Click on cartoon to enlarge. (It was created by Lawlessone using clip art at Funny Times)

“BAILING OUT THE BAILOUT”

Or, Finding Fault with Our Financial Finagling

Let’s see if I understand the 12 (or maybe 13) digit bailout of private companies that has been proposed and administered by the Bush Administration using public funds. Its provisions seem to be:

• Little if any due diligence in advance of giveaway of public money.
• No independent audits of the private companies getting the public money.
• No appraisals of private assets being acquired by the public money.
• Limited or non existent documentation accompanying the giveaway of the public money.
• Few, if any, restrictions on how the public money was to be used.
• No voting control on the equity positions in private companies purchased with the public money.
• Little collateralization or protection of the loans to private companies made with the public money.
• No personal guarantees by the private management or shareholders receiving the giveaways of public money.
• No enforcement of what few written loan and/or equity purchase documents might exist.
• No assurance the public money would be or was used as authorized or promised to the taxpayers and Congress.
• Little if any direct help for the distressed homeowners for which the public money was set aside.
• No change in the bankruptcy laws either restricting creditors or helping mislead debtors.
• No serious efforts at prevention of bonuses or huge salaries for CEOs or other top management in charge being funded by public money.
• No serious efforts at prevention of the public money being used by private companies merely to acquire competitors.
• No investigation of what went wrong and who was responsible or even whether the means and methods were justified before spending a sum of public money that large.
• Little or no new regulation to reinstitute conservative (small “c”); i.e. safe, lending traditions.
• Little or no increase in staff and budgets of the regulatory and enforcement agencies.
• No removal of those individuals in government or the private companies whose decisions ultimately lead to the fiascos necessitating bailout.
• No prosecution or punishment of apparent criminal fraud and misrepresentation within the private companies being bailed out with the public money.
• No tracking of whether the methods were successful (and, by “success” it is not meant just putting massive amounts of the public money in the private hands of the already rich who were probably instigated or perpetuated the mess).
• No reporting to and receiving permission from Congress before the Treasury Secretary chose to unilaterally modify the use of the public funds.
• Not even disclosure of who received the public funds, how much, why or how.

Surely, a recipe for fraud, misappropriation and, more importantly, more of the same.

When “Heckofajob” Brownie was fired from FEMA after Katrina, did Treasury hire him?
All kidding aside, the government lawyers who drafted the Bailout documentation should be investigated for possible ethics violations and certainly for gross incompetence. Disbarment ought to be considered given how badly this has been bungled from the beginning. They must have gotten their law degree from schools that advertise on matchbooks.

Changing the watchdogs who failed in their duties is only part of what needs to be done. One of the primary reasons for our latest titanic financial disaster was deliberate and massive obfuscation. How can you regulate something if you can't see what is going on? How can even the active participants involved (buyers, sellers, borrowers, managers, investors) make an intelligent decision one way or the other if they don't have access to critical facts? Hell, how can even speculators adequately analyze risk versus reward without reliance that the data provided is not deceptive? It becomes more akin to a pure gamble, a bet against house loaded dice, rather then a well considered investment. Adam Smith’s Capitalism can fair, but as he pointed out, the data upon which it is based must not be false or misleading and available to all.

The reckless greedy thieves in charge of our financial institutions prior to the 1980s Saving & Loan Industry debacle, the even more reckless and greedier thieves in charge of the late 1990s tech stock bubble and the most reckless, greediest conceivable thieves of all in charge for the past decade prevented that by doing everything possible to hide what they could and mislabel what they couldn't. That strategy was combined with a condescending paternalism that they knew best; that we couldn't possibly understand; and that anyone who even asked, let alone complained, was ignorant or a “socialist.” Together those thing set the stage for utter disaster.

The misdirection and slight-of-hand was rampant and pervasive. If it had not been for the false labeling, even the village idiot, possibly even George Bush, could have recognized that you should not give a $400,000 house loan with no money down to someone out of a job and with rotten credit. That was not how it was presented to the unsuspecting public though. And, the ponzi scheme worked, worked for the perpetrators anyway, right up to the point when it was too late because the debt had come due.

The blame cannot be wholly assigned to the criminals on Wall Street, the stock brokerages, the bank headquarters and the insurance execs. They had the nasty example of Congress and the White House who do the same obfuscation with the federal budget. The national budget is not even close to being a real representation of the country’s income and expenses. Social Security, war in Iraq funds, all kinds of other things are “off budget,” called other things. Then there is the voluminous set of special tax code provisions where benefits to campaign contributors and fellow travelers are hidden in obscure, almost indecipherable clauses.

Politics as usual in Washington demonstrates that lying to the voter is okay and will not be punished or even closely scrutinized. Politicians do it because if the voters actually knew how they were being ripped off and lied to might vote for someone else. The Iraq War for instance? It would appear that it is free of cost. Someone else is supposed to pay for it, certainly not us. Our grandchildren apparently, not current taxpayers. Something for nothing dominates the centers of power, especially now that the Republicans ferreted out all bureaucrats who still had a sense of honor and foolishly believed in honoring their oath of office.

Why wouldn’t we expect Wall Street to follow the same path? The almost funny part is that they got so greedy, so caught up in their raping and pillaging while they burnt down their own structures, some of them forgot to get out of the fast enough. After a while, they could not even understand their own con schemes.

How to finally prevent this sort of chicanery? Obviously, lots more regulators and the staff and funding to let them do their job and the freedom to do so. Let the states and municipal governments enforce as well rather than federal only jurisdiction that the current Administration insisted upon.

That is not nearly enough though. If there are no adverse consequences to those malefactors who lead us into this cesspool, it will assuredly happen again. So, use the RICO laws regarding criminal conspiracy to seize their assets (the good assets as well as the worthless ones they want to stick the taxpayers with). In fact, use the Patriot Act and other sedition laws to go after them for endangering the national security. Try them as criminals. Maybe send them to Gitmo for a vacation. They after all have proven themselves far more dangerous to this country’s future security than any insurgents captured on a battlefield. Also, take back their bonuses and salaries which we know realize were obtained under false pretenses. Most importantly, impeach the politicians who aided and abetted them.

Why try them for treason? Keep in mind, the cutbacks in health care, port security, and military preparedness that will be caused by these astronomical losses are going to ultimately kill more people than the 9/11 terrorists dared dream.

Most importantly, get back to fundamentals with transparency of financials especially of the books and records of those spending money of others, with true independence of investigators and auditors, with clarity and ease of understanding documentation and with new and strong penalties for ignoring common sense in the future.

REGRETS? REALLY?

Or, What We Regret Is That Bush Was Ever Born

Bush told CNN he “regrets” some wild overstatements like “Mission Accomplished” and utterly juvenile utterances like “Bring it on!” Of course, it is only a few regrets, tiny ones, but that at least is up from earlier responses to reporters that he essentially had none except for a personnel decision or two.

I wonder if the 5 Republican Justices who intervened in the Florida election in 2000 have any regrets for the hell they caused this country.

I wonder if the families of the 3000 killed on 9/11 have any regrets cheering Bush’s flag waving on the rubble since we now know the event was due in significant part to his ignoring overt warnings.

I wonder if the 96% of the country who said they favored the President and his policies when polled shortly after 9/11 are now embarrassed and regret ever having been so mislead, often by deliberate lies.

I wonder if the 4500 soldiers killed and tens of thousands maimed mentally and physically in trumped up wars started basically for Bush’s ego regret his catastrophes committed while pretending to be warrior-in-chief of the armed forces, especially knowing he hid out during every opportunity he had to participate personally in a shooting war.

I wonder if the families of future terrorist attacks will regret all the thousands of new terrorists created by primarily Bush’s indiscriminate bombings, pre-emptive invasions, torturings, impoverishments, and emasculations.

I wonder if the millions here and abroad who have lost their jobs, their savings, and their homes to his disastrous financial policies and greed have any regrets.

I wonder if our children and grandchildren who will have to pay the enormous debt he created while doing without adequate health care and education will have regrets about their forebearers who so foolishly voted for Bush.

It is sad that child of privilege and entitlement seems to have learned nothing at all despite his minuscule number of admitted “regrets.” As evidenced by his comments, he is obviously blind or indifferent to the astonishingly massive destruction he has wrought directly as well as indirectly. Unfortunately, he still seems incapable of ever growing up or gaining wisdom. Even more worrisome, the most prominent among his followers like Palin, Romney, Huckabee, and Giuliani, who hope someday to replace him, seem to have no regrets about what has happened over the last eight years other than they lost an election. As the sages say, you can never cure a problem until you finally admit you have one.

Click on cartoon to enlarge. (It was created by Lawlessone using clip art at Funny Times)

“EVERY SILVER LINING HAS A CLOUD”

Or, Don’t Forget How Close We Came To Losing

In all the euphoria of electing the first demonstrably non-Caucasian as President, we would do well to remember that:

• Despite suffering through the most disastrous, despicable, duplicitous President in the history of this country, nearly one out of every two voters tried to return Bush’s party to the White House. One out of TWO! In other words, no matter how destructive, dangerous and divisive Republican rule has been, almost half this country still fervently believes that only Republicans should ever rule. If the stream of internet anguish, anger and polemic was not enough to convince how apparently deep their hate, fear, and intolerance goes and how willing they might be to do anything to achieve their goal, what about the voices shouting out from the McCain and Palin campaign rallies?

• Despite massive money and manpower expended on never before seen levels, only slightly more than every other person marked the ballot for Obama. A win yes and not as thin as 2000, but certainly not a sweeping mandate on a person to person level.

• Despite the present President’s illegal and relentless attacks on the Constitution and its separation of powers, not to mention assaults on every human right enumerated among the Amendments (except unrestricted access to assault weaponry of course) and despite fanatical assaults against open government, public education, public lands, public airwaves, clean air, clean water, clean food, safe products, traffic safety, worker safety, job security, health security, financial security, even genuine national security security, not to mention undermining energy independence, science advancement, troop support and, you name it, he still has about one out of every four or so adults not just voting for a new Republican in office, but thinking Bush is doing a fine job.

• Despite abundant proof to the contrary and universal repetition by all the legitimate news sources, to this day apparently, almost one in four Texans for instance assumes that a Muslim has just been elected President which suggests an intractability that maybe impenetrable until those folks die of old age (or the lack of health care with which their party has saddled them).

• Despite the relatively conciliatory concession speech by McCain after losing, it is noteworthy primarily for its contrast to the earlier vitriol by which he and his running mate elected to demonize Obama. Its tones could be easily dismissed as merely trying to box Obama in so he won’t do what the Republican invariably do when they seize power which is to continue demonizing the Democrats and cutting them out from participation in decisions.

• Despite the media “horse race” hype, the election outcome was a relatively close thing and could easily have gone the other way except for the untimely revelation of just how deep a hole the Republican had dug for us financially.

• Despite what became a significant Electoral College majority, a look at the land map of election results, especially by counties, shows an astonishing ocean of red lapping from shore to shore with but a relative few tiny sized enclaves of blue mostly clustered around the big cities. Even in supposed bastions of liberalism like Oregon, most of the counties voted for McCain. In terms of US land mass as opposed to population, the country is probably 98% red tinged.

• Despite a close to unanimous vote by blacks for Obama and nearly two thirds vote by hispanics, neither is anywhere near a majority of the population or the active voters.

• Despite the Republicans continuous purging from their party over the last three decades whereby they nastily kicked out everyone even half way moderate or capable of showing the slightest mercy, compassion, forgiveness, acceptance or bipartisanship, somehow they not only still find candidates who spend most of their time appealing to the party base, they manage to reap votes of lots of other people, people who are voting against their own interests whenever they vote Republican.

• Despite paradoxically “collapsing their tent” and narrowing their appeal to serve only the religious fundamentalists, only the arrogantly militant, only the xenophobes, only the greedily selfish, only the heterosexual (at least the purportedly straight that is), only the bigoted, and only the pale skinned from European ancestry with but few exceptions, they still came close to winning and probably would have but for the deux ex machina caused by the massiveness of the financial crisis they had created. Even then, they succeeded in convincing far too many people it was really a Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi created problem.

• Despite the unethicalness, unfairness, immorality and even apparent illegality of some of the things he did, encouraged and certainly favored, Karl Rove (to name but one prominent Republican prevaricator) is not only still around and well paid, he has been given a major soapbox on a national news network and is now calling himself a journalist of a sorts further degrading that “profession.” Moreover, all his fellow predators whose tactics were primarily demonization, dissembling, divisiveness and dirty tricks still believe those are not only legitimate methods, but a successful means to their end of reestablishing a theocracy for supposed “Real Americans,” naturally defined to mean just themselves. Doubt it? Think back to the millions and years spent in the Republican’s dogged pursuit of supposed Whitewater crimes. Think back to the salacious and juvenile tone of the Clinton impeachment. That failed, but not by much. And, think back to the Swiftboating of Kerry and the scurrilous slanders of Nobel Laureate Gore which did not fail. It’s only been literally hours since the alleged buddyship of Obama and Ayer has been bandied about.

• Despite abundant evidence that they have been wrong time and time and time again, the corporate media largely continues to only put on the air those guests, reporters and pontificating pundits who missed the big stories entirely. Not only were they dead wrong on facts and predictions, but refuse to admit it. Moreover, the ones who got it right have been fired, demoted, reassigned or not allowed to appear. Some of it could be dismissed as mere incompetence, but for a large number of stories, the ownership of the news outlets clearly has its own agenda disguised as “news,” especially on matters that affect themselves and their profits. Remember that corporate media controls who the reporters will be, how many there are, what they are assigned to cover and what they will say if they want to keep their jobs. Democrats are grossly outnumbered among those asked to sit on network boards of directors. As for the entire Fox Noise channel, it remains the unashamed PR department for the Republican Party and nothing else. “Fair and balanced,” as they claim? Not a chance. Unfortunately, it still has huge viewership.

• Even as to the portion of the press whose conscience mandates an occasional effort at something approximating real journalism, despite an eternity of “false balance” where the whopper outright lies of Republicans were compared to minnow exaggerations of Democrats, the corporate media continues to act even after the election as if reciting inconvenient facts about Republican disasters is somehow “liberal bias.”

• Despite almost daily evidence that the words in the press releases, the green room spin and even in the titles of Republican legislation are intended to produce the polar opposite of their customary meaning, the press and the public has come to accept the re-definitions of almost everything. The new definition of what is a “patriot” for example would horrify Patrick Henry. The new concept that there are a select few of “Real Americans” and that those from some particular states and cities are apparently fake Americans would horrify Abraham Lincoln.

• Despite nearly universal antipathy developed against this county throughout the world including from our allies, the Republican Party nominated candidates who campaigned on being tougher and more aggressive than Bush, going it alone and that did not deter voters. No doubt the slightest dispute with anyone over anything or the slightest incident will be declared to be proof Obama is clueless, inexperienced, weak, a “surrender monkey,” a friend of terrorists, a traitor or a secret Muslim. No doubt even if he successfully obtained a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, it would be viewed as a betrayal of Israel.

• Despite a financial meltdown of epic proportions caused primarily by greed, misrepresentation, stupidity and a lack of oversight and regulation, almost all the CEOs of the banks and other financial institutions are not only still in charge of those entities, but are steadfastly Republican and unrepentant. The same old mantra of no taxes/no regulation otherwise the economy will be “strangled” is still offered by almost all the players as the only route.

• Despite the debacle in Florida with the butterfly ballots and hanging chads, despite the conclusive proof that Diabold electronic voting machines (owned by a Republican acolyte) and even the optical scanners can be hacked, those machines are still in use and low income voter intimidation is still in vogue.

• Despite the Obama presidency win, the Republicans have had 8 years, YEARS, to purge everyone from the bureaucracy, its regulatory agencies and military command who had the slightest bit progressive, liberal, democrat or even non-partisan tendencies. If you recall from the evidence of what occurred in the Justice Department, even registered Republicans were fired if they weren’t zealous enough in imposing Republican ideology. It will be years before that mind set is reduced sufficiently by attrition of adherents.

• Worse, the Republican Supreme Court that put Bush in power and his own additions to the Court cannot be removed at all and most of the Bush appointees are relatively young. They have show their true colors and it is red indeed under their black robes.

• Worse still, the richest few percent still control three quarters or more of all the wealth in this country. Almost all of them are devout Republicans who not only want to protect that massive hoarding for themselves alone, they want to increase the amount. Greedy though they might be, they will use those resources to protect their assets. It might delay them buying this years’ newest yacht model or scale down its size, but they have been merely inconvenienced in the financial debacle in comparison to Obama supporters who have lots homes, jobs, insurance and savings. The deep pocket books and determination of the uber rich is or should be cause for concern on how the battle for the hearts and minds of voters will be fought.

So, if you are feeling pollyannish, the next time you are in line at the airport, just remember that nearly every other person voted to continue the Republican domination of government, no matter what it costs the county. Their campaign slogan of “County First” rightly should have been “Neocons First and Only.” The result was close to flipping a coin in the outcome.

The next time you are thinking about how tolerant America has become, just remember that the religious right won on all anti gay initiatives in the latest election and the segregationists won on all measures to end affirmative action.

The next time you are thinking of all the things that the Democrats can achieve now that they have control (unlike the shaky one vote majority they had in the Senate the last couple years), just remember not all Democrats are liberal or progressive. They want to be re-elected. Much of the Democrat leadership is the same craven herd that cowered, cringed, stumbled and bumbled with little effect throughout the entire Bush Administration. They were easily intimidated by their own shadows. On top of that, some are not even real Democrats as “Toyko Rose” Lieberman has proven. The Democrats still can’t even cut off a filibuster threatening to deadlock legislation. Their single vote majority in the Senate was only increased by seven at last count and that counts pseudo-Democrats.

The moral of this little tale is that for those who believe in the Golden Rule, who believe that compassionate conservatism is not just a slogan, who believe that facts and fairness should be foremost, who believe politicians and public service should actually obey their oath of office which is almost exclusively to defend the Constitution, vigilance must be even greater than before the election. The progressives and liberals who spent the last many years howling in the wilderness ever since the days of Jimmy Carter cannot rest. Sadly, having the superior candidate never guarantees success. A single victory doesn’t count for much (even assuming President Obama truly is progressive and liberal.)

Hope and Change. He convinced me there will be change. I hope he is right and that the change is what we need. Nevertheless, let’s keep reminding the public, the press and Brother Obama himself of all the “despites” that are bothering us.

“THE CONUNDRUM CONCERNING CLINTONITES”

Or, Why Do So Many Hillary Supporters Still Seem to Want to Elect McCain?

At one point it was reported that apparently as many as half of the 18 million who voted for Hillary Clinton were saying they won’t vote for Barack Obama. Since most who enthusiastically embraced the concept of a woman in the White House also still presumably embrace the bedrock concepts behind the Democratic Party, the Constitution, not to mention the Biblical Golden Rule, it is hard to understand what they have against Obama or in favor of McCain. Is it petulance, covert racism, or simple misinformation?

Let’s be generous and assume the latter. Misinformation is certainly a possible explanation. After all, a whole herd of gross distortions and deliberate lies thunder in daily to our tvs, radios and computers, loudly trumpeted in the what are known as “swift boat-style” ads and spam. Nevertheless, no matter how many times rumor mongers repeat it, Obama is NOT Muslim, NEVER was, and it shouldn’t matter anyway if freedom of religion actually means anything anymore in America.

There is abundant evidence to conclusively rebut the wild claims and thankfully Hillary herself never suggested otherwise. So, why then do many of her supporters keep mentioning Obama’s supposed Muslim roots or, even if they acknowledge he may “now” be a Christian, cite him for supposedly abandoning his “original” faith? Let us hope the die hard Clintonites recognize such baseless canards for what they are and note where such falsehoods are originating from before they endanger us all by continuing putting another disastrous Republican administration in power.

Other things being recited as reasons to disapprove Obama are not outright slander. They fall in the category of misleading half truths. It is true for instance that Obama, like almost everyone else who ever made it to the Senate, is significantly richer than you and I and has a somewhat more expensive house, which is apparently something that bothers the low and middle class voters who preferred Clinton over Obama. Fair enough, but why switch all the way over to favor McCain? After all, not only is Hillary and her hubby significantly richer than Obama, Obama was not born to privilege as an Admiral’s son like McCain. Anyone who has spent time in the military understands what that sort of privilege usually means in the way of special assistance and perks for family members of high ranking officers.

Moreover, Obama did not abandon an ill first wife like McCain did to trade up to a prettier one with such enormous inherited wealth that he can’t even seem to keep track of how many mansions they own these days outright. Is there any likelihood that you or I would not know instantly how many houses we owned? Better yet, any money Obama has seems to have been earned largely by his own efforts. In other words, Obama’s working class roots are far closer to Clinton’s than McCain’s is. Which is the better role model? Consequently, which candidate, Obama or McCain, would be more likely to better understand the legitimate concerns of the lower and middle class who are having aggressive war waged against them continuously by the uber rich like McCain? Is McCain going to champion the less fortunate? Hah. Surely you jest. McCain may occasionally look and dress like a high school football coach, but given that he proposes enacting a tax cut that would result in a permanent yearly benefit to his family approaching half a million dollars speaks for itself. Obama is proposing a tax cut too, but it is mainly for you and I, not the uber rich.

Look at the voting records. Except for the ineffective campaign finance law passed, McCain is against almost anything that would curtail the current voluminous transfer of wealth from the lower classes to the top 1%. While it is theoretically possible to be inheritance rich like Kennedy was and still act as an advocate for the poor, does any Clintonite seriously expect newly rich McCain to act like Kennedy? If not, then why do disgruntled Clintonites keeping naysaying Obama for being somewhat rich? By the way, have the Clintonites check out the bank balance of the Clintons lately?

Speaking of war, it is undeniably true that Obama did not serve in a war zone, although giving up cushy jobs in law firms to serve as a community organizer goes at least part of the distance. Besides, neither Hillary or her husband earned any combat infantry badges dodging bullets (except for that one supposed Bosnian incident). And of course, neither did any of today’s other leading Republicans except McCain.

Moreover, even as to war record, being a fighter jock who managed to get shot down instead of completing the mission is probably not what should recommend someone to run a huge bureaucracy like the federal government. While McCain does deserve some kudos for putting himself in harm’s way (unlike the current fearful leader in the White House who just likes to dress up in flight suits), the best military experienced Presidents tended to be administrators while serving their country in wartime, not those leading charges. Have the die hard Clintonites, who are now neo-McCainiacs, forgotten the greatest leaders of Democratic Party such as Franklin Roosevelt or, for that matter, Bill Clinton did not wear uniforms? Even if McCain has an arguable factual edge over Obama on this single issue of war record, why is that one issue outweighing everything else that once mattered to Clintonites?

The rest of the “complaints” cited by angry Clinton followers are even less viable as genuine reasons to harm Obama by favoring McCain. Take the “pointy headed intellectual” label being bandied about. Smart? Yeah okay. Unquestionably, Obama has more native brainpower than you or I, lots more apparently. Harvard is one of the two or three toughest law schools in the country to even get into. To be selected as editor of the Law Review while there is proof positive that he was one of the two or three brightest students in a class representing the best of the best of that generation. It is recognized that might seem intimidating to anyone who struggled in school. Still, wouldn’t it be nice though to finally have a President again who could speak English and would not embarrass us? To be fair, McCain seems brighter than the current occupant of that office. On the other hand, the comparable academic record between McCain and Obama is not even close. The undisputed fact is McCain was among the bottom of his class. He likely only got in and allowed to graduate because he was an Admiral’s son.

Rock star celebrity-ism? Arrogance for being filmed in front of phenomenally large crowds? Sort of an anti causecleb concept for which Obama should be knocked? Least we forget, nothing is more rock star centered than a carrier based jet pilot as evidenced by their Iceman, Ghost, Maverick monikers and jock demeanors. To be fair with five thousand men and a billion dollar ship there just to support a few dozen macho types like McCain during the Vietnam fighting could hardly produce anything else. So, why is that a reason to demean Obama when he shows some of the same signs. As for arrogance being a disqualification for the job, that would be nice in a perfect world, but it is almost a threshold criteria for running for the job. The job description is entitled these days: LEADER of the ENTIRE FREE WORLD. The latest claim seems to come down to Obama being more successful at it abroad and at home. Good grief. This particular excuse for choosing McCain is so silly, it does not bear further examination.

Similarly, should choice of leafy green veggies be the test for President? Should choice of booze? Should bowling ability? Haven’t we learned that selecting a President by who we would like to have a night out or party with is not a good idea? Besides, you have more chance of being eaten by a shark in Kansas than the possibility that McCain would want to spend anytime with you. And, what have you got against Arugula? They sell it at Safeway. It is a little tart and somewhat like eating weeds to my personal taste. On the other hand, I have never thought my personal taste in food should have any bearing on who deserves to be elected President. I can understand why the Clinton supporters might be disappointed, maybe even angrily and bitterly so. Yet, how can that possibly translate into Obama should not be President if the only other choice is McCain?

Of course, none of those issues just mentioned above, all ones so dear to frivolous Mainstream Media, are really what we should be using to select a President. Hillary fans would do themselves well to look instead at real issues, ones that matter or should matter to even white, beer drinking, bowling night, church going, workers, female or otherwise.

● Obama is the best and only chance we have to put some justices on the courts who believe Rowe v. Wade and female right of choice is the best choice. In light of the recent revelations the Republicans want to allow health workers to refuse even birth control assistance, four more years of any Republican whatsoever in the White House almost guarantees the death of any choice whatsoever, let alone abortion rights.

● Female rights and the distinction between Obama and McCain is not limited to just birth issues. McCain wants to give us glass slipper fairy tales or at least mukluk ones. Obama in contrast seems to worry about glass ceilings in the workplace. Have the Clintonites forgotten how McCain’s favorite Supreme Court Justice, the ones he wants to duplicate if President, just recently torpedoed a woman’s right to sue for equal pay for equal work? They said that if her unequal pay is successfully hidden from her for long enough, she loses the right to complain about it. Expect more of the same with McCain.

● As for saving those jobs in the first place (not to mention the accumulated pensions and bank deposits they earned) and keeping good paying jobs here in this county, Obama is the best and only chance we have to put some restraint on the rapaciousness of Republicans, lobbyists, CEOs and Wall Street by reimposing some regulations and rehiring honest regulators and by putting limits on sending it offshore. Will the Clitonites’ children be able to get any credit? Will they be able to get a home? The financial disasters of the Republican consistently uniform platforms have dumped the burden on Clintonites’ children and grandchildren, the ones who are not and never will be uber rich. Is that fairness? McCain thinks so.

● Doesn’t McCain think about the future generations at all? His campaign’s catchy slogan regarding our eternal oil addiction is a simplistic “Drill, Baby, Drill” which unfortunately translates simply into “Drain America’s Today” and save nothing. So what if consuming our pitiful 3% of the oil reserves we have puts us at the mercy of those with oil tomorrow? So what if burning hydrocarbons increases global warming and drowns some cities? Why bother to stop to think about consequences? Why bother to apply some long term common sense cost/benefit analysis?

● Obama is also the best and only chance we have to recapture some of the respect and trust the world once had in America and its ideals. That has already been shown in the reaction of the world populace, the world press and the world leaders to Obama’s travels. Surely that has value if a future presidency of Hillary is to be worth anything. Electing another old white guy is not going to do it. Why squander the chance and how does it help Hillary to not have a minority elected for the first time ever?

● War? Well, that is a disappointment about Obama, but at least he is not the one saying we must be there for 100 years at whatever cost to our troops, our treasury, our future, our credibility. Maybe Obama will move us out before we are told to leave with our tails between our legs. What an interesting irony that Bush cannot seem to get his force extension agreement signed by the “democratically elected” government he newly put in power.

● Supporting the troops? McCain says he likes the sound of that. It sounds “patriotic,” but despite all the sound and fury, when it comes to adequate equipment for those troops, adequate care for the wounded, living up to the education and other benefits promised as inducements, he is pretty quiet. And the record of his party is abysmal over the past several years on those things. Since Clintonites have sons, daughters, and spouses going into the “danger zone,” we need a loud fighter for those things.

● With the many other wars McCain wants to continue also comes a war on our Constitution. US sponsored torture, abandonment of the Geneva Conventions that protect our own troops as well, abandonment of bed rock principles such as spying without warrants, arrest without counsel or confrontation of supposed witnesses, jail forever without trial, human rights violations galore, both at home and abroad. Is that really what recalcitrant Clintonites really want to support?

● Moreover, death and destruction is not limited to that brought by bullets, bombs and waterboarding, there is death and disabilities from our environmental degradation for profit, our oil addiction, , housing, savings, and most certainly an almost broken health care system.

● Divisiveness has been the central theme of the McCain campaign. Wedge issues as usual. The list is long.

Between the minority voter intimidation, the deliberate voter misinformation being sent, the electronic vote machine hacking, and the Republican Supreme Court standing by to overturn the results again, the nation desperately needs the Hillary supporters to recognize their own future best interests and support the one candidate who believes what she does.