Reptilian Agenda! Inside The GOP Machine.

Reptilian Agenda Headerby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

Reptilian Agenda! Inside the GOP Machine.

Humanity has been a work in progress. Within our DNA we carry the history of human evolution. It is ironic that those who purport to know so much about the moment life begins, are usually profoundly ignorant, or simply ignore the graphic and irrefutable evidence of embryonic development. Those who have studied fetal development have noted the stages of human evolution displayed at the various stages of development.

The Triune Human Brain

Within each human being there exists the reptilian brain upon which the higher functioning brain sections reside.

At an early point we look like the first “Lung Fish” that crawled up on to dry land from the primordial seas. We have gills which shrink, become vestigial and eventually disappear. We have tails which shorten and are absorbed and become our lower spines. These are the gross stages which can be observed as we develop. Similarly, our brains develop in stages. However, instead of the early prototype brain being absorbed or changing… it is still present in every human being. Although it serves it’s purpose, I propose that the more evolved a person becomes, the less prevalent that purpose in day to day human interactions.

Why The Reptilian Brain?

At one time in human evolution, millions of years ago before we became primates, our survival depended upon, finding something to eat, knowing how and when to defend ourselves or fight, knowing when to flee danger and of course, procreation. This was the sum total of our existence. We still see this behavior in crocodilians today.

Homo Erectus

Finding food while NOT becoming food was crucial. The Reptilian portion of our brains made this possible.

To find food you have to be able to learn to recognize food. Pattern recognition is critical. In Africa there are rivers where wildebeest cross at certain times of the year during their migrations. Without the ability to tell time or know dates on the calender, crocodiles gather at these sites at the appointed time to get a meal. They have learned to recognize patterns and thus, they collectively engage in what might well be considered a feeding ritual. 

Except when mating or engaging in a group feeding ritual, adult crocodiles are extremely territorial. There are reasons for this. A crocodile doesn’t want any competitors poaching in it’s territory. When it comes to mating, the issues are similar. The bigger, stronger males are the ones who pass their genes on to the next generation. For the reptilian brain, that is what it’s all about.

Reptilian Brain In Humans

The reptilian part of the human brain contributes in varying degrees to common forms of human behavior. Obsessive-Compulsive behavior has it’s root in the reptilian part of the human brain. Rituals, mysticism and superstition – religion – also has it’s root in the reptilian part of the human brain. It is interesting that in many religious traditions, serpents figure heavily. Conformity, adherence to traditions, reticence to break out a mold or rut and all forms of deception are the product of the reptilian part of our brain.

Picking Up A Woman In A Bar

Most married couples didn’t meet in a Bar. Yet, this hunting preserve is idolized by the reptilian brain in the human mating ritual.

Whereas on the one hand, the reptilian part of our brain tends to simplify things in as much as once you’ve found something that works, why change it? On the other hand, when some pattern of behavior or some approach becomes obsolete, it is that reptilian portion of our brain that impedes progress by making it difficult to adapt and adopt a new sequence of behavior which may be more productive. Take a fisherman for example who has success at a particular fishing hole. He will return to that spot frequently. Even though the fish he catches get smaller, fewer and further between, he will continue to fish his spot and simply chalk it up to the fish not biting.

When you hear the expression, “creature of habit,” that is the reptilian brain at work. Don’t get me wrong, the reptilian portion of our brains has made profound contributions to our survival. However, it will only take us so far. Our ability to adapt and change to new circumstances and situations has been even more important. You may have relied on agriculture as a food source, but when the ice age hit, you had to be able to become a hunter. You may have had to relocate to a warmer latitude. Those who were unwilling to adapt to new circumstances, didn’t make it.

Reptilian Thinking In The GOP.

Michael Steele

Michael Steele – The first Black chairman of the Republican National Committee. Elected to this position immediately following the election of President Obama. He actually did an excellent job.

One of the most remarkable things about President Obama’s presidency – other than revealing the latent racism that still exists in our nation – was, it has almost been like an MRI on how Republicans think, operate and sell their agenda to their faithful. When President Obama was elected, for the first time in history the Republicans elected a Black person – Michael Steele – to be chairman of the RNC. It was almost… no, it was exactly like they said, “we need a Black guy too!”

Notice the mysticism and superstition contained in their decision? In their minds, they were beaten by a “Black Man,” so what did they do? They rushed out and got themselves one hoping to counter President Obama. Did they think the Democrats had their own “Black Magic” and they needed “Black Magic” of their own to counteract the spell? Sound silly? Perhaps. However, when you look at the racism that has flowed from the Republicans since the election of President Obama, what else could it be?

Their reptilian thinking has created what can only be called a reptilian agenda or strategy. Even though Michael Steele actually did an excellent job, he won back the House of Representatives, increased the number of Republican governors and made advances in the Senate, he had to go because he was different. He wasn’t like them. He didn’t fit the standard Republican pattern. This adherence to patterns is another symptom of the reptilian brain at work.

Mysticism And Superstition

Can't Be A Democrat and Go To Heaven

This piece of wisdom, written by Kentucky High School teacher Kendra Baker, greeted her students when they came to class. It was written at the top of her “white board.”

The Republicans in this past election appealed to the “Religious Right” like never before. Franklin Graham came out and endorsed a Mormon over a Christian. In all his years, meeting with Presidents from both parties, Billy Graham, Franklin’s father never endorsed a Presidential candidate. Televangelist were out in force. Pat Robertson, Kenneth Copeland, John Hagee to name but a few, were warning of God’s judgement should President Obama be re-elected. They did everything they could to drive their faithful into voting Republican. You could have called it, “The God Wants You To Vote Republican Campaign.”

Appalachian Pentecostal Snake Handlers.

Elections??? God’s too busy protecting those crazy Appalachian Snake Handlers… Or NOT!! Turns out one of their Pastors died… you guessed it. He got bit by one of those snakes who’d simply had enough!

Clearly there is no deity, all powerful or otherwise, who is the least bit concerned with our elections. If one presupposes an all powerful God who takes an interest in human political affairs, it also follows that there is nothing we as humans could do to change or prevent whatever outcome He/She/It has already pre-ordained. You cannot out vote God. If you could, then God wouldn’t be much of a God now would he? Yet because of this Reptilian form of reasoning, millions of people believe that their God is somehow interested in and watching their vote. Doesn’t God already know how everyone is going to vote and who is going to win any and every election? If those results were contrary to His purpose, wouldn’t God change things?

Obeisance To Precedent

If you will remember, in 2000 when George Bush ran for President, his chief opponent in the GOP primaries was none other than John McCain. Their battle actually became quite nasty. The allegation was floated that John McCain had a “Black Baby.” The truth was, he and his wife, Cindy McCain had adopted a little girl from a Bangladesh orphanage run by Mother Teresa. They named her Bridget and of course she had dark skin.

Bridget McCain Campaigning With Her Father.

Once racist smell blood in the water, they won’t let it go. The dirty tricks of Karl Rove came back to haunt John McCain and his family in 2004. Below the picture is a bumper sticker showing Bridget with Sarah Palin’s special needs child.

This whispering campaign started by Karl Rove was executed in the form of a phony telephone poll. The question was asked, “would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew he had fathered a Black child out of wedlock?” Note, they never said he did, but the implication was there and it appealed to the latent racism inherent in the Republican Party. All they had to do was notice the little dark skinned girl out with him on campaign stops and put two and two together and of course… reach the wrong conclusion, but it was the conclusion Karl Rove and company wanted them to reach.

Personally? There are certain lines you simply cannot cross with me. When you target my children, you’ve made an enemy for life. Not only did the Bush campaign attack John McCain’s children, they put forward the suggestion that Cindy McCain was a drug addict and that John McCain had left his crippled first wife for Cindy.

In 2004, when Bush was running for his 2nd term, his opponent was John Kerry. Prior to picking Senator John Edwards as a running mate, there was this notion of a dream ticket floating around. That ticket would have involved the unprecedented combination of a Democratic Presidential candidate with a Republican Vice Presidential running mate. Whom was this supposed running mate being whispered around? None other than Senator John McCain. After the outright nastiness of George Bush, Karl Rove and the Republican Party with their personal attacks on McCain’s wife and children, there were signs that John McCain was growing increasingly disenchanted with the GOP. In my opinion, this unprecedented combination of a Democrat and a Republican running together would have been an unbeatable ticket.

John McCain Hugs George W. Bush

Some when selling their soul to the Devil, sign their contracts with their own blood. Others do it with a hug.

Clearly someone in the Bush campaign must have come to a similar conclusion. John McCain was called to a meeting. The end result was at a rally in Florida, he came on stage with George W. Bush and gave him the hug that shocked the American political system. At that point, I lost all respect for John McCain and saw him for what he truly was. A man who would sell his soul for political gain. In hugging Bush, he became the anointed one to run at the head of the GOP ticket in the next election. Which is exactly what he did, and with the blessings of the GOP.

Responding to Partial Representations

President Reagan wearing a cowboy hat

President Ronald Reagan

The deification of Ronald Reagan is an excellent example of responding to partial representations. When you ask Republicans why they’re so enamoured with Ronald Reagan, you’ll get very similar results no matter whom you’re asking. “He defeated the Soviet Union and won the ‘Cold War.'” “He was the great communicator.” Some who are more sophisticated politically might say, he made America stronger by increasing military spending.

What you won’t hear about is, he ended the “Windfall Profits Tax” on the oil companies that kept oil prices under control. You won’t hear that he cut funding to education, enacted policies to end collective bargaining and break up unions or that he broke up the air traffic controllers union. Indeed, many of the problems we’re facing today have their genesis in the Reagan administration. Even as bad as I think Ronald Reagan was, if he were running for President today on the GOP ticket, he could never make it past the TEA Party. He was too much of a moderate by today’s standards.

Did he defeat the Soviet Union? Depends on how you look at it. By increasing military spending, he forced the Soviets to try and keep up. He in essence caused them to spend themselves into oblivion. He may have done the same to us. It has just taken longer for us to collapse. Under Ronald Reagan, our national debt took off like a sky rocket. Where were all the Republicans back then? No talk of saddling our children and grandchildren with debt. As certain Jews are supposed to have said when Pontius Pilate said of Jesus, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” “let his blood be on us and our children.” So then did the Republicans say, let this debt be on us and our children.

Today however, the story is a bit different. Now that the Democrats are in charge and oh my GOD! They’ve elected a Black President, the Republicans have suddenly become concerned with the debt on the national credit card! Would have been nice if they’d shown some concern before we put two wars on it without the least concern for budgeting.

All Manner Of Deception

“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

This last election was simply a symphony of deception brought to us by the Republican Party and their propaganda machine. Rather than increase their chances of winning, in the end it doomed them miserably. I do believe the lie that drove the final nail into Mitt Romney’s coffin was his lie about Jeep being moved to China. That was simply a bridge too far. When the Automotive Executives from both GM and Chrysler took out full page ads calling him a liar, he was finished. Like a beheaded chicken, he was still flopping around, but he was dead.

“Mitt Romney is like a well lubed weather vane.” __Jon Huntsman

Pinocchio Mitt

Mitt Romney’s Strategy? Lie his way to the White House. Results? FAIL!

The thing about Mitt Romney, is he would lie when the truth would have done just fine. So immersed was he in his reptilian brain, he simply forgot about or ignored the fact that anyone with access to the Internet, could pull up a video tape of him taking a position exactly opposite to whichever position he was putting forth at the time. You almost wanted to scream at the television and say, “YOU KNOW WE HEARD YOU SAY JUST THE OPPOSITE LAST WEEK???” Mitt Romney’s campaign redefined surrealism. I should have known when he said, “he was a severely conservative Republican Governor…” we were in for one helluva ride!

Massachusetts is a liberal State with “moderate” leanings. A “severe conservative” couldn’t get past the primaries let alone actually become governor. However, once we cut all ties to the truth, one can say anything I suppose.

In true reptilian fashion, the Republicans dusted off the exact same attacks they used against President Obama in the last election. They worked so well of course? We heard again that he was born in Kenya, he was a secret Muslim, he was a socialist. I suppose no one ever told them that embracing Islam which is theocratic and embracing socialism, is rather hard to do. But hey! It sounds good as a smear.

FOX News Logo

WARNING!!! Viewing can be hazardous to higher cognitive functioning.

The Republicans kept their televisions tuned to FOX and their radios tuned to Rush Limbaugh and of course they had no clue as to what was happening in the “real world!” You know? The one the rest of us live in? Like one big liars club, they lied to themselves over and over until they all believed it. I personally cannot watch FOX for more than 30 seconds. FOX kills brain cells and I have none I’m willing to part with.

Rush Limbaugh

The Clown Prince of Republican Propaganda!

Rush Limbaugh is on the radio almost everyday peddling the same worn out lies like a mother bird feeding her baby birds their daily dose of worms. Just like baby birds Republicans squawked with their mouths agape until they got their fix. One lie after the other. No basis in reality. In many cases, no basis in logic. Here’s an example. The Republican platform claims to be “pro-life.” They’re really pro-fetus. Why? Because they’re absolutely against any of the programs that give an impoverished child a shot at having a productive and successful life. They’re against welfare, WIC, food stamps, head start programs, funding early childhood education, you name it. By all means, have the baby… but once it gets here, you’re on your own!

It seems to me to be a no-brainer, if you want to cut down on abortions, you need to make access to contraception freely available. But no! Not our Republican party! If you give women access to contraceptives, they just might have sex for – oh my gosh! – FUN! Can’t have any of that! Again, no logic.

The depth of their deception was clearly evident in the run up to this election. Republican pollsters were predicting a blow out for Mitt Romney. Everybody who watched FOX News was supremely confident that Mitt Romney was going to win by a large margin. Mitt Romney was so confident, he hadn’t even prepared a concession speech. He was simply awaiting his coronation.

Not only did he lose, he lost by a larger margin than the win FOX News had been predicting. This is what happens when reptilian thinking meets up with a society that requires and demands higher brain functioning. The paradigm shifts so much that adaptation is required. Billionaires threw good money after bad on the theory – it used to be true – that money can buy an election. They were wrong. The paradigm has shifted. Voter suppression efforts that had been so successful in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s didn’t work. The paradigm has shifted. The “dog whistle” pitched messages of racism and “States Rights” that had proved so successful in the past, didn’t work. The paradigm has shifted. To the Republicans I say, IT IS TIME TO EVOLVE… or become extinct. I’d be happy either way.

How Anonymous Saved America and the World

Thank You Anonymous Headerby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

How Anonymous Saved America and the World

Those of us who’ve been paying attention to our electoral process have noticed some very disturbing trends and subsequent anomalies. I am probably giving some indication of my age, but I grew up in the era of real voting booths, curtains, tabs and levers.

Pulling that voting lever

One of the most important levers you will ever pull.

I remember as a child holding my mother’s hand in a voting booth and watching her flip the little tabs and then pull the lever which opened the curtains and registered her vote. My personal belief is that all parents should take their children to vote with them. It is good training and exposes them at an early age to the most important of our civic responsibilities.

I am not a technophobe. I fully appreciate progress and the role technology plays. Our population is growing, more and more people are voting and we still expect to know the outcomes of our elections on election night. The notion that we could count these votes by hand and still have timely results has become an unreachable proposition.

Enter Computers

Using computers to record and count the votes makes receiving timely results easy. If properly deployed, you could know the final count from any precinct the moment the last person in line votes. Computers are machines, they’re non-partisan and they’re extremely efficient crunching numbers.. or are they?

Computer Scientist Ed Felton at work

Computer Scientist Ed Felton uncovering a computer flaw in a New Jersey voting computer.

The facts are, computers have vulnerabilities too. For one, they will do whatever they’re programmed to do. If the person programming them is partisan, computers can be programmed to return partisan results. Computers can also be hacked. They can be given a virus which rewrites their code. I can look at another human being and tell if something is wrong with them. They may appear feverish, sluggish, their speech may be slurred, their eyes may be red. There are thousands of subtle signs we pick up allowing us to know that one of our fellow human beings is just not right. Computers? Not so much.

A computer can be programmed to switch votes to any candidate a programmer, hacker or virus writer chooses and the persons casting their votes would be none the wiser. In many jurisdictions which have now gone to all electronic voting, they have also passed laws mandating the destruction of the paper trail. Those places that use paper ballots where you darken in a circle beside your choice, feed them into an optical scanner, many of those jurisdictions have passed laws mandating the immediate destruction of the paper ballots. The question is why?

Hacking Democracy

Joseph Stalin On Voting

This has always been the hard reality of democracy.

In the words of Joseph Stalin, “those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.” The way things work today is, you cast your vote either using a “touch screen” computer system or a paper ballot you’ve filled out and fed through an optical scanner. At the end of voting those electronic votes are sent over the internet to a central computer where the votes from all the precincts are tabulated and the election results are published.

Sounds simple enough. However, there are problems. As I’ve  pointed out, what if some or all of the precinct computers… or, for that matter, the main frame computer doing the final tabulations gets hacked or gets a virus? What if the data is intercepted and changed while being transmitted to the central computer?

Manufacturers of these voting systems have gone to great lengths to assure the public of the security of their systems. They have lied! Bev Harris of Black Box Voting.Org has gone to great lengths to highlight and document these problems. No matter whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Liberal, Libertarian or Independent, your vote matters and your vote should count. Our democracy is no stronger than the confidence our citizens have in our electoral process. How difficult is hacking some of our voting machines? Would you believe me if I told you it was so easy a Chimpanzee could do it?

If this disturbs you? It damn well should! What Baxter the Chimp just did was edit or alter the audit log on a Diebold GEMS voting system. Why is this important? According to Diebold for one, this is supposed to be impossible. Clearly a flat out lie. For two, this is one of their security selling points. They claim that should anyone attempt to alter the results of the votes, it would be caught in their audit log. Thus if you could edit the audit log, you can go in and change votes at will, then go back to the audit log and delete any evidence that you’d done anything. Think, stealing the “Hope Diamond” and replacing it with a cubic zirconium replica. The guards, the people filing by the display case would never know the difference.

The Man In The Middle Attack

Suppose you and I were working for an advertising agency and we were competing for the same client. However, unbeknown to you, I had hacked both the email account of the client and your email account. Not only could I read the mail going back and forth between you, I could intercept it and change it.

Man in the middle attack

Bilateral communication between the server and the victim is actually being routed through a third party, unbeknown to either of them.

Imagine if the client sent an e-mail inviting you to a lunch meeting at “Joe’s Bistro” at 1pm. I intercept his e-mail and change the time to 3pm. You get an email you believe to be from the client inviting you to a luncheon meeting at 3pm. I show up at 1pm, close the deal and steal the client. You show up at 3pm and of course, the client is not there. This is a minor variant of the “Man In The Middle” attack. It is very powerful and difficult to detect.

Now let’s apply this to electronic voting. Suppose I have a server set up in… I don’t know, let’s say Tennessee. I hack into your voting system and reroute all precinct votes to my server in Tennessee where I massage them and then send them on to your “voting central” computers. You believe you’re getting them directly from your precincts when in truth, they’re coming from my servers in Tennessee.

The beauty of this approach is, I don’t have to hack any of your voting machines. I merely have to hack into your network or your routers. In so doing, I’ve compromised all the computers in your network from a safe distance and if I do it right, I’m going to be difficult to detect and trace. Has anything like this ever happened? As it turns out, yes it has. There is evidence it happened in 2004. Thom Hartmann gives a very clear presentation on his radio progam.

Those of us who remember watching the election returns back in 2004, may recall that fateful night when it appeared that Kerry was winning. Then suddenly the numbers shifted and the news agencies calling the election simply attributed the sudden change in numbers, to uncounted precincts dumping their numbers all at once. We had no idea that the servers had gone offline for better than 60 seconds. Some of us, had we known, may have become suspicious back then.

Did Karl Rove Try To Steal The 2012 Elections?

I thought about this one long and hard… well, for about 10 minutes, before the evidence convinced me. I was not at all surprised by the election results because I do not get my news from Fox News, and I follow Nate Silver’s 538 blog. Nate has been the most accurate pollster out there for the past several election cycles. If I know this, Karl Rove and the rest of the Republican political strategist certainly know it as well. This brings me to my first point.

Come to find out, on the night of the election, Mitt Romney had not even prepared a concession speech. Yes, I know everybody believes they will win, however prudence demands that we prepare for all eventualities. You cannot become successful in business and rise to the top of the corporate arena without understanding fully how to implement a “Plan B” in the event your first plan doesn’t pan out.

It bothered me that Mitt Romney was so sure of winning what in his own words, he admitted would be an extremely close race, yet he did not prepare a concession speech. This really surprised me. Did he know something, none of the rest of us knew?

When I saw Karl Rove begin stuttering and disputing the election results for Ohio, this clinched it for me. There were two things to note about this. The first is, Mr. Rove seemed to have no problem with the returns in Florida or any of the other States for that matter. Why Ohio? As it turns out, President Obama could have lost both Ohio and Florida and still won the election. Given these facts, why would Mr. Rove nearly lose his composure over Ohio? If everything is fair and in the hands of the voters, why would you dispute the results unless, you believed you had some form of control over those results? Perhaps the truth is finally coming out?

Enter The Hacker Group Anonymous

There exists a group of elite hackers who goes by the name “Anonymous.” Nobody knows who they are. They seem to be distributed world wide so nobody knows where they are. The term “Hacktivist” was invented for Anonymous. It is beyond the scope of this piece to regale you with tales of their exploits, but suffice it to say, they’ve got skillz!

It seems that they have been watching our political system and in particular our elections. On October 22, 2012 a message to Karl Rove and his compadres from Anonymous, was posted on YouTube. Either Karl didn’t see it or didn’t take it seriously.

After the election,  the following letter was released, presumably from the group, “Anonymous.”

Letter supposedly from anonymous

This is a letter supposedly released by Anonymous following the elections explaining what they did and why.

Our Elections Affect The World

Whom we elect to the office of President of these United States, affects the World. Is there any doubt had Al Gore prevailed and George W. Bush not been appointed President by a U.S. Supreme Court, stacked by his daddy or if John Kerry had been elected, that our world would be different? With intelligent, competent leadership from a United States President, we would not have had an economic meltdown. Our housing market would not have crashed, causing world wide repercussions.

The integrity of our electoral process is not just of concern to each United States Citizen, our election outcomes also affect the rest of the world. Did Anonymous protect our elections? Personally, I believe they did. They identified the problem in advance, – October 22, 2012 – they posted a YouTube video announcing their intentions to prevent any attempted election fraud.

We know the night of the election, Mitt Romney and his wife Ann were nearly in “shell shock.” If I didn’t know that Mormons abstain from liquor, I would have bet that Ann Romney had one drink too many. I base this on the way she was moving when she finally joined Mitt on stage that night. She had that doe in the headlights look in her eyes.

Mitt had the foresight to have his transition website up and running, but no concession speech? Really? That showed a supreme amount of confidence in what should have been an unknowable outcome. When you add in Karl Rove’s reaction to losing Ohio, it all fits the claims of Anonymous. Karl Rove thought he was flipping a coin with two heads. He was smug as he called “heads.” When the coin came up tails, you could have bought him for a penny.

I am not a religious man, but in this instance I will have to say, “thank God for Anonymous.” I’m glad they were flying cyber- cover for this election. In a democracy, we say that people get the government they deserve. That is only true if their elections are untainted. Getting a government I deserve, I can live with. Getting a government given to me, is intolerable.

My Open Response To An Open Letter To Black Evangelicals

My Open Response To An Open Letter To Black Evangelicals

by Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

 I recently came across a letter by Dr. Michael L. Brown. It was entitled, “An Open Letter To My Black Evangelical Friends.” Dr. Brown is a “converted” Jew who is on a mission to lead other Jews into accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Dr. Brown holds a B.A. in the Hebrew language and a Ph.D in Near Eastern languages and literature. He has written a number of books.

Those who know me may be wondering why I as a Devout Agnostic would take the time to respond to Dr. Brown’s letter. Well, for 30 years of my life I was an “Evangelical” and as it turns out, I happen to be Black. Without further ado, I present Dr. Brown’s letter.

Dr. Brown’s Letter To Black Evangelicals

Michael Brown: An Open Letter to My Black Evangelical Friends

Published on Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:00
Written by Michael Brown

michael-brown

I am not writing this letter to accuse but rather to advance understanding. And even though I am white, I am not writing as an outsider but as a fellow evangelical, part of the same spiritual family. May I pose some candid questions?

Are you guilty, on any level, of blind allegiance to the Democratic party? And, on Election Day, did any of you compromise your convictions out of racial solidarity?

I have been very open in my criticism of white evangelicals, pointing out how we often put our trust in the Republican party and how we look to the latest candidate as some kind of political savior, only to be disappointed time and time again, complaining that the Republicans wanted our votes but did not stand up for our values. “We won’t get fooled again,” we say, only to repeat the same cycle four years later.

On Election Day morning, I posted an article entitled “A Warning to Moral Conservatives,” raising concerns that if Mitt Romney was elected, we would be making a grave mistake in looking to him to advance our moral and social agenda. I even wrote an article in June entitled “Mitt Romney Is Not the Answer,” and I often told my evangelical radio listeners that I would not argue with them if they could not vote for Romney because he was a Mormon. So, I do understand black Christian reticence towards Romney (for these reasons, among others).

I simply do not understand how my black evangelical friends who so staunchly oppose same-sex “marriage” and who stand against abortion could cast their vote for the most radically pro-abortion, pro-gay-activist president in our history.

Was there no moral compromise involved in voting for him? Are there no issues that could disqualify him in your eyes? And must Barack Obama be elected and then reelected in order to make up for past injustices, as one black evangelical woman claimed?

In the last few months, black Christian leaders came on my radio show to express their disapproval of the president’s policies, urging their parishioners not to vote for him (without endorsing Romney). And in a recent article, my colleague Bishop Harry Jackson went as far as to say that, “President Obama has become a personality akin to the biblical figure ‘Ishmael’ for the African-American community instead of the ‘child of promise’ we had hoped for. In a nutshell, he has attempted to create a new, unbiblical standard of social justice that promotes abortion, same-sex marriage, a distrust of Israel, and a diminishing of religious liberties.”

Yet when it came to time to vote, the same percentage of black Americans who voted for Obama in 2008 did so again in 2012 (roughly 95%). How can this be? Again, I am not attacking, I am inquiring.

And I am not the only one inquiring. I have been receiving emails and calls from other African American evangelicals asking these same questions.

More disturbingly, some of these black Christians have told me that they have been cut off from family, friends, church members, and even pastors because they opposed the reelection of President Obama. To ask again, how can this be?

One black pastor explained to me that he is convinced that “many African American believers compromised God’s Word during the election in the name of Obama Care and social program such as foods stamps etc.” Is there any truth to this?

If so—and again, I am asking, not accusing—this is not only wrong, it misguided, since Democratic policies have hardly advanced the economic well-being of black America. As noted by Congressman Allen West, “Since 2007, black median household income has declined by 11 percent—the largest decline of all major racial and ethnic groups … In 2011, the poverty rate among black Americans was 27.5 percent. The poverty rate among blacks living in families headed by women is 41 percent.”

To be sure, Republicans have done little to win the confidence of black Americans, and I understand the history of distrust in recent decades. But does this justify the overwhelming black allegiance to the Democratic party?

According to the BlackDignity.org website, “A black baby is three times more likely to be aborted [than] a white baby.” (The BlackGenocide.org website claims the figure is substantially higher; that website should be visited.)

BlackDignity.org also reports that, “Twice as many African-Americans have died from abortion than have died from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined.” And today, in New York City, 60% percent of black babies suffer the fate of abortion, never to see the light of day.

Does it trouble you, my black evangelical friends, that the Democratic platform, not to mention the Democratic National Convention, was almost a celebration of abortion?

In 2008, I warned my listeners that Mr. Obama, if elected, would support the goals of gay activism, including redefining marriage, but many listeners did not believe me. Now that President Obama has actually abused the teaching and example of Jesus to advocate same-sex “marriage,” how could you vote for him again?

One caller to my program on Monday told me candidly that he was shaking in the voting booth, knowing that he couldn’t support President Obama’s pro-abortion, pro-gay-activist policies. Yet, he confessed, he voted for him because he was black.

Was he alone in doing so? Again, I am not accusing. I am only asking.

Michael Brownis the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience.

My Response

First of all, I find Dr. Brown’s concern heart warming, and highly suspicious. Black people are only 13% of the population. Not all Black people are “Evangelicals.” When you drill down even further, yes President Obama received better than 93% of the Black votes, you must remember that not 100% of the Black population voted or is even eligible to vote. Census data includes everybody, including children.

Thus, for some peculiar reason, Dr. Brown finds himself not only concerned but feels compelled to address his concerns to an extremely small subset of society. I love his rhetorical flourish wherein he claims to be “one of us.” When did that happen? I do make a point of knowing the people sitting around my dinner table. He doesn’t look familiar. If in fact he was a “family member” he would not be asking the questions he is asking.”Advancing understanding” is a euphemism for setting us Black Folk straight, by bestowing upon us his version of the proper understanding.

Blind Allegiance And Racial Solidarity

Here revealed, are his real concerns. Frankly? I find this highly offensive… and it is racist! What he is really saying is that we poor Black folk – Evangelicals in particular – are blind. We are limited in our vision and understanding. We poor Black folk don’t know what’s best for us and Bless God! Deliverance has come! A converted Jew is going to lead us into that promised land! Hallelujah! NOT!

Too add insult to injury, we’re voting for President Obama merely because we’re Black and he’s Black. Did white Evangelicals vote for Mitt Romney merely because he’s white? Well, truth be told, most of them did!

Hypocrisy

In an effort to rehabilitate his argument, Dr. Brown really puts his foot in it. In classic polemic style, he endeavors to strike a balance by declaring that he warned the white Evangelicals against believing that the Republican party would advance their goals or that Romney would support their aims. This smoke screen is a false equivalence. Why? It lacks the interjection of race. It is like that spoonful of sugar to make his rather bitter medicine go down. Look! I made similar claims about Romney and the Republicans! Actually? No you didn’t! A similar claim would be asking if they were voting Republican and voting for Romney because he’s white? Those words did not pass his lips and the presumptuous assumption – though unstated – is that white people are above voting for a candidate based entirely on his color.

Abortion, Gay Marriage, Activism And Other Nonsense

The mantra that President Obama is the most activist, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage President in history is a claim made out of either ignorance or intentional mendacity. Roe v. Wade has been a Constitutionally protected law since 1973. On Inauguration day in 2008, we and the entire world watched as President Barack Hussein Obama, placed his hand atop a Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution does not define marriage but it does call for equality under the law. Today there are laws forbidding discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender and sexual orientation. These are the laws President Obama swore to uphold and this is exactly what he’s doing. He could have ended DADT with an executive order. He did not. He allowed it to work it’s way through the congressional process

Clearly Dr. Brown needs to take a refresher on basic civics. He should have learned how our government works when he was back in high school. Presidents sign Bills into law – or they veto them – after they are presented to him by the United States congress. Activist? One of the main complaints from the “Left” was that President Obama was not out selling either his programs or his accomplishments. While the “right” has been calling him an activist without citing examples, the “left” has been complaining that he has not been activist enough! Know what that means? He’s probably got it just about right!

Please do not come crying to the Black Community about your abortion problem. Yes, that’s right! It is your problem. White people, Evangelical or otherwise haven’t given a damn about Black people since we’ve been here. Our roots in this country go back to 1619. How far back do yours go? One half of my family was here to greet the Pilgrims, the other half was brought over as cargo. We have a long an ugly history when it comes to our interactions with white people.

The only religious institution that took a principled stand on the abortion issue from the very beginning was the Catholic Church. They were against it from day one. The Protestant faiths, uttered not a peep until the “bean counters” did a study in the mid 80’s and discovered two things that shocked them.

  1. More white babies were being aborted than any other race.
  2. By 2050 white people would become a minority in the USA.

It was then that all hell broke loose! I was there sitting on the front row when Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority” was brought on board with Dobson’s “Focus on the Family,” The Schaefers, both Francis and Franky, to crank up the religious opposition to abortions. For 10 years not a peep. Then overnight, abortions became the sin of our nation.

I know abortions came from the Eugenics Movement of Nazi Germany. Margaret Sanger, the founder of “Planned Parenthood” was a fan of the Eugenics movement and fully supported the reducing of what they called the “undesirables” in society. When abortions became legal, clinics began popping up in minority/Black and depressed communities all around the country. You never find an abortion clinic or a Planned Parenthood office in an affluent/white community. This isn’t by accident. This is by design. What they never counted on was the fact that white women would go wherever they had to for abortion services.

I actually break all of this down at length in my piece on Abortion Myth-Direction. You’ll have to pardon my schadenfruede. When people create a program designed for my genocide and it backfires and gets them instead? Yeah, I’m going to smile and probably feel pretty good about it.

The Mendacity of Dr. Brown’s position is further buttressed by his ignoring of the Republican positions on what we do to preserve life after it gets here. Let’s call a spade a spade. What this things is all about, is forcing white women to get pregnant and have more babies. In essence lets turn them into breeders…in Jesus’ name amen! Why do I say this? Look at what they’re now taking issue with. Birth control? If your issue is with decreasing the number of abortions, making access to birth control readily available is a no-brainer! But of course abortion is only half of their problem. What they really want is to get the white birthrate up. Good luck! Black people, Evangelical or otherwise are not going to become the tip of your spear in the war to preserve a white majority in this country. Not going to happen.

Theological Implications

Let us be frank. The Bible says that the hope of the hypocrite shall perish. It is the very height of hypocrisy to promote the theory that God is sovereign and in control, to pray that his will be done in this election and them to throw a tantrum because things didn’t go your way. Have you stopped to consider, perhaps the problem is, you’re not on God’s side? Either God is in control or he is not. Of course, I could be getting this all wrong and perhaps you believe that Black people are more powerful than God and that we – our 13% – can thwart the very will of God merely by voting. I begin to understand all the voter suppression attempts we had to endure just to cast our votes.

The deeper issue is the fact, Dr. Brown and other Evangelicals believe the Government should be used to enforce their beliefs on a secular public. They are really admitting that the Church has failed in it’s mission and probably ought to be allowed to wither into oblivion. We do not live under a theocracy and it is not nor should it ever be the Governments responsibility to support the ideology of any religious institution. Yet we see religious institutions fighting tooth and nail to seize governmental power and bend the government into alignment with their particular brand of theology.

The fact abortions are legal doesn’t mean you have to get one. I could fly to Las Vegas tonight and spend the evening at a legal brothel. It is legal and I certainly have the means to do so. I am happily married and I have no desire to do so. The fact that it is legal doesn’t mean I have to do it.

In the Bible, Jesus said, “if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” Was Jesus lying? If not, then the Church must not be lifting him up. It is not the Government’s job to lead people to Christ, that’s the Church’s job. Preachers get paid a lot of money – dare I say too much money – to now be whining about the Government.  We did not elect a “Pastor in Chief.” We voted for and elected an “Commander in Chief!” Don’t get it twisted!

While we’re on the subject of theology… I noticed no where in Dr. Brown’s polemic where he actually addressed the problems with Mormonism.

Galatians 1:8

King James Version (KJV)

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Perhaps Black Evangelicals refused to vote for the Mormon because they know their Bibles better than Dr. Brown does? Perhaps they take issue with a candidate who is a Bishop in a church that taught for years, Black skin is a curse from God. Perhaps they couldn’t vote for the Mormon because they do not believe God came down and had physical sex with Mary to create Jesus. Perhaps Black Evangelicals do not believe that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers. The irony is, Christianity was forced onto African Slaves. Now their descendants believe in it and practice it more devoutly than the hypocrites who forced it on them originally.

Black Delusion – When Hatred Wears a Black Face

Black Delusion Headerby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

Black Delusion – When Hatred Wears A Black Face

Bill Maher hosting Politically Incorrect

Bill Maher hosting Politically Incorrect

I first became aware of Tavis Smiley back in the late 90’s when Bill Maher was doing his show – “Politically Incorrect.” Whenever we see a Black face on televsion that is not in some comedic role, but is present to speak for and represent a Black point of view, I tend to pay attention.

The format of the show was a topical panel discussion, with a diverse group of guest. On the night in question, somehow the subject of African Slavery came up. One of the white male guest made the assertion that Slavery benefited Black people. As you might imagine, the hairs on the back of my neck snapped to attention and I sat up. I wanted Tavis to do one of two things or possibly both! I wanted him to first, knock this comment out of the park. It was like a slow ball pitched right over the center of the plate. “Swing for the fences Tavis!” Second, it would have warmed the cockles of my heart and put a smile on my face if Tavis had jumped from his seat and begun whipping some Ass right on national television!

Neither of those things happened. Instead of dissecting that comment with an insight bred of the experiences of our culture, Tavis chose instead to mug for the camera. He looked shocked as though he could not believe what he’d just heard. Wrong response! I was finished, through, done with Mr. Smiley from that point on.

State of the Black Union

State Of The Black Union

State of the Black Union – Annual symposium put on by Tavis Smiley to discuss issues of concern to Black America.

Mr. Smiley introduced himself to me again, some years later with his “State of the Black Union” project. The reason I watched was because of the guest roster. Mr. Smiley had managed to put together an impressive array of impressive guests from various segments of society who presented their views. It was intelligent, informative and it was well done. I began to soften my view on Mr. Smiley, but he remained on probation.

It was at these annual “State of the Black Union” symposiums that I was exposed to Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. It was a pleasure to hear Black Ph.Ds articulate the issues and concerns of Black people in America. They made my heart smile. I had no idea whom Alexis de Tocqueville was or what he wrote. However, – as is oft the case – Cornel West quoting from some long dead French philosopher made him sound like a genius! The reality is, he might as well have been quoting the janitor down the hall. But he sounded good.

Cast of the TJMS

Cast of the TJMS when Tavis was a contributor

Tavis Smiley connected with Tom Joyner of the Tom Joyner in the Morning Show. Mr. Joyner is probably one of the best known and most listened to Black Radio Personalities. His show is syndicated all across this nation. If you’re Black and you’re driving to work in the morning with your radio on, chances are it’s tuned into the TJMS broadcast. Tavis began appearing as a weekly contributor offering “timely commentary” on the days issues.

Trouble In Paradise

When author Toni Morrison said that Bill Clinton was the “first Black President,” we knew what she was getting at, but evidently some people took her literally. Evidently, Tavis and Cornel West were two such people. I say this because their loyalty to the “Clinton brand” – don’t get me wrong, I first became a millionaire on paper under President Clinton, but George Bush dialed that back a bit – has surpassed all rhyme or reason!

President Bill Clinton

President Bill Clinton

Were the policies of President Clinton beneficial to Black people? Absolutely! However, they were also beneficial to white people. Yes, rich white people got a lot richer under President Clinton. You may recall the “Dotcom Boom?” That wasn’t from a lot of minorities and Black people opening businesses in “Silicon Valley.” Bill Clinton was a good President and one of the reasons Republicans hated him so, was because his policies and the success they brought to the country showed Republican policies to be a lie. The National Debt was on it’s way to being paid off in approximately 15 years and we had surpluses.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton

Then came George W. Bush and all of that went away. When Hillary Clinton ran for the office of President, she was a known quantity to not just Black people but to a majority of Americans. She was loved by Democrats and hated by many Republicans. A lot of Black people threw their support behind Hillary… up until Barack Obama won Iowa. That changed everything. When Black people saw that white people would actually vote for Barack Obama, many of us pivoted and threw our support behind his historic candidacy.

Breaking Up Is Hard – For Some – To Do

The irony is, it was enlightened white people in a part of this Country where you might least expect to find them – Iowa – that showed the rest of this nation – Black people included – the way! The result was, that those Black leaders who felt that they had inroads into a Clinton presidency, suddenly found themselves starting from square one with everyone else. Some of them did not take this well. Tavis Smiley signalled his unease about this paradigm shift in his comments and weekly commentary on the TJMS broadcasts.

When he hosted his annual “State of the Black Union symposium” that year, he invited then candidate Obama. Candidate Obama opted not to show for clearly strategic reasons. He did offer to send his wife, Michelle Obama. Tavis threw a “hissy-fit” and refused his offer. Those of us who are politically astute, understood that candidate Obama was running to be President of all these United States. He was facing slurs and innuendos designed to make white people feel that he would be just the President of Black people. The optics of his being involved with a symposium which had featured Min. Louis Farrakhan, not once but several times, would not have been helpful.

Cornel West and President Obama during happier times.

Cornel West and President Obama during happier times.

Cornel West seemed to understand the political dynamics and he did in fact campaign for and with Senator Obama. His falling out with the President – according to West – was caused because he did not receive tickets to the inaugural celebrations. A slight? An oversight? Who knows? His explanation for the genesis of his dogged criticisms of President Obama stem from him getting his feelings hurt because he wasn’t given tickets! Really? Had he been given tickets, I suppose everything would be just dandy now?

Un-Anointed And Self-Appointed

Smiley and West

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West – The New Odd Couple?

We find ourselves today with brothers Smiley and West on a mission to critique any and everything President Obama does. They are struggling desperately to make themselves relevant to the on-going conversation in this nation on race, minority issues and issues specific to the Black community. So determined was Tavis Smiley to make himself the designated “watchdog” of President Obama’s policies, it led to his leaving the Tom Joyner in the Morning Show. The audience wasn’t feeling it and frankly? Tavis was embarrassing himself.

Tavis Smiley

Un-Anointed, Self-Appointed Presidential Watchdog

There is a difference between constructive criticism and criticism that comes from the petty frustration of not having gotten one’s way. The majority of the American people – based on these latest election results – know that President Obama has been doing everything within his power to make things better in these United States for all Americans. Further we know that he has had to fight an unprecedented Republican opposition, who’s stated objective was to make him a one term President… even if they had to destroy our nation in the process! When President Obama’s policies help poor white people, they help poor Black people too. When out of work white people get jobs, out of work Black people get jobs.

Black Delusion

I have been Black for these past 55 years. I do not recall in my lifetime, ever being invited to, or ever hearing about a secret meeting of Black people wherein we vote on and elect our approved Black leaders and spokesmen. If this has happened, I did not get my invitation. For my white readers, pay close attention. Black people have no official Black spokesmen or leaders… well, that is up until 2008 when we and the rest of these United States elected President Obama. The irony? The only official Black leader and spokesperson happens to be the officially elected leader of these United States. Thus, the leader of Black people, is also the leader of White people.

Any Black person who believes that they are a self-appointed, self-anointed spokesperson for Black people is suffering from a “Black Delusion.” This goes for Cornel West and Tavis Smiley. To show the extreme state of his delusional thinking, Cornel West has now attempted to pick fights with Rev. Al Sharpton, Dr. Micheal Eric Dyson and Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry. Why? Apparently simply because they

Poverty Tour Bus

Wonder how much this tour cost? Could that money have been better spent actually helping the poor?

are relevant and he is not! Yes, I heard about the Smiley-West “Poverty Tour.” It was cute. They spent God knows how much money touring this country on a bus talking about poverty and endeavoring to Blame President Obama. What did they accomplish? Not much! Both of these men are millionaires. The problem with poverty is, it’s like the weather. Everybody talks about it. Nobody does anything about it. Their time and their message would have been better spent had they opened a series of Smiley-West soup kitchens or homeless shelters. However, that would have actually required an investment. Paying lip service to an issue costs a lot less. Have they become irrelevant? Yes, they have. I suppose they could get a show on Fox News now? There are a lot of irrelevant people over there.

Outsourcing – The High Cost of Low Price

Outsourcing - The High Cost of Low Priceby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

Outsourcing – The High Cost of Low Price

Ask almost anyone in these United States, “what are the top 3 issues facing our nation” and you’ll get pretty much the same answer: Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. What there is little agreement on, is the cause of the problem and the solutions to the problem. Axiomatically, before one can solve a problem, one must define the problem. To define the problem one must understand the problem. It is time to take a hard look at how and why we find ourselves at this point and place in our history.

Greed Is Good – Gordon Gekko – Wall Street

A basic foundation of our Democracy is Capitalism. One of the fundamental premises of Capitalism is that people will do what is in their own selfish interests. Where they work, what they buy, how they vote, the fundamental premise is that people will look out for “number 1” before all others. You raise capital because you have an idea you believe is profitable. I invest in your idea – give you capital – because I’m anticipating a nice – ROI – Return On my Investment. Or, as Gordon Gekko says, it is all about “greed.” I’m greedy to make more money without having to do anything but loan money. You’re willing to go into debt to me and other investors because you’re anticipating all of the money you’ll eventually make.

Government’s Role

The 10th Amendment which recognizes that any powers not specifically enumerated within the United States Constitution, remain within the province of the various States, has as it’s basis the premise that local government being closer to the needs/greed, issues and concerns of the citizen, is much more responsive and reflective of those needs.

It does make a certain amount of sense. Farmers in Iowa are going to have a different set of issues and concerns than bankers in New York. People who work in a Steel Mill in Cleveland are going to have a different set of concerns than peanut farmers in Georgia or cotton growers in Mississippi. The theory is, communities govern themselves much more efficiently than a centrally located federal government. Again we embrace the theory that greed or selfishness with regard to issues works best when it comes to government.

Corporations

Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand High Priestess of the Virtue of Selfishness. Darling of Paul Ryan and Guru of the Republican philosophy

The problem of course is, when you take the “virtue of selfishness” – thank you Ayn Rand – turn it into a fundamental principle and apply it across the board. Suddenly you have businesses and corporations operating on this exact same premise. To wit: do what is best for the corporation and everything else will take care of it’s self. This requires quite a leap of faith, since there haven’t been any real studies done – at least that I’m aware of – which have actually studied the effect on society of a “me first, damn everyone else, philosophy.” 

Corporations exist for two purposes only. The first is to become as profitable as possible. The second is to grow as large as possible. These two objectives may not be what is best for our planet or it’s population. Balance is critical to the health of all living organisms. Make no mistake about it, our planet, this Earth is a living Biosphere. When things get out of balance, whatever it takes, balance will always be restored. One way or another.

Usually the largest cost for any corporation is labor. It is also the one cost over which management of the corporation can exercise the most control. The cost of supplies, raw materials, the building, land etc., are fixed costs. The labor however, can be manipulated relatively easily.

Unions Fight Back

Child Labor

Children Working in a Textile Mill

Collective bargaining – Unions – were created to protect the workers. Before Unions you worked 7 days a week. You had no vacations, no sick days, no benefits, no healthcare. Children could work in factories, mines and scampered along the steel girders of “sky scrapers.” There was the very real danger that going off to work in the morning might be the last time your family, wife and children would see you alive.

You were paid a pittance for your labor and the company owner – usually a “robber baron” – kept all the profits. Unions changed everything. The conditions for the workers improved. Children no longer could work when they were supposed to be in school. Profits were shared with the employees and the “middle class” was born. Prior to Unions, there was little to no upward mobility within our society. If you were not born rich, chances were you were going to die in poverty.

The only people who could afford a higher education were the wealthy. Thus, one could not better one’s self through education. It simply was not available. Remember the “Gold Rushes” in the 1800’s? The only chance you had for upward mobility was to strike it rich. People were willing to endure unbelievable hardships for the opportunity to have financial security. Unfortunately, without the education to go along with it, there were a lot of people who became millionaires but still died penniless. They did not know what to do with their money. They did not understand how to invest it or what to invest it in.

Return of the Robber Barons

“The Strong Takes From the Weak and the Smart Takes From the Strong.”

The “Robber Barons” and their bastard offspring, the modern mega- corporations have not forgotten their “Golden Age.” They are doing everything they can to return to those times of rapacious profits and the labor force is their primary target.

Labor Union Strike

Union Workers On Strike for a Living Wage.

Unions and collective bargaining have always been their arch enemy. Their technique and methodology has been subtle and insidious. The first thing they did was get the government to pass laws to protect workers. This may seem counter intuitive until you realize, by doing this, they’ve been laying the ground work to make the argument that Unions are obsolete. We now have OSHA laws to protect workers in the work place. We’ve got child labor laws to protect children. You get the picture. The next step was to use their media outlets to begin disseminating the idea that Unions were the reason for the high costs of goods and services.

You must never forget, our media is totally corporate owned. The stories you read, programs you watch are controlled, approved and directed by powers and people with agendas you never see, never hear about and do not know exist. As a friend once advised me, “whenever I hear something in the media, I always ask myself, why do they want me to believe this.”  I’ve found this to be invaluable advice. Everything that happens, happens for a reason. For every effect, there is a cause. There are no coincidences.

I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one — and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces..” __Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Looking out for and treating workers fairly has always been good for business. Henry Ford realized this and built Ford Motor Company on the principles of paying his workers enough money so that they could afford to purchase the products they were assembling. Thus, he had a built in customer base.

Somewhere along the line, businesses, corporations and industry rejected Henry Ford’s wisdom. It has become “open season” on the American workforce.

Globalization – That New World Order

I was a virgin when I got married for the first time at the tender age of 23. I heard you were supposed to talk and really get to know one another during the courtship phase. To that end, my prospective wife and I talked about anything and everything. From how many children we wanted, to finances – always an important issue – and of course sex. “Oh,” she said, “once we’re married, why you can have it any time and as often as you’d like!” Damn! That sounded good! As those of you who have been married already know… Boy was I in for a surprise!

What was promised, sold and delivered… turned out to be nothing like what I had envisioned. Thus it was with the promises made when it came to the wonders of globalization!

President Nixon greets Chairman Mao

President Nixon greets Chairman Mao

In 1972 when President Richard M. Nixon went to China, all the talk was about how a whole new market was being opened up. There would be billions of Chinese just waiting to buy American products. Our economy would boom trying to keep up with the Chinese demand for American goods and services. So, how’d that turn out? Like my first marriage… not well!

Sleeping With The Enemy

Nike Sweatshop in China

Young woman in a Chinese sweatshop assembling Nike shoes

To be fair, it has turned out pretty well for the “neo-Robber Barons” of today. We began to get our first intimations of what was going on back in the early 80’s. Some of you will remember? There were a series of news stories that exposed the working conditions in 3rd World countries where some of our popular athletic shoes were being manufactured. Nike was heavily criticized for their practice of manufacturing and assembling shoes for sale and distribution here in America, that were made in 3rd World “sweatshops.”

Nike Air-Max-Fly

A popular Nike shoe

The new model was make it there and sell it here. Because of their extensive marketing campaigns we did not seem to mind that their $80 – $150 dollar shoes only cost about $5 dollars to make and were being manufactured by – in some cases – children working 14 hour days for $50 cents an hour. Nike shoes became a fashion statement and we just had to have them.

Other companies took notice. If you could manufacture your product in a part of the world without minimum wage laws, without having to pay for benefit packages such as healthcare, payroll taxes, social security etc. what a deal! The steady exodus of jobs began.

Why Congressional Bills Are Written By Lawyers

Contract On A Napkin

Believe it or not, short, simple contracts are often the hardest to break.

If you’ve ever looked at a piece of congressional legislation, I’m sure you found it long, wordy, hard to read and even more difficult to understand. This of course is by design. It accomplishes several things. The first of course is the insertion of loopholes. Lawyers and our courts would be out of business if laws and contracts were written in plain English. There would be no dispute over our intent. If you and I wrote up a contract saying, “You were going to paint my house for $1,200 and I was going to supply the paint.” We sign and date it and it’s an enforceable contract. It could easily be written on a napkin.

IRS Tax Code

IRS Tax Code

When you have a bill that’s 500 pages or more long, you’d best believe there’s plenty of chicanery buried in that bill. Who’s responsible? Lobbyist are. This is what they get paid big bucks to do. Our tax code is an excellent example. It would take you longer to read all the way through it than it would take you to read your King James version of your Bible… twice! What’s worse? It’s much more difficult to understand. Buried within our tax code are such gems as:

  • A Foreign Tax Credit.

Companies pay taxes on their profits to foreign nations, usually at a reduced rate because of tax incentives given them by that nation to open a manufacturing plant there. Then they get a deduction from the IRS for foreign taxes paid.

  • Reinvestment In The Foreign Location.

The American company has the option, or loophole as some have called it, to reinvest the profits made in the foreign country back into the foreign location. If the profits are never transferred to the company in the United States, the company is not required to pay taxes on those profits. These profits are used to expand overseas operations and remain not taxable by the IRS. The IRS calls this money, “Unrepatriated Earnings”, and the total of unrepatriated earnings reaches well into the $600 billion range.

  • Savings On Payroll Taxes

For many corporations in the United States payroll expense represents half of their total expenses every year. Overseas companies do not have the employer contributions, unemployment taxes and the minimum wages that contribute to the large expenditure that it is in this country. Coupled with the literally thousands of people in other nations for whom a $7.00 per hour job would be a windfall, many companies see these tax benefits as more than making up for the negative publicity and the constant campaign against outsourcing.

Hitting The Snooze Button

The alarm clock has been ringing and the American people are starting to wake up! As the “Middle Class” sees it’s self decline, along with a shrinking job market, they’re becoming concerned. They should be! If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed sleeping potion has been delivered through our media. The first concoction was a dose of “the American worker is not competitive on the World Market.” This was back during our trade war with Japan.

Rising Sun Movie Poster

Rising Sun Movie Poster

The movie “Rising Sun” (1993) starring Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes, based on a book by Michael Crichton, was a fictional account of the very real business philosophy of Japanese corporations. They were in essence dumping products onto our markets to gain market share. It wasn’t until our Government began fighting back that things evened out. The Japanese wanted to sell their cars in our market. Thus we demanded that they not only open their markets for the sell of American made and manufactured cars, but that they build manufacturing plants here in America and employ American workers.

There was some hemming and hawing at first, but things got better for both countries when the doctrines of fairness and fair trade were introduced into the equation. Nevertheless, at first the excuse for the imbalance in trade was to blame the American worker for not being as competitive and competent as his Japanese counterpart.

Blame It On Mexico

The next dose of sleeping potion has been to place the blame for the loss of American jobs, on illegal immigrants. The party line is, they’re sneaking across our southern border at night to steal our good American jobs.

Undocumented Workers

Undocumented Migrant Workers

It is not that I wonder whether or not there is intelligent life in the Universe. I wonder if there is intelligent life right here in these United States! I really have to take my hat off to the corporate propaganda machine that has silly “Red Necks” screaming about building a fence across our entire southern border and staying up all night with night vision goggles and walkie-talkies trying to catch Pedro. Waste your time on any and everything except, rounding up and arresting corporate CEO’s who hire and employ undocumented workers. It’s lunacy. It’s like watching someone try to go up the “down escalator.” After you’ve had a good laugh, you really should take them by the hand and lead them around to the up “escalator.”

Untouchables Movie

Scene from the Untouchables starring Costner and Connery.

It is like that scene in the movie “The Untouchables” starring Kevin Costner. I’m referring to the scene where Sean Connery’s character is giving him the “how far are you prepared to go speech?” Everybody knew where the booze was. The problem was that the money had corrupted, government, law enforcement and the courts. Sort of sounds like what we’ve got going on today doesn’t it?

They know where all the factories, meat packing plants and farms employing undocumented workers are. The problem is, our prices are now based on exploiting the cheap – though invaluable – labor these workers provide. The equation is simple. The lower the labor cost the higher the profits. The more profitable the company the larger the compensation package for the CEO.

Stop and think! When is the last time you or someone you know, filled out an application to pick fruit on a farm? When is the last time you or someone you know filled out an application to work in a meat packing plant? How about cleaning an office building at night? It is all smoke and mirrors. A shell game. It is based on misdirection. Focus on the undocumented workers simply trying to make enough to get by. Pay no attention to the owners of the corporations!

Outsourcing

One China is Enough

One China is Enough

The average annual salary of an American middle class worker is right in the neighborhood of $48,000 dollars. The average annual salary of a Chinese middle class worker is less than $7,000 dollars U.S. See the problem? There is no way that the American worker can compete with a Chinese worker. To do so America would have to become like China. I don’t think this is what we want. Truth be told, it’s not what “big business” wants either. Why? Because people making $7,000 a year cannot afford the products they must sell to remain profitable.

Sensata Employees Protesting Plant Closing

Sensata Made over $450 million in profit during their 4th quarter. It wasn’t enough and the plant is being moved from Illinois to China.

Outsourcing will ultimately bring down American corporations. Outsourcing is like heroine being injected into the veins of corporate America. It may feel euphoric at first, but eventually there is going to be a fatal overdose. As more and more Americans lose their jobs to outsourcing, the American market will contract and there will be no one able to purchase those new iPads, SmartPhones, automobiles or new homes. Families will be unable to send their children to college. Indeed it becomes pointless to obtain a college education when there will be no jobs guaranteeing you can pay back your “student loans.”

Colleges and Universities will begin to fail and we will no longer produce the people necessary to maintain our society. Doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists, computer programmers, the people who have designed and invented American society and culture will vanish.

The Future Of The Path We’re On

Damage from Hurricane Katrina

Damage from Hurricane Katrina

Those post-apocalyptic movies we’ve all seen about a dystopian future will become prophetic. It is already happening around us right now. Hurricane Katrina devastated our Gulf Coast. That was seven years ago and we still haven’t fully recovered and rebuilt. What’s worse, the hi-tech preventive measures that need to be put in place, have not been because we simply cannot afford it. When your philosophy is to shrink government to the size you can drown it in a bathtub, you discover that nature and the oceans may drown you first.

Hurricane Sandy Devastation

A dystopian future is a great setting for a movie… but not in real life. This is how Hurricane Sandy left a portion of New Jersey. Can we rebuild?

Now we see that New York is equally at risk. Hurricane Sandy dealt a devastating blow to an area of the Country that has basked in the delusion that they were largely immune from the types of storms that hit the Gulf Coast . We need  “Storm Surge Barriers” similar to the ones in Amsterdam. These types of projects require significant government expenditures. Where does the government get it’s revenue? From taxes, both corporate and personal.

Storm Surge Barriers in Amsterdam

They’ve got Storm Surge Barriers in Amsterdam. Why can’t we build them here? Oh, right! That might involve raising taxes…

When corporations outsource jobs to China and other places, American workers lose their jobs. If they’re not working, they’re not paying income taxes. When corporations take advantage of loopholes in the tax system, when rich people are not paying their fair share, we do not have the revenue stream to repair and rebuild after a natural disaster.

Let’s say you live in Wyoming or somewhere and you feel that hurricanes are the least of your worries, where is your money invested? Where is your pension fund? What stocks are held in your mutual fund and or annuities? You may not live on the Atlantic seaboard or on the Gulf Coast, but believe me, you took a sizeable hit along with everyone else. We’re all in this together and yes, you’re affected too.

Outsourcing Our Way To Poverty

Small Business Owner Opening for the Day.

Small Business Owners are affected when their customer base becomes unemployed. We’re ALL in this together.

You may feel relatively secure because you are self-employed or own your own business. What you need to understand is, in order for you to survive, you need a customer base. When people in your community are out of work, your business takes a hit. Think about this the next time a factory closes and ships it’s jobs overseas.

You just lost a percentage of your customer base. Yes, outsourcing affects you. When people have to make those hard decisions with regard to rent/mortgage, food, clothing and transportation, there is no money left to patronize your “ice cream parlor,” car wash, or whatever your business is. You need to be concerned and you need to not only support those workers who’ve lost their jobs due to outsourcing. You need to become an activist.

Greed

CEO Pay 343 times the average worker's pay.

Is this fair?

Let’s go back to where we began. Believe it or not, it actually is in your own selfish best interest to look out for your fellow man. The better he does, the better you can do. The more he achieves, the more you can achieve. I’m not talking about those CEO’s who are raping the profits from their companies and giving their employees the down elevator shaft. They’re not putting their money back into the community any ways. This is why painting them as the “job creators” is such nonsense. If I give $100,000 dollars to a poor person, that person is going to spend it to buy goods and services. If I give that same $100,000 to a millionaire, they’re going to tuck it away with all their other 100’s of thousands of dollars and it will not be circulated back into the economy.

The people who will spend that money – the poor and middle class – are the ones patronizing your business and creating demand for your products or services. It is that demand that causes businesses to have to hire more people and that is what creates jobs!

Do me a favor, the next time one of your Republican associates starts reciting his silly talking points and mentions “illegal immigration” as a huge problem, ask him how many American jobs Mexicans have outsourced to China? Enjoy the ensuing silence.

The Truth About Job Creators

FOUR MORE YEARS!

99 Problems but Mitt Ain't One!

Do you feel me?

by Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

FOUR MORE YEARS!

The lessons of this election? RACISM NO LONGER WINS ELECTIONS! You cannot simply play to white people and ignore all the other groups in our multicultural nation. Non-racist white people are cool with this because they see themselves as Americans FIRST. They embraced their brothers and sisters of all races and sent a powerful message to the less enlightened. WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! We must never forget this simple truth.

Mitt Romney believed he did not have to release his tax returns. He believed he did not need to give any specifics on any of his plans to actually fix the economy. He did not lay out any foreign policy agendas. He promised 12 million new jobs – ironically the same number economist forecast would be created if we simply continued on the path we’re on – but gave no specifics as to how he would create these jobs. He said he would repeal “Obama Care,” – a program growing more popular by the day – without saying what he’d replace it with… if anything!

He promised a $5 trillion dollar tax cut. Again no specifics about how he would actually achieve this figure or how it would be paid for. Evidently the”peasant class” doesn’t need to know these things?

Mendacity aka Lying!

Mitt and the truth evidently are not even passing acquaintances. I’ve been around for 55 years now and I’ve seen a few election campaigns. I am familiar with the fact that lying and politics is like ham and eggs, peanut butter and jelly or smoke and fire. When you see one, you assume the other is in the immediate vicinity. However, Mitt Romney’s campaign took things to a whole other level! In fact, there is strong evidence it may have been the “bridge too far,” “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

In 2008 when our economy was in free fall and our automotive industries were on the verge of collapse, Mitt wrote an “Op-Ed” entitled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” Without going into the mechanics of the theory of how in certain cases, bankruptcy could be a good thing. I will say, for there to be any chance of a bankruptcy leading to a positive outcome, there has to be some entity out there willing to buy the distressed company, reorganize it and take on it’s debt. Suffice it to say, there were no entities capable of doing this for our automotive industries. Thus, what Mitt was proposing would have been the total end of the American automotive industries. Not just the “Big – 3,” but all the other industries that support and rely on our automotive industries. Put another way? He was proposing manufacturing Armageddon for the United States.

Fortunately, President Obama took a different approach and the United States Government stepped in to save our Automotive industries. Mitt’s big lie came into play when he attempted to take credit for what happened by pretending that what the President did was exactly what he was suggesting. No it wasn’t! Mitt never suggested that the Government bail out the Automotive industries.

The lies continued. When our embassy in Libya was attacked, Mitt tried to get as much mileage as he possibly could from it by claiming that the President – yeah, the same President that killed Osama Bin Laden – was either too inept or trying to cover up something, to call it an “act of terrorism.” I’m not sure what he was trying to get at. Perhaps he was trying to say that the President has been faking it with regard to our successes taking out Al-Qaeda’s leadership? Nevertheless, he was severely embarrassed in the 2nd Presidential debate when he was “fact-checked” in the middle of his lie. Turns out there is video tape of the President calling the attacks terrorism the very next day in a “Rose Garden” press conference.

Mitt’s most egregious lie had to be his “Hail-Mary” pass at the end of his campaign where he claimed that Chrysler was secretly going to move the production of Jeeps to China. He released television and radio ads to this effect based on – far as I can tell – absolutely nothing! What he did was force Chrysler to weigh in and call his ads a lie!

October Surprise!

This years October surprise was delivered – if by anyone – God! Although tragic, Hurricane Sandy revealed all the lies the Republicans have been telling. The American people saw a President extend his hand in a bi-partisan way to a Governor who was one of the leading attack dogs for the Mitt Romney Campaign. Governor Christie did not have the luxury of playing partisan politics and showed himself to be grateful and appreciative of the Presidents competent handling of the disaster.

Barack Comforts Lady

A Real President

One of the many lies told by certain Republican nitwits was that the President – who’s mother was white – doesn’t like white people. The American people saw our President holding and comforting a white lady who’d lost everything in the storm and promising her that he personally and the Federal Government would be with her and all those who suffered catastrophic loss, every step of the way until they recovered. This is the way things should be and the way they’re supposed to work.

FEMA

Ironically, during his primary campaign, the question of FEMA and “Disaster Relief” came up. Mitt’s Response? “We should do away with FEMA and send it back to the States and if possible privatize it. As you might imagine, Hurricane Sandy put Mitt’s position on FEMA front and center. Instead of giving a response or answering the questions, Mitt chose to duck, avoid and ignore the questions of the American People. Evidently, In Mitt-land, we don’t deserve any answers from his majestic presence.

I’M THE WHITE GUY!

When you add it all up. The only real argument Mitt Romney’s campaign delivered was, vote for me, I’m white and wouldn’t you really rather have a white president? That message may have been enough 10 years ago. However, America is different. It is more mature. It is definitely more brown and we are much more sophisticated. You can no longer simply assume that because someone is white, they share your views on race.

I am pleased to report, we have finally reached the place where many white people are not only put off by racism, they’re not afraid to call other white people out for it! If I must say so, the future of our nation is looking very bright indeed. When we all come together, there is absolutely nothing we cannot achieve.

How A Real President Responds To Crisis

How A Real President Responds To Crisisby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

Faced with how a real President responds to a national crisis, Republicans are running around with their hair on fire! One is forced to ask, are they really that unpatriotic? Or is it that their hatred for our first Black President is greater than their love for country or their concern for the welfare of their fellow American citizens?

A Tale Of Two Storms

Woman picks through the rubble of her home after Hurricane Katrina

Woman picks through the rubble of her home after Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina and it’s aftermath is still fresh in our collective psyches. For the first time in our modern technological history, a portion of our nation took on the optics of a 3rd world nation. We seemed powerless to help our fellow citizens and this impotence was hammered home day after day, night after night by our 24 hour news coverage.

Hurricane Katrina Victims

Hurricane Katrina Victims signalling for help

We watched as the people of New Orleans – those fortunate enough to make it to their roofs – stood on their roofs, some waving t-shirts, other’s spelling out the word “help” with whatever debris they could get their hands on, all begging for rescue. News helicopters unequipped to be any more than a photographer’s platform, filmed the horror with the unblinking eye of the camera… and we watched. We saw men, women and children endure what none of us could possibly imagine ever happening in the United States of America.

We pride ourselves on coming to the aid of other nations to bring relief and rescue. Suddenly it appeared that we, the worlds last remaining “Super Power,” needed aid. It was a blow to our pride, self-esteem and wounded our delusion of independent self-reliance. The notion of “American Exceptionalism,” was laid bare for the myth that it is.

Michael D. Brown

Michael D. Brown – Head of FEMA under George W. Bush

When Katrina hit, Michael D. Brown – an appointee of G.W. Bush – was the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. This was a curious appointment because Brown had absolutely no experience in emergency management of any sort! He was a lawyer and a radio personality. The only management responsibility on his résumé was his time as commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association. Bush might as well have made him “Surgeon General.” He was just as qualified for that position.

To his credit, following the Katrina débâcle  a video tape emerged showing Michael Brown warning George Bush that Katrina “might be the big one.”

Unfortunately,  being able to perceive that the light at the end of the tunnel might be a train, doesn’t necessarily mean you know the way out of the tunnel. In short, from my perspective, Michael Brown did the best he could, he was just in over his head.

George Bush in his pick-up truck on his ranch in Crawford, TX.

George Bush in his pick-up truck on his ranch in Crawford, TX. Secret Service wouldn’t let him drive it on the streets.

George Bush had been vacationing at his ranch in Crawford, TX. On the Monday the storm hit, he was attending a ceremony in California. He did not return to Washington until Wednesday following the storm and did not visit New Orleans until that Friday. It was 5 days before he arrived on the scene of what he called “our worst natural disaster in history.” 

FEMA Trailers

Unusable FEMA Trailers – Contaminated with toxic levels of formaldehyde.

FEMA under the Bush administration had given a no bid contract to Bechtel. They were to provide trailers to be used to house victims of major disasters until they could return to their homes. The problem was these trailers had toxic levels of formaldehyde. The people who were moved into them became ill. Of course law suits were filed. Needless to say, this gave FEMA a “black-eye” in the view of the public.

To sum things up, the government’s handling of Katrina was worse than a Chinese fire drill. People died who could have been rescued. The perception that the government was ineffective and more hindrance than solution, was reinforced in the minds of many.

When Hurricane Sandy struck we all, I included, expected the government response to be similar. No, I did not think it would be anywhere near as bad as it was under the Bush administration. Cronyism and incompetence simply oozed from the pores of the Bush administration. However the differences in the responses between the Obama administration and the Bush administration have been stunning!

Craig Fugate

Craig Fugate – Head of FEMA under President Obama

The first notable difference is, when it came time to select a Head of FEMA, President Obama hired the director of Emergency Management from the State of Florida, Craig Fugate. Why? Florida is in the line of fire 6 months out of the year during Hurricane season. Florida gets hit frequently. Thus when he hired Craig Fugate, he was hiring someone with actual experience in crisis management and disaster mitigation. Yes, competence makes a difference.

In the aftermath of Sandy, in the words of Dawn Zimmer, the Mayor of Hoboken, NJ, “I put out a call for help and within 90 minutes, FEMA and the National Guard were here.”  The other difference? The day after the storm, President Obama was on the scene, viewing the damage, finding out what was needed and giving physical and emotional comfort to those who’d lost everything. George Bush? 5 days. President Obama? Next day. There is a difference.

A Real President

I’ve heard some make the claim that the President does nothing other than show up for “photo-ops.” The explicit implication – I know, borders on an oxymoron – is that the President is using a tragedy for political gain. While there is little doubt this has happened in the past, with President Obama this is clearly not the case. Sometimes it requires an “Act of God,” to cause people to realize what is truly important.

President Obama meets Governor Christie

President Obama meets with Governor Christie in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has been an outspoken supporter of Mitt Romney and an ardent, vociferous, bombastic critic of the President. When Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey, that was his “come to Jesus” moment. Partisan politics went out the window and Governor Christie found himself in the awkward position of needing the help of the President of the United States for the people of New Jersey. When your home gets blown away, you don’t give a damn which party the person helping you belongs to. You’re just happy someone is extending you a helping hand.

President Obama Comforts Woman

President Obama Comforts Female Victim of Hurricane Sandy

Having a real President show up clearly means a lot in a time of despair. It clearly meant a lot to the people who’d lost everything. When President Obama took that woman in his arms and told her that everything was going to be alright and that our government was going to help her put her life back together, it carried the weight of a President who means what he says and says what he means.

Say what you will about President Obama, there’s one thing that is beyond dispute, whatever he says he will do, he does. He said he would defeat Al-Qaeda, he’s done that. When the question was asked in the primary debates, if he would go into Pakistan to get Bin Laden if he had actionable intelligence, he said he would and he did. He said he would pass healthcare reform, he did that. So when he tells a grieving lady that everything is going to be alright and that the government was going to be with her every step of he way, she tends to believe it and takes hope from it.

Aircraft Carrier Turning

Aircraft Carrier turning

What can a real President do? First of all, he can cut through government “red tape” like a hot knife through butter. President Obama gave instructions that he didn’t want any hold ups or impediments to government aid. He can do a lot more. This is what I believe stunned Governor Christie. When the issue came up of helicopters coming in to bring supplies and assist in search and rescue missions, the problem was where to land them. President Obama picked up the phone and ordered 3 aircraft carriers to station themselves off the coast of New York and New Jersey, to act as mobile bases for the helicopters that would be needed.

C-130

C-130 being loaded

Getting the power back on? We’re Americans. When one State is in need, all of the United States pitch in to help. States all around the nation began rolling crews, equipment and trucks toward our Atlantic seaboard. California sent crews. When President Obama heard they were driving all the way from California to New Jersey and New York, he told them to divert to an airport where he would have C-130 military transports waiting to pick them up, trucks and all.  This is what a real President can do. I’m damn glad we’ve got one.

He Delivered

He Delivered