By Mary MacElveen
January 26, 2010
Have you ever read a newspaper article that left you tearing your hair out, banging your head as you read it and screaming into the atmosphere? Well, last week, one article left me doing just that. It did not deal with larger national and international issues, but a local issue that I have been screaming about for such a long time and that issue is mass transportation. Seriously, I do not know how many key-strokes I have hit in support of better mass transportation here in Suffolk County, NY. My fingers ache at this time.
After reading: Architect urges Long Island build 'walkable places' which was published in last week’s Newsday, all I wanted to do was scream into the atmosphere.
At this point due to the recession and yes foreclosures: Who is fiscally safe to purchase a newly built home, even with the amenities of mass transportation? Given our high tax bracket, high utility rates, high property taxes and such: Who can afford to purchase one of these newly proposed homes? The answer is NO ONE! Within my own community, I have seen home-after-home fall to foreclosure and this architect proposes building more? I am still scratching my head at that notion and idea.
As reported by Newsday in this article: “Nancy Douzinas, president of the Rauch Foundation, which publishes the index. To stimulate ideas, she announced a design contest, "Build a Better Burb," that will offer prizes to professionals, the public and children. The grand prize will be $10,000. Details are to come in March.” Huh? Seriously, I do not understand this prize giveaway. Oh wait! Get children involved who do not understand the complexities of our current real estate market. Give them some crayons and paper and wish them the best. This is the best they can do?
Back in the fifties, many suburbs were created, but what was left out was how to connect each with the other. Yes, we built roadways so that people could drive from one to another. Feel free to Google Robert Moses. But we were short sighted and did not foresee the future where mass transportation would be key within the suburbs. Even now, mass transportation is on the cutting block due to the deficit being felt by each New Yorker. To build new communities and to enhance them with mass transportation is backwards thinking. In my not so humble opinion, enhance mass transportation first.
Due to budget cuts coming from Albany, the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) will suspend transportation between Ronkonkoma and Greenport during the winter months and bring it back online during the summer season. Last Friday: Newsday’s front cover screamed out: “LI’s unemployment rate up again, to 7%” and these bozos want to build new communities? With what money? If 7% are not working, just how can they afford to purchase these new high-density communties?
There are many ‘walkable communities’ already in existence, but without a way of getting people from point A to point B who do not own a car here in Suffolk County and I have been screaming about that for years-upon-years. You see, due a medical condition, I do not drive and must rely on a pathetic mass transportation system here in Suffolk County. Our existing mass transportation system does not operate at night or on Sundays where people do work and shop. We who are at the mercy of this pathetic mass transportation system must take cabs which cost an arm and a leg. If you wish to take a cab from Sound Beach, NY where I live to Miller Place, NY where I work it will cost you $8 bucks as opposed to a bus that costs you a buck fifty each way.
In reading: "Tahchieva said "retrofitting or repairing" suburban sprawl involved "enhancing and revitalizing downtowns." It means making areas that once catered to cars pedestrian friendly: adding sidewalks, landscaping and transforming dangerous intersections, for example, into a town square." Many communities have sidewalks on busy thoroughfares such as Miller Place and Rocky Point, NY. No, they do not need landscaping. What they need are buses in order to get to those communities in order to shop and work. The dangerous intersections are mainly attributed to automobile accidents and not buses. In fact, I work near the intersection of Miller Place road and Route 25A in Miller Place, NY and I can tell you MOST accidents are due to automobile collisions and not buses.
When Tachieva stated: "So much depends on design. You can achieve very high densities with buildings that don't look scary." I feel this is putting the cart before the horse. We first need mass transportation instead of entire communities being built which at this time do not have the fiscal dollars to support them.
Those who are proponents of these high density communities must ask themselves: If we build them, will they come?
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
This is copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of it, please email the author for permission.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Those without healthcare should make it a point to die on the Capitol Steps
By Mary MacElveen
January 22, 2010
As I sat staring at this image of corpses from Haiti which have horrified and have captivated us so, many thoughts came to mind seeing how any healthcare reform has died in our country. While I do not wish to politicize the deaths in Haiti, it will not hold me back from politicizing deaths that occur here in the United States due to a person’s lack of health insurance.
Let’s face it, health care for ONE and ALL is dead in this country. We will never-ever have universal healthcare. The politicians failed we the people. Not that that phrase “we the people” means anything anymore given the fact that the Supreme Court gave unbridled powers to the corporations of this country in their most recent decision.
We are no longer “we the people” but merely customers of this new country if one can call it that with corporations calling the shots from now on. They with their deep-deep pockets will decide for you and me who will represent us in any seat clear across this country. Oops, did I say represent us? No, I mean represent them. We are from now on are drones of the state.
Will these corporations care who dies from a lack of healthcare? No, they will not. They will only care of their bottom line. The all-might dollar: And that is if it survives into the future given the fact that other economies around the globe have surpassed ours. They have a lot of catching up to do.
The latest estimates have been that 40,000 or so have been buried in mass graves in Haiti due to this earthquake and I find that figure interesting given the fact that it is estimated that the same number dies each year due a lack of health insurance in this country.
Do politicians and celebrities have to see the pictures of the uninsured to finally get it? Do these uninsured people have to die in the open for anyone to give a damn?!
Given the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court gave these unbridled powers to the corporations without any protest coming from the American people, those without health insurance should make it a point to die on the Capitol Steps right at the politician’s feet. That to me would be the ultimate protest. Make sure you can die when both houses are in session.
You may be thinking, she has finally lost it meaning me, but I am serious in my suggestion that ALL who know they are going to die and cannot be cured due to a lack of insurance stipulate in their wills (if they can afford them) their remains be placed on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It may be illegal, but think of all the illegality that has gone on within that city throughout the decades.
Maybe, just maybe several mass graves have to be dug right here in the United States of America to drive home the point to the American people and especially our newly bought politicians. Hmm, who is the Senator for Aetna? Ah, yes, Senator Joe Lieberman. As for Lieberman: You are no longer a person held in great regard where your vote is of any importance. Senator-elect Scott Brown is. Take that.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
January 22, 2010
As I sat staring at this image of corpses from Haiti which have horrified and have captivated us so, many thoughts came to mind seeing how any healthcare reform has died in our country. While I do not wish to politicize the deaths in Haiti, it will not hold me back from politicizing deaths that occur here in the United States due to a person’s lack of health insurance.
Let’s face it, health care for ONE and ALL is dead in this country. We will never-ever have universal healthcare. The politicians failed we the people. Not that that phrase “we the people” means anything anymore given the fact that the Supreme Court gave unbridled powers to the corporations of this country in their most recent decision.
We are no longer “we the people” but merely customers of this new country if one can call it that with corporations calling the shots from now on. They with their deep-deep pockets will decide for you and me who will represent us in any seat clear across this country. Oops, did I say represent us? No, I mean represent them. We are from now on are drones of the state.
Will these corporations care who dies from a lack of healthcare? No, they will not. They will only care of their bottom line. The all-might dollar: And that is if it survives into the future given the fact that other economies around the globe have surpassed ours. They have a lot of catching up to do.
The latest estimates have been that 40,000 or so have been buried in mass graves in Haiti due to this earthquake and I find that figure interesting given the fact that it is estimated that the same number dies each year due a lack of health insurance in this country.
Do politicians and celebrities have to see the pictures of the uninsured to finally get it? Do these uninsured people have to die in the open for anyone to give a damn?!
Given the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court gave these unbridled powers to the corporations without any protest coming from the American people, those without health insurance should make it a point to die on the Capitol Steps right at the politician’s feet. That to me would be the ultimate protest. Make sure you can die when both houses are in session.
You may be thinking, she has finally lost it meaning me, but I am serious in my suggestion that ALL who know they are going to die and cannot be cured due to a lack of insurance stipulate in their wills (if they can afford them) their remains be placed on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It may be illegal, but think of all the illegality that has gone on within that city throughout the decades.
Maybe, just maybe several mass graves have to be dug right here in the United States of America to drive home the point to the American people and especially our newly bought politicians. Hmm, who is the Senator for Aetna? Ah, yes, Senator Joe Lieberman. As for Lieberman: You are no longer a person held in great regard where your vote is of any importance. Senator-elect Scott Brown is. Take that.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Help Haiti’s earthquake survivors by donating to the Red Cross
By Mary MacElveen
January 13, 2010
As a writer who follows earthquakes and at times refers to myself as an arm-chair seismologist, I was devastated to hear of the 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday afternoon. What amazed me was that it was followed by fifteen aftershocks: One measuring a 5.9 on the Richter Scale. That measurement alone is the size and scope of most earthquakes.
This lone earthquake was the most powerful one to hit this region in over 200 years. As I have been looking at the U.S.G.S. page for a year now, the region has been active with seismic activity. Puerto Rico has succumbed to tremors throughout this past year. In essence, I was not totally surprised this earthquake hit.
As we in the United States think of our growing poor, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere where 80 percent of their population live below poverty and where they have a 57 percent illiteracy rate. In 2008 it suffered multiple hurricanes and it begs the question: Now this?
In my prior piece where I discussed earthquakes being a scientific event and nothing more, I brought up the recent earthquake to hit California. Thankfully the damage was not as severe as many think the Haitian one will turn out to be. One of the main reasons is the structures where people live and work. In California they have code requirements where buildings have a high probability rate to withstand powerful quakes and protect the people. Many Haitians live in buildings that are less-superior and are decimated when earthquakes and hurricanes occur. Many Haitians live in shanty-towns where no such codes exist. You would think so, given the fact this country sits on top of a fault line. But, they are a poor nation and cannot afford such building materials. They must use their rainforest in order to heat and build their homes.
Many here in the United States visit our White House where our president lives and in Haiti, their presidential palace lay crumbled to the ground. In watching CNN and seeing that photo, it spoke volumes to me.
As I was flipping around the channels, the only station to cover this event in the 10 PM time-slot was CNN with Anderson Cooper at the helm. Then again, Cooper did so when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and Mississippi. After signing off of his show, he was headed to Haiti to cover the aftermath of this devastating earthquake. Folks, to me that is journalism at its finest.
Anderson Cooper and CNN could have chosen to cover the book “Game Change” a book of gossip, but they did not in this hour. They chose to do the news and the news is for connecting we as a people. The news is supposed to be to help us understand the plight and suffering of others when we think we have nothing. Given Haiti’s poverty rate, they are a suffering people.
As the day light breaks in the morning, we do not know how many died in this quake or how many more will be recorded in the days and weeks after. This is where we as Americans can come to their aid by digging into our pockets, coin-jars, wallets, or what have you and help the people of Haiti by donating to the Red Cross. Their number is: 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575.
You can reach the author at this email address, xmjmac@optonline.net
January 13, 2010
As a writer who follows earthquakes and at times refers to myself as an arm-chair seismologist, I was devastated to hear of the 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday afternoon. What amazed me was that it was followed by fifteen aftershocks: One measuring a 5.9 on the Richter Scale. That measurement alone is the size and scope of most earthquakes.
This lone earthquake was the most powerful one to hit this region in over 200 years. As I have been looking at the U.S.G.S. page for a year now, the region has been active with seismic activity. Puerto Rico has succumbed to tremors throughout this past year. In essence, I was not totally surprised this earthquake hit.
As we in the United States think of our growing poor, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere where 80 percent of their population live below poverty and where they have a 57 percent illiteracy rate. In 2008 it suffered multiple hurricanes and it begs the question: Now this?
In my prior piece where I discussed earthquakes being a scientific event and nothing more, I brought up the recent earthquake to hit California. Thankfully the damage was not as severe as many think the Haitian one will turn out to be. One of the main reasons is the structures where people live and work. In California they have code requirements where buildings have a high probability rate to withstand powerful quakes and protect the people. Many Haitians live in buildings that are less-superior and are decimated when earthquakes and hurricanes occur. Many Haitians live in shanty-towns where no such codes exist. You would think so, given the fact this country sits on top of a fault line. But, they are a poor nation and cannot afford such building materials. They must use their rainforest in order to heat and build their homes.
Many here in the United States visit our White House where our president lives and in Haiti, their presidential palace lay crumbled to the ground. In watching CNN and seeing that photo, it spoke volumes to me.
As I was flipping around the channels, the only station to cover this event in the 10 PM time-slot was CNN with Anderson Cooper at the helm. Then again, Cooper did so when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and Mississippi. After signing off of his show, he was headed to Haiti to cover the aftermath of this devastating earthquake. Folks, to me that is journalism at its finest.
Anderson Cooper and CNN could have chosen to cover the book “Game Change” a book of gossip, but they did not in this hour. They chose to do the news and the news is for connecting we as a people. The news is supposed to be to help us understand the plight and suffering of others when we think we have nothing. Given Haiti’s poverty rate, they are a suffering people.
As the day light breaks in the morning, we do not know how many died in this quake or how many more will be recorded in the days and weeks after. This is where we as Americans can come to their aid by digging into our pockets, coin-jars, wallets, or what have you and help the people of Haiti by donating to the Red Cross. Their number is: 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575.
You can reach the author at this email address, xmjmac@optonline.net
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Earthquakes are a scientific event and nothing more
By Mary MacElveen
January 10, 2010
Today, an earthquake registering a 6.5 on the Richter scale, hit Northern California where little damage occurred. Why I write of this event is that it blared out at me as I logged onto my AOL account. The fonts were oh so big. Yet, yet, I have not seen similar headlines calling anyone’s attention to the myriad of earthquakes that have hit lately in the South Pacific. The seismic scales of those earthquakes were similar and even bigger. Yes, I do follow the seismic events that occur around the planet through the U.S.G.S. Just call me your arm-chair seismologist since the earth’s movements fascinate me so.
When it comes to the South Pacific region, earthquakes there as compared to the ones that hit us here in the United States; it is as if the ones in the S. Pacific region do not exist when the media reports of them. The plate tectonics in that area are as volatile as the ones in Northern California. Can anyone spell Krakatoa or Anak Krakatoa?
As a writer who hones in on what commenter’s post to any story, my curiosity got the better of me to read what was being commented on this one scientific event.
Not surprisingly, the prophesy angle came into play where some mentioned December 21, 2012 (the supposed end of the world according to the Mayan Calendar) and where others just had to get in their political jabs. This is why I adore letters to the editors of different newspapers so we do not have to hear of who is to blame or what prophesy to adhere to. This earthquake was a scientific event as all earthquakes are.
While the eye-witness testimonies to this one particular earthquake are unsettling to the nerves where one’s china is fractured, let us remember that a few years ago, the real China was hit by a far larger earthquake. That lone earthquake hit that region and according to Wikipedia: “69,197 are confirmed dead, including 68,636 in Sichuan province, and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing.[7] The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless,[15] though the number could be as high as 11 million.[16] Approximately 15 million people lived in the affected area. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake,” Those statistics are something to ponder on in the wake of this earthquake. It could have been worse.
One reason why so much loss of life is that the structures those Chinese citizens lived/live in do not measure up to present day earthquake codes as demanded in Northern California. The same thing can be said for the earthquake that hit in Italy last year. The buildings they lived/live in crumble to the ground as ours pretty much stay in place due to code requirements. So, if one gripes of politicians and the codes they implement, they should thank their lucky stars that the buildings they live and work in survive as opposed to the buildings in other regions of the world.
So, please leave out the prophesy angle and the political comments to these stories as people are left wandering around trying to figure out how they will survive earthquakes wherever they live. As some of you busily type on your keyboards commenting to these differing stories proposing prophesies and political jabs, scores can and have been killed, screaming from underneath the rubble and frankly wondering how they will make it into the future.
Earthquakes are only doing what the earth does naturally. It reshapes itself through constant movement and nothing more. It is up to us as to how to deal with earthquakes, prepare for them in hopes of saving human lives.
Author’s email address is xmjmac@optonline.net
Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, please email the author for permission.
January 10, 2010
Today, an earthquake registering a 6.5 on the Richter scale, hit Northern California where little damage occurred. Why I write of this event is that it blared out at me as I logged onto my AOL account. The fonts were oh so big. Yet, yet, I have not seen similar headlines calling anyone’s attention to the myriad of earthquakes that have hit lately in the South Pacific. The seismic scales of those earthquakes were similar and even bigger. Yes, I do follow the seismic events that occur around the planet through the U.S.G.S. Just call me your arm-chair seismologist since the earth’s movements fascinate me so.
When it comes to the South Pacific region, earthquakes there as compared to the ones that hit us here in the United States; it is as if the ones in the S. Pacific region do not exist when the media reports of them. The plate tectonics in that area are as volatile as the ones in Northern California. Can anyone spell Krakatoa or Anak Krakatoa?
As a writer who hones in on what commenter’s post to any story, my curiosity got the better of me to read what was being commented on this one scientific event.
Not surprisingly, the prophesy angle came into play where some mentioned December 21, 2012 (the supposed end of the world according to the Mayan Calendar) and where others just had to get in their political jabs. This is why I adore letters to the editors of different newspapers so we do not have to hear of who is to blame or what prophesy to adhere to. This earthquake was a scientific event as all earthquakes are.
While the eye-witness testimonies to this one particular earthquake are unsettling to the nerves where one’s china is fractured, let us remember that a few years ago, the real China was hit by a far larger earthquake. That lone earthquake hit that region and according to Wikipedia: “69,197 are confirmed dead, including 68,636 in Sichuan province, and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing.[7] The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless,[15] though the number could be as high as 11 million.[16] Approximately 15 million people lived in the affected area. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake,” Those statistics are something to ponder on in the wake of this earthquake. It could have been worse.
One reason why so much loss of life is that the structures those Chinese citizens lived/live in do not measure up to present day earthquake codes as demanded in Northern California. The same thing can be said for the earthquake that hit in Italy last year. The buildings they lived/live in crumble to the ground as ours pretty much stay in place due to code requirements. So, if one gripes of politicians and the codes they implement, they should thank their lucky stars that the buildings they live and work in survive as opposed to the buildings in other regions of the world.
So, please leave out the prophesy angle and the political comments to these stories as people are left wandering around trying to figure out how they will survive earthquakes wherever they live. As some of you busily type on your keyboards commenting to these differing stories proposing prophesies and political jabs, scores can and have been killed, screaming from underneath the rubble and frankly wondering how they will make it into the future.
Earthquakes are only doing what the earth does naturally. It reshapes itself through constant movement and nothing more. It is up to us as to how to deal with earthquakes, prepare for them in hopes of saving human lives.
Author’s email address is xmjmac@optonline.net
Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, please email the author for permission.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Kill bill: In the healthcare reform bill we are all being sold a clunker
By Mary MacElveen
December 16, 2009
As a non-paid editorialist for nine-years, I do not know how many Americans I shall reach as opposed to the main-stream media within the United States. But, here I go. At this point, I do opine that the current healthcare reform(?) bill presently before the Senate MUST be killed off and voted down. It will not help Americans by and large, but the insurance companies that some senators wish to protect at any cost. That cost is human lives. Please keep within your mind’s eye human lives through out this column.
Yes, we have heard not only from the president, and senators as well as some on-air pundits this is the best bill they can deliver at this point. To me it sounds as if they are trying to sell us all a ‘clunker’. They will cherry-pick the better highlights of this bill without delving into what is the worst this bill has to offer. Such as forcing Americans to purchase health insurance from private health insurance companies and if they do not what awaits them is a swift fine. In essence as Keith Olbermann opined turning those who refuse into “law breakers” Is this the best our elected senators can do for we the people, turning innocent Americans who are too poor to purchase these policies into law breakers? To that, I add, they have no business being in their elected offices. Besides, if someone does not have a job, how in the hell are they going to pay these insurance premiums?! Let us NOT FORGET that our national unemployment rate stands at 10.2 percent and where states such as Michigan, 15 or so percent. Exactly where are these new customers supposed to get the money to pay for these premiums. Rub a magic genie-bottle and wish for a huge windfall?
While some will solely demonize, Joe Lieberman, let us not forget others who seek to squash real healthcare reform and those are Republicans as well as Conserva-Dems. They too are to blame. What lies at the foundation of these senators voting habits within their body are those that own them and they are various insurance companies. In the case of Lieberman; Aetna. They donate and dictate how they will vote. No reform can be had until true campaign finance reform takes place, period! It must get back to we the people elect these representatives and not corporations. The sad fact is that will never occur since politics breeds greed.
Those ‘tea-party-baggers’ who seek to squash this bill are NOT doing so on behalf of suffering Americans, they are misguided fools just marching to the beat of the loudest voices within Washington, D.C. and the pundits who control their minds. Pundits such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. They are controlled by sociopaths such as Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann while turning their backs on their fellow Americans who are suffering and in so many instances dying. They will even listen to a pundit, Sarah Palin who is strikingly sounding more like a conspiracy theorist than a former governor.
While some of my readers may wish for me to take a swipe at Lieberman, here I go. Lieberman has always been a strong proponent of Israel. He has even been called, the ‘Senator from Tel Aviv’. As we all know, we give monetary aid to Israel in the billions of dollars each-and-every year. But, do you know what? Israel and not the U.S. has socialized medicine. Each-and-every Israeli citizen gets to see a doctor where Americans do not. What say you, Lieberman?
In the past nine-years, I have written for a Venezuelan news site, VHeadline.com and I can tell you that ALL Venezuelans enjoy UNIVERSAL healthcare aka socialized healthcare from birth-to-death. It may NOT be perfect, but at least they are not traumatized when they become sick. They get to see a doctor. They do not have to fret as to how they will pay for their doctor’s visit or hospital stay, it is paid for by the state. Does that occur here in the United States? No it does not and shame on all of us for not demanding the same care for our fellow citizens. Some may scream at the sheer notion of our government paying for healthcare, yet the overwhelming majority say nothing when it comes to paying for hit squads such as Blackwater. Remarkable. They will scream at how much true health reform will cost, yet fall lock-stepped behind a government who continues to wage war in the Middle East.
Point of fact: During the Bush years, the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez wished to deliver health care via eye-surgery for America’s uninsured through his ‘Mission Miracle’ program. He wished to sponsor 110,000 patients each year for ten years. Venezuela would provide the transport to Cuba and where Cuban doctors would perform the eye surgeries, but the Bush administration shut them down. Over that time-span over a million people’s sight could have been restored or aided through socialized medicine. Hey, tea-baggers: What do you say to that?
You will hear some on-air pundits state that this bill must be passed in its present form, but we must remember, they have health insurance. So, can we actually trust in their wisdom as millions go without? Please remember who signs their paychecks. Corporations. For once, I would love to hear from those who are presently uninsured or underinsured. Ask how they would feel being forced into the hands of private health insurers. Ask the thousands who have been served by the free healthcare clinics sponsored by Countdown’s, Keith Olbermann in key states to shame those who oppose real health care reform. Then again, there is no shaming those who live day-to-day while pretending to serve we the people when they do not have a conscience.
Please take time to listen to this Countdown interview between Lawrence O’Donnell and Dr. Howard Dean. Dean expressly states where health insurance companies will be allowed to charge some within our demographics higher premiums under this bill. You know the over fifty crowd who towards the end of their lives succumb to ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. He also stated to pass key portions of this bill and leave the over-arching reform when the new congress comes back in 2010. While he is gambling with the fact that Republicans can take back control, still the passage of this bill is truly a gamble the American people cannot afford and does nothing to aid them.
In essence the feeling I get through this healthcare bill is that these health insurance companies are trying to claim our assets and we must all say: Claim denied.
This bill must go down to teach this Democratic majority a lesson that they were elected to change the atmosphere in Washington, D.C. and to actually change the way things are done and not a continuance of the way things have been done in years past. They were elected to by we the people in astounding numbers in the past presidential and congressional elections, yet they have not delivered when it comes to this issue or job creation. This past election cycle proved that the electoral force that voted President Obama into office did not even bother to show up as the incumbent New Jersey Governor, Jon Corzine, Nassau County Executive, Tom Suozzi, and the Democratic Virginian gubernatorial candidate went down in flames. All suffered humiliating defeats at the polls.
To those who have a strong allegiance to this president please ask yourself: To whom should your allegiance go? A sitting president or someone who is at death’s door because they could not go and see a doctor to cure them of a disease that is curable? Who deserves your allegiance as many face bankruptcy from medical bills or will be forced to pay for healthcare which can also lead to bankruptcy?
But, let us not concentrate on their elections or elections to come, let us remember what is at the heart of this debate and that is human life. Today, tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year, so many people will die unless this country gets its act together to pass true health care reform. Me, I would prefer single-payer, or a bill that contains a strong public option. We who are insured are all but one pay-check away from our own healthcare crisis. The lives lost due to a person’s lack of healthcare is far greater than the numbers taken on September 11th, 2001 and we went to war for those deaths. Yet, this government fails to wage war on health insurance industries who deny claims which translates into thousands of deaths. The deaths related to a lack of health insurance still scream out for mercy. It is up to all of us to hear their voices and put pressure upon our elected officials. Until then, kill the bill in its present form.
To President Barack Obama, I ripped into your plans to send more soldiers into Afghanistan and rightfully so. Should you sign this healthcare bill in its present form into law, I will back a true progressive candidate that chooses to primary you for the 2012 presidential election. My fellow Americans who live day-to-day without health insurance are more important to me than your presidency. That equally applies to those within congress. Those who side with health insurance companies and not the American people who suffer so, are truly the enemy of the people.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, please email the author.
December 16, 2009
As a non-paid editorialist for nine-years, I do not know how many Americans I shall reach as opposed to the main-stream media within the United States. But, here I go. At this point, I do opine that the current healthcare reform(?) bill presently before the Senate MUST be killed off and voted down. It will not help Americans by and large, but the insurance companies that some senators wish to protect at any cost. That cost is human lives. Please keep within your mind’s eye human lives through out this column.
Yes, we have heard not only from the president, and senators as well as some on-air pundits this is the best bill they can deliver at this point. To me it sounds as if they are trying to sell us all a ‘clunker’. They will cherry-pick the better highlights of this bill without delving into what is the worst this bill has to offer. Such as forcing Americans to purchase health insurance from private health insurance companies and if they do not what awaits them is a swift fine. In essence as Keith Olbermann opined turning those who refuse into “law breakers” Is this the best our elected senators can do for we the people, turning innocent Americans who are too poor to purchase these policies into law breakers? To that, I add, they have no business being in their elected offices. Besides, if someone does not have a job, how in the hell are they going to pay these insurance premiums?! Let us NOT FORGET that our national unemployment rate stands at 10.2 percent and where states such as Michigan, 15 or so percent. Exactly where are these new customers supposed to get the money to pay for these premiums. Rub a magic genie-bottle and wish for a huge windfall?
While some will solely demonize, Joe Lieberman, let us not forget others who seek to squash real healthcare reform and those are Republicans as well as Conserva-Dems. They too are to blame. What lies at the foundation of these senators voting habits within their body are those that own them and they are various insurance companies. In the case of Lieberman; Aetna. They donate and dictate how they will vote. No reform can be had until true campaign finance reform takes place, period! It must get back to we the people elect these representatives and not corporations. The sad fact is that will never occur since politics breeds greed.
Those ‘tea-party-baggers’ who seek to squash this bill are NOT doing so on behalf of suffering Americans, they are misguided fools just marching to the beat of the loudest voices within Washington, D.C. and the pundits who control their minds. Pundits such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. They are controlled by sociopaths such as Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann while turning their backs on their fellow Americans who are suffering and in so many instances dying. They will even listen to a pundit, Sarah Palin who is strikingly sounding more like a conspiracy theorist than a former governor.
While some of my readers may wish for me to take a swipe at Lieberman, here I go. Lieberman has always been a strong proponent of Israel. He has even been called, the ‘Senator from Tel Aviv’. As we all know, we give monetary aid to Israel in the billions of dollars each-and-every year. But, do you know what? Israel and not the U.S. has socialized medicine. Each-and-every Israeli citizen gets to see a doctor where Americans do not. What say you, Lieberman?
In the past nine-years, I have written for a Venezuelan news site, VHeadline.com and I can tell you that ALL Venezuelans enjoy UNIVERSAL healthcare aka socialized healthcare from birth-to-death. It may NOT be perfect, but at least they are not traumatized when they become sick. They get to see a doctor. They do not have to fret as to how they will pay for their doctor’s visit or hospital stay, it is paid for by the state. Does that occur here in the United States? No it does not and shame on all of us for not demanding the same care for our fellow citizens. Some may scream at the sheer notion of our government paying for healthcare, yet the overwhelming majority say nothing when it comes to paying for hit squads such as Blackwater. Remarkable. They will scream at how much true health reform will cost, yet fall lock-stepped behind a government who continues to wage war in the Middle East.
Point of fact: During the Bush years, the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez wished to deliver health care via eye-surgery for America’s uninsured through his ‘Mission Miracle’ program. He wished to sponsor 110,000 patients each year for ten years. Venezuela would provide the transport to Cuba and where Cuban doctors would perform the eye surgeries, but the Bush administration shut them down. Over that time-span over a million people’s sight could have been restored or aided through socialized medicine. Hey, tea-baggers: What do you say to that?
You will hear some on-air pundits state that this bill must be passed in its present form, but we must remember, they have health insurance. So, can we actually trust in their wisdom as millions go without? Please remember who signs their paychecks. Corporations. For once, I would love to hear from those who are presently uninsured or underinsured. Ask how they would feel being forced into the hands of private health insurers. Ask the thousands who have been served by the free healthcare clinics sponsored by Countdown’s, Keith Olbermann in key states to shame those who oppose real health care reform. Then again, there is no shaming those who live day-to-day while pretending to serve we the people when they do not have a conscience.
Please take time to listen to this Countdown interview between Lawrence O’Donnell and Dr. Howard Dean. Dean expressly states where health insurance companies will be allowed to charge some within our demographics higher premiums under this bill. You know the over fifty crowd who towards the end of their lives succumb to ailments such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. He also stated to pass key portions of this bill and leave the over-arching reform when the new congress comes back in 2010. While he is gambling with the fact that Republicans can take back control, still the passage of this bill is truly a gamble the American people cannot afford and does nothing to aid them.
In essence the feeling I get through this healthcare bill is that these health insurance companies are trying to claim our assets and we must all say: Claim denied.
This bill must go down to teach this Democratic majority a lesson that they were elected to change the atmosphere in Washington, D.C. and to actually change the way things are done and not a continuance of the way things have been done in years past. They were elected to by we the people in astounding numbers in the past presidential and congressional elections, yet they have not delivered when it comes to this issue or job creation. This past election cycle proved that the electoral force that voted President Obama into office did not even bother to show up as the incumbent New Jersey Governor, Jon Corzine, Nassau County Executive, Tom Suozzi, and the Democratic Virginian gubernatorial candidate went down in flames. All suffered humiliating defeats at the polls.
To those who have a strong allegiance to this president please ask yourself: To whom should your allegiance go? A sitting president or someone who is at death’s door because they could not go and see a doctor to cure them of a disease that is curable? Who deserves your allegiance as many face bankruptcy from medical bills or will be forced to pay for healthcare which can also lead to bankruptcy?
But, let us not concentrate on their elections or elections to come, let us remember what is at the heart of this debate and that is human life. Today, tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month and next year, so many people will die unless this country gets its act together to pass true health care reform. Me, I would prefer single-payer, or a bill that contains a strong public option. We who are insured are all but one pay-check away from our own healthcare crisis. The lives lost due to a person’s lack of healthcare is far greater than the numbers taken on September 11th, 2001 and we went to war for those deaths. Yet, this government fails to wage war on health insurance industries who deny claims which translates into thousands of deaths. The deaths related to a lack of health insurance still scream out for mercy. It is up to all of us to hear their voices and put pressure upon our elected officials. Until then, kill the bill in its present form.
To President Barack Obama, I ripped into your plans to send more soldiers into Afghanistan and rightfully so. Should you sign this healthcare bill in its present form into law, I will back a true progressive candidate that chooses to primary you for the 2012 presidential election. My fellow Americans who live day-to-day without health insurance are more important to me than your presidency. That equally applies to those within congress. Those who side with health insurance companies and not the American people who suffer so, are truly the enemy of the people.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, please email the author.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
In borrowing from China, we created our own economic ‘China syndrome’
By Mary MacElveen
December 13, 2009
For a few days, I have been reading several key articles dealing with China, but today a Washington Post article titled, U.S. firms lag in bids for Iraqi oil was the icing on the cake. In Twittering this article, I called it a blow-back to the U.S.
Let’s get real: Our invasion into Iraq was to control this oil and not because of WMDs. It was not about terrorism, but greed. Soldiers as well as innocent Iraqis lost their lives and we have spent over $700 billion to fight the war in Iraq. A large sum we borrowed from China to keep this war going. Who stands to profit in these oil bids? You guessed it; China. The excerpts from this WP article will simply blow your mind:
“Chinese diplomats in Baghdad have kept a low profile in recent years, working out of a hotel and drawing little public attention. But Iraqi officials say they have been struck by the caliber of Chinese diplomats, many of whom speak flawless Arabic and have developed a nuanced understanding of Iraqi politics.”
This eye-opening article goes onto report: "We all know that China is on track to become a major economic as well as technological power," said Assam Jihad, a spokesman for the Oil Ministry.”
Do not get angry at the Iraqis since it was their oil to begin with; it was our foolishness for believing in the Bush/Cheney administration on why we needed to invade Iraq in the first place. For two oil-men, they look pretty silly in light of this story.
These wars have sunk our economy into a sink-hole period! In borrowing handily from China, we created our own economic ‘China syndrome’. These U.S. oil firms must be facing their own ‘Shock and Awe’. China out-gunned them without launching one single rocket or sending troops into Iraq. They did so with brains instead of brawn.
To further prove China’s economic dominance in the world, one only has to read this explosive article published in the NY Times this past week: Recession Elsewhere, but It’s Booming in China There you will read where their rate of consumption has surpassed ours on goods such as flat-screen televisions, washers, dryers as Americans hold back on their purchases.
In fact as this article points out: "China is pulling ahead at this particular moment partly because Americans, debt-laden and worried about their jobs, are pulling back. After decades of gorging on consumption, Americans are saving."
What should be a wake-up call to those in Washington D.C. who control our economic destinies is where this article points out: "For the first time, China, not the United States, is a locomotive helping to pull the global economy out of a slump. But China’s tiny appetite for American exports means that the main benefit has gone to commodity exporters and to businesses in China."
As some free-market thinkers here in the United States rail against any regulation targeted at banks and Wall Street in particular, please pay close attention to this smart move coming from the Chinese government: "China’s Banking Regulatory Commission recently told banks to show restraint in lending for the rest of the year, fearful that some of this year’s loans could become bad debts in the next several years, as happened with the mortgage lending spree in the United States.”
China is acting like the grown-up here where the free-market thinkers here in our own country are acting like petulant children demanding they get their way. And who will suffer? All of us. In fact we have already been hit hard when so many continue to lose their jobs and as one reads where Homeless are Wherever Jobs Vanish as reported in today’s New York Times. I called people’s attention to this important story via my Twitter and Facebook.com pages. It sickened me as I continued to read it.
As China surged ahead of the United States becoming an economic behemoth and where their citizens are buying up a storm, one only has to read the sad facts here: "On Long Island, Nassau County officials have seen the number of people seeking shelter rise by 40 percent compared with this time last year, while in Suffolk, the number of families seeking shelter for the first time rose by 20 percent. In Connecticut, in an annual one-day survey taken in January, the number of people in emergency shelters was 33 percent higher than the year before."
As citizens tire of the finger-pointing going on in Washington D.C. between Republicans and Democrats where both at times refuse to speak with each other, this opinion by far is a salient point opined by Irvan K. Hakim, a co-chairman of the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association: "Even the U.S. cannot talk to China.” One can read yet another eye-opening article relating to China's economic dominance: China’s Economic Power Unsettles the Neighbors.
We as Americans allowed for this to happen without any accountability demanded of those in Washington, D.C., Wall Street and those who thought going to war was for our benefit. Yet, what are folks talking about or the MSM reporting on? You guessed it: Tiger Woods. Pathetic if you ask me.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
December 13, 2009
For a few days, I have been reading several key articles dealing with China, but today a Washington Post article titled, U.S. firms lag in bids for Iraqi oil was the icing on the cake. In Twittering this article, I called it a blow-back to the U.S.
Let’s get real: Our invasion into Iraq was to control this oil and not because of WMDs. It was not about terrorism, but greed. Soldiers as well as innocent Iraqis lost their lives and we have spent over $700 billion to fight the war in Iraq. A large sum we borrowed from China to keep this war going. Who stands to profit in these oil bids? You guessed it; China. The excerpts from this WP article will simply blow your mind:
“Chinese diplomats in Baghdad have kept a low profile in recent years, working out of a hotel and drawing little public attention. But Iraqi officials say they have been struck by the caliber of Chinese diplomats, many of whom speak flawless Arabic and have developed a nuanced understanding of Iraqi politics.”
This eye-opening article goes onto report: "We all know that China is on track to become a major economic as well as technological power," said Assam Jihad, a spokesman for the Oil Ministry.”
Do not get angry at the Iraqis since it was their oil to begin with; it was our foolishness for believing in the Bush/Cheney administration on why we needed to invade Iraq in the first place. For two oil-men, they look pretty silly in light of this story.
These wars have sunk our economy into a sink-hole period! In borrowing handily from China, we created our own economic ‘China syndrome’. These U.S. oil firms must be facing their own ‘Shock and Awe’. China out-gunned them without launching one single rocket or sending troops into Iraq. They did so with brains instead of brawn.
To further prove China’s economic dominance in the world, one only has to read this explosive article published in the NY Times this past week: Recession Elsewhere, but It’s Booming in China There you will read where their rate of consumption has surpassed ours on goods such as flat-screen televisions, washers, dryers as Americans hold back on their purchases.
In fact as this article points out: "China is pulling ahead at this particular moment partly because Americans, debt-laden and worried about their jobs, are pulling back. After decades of gorging on consumption, Americans are saving."
What should be a wake-up call to those in Washington D.C. who control our economic destinies is where this article points out: "For the first time, China, not the United States, is a locomotive helping to pull the global economy out of a slump. But China’s tiny appetite for American exports means that the main benefit has gone to commodity exporters and to businesses in China."
As some free-market thinkers here in the United States rail against any regulation targeted at banks and Wall Street in particular, please pay close attention to this smart move coming from the Chinese government: "China’s Banking Regulatory Commission recently told banks to show restraint in lending for the rest of the year, fearful that some of this year’s loans could become bad debts in the next several years, as happened with the mortgage lending spree in the United States.”
China is acting like the grown-up here where the free-market thinkers here in our own country are acting like petulant children demanding they get their way. And who will suffer? All of us. In fact we have already been hit hard when so many continue to lose their jobs and as one reads where Homeless are Wherever Jobs Vanish as reported in today’s New York Times. I called people’s attention to this important story via my Twitter and Facebook.com pages. It sickened me as I continued to read it.
As China surged ahead of the United States becoming an economic behemoth and where their citizens are buying up a storm, one only has to read the sad facts here: "On Long Island, Nassau County officials have seen the number of people seeking shelter rise by 40 percent compared with this time last year, while in Suffolk, the number of families seeking shelter for the first time rose by 20 percent. In Connecticut, in an annual one-day survey taken in January, the number of people in emergency shelters was 33 percent higher than the year before."
As citizens tire of the finger-pointing going on in Washington D.C. between Republicans and Democrats where both at times refuse to speak with each other, this opinion by far is a salient point opined by Irvan K. Hakim, a co-chairman of the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association: "Even the U.S. cannot talk to China.” One can read yet another eye-opening article relating to China's economic dominance: China’s Economic Power Unsettles the Neighbors.
We as Americans allowed for this to happen without any accountability demanded of those in Washington, D.C., Wall Street and those who thought going to war was for our benefit. Yet, what are folks talking about or the MSM reporting on? You guessed it: Tiger Woods. Pathetic if you ask me.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Pres. Obama: As we have spent $1 trillion on war, did Al Qaeda win?
By Mary MacElveen
December 2, 2009
As a part-time cashier working at a local grocery store, I earn $7.50 an hour. So, when the president mentioned in his speech that we will spend $30 billion this year to fight this ongoing war in Afghanistan, I felt the ‘tea bagger’ spirit rise within me. Do not worry, I refuse to turn to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh since both are idiots.
I am sorry, Mr. President, I do not want my tax money going to fight this war. If the Afghans want peace it is up to them period to solve their own problems. Problems like a corrupt government, a fraudulent election and more importantly, the Taliban. Wait? Wasn’t it Al Qaeda and not the Taliban who attacked us? Are we fighting the wrong enemy again? We already did so in our invasion into Iraq.
At this point, we have enough problems to solve right within our borders which are far more important to we the people, than what is happening a world away in Afghanistan. The terror Americans are facing are those who get sick and have no healthcare to speak of or jobs to support their families.
10.2 percent of Americans are out of work and in states such as Michigan, the rate is at a staggering 15 percent. Mr. President, address this issue before the American people and not what you wish to do in Afghanistan.
Millions who are unemployed or underemployed do not fear Al Qaeda. What they fear is the next bill coming to their homes which they cannot afford to pay. They most of all fear an eviction notice where many have worked tireless hours in search of their American dream. A dream turning into a nightmare before their eyes. Mr. President, you want to nation-build in Iraq and Afghanistan? Well how about we start to nation-build right here at home first as our citizens suffer so?
You have folks going to work sick in fear if they call up sick for work, they will lose that job. I battled a cold for weeks going to work with a temperature of 101 because I need this job. Thankfully, I am over it, but there are countless more who must do so in order to keep food on the family table and many and I mean many do not have any healthcare to speak of.
Each week, the union I belong to through my job sends out pertinent articles for its members to read and one really caught my attention. It is a column written for the Wall Street Journal by Jeanne Dugan titled: Working Two Jobs and Still Underemployed.
In reading this portion of the article the anger rose within: “Mr. Crane's electricity was shut off, he says. He paid the bill and had it restored. But he didn't pay the gas, which is about $175 per month. Instead, all summer, they cooked on the grill outside. Mr. Crane bought an electric hot water heater for baths and laundry. They lived that way for three months before finally turning the gas back on.” Mr. Crane according to this column looked for work such as a “sanitation worker, bridge painter, tree cutter and transit worker. There were some factory openings, he says, but they pay less than Lowe's.”
Before landing the job at Lowes selling lawn mowers, Mr. Crane was laid off from a job at a battery plant which paid $28 dollars per-hour before overtime.
Dugan also reported where Robert Reich expressed: “For decades, workers have been watching their salaries and benefits erode," He too, “took a pay cut of 8 percent along with the rest of the Berkeley faculty”
With the erosion of pay by countless Americans, why on Earth is our government fighting these wars on the backs of so many especially our soldiers who will continue to come home in flag-draped coffins? It is time to close up the war shop and bring our troops home.
On Thanksgiving Day, a family member of mine expressed her support for these wars because of 9/11 and does not wish another attack here on our soil. But, how long war? Is what I thought. We are fast approaching December 7th which is the anniversary where Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Are we forever at war with the Japanese? No, we just bombed them with nuclear weapons and called it a day and they soon surrendered. Everyone tends to invoke 9/11 while forgetting 12/07.
Speaking of nuclear weapons, while worrying about other countries having a nuclear capability, let history speak the truth where we were the only country to use two in war-time.
As millions of Americans sink into an economic and health quagmire, they are being forgotten as the defense industry makes out like bandits. As people’s electricity is being turned off, defense contractors keep their war machines humming and at tax payer’s expense.
Mr. President, you betrayed my trust in not putting an end to these wars. As I watched the Democratic presidential primaries, the true leader and one with conviction was Senator Mike Gravel. In an exchange with then Senator Barack Obama, then Senator Hillary Clinton and the rest of the candidates, he answered a question from the late Tim Russert, who asked if these candidates should suspend their campaigns to end these wars by stating: “If it stops the killing, then do it!” Meaning they should vote on cloture to end these wars.
Let us not forget that it was Senator Mike Gravel who ended the draft in Viet Nam by filibuster. Let us not forget it was Senator Mike Gravel who exposed the Pentagon Papers which proved the criminality of that war.
As we look at the failure of our educational system, our infrastructure, millions of jobs lost and no true healthcare system to take care of we the people, Gravel has opined at the top of the food chain is the military industrial complex. While that term ‘military industrial complex’ sounds like a conspiracy theory, truly they do receive the lion’s share of our hard earned tax dollars.
There is a saying, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” and one only has to ask the Russians just how successful they were in their invasion of Afghanistan. The proof is in the pudding how it drained their fiscal resources.
Al Qaeda has metastasized throughout the world as their numbers have been depleted in Afghanistan: Do we invade each and every country they are in? Will we forever be at war as our own nation crumbles beneath us? Perhaps this was our enemy’s intention all along to force us into wars lasting decades to deplete us economically. As political leaders reprimand Americans for borrowing too much and racking up credit card debt, they have racked up enough debt borrowing these war funds from China. A debt we all must pay and pay and pay.
One lone question should be asked: Did Al Qaeda already win as we have spent close to $1 trillion dollars on these wars? Think about it.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, email the author for permission.
December 2, 2009
As a part-time cashier working at a local grocery store, I earn $7.50 an hour. So, when the president mentioned in his speech that we will spend $30 billion this year to fight this ongoing war in Afghanistan, I felt the ‘tea bagger’ spirit rise within me. Do not worry, I refuse to turn to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh since both are idiots.
I am sorry, Mr. President, I do not want my tax money going to fight this war. If the Afghans want peace it is up to them period to solve their own problems. Problems like a corrupt government, a fraudulent election and more importantly, the Taliban. Wait? Wasn’t it Al Qaeda and not the Taliban who attacked us? Are we fighting the wrong enemy again? We already did so in our invasion into Iraq.
At this point, we have enough problems to solve right within our borders which are far more important to we the people, than what is happening a world away in Afghanistan. The terror Americans are facing are those who get sick and have no healthcare to speak of or jobs to support their families.
10.2 percent of Americans are out of work and in states such as Michigan, the rate is at a staggering 15 percent. Mr. President, address this issue before the American people and not what you wish to do in Afghanistan.
Millions who are unemployed or underemployed do not fear Al Qaeda. What they fear is the next bill coming to their homes which they cannot afford to pay. They most of all fear an eviction notice where many have worked tireless hours in search of their American dream. A dream turning into a nightmare before their eyes. Mr. President, you want to nation-build in Iraq and Afghanistan? Well how about we start to nation-build right here at home first as our citizens suffer so?
You have folks going to work sick in fear if they call up sick for work, they will lose that job. I battled a cold for weeks going to work with a temperature of 101 because I need this job. Thankfully, I am over it, but there are countless more who must do so in order to keep food on the family table and many and I mean many do not have any healthcare to speak of.
Each week, the union I belong to through my job sends out pertinent articles for its members to read and one really caught my attention. It is a column written for the Wall Street Journal by Jeanne Dugan titled: Working Two Jobs and Still Underemployed.
In reading this portion of the article the anger rose within: “Mr. Crane's electricity was shut off, he says. He paid the bill and had it restored. But he didn't pay the gas, which is about $175 per month. Instead, all summer, they cooked on the grill outside. Mr. Crane bought an electric hot water heater for baths and laundry. They lived that way for three months before finally turning the gas back on.” Mr. Crane according to this column looked for work such as a “sanitation worker, bridge painter, tree cutter and transit worker. There were some factory openings, he says, but they pay less than Lowe's.”
Before landing the job at Lowes selling lawn mowers, Mr. Crane was laid off from a job at a battery plant which paid $28 dollars per-hour before overtime.
Dugan also reported where Robert Reich expressed: “For decades, workers have been watching their salaries and benefits erode," He too, “took a pay cut of 8 percent along with the rest of the Berkeley faculty”
With the erosion of pay by countless Americans, why on Earth is our government fighting these wars on the backs of so many especially our soldiers who will continue to come home in flag-draped coffins? It is time to close up the war shop and bring our troops home.
On Thanksgiving Day, a family member of mine expressed her support for these wars because of 9/11 and does not wish another attack here on our soil. But, how long war? Is what I thought. We are fast approaching December 7th which is the anniversary where Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Are we forever at war with the Japanese? No, we just bombed them with nuclear weapons and called it a day and they soon surrendered. Everyone tends to invoke 9/11 while forgetting 12/07.
Speaking of nuclear weapons, while worrying about other countries having a nuclear capability, let history speak the truth where we were the only country to use two in war-time.
As millions of Americans sink into an economic and health quagmire, they are being forgotten as the defense industry makes out like bandits. As people’s electricity is being turned off, defense contractors keep their war machines humming and at tax payer’s expense.
Mr. President, you betrayed my trust in not putting an end to these wars. As I watched the Democratic presidential primaries, the true leader and one with conviction was Senator Mike Gravel. In an exchange with then Senator Barack Obama, then Senator Hillary Clinton and the rest of the candidates, he answered a question from the late Tim Russert, who asked if these candidates should suspend their campaigns to end these wars by stating: “If it stops the killing, then do it!” Meaning they should vote on cloture to end these wars.
Let us not forget that it was Senator Mike Gravel who ended the draft in Viet Nam by filibuster. Let us not forget it was Senator Mike Gravel who exposed the Pentagon Papers which proved the criminality of that war.
As we look at the failure of our educational system, our infrastructure, millions of jobs lost and no true healthcare system to take care of we the people, Gravel has opined at the top of the food chain is the military industrial complex. While that term ‘military industrial complex’ sounds like a conspiracy theory, truly they do receive the lion’s share of our hard earned tax dollars.
There is a saying, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” and one only has to ask the Russians just how successful they were in their invasion of Afghanistan. The proof is in the pudding how it drained their fiscal resources.
Al Qaeda has metastasized throughout the world as their numbers have been depleted in Afghanistan: Do we invade each and every country they are in? Will we forever be at war as our own nation crumbles beneath us? Perhaps this was our enemy’s intention all along to force us into wars lasting decades to deplete us economically. As political leaders reprimand Americans for borrowing too much and racking up credit card debt, they have racked up enough debt borrowing these war funds from China. A debt we all must pay and pay and pay.
One lone question should be asked: Did Al Qaeda already win as we have spent close to $1 trillion dollars on these wars? Think about it.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, email the author for permission.
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