4/05/2006

The New Path

This election season, America stands poised at the crossroads of a decision that will forever change the direction of this country. It is the most important choice for our future that America will ever face. And with that, we must ensure that it is the right one.
On the right we have a choice to continue on the path that our President and his party have laid out for us. It is not an easy path for many Americans, and it will require many sacrifices from you. Keep in mind, as you make these sacrifices, those who have asked you to make those sacrifices will not be making the same sacrifices. You will be asked to sacrifice your job, so that the very wealthy can continue to compete in the global economy. You will be asked to sacrifice your wages, so that those who are very wealthy can continue to exploit an ever expanding pool of labor. And, most important, you will be asked to sacrifice you most precious thing, your family, so that the very wealthy can continue to use America's military might in offensive measures designed to gain control of the world's resources.
Right now, America is involved in two wars, not against terrorism, but warsb designed to seize control of other nation's resources. These wars are are wars without end, wars with no clear effective strategy, and impossible to achieve goals. And yet, even as we stand mired in an occupation that continues to costs us in dollars and in lives, the President and his party are now planning to attack another sovereign nation, in a pre-emptive strike, which is illegal under international law. And like the rationale for the last invasion, the evidence to justify it is not as clear cut as we are being led to believe by both our President and his party, or the ministers of propaganda in the media.
Iran has been brought before the UN Security Council, who has asked iran to suspend it's uranium enrichment program legal under the Non-Proliferation treaty to which it has signed, and which Iran has claimed, and the IAEA has found no other evidence to suggest otherwise, is for peaceful purposes. Given that, the President and his administration are now in the process of suggesting that Iran is developing a biological weapons program, keeping all evidence on this matter classified, so that none can see it to disprove it, unless they agree with foregone conclusions laid forth by the President. Much of the evidence is materials and equipment that any nation is allowed to use and own, for peaceful purposes.
An attack on Iran, based on more "fixed" intelligence, will require the use of tactical nuclear weapons. An attack on Iran will drive up oil prices at a time when oil companies are already posting record billion dollar profits. It will expand the war on "terror" even larger, at a time when we are facing personnel shortages so severe, that US sailors are being asked to come ashore and fill military positions that have not been trained to fill. While recruitment is up, it will not fill the need that another war will require, thereby causing an inevitable draft, which will demand that those who choose not to serve to sacrifice their lives.
Right now, the United States faces an ethical challenge. The President has been found to have broken laws in place to protect the people from the abuses of power, and the people of his party, rather than hold the President accountable for these abuses, have changed the law to allow the abuse to continue. They have allowed the President to sign laws that have not been passed by Congress, or issue signing statements to laws they have passed that put himself above these very laws. the President has also violated laws designed to protect those who work clandestinely from the threat of exposure, as retaliation for those who dare speak the truth to the American people.
Even more so, the party of the President has found itself in an ethical dillemna as more of it's members are mired in corruption, or forced to resign their positions, having brought disgrace to the offices the people of their state or district have entrusted to them. They have resisted any move to change the ethics rules, or introduced rules that do not go far enough to protect the American people from the undue influence of the lobbyists who now have a grip on our Congress. They are doing their best to scrap environmental laws that protect our air, our water, and our right to live in a non-toxic America.
Is this a path that America should continue to go down?
Or do we need to go down a different path? A path where wars are not fought based on lies, but fought to defend our nation. Where we work with those who hate us, not because we are free, but because policies of this nation have left them with a sense of hopelessness that their lives mean so little to them that they are willing to sacrifice them to strike rather than go on living as victims of US policy. A policy that has placed very little value on their lives in the first place.
We also need to ask ourselves, which is more important, that every American be ensured of a decent job and a living wage, or that they be denied that for the benefit of a small percentage of the American population? Tax cuts for the very wealthy, initiated by the Presidentand his party, only promise to reward those who would make more money, not by creating more jobs here in America, but by cutting jobs here in America and moving them across US borders. How can the President claim to be protecting us and our freedoms, when he is not protecting that which we value in this country, the right to work to support our families? Isn't that part of opur freedom worth protecting?
The President has also made mention of our need to end our "addiction" to foreign oil. But what we really need is to end our oil addiction altogether. We need to invest in, encourage and reward companies that are working on alternative energy solutions. But we need to go beyond that. We also need to invest in publicly- or privately-owned mass transit systems that not only utilize alternate energy sources, but allow Americans the freedom of movement that has allowed this country to flourish as it once had in the past. Not only will this cut our oil consumption considerably, it wil aslo cut back on the toxic emissions that Americans spew into the atmosphere on a daily basis. We need to build a system that is sustainable beyond the world's remaining oil supply.
Moreover, we need a government that is not only responsive, but responsible. Responsive to the needs of every American, responsible to protect them. Responsive to the beliefs of each individual American, but responsible enough to ensure that the right of the individual is not lost to those who would impose their will upon them. A government that leads by example, not by edict.
We have seen what the Republicans have done. Incompetence bred by cronyism. Corruption bred by partisanship. Deficits bred by greed. The continuation of this path is a road to nowhere. It is now time for the people to stand up. We must change the course of unsustainable war and lifestyles, bred by fear and loathing, into a course of international cooperation and sustainablility, bred by hope and respect, for the sake of our children, their children, and their children's children.
The only question that remains is: are the Democrats ready to lead us down this path?

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

No- Lew I don't think they are poised, ready, or willing to lead us there as evidenced by their inability to stand up for even the most obvious examples of power abuse.
I think many of us are in a real dilemma-almost desperate to throw our support behind somebody-a leader. We see that the greens often represent our values but we see that their organizing is still in a dysfunctional infancy (not that this is all their doing) We see the Democrats acting like Republicans, the Republicans giving too much disproportionate clout to their wingnut faction- politically, I see many of us as in a weird limbo. Voting defensively just to try desperately to keep the worst demons out.

This year I am not even working on a campaign- thats my disgust level. But I don't want passionate people to fall prey to apathy as a response to this, which is whats happening. Kat Callon had many good points that are proving to be correct these days- she might be right about Feingold. What else do we have?

Anonymous said...

"This year I am not even working on a campaign- thats my disgust level. But I don't want passionate people to fall prey to apathy as a response to this, which is whats happening."

Oxymoron ?

Anonymous said...

I think Democrats are part of the problem in terms of ethics and corruption. Not all Dems, but enough to hamper any chance we have of restoring some balance to the system. Too many politicians serve their own interests and those of big business in spite of American's wishes. How many times have we seen polls that show the American public favors something completely opposite of what the politicians do. Polls show that most Americans favor raising the minimum wage and restoring some tax cuts, yet Washington continues on oblivious to what we want.

By the way, great post. I especially liked the part about Americans being required to make lots of sacrifices while those who do the asking sacrifice little. How true. I don't know how those in power can live with themselves sometimes. Don't they have any sense of morality or empathy?

BibleBelted said...

As a sex abuse survivor I was outraged by the fact that the deputy spokesperson for Homeland Security had been caught soliciting a "fourteen-year-old girl" on line. In my opinion, this person, Brian Doyle, is probably a child molester. If he's stalking the net looking for children, and if he's telling this "young girl" what he wants to do to her and what he wants to do to her, you better bet your ass that he has ALREADY DONE SO.

This was the last straw. My wife, Karen, and I are so mad that we're ready to start printing out desk top pamphlets, listing the corruption of this administration and distributing them door to door in our village--right now.

This administration is more than corrupt--it is evil--and I will do anything within the law to see it brought down.

The Bush Regime is an embarassment to its citizens and to the world at large.

Have I been energized? You're damned right I'm energized.

Kyle

Anonymous said...

GO KYLE!!!!

Anonymous said...

They should cut off his onions.

Anonymous said...

RE: They should cut off his onions.

And ram them down his throat.

Anonymous said...

The whole security thing is a ruse. Recall that they were supposed to coordinate with DHS and yet years later, nobody seems capable of responding to anything.

Consider a moment in the height of incompetence if there had been an attack during Katrina! Can you fathom???

Lew Scannon said...

The government is too busy spying on peace groups to be concerned about perverts like child molesters running loose. This is how they are protecting us, by not protecting us at all. Our borders are still open, none of the recommendations made by the 9/11 have been enacted. They're too busy worrying about which country to invade next to give a fuck about this country, they've already used up most our natural resources.

pinkfem said...

Advocate1: I hear your anger. It's justified, but you can't really screen for most sex pervs because less than 20% of them have been caught, tried or convicted. So most of them are not in any database.

you do a screen and they come up clean.

Most child sex abusers who are caught are pled down to a misdemeanor, so they are not in jail much if at all either. The system sucks.

Rory Shock said...

I don't know if they're gonna be ready yet or not Lew ... I hope so ... but it is comin' ... maybe we need three more years of bush to get 'em motivated enough to get off their asses and try to "save the world" .... despite the suffering and carnage in the meantime ...

Anonymous said...

I agree with pinkfem- plus- consider how many are found to be mentally ill in which case they are not covered under Megan's Law. Thats a sad scenario. I've seen people with a history babysitting-but the law would never permit the disclosing of confidential information. So you watch the parents and its a dilemma.

Anonymous said...

Lew - no, they're not.

Kathy - no, they don't.

I don't think Washington pols are oblivious to what we want. I think they just take us for granted because we very rarely throw the bums out. Why should they listen to us?

Unknown said...

off topic comment

but now what the heck happened to

UNSPUN blog?

day - um

Anonymous said...

I'm assuming that wordpress is down?

Anonymous said...

It is quite obvious that narcotics are involved in the production of this site. good loyal Americans do not possess these thoughts, they are more concerned about what's going on with American Idol. Repent while you still can.

Graeme said...

this administration is horrible, but I am getting sick of voting for the lesser evil.

mikevotes said...

Great Post, Lew.

I think you should hit that campaign slogan that Newt Gingrich proposed for the dems....

Had Enough?

Mike

Anonymous said...

I say...

Got ethics?

Anonymous said...

ANARCHY!!!!! Throw them all out!

Yukkione said...

The words of Tom Delay as he leaves office spell out exactly what is wrong with American politics. All he could talk about was what he had done for the Republican Party, and what he wants to do for the party. He never mentioned a word about working for the American people. It was all about party loyalty. Most Democrats I know put principle before party. I would never stick to a party line if it were wrong or vote for a Democrat who I didn't think represented my views. For instance, if Hilary Clinton became the Democratic candidate in 2008, I would not vote for her. I think she is a phony, and panders to whoever she wants to impress. Today when Tom Delay returned to DC, he was greeted as some kind of rock star. They lined the corridors of the congressional entrance, high 5ing him and clapping like adoring fools. He walked in like he owned the place. Well I suppose he does. We need to remain clear in our objectives, and keep in mind who our representatives are serving. We mustn't let them forget. If we once again take over the majority we have to keep ourselves in check and renounce those that would misuse their power. We have to learn from history. We also have to let the Republicans be partners in governance, unlike they have with us. We do not want to become that which we despise. Just to recap a post i made recently. Thought peoopel might actually read it here. MUHAHAHAHHAHHA

Anonymous said...

Great rant, LOC. Always glad to read your thoughts anywhere I run across them and I agree with your assessment of the scene and what a damned loser he is...and so on...

Anonymous said...

To be fair, sex offenders are in all groups, income levels and political parties but I am really glad they got this bastard.

We need to catch them all.


Many cases may be pled down and whatever, but in this sex offender database
more than a 100 are living in my neighborhood. Other people report as many as 300 living around them.

Forearmed is forewarned. National Sex Offender Registry

There is somewhere on the web, a long list, a really long list of GOP and Christiam Right people arrested for sex Offenses in the last few years. And I'm not talking about adultery and sex between consenting adults.

Anonymous said...

The real question that I have been asking for years is why do we have so many people that don't care about what they do to hurt other people, and some who even enjoy sadism.

I don't have many answers here. I can't even understand adult consentual BDSM spankings, bondage, femdom, or most fetishs.

The stock market is up, kinda where Clinton left it, but the economy is way down, confidence, salaries, benefits, etc. Usually there an uptick of spousal and child abuse during economic hard times.

The sexual scene is kind of crazy. Theres more sex and nudity in books, movies and TV, much of it not very healthy. There's also a change in romance between the sexes when growing up.

There's (what they tell me) no dating, no going steady. Now there's (something like a one-night stand) of casual hook-ups with a fear of committment - so there's no rehearsal for marriage, or learning how to know the difference between hotties and a worthwhile person you should spend a lifetime together with.

I can't believe it, but I'm reading now that BJs are more common than kissing. I hear different things about receivers and providers. This happens to be the advice that Sharon Stone is passing on the young girls, about if being pressed for sex, give a BJ instead. I would advise that if being pressed for unwanted sex, just say go-to-hell.

Shortly after I was a an adult and married, it became very common for teens, boys and girls to hitchhike in strangers cars. That blew my mind. Now boys and girls don't bum rides but they beg for stuff. Mypages and other teen sites usually have a list of crap & clothes that "they want visitors to buy for them" and generous readers receive more attention. If they have a web-cam you can see where that goes with pay-per-view.

There seems to be a big blow-back against women. If you saw "North Country" the women weren't harrassed, they were hated. The rape trials have more aquittals than I remember. I understand that date-rape, of women who dated, made-out, visited the guys place - has little chance of a conviction. I think some of the women-hatred is created when women stick up for themselves and refuse to be a doormat or a punching bag. Some men can't deal with women as equals, which is a male problem, but the far-right is encouraging and excusing this major fault, as well as pushing the idea of women as breeders.

I can't think of any answers, but these are some of the things I think about when I read and wonder about all these sexual offenses.

Anonymous said...

Earl, I never considered the 'wish list'in that way! Wow. Is that so different than the female who puts out later though for a sufficient wine and dine? I know women who have this ridiculous game going in their marriages- if you want a hot wife, be the rich husband. I'm simplifying of course- but the idea girls often get is that looks can translate into their security as opposed to education. And men get the message that their ego fragility rests on the degree of beauty their spouse exhibits. These are scary messages,
And as for convictions, it was said above that many people with psychiatric disabilities are not covered under these databases. Thats been true in my work experience. And the "blame the victim" mentality was sure obvious when somebody commented yesterday elsewhere about women taking responsibility for maybe being better wives and they might not be beaten. THAT is the mindset you are up against. Therapy cannot change a psychopath- and thats what people who hurt children like this are, or who excuse beating, violence, etc. Its disgusting to condone.

Sherril said...

Lew,
I found your post interesting and I agree with most of it, but I have one qustion for you and for your readers and it is this.....

We are PREACHING TO THE CHOIR here, so, HOW do we REACH OUT TO THOSE WHO MAY BE REPUBLICANS, BUT are also beginning to QUSTION BUSH'S TACTICS AND DECISIONS ? ? ?

I hope someone reads this and responds with some novel and intelligent ideas, because as far as I can see, unless we get some of them to become angry enough for change, there won't be any. Also some good LEADERSHIP on the DEMOCRATIC side, wouldn't hurt.

Sherril

Anonymous said...

elb, when our kids were teenagers, there was a lot of kids running away from home, and we tried to understand it as best we could.

There's an old saw about parents and kids, where a parent, couldn't stand their kids when they're young, but when they wised up and got some smarts, then the kids couldn't stand the parents. Anyway the push and pull between parents and kids is a necessary part of them gaining their wings, and if you are lucky, sometime later, you and your grownup kids can become friends. But if the kid runs away and doesn't work through the conflicts and issues, then when they become parents they can only parent up to the age they were in a family, after that they are helpless and destructive as parents, and the kids suffer by remaining brats and immature monsters.

As grandparents, their is still parenting work to be done. I have 10 grandkids, 5 girls and 5 boys, and as a couple of old foggies, we work overtime to show them that they are 10 of the greatest kids, smart, cool and very nice. As perfect as kids can be, except when they give their parents a hard time. If things get kind of tense at home, we invite them over to spoil em, bribe em and show them a great time. Kids need an extended family who are always support them, like them and treat them great. Just a little port of peace in a world of storms.

What boys and girls needs is knowledge and experience in relationships. How sad that any girl would aspire to become a "trophy wife"! How sad that any boy would seek a "trophy wife".

Husbands and wives can fight, I don't approve but I can understand in the heat of the moment, that someone could get slapped. But never, could understand a wife being beaten. If you read the email from a LaCrosse member after the rape, let's hire a stripper and kill and skin em. Thats nothing to do with sex or nudity, it's just hate. I don't know if there's such a thing as a bad-seed, an evil child not a child that sometimes does bad things - but I know that their are a lot of bad parents who are doing themselves and their kids a real disservice.

Anonymous said...

Thats why I only date ugly women. It makes me look magnanimous.

Yukkione said...

Sherril, I would disagree that we are preaching to the choir. Firstly the term comes from a preacher who is speaking of the Bible to people who have already read it. Because the bible never changes there can be no new information about it. In politics however things change minute by minute. We arm ourselves with knowledge and ideas by reading each others blogs and other news sources. We then take those ideas and concepts out into the world with us, and speak to people who may hold other opinions. An example would be my formerly Republican neighbor. He is a veteran. After i had described to him the draconian cuts in veterans benefits, and the growing number of vets who are left without care, he began to change his mind. I told him of some sites to read, and after he educated himself, he literally renounced his former beliefs. yes a rare conversion, but it's possible. Every little bit counts.

Carrie Oakey said...

The Devil is going to find you Mr. Left Of Center and send you to Hell for taking a soul away from God's party!

Anonymous said...

Actually LOC as Vets get more information about their benefits, health concerns, program cuts, exposures, etc. these 'conversions' are becoming more frequent- especially now. Were it not for some of the Vets in our region, few people would be doing much of anything. Despite the stereotypes about military people-many are Vets because they were forced to be and many also served in causes very different than the types we send troops to today. And they can be active, committed people who know alot about politics and global issues. They deserve our respect and ALSO deserve to not have the continuation of behaviors that bring dishonor to those that serve. The more that stand up, the better. And the better to insure that Vets' lives are treated with value.
We need to consider our behavior- but also in the name of those that have died to NOT have a society like this.
After giving their lives- it seems to really hit home to them what is happening to 'freedom'. The freedoms of our president are not the types many of them risked death for.

Anonymous said...

It's now 4 GOP sexual perverts nabbed.

“A high-ranking Defense Department IT official has just been arrested and indicted on child pornography charges. … [C]ourt documents allege that Lynch had been operating a peer-to-peer file-sharing program on a computer in his office at DISA. Agents confiscated several computers and more than 1,000 CDs from Lynch’s office.”

Its not a trend its not a trend!!! Dear god it is not representative of the conservatives!!! No matter how many of us you catch!

Alright this is the fourth incident IN A WEEK and I still dont see the Falwells, Dobson’s, or Robertson’s coming out to condemn these acts….

because you know damn well if this was a democrat there would be wall to wall coverage on the 700 Club, the AFA website, etc.

For people who are obseessed with condemning gays because they are supposedly all pedophiles this strikes as blatant hypocrisy……

Anonymous said...

glenda, I agree with you. The right-wing in trying to justify their gay-bashing, both of gay marriages and gay adoptions level the erroneous charge of pedophilia. You would think that with all the gay members and pedophiles in the Christian right-wing that together they could get their facts straight. I think they prefer lying instead.

Anonymous said...

When those in power allow legislation to pass as law that does not pass constitutional muster, where both houses have not agreed to the same legislation you expect them to stand up and be counted for even more demanding forthrightness? Come on, get a grip on reality. And if you think the electorate is going to change this.....

Citisucks said...

Everything that you talk about in your post in exactly what this country needs. Overall it is a great post. Here is the problem: the Democrats in power just like the Republicans are a corporate terrorist good old boy's club. They too want us to be their slave class. They too go along with the lies of Bu$hco.

Even worse though even if you do vote, the election system is rigged anyway. This is why we need to screm and yell that this country does not have legitimate elections.

I agree we need to get serious and this is why we need to seriously back Green Party Candidates, so that we can have people who share our ideals and dreams in office.

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