Without acknowledging it, we have been at war for decades with the people behind Project 2025 – the white supremacists, the religious fanatics, the power-hungry oligarchs. We have now lost that war, and only when we accept that fact will we know how to fight back. The courts will not save us, the cowardly, feckless Congress will not save us, the media will not save us. We are on our own, those on both the left and right, and we’d better figure out fast how to join forces and recover what has been taken from all of us in this war. To form the resistance. I’m 76. I will be out on the streets at every demonstration, and will be singing the songs (and writing them) and raising my fist. What the resistance needs is a charismatic leader with the gravitas of MLK or Gandhi. Who could that be?
Posts Tagged ‘congress’
The War We Lost
Posted in politics, Republican, voting, tagged congress, Fascism, Gandhi, MLK, resistance, war on February 24, 2025| 1 Comment »
America’s Achilles Heel: Permanent Incumbency in Congress
Posted in politics, tagged citizen politicians, congress, corruption, founders, incumbency, permanent incumbency, senate, term limits on January 6, 2010| 6 Comments »
I wrote a song last year (“Politician Blues / Homo Electus”) that railed against the institutionalized corruption and incompetence in Congress – the consequence of “permanent incumbency”. Truth is, the overwhelming majority of Senators and Congressmen – on both sides of the aisle – have the objective of spending their entire careers as politicians. We, the people, suffer as a result. I found the concept below very compelling, and encourage the millions (:-) of Rantcaster followers to pass this message on:
Congressional Reform Act of 2010
1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.
A. Two Six year Senate terms
B. Six Two year House terms
C. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
2. No Tenure / No Pension:
A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, server your term(s), then go home and back to work.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
If you agree with the above, pass it on to all in your address list. If not, just delete.
Offshore Drilling: GOP Dishonesty rampant
Posted in business, energy policy, environment, offshore drilling, politics, Technology, tagged bamboozle, Bush, congress, energy, energy policy, foreign oil, gasoline prices, mental recession, offshore drilling, Phil Gramm, Republicans, US Energy Department on August 4, 2008| 3 Comments »
I don’t think there has ever been more dishonest Congressional pandering to the electorate than the current (and overwhelmingly Republican) bamboozle to expand offshore drilling as a near-term panacea for high gasoline prices. There is not a shred of evidence that this would have an impact in the next ten years; even the US Energy Department’s report on the subject sees no likely impact before 2030 – and a minuscule impact even then. The White House, and Congressional Republicans rightfully paranoid about their election prospects in November, are simply making up “facts” to placate angry voters. Perhaps, on advice from former Senator Phil Gramm, Republicans hope that the “positive psychology” of expanded offshore drilling will mitigate the “mental recession” we are now in. This is truly pathetic, and says more about the sorry state of Republican politics than their position on almost any other issue.
I predict that history will assign the biggest black mark to the Bush Administration not for his Iraq debacle, Katrina chaos, Abu Ghraib / Guantanamo torture, illegal wiretapping or Justice Department failures, but for his failure to marshal a willing American public, on Sept. 12, 2001, to join in a massive technology and conservation undertaking to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. Had he seized that opportunity, now lost, there is no doubt in my mind that we could have achieved that goal within the 8 years of George Bush’s presidency, and he would have assured his position in the pantheon of visionary leaders who rose to the challenge. Alas, we we were instead told to go shopping. The bogus posturing on expanded offshore drilling must be the last nail in the coffin of a failed national energy policy, with both Republicans and Democrats destined for the Hall of Shame.
Moon the Buffoon at Noon
Posted in politics, tagged boy in the bubble, buffoon, congress, George W. Bush, moon, president on April 1, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Our President lives in a bubble: doesn’t read newspapers, doesn’t watch the evening news (though I gotta believe he catches some of Fox’s world-class journalism from time to time), doesn’t listen to NPR, doesn’t speak to or hear comments from audiences that are not hand-picked sycophants. His view of the world, and awareness of what the world thinks of him, is filtered by the cadre of Administration and Congressional toadies who live in fear of provoking the infantile W’s ire. The result? A singular disaster in American history. So, how do we the people let W know that we are less than enthralled by his performance as leader of the free world? I propose a simple, elegant display of dismay and disapproval: a mass-mooning of the Commander in Chief at the stroke of Noon (Eastern Standard Time / GMT – 6) on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 – MOON THE BUFFOON AT NOON. This is the 8th anniversary of the day on which George Bush was NOT elected President of the United States, but ended up in that role anyway, thanks to the sinister machinations of his evil handlers and a compliant Supreme Court. George Bush has – deservedly – been the butt of many jokes by the likes of Jay Leno, David Letterman, John Stewart et al over the years. Let’s all show W what we think of him by pointing our collective butts in his direction at the appointed hour (GPS coordinates for the White House are, for obvious reasons, not published, but the Capitol Building [N 38 degrees.53.393 : W 077 degrees.00.365] should be close enough for government work, as they say). Truth be told, our feckless Congress is no less deserving of our contempt. Please don’t sit on this idea. Pass it on. No ifs, ands or butts.
Citizen Signing Statements: Taking a cue from W’s addiction
Posted in politics, tagged Bush, congress, Iraq, legislation, signing statements on January 30, 2008| 2 Comments »
One outrageous legacy of the Bush presidency is his habit of routinely executing “signing statements” attached to legislation that he “approves”, signaling his intention to dispute, ignore or otherwise hold in contempt laws and regulations that have passed through Congress. The latest example is W’s signing statement undermining Congress’s ban on permanent bases in Iraq. Well, what’s good enough for W is good enough for John Q. Public, I say! Thus, I propose a “Citizen’s Signing Statement Initiative“, whereby the rest of us can refuse to comply with legislation and regulation that we find inconvenient, irksome or expensive. I’m thinking, say, income taxes, speed limits, elections “won” by Republican candidates, whatever. Let’s follow the Decider’s lead in showing utter contempt for the laws of the land! Kindly send suggested Citizen’s Signing Statement Initiative targets to Rantcaster.
Rantcaster 
