The Conundrum of the Tea Party Complainers

Tax day is upon us. The Tea Party activists are churned up into a media frenzy led by the great orator and stateswomen – Sarah Palin. Yesterday she made the point that people should be able to keep more of the money they earn so they can spend the money how they wish and not how the big bad government wishes. Well, thanks to Gail Collins of the NY Times, a conundrum is indeed before us.

Stay with me on this one. According to the Tax Policy Center 47 percent – the lowest income American households – did not have to pay any income tax in 2009. This was largely aided by the Obama stimulus plan that included tax credits for families with income under $50,000. But taxation is the core issue of the Tea Party, right? One would think so, but wait, there’s more…

According to Gallop Polls 45 percent of the Tea Party members have income below $50,000. Stay with me here. According to a NY Times/CBS Poll, The Tea Party is the only organization that has a majority of members who think their taxation is unfair. So we have maybe millions of pot bellied, middle aged white folks, who largely pay no taxes driving around the country complaining about their unfair tax burden!!

As Gail Collins eludes- clearly this is not the core reason for their existence, not the rag they treasure chewing more than any other. These patriots of the Tea Party crawled out of the woodwork in mass only after Obama was elected. They were conspicuously absent for eight years while Bush spent trillions on war like a drunken Yale freshman, and even treaded lightly on Clinton for eight years, despite his immoral behavior.

The Obama administration has exposed them to what they really are- good ole racial and homophobic bigots still smarting from the reality of being governed by a black man, with an Arab sounding name, who they believe was not even born in the US. They proudly carry their “Kill Obama-care” signs and yell profanities at politicians in the name of lower taxes, liberty, freedom, and taking back America. Yeah right. They all seem to have lost their sheets and don’t know where to find them.

Strategic Arms Insanity

Ok, let’s all get up and do the happy dance. Come on- out of your seat! President Obama has signed a new nuclear arms reduction treaty. Each side will reduce their nuclear warhead count to 1550 over the next seven years. We need to celebrate, right?

Before we get too excited, we should reflect on just how meaningless this all really is. These are really big hydrogen bombs- a thousand to ten thousand times more powerful than the bombs we dropped on Japan. One of these bombs can wipe out New England. Ten to twenty of these bombs can kill all life in the continental United States. Having 1550 of these dooms day weapons still sounds like “overkill” to me- which, by the way- is the source of the saying.

Yet we are asked to do the happy dance. I’m afraid this is much ado about nothing. Until all nuclear weapons are buried we have nothing to celebrate- except less “overkill”- what ever that is.

President Obama Endorses the Tea Party

In a rare meeting with Sarah Palin at the White House following the announcement to open offshore drilling in Alaska, President Obama has decided to endorse the Tea Party. He plans to address the Tea Party at the gala assembly on April 15th in Washington. Sarah Palin will introduce the President He’s expected to make another landmark speech denouncing same sex marriage rights and reversing his position on abortion.

Minority Leader John Boehner immediately renounced his support for the Tea Party calling it a Green Tea Party, and warned of President Obama being a sheep in wolf's clothing, who will undermine everything the Republicans stand for by agreeing with them.

Rush Limbaugh has decided to go to Costa Rica as promised, but he did refer to the President as “two faced” for giving up his long held liberal beliefs to follow the Conservative agenda.

Obama Says Drill Baby Drill!!

Once again the line is blurred. I’m feeling oh just a little betrayed, but that seems to be the cost getting anything done in Washington. All the southern coastal conservative states are getting their drilling rights, just like John McCain and Sarah Palin promised. The question is, has President Obama made a new backroom deal in exchange for support of the Climate Bill that’s looming on the horizon, or is this just a clear case of “Oops, I thought I was reaffirming the drilling ban, you know… what I campaigned on… who changed the wording here??!! Rahm what did you do to me??!!!” No such luck...

This carefully calculated return to drilling is tragic if not laughable. We have a continued ban on drilling for the liberal states that oppose it, i.e. the whole west coast and the liberal elites from New Jersey to Maine, while the states that all voted for McCain can pollute their coastlines to their little hearts content- the latest version of “win-win” I suppose.

This geo-political executive gerrymandering could be the new vehicle for getting everything done. Just give people what they want in the states where they live- wow! Why didn’t he think of this sooner? He could’ve had full bi-partisan support for health reform if any state that didn’t want it could just say “No thanks”. We could even initiate geo-political tax distributions. If a state opts out of a government program, everybody’s income tax in that state could be prorated lower- and vice versa.

The states that want nothing would pay no taxes at all, except of course for defense, social security, Medicare, interstate highways, bridges, federally funded airports, trains, flood control dams, inland waterway maintenance, park subsidies, main street renovations, environmental pollution remediation, border patrol, coast guard rescue, drug interdiction, federal crime prosecution, human rights abuses, veterans rights, ADA enforcement, US Postal Service, education, student loans, and several other minor items I didn’t think of!

Applying federal guidelines in such an obviously political way is a slippery slope- one I would not even want to ski down! Shame on you President Obama!

Bon Voyage Rush Limbaugh!

I’ve been enjoying the conservative rant this week- especially Rush Limbaugh. Wasn’t he moving to Costa Rica if the health reform passed??? I suppose he didn’t really mean it. I wonder what else he really doesn’t mean when he rants??

According to the conservatives we’ve lost our freedom, tyranny is ruling in Washington, and the country is going to socialist hell in a hand basket. Come November all the Democrats will be booted out of office and life will return to normal, whew- just in time.

I chuckle at the thought of majority rule being called tyranny. These whining conservatives must think democracy is rule by minority. Taken one step farther, maybe the smallest minority would have the most power by their definition of democracy. Yep. Then the party that’s giving tea a bad name could run the government, ole lip stick Palin could set us straight (as opposed to gay), and everything would be hunky dory. You betcha.

Rush has his Hanes in a wad over the name calling too- calls them a bunch of babies. He says he gets death threats everyday. He says it comes with the job. Live with it. Of course if he didn’t slam liberals on a daily basis he wouldn’t have an audience or a program. Name calling is his life blood. The uglier the better. Unfortunately he has a large audience that believes and worships his every word. I try not to think about that too much. I get goose bumps.

Oh well, we got some health reforms. Maybe the people who benefit from these reforms will like it. Maybe some Republicans will get booted for being anti-people and too pro-corporation. Probably not, but the thought takes away my goose bumps.

No, No, No, and No

I feel like I’m living in a Lewis Carroll world of inverted logic. Now the party of “No” is busy figuring out how to repeal the Health Bill even before the ink dries on Obama’s signature- does this make them the party of “Un-No” or “Oh No”?

Many states also want to pass laws that would prohibit the Federal Government from mandating private health insurance. The irony of this sanctimonious GOP opposition is that it was a Republican idea first proposed by Senator McCain many years ago, and as we all know, also implemented by Republican Mitt Romney when he was the Governor of Massachusetts.

This is nothing more than a giveaway for the private health insurance corporations- universal coverage the capitalist way. They're clicking their heals at the thought of 32 million new consumers- not patients. Their stock is soaring.

Mandatory private health insurance goes against everything Democrats stand for, yet they were forced to include it because the health cartel bought everybody- key Democrats included.

The only other way to achieve universal health coverage is by providing Medicare for all. Since that would essentially kill the capitalist health system, hell would freeze over two or three times before we’d see that day, so the only means to universal coverage is through a contract with the devil.

If the Republicans had implemented this bill it would've been as hailed as a pillar of capitalism. Democrats would be screaming, or at least whining…

The bottom line is the GOP hates Democrats even when they implement GOP ideas, or especially when they implement GOP ideas. Duh… Help me out white rabbit, I think I ate the wrong mushroom.

My First Day on Medicare

Today was my first day on Medicare- oh, excuse me a minute while I adjust my Lazyboy- there, that’s better… All in all, it’s been a rather uneventful day after I drove my Saab all the way to the garage dragging a rear wheel because the hand brake had frozen after a week of no use, and after enduring a 75-degree temperature change. We had a warm rain followed by the Montreal Express and the temp dropped from +55 to –20.

The old Saab is ten years old, but in buggy years that’s at least 70, maybe more. I never would’ve made it without blowing out the tire except the road was snow covered. That left rear tire slid 10 miles. The guy at the garage in Franconia couldn’t believe it when he saw me dragging my hind wheel into the parking lot.

The car did have a tendency to pull a little to one side, but only when I hit dry patches. Unfortunately, that was one of my good tires, but I sprang for a whole new set of Blizzaks in addition to getting the rear brakes fixed and a few other nuisance malfunctions.

The one thing that may force me to finally say goodbye to the old Saab is my now defunct seat heater. I loved that seat heater. It would get hot enough to fry eggs and after a long day of skiing nothing felt better on the ride home. I’m thinking of transferring the seat heater from the passenger side, but it could be a summer job.

Funny thing about old cars, they seem to work ok as long as you drive them everyday, but as soon as you let them remain idle they don’t work so well.

If we keep our selves active like old cars we can run a long time too. I saw Joe Nelson (my skiing idol) on the Cannon tram today. He was proudly wearing his 90+ patch on his parka. I think he’s 92, but he skis like a sixty year old. Skiing is free after 65, so that means he’s been skiing free for over 27 years. He’s one of those guys that if you asked if he skied all his life he’d say, “Not yet”.

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, but it doesn’t matter in New Hampshire because we always get 8 more weeks of winter regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil does. I’ll just keep skiing and enjoy the warm satisfaction of finally getting single payer health care.

Now where’s that recliner lever, oh that’s better. Good night.

The Old Populism- See No Evil

As the media and the populist majority joyfully drive the last stake into health reform I can’t help but feel like we’re re-living a 50’s era myopia. Replace race relations with health care and we’re back in time 50-60 years. 

The majority of the electorate favored segregation back then. Dixiecrats took their bigotry to the Democratic convention. Governors called out the National Guard to defend the schools from integration. Outsiders from the north were murdered by the KKK, beaten, kicked and jailed by the police for radical behavior such as sitting in a diner, or riding on a bus, walking down the street, or even more radical, for helping people register to vote.

It took a Supreme Court ruling to break the deadlock. It took assassinations of a president, his brother, and a black minister to wake up America to the injustices we accepted- as if they were manifest destiny.

Today 45 million people live without health care. Some admittedly don’t want it. Some don’t need it. But millions of people want it and need it. Yet we turn away from their need just like we walked by “White Only” water fountains and restrooms. Our myopia blurs our conscience and we accept the injustice benignly. We can’t feel ashamed if we don’t see it.

So we keep our eyes on the insured, the healthy, the employed, the educated, and try not to  feel ashamed for our collective neglect of millions of Americans who need health care and can’t get it. I suppose deep inside we hope they’ll get by somehow.

Someday the sorry state of health care may lead to a more activist approach to health care reform like the civil rights movement in the 50's and 60's. In the mean time we  might as well have a sign on the hospital entrance that says. “Insured Only”.

A Popular Populism and Health Reform

Before yesterday’s landmark thumping of Martha Coakley Republicans have enjoyed a populist following of hard working, largely self employed middle class Americans, convinced to the core that big government is their enemy and nemesis hell bent on blocking their quest for the American dream- living free and unencumbered by government regulation and able to keep the money they earn and spend it however they choose.

The basic idea is sound, even romantic that we all enjoy the opportunity to seek a life of our own making. The Republicans have strong alignment at the top and the bottom- billionaires and the Joe Plumbers all support the Republican Party for the same reasons.

Somewhere along the political road Republicans have managed to convince a large middle class America that Democrats only offer socialism, roadblocks, regulation, restrictions and taxes- the antithesis of the American dream. Somewhere along that political road they also developed selective amnesia about being laid off from work because their employer outsourced the work to China, or fight vehemently to keep government out of health care even if it means being uninsured and under cared for, and forget that their home value and 401k deflation was a direct result of their unbridled American dream.

People are saying the health reform bill is now in trouble. The reality is health reform was in trouble long ago. Reform died months ago when the public option was killed in the Senate.  The President failed to sell reform to America.  Conservatives and Progressives hate it for different reasons. The great middle class is employed; they already have health care, and they largely don’t think health care needs reforming. The 30 million or so people who would benefit from health reform don’t have a voice- as large as the number is it’s only 10 percent of the population.

The November elections will likely turn out to be similar to Massachusetts and Congress will be deadlocked for the remainder President Obama’s first, and likely his only term of office. Health reform may come up again in another 12-15 years. In the mean time we’ll be living with the status quo- if we’re lucky.

Opponents of Same Sex Marriage Law in NH Firing up at Town Meetings

On January 1st, 2010, New Hampshire became the 5th state in the Union to legally recognize and permit same sex marriage. This action re-energizes the state’s motto, “Live Free or Die” by standing up for the civil rights of a minority of people who continue to be attacked both virtually and literally throughout the world. Same sex equality has more emotional opponents than any issue aside from abortion, and generally the same like-minded group finds coherent agreement on both subjects.

Opponents are now gearing up to petition opposition to same sex marriage at upcoming town meetings to change the state constitution, so gay and lesbian citizens can forever have their civil rights denied and banned. Live free or die seems to be going the way of the Old Man, but not without a fight.

At least the NH state legislature is firmly in favor of same sex civil rights. This body has been criticized for being too much democracy- a very inefficient group and the country’s largest state legislature- originally set at one representative for every 100 families, today is capped at 400 members. My hat goes off to them for taking the high ground on civil rights and for being prepared to defend their position against the inevitable opposition that will follow.

Our attempts to provide equal rights to all citizens are more challenged than ever by an ever-growing conservative religious right wing fired up and prodded on by their media demagogs. If traditional family values are the opponents main thrust for opposition to same sex marriage, maybe we should start petitions for town warrants to ban divorce. If children are to be raised in a home defined by one man and one woman, then why not mandate the process? If a traditional marriage petition gets on my town warrant, maybe I’ll push for a “no divorce” petition to help their cause. It seems equally reasonable to me, and of course equally absurd.