THIS 'N THAT...

  -While there is great joy over the Supreme Court's decisions concerning gay rights and same sex marriage, it's equally important to note the strong regressive tilt of this court.  The regressive majority ignored both precedent and the will of Congress by gutting the Voting Rights Act and setting the stage to destroy most affirmative action programs across the nation.   (within hours of the court's decision, Texas immediately reinstituted a new map of Congressional districts disenfranchising Hispanic voters all over the state...but as Justice Roberts said, racism is no longer a problem in this country.  Times have changed) It has further eroded the 4th amendment by allowing government to forcibly take a D.N.A. sample from a citizen who has been arrested but not convicted of any crime.  It is falling over backward to side with corporations against labor and consumers.  The United States Chamber of Commerce, the most evil organization in this country, was on the winning side of over 90% of the cases it filed briefs on.  Kennedy's libertarian streak my play well for gay rights, but if you are a worker, consumer or an innocent caught up with the police, this court is not your friend in any way.

-Former President George Bush says N.S.A. leaker Edward Snowden has harmed our national security.  We now have the ultimate example of the pot calling the kettle black.  Bush violated federal law... hell, he folded, spindled and mutilated it... when he ordered the N.S.A. to spy on all Americans.  He wrecked the 4th amendment when he grabbed all Internet activity, as well as cell phone and any electronic communications, without a warrant, probable cause or a court order.  (all mandated by the constitution)  He took us to war twice and lied about the reasons resulting in the deaths of thousands of American soldiers, wounding of hundreds of thousands more, killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and all based on a claim of self defense which was a lie from the very beginning.  His two wars, plus huge tax cuts for the rich and a total abandonment of any kind of financial regulation, set the stage for the worst depression in over 50 years and at the end of his term, this nation was an economic and military basket case.  Snowden only told Americans Obama was continuing to out Bush, Bush on spying and intrusive surveillance.  Bush has made this nation less secure for years into the future with his phony war on terror.  Maybe the new definition of chutzpah is George Bush criticizing anyone for doing harm to this nation's security.

-Is anyone surprised by the response of prominent, supposedly progressive Democrats, to Snowden's revelations?  Harry Reid, Diane Feinstein, Obama, John Kerry et.al. coming together as a Greek chorus in one voice declaring there is nothing wrong with government spying...it's all legal...we have known about this for at least 7 years...there are adequate safeguards and checks built into the system...this is saving lives...it prevents terrorism...Close your eyes and put these words into the mouths of Cheney, Wolfowitz, Pearl, Fife, Bolton or any of the other PNAC gang and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them and those supposed progressives among Democrats in Congress.  When did this coup take place?

-Snowden's leaks do spell huge problems for the U.S. abroad.  Europeans, except for the U.K., woke up to find that great sucking sound they were hearing was all their private information and communications going up into the N.S.A. vacuum.  They found out there is no check on their American big brother.  This is no F.I.S.A. (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court to limit America's reach.  Many of these nations have very strict privacy laws and they now know such laws are useless against U.S. spying.  This is going to cool a wide range of issues including a free trade agreement, cyber spying and attacks which the U.S. has accused China and Russia of carrying out against us.  The recent news of the U.S. bugging European Union missions and embassies is a further embarrassment for Obama as many in Europe believe this spying had nothing to do with national security and much more to do with good, old fashioned commercial espionage.

-California Attorney General Kamala Harris has been getting great press for her "principled" stand which forced banks to pony up billions to compensate homeowners who were bilked, cheated, defrauded, flimflammed and robbed by these august institutions of free market capitalism.  Now we find out a large portion of California's share didn't go to homeowners, but rather was used to pay down the state debt and Harris did nothing to stop it.  We further discover the vast majority of homeowners who were victimized received checks in amounts ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.  The jokes on us again.  We've been had.  This too was a scam.  Harris did nothing to bring real help or relief to homeowners and the settlement was chump-change for the big banks.  She sold us out for headlines and political gain living up to her political roots which were watered for years by Willie Brown.

-Obama says the U.S. will arm only "moderate" Syrians in their civil war.  How well do you think that will go given our track record in the Middle East of identifying friends and foes?  Do you think the C.I.A. has any idea who's who over there any more than they did in Iraq or Afghanistan?  This is a recipe for disaster as usual.

-Russia threatens to send more sophisticated missile defense systems to Syria.  Their purpose would be to shoot down American planes when we set up a "no fly zone" in Syria.  (which we will do)  The Obama administration has done nothing about this.  They have not proposed any form of retaliation.  Yet, they are warning Russia, Uruguay, Hong Kong and anyone else who might think about giving asylum to Edward Snowden...huh?  What does this say about what Snowden revealed?  Russian technology would kill American pilots and we don't raise our voices even in mild protest, but we publically threaten anyone who protects Snowden?

-Oil is over $100 a barrel this week.  This is not because there has been a rise in demand.  In fact, new analysis concludes worldwide demand will continue to fall over the next two to three years.  Then the increase must be because of a dramatic drop in supply right?  Once again, the U.S. is pumping more oil than it has in 20 years and the global supply is stable, if not growing.  So why are prices skyrocketing...speculators.  Speculators are responsible for a much as 30-40% of the price of a barrel of oil.  Why do we permit this?  Why do we allow for oil futures to be traded?  Why have we allowed monied interests to turn speculation on oil into the latest, greatest casino floor?  We do not benefit in any way from speculator's activities.  Why don't we treat oil like a public utility and ban speculation?  It would immediately reduce a barrel of oil to about $70...drop prices at the pump to about $2.25 a gallon...strengthen the American economy because of cheaper energy for manufacturing and other needs and wouldn't affect supply and demand.

-What do China, Japan, France, Germany and Russia, among other countries, have in common?  Their populations are aging and not being replaced by enough younger workers.  The United States is also aging and not producing enough native young people.  However, immigration has offset this demographic time bomb enabling this country, and its economy, to continue to grow.  Immigrants are a great boon to this nation, a boon other nations envy.  Yet, we hear Republicans in the House will refuse to support the immigration bill just reported out of the Senate.  The reason...?   In over 180 Republican House districts, the population is actually "whiter" after the 2010 round of congressional gerrymandering than they were before.  These older, regressive, white voters do not want any path to citizenship for illegal immigrants even if it might benefit the nation and their representatives in the House are quite willing to accede to their demands.  The Republicans are officially the "white" people's party and if the House kills immigration reform, it is possible it could cease to be a national party.

-In the Senate immigration bill they will spend over $30 billion to double the number of border patrol agents and build more fences.  This at a time when the average border patrol agent catches fewer than 100 border crossers a year.  In the past, border patrol agents would catch upwards of 600 illegal border crossers a year.  Does anyone wonder if the additional $30 billion is just window dressing or, in more common regressive terminology, throwing money at the problem?  Regressives oppose throwing money at hunger in the form of food stamps...they hate the idea of funding additional housing through Section 8 vouchers...they are appalled at proposals to spend more on education in the form of more student aid of forgiving some of the massive debt students have taken on which could derail economic growth in the future...but they are thrilled to throw money at the border, prisons and the Pentagon.  What am I missing?

-Happy Fourth of July...we became a nation dedicated to certain inalienable rights and we sit on the cusp of watching many of those rights cease to exist.  Are we willing to fight, like the millions in Egypt, for our constitution and our democracy and our way of life, or are we willing to watch the 1% continue to take more and more resources at everyone else's expense.  It really is up to you.  I have great faith.