Destroying America In 3 Easy Steps

Destroying America Headerby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

EVERYTHING THE TEA PARTY AND THE GOP ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT… Were in full swing for 8 years under George Bush. Odd we heard not a peep from them then isn’t it? Wonder what’s changed???

How do you bring down the United States? It is easy!

Destroying America In 3 Easy Steps

STEP ONE: Get rid of the Glass-Steagall act.

This was a firewall between retail banking and investment banking. Investors want a certain amount of risk. Taking risks can lead to windfall profits. Yes, you can lose your shirt, but heretofore, people who played in the investment markets, were the wealthy and only played with money that they could afford to lose.

With Glass-Steagall out of the way, suddenly people’s mortgages became investment instruments. Retirements became pension funds tied to the success or failure of your corporation. The middle class was built on home ownership. The majority of people’s wealth was in their homes. These homes were then passed down to their children giving them a leg up into the middle class.

Destroying America - Fred Thompson AAG

For God’s sake! Don’t pass that wealth on to your children!!!

I can remember when ARMs – Adjustable Rate Mortgages – became all the rage. People were encouraged to re-finance their homes, take their equity out and spend it. Now they’re pushing “Reverse Mortgages,” Can’t have the “middle class” passing their wealth to the next generation. They might actually become really wealthy! You surely don’t think the collapse of the housing market was accidental do you?

STEP TWO: Cut the tax revenue coming into the United States

Destroying America - Debt Chart

Click for full size.

The Bush era tax cuts, which the Republicans made permanent, are what has caused our national debt to sky rocket. Under Bill Clinton, we balanced our budget and had begun paying down our debt such that had we followed through, our entire national debt would have been paid off by the year 2010. Our nation would have been debt free! Once debt free, we could kiss the Federal Reserve goodbye! However, as I recall, the GOP simply hated Bill Clinton. Matter of fact, they impeached him! If the future of their grandchildren were truly as important as they’d like to pretend… They would have embraced Bill Clinton’s policies and remained on track to America becoming debt free. Bill Clinton left George Bush a $1.9 trillion dollar budget surplus.

STEP THREE: Burn through the national savings account.

George Bush went on a spending spree along with the congressional Republicans that would make a drunken sailor blush. Yes, we were attacked on September 11, 2001. I won’t go into the plethora of facts that make the official story absolute nonsense, but let us examine our response.

First, “Terror” is not a person. It is not a nation State. It is not an organization such as Al’Qaeda. Terror is a TACTIC. You cannot wage war on a tactic. Of course, caught up in the fervor of blood lust with our thirst for revenge, very little critical thinking was going on back then. We went into Afghanistan – which made sense – but, when we had the chance to capture Osama Bin Laden and decapitate the head of Al’Qaeda, we let him escape in order to rush into Iraq which had absolutely nothing to do with the attacks on the United States. Al’Qaeda wasn’t even in Iraq until they followed us there.

Remember how we effectively cut our income by giving tax cuts to the top 1%? By launching two wars simultaneously, we were burning through billions of dollars a day and there was no revenue stream incoming to replace our outgo. Thus we simply threw everything on the national credit card. In point of fact, George Bush didn’t even include the costs of these wars as a budget item. What could possibly go wrong???

Destroying America - Bush Painting

He is a better painter than he was a President… And his paintings suck!

The only thing that did go wrong was George Bush’s timing. I am firmly convinced that the plan was to mortally wound the United States and then let a Black President preside over its demise and of course take the blame. Things came to a pimple just a bit sooner than Bush had planned thus the TARP bailout was on his watch. Yes, that’s right. It was George Bush who signed the TARP bailout, Republicans rail against. If only things had taken a few more weeks to come together, George would have been back in Crawford Texas painting his water colors and acrylics, pretending no involvement.

The media propaganda has been working hammer and tong to rewrite history such that even now, most Republicans and TEA Party nit wits will argue vociferously that President Obama was responsible for the TARP, Of course, history – and spelling – were never really their strong suits.

We Are In Much Better Hands Than We Should Be

Destroying America - Mitt Romney

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt!

So, here we are. What they never counted on was President Obama being as competent as he is. Remember Mitt Romney’s article, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt?” Can you imagine having a President who would so cavalierly recommend the total destruction of an industry? Let us forget for a moment the human impacts of his advice. We all know that Mitt was born without a soul. Think for a moment what it would mean to the safety and security of these United States if we lost our manufacturing base.

If we have to have our weapons of war, manufactured and shipped to us, this creates a logistics problem and a critical supply line that could be cut by an enemy we were at war with. No need to bomb over here. Just bomb the factories that are producing our tanks, planes and other weapons of war in the various nations we’d be forced to buy them from. Think having a shotgun for home defense, but storing it at your neighbor’s house.

During WWI and WWII, it was our automotive manufacturing facilities that were tooled up and re-purposed to produce the Tanks, Jeeps, Half-Tracks, Heavy Trucks and fighter planes that helped us to win the war. The big foundries that were producing engine blocks began producing armor plating, hull sections for ships and submarines, and a host of other items we don’t even think about. Our automotive industries and their manufacturing capabilities are crucial to the safety and survival of this nation. Any person who doesn’t know this, shouldn’t be President.

Other than the Bush tax cuts, the next biggest drain on our budget is health care costs. I don’t want to live in a 3rd World Nation where people are left to die on the side of the roads. I want people around me to be healthy. My health and well being depend on it. So do yours. However, equally important is the fact that our population is greying, getting older. Older people require more and more medical attention. The question is not whether we’re going to pay for this, the question is how do we get the best service while keeping our costs down?

Let me share with you something from my own personal experience. A year or so ago, I had to have vein surgery to correct some varicose veins in both of my legs. Thus I had to have two surgeries. One on each leg. We spaced these about 4 weeks apart.

The bill for each leg was roughly $16,000 dollars or $32,000 for both. Mind you, this is routine outpatient surgery. I did not spend the night in the hospital either time. Of that total $32,000 my surgeon who actually performed the surgery, his two surgical nurses who assisted him and the Anaesthesiologist who put me to sleep and woke me back up, combined they got a total of a little over $5,000 dollars in total for both procedures. Where did the other $27,000 go? The Hospital received that for renting out it’s surgical suite for less than 4 hours.

Destroying America - Operating SuiteWhat did I use in that suite that amounted to $27,000 dollars? Since I saw the inside of the suite twice, I can tell you that the lights were the same each time, the stainless steel table was the same, the monitors and equipment were the same. Nothing had to be replaced between operations. So what exactly cost $27,000 dollars? That’s $6,750 per hour. Just like a gas station attempting to explain why the price of gas jumped 60 cents in 24 hours, the Hospital will try and explain the cost they’re charging those of us who can pay. You know? The ones of us with insurance. Their explanation is, we’re paying for all those people who do not have insurance. The ones who are treated in the Emergency room and never pay their bills.

It is a vicious circle. Insurance Companies raise your premiums because hospital costs keep rising. Hospital cost keep rising because people who’s only option is to use the “Emergency Room,” often cannot pay their bills. So, ultimately who is paying for people not having health insurance? You are. Just because you don’t see it as an itemized figure on your bill, doesn’t mean it is not there.

We need to address this and we’ve known since the 40’s we’ve needed to address the rising cost of health care. When people don’t pay their hospital bills, the hospital corporations write those off as losses on their income tax statements. In essence, they are double dipping. They’re claiming a loss to the federal government, while raising their rates to cover that loss through each paying customer. It is a sweet system… if you’re a hospital.

Saving America

To save America we need to simply reverse what has been done to her. Regulate the banks. Get rid of the Bush tax cuts. The 1% were doing just fine under the Clinton era tax rates and we need to fix health care so that people can protect their income. It is just that simple.

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.