Strike Baby, Strike!

Time to read about my dirty little secret, my single thwarting political indulgence, it isn’t sexy or provocative, it doesn’t have the raw emotional impact of abortion or that stinging social divide that immigration does. However this issue is vastly important, with this issue the necessity to our countries economic stability is trumped only by its possibility for success in reemerging a once healthy and vibrant American middle class. I’m talking about outsourcing and labor relations. Do I have you hot yet?

If you’ve been paying any attention to the news as of late, you would have obviously noticed that GM’s work force, one of Detroit’s “big 3” has gone on strike, for the first time in 37 years, and I might add at a time when it is much more popular to purchase a Toyota Prius over a Saturn Ion. I’m not completely blaming GM, cheep markets, low tariffs, increase safety and fuel efficiency around the world all add up to take a heavy toll on American made automobile manufacturer’s ability to compete. Yet with that, I find myself mentally chanting...Strike Baby, Strike!

Don't feel so bad for these C.E.O.'s are making 250 to 300 times that of their average worker compared to in 1975 when that figure was more inside the ball park of 65-70 times, it is difficult to look at modern day men of business and feel sympathy for their ruin. Our real troubles should be focused on today’s middle class manufacturing jobs, out meat packing industries, our airplane industries, our textile industries and especially our automobile industries, the last true competitor of industry within the United States.

My dark blue, protectionist blood boils every time our government signs another “free” trade deal with some underdeveloped, disenfranchised nation. Don’t get me wrong I am in favor of extending the mighty economic arm of this country to all those whom can stand to benefit, but not without strict promises that are accompanied by the most sincere of human rights and workers rights regulations. To those who say, no country with a McDonalds or Wal-Mart has every attacked the United States…I say you’re an idiot, your right Cambodia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Samoa, they’ve never attacked us, inadvertently anyways, to say nothing of the fact that those countries also, don’t have the ability or resources to attack us. And if your argument for U.S. national security strategy is to spread the smell of burnt chicken nuggets and greezy french fries as far and as much as we possibly can, well then you’re also an idiot. We cannot continue to ship American jobs to Central America, the Middle East and East Asia without an iron firm declaration of assurance, that those countries will treat their workers right, pay them a decent living wage, and provide some sort of health benefits while monitoring the safety of the products they produce.

We need to help protect those workers who now bravely picket at GM locations across the country by ensuring that our American Corporations are not only looking out for the piggy banks of their shareholders but are ensuring the safety of its employee’s pensions, providing adequate health care and providing a decent living wage. We need to change our policies and protect our middle class workers, I’m hate to be a realist here but not every American wants to go to college, nor should they, nor could they and we as an economy needs to make sure that through responsible policies jobs in the manufacturing sector still exist for future generations – decrease free trade agreements, increase trade tariffs, increase tax incentives for companies who decide to stay rooted in American soil, do whatever it takes, this is America!

Competency vs. Experience

Everyone is scrutinizing Barack Obama; presidential candidate and Democratic senator from land of Lincoln for being incapable of performing as president due to the fact that in their opinion, he lacks “experience”. Now, the untrained unequipped eye he may look like a mere first term (2 year) member of the U.S. Senate, but on the contrary if we look deeper into Obama’s past and even deeper into the halls of history we may find a differing view point.

Too often in today’s political arena we look for administrative and executive experience, looking to our nation’s governors to lead the way, and although great presidents like FDR, Wilson, Regan and Clinton were all former governors it takes more than being used to signing a bill in law and nominating cabinet officials to master the reigns of presidency. I believe, sound judgment, life skills and the ability to make a clear decision based on all available information is crucial in leading the United States into the 21st century.

Barack, I feel has those qualities, and many more needed to do the job the right way. He is seriously intelligent, worldly, a mastermind of engaging a problem with a keen analytical mindset, the likes of which I have not seen adopted in quite some time, he is forthright and from what I’ve seen, steadfast in his resolve. His message of hope is not a campaign slogan; it’s a call for change to a system that is sick and in need of respiration. He has traveled the world and in a time where our leaders need to have the skills necessary to understand the world from outside the confines of our own self perceptions, Barack is the candidate that can bring forth a objective viewpoint and restore the United State’s global reputation as a philanthropic nation of peacemakers and healers, and not a country of global imperialism.

Yes experience is necessary, a president needs to know what players to put in what position, they need to know how to develop fast relationships with Congress to get their agenda off the ground, and they need to be familiar with all aspect of the executive branch so that quick, efficient decisions can be made. But I ask, what is experience with out judgment? What is seniority without humility? I believe that those things are the direct result of what we now experience every day with our current administration.

Playin Politics with War Is Not a Game

I really don’t like the republican ideology, if you know me it’s really no secret that I fervently with an earnest temperament disagree with those who; believe in amending the constitution to take away civil rights, hand out tax cuts to big business like candy on Christmas, spend more money on national defense than 10 of the worlds leading westernized democracy’s combined and I certainly do not approve of the idea of Mike Brown being “the guy” for FEMA. However I do have friends that are republicans, I have family members as well who voted for George Bush, some did it twice and although I disagree with them, respectfully of course I am a big enough man to separate ideological ineptitude from general good hearted character, which most of my republican family members and friends possess.

So as you can imagine I enjoy when Democrats on the hill and in the media get it right when criticizing this administration who has taken hostage true conservatism. Yet I read something in the paper today that disturbed me to my very core. Senator Joe Biden, a Democratic Senator for over 3 decades, highly respected presidential nominee who has served on the Senate Foreign Relations committee (currently as chairman) for over 2 decades – a post which comes with it a certain level of needed integrity made an unusual comment. Senator Biden accused President Bush of politicizing the conflict in Iraq. Biden suggested that by Bush implementing his latest plan – the surge – he is somehow trying to, extend the United State’s occupancy of Iraq long enough so that the Democrats and possible future democratic president will be forced into a position where by they will inherit an extremely unpopular war, and thus crippling their chances of any true ideological progress.

Call me an optimist, call me young and foolishly naive but something tells me that no American President, especially not one who has been so passionately bull headed about his reasons for occupying/staying in Iraq would ever, ever use military soldiers and American tax capitol as pawns in their own political world chess match. We speak about division in this country, we speak about polarization as if their necessities to how we run our political television show, but these words are not characteristics, they are infections. Diseases killing the discourse in this country and I for one am not for Democrat or Republican who feed this monster with their poisoned rhetoric.

George Bush is no doubt one of the worst Presidents in the United State’s history. He has deflated our national surplus, increase our foreign trade debt, ballooned our now 9 trillion plus dollar debt, tarnished our international imagine, undermined our constitution and worse yet has politicized some of our most sacred of institutions; the Justice Department, Supreme Court and the Surgeon General’s office to name a few. However I will not believe that he is playing politics with the Iraq conflict, and those who choose to accuse him of such better be able to produce some very hard and very tangible evidence. Shame on you Senator Biden, first you plagiarize my hero, Bobby Kennedy and now this. Democrats are supposed to better than that.

George Bush has fucked this whole thing up no doubt about that, but he did it through his own self righteous convictions, and not at the hands of some perfidious pollster. Hey at least I’ve said something sort of nice about President Bush, right?