original evil, is STILL at large!
What, in heaven’s name, are we doing? How can I be asked to support an action that brings our reputation to this? And how can anyone in this country even remotely contemplate supporting an action that has such consequences?
I am proud to be an American. My family has lived here for over a hundred years by choice. They fought hard and paid a price to live here. I have chosen to raise a family here. But when I can’t find it in my heart to respect our leaders because of their failure to respect my beliefs in the sanctity of humankind, when they abuse others in the name of liberty and freedom, what am I to do?
It is the responsibility of the United States to bring its own people to justice for committing some of the very crimes for which their foes have been accused. And it is the responsibility of our elected and appointed leaders to make a swift and sincere apology for the actions of those individuals who are supposed to be in our service.
The revolting photographs and discussions that litter every news service, including National Public Radio, are just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine how we must appear to the very people we are supposedly helping by continuing our presence in the middle east. How can we, in good conscience, continue to claim that we are helping the Iraqis?
To be blunt: This situation stinks. We have to get out of Iraq and quick, before we do any more damage to our already tarnished reputation, but we must avoid making an already horrendous situation even worse.
Regardless, we must spend the time with our military front line representatives and ensure that they clearly understand the Geneva Convention, and the ramifications of their actions. And we must do it before anyone else is killed.
I challenge George W. Bush to detail just how he intends to extract our troops without causing further damage. And for that matter, I challenge John Kerry to do the same. Should he win the election this coming November, Senator Kerry will surely inherit the mess that the Republican administration has left behind. We need to know now how he intends to clean it up.
It is our responsibility as citizens of the United States of America to elect leaders who will act in our best interests. There is simply no good that can come from an extended action in Iraq that will not ultimately result in ill will and financial ruin.
Please consider very carefully before casting your vote during this coming election. And remember that I have a husband who could easily be one of the individuals recognized nightly on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.