Egyptian Democracy without American Soldiers

You had to feel good for the Egyptian people yesterday when Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down and opened the way for a Democratic society to be born. The great thing is that it was accomplished without the intervention of American troops and a very low number of casualties. Unlike the wars, that we have been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Egyptian people accomplished this without outside interference. The people that lead the revolution did so without them creating casualties. It is a tragedy that over three hundred people lost their lives, due to the pro-Mubarak factions, but in a country of over 80 million people that is a relatively small number of deaths in order to restart a country's direction. The hard part of the Egyptian experiment will be what happens next and how quickly they move forward with a new Constitution. We should all be watching with great interest as Egypt move ahead and also what happens in the other Middle East countries that suffer under tyrannical rule.

Iternet cutoff, we have to stop this.

Last week Danny mentioned the bill, about Internet cutoff, proposed by Joe Lieberman I-Conn., Susan Collins R-Maine and Tom Carper D-Del. I had not seen this and have since researched the bill. Thanks, Danny for pointing this out to us. Anyone that has viewed my blog, knows that Danny and I do not aways view the government in the same way, but this is another one of those times that we do see somethings the same. The three sponsors of this bill cements the fact that dumb politicians do not all come from the same place. We have an Independent, a Republican and a Democrat. Their concern is that in the case of a cyber attack on our systems the government will then be able to cutoff the Internet and "save us all." Sorry but the first word that comes to my mind is, bullshit. This is an opportunity for politicians to "legally" control something for our own good. This is frightening, because they could also pull off what Mubarak did last week in Egypt, when he cut access for the people there. We can not give up liberties and freedom because some politician wants to "protect us". Over ten years ago, after 9-11, the patriot act was passed. This allowed government officials to wiretap and view our private information without permission from us. This week the extension of the Patriot Act was defeated, but only because the Republicans tried a procedural vote that required two thirds majority to pass. They will get the extension passed through regular voting procedures. Please contact your Representatives and Senators to tell them the Patriot Act and Internet cutoffs are two types of safety and protection that the American public does not need. We have to maintain our rights and freedoms. One voice. Be that voice.

Cutting Bombs or Teachers.

Yesterday, Republican leaders met with President Obama to discuss the deficit and budget. According to both sides the meeting was positive and they found some areas of common ground to work on. Of our national budget over 80%, according to some sources, is defense, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. So far neither the President or members of Congress has shown the courage to actually cut into these programs. The people who follow my blog on a regular basis may be surprised when I talk about cuts to entitlement programs, but the reality is that if we are to continue these necessary programs, changes have to start now. The longer we wait, the more chance we have that the cuts will be severe and hurt people more. We can do this and the effect can be as simple as extending the retirement age out further. The defense budget is huge and even Bob Gates, the Secretary of Defense has come forward with ways we can start to make cuts there. We can start by ending two long, costly and unnecessary wars. We can reduce the number of bases around the world. We can put the money to use here to help all of us in America. I am not promoting an isolationist agenda, only the idea that if countries around the world want the military protection of America they should be paying for the privilege. Right now our leaders are talking about cuts in the areas that we need to be putting money, such as education, infrastructure and health care for our citizens. What can we do? Exactly what I have been asking your to do from the beginning. Call or write your Congressperson, Senator, State Representatives, State Senators, Governor and the President. Let them know what is important to you. Express you opinion and follow up. We have numerous avenues to contact the above people. Don't let your voices be silenced.

Why do politicians always start at the bottom to cut?

Did you ever notice that the politicians always start the conversation to cut spending at the bottom. They seem to follow the lead of corporations. Every time a company wants to cut costs they look at the average person and cut hours, pay or jobs. They never look at solutions such as, how to be more efficient, cutting costs of material or better yet, cutting the labor costs of corporate leaders, including bonuses. Right now all we hear from Congress is entitlement spending, such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. Do we need changes in these programs. Yes, and we need to start now. My question is the cost of subsidies to large corporations and the tax cuts to the wealthiest American. When we get spending under control and have our debt paid off and have a surplus, then we can look at tax cuts. Right now we have to take from everyone not just the regular person. Contact your representatives and the President to let them know that we are willing to sacrifice, but lets spread the pain around, for the first time, to the wealthiest and the large corporations. We have been supporting them for too long now. Remember one voice can change the world. Be that voice.