Response to MBK International, We are the People.

First, as always I want to thank MBK International for their insight and contribution to America's Voice. Whether I agree or disagree with opinions that are sent to me, I will always respect the rights of those that respond. In their last post, MBK expressed some concern about troop support. The latest response expressed some reflection on parts of the posting. I can certainly appreciate the difficulty that any of us have in such emotionally charged discussions. The one fiber that runs consistently through all of us is the desire for our country to live up to the premise that we were founded on, equality. There are times that I feel that I slip into a certain naivety and idealism when we talk about the American experiment. Yes, it is still an experiment. There are civilizations that are many hundreds of centuries old and we are only in our third. Are we in dangerous times for our young nation? Most certainly. There is a tremendous amount of pressure from internal and external terrorist groups. The economy here and around the world has been precariously balanced on the brink of a depression. The horror of genocides, wars, diseases, famine and hopelessness are encompassing our planet. The wealthy, elitist are consolidating more wealth and power. The poorest among us have less. The middle class is shrinking. What can we possibly do? Danny says, he will not have to answer to his children, because he did not answer the call for change. I will not say to my children and grandchildren, that I was to complacent to support the movement to a more equitable and free life for all of us. If we do not advance our causes, who will. I agree with MBK, that through out the history of mankind, the ruling class has controlled the wealth and power. The elite have hope that we will never find the strength and fortitude to rise with one voice. They hope that we continue to find solice in the entertainment and trivialities they have displayed for us. They actually fear the idea that we will see through the thin veil of corruption that they display each day to control us. They should have fear, because the time to answer that call has come, for each one of us. We have to raise our voices, as one, to a level that will shake the very foundations of the governments of the world. Who will answer this call? We all will! It is time to let our leaders know, WE ARE THE PEOPLE!

Random thoughts, or what most people think I have.

John McCain called what was happening in the Middle East a virus and the most dangerous situation, there, that we have faced in modern times. So, let me see the idea that the people in other countries, such as Yemen and Egypt, that are fighting for their freedom, are dangerous and freedom is a virus. Somehow I picture McCain in a remake of, "Grumpy Old Men." How far he has fallen. Michelle Bauchman and Sarah Palin are both planing a run for the presidency. That truly is a scary thought and can set women, who have fought for equality, back decades. There are many more capable women out there, in both parties. The Republicans went into the election saying they would cut 100 billion dollars from the budget. Now they are talking about maybe 30 billion dollars. They have wasted time trying to repel health care reform, because of a promise, but are doing next to nothing about the promised deficit cuts. We have to increase the retirement age for social security. I agree with this but I want to see the wealthiest 10% of the population have to share in the suffering the middle class has to deal with. Speaking of suffering I feel really bad that Exxon only had a 9 billion dollar 4th quarter profit. I hope they increase the price of gasoline before their CEO has to sell one of their mansions. There is nothing sadder then a multi-millionaire having to ride in the back of a Lincoln, instead of a Bentley. In response to Danny, if you read the wonderful book, "Too Big To Fail, " by Andrew Ross Sorkin, you will see that the government did not decide which corporations to save it was people like Ken Lewis of Bank of America and Jamie Dimon of Chase that would not support proposals by the government to bail out, with private money, some of the other firms on Wall Street. These are the same CEO's that took huge bail out money, even though they said," They did not need the money, but their competition received it so they had to take it." I have the book and you are welcome to borrow it. I see some of the Republicans are admonishing the president for not supporting one of our oldest allies in Hosni Mubarak. Yeah, we need to continue to prop up oppressive governments to help the average person in Egypt, establish freedom and democracy. Speaking of Exxon, did you realize that the subsidies that the oil companies receive,  from the American taxpayer is over 100 years old. This was meant to help a developing industry be able to develop new and better ways to extract oil from below the earths surface. This is one the many reasons that I feel the corporations in this country get the most entitlement money. The response from our wonderful politicians. We need to slash the "entitlements" to the average person. I have a question about social security. Why do they call it an entitlement? I guess because I have paid into the system for over 40 years and I am entitled to receive the money that I was promised. How is this different then a 401K. One last question for today. Why has no one on Wall Street had to turn in their pinstripes for prison stripes? They have robbed every American taxpayer, every pension fund, the Federal government, every state government and every property owner. Wait I think that covers everyone. If I left someone out let me know. I happen to believe that some jail time for the corporate lawbreakers is warranted.

This is what we have to be aware of.

Our government can only have the power to do the things you talk about when we become silent and allow it to happen. After 9-11 when the Bush administration changed the procedure to allow wire taps without judicial review I was angry and spoke out against it. You are helping to make one of the points I fear the most. People's complacency. We sit around and continue to vote for the same people year after year and the results are always the same. We do not use our Constitutional Right of free speech and freedom of the press. You seem to feel that the power right now is the government and we need to fear them. My contention is, the real power is from the wealthy and corporations. Either way we need to get people to be aware and become vigilant on our rights. I have not used a weapon since I left the Navy, but I support the rights of law abiding citizens to bear arms. You talk about the government running our health care, the system I want could not be further then government control. I call it Universal Health care but in reality the correct term would be single payer. The government would collect the premiums from the public and then distribute it to the hospitals and doctors based upon the procedures and cost. Right now we have big business control this and they determine what they will pay and if they will pay. They exclude the sickest and people least able to pay. How do you not consider this a threat to us all. Governments derive their power from the people and as such the people can take it away. The solution is not to go to some extreme party or individual. The tea party has already been perverted by politicians, who only want the power for themselves. The Libertarians, the Socialists, the Communists and any other party that is influenced by the power of money are also only on the path for their own power. When a government places the need of the many over the few will we move forward. You seem to feel that the solution rests in this large turning over of power to the states. That has been problematic also. The states are controlled by people that are either looking to suppress people there, or are looking to advance their career to Washington. Let's look at some state leaders and some of the Tea Party leaders to see their points of view. Az. State Senator, Russel Pierce, wants to abolish the 14th amendment to do away with people born on U.S. soil automatically becoming citizens. Tx. State Representative,Republican John Cook, want to replace the speaker of the Texas House, also a Republican. The Speaker, Joe Straus's crime, he is a Jew, not a Christian. Alabama Governor Haley Barbour, said, " I just don't remember it being that bad." He was referring to the treatment of blacks in Alabama before the civil rights laws were enacted. Lastly, let's look at Tea Party Senator, Rand Paul, and I quote, " A free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate filled groups to exclude people based on color." So if I understand you correctly we need to fear the Federal Government but not worry about the state and local governments. These few examples are what some other leaders would do to our birthrights and civil rights laws. If we give these up they will only return for more. The fight is NOW. I agree with you on that. I have argued for decades against these freedoms being whittled away. Until now I have not had the forum to reach out to more then the people standing in front of me. I have that forum now and I intend to use it. You seem to be almost fatalistic about the future, as if the Government would not be stopped. Let me make this next point very clear, so you or anyone cannot misconstrue it. We will not allow the government, whether federal, state or local to ever become more powerful then it already is. Period. If the Egyptians can overthrow the oppressive government they have, Americans can do the same here if the need arises. However it is my firm belief that we will, now and well into the future, be able to use the rights that we have under our Constitution to wrest the power back into the hands of the people. If they jam our phones, as you fear, or cut our Internet we will persevere in other avenues. We will take to the streets, as in Egypt, if necessary. However I want to stress that if we awaken, the American spirit, we will prevail. The revolution I speak of will only come in the form of, the power placed where it rightfully belongs with the people.

Will we face the same uprisings in America?

In a comment from Danny, he approached the subject, Americans confronting our government in the same type of fashion that we are currently seeing in the Middle East. I have for several years, been of the opinion that a new revolution will occur in our country. It may not be in my lifetime, although it very well could happen sooner then later. The reasons that I feel this way has to do with the economics we are facing. The poor are getting poorer. The middle class is shrinking. The divides between the wealthy and the poor are growing wider each day. People should read our own Declaration of Independence and can understand from the first line, "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands," that as events unfold and the people loose control of the politicians we have elected, we will look for remedies beyond the normal. I have no problem with the discussion of differences based upon policy. I have a problem with the idea, forced upon us by the very politicians we elect to serve us, that the only solution is for the average person to suffer and the advantages go to the wealthy and corporations. We cannot afford a meager amount of money to assist the unemployed, however we can afford tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals and corporations. In his state of the union, President Obama talked about eliminating the subsidise to the oil companies. Did anyone in Congress act on this? No, they continued the assault on the health care reform. There philosophy is to attack a program that can assist and help millions of average people, and to leave intact a program that protect the profits and interest of a very wealthy group. Exxon had a profit of over 9 billion dollars for the last quarter. Think of that, 9 billion dollar profit for the quarter, and yet they get money from us to keep them from paying taxes and increase their profits. The politicians could eliminate this with tax overhaul and instituting a flat income tax. They prefer to protect their re-election money to our votes. Why does this happen? We allow it. We do not do our homework and vote out the people that are in control. We do not use the power of over 330 million voices to silence the rich and powerful. We have to take ownership for our government. Democracy is not a spectator sport, it is participatory. We cannot continue to hand over our power to politicians that take it and pervert in into something for their own good. Is it inevitable that we have to revolt? No, but only if we wake up and take the control back. You hear the phrase, "We the people," all of the time, but how often do the people stand and be heard?  We are too complacent and need to be forceful to avoid the fate of other countries. These are only shadows of what may happen, not what has to happen. More to follow.

Oppressive Goverments Part 2

That sentence drips with morality. Those men really had a vision that, by certain accounts today, are considered unrealistic. I think those words are as relevant today as they were in the beginning of our nation. They are saying that WE the people have the moral issue of making, all people to be held as equal in, not just the eyes of the law, but actually created equal in all aspects. Pursuit of Happiness, this is telling us we should be able to work to be happy. Moral issue? How do you legalize and determine happiness? The only way we can be equal and have the right to be happy, is by having a level playing field in life. If we start out with little or no chance but to stay in the same station in life, we have had this basic, fundamental fact taken away from us. I understand that I am quoting the Declaration of Independence and not the Constitution, but the same people who wrote and believed one, believes in the other. This is the basis for our breaking away from England and pursuing our own destiny. Tomorrow I will address the issue, that you want me to confront. The direction and possibility of confrontations with our own government. I am weighing the response very carefully and you may be surprised at my opinion.

Oppressive Goverments Part 1

You asked me to give you an example of an oppressive government, that has good economic conditions and does not contend with civil riots. The first one that come to my mind and I'll bet you are rolling your eyes on this one, is China. Yes that China. Their economy is the fastest growing in the world at this time. The last major uprising was the "Tianamen Square" confrontation. The people have since had a sharp rise in the economic situation in China and yet the government still is one of the worst rights violators in the world. The North Koreans are another example of the government that stands on the throats of their people and yet keep civil unrest at a minimum. The next point to answer and again I won't disappoint you with my answer that you predicted. Oh yes, Danny I have read and heard FDR's speech about the "Second Bill of Rights" and yes I most certainly agree with him. You say if I got all of the things I wanted, I would be disappointed. I disagree. There is a moral issue and our founding fathers used moral issues to establish America. " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Danny, Danny, Danny.

First this is just so you can see the comments from MBK international. Go to archives. Dec 2010. Go down the list until you see Continue response . It may be a few of these so if you come up from the bottom, you will see This is why we need a new voice. Move up one more is Response to Danny. Right above this is the first continue response. Under this is your comments and MBK's. I'll be right back with the other responses to your most recent statements.

About Egypt Response to Danny. Part 3

The hopelessness of the Pirate fans show in the fact that by May the team is already out of the race and attendance goes down. Now look at football. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, this year's Super Bowl competitors are two of the smallest markets in the league. These are also the two most successful teams in football history. The idea that all teams share equally in revenues mean that all teams have a level playing field as a starting point. The teams then have to do the hard work of assembling the coaches, players, staff and strategy to win. Again they do this. The equal beginning and then hard work to win. Wow what a concept! Remember that as you watch the socialistic Super Bowl on Sunday. This is our most popular and watched sport. Also please don't miss the most important point. Equal and level field, followed by education and hard work means that everyone has hope and can accomplish the American dream. Talk to you soon.

About Egypt Response to Danny. Part 2

If you look at history there is telling evidence about the reasons that people rise up and attempt to change their governments or stations in life. In the 1960's in this country, the race riots were as much about hopelessness then about civil rights. Dr. King preached non-violent methods, however the boiling point was reached because of joblessness and lack of monetary freedom. When governments are oppressive, but the standard of living is good for all people there is no unrest or civil discord. Again I am not talking about socialism, I am saying the playing field of life has to be level. Look at education. Why is it, that in wealthier neighborhoods, the schools are less crowded, have safer conditions and better technology then poorer schools? I am going to give you an analogy that, you as a former baseball player, might find interesting. I cannot take credit for this. Bill Maher on his show made this point and I thought it was great. Look at the difference between baseball and football. In baseball the New York Yankees have a payroll of 200 million dollars. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a payroll of 40 Million dollars. The Yankees contend every year and in some years win the World Series. The Pirates have not been over .500 for 15 years. A small market team starts off with a disadvantage because they do not have the funds to compete. To be continued. 

About Egypt Response to Danny. Part 1

You know Danny, just yesterday evening before you responded back, I told Jessica I had not heard from you, but was sure something I said would get me a response soon. Thanks for not letting me down. O.K. lets get to it. In Egypt, just like in so many countries in our current world and in history, there are uprisings and they are not caused primarily by oppressive governments. The one thread that you seem to miss is the hopelessness that people feel. We all want to see our families have an opportunity to improve their social status. That is accomplished through, number one, education. Number two, an equal and level playing field of life. The importance of education is apparent. The level playing field is where the frustration can boil over. You make the assumption that everyone starts out at the same level. That is the fallacy in your theory. We all do not start at the same level. If you are wealthy, doors are automatically opened. Whether we are looking at education, health, nutrition or the starting of a job, if you have the money you are well ahead of everyone else. The middle class and the poor have a much smaller chance to advance then the wealthy, only because greed corrupts and the power that the wealthy derive from that wealth keeps the lower classes in their place. The role of government is to help level that playing field. The problem is that the wealthiest people in any culture are able to control the government and become repressive. To be continued.

Response to MBK International (The Troops) Part 2

A lot of our enlisted soldiers have college also. I am aware that the a disproportionately high number of our troops are from areas with higher poverty rates. I wish this were not true, but it is. The idea that they are fighting for the "rich, fat cats" , does not escape me either. This however is the separation from the troops and our leaders. I do not agree with these wars and some of the other wars the United States has entered into. You ask what does supporting our troops mean. It means that we pray for them, which you stated. We give them the best equipment to fulfil their missions and to hopefully protect them. It means we do our part at home to influence our leaders to end these senseless wars and try to keep them from getting us into another one. It means we give them the best medical and psychological treatments that we can and for life if necessary. It means that we ensure that their families, that are left behind while they are on assignments, are given good housing, medical and pay to keep them going. In short anything and everything that they need for them and their families. There are other areas I disagree with you on, but I would like to end now with this. Today at Sea World a man came in with his family, I asked for ID. When he showed me his military ID, I thanked him for his service. His response to me was. "It is may honor and privilege to serve." That is why I call them the, "best and brightest" because they are. Period. Remember that each time you think of your blanket of safety and freedom, they provide. 

Response to MBK International (The Troops)

I have to admit this is a new one for me. Even at my age. You are the first person I have ever talked to that stated they did not support our troops. I am not sure if we are looking at semantics or you really don't lend the men and women, who defend our nation, your unequivocal support. Several statements you made I take exception with. Number one you seem to be confused with the idea of separating the actual person from the military and civilian leaders. Our service members are not robots and you even make the case in your fifth sentence. You stated that, "you have lots of friends that have been going back and forth to Iraq and Afghanistan and they are changed for life." Robots would not be changed for life. Our soldiers are human beings that have a higher meaning of the word service. You contradict my saying they are the," best and brightest." What you fail to understand, when I call them that, is they are that, because they chose something with more meaning and passion then themselves. They put the interest of their country and most importantly their brother beside them before themselves. You are looking at the literal meaning and I am looking at the individual as a whole and what they represent. You talk as if they are mindless, and even if some do become mindless killers, most prefer to do the job before them and then return to their families.  You say that there are more intelligent people, more physical people and more equipped people, what ever that means. There will always be people that are better at some areas, but my question is if they are better, then why are they not out standing on that wall to help protect us? Some of our officers have attended the military academies, which I am sure you know are very hard to be accepted to let alone to graduate. To be continued.