Quote of the Day -- On America, Justice, Injustice, Inequality and the Democratic Party

The Democratic Party, which helped build our system of inverted totalitarianism, is once again held up by many on the left as the savior. Yet the party steadfastly refuses to address the social inequality that led to the election of Trump and the insurgency by Bernie Sanders. It is deaf, dumb and blind to the very real economic suffering that plagues over half the country. It will not fight to pay workers a living wage. It will not defy the pharmaceutical and insurance industries to provide Medicare for all. It will not curb the voracious appetite of the military that is disemboweling the country and promoting the prosecution of futile and costly foreign wars. It will not restore our lost civil liberties, including the right to privacy, freedom from government surveillance, and due process. It will not get corporate and dark money out of politics. It will not demilitarize our police and reform a prison system that has 25 percent of the world’s prisoners although the United States has only 5 percent of the world’s population. It plays to the margins, especially in election seasons, refusing to address substantive political and social problems and instead focusing on narrow cultural issues like gay rights, abortion and gun control in our peculiar species of anti-politics.

--Chris Hedges

From his article:

The Coming Collapse - Common Dreams

Happy Labor Day

Quote of the Day -- Flashback

True then, 80 years ago, of the Republicans. Still true today.

They're "Job Creators", all right

Is America turning into a Third World "banana republic"?

Since the 2008 financial near-collapse in America and for the last 30 years, there's been an attack on the middle class in this country:

The Attack on America's Middle Class

7 Things the Middle Class Can’t Afford Anymore

Then, more recently, the UN says Detroit is violating human rights there by cutting off water to the poor:

UN Reps ‘Deeply Disturbed’ That Detroit Is Shutting Off Water To People Who Don’t Pay Their Bills

Now Amnesty International weighs in on the Ferguson, Missouri debacle:

Amnesty International: Ferguson Cops Committed Human Rights Abuses

Take this into consideration:

America Has The Worst Wealth Inequality Of All Developed Nations

What's become of us, America?

What's becoming of us?

And maybe most importantly:

What are we going to do about it?

What they're doing---and why we need to fight

Why we need to reign in the wealthy and corporations in America

And to do it, we need, yes, more regulation(s), not less. Not "big government." Not at all. Just sensible, logical, intelligent restraints on greed.

On This Day in American History

On August 1, 1917, labor organizer Frank Little was taken forcibly from his boarding house in Butte, Montana and lynched from a railroad trestle.

In the summer of 1917, Frank had been helping to organize copper workers in a strike against the Anaconda Copper Company. He also took a stand against WWI, arguing that all working men should refuse to join the army and fight on behalf of their capitalist oppressors. As he said in the last speech before his death, "I stand for the solidarity of labor." 

Read more: http://bit.ly/1crvo0D 

More resources for teaching about labor history: http://bit.ly/1s6F4XA 

Image: By Nicole Schulman,http://www.nicoleschulman.com/

Links:   Frank Little

Frank Little - A True American Hero

Frank Little: A Murder in Butte

The Murder of Frank Little

Three important--very important--notes on America

Here they are:

There are far more poor and middle class Americans than rich.  If you continue building a society based on taking from the many to benefit the few, then we’re not going to have a nation much longer.

Rich people didn’t become rich by giving away their money, Trickle Down Economics is the biggest con our country has ever seen.

Decades ago we all paid a much higher tax percentage,  and our economic policies protected the people more than businesses.  During these times our nation saw historic growth and unheard of economic prosperity.  None of that was done by basing our policies on giving more to the rich.

Things to know.

Things to keep in mind.

Things to build on.

Link to original post: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/annoy-republicans/

Celebrate Small Business Week

More good business news on the home front

Article I saw this morning:

U.S. HAS BEEN THE #1 COUNTRY TO MOVE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY TO IN PAST 2 YEARS

"In a sharp reversal from years past – America is actually INSOURCING manufacturing jobs again. Companies are finding transportation and energy costs are climbing and costing them more money in the long run. As we have written – America has created nearly 500,000 jobs since January of 2010…stopping the hemorrhaging of job losses for blue collar workers.

Two-thirds of big US manufacturers have moved factories in the past two years, with the most popular destination being the US, according to a survey being released on Monday by Accenture, the consultants."


So that is good news.

Now, what else could and should happen?

Our Congress in Washington should propose and pass a law that all tax credits and deductions to companies to take manufacturing offshore should be rescinded and eliminated immediately.

I mean, really, does it make any sense to reward companies here in the States to take manufacturing offshore?

Of course not.

And the only reason those were created was because some corporate lobbyists proposed the idea to a or some people in Congress along with a check--or some checks--in "campaign contributions."

We should see to this as soon as possible.

Please take a moment and email your Congressional representatives in the Senate and House. It's too simple and makes far too much sense.

Links: http://www.classwarfareexists.com/u-s-has-been-the-1-country-to-move-manufacturing-industry-to-in-past-2-years/; http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/115005c6-a225-11e1-a22e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1vWY6ZnVl

Fascinating development in France

Sure, they're the French and sure, Americans think totally differently and we have the Tea Party--and Republicans and deeply Right Wing fringe--but just now, it's been confirmed that those crazy French have elected their first Socialist candidate to their presidency since 1995:

Socialist Francois Hollande wins French presidency

It is, truly, a fascinating development.

Remember when Britain and the US both elected deeply Right Wing, Conservative leaders in the 80's with our Ronald Reagan to their Margaret Thatcher?

Sure we do.

At the time, it seemed there was a bit of a Right Wing, international zeitgeist afoot.

Now, with this surprising development, maybe, just maybe there is, possibly, an equal, international zeitgeist arising for the workers--and "Left"--in the world.

As an example, here's a quote from this new President-elect of France: “My true adversary…has no name, no face; he belongs to no party; he will never declare his candidacy. He will not be elected, yet he governs. My enemy is the world of finance.”

I only say what I do here because it was deregulation and Right Wing, corporate mandates and direction that got us to the national and international financial collapse of 2008 to now.

It seems a bit of a Left turn, so to speak, seems at least warranted, if not long, long overdue.

We'd like our middle-class back, thank you very much.

(For anyone concerned about Socialism run amuck, see the last link).

Links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17975660; http://www.classwarfareexists.com/france-elects-socialist-president/; http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/francois-hollande-wins-french-presidential-vote-over-sarkozy-exit-polls-show/2012/05/06/gIQAfUU75T_story.html?hpid=z; http://robertreich.org/post/22542609387

Quote of the day

Them vs. the rest of us

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

"Class warfare" indeed

When you take from the poor, it's "business." If you even suggest taking from the rich, it's "class warfare."

Speaking truth to power

“Some see this as class warfare. I see it as a simple choice. We can either keep taxes exactly as they are for millionaires and billionaires, or we can ask them to pay at least the same rate as a plumber or a bus driver.” —President Obama speaking about the American Jobs Act this weekend

What formerly was humor...

...has become mainstream Republican thought, it would seem. With thanks to friend Bob M. for this video.

Here's your "class warfare" for you

Tea Party Republican Congressman John Fleming would have a rough go of it under President Obama’s new plan to make millionaires pay their fair share. In fact, he told MSNBC yesterday -- and these are his words -- “by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over.” This is the kind of ignorant, selfish mindset we're fighting. When it's a tax cut for the rich, it's not "class warfare" but try to do good for the middle- and lower-classes? THEN it's "class warfare." Good luck to us. If we stick together, we can get changes. Thanks and a hat tip for this quote from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Republicans show their true, ugly colors, part II

So George W. Bush and the Republicans created all those tax cuts for the already-wealthy in the country so many years ago, as we all know. And George spent the hell out of money and got us into serious and deep debt. We all know that. Then, when President Obama takes office and the tax cuts renewal comes back around, the Republicans fight for and get them extened. More money for the rich fatcats. Yeehaw. But have you seen or heard what the Rethuglicans are pushing for now? It's stunning and difficult to believe the chutzpah. They actually want to raise taxes on the middle class. True. Read about it here: "Barack Obama’s efforts to extend a cut in payroll taxes for American workers – likely to be one of the largest measures in the jobs package the president will present next week to boost the ailing US economy – is already facing resistance from sceptical Republicans. For months, Republicans have been fighting for low taxes as the recipe to revive sluggish economic growth in the US, and the payroll tax reduction was partly designed as one form of economic stimulus that could appeal to conservative lawmakers." It's as I've said repeatedly: if you aren't angry, you aren't paying attention. Link: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f2c9453a-d4a8-11e0-a42b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1WjRblXoz

Quote of the day

"The country my generation is passing on to my son and his peers is a mean-spirited place of global warming, class warfare and diminishing expectations, where the top 1 percent of households own nearly 35 percent of all privately held wealth and the 'bottom' 80 percent lays claim to less than half that." --Bill Blum, from his article "Commencement Day for a Lost Generation", posted at Truthdig. Link: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/commencement_day_for_a_lost_generation_20110622/