The latest debate going on is about healthcare. What is sad is the fact that we don’t already have Healthcare for everyone. Part of the problem is that we are still a very young country. I know that is not a good excuse but that is the best I could come up with.
O’bama said when he was campaigning for President that he wanted to change the Healthcare System in the United States. The people voted him in so I think he should keep his word. The Republican Party is going to oppose whatever he tries to do. The party leader Rush Limbaugh has gone on record to say that he wants O’bama to fail. Rush is a prime example of party before country politics. O’bama and the Democratic Party should put together the best bill they can come up with and sign it into law. They should not wait for the Republicans to stand with them because it is never going to happen. The job of the Republican Party has become to stop the President. Like they said, they want Healthcare to be his Waterloo.
I have Healthcare because I am retired from the military. When I was active duty I work for 20 years in the medical field. It pains me to hear people tell their story about having to file for bankruptcy because they became ill or they were injured. Medicine should be in the same category as the Police and the Fire Departments. The Police and Fire Departments don’t charge a fee when they come to people’s aid because we have a right to be safe and to have a fire put out. Why do we not have the right to be healthy? It is sad to know that millions of people are one doctor’s visit away from being homeless. For most people if they lose their job they also lose their health insurance. Many people take or keep jobs they hate only because they need the insurance. For this to be a country that likes to brag about being number one in so many areas, why can’t Healthcare be one of them?
Chapter 2
Watching the people on television talk about this subject is very sad. Seeing people at Town Hall meetings argue when they have been given bad information is painful to watch. In general I believe these are people that voted for McCain and they are still upset about not winning. I feel sorry for O’bama because these people are going to complain about everything he tries to do and there is nothing he can do to win them over. These are the people of the Republican Party. There is nothing O’bama or the Democratic Party can do that would make them happy except commit suicide.
I guess you could break this down to two types of people on this issue. Either you care about other people or you don’t. Another way to say it is, am I or am I not my brother’s keeper? I am the type that cares about other people. I am my brother’s keeper. If you are the type that doesn’t care about others, I don’t think you are wrong (really I do) in your way of thinking. You are who you are. I just don’t agree with your way of thinking and that does not make me right (yes it does).
The Democrats are saying right now that the public option is off the table and that is upsetting. The Insurance Companies are saying they can’t compete with the Government. The people at Town Hall meetings are screaming on their behalf. That is such a lie. The people that believe what the Insurance Companies are saying are not thinking. There is nothing that the Government provides that you can’t also find in the private sector. The government provides the Fire Department and you can still buy smoke detectors and sprinkler systems. The Government provides the Police Department but you can still hire private detectives and body guards. My point is the Government does not destroy the free market it only provides a safety net and gives people options.
Chapter 3
Here is my biggest problem. The Pharmaceutical and Medical Industries have nothing to keep them honest. The Drug Companies have figured out that there is more money in treatment than in cures. Because of that I don’t think anyone will ever see another cure for anything. This works out good for Doctors and hospitals because it keeps people coming back for more drugs. Their condition gets better but they will never be completely cured or healed. That is where the Insurance Companies come in. Because we have to go to the doctor or hospital multiple times and the costs for these visits have gone so high most people can’t afford it. Insurance companies get the doctors and hospitals to charge them less and the regular Joe more. Charging the regular Joe more money forces him to go to the Insurance Companies. If the Medical Industry would treat the regular Joe the same as they treat the Insurance Companies fewer people would be in bankruptcy. That can’t happen because lawyers would lobby against it.
In a nut shell I believe that if something is a MUST HAVE then the government should provide it for its citizens. Healthcare is not an option for people it is a MUST HAVE. Just as taxes are a must, so should Healthcare for all.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Patriotism
Let me start by saying, it is not patriotism that is aiding in the destruction of this country but the lack of patriotism. Patriotism as defined in Webster’s Dictionary: love for or devotion to one’s country. Our leaders of today are patriots to party and or money but not country.
There was a time when I was active duty military that I was ashamed to wear my uniform. It was not the military that I was ashamed of, but the political leaders and what they were doing with the military. I’m not going to go into the detail but it was during the Iran Contra disaster. For me the military was a reflection of the government. That was the way I used to think, not anymore. I do believe the rest of the world sees the military that way. When the military breaks into their home looking for terrorist and takes the men or boys, to the people that witness the event, that is America. When the military does something good for people and then do some bad things to the same people, the bad things are going to be remembered and talked about. I felt that way when I wore my uniform on the streets of America. I felt like Americans looked at me like I was one of the evil government workers even though I knew they did not. That feeling lasted a long time but I got past it. There came a time that I gave serious thought to getting out of the military and not making a career out of it. The back stabbing and cut throat politics had become more open in the military and I wanted no parts of it. I told a friend what I was thinking and they asked me if everyone who felt the way I did was to leave the service what kind of military would we have left. I took that to heart and made a career out of it. Talking to people on the civilian side I found out things were the same on both sides. So even had I gotten out I still would have to face the same type of people.
After retiring and having to deal with the Veteran’s Administration I regretted making the military a career for a while. I should be fair and say the VA benefits section works hard against the former service members. I thought it was set up to help me but I now know better. I realize that it is part of the D.C. politics and to them I am just a number, not a real person. A number that needs to be deleted. Their job is to deny and delay benefits as long as possible. Once that became clear it was much easier to deal with them.
I am proud of my military service and the country I swore to protect against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. I am ashamed of the politicians who run this country and the system they set up (so they say) to protect me. There was a time when I first started to deal with the VA that I wished that I had never joined the military. I don’t wish that anymore. Now I am happy I joined and did 20 years. If I had it to do over the only thing I would change is when people tried to tell me how bad the VA benefits system is I would pay more attention. I only have myself to blame for that because people did try but I didn’t listen. I did my job to the best of my ability trying never to complain and feel that I was and still am a patriot.
Chapter2
Our political leaders are not patriots. They are loyal to their parties and the companies that pay them. This is the problem in both parties but the Republicans are more blatant about it. When George W. Bush was in office they had control of the house and senate. They were spending money like it was a bottomless pit. There were NO Republicans or ANY so called conservatives taking center stage and complaining about all the money being spent. They All kept their mouths shut and let the party (Bush and Cheney) do what it wanted. They were loyal Republicans. They were being loyal to their party and let the spending run wild. This coming from a party that core value is (so they say) less government spending and fiscal responsibility. If that was truly a core value you would think that some of them would have been complaining about what was going on. If their loyalty was to their country first we would have heard lots of complaining but we heard none. We heard none because one of their own was in the driver’s seat. It doesn’t matter how bad the driving is, if it is your driver you let him drive where ever he want to go. Even if he is taking you places you don’t want to go you don’t complain. I am amazed at how robotic the Republicans are in general. For them to be a party of no left turns for example and the driver is making left turns every couple of blocks, you would think that some passengers would speak out but it didn’t happen.
Now that Obama (a Democrat) is in the drivers seat all Republicans in Congress are complaining about everything. The sad thing is that they are complaining about the same things they didn’t complain about when they were driving. Now all of a sudden they are the party of no left turns again. Every time Obama makes a left turn they come together and protest. It is not possible for one person or group of people to always be right. When you put party before country that is the way it works. How can you do that and call yourself a patriot? Unless you mean you are a patriot to your party and not your country.
When Republicans were the leaders they were quick to call all who didn’t agree with the leaders unpatriotic or traitors. Now that Democrats are the leaders those rules no longer apply. When you put party ahead of country then it makes sense to make rule changes when you need to gain power or to win. In other words, to cheat. The question is how can you do that and still call yourself patriotic to your country? The answer is you can not.
America is a Capitalist/Socialist society and in this country money comes first. There are those that would disagree with me on that but when you step back and look at this country, that is what it has become. Companies at one time used to look at its employees as assets and the jobs they created as building America. Now it is all about profit and employee are liabilities. There is no such thing as making enough money for some people. Greed is not all bad. I say that because that love of money motivates some people to work harder and come up with good ideas. What is hurting America is the growing number of people who have what I call “Blind Greed”. That is when you have a love for money and nothing else matters. That blind greed allows a person to abuse, mistreat, and degrade another human being with the sole purpose of making another dollar.
People in power and people of wealth in general don’t seem to care about people anymore. It is as if they don’t understand that without people they can not make the dollar they love so very much. How can a nation survive when its citizens are not important? The answer is, it can not. When I say nation what I am really talking about is the big businesses or multi-national corporations of this nation. Like I said big business is running the government. The problem is we let them. Yes I include myself when I say we. One would think that when American companies move out of the country to improve profits, stockholders as well as the American people would be outraged. Rather than make a better product companies would rather hire cheaper workers and call the saving profit. The problem is we are not outraged. We continue to support companies that do this. We continue to buy their products. This needs to change.
Chapter 3
I have a friend named Denise but I call her Quetta who lives in San Antonio, Texas. That is a nickname we came up with while we were stationed at Lackland A.F.B. Anyway we were talking on the phone about politics recently. We were talking about what we would do if we were king for a day. I told her the first thing I would do is introduce what I would call the “Patriot Tax”. This tax would be for any American owned company that operates in other countries. It would be a heavy tax that would be based on the percentage of their product produced outside of the United States. I know that would piss off lot of big CEOs but I could live with that. One would think that as American citizens CEOs would want to keep their companies in the States. Maybe they do but their loyalty is to the bottom line. I know we can’t force anyone to love their country more than their bottom line but we can tax the hell out of those who don’t.
The second thing I would do is what Obama said he would do but has not. I would change Washington D.C. They like to say they are public servant and I would make them prove it. I would make all three branches of government subject to the UCMJ (uniform code of military justice). This would clean up most of the dirty politics and corruption the first day. There is no way to make politics perfect because they deal with too much money and power. That money and power within itself brings corruption. It makes no sense to me why those who volunteer to place their lives on the line in defense of the country for not much money are held to a higher standard than those elected to run it for much higher pay. It is because the people elected to run it are the ones who write the laws or make the rules. They know that they are there to lie and cheat so the rules they make for themselves are much more lenient than those they made for the military to follow. If you look bellow the surface what our elected officials are saying is “those who serve us (the military) must be patriotic, but we (elected officials) do not”. I would put an end to that unless they killed me first.
The third thing I would do and last one I will talk about is incarcerate all those involved in the AIG mess. Those in Congress that voted to change the laws to make the mess possible would be fired. There is not much difference between Bernie Madoff and AIG. He got about 150 years for what he did and AIG got bonuses. Madoff went to jail because he had lots of money, stole from a few rich people and no power. AIG has lots of money, stole from a lot of middle class people and have lobbyist in the government. Lobbyist means you have a direct line to Congress and that means power. When you have power you don’t do jail time unless you are caught on video and you confess. Then maybe you will do a little time but I doubt it.
The thing talked about lately is former Vice President Dick Cheney running a secret operation thru the CIA without congress being informed. Naturally the Republicans are defending Cheney. At first I was on Cheney’s side. If the only thing he did was set up a program and have a few meetings then I didn’t see the big deal. Now that I am hearing that the program cost over a million dollars while it was in operation is a different story. If this is true then I am against him and it should be investigated. The first question I would have is when did President Bush give Cheney the authority to tell the CIA what to do and to run any type operation in that organization? His answer would be “I do not recall”. That seem to be the answer people in Washington give when they are in trouble. When they are not in trouble they have plenty to say. Have you ever noticed how they go on and on about simple stuff. They give a two or three paragraph response to a question when a simple yes or no would suffice. A few weeks ago Cheney was all over TV bashing the Obama administration on almost everything they were doing. Now that they are talking about him and what he may have done while he was in office he is nowhere to be found. Why does he not defend himself? Only he and his aids know the answer to that one. It just seems strange that he was so willing to talk when all he could do was speculate. Now that he can deal in facts he is unwilling to speak. He knows that he could be in trouble so he is keeping his mouth shut. Cheney’s motives needs to be questioned. We need to know if he used his office to punish foes. There isn’t much chance of him going to jail because Democrats are too spineless for that. They could slap his hand and point a finger at him but that’s about it.
Our elected leaders are not patriotic to this country. Most are patriotic to their party. All are patriotic to money and power. What we need are leaders that love this country and its people. We need leaders that believe in that document called The Constitution. We need people in office that are accountable for their actions. Why are members of the armed forces held to a higher standard than politicians? Why don’t politicians get drug tested? The answer is easy, because they make their own rules. Apply that to your own job whatever it is. Does that make any sense to you? You get to decide what you are paid. You get to decide if you get a raise. You make all the rules that govern your job. I understand why they try so hard to stay in office. Now they have set themselves up with options. If they get voted out of office they go to companies they helped while they were in office or they get high paying lobbyist positions. Either way you look at it, when or if politicians leave office they are paid very well by those they helped while in office. The old saying, if you want to find corruption just follow the money, is never truer than in politics. The problem with money in politics is there is so much of it that it is hard to follow.
Chapter 4
A friend recently told me her husband (Earl) reads my blog. She said he like what I Have written so far but I need to open my eyes and live in the real world. He says that the things I want to happen only happen in a fantasy world. That there are too many evil people on this planet for us to ever live together in peace. Earl is right, I am writing about a fantasy world. The thing is that all improvements to society start out as a fantasy in someone’s mind. I understand that the things I write are alive only in my mind and to that Earl is right. That doesn’t mean that they can not become reality. If this blog starts people to talking about what could be, then maybe that conversation could spark the change that is needed. There are lots of good people in this world so don’t give up on us yet Earl.
Patriotism is lost because of the divide in the country. Above all we should be Americans first. The divide I’m talking about hurts everyone and it is everywhere. The name is different depending on the subject but it is there. What’s lacking is what the military calls comradery. Comradery is a good thing and it brings a group of people closer together. Binding them by something they have in common. It will make one member of the group risk his or her life to save another. The problem is it will also make some lie to protect someone who has done wrong. I’m not talking about something that I think happens. I’m talking about what I know and have seen first hand. If I remember correctly the saying was, “if you will not lie for me how can I expect you to die for me”. I understand the thought process but I don’t agree with it. That is the attitude police have when they abuse their power. They do it because they know other police officers will protect them. They are not patriotic. Being patriotic means doing what is right for the people or as it says on some police car doors “to protect and serve”. Some of the police out there seem to think that means “to protect and serve other police officers”.
When we give positions of power in society there must be a way to check to see if individuals are or have been corrupted by the power they were given. I don’t think that there is anyone out there that believes people CAN NOT be corrupted by power and or money. I also don’t believe that there is any way to know for sure who will or will not abuse their power. Because of that we need to check those in power and check them often. Anyone who objects to having their power checked is already corrupted without doubt. There is always an exception to every rule but I am speaking in general.
When we talk about patriotism that does not only mean the way we act towards the government and the military. This is a two way street. Look at how the government treats the military. I feel fortunate because I never bought into the military family idea. They try to sell you the military is one big happy family early in your basic training days. They tell you that the government or Department of Defense (DOD) will take care of you because your welfare is important. I learned that there was no truth to that story. The truth was a hard pill to swallow but it is what it is. When the DOD took away the free medical and dental benefits from the retirees, I knew the government didn’t even see them as being human let alone feel any sort of patriotism towards them. When that reality sunk in the military became just a job for me. A job I took pride in and did to the very best of my ability every single day I wore my uniform. My drive was gone. The reality was I provided a service that the government needed and that was all it was. I knew people that believed the military family idea and for them the military was everything. I didn’t fault them for their way of thinking; again, it is what it is. In general people who buy into the military family do very well and rise high in the service until retirement. The life expectancy for them is very short after retirement. They are the ones who hang out on base or try to find jobs on base just to hold on to that sense of belonging to the military family.
A friend (Quetta) and I were talking about the military family idea. She mentioned the military suicide rate and how it is going up. The military has a stigma on those who seek help from mental health. If you are treated by mental health it will be known by others in your unit. You will be labeled as crazy. Service members know this and I feel because of that reason they are slow to seek help when they have problems. Young men and women are sent to war because their government need them to kill people. The risk of service members being killed is preferred over being injured. Especially when it comes to brain injuries or mental health issues. Death is cheaper in the long run than treating injuries. Why else would the government tell doctors to avoid diagnosing soldiers with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)? The answer is simple; it’s all about the money. The government wants soldiers to be patriotic to their country but their country is not being patriotic to the soldiers. The fact that the suicide rate for soldiers is going up is good news for the government because it saves them money. The government is a business and the military is part of that business. In business today the only thing that matters is the bottom line.
The people in Congress understand the government is just a business. That is why you see them being paid by special interest groups to help their companies profit. These Congress people like to wave the American flag and talk about how they are public servants when all they are doing is looking out for themselves. It is not possible to be patriotic to the country and not care about the people. This is something that has been hard for me to accept. Watching the citizens of this country fight each other about petty things while they are being raped by the elected officials.
I just don’t get it. How can you claim to love this country when your actions show you are helping to destroy it? It is the same argument I have with those who are against abortion. How can they claim to care about the rights of the unborn, when their actions show they don’t care about the rights of the born? That is why I believe most people don’t have a position of their own. They just support the views of their party even if those views they are supporting goes against what they need in their own lives. In most cases I will try to take care of myself first. You could say that is being selfish but I believe that if I don’t take care of myself I can’t take care of others. That is my rule in general but like I have said before, there is always an exception to every rule.
To close this up the last thing I will mention has to do with something Kirby (another friend) and I were talking about. We got on the subject of the tobacco chewing, NASCAR watching (no offence Sara and Jim), Confederate Flag waving people. The fact is that in most cases these people are Republicans. Republicans like to talk if not brag about how patriotic they are to anyone willing to listen. Now everyone knows that we as Americans want to be number one in everything we do. Given that fact, why would any group of people want to fly the Confederate flag when the south lost the war? I have heard people say stuff like “it is about remembering our heritage” or “we are rebels”. I just wondered why anyone would want to allied with the losing team. In my mind it would be like standing on the side line cheering “we’re number two, we’re number two”. That never made sense to me. Kirby looks at it differently. He said the Confederates tried to break away from the Union. Doing this would have hurt the country if not destroy it. The actions of the Confederates said “We no longer want to be one of you”. If saying it wasn’t enough they were willing to kill (and they did) U.S. citizens to accomplish the task. I don’t think you can get any more unpatriotic than that.
I had never looked at it that way and I must say he has a very good point. Why would any patriotic American individual or group of people want to fly the colors of the very people that tried to bring this country down? If you are a patriot you would not. In most cases the people or group that has to say or tell others what they are, is the least of it. In other words the person that tells you that they are your friend the most will be the first to stab you in the back.
Can a country that doesn’t care about its citizens and its citizens don’t care about its country last forever?
There was a time when I was active duty military that I was ashamed to wear my uniform. It was not the military that I was ashamed of, but the political leaders and what they were doing with the military. I’m not going to go into the detail but it was during the Iran Contra disaster. For me the military was a reflection of the government. That was the way I used to think, not anymore. I do believe the rest of the world sees the military that way. When the military breaks into their home looking for terrorist and takes the men or boys, to the people that witness the event, that is America. When the military does something good for people and then do some bad things to the same people, the bad things are going to be remembered and talked about. I felt that way when I wore my uniform on the streets of America. I felt like Americans looked at me like I was one of the evil government workers even though I knew they did not. That feeling lasted a long time but I got past it. There came a time that I gave serious thought to getting out of the military and not making a career out of it. The back stabbing and cut throat politics had become more open in the military and I wanted no parts of it. I told a friend what I was thinking and they asked me if everyone who felt the way I did was to leave the service what kind of military would we have left. I took that to heart and made a career out of it. Talking to people on the civilian side I found out things were the same on both sides. So even had I gotten out I still would have to face the same type of people.
After retiring and having to deal with the Veteran’s Administration I regretted making the military a career for a while. I should be fair and say the VA benefits section works hard against the former service members. I thought it was set up to help me but I now know better. I realize that it is part of the D.C. politics and to them I am just a number, not a real person. A number that needs to be deleted. Their job is to deny and delay benefits as long as possible. Once that became clear it was much easier to deal with them.
I am proud of my military service and the country I swore to protect against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. I am ashamed of the politicians who run this country and the system they set up (so they say) to protect me. There was a time when I first started to deal with the VA that I wished that I had never joined the military. I don’t wish that anymore. Now I am happy I joined and did 20 years. If I had it to do over the only thing I would change is when people tried to tell me how bad the VA benefits system is I would pay more attention. I only have myself to blame for that because people did try but I didn’t listen. I did my job to the best of my ability trying never to complain and feel that I was and still am a patriot.
Chapter2
Our political leaders are not patriots. They are loyal to their parties and the companies that pay them. This is the problem in both parties but the Republicans are more blatant about it. When George W. Bush was in office they had control of the house and senate. They were spending money like it was a bottomless pit. There were NO Republicans or ANY so called conservatives taking center stage and complaining about all the money being spent. They All kept their mouths shut and let the party (Bush and Cheney) do what it wanted. They were loyal Republicans. They were being loyal to their party and let the spending run wild. This coming from a party that core value is (so they say) less government spending and fiscal responsibility. If that was truly a core value you would think that some of them would have been complaining about what was going on. If their loyalty was to their country first we would have heard lots of complaining but we heard none. We heard none because one of their own was in the driver’s seat. It doesn’t matter how bad the driving is, if it is your driver you let him drive where ever he want to go. Even if he is taking you places you don’t want to go you don’t complain. I am amazed at how robotic the Republicans are in general. For them to be a party of no left turns for example and the driver is making left turns every couple of blocks, you would think that some passengers would speak out but it didn’t happen.
Now that Obama (a Democrat) is in the drivers seat all Republicans in Congress are complaining about everything. The sad thing is that they are complaining about the same things they didn’t complain about when they were driving. Now all of a sudden they are the party of no left turns again. Every time Obama makes a left turn they come together and protest. It is not possible for one person or group of people to always be right. When you put party before country that is the way it works. How can you do that and call yourself a patriot? Unless you mean you are a patriot to your party and not your country.
When Republicans were the leaders they were quick to call all who didn’t agree with the leaders unpatriotic or traitors. Now that Democrats are the leaders those rules no longer apply. When you put party ahead of country then it makes sense to make rule changes when you need to gain power or to win. In other words, to cheat. The question is how can you do that and still call yourself patriotic to your country? The answer is you can not.
America is a Capitalist/Socialist society and in this country money comes first. There are those that would disagree with me on that but when you step back and look at this country, that is what it has become. Companies at one time used to look at its employees as assets and the jobs they created as building America. Now it is all about profit and employee are liabilities. There is no such thing as making enough money for some people. Greed is not all bad. I say that because that love of money motivates some people to work harder and come up with good ideas. What is hurting America is the growing number of people who have what I call “Blind Greed”. That is when you have a love for money and nothing else matters. That blind greed allows a person to abuse, mistreat, and degrade another human being with the sole purpose of making another dollar.
People in power and people of wealth in general don’t seem to care about people anymore. It is as if they don’t understand that without people they can not make the dollar they love so very much. How can a nation survive when its citizens are not important? The answer is, it can not. When I say nation what I am really talking about is the big businesses or multi-national corporations of this nation. Like I said big business is running the government. The problem is we let them. Yes I include myself when I say we. One would think that when American companies move out of the country to improve profits, stockholders as well as the American people would be outraged. Rather than make a better product companies would rather hire cheaper workers and call the saving profit. The problem is we are not outraged. We continue to support companies that do this. We continue to buy their products. This needs to change.
Chapter 3
I have a friend named Denise but I call her Quetta who lives in San Antonio, Texas. That is a nickname we came up with while we were stationed at Lackland A.F.B. Anyway we were talking on the phone about politics recently. We were talking about what we would do if we were king for a day. I told her the first thing I would do is introduce what I would call the “Patriot Tax”. This tax would be for any American owned company that operates in other countries. It would be a heavy tax that would be based on the percentage of their product produced outside of the United States. I know that would piss off lot of big CEOs but I could live with that. One would think that as American citizens CEOs would want to keep their companies in the States. Maybe they do but their loyalty is to the bottom line. I know we can’t force anyone to love their country more than their bottom line but we can tax the hell out of those who don’t.
The second thing I would do is what Obama said he would do but has not. I would change Washington D.C. They like to say they are public servant and I would make them prove it. I would make all three branches of government subject to the UCMJ (uniform code of military justice). This would clean up most of the dirty politics and corruption the first day. There is no way to make politics perfect because they deal with too much money and power. That money and power within itself brings corruption. It makes no sense to me why those who volunteer to place their lives on the line in defense of the country for not much money are held to a higher standard than those elected to run it for much higher pay. It is because the people elected to run it are the ones who write the laws or make the rules. They know that they are there to lie and cheat so the rules they make for themselves are much more lenient than those they made for the military to follow. If you look bellow the surface what our elected officials are saying is “those who serve us (the military) must be patriotic, but we (elected officials) do not”. I would put an end to that unless they killed me first.
The third thing I would do and last one I will talk about is incarcerate all those involved in the AIG mess. Those in Congress that voted to change the laws to make the mess possible would be fired. There is not much difference between Bernie Madoff and AIG. He got about 150 years for what he did and AIG got bonuses. Madoff went to jail because he had lots of money, stole from a few rich people and no power. AIG has lots of money, stole from a lot of middle class people and have lobbyist in the government. Lobbyist means you have a direct line to Congress and that means power. When you have power you don’t do jail time unless you are caught on video and you confess. Then maybe you will do a little time but I doubt it.
The thing talked about lately is former Vice President Dick Cheney running a secret operation thru the CIA without congress being informed. Naturally the Republicans are defending Cheney. At first I was on Cheney’s side. If the only thing he did was set up a program and have a few meetings then I didn’t see the big deal. Now that I am hearing that the program cost over a million dollars while it was in operation is a different story. If this is true then I am against him and it should be investigated. The first question I would have is when did President Bush give Cheney the authority to tell the CIA what to do and to run any type operation in that organization? His answer would be “I do not recall”. That seem to be the answer people in Washington give when they are in trouble. When they are not in trouble they have plenty to say. Have you ever noticed how they go on and on about simple stuff. They give a two or three paragraph response to a question when a simple yes or no would suffice. A few weeks ago Cheney was all over TV bashing the Obama administration on almost everything they were doing. Now that they are talking about him and what he may have done while he was in office he is nowhere to be found. Why does he not defend himself? Only he and his aids know the answer to that one. It just seems strange that he was so willing to talk when all he could do was speculate. Now that he can deal in facts he is unwilling to speak. He knows that he could be in trouble so he is keeping his mouth shut. Cheney’s motives needs to be questioned. We need to know if he used his office to punish foes. There isn’t much chance of him going to jail because Democrats are too spineless for that. They could slap his hand and point a finger at him but that’s about it.
Our elected leaders are not patriotic to this country. Most are patriotic to their party. All are patriotic to money and power. What we need are leaders that love this country and its people. We need leaders that believe in that document called The Constitution. We need people in office that are accountable for their actions. Why are members of the armed forces held to a higher standard than politicians? Why don’t politicians get drug tested? The answer is easy, because they make their own rules. Apply that to your own job whatever it is. Does that make any sense to you? You get to decide what you are paid. You get to decide if you get a raise. You make all the rules that govern your job. I understand why they try so hard to stay in office. Now they have set themselves up with options. If they get voted out of office they go to companies they helped while they were in office or they get high paying lobbyist positions. Either way you look at it, when or if politicians leave office they are paid very well by those they helped while in office. The old saying, if you want to find corruption just follow the money, is never truer than in politics. The problem with money in politics is there is so much of it that it is hard to follow.
Chapter 4
A friend recently told me her husband (Earl) reads my blog. She said he like what I Have written so far but I need to open my eyes and live in the real world. He says that the things I want to happen only happen in a fantasy world. That there are too many evil people on this planet for us to ever live together in peace. Earl is right, I am writing about a fantasy world. The thing is that all improvements to society start out as a fantasy in someone’s mind. I understand that the things I write are alive only in my mind and to that Earl is right. That doesn’t mean that they can not become reality. If this blog starts people to talking about what could be, then maybe that conversation could spark the change that is needed. There are lots of good people in this world so don’t give up on us yet Earl.
Patriotism is lost because of the divide in the country. Above all we should be Americans first. The divide I’m talking about hurts everyone and it is everywhere. The name is different depending on the subject but it is there. What’s lacking is what the military calls comradery. Comradery is a good thing and it brings a group of people closer together. Binding them by something they have in common. It will make one member of the group risk his or her life to save another. The problem is it will also make some lie to protect someone who has done wrong. I’m not talking about something that I think happens. I’m talking about what I know and have seen first hand. If I remember correctly the saying was, “if you will not lie for me how can I expect you to die for me”. I understand the thought process but I don’t agree with it. That is the attitude police have when they abuse their power. They do it because they know other police officers will protect them. They are not patriotic. Being patriotic means doing what is right for the people or as it says on some police car doors “to protect and serve”. Some of the police out there seem to think that means “to protect and serve other police officers”.
When we give positions of power in society there must be a way to check to see if individuals are or have been corrupted by the power they were given. I don’t think that there is anyone out there that believes people CAN NOT be corrupted by power and or money. I also don’t believe that there is any way to know for sure who will or will not abuse their power. Because of that we need to check those in power and check them often. Anyone who objects to having their power checked is already corrupted without doubt. There is always an exception to every rule but I am speaking in general.
When we talk about patriotism that does not only mean the way we act towards the government and the military. This is a two way street. Look at how the government treats the military. I feel fortunate because I never bought into the military family idea. They try to sell you the military is one big happy family early in your basic training days. They tell you that the government or Department of Defense (DOD) will take care of you because your welfare is important. I learned that there was no truth to that story. The truth was a hard pill to swallow but it is what it is. When the DOD took away the free medical and dental benefits from the retirees, I knew the government didn’t even see them as being human let alone feel any sort of patriotism towards them. When that reality sunk in the military became just a job for me. A job I took pride in and did to the very best of my ability every single day I wore my uniform. My drive was gone. The reality was I provided a service that the government needed and that was all it was. I knew people that believed the military family idea and for them the military was everything. I didn’t fault them for their way of thinking; again, it is what it is. In general people who buy into the military family do very well and rise high in the service until retirement. The life expectancy for them is very short after retirement. They are the ones who hang out on base or try to find jobs on base just to hold on to that sense of belonging to the military family.
A friend (Quetta) and I were talking about the military family idea. She mentioned the military suicide rate and how it is going up. The military has a stigma on those who seek help from mental health. If you are treated by mental health it will be known by others in your unit. You will be labeled as crazy. Service members know this and I feel because of that reason they are slow to seek help when they have problems. Young men and women are sent to war because their government need them to kill people. The risk of service members being killed is preferred over being injured. Especially when it comes to brain injuries or mental health issues. Death is cheaper in the long run than treating injuries. Why else would the government tell doctors to avoid diagnosing soldiers with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)? The answer is simple; it’s all about the money. The government wants soldiers to be patriotic to their country but their country is not being patriotic to the soldiers. The fact that the suicide rate for soldiers is going up is good news for the government because it saves them money. The government is a business and the military is part of that business. In business today the only thing that matters is the bottom line.
The people in Congress understand the government is just a business. That is why you see them being paid by special interest groups to help their companies profit. These Congress people like to wave the American flag and talk about how they are public servants when all they are doing is looking out for themselves. It is not possible to be patriotic to the country and not care about the people. This is something that has been hard for me to accept. Watching the citizens of this country fight each other about petty things while they are being raped by the elected officials.
I just don’t get it. How can you claim to love this country when your actions show you are helping to destroy it? It is the same argument I have with those who are against abortion. How can they claim to care about the rights of the unborn, when their actions show they don’t care about the rights of the born? That is why I believe most people don’t have a position of their own. They just support the views of their party even if those views they are supporting goes against what they need in their own lives. In most cases I will try to take care of myself first. You could say that is being selfish but I believe that if I don’t take care of myself I can’t take care of others. That is my rule in general but like I have said before, there is always an exception to every rule.
To close this up the last thing I will mention has to do with something Kirby (another friend) and I were talking about. We got on the subject of the tobacco chewing, NASCAR watching (no offence Sara and Jim), Confederate Flag waving people. The fact is that in most cases these people are Republicans. Republicans like to talk if not brag about how patriotic they are to anyone willing to listen. Now everyone knows that we as Americans want to be number one in everything we do. Given that fact, why would any group of people want to fly the Confederate flag when the south lost the war? I have heard people say stuff like “it is about remembering our heritage” or “we are rebels”. I just wondered why anyone would want to allied with the losing team. In my mind it would be like standing on the side line cheering “we’re number two, we’re number two”. That never made sense to me. Kirby looks at it differently. He said the Confederates tried to break away from the Union. Doing this would have hurt the country if not destroy it. The actions of the Confederates said “We no longer want to be one of you”. If saying it wasn’t enough they were willing to kill (and they did) U.S. citizens to accomplish the task. I don’t think you can get any more unpatriotic than that.
I had never looked at it that way and I must say he has a very good point. Why would any patriotic American individual or group of people want to fly the colors of the very people that tried to bring this country down? If you are a patriot you would not. In most cases the people or group that has to say or tell others what they are, is the least of it. In other words the person that tells you that they are your friend the most will be the first to stab you in the back.
Can a country that doesn’t care about its citizens and its citizens don’t care about its country last forever?
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