The end of empires and the continuing political struggle over the soul of the nation

Notes 65

Finally somebody with a platform to announce the truth

Op-Ed Columnist, NEW YORK TIMES
Empire at the End of Decadence
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: February 18, 2011
It’s time for us to stop lying to ourselves about this country.

Charles M. Blow
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America is great in many ways, but on a whole host of measures — some of which are shown in the accompanying chart — we have become the laggards of the industrialized world. Not only are we not No. 1 — “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” — we are among the worst of the worst.
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What’s hard to figure is why one small segment of the population has to bite the bullet so everybody else can get their serices for nothing and live well. It’s union busting. Walker got the concessions and now wants his poud of flesh.

Wis. gov. says he won't accept union compromise
By Scott Bauer, Associated Press – MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker again rejected a proposed compromise Monday to end a political stalemate over collective bargaining rights that led to 14 Senate Democrats skipping town and motivated tens of thousands of people to march on the Capitol in protest for more than a week.
Walker said Monday afternoon he wasn't interested in compromises that have been floated by public employee unions and even a Republican state senator. He spoke inside his heavily guarded conference room in the Capitol as thousands of people screamed and stomped outside his office to "Recall Walker!"

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Wisconsin corporations are getting a 67 million dollar tax break while working people are being asked to give back some of their wages and benefits. Ya gotta love it

Corporations to Government: Give Us More, Tax Us Less
Richard D. Wolff, The Guardian: "Nothing better shows corporate control over the government than Washington's basic response to the current economic crisis. First we had 'the rescue' and then 'the recovery.' Trillions in public money flowed to the biggest US banks, insurance companies, etc. That "bailed" them out (suggestion of criminality?) while we waited for benefits to 'trickle down' to the rest of us. As usual, the 'trickle down' part has not happened. Large corporations and their investors kept the government's money for themselves; their profits and stock market 'recovered' nicely. We get unemployment, home-foreclosures, job benefit cuts and growing job insecurity. As the crisis hits states and cities, politicians avoid raising corporate taxes in favor of cutting government services and jobs."
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One of the liabilities of the wealth generated by smoke and mirrors and corruption and the profits from war has been the rise of a middle class that got fat and satisfied. Now they are blaming all their problems on the unions with the assist of demagogues exploiting their new pain. When will they ever learn?

The Betrayal of Public Workers
Robert Pollin and Jeffrey Thompson, The Nation: "The Great Recession and its aftermath are entering a new phase in the United States, which could bring even more severe assaults on the living standards and basic rights of ordinary people than we have experienced thus far. This is because a wide swath of the country's policy- and opinion-making elite have singled out public sector workers - including schoolteachers, healthcare workers, police officers and firefighters - as well as their unions and even their pensions as deadweight burdens sapping the economy's vitality."

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The Egyptians get it. Maybe it’s time we do.

Leader Of Egyptian Unions To Wisconsin Protesters: "We Stand With You As You Stood With Us"
Zaid Jilani, ThinkProgress: "One of the most underreported stories about the pro-democracy movement in Egypt was the role of labor unions in the demonstrations, many of which were protesting against neoliberal right-wing economic policies just as much as they were protesting against the Mubarak dictatorship. During the uprising in that country, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka praised the role of organized labor, saying, 'The people's movement for democracy in Egypt and the role unions are playing for freedom and worker rights inspires us and will not be forgotten.'"

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Remarkable, we complain sbout China blocking access to internet and we block access to al Jazeera TV. Go figure. Are we schizophrenic or what?

Absence of Al Jazeera English in US Is Troubling
Ronnie Lovler, The San Francisco Chronicle: "The uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and now Iran should prompt a call for change here in the United States - against the absurd blackout of Al Jazeera television. You can watch Al Jazeera on TV almost anywhere in the world - except in the United States. How is this possible in our nation where freedom of the press is a basic constitutional tenet? Just what do cable and satellite carriers fear?"

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Now the innocent gunner was a C.I.A agent. We’ve been violating international law by attacking inside Pakistan. That was grounds almost for impeachment for Nixon when he turned the dogs loose in Cambodia. And now Pakistan is supposed to worry about the sanctity of Embassy privileges. Get real.

US: Pakistan must free detained CIA worker
By Matthew Lee, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration insisted Monday that an American working for the CIA who has been detained in Pakistan for killing two Pakistanis has diplomatic immunity and must be freed.
In a hastily arranged conference call with reporters shortly after details of Raymond Davis' employment were reported, senior State Department officials repeated the administration's stance that he is an accredited member of the technical and administrative staff of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.