"Damn the TPP" - We can't say too much about the dangers of the TPP.

Here is my letter to my Senators. 

Those that have seen portions of the TPP say it is a very dangerous document. It is much more than a mere trade agreement. I shouldn't have to list all the ways that it will damage the 99%. I have yet to see ANYONE provide information to show otherwise. 

I wrote you before about this and you sent me a response full of rhetoric. You said it would help some industries in WA. I want to know HOW it will help people. Helping industries doesn't always trickle down to the people. And what are the costs? Is this "help" worth the price? You also included something about the government would train those that lose their jobs. Sounds like an admission that there will be job losses. And instead of those getting the benefits from the TPP paying for the damage, THE TAXPAYERS will be required to pay? The taxpayers will train those that will lose their jobs but for what work? If there are no jobs, what good does training do? 

The Fast Tracking this "Agreement" is a separate issue. It appears that the desire to "Fast Track" or ram the "Agreement" thru the Senate is because those pushing the bill (the major corporations), don't want the 99% to be able to see the bill in time to express their opinions to their ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES. Fast Track will not allow debate. How does that fit into a representative democracy? 

As my elected representative, I am still pretending that we still have a representative democracy, please explain to me how the TPP will help the 99% of this country. And as a separate issue, please explain how the Fast Track fits into our representative democracy. And, if I might, please limit the rhetoric.

We in the 99% have few tools to fight the Ruling Oligarchy. We must get our elected representatives on our side. Please take the time to write your senators. 
Your letter doesn't have to be long, simply, "Damn the TPP" would do. 

Find your Senator here: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm 

We must continue to fight

Sen Sanders Says No to TPP – Why Do Conservatives Say Yes?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, currently being written by major international corporations, appears to be very damaging to the 99%.  Parts have been revealed to Congress and parts have been leaked.  The majority, most likely the worst parts, have been kept secret. The President and the Oligarchy want to Fast Track this so-called "agreement" thru the Senate without allowing debate.  Here are a few of Senator Bernie Sanders concerns:

1. TPP will allow corporations to outsource even more jobs overseas.

2. U.S. sovereignty will be undermined by giving corporations the right to challenge our laws before international tribunals.       

 3. Wages, benefits, and collective bargaining will be threatened.    

4. Our ability to protect the environment will be undermined.

5. Food Safety Standards will be threatened.    

6. Buy America laws could come to an end.      

7. Prescription drug prices will increase, access to life saving drugs will decrease, and the profits of drug companies will go up.        

8. Wall Street would benefit at the expense of everyone else.           

9. The TPP would reward authoritarian regimes like Vietnam that systematically violate human rights.           

10. The TPP has no expiration date, making it virtually impossible to repeal.  

Yes Virginia, Torture Does Work

Torture has been used effectively for centuries so why do liberals claim it doesn’t work?  Well typical of liberals they are a bit picky; specifically meaning that torture doesn’t work to obtain meaningful intelligence.  But of course, we all know that, even the blackest-hearted conservative knows.  So why is torture so popular with despots?  Let’s look at the different reasons for torturing humans:

1. Cheney and The Torturers (on their off hours they play at the Triple Door in Seattle) quickly rounded up over a hundred suspects in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and commenced torturing them. They weren’t too picky who got included in the round up because one purpose of the round up was to show the public that they were actively pursuing those responsible for the attack.  And the torture can be effective in weeding out suspects, or at least getting some confessions, giving the impression of success.

2.  As the Torture Report clearly shows, Cheney had people tortured, not to gain worthwhile intelligence, but to get information that could be used to justify their vision of invading Iraq.  The Torturers were ordered to continue with the torture until they got information that connected al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein.  They actually never succeeded in getting that information. 

3.  Torture is used to terrorize the enemy attempting to scare the enemy into capitulating.  Actually it’s really not that effective, seems it usually bolsters an enemies resolve.

4.  Torture is used by people in power because they can.  Some have psychopathic tendencies while others just get off on the power.  I would say this probably applies to Cheney and some of his guys.

5.  But the most effective use for torture is for leaders to control their own populations.  Arbitrarily torturing members of the public is very effective for getting cooperation and capitulation and has been used for centuries. 

I hope this clears up some questions.  Just don’t ask who Virginia is? 

Damn the Release of the Torture Report

Now we, as a nation, have to look at it square in the eyes.  No more denial, we tortured some folks.  Sorry Mr. President but we brutally tortured many people, many innocent people and for what?  

Now we must decide who we are as a nation.  Now we must admit we are not the world’s “Good Guys”.  We, all of us, are responsible for this horrendous blight on our national soul.  We all stood by as a cabal took control of our government.  They manipulated our election process and had it authorized by a corrupted Supreme Court.  This coup was accomplished without any noticeable resistance from our elected representatives.  Many representatives approved and most of the rest acquiesced.  Few spoke out.  

The public isn’t without blame but having been treated as lemmings for decades they/we went right off the cliff like good little authoritarians.  

The “News” Media, or more like the propaganda arm of the new Reich, instead of fulfilling their democratic function of keeping our government honest, put on a parade for the new Reich, willing shills for the new Corporatism, or dare I use the “F” word, Fascism?  Now I know you’re saying to yourself, no, no not in my America.  I vote therefore I am free.  But “Fascism is like a fog that comes in the night, which you will not see until the mourning(sic) light, …” *   “Fascism is capitalism in decay” Vladimir Lenin and our capitalism is definitely in decay.

If you still are hiding in your denial bubble, I suggest you read:  They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45, by Milton Mayer, if you haven’t already.

So what will we do about it?  We will growl and shake our heads and then scoot off to catch that sale on imported backscratchers at Walmart.  We are a country of authoritarians that blindly support our leaders and rationalize away clear violations of our Constitution.  And there are far too many of us that, not only accept the yoke of corporate slavery, but outwardly are antagonistic toward those that are fighting the creeping fog of fascism.

*I don’t have a source this quote.  

Are You Upset Because the Torture Report Was Released Just Before Christmas?

Whoopi Goldberg is.  On The View she expressed her disappointment that this nasty (my word) report was brought out at this time.  And I’m betting she isn’t the only one.  How dare we let reality ruin our Christmas.  This is the attitude that is crushing our democracy.   

Shame on those that are disappointed at the timing, but actually, the question of why at this time is a great question.  Whoopi and others won’t look deep enough to find the answer.   

It appears to me that the timing was aimed at getting the report released when the American public was most distracted.  A Friday night news dump wasn’t good enough.  This is a Christmas news dump. 

So what is Whoopi so upset about?  The facts that reveal that we, the supposedly “Good Guys” used techniques that we associate with the evil fascists?  Or because the information might bring us down at this happy time of year? 

We let this happen.  Are we going to let it be normalized?  The question is rhetorical, of course we are.

Senator Sanders Unveils a 12 Point Economic Plan

Sanders detailed a 12-point economic program to break the Oligarch’s strangle hold on our economy and the neck of the middle class.   

From:    http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/02/bernie-sanders-unveils-12-point-economic-plan-break-koch-oligarchs.html

- Invest in our crumbling infrastructure with a major program to create jobs by rebuilding roads, bridges, water systems, waste water plants, airports, railroads and schools.

– Transform energy systems away from fossil fuels to create jobs while beginning to reverse global warming and make the planet habitable for future generations.

– Develop new economic models to support workers in the United States instead of giving tax breaks to corporations which ship jobs to low-wage countries overseas.

– Make it easier for workers to join unions and bargain for higher wages and benefits.

– Raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour so no one who works 40 hours a week will live in poverty.

– Provide equal pay for women workers who now make 78 percent of what male counterparts make.

– Reform trade policies that have shuttered more than 60,000 factories and cost more than 4.9 million decent-paying manufacturing jobs.

– Make college affordable and provide affordable child care to restore America’s competitive edge compared to other nations.

– Break up big banks. The six largest banks now have assets equivalent to 61 percent of our gross domestic product, over $9.8 trillion. They underwrite more than half the mortgages in the country and issue more than two-thirds of all credit cards.

– Join the rest of the industrialized world with a Medicare-for-all health care system that provides better care at less cost.

– Expand Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and nutrition programs.

– Reform the tax code based on wage earners’ ability to pay and eliminate loopholes that let profitable corporations stash profits overseas and pay no U.S. federal income taxes.

My comment – The Republicans counter with their plan that hinges on cutting taxes on the wealthy and services to the lower 99%.

Lack of Voter Turnout Isn’t the Problem

Lack of votes in and of itself is not our problem.

In 2000 when the Republicans and SCOTUS stole the election, lack of votes wasn’t the problem.

In gerrymandered districts, more votes won’t change the outcomes. For example, if a district is 90% Democrats and the Democrats always win; more votes won’t change a thing. In a district that is split 60% Republican and 40% Democrats, and the Republicans win 60 – 40, more votes would not change the results.

The problem is the lack of Progressive Votes.

Our voting system is set up to disenfranchise and discourage Progressive Democrats from voting and/or render Democratic votes meaningless.

A bad analogy would be to assume our voting system is one big giant DieBold voting machine. No matter who you want to win, the results are what the Oligarchs want. Shoving more votes into the machine won’t change what comes out the other side.

So what are the real problems?

The basic problem is that we get too few Progressive votes.

And one big reason is that our voting system is corrupted. Until that’s fixed, getting more people to vote won’t solve our problem.

Also, the voters are mislead by the Corp-Media. We must figure out how to counter that. If we don’t fix this, the “more votes” we get may be for Conservatives.

Another reason we don’t get more Progressive votes is that we have too few Progressive candidates at the national level and the candidates we have won’t speak out against Conservatism loud enough to convince the public that there is a different between the parties.

If you want to get more Progressive Democrats to vote, work on solving the above problems. Simply complaining about lack of turnout is counter productive.