All Americans Should Be Ashamed

I just saw a statistic that stated that 1 in 45 children in America are homeless! 1.6 million children! That makes me sick and every single American should be ashamed of that fact. We are no better then a third world country. This is what we have become and there are certain people and politicians that is just fine with that. While our leaders sit around thinking of ways to get elected or re-elected, our children suffer. Are you proud of America now? I'm not and after this posting I am going to start by contacting my Congressional representatives and let them know this is unacceptable. If you care about our children you should do the same! Keep calling them and writing them and make it clear that you will not support any politician that is willing to accept this. Maybe we could adopt Newt's stupid idea and put them to work. Where is an old sweat shop factory when you need it. Are there no prisons? Are there no poor houses? Scrooge would be proud. I certainly am not!

Common Sense Should Guide Us! Not Party Politics!

Everyone that reads me knows one thing for certain, I am a proud Progressive. Just because I usually flow in the direction of the Democratic party does not mean I will just be in lockstep with everything on their agenda. The Democrats are not perfect, however the Republicans are pathetic.
Look at the current leader for the Republican nomination. Newt Gingrich is the consummate Washington insider. So my appeal to voters around the country is this. Use common sense! When a politician tells you he received 1.6 million dollars from a company and a thirty thousand dollar a month retainer fee, to be a historian, what does common sense tell you? Are any fire alarms going off in your head? There should be. My common sense tells me loud and clear that he received tons of money to walk the halls of Congress and use his political influence to have votes go the way of his bosses. When a politician tells you he wants to fire union janitors and replace them with children, your mind should be screaming at you, "This guy is a whack job!" Do you think he will stand up for the average working person. Absolutely not. If this politician stands in front of a group of average Americans and brags about the fact, he received sixty thousand dollars for a speech and the price was going up, do you think he can relate to average people or only to the top 1%? If this politician is credited for the beginning of the politics of hatred that has brought the nations work to a grinding halt, shouldn't your common sense tell you this guy would continue and deepen the divides we currently are facing? Every aspect of Gingrich's persona, should have your common sense working overtime, to keep you from supporting or voting for this lifetime politician.
All I am asking of every individual is to look at the garbage the Republicans and Mr. Gingrich are throwing about and apply, common sense. The old phrase, "If it walks, like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck," fits very well in this case. If it sounds like a corrupt politician and walks like a corrupt politician, it must be a corrupt politician.

Response to my Canadian Friend!

I want to thank you for taking the time and respond to me. When you do this again, in the future, please feel free to leave a name. I share your fear for our nations. Mine for the apathetic way we view fellow Americans, being arrested for peaceful protests and yet the very people that perpetrated the economic collapse are free to steal more money from us. The corporate interests are looked after and protected, while the Constitutional rights of Americans are stripped away. I also recognize that Canada, as our neighbor, ally and economic partner will be affected by the policies here. We are interconnected and need each other to survive. For my part I will continue to speak out against corporate and political corruption. I will continue to attempt to motivate Americans and people around the world to fight and uphold our principles of Democracy. I ask from you and all of my readers, to spread the word and spur others to action. At this time, I am proud to state that I am being read, not only in the United States, but Canada, where you are from, Russia, Germany, France, Estonia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, and several more countries. We are all reliant on each other and should work together to solve issues, not just within the borders of our own nations, but issues that effect us all. I hope you will correspond frequently. I invite people from all countries to share their thoughts. I have said it before and it bears repeating. I may disagree, but I will never censor, or decline to provide any reader with a platform to express their thoughts. I am happy to debate issues and I am sure my American readers, will welcome you also. John.

Is This Anyway To Run A Country?

I am sufficiently recovered from Thanksgiving to start back with more opinions of the state of American politics. I am without a doubt biased in my opinions, but with the ever mounting stupidity of the Republican Party it is hard to be otherwise.

Think about the fact, the Republicans, the so called party of families and the evangelicals are throwing aside the guy who cheated on one wife, to embrace the guy who cheated on two wives! What is there a two for one special going on that the Democrats are not privy to?

Joe Walsh the Deadbeat Congressman, was given the pro family award from the Family Research Council. Why, was Ebenezer Scrooge too busy dealing with the spirits of Christmas, past, present and future? Walsh, who,  owes over $117,000 in back child support would probably kick the crutch from under Tiny Tim's arm and laugh as he fell.

Donald Trump has once again displayed his ignorance and stated, "President Obama will start a war with Iran to get re-elected." Don't have to say much about his state of mind, except his hairspray has definitely leeched into that tiny brain of his. Donald go bankrupt again and let the banks bail you out AGAIN!

Newt Gingrich in defending reports that he received over $1.6 million from Freddie Mac for his lobbying efforts, stated arrogantly, that he did not need lobbying money because he is paid $60,000 to give speeches. He said this will addressing people in North Carolina where the average annual salary is $58,000. That certainly made those people feel better. Plus he stated that he was paid as an historian. They needed the history of how former politicians, rip off the American public, by now using the corrupt system, to win the influence for Freddie Mac.

Enter Michelle Bachman, who once again shows her total lack of any intelligent life. She stated, in response to Great Brittan, closing it's embassy in Iran, by stating, that if she were President, she would close our embassy in Iran. I guess nobody ever told her we closed that somewhere around 40 years ago. A little thing called the Iranian Hostage situation. It was in all of the papers and on the news every night. Maybe see was absent when they taught any history at all, during her school years.

Lastly, yesterday the Republicans in the Senate refused to pass a bill that would extend the payroll tax cuts for Working Americans. It would have been paid for by a very small increase on people making over $1 million. They now want the tax increase on us, but are willing to extend the cut if we fire federal workers to make up the difference. They contend we have to pay for the tax cut. The total cost to the taxpayers is $120 billion. I really do  support this tax cut, especially, in light of the fact that the Bush tax cuts were enacted and extended without paying for them seems very hypocritical. The Bush tax cuts have cost us over, now look closely Republicans, $2.8 trillion. That is trillion. They never asked for them to be paid for. They have pledged to Lobbyist Grover Norquist. a man that is not elected to any office, they will never increase taxes. They won't on the rich, but are sure willing to let average workers shoulder more of the burden. I mentioned Scrooge earlier and will also do another comparison, since it is the holiday season. Scrooge, like his Republican counterparts would rather the burden fall on the poor, the unemployed, the sick, the children and the elderly, then to ever touch the people that truly run our country, the wealthy elite. The top 1%. These are the people they are pledged to protect and this is what they are fighting for everyday.

It is hard to believe that we have a population of over 312 million people and this is supposedly the educated. These are our leaders? These are the visionaries that will move us forward? This is the best we have to offer? I believe we are getting, because of poor effort from us, exactly the type of corrupt government we deserve. The House of Representatives, voted to eliminate all public money from our election process. The very thing that corrupts the politicians, private money, would then be free to buy more elections. We need to be going in the opposite direction and taking all private money out of the system and making it all public money. The vote was along party lines with the Republicans voting to make our votes count even less. This is the best we can do? Are we willing to sit back and allow this to move forward? Are we turning the country over to the 1%? Are we going to continue to sit on Face Book and not pay attention? Are we willing to sit at home on election day and allow these same people to continue to pillage America? If we are we are DOOMED! Your choice.  

Thanksgiving Day Is American!

When holidays approach, anyone who writes, has to do the column and talk about what they are thankful for. I will not disappoint.

First and foremost I am thankful for my fantastic, beautiful wife, Pat. She has come to mean everything in life to me. With her we have two wonderful daughters, Jessica and Nicole. They in turn have blessed us with five grandchildren that mean the world to us. Jayden, Miyah, Miriah, John and Elijah, have brightened our world as each year goes by. Jessica's husband and John's father Wes, rounds our family out nicely, and it all returns to the love and devotion Pat and I have for each other. If I were to stop there with my thanks, I could be happy. But there is more.

I am thankful that my family and I are, for the most part healthy. For without our health the rest of life can be a struggle.

I am thankful for being an American. For all of our struggles and weaknesses, we also have much to be proud of. We have accomplish more as a nation in less time then any our civilization in the history of the world. I am critical of America and it's political system, but that is because I care. It would be totally UN-American to not speak up. We must all stride forward and continue to improve as individuals and a country. This is our greatest strength.

I am thankful for my extended family. My mother, my in-laws, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, that are too numerous to mention here. My even further extended family, in our friends, neighbors and co-workers, all of who make my life better because I know them.

Lastly, did I mention my wife, Pat. I know I did, but to not mention her at least twice would be to ignore her importance to me. For thirty seven years, she has been the constant in my life. The reason I smile each day. The reason I have learned to love so deeply in my life. To her I have to say I have had over thirteen thousand days of happiness and love. It would have been very dark without her by me. So I have to reminder her again, just how much she means to me.

To all of my readers, "Happy Thanksgiving." Take a moment tomorrow and remember the reasons and most importantly the people, you are thankful for.

November 22, 1963. Our President is Killed!

Every year on the 22nd day of November I pause to remember. I think about a time that in some ways feels like yesterday and in some ways like another lifetime ago. The young people today will always remember where they were when the news broke that airplanes had flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. People my age and older will always remember that day in November 1963.

For me I was at Emily Brittian Elementary School in Butler, Pennsylvania. I was eleven years old and in fifth grade. Vietnam was just some distant place where we had, "advisers" and did not dominate the nightly news. We had a young President, Jack Kennedy and an equally young first lady and family.

Our President had, in three short years, started the Peace Corps. He challenged us to, "by the end of the decade, land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth." He had stared down, racist Governors of our southern states and paved the way for blacks to attend state universities. He was in the lead to turn back our segregationist nation and start us on the path to true equality. Kennedy stood face to face with Nikita Krushchev as the two nuclear super powers had us on the brink of annihilation. The Soviet Union blinked as our President forced a showdown with a blockade around Cuba. He gave a courageous speech at American University, in June 1963 where he challenged the Soviet leaders to establish Nuclear Test ban Treaties, that even received praise from his Soviet counterparts. His famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner) speech showed the world that America would not abandon it's allies, but join them in search for peace through out the world.  All of this in such a short time and now  we heard reports that shots were fired on the President's motorcade. Shortly after, we realized the worst. John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was dead.

We cried as a nation. Our innocence evaporated on that November day in 1963. What once was Camelot was now gone.  As a nation we mourned and moved on, but it was not the same. What could have been, was changed. Forty eight years later we cry once more, a shining light has been extinguished forever. We hardly knew you, but will always think of you.

Newt To The OWS, Take A Bath And Then Get A Job!

The arrogance of Newt Gingrich, was very apparent during an interview he had over the weekend. His advice to the Occupy Wall Street Movement was to first take a bath and then get a job. He also pointed out the people were occupying parks and using facilities that were funded by the very people they were protesting. Isn't that grand! Newt feels that these people are protesting against the very people that support them and make their lives so great. I have a newsflash for this idiot. The OWS and millions of ordinary people are protesting people, like you. You sit back with that wry, little smirk of yours and act so superior to the millions of peasants that dare to inhabit the same country you are bend on destroying.

You say we have become a secular country recently, and in reality, a little writing, called the Constitution of the United States, actually made the separation of church and state, a tenet of our country. I for one want it that way. I do not want leaders that will take us down the same route, as some other countries that are driven by religious zealots. Keep religion out of the decision making in America. People that have an issue with that need to find some other place to destroy.

Mr Gingrich is now calling for firing all union janitors and allowing the students to clean their own schools. He wants to eliminate all child labor laws that were set in place to keep companies from exploiting our children and depriving them of their educational responsibilities. Now children, and he advocated children as young as nine, can stay after school, not for learning purposes, but to work. One of his last statements, was one of his dumbest. He said they can start to rise up in society, this way. In other words we can produce more low paid janitors, instead of a society of better educated people ready to compete in the world arena.

Gingrich was paid almost two million dollars, plus a retainer of thirty thousand dollars a month by Freddy Mac. He opened doors on Capital Hill for the semi private mortgage giant to make more money while they ripped the American people off. This is a man that does not deserve any support for the office of President of the United States. This is a person, that has no moral values and exemplifies the root problem in our country. Greed and stupidity.