Welcome to Ray’s “Boom-Boom” Room.
So recently, I came across a facebook post that I was completely in agreement with:
”Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS crashed the stock market, wiped out half of our 401Ks, took hundreds of billions in TARP money, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, gave themselves hundreds of millions in bonuses, and paid no taxes? Yeah, me neither. Pass it on…”
Shortly after posting this I had someone attempt to claim that this was factually inaccurate and demonize Wall Street and the banking industry. I was astonished. Here was my reply…
“Are you serious? Wall Street AND the banking industry is almost solely responsible for our current economic crisis. The right considers themselves the moral police yet, Planned Parenthood does soooo much more to prevent unplanned pregnancy than they do in performing abortions. I mean, it’s in their name…it can’t be more obvious…yet, we have to blame the people that have no political capital…the poor, the children and the disenfranchised. Teachers get paid peanuts to teach YOUR children and yet they get attacked. Incredible. NPR is the farthest thing from a liberal organization…have you EVER listened to NPR? Anyone with common sense can see that they are not a political leaning organization. What because they fired Juan Williams they are liberal. We are not facebook friends so you didn’t see my post but Adolf Hitler said something that I think epitomizes the right currently…”Tell a lie often enough, loud enough and long enough and people will believe you”…full disclosure…I’m an independent but I’m tired of the BS that the right is feeding into the political conscience. I mean, if people would take the time to look at the facts, the tea party and the GOP would not have traction. I will step off the soapbox with a quote from the movie the American President…this is the GOP agenda….I am taking a little liberty with the quote…”(the GOP’s) problem isn’t that (they) doesn’t get it. (the GOP’s) problem is that (they) can’t sell it! We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, (the GOP) is not the least bit interested in solving it. (They are) interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who’s to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character….and you scream about patriotism and you tell them,(the poor, children and the disenfranchised) are to blame for their lot in life,”
So let’s hear folks, what are your thoughts??
Thanks for stopping by…
Ray
Ray's Boom Boom Room - A short commentary on the current economic crisis...,
Smike
13 Apr 2011For the first time in my life, I encountered something both poignant and insightful on CNN.com.
Here it is….
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/12/civil-war-still-divides-americans/
Upon a cursory analysis, such an opinion poll suggests “one in four Americans are racists”, but I think something more nuanced is going on here.
Right now, the right wing narrative is Big Government vs Freedom. Because simple minds need simple narratives to understand the world, these two forces can also be described as GOOD vs EVIL. Perhaps I’ll do a post on the evolution of the Right’s ideological meta-narrative, but I am more curious to here what your thoughts are on the matter. The numbers that interest me most are the 42% that believe the Civil War was not about slavery and the 23% who identify with the confederacy more than the union. If “America used to be better” and “the government is oppressing hardworking whites like me” are two of the central planks in your worldview, then these numbers give us an idea of the proportionate size of the different blocs which comprise todays Republican party. Hmmm, I need to write on this.
Ray Rife
13 Apr 2011This is going to be lengthy…may even need to be a post 🙂
That’s pretty funny that the civil war poll was the first thing you’ve seen on CNN.com insightful and poignant. A lot of the mainstream media has returned to the days of yellow journalism and its actually a tremendous disservice to the American conversation.
I don’t think there is anything nuanced going on. CNN wants to fan the divisional flames. I believe in the adage of divide and conquer. TimeWarner is a HUGE MegaCorp. They are just as interested in having the American public fight about issues like race and abortion and immigration so we are not paying attention to the backroom and boardroom deals being handed out on Wall Street and in the halls of Congress.
Our elected officials in Washington sold our collective souls to the corporations and Wall Street decades ago. Over the years they slowly moved the needle until now we just accept the corruption, lies and corporate take over as normal. Look at what happened with gas prices. When Katrina hit, gas prices spiked to $4-5/gal. and then they went down but up something like 50-60 cents higher than Pre-Katrina levels. American has been sold and we the citizens are paying attention to the minutia.
This is why I’m a staunch supporter of TERM LIMITS. Our founding fathers did not intend for our elected officials to make a career out of governing but all America has become is an aristocracy in sheep’s clothing. How many members of Congress even understand what the average American is going through? They are all freaking millionaires or on their way to becoming millionaires. Why do you think they don’t want to pass real campaign finance reform? Don’t allow them to sit in Congress for decades and the strong corporate alliances that have been built over the years wouldn’t take shape. The wool have been pulled over our eyes and we are just taking it up the rear end with no vasoline.
In regards to the poll though, as a person of mixed race heritage that identifies with the black experience, I don’t give two shits what people think about the civil war. I know that racism exists and I know that the institutional racism is what hinders progress more than anything else.
You don’t keep a culture disconnected from their true identity, force assimilation and economic disengagement for over 350 years and truly expect to have a level playing field less than 50 years later? I know people (they are fairly old) that are just two generations removed from slavery…just two generations yet all the sociological, psychological, cultural, economic and educational shackles should be expunged from the black culture…it’s ridiculous.
For a true national discussion to be had, we have to experience some pain and discuss true facts. I can go on but this is an essay already.
The GOP and their guerrilla’s (i.e., the Tea Party) knows what they are doing. The coded messages, “We want our country back.” Most people truly know what it means. Yet, the folks on the left are afraid to call them to the carpet. If you attack a right wing principle with facts and logic, they are countered with…”prove it.” I always laugh at that because they never feel the need to prove their bullshit and propaganda. Reaganomics have been an utter economic failure. Lowering taxes DOES NOT create jobs. We have the historical data that shows that. But bring that up to a Reagan romantic and they will say, prove it because in theory…blah, blah, blah. You have to prove to them that they sky is blue.
My final thought is…why do people who make less than $250,000 a year; register themselves as Republicans? Is it because if they support their cause they think they will be let into the the Millionaire Boys Club? Nope, it’s because of economic scarcity. If we can eliminate competition for resources (minorities) we can keep all the toys.
If they are really for unhinged and unencumbered competition in economic markets then they should welcome other people’s from around the world. They should cultivate talent regardless of their cultural or racial background. Yet, this would mean increasing their efforts or uncovering their deficits.
I’ve used to think that the national political debate was always healthy and good for the country. But since Bill Clinton got that sloppy blowjob, the right has drug our government, our society and our way of life through the proverbial mud.
So in closing, we now live in the United Corporation of America, racism is here and alive and until we get past all the denial, anger and opportunism of racism and come to a healthy place in the healing process we will not eradicate this from Americana (Yet, S. Africa has come farther than us on race…interesting). The GOP has turned into a party of hate-filled, lie telling xenophobes. I’m convinced that they actually hate America!
LOL!
Smike
13 Apr 2011Hmm, I subtly disagree on a few points.
First of all we just experienced the biggest campaign finance reform in decades. Thanks to Citizens United, corporations are now allowed to donate unlimited amounts of money anonymously. Not exactly “change we can believe in.” 🙁
I get what your saying though. Get that corporate money outta there.
Second, raising taxes on things like capital gains can indeed reduce job growth. This is not ideology, just economics. This is not necessarily true for all industries in all circumstances at all times, but it’s a good rule of thumb. Regardless, the CBO for the Reagan administration says the top 2% is under taxed. He basically invented Reaganomics along with a disgraced professor named Arthur Laugher, so he definitely carries some weight on the issue.
Regarding class resentment, take a look at this poll,
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/793/inside-the-middle-class
Then take a look at this articles graph,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-williams/is-the-sarah-palin-phenom_b_127521.html
The dates on these a little old and don’t match; but whatever, I do this shit because I like.
I’ll do a race/class breakdown later. Suffice to say, I’d say that the Tea Party’s conception of the American class structure in fundamentally Marxist in character (MARXIST YOU SAY?). As a former Marxist, I can say that the lens through which they view the world is essentially the same, but it is interpreted racially and culturally instead of on a purely class basis. Furthermore, it’s a article of faith, so it is liberated from having to conform to reality in any meaningful way. The straw man the Tea Party seeks to destroy is a Black atheist civil servant who uses his administrative power to slowly shape America into some kind of leftist distopia he learned about in graduate school at Berkely, I should have just done an article. Fuck….
Tuo11
17 Apr 2011Interestingly enough I can easily list right-wing lies. For example the Death Panel ridiculousness. Or the idea that Obama was not born in the USA. These ideas are worthy of only one thing; to be ignored. The other side does not ignore them however, because keeping the discussion focused on these absurdities ensures that the discussion isn’t focused on the negatives and benefits of government expansion.