Educating America During the Neocon Era

Political parties, during their employ as the head of a government, frequently seem to pick something as their “hot-button”. Avoiding wars, promoting diplomacy, promoting education, economic health and other like topics identify some political parties. And those political parties frequently earn an ATTA BOY to present to the American people.

But after 1980 the “hot buttons” of American politics changed – considerably. The attitudes on avoiding war, promoting diplomacy, economic health and promoting education changed.

Rather than seek to avoid wars, the neocons went in search of wars. And President Ronald Reagan found one in the jungles of South America. President Bush had more luck. He created his own war.

Promoting diplomacy almost died during the neocon rein. Why should a President, as Commander-In-Chief, sitting on a pile of nuclear weapons, seek out diplomacy? And an American Vice President readily acknowledged that America’s President could start a war without getting anyone’s permission. While that is likely true, “nobody never boasted of that before”.

And economic health, after 1980, was turned upside down. There are many graphs, on the Internet, showing how America’s debt was managed by the after 1980 neocons. And if sanity has not left the viewer of such graphs, the concept of economic suicide might cross their minds.

Education, after 1980, also caught the eye of neocons.

Sesame Street: Bush goes after ‘Sesame Street’

Big Bird: Big Bird Flies Right

Public Broadcasting: Bush Slashes Funding for Public Broadcasting

Legacy College Admissions: The Legacy of Legacies

It may not be a well-known fact that the neocons created the “No Child Left Behind” law. But that law, like the one on immigration languished in the shadow of wars and color-coded terror alerts. And now, after twenty-some odd years of neocon indoctrination there is the opportunity to kill the “no child left behind” law. You see – that law failed – understand?

That law failed!!!! What neocon laws/features/functions didn’t fail? Did their laws controlling the economy “not fail”? Did their Iraq war “not fail”? What did the neocons do that did not fail? Why must the “no child left behind” law be treated so differently from the neocons’ VOODOO ECONOMICS law which failed – miserably? Not only did voodoo economics fail – it doesn’t make sense – common sense.

America is said to have some 42 million adults who can’t read. That – to some political parties, might be an asset. If a political party has nothing but a string of failures, it might be ok to have ombudsmen(voters) who don’t know how to read about those failures.

Educating Americans is not about wars. It is about keeping America competitive as a world leader. It is about keeping America’s knowledge on the cutting edge. And that includes liberal arts and war college. The neocons gets a big fat “F” as their grade for educating Americans. And China is turning that American  “F” into a Chinese  “A“.

America’s 1999 Political Wisdom Returned America’s Economic Environment to the 1930′s

Was the political decision to return America’s economic environment to the same status as was its economic environment during the Great Depression a well thought-out decision?

Did America’s press inform America’s ombudsmen(voters) of the possible gravity of such a decision?  Did everyone on America’s payroll earn their pay? Did anyone dare TELL AMERICA that bank laws would be as impotent in 1999 as they were in 1930? Who was looking out for America – neocons?

What, in America’s 1999 economy, indicated that a return to the Great Depression era economic environment was due? What, in America’s 1999 economy indicated that a return to the past would work fine this time? And what-if  this political decision failed, who would suffer the consequences?

It sure looks like somebody did not do a quality job for America’s ombudsmen(voters). It is terribly difficult to believe that America’s ombudsmen(voters) would have stood mute over what 1999′s attack on America’s economy could potentially do to that economy.

And why didn’t the 1999 political party also roll-back government protection of Americans’ personal bank accounts? The press could have taken a press holiday and Americans would still have been warned of a political attack on their economy. But the political party did not kill protection of America’s personal bank accounts. That means the political party did not notify America of the attack on its economy. Notifying America was a task left to America’s press.

And the press has some notable men to its credit – among them Walter Cronkite, Jack Anderson, and don’t forget the news delivery boy. On the streets of America, there he was:  yelling “wuxtra, wuxtra, read all about it…” . And back then it was relatively safe to turn your “common sense” latch off – while reading some of the press accounts.

But today, America’s greed has grown while its ethics has not. And today, some just see America as:

The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs?

West Sees Libya as Opportunity for Business

The New York Times

REBUILDING AFTER WAR

Europeans and Asians Ahead of Americans, an Official Says

By Scott Shane

WASHINGTON – The guns in Libya have barely quieted, and NATO’s military assistance to the rebellion that toppled Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi will not end officially until Monday. But a new invasion force is already plotting its own landing on the shores of Tripoli.[...]

What a difference an American political party makes. During the neocon era, war in Lebanon saw the use of cluster bombs dropped in residential areas. The war in Libya saw no such thing.

During the war in Lebanon, an American President said he could not tell Israel how to protect itself. That was during the dropping of cluster bombs in residential neighborhoods of Lebanon.

During the war in Libya no such thing took place.

During the war in Lebanon, organizations like NATO took a back-seat to America’s neocons and their Middle East sidekick.

During the war in Libya such organizations played a leadership role.

During the war in Lebanon, talk of the West helping rebuild Lebanon quickly “died on the vine”.

During the war in Libya, that talk is alive.

Prior to President Obama’s election as President, the neocon leadership expressed concern that a President Obama could not be the Commander-In-Chief that they were. On that account – they were correct.

America’s neocons, cognizant of how they had managed on an international scale, were concerned that a newly incoming Obama Administration would not be able to mirror their accomplishments acheivements ATTA BOY tasks in the manner in which the neocons were accustomed. And they, via both the neocon press and the non-neocon press, voiced their opinion to America’s ombudsmen(voters).

And after twenty-some-odd years of neocon indoctrination, perhaps America’s intellect was susceptible to some neocon ideology.

Reference: Scott Shane, The New York Times, Saturday Oct. 29, 2011, Front Page

A Date That SHOULD Live Into Infamy?

All of us remember December 7, 1941. It’s a date that would live into infamy. America’s press made sure that President Roosevelt’s message, about the start of WWII got out to America and the world.

Nothing of that magnitude has happened again but there is another date in America’s history that should be re-evaluated. Perhaps it – too should live into infamy.

That date is September 4, 1999. On September 4, 1999 America’s Congress repealed the Glass-Steagall Act. And that self-inflicted wound was going to draw serious blood in December of 2007.

How – you might ask, can an event lag a cause by – lets see – 2007 minus 1999 = 8 years? For an experienced economy crasher, it can and was done in half that time. And selling Congress on the idea – apparently was not difficult.

The neocons used the idea of “weapons of mass destruction” to sell the Iraq war to Congress. What or how did the neocons sell the death of the Glass-Steagall Act to Congress? Lets look at an excerpt from a Huffington Post article whose link is shown above:

[...] The title of the bill was ‘The Financial Modernization Act’. And so if you don’t want to modernize, I guess you’re considered hopelessly old fashioned.”[...]

The Financial Modernization Act rolled back America’s economic protections to what they were in the 30′s. But the neocons left standing government protection of Americans’ personal bank accounts. Guess the neocons didn’t want to modernize personal bank accounts. An attack on America’s personal bank accounts might have gotten the attention of America’s ombudsmen(voters).

Lets imagine a conversation between the 1999 neocon Congress and that 5th grader:

1999 Congress: We are going to pass a Financial Modernization Act.

5th Grader: Yeaaa!

5th Grader: What’s a Financial Modernization Act?

1999 Congress: Its an act that will permit banks to expand their services into multiple “disciplines”.

5th Grader: Yeaaa! What’s disciplines?

1999 Congress: Multiple financial instruments.

5th Grader: What’s multiple financial instruments?

1999 Congress: Well … we don’t want to get into details …

5th Grader: Would financial derivatives and adjustable rate mortgages be in the “financial instruments” package?

1999 Congress: I’m afraid we’ve run out of time …

5th Grader: This financial Modernization Act sounds dreadfully like a return to the conditions of the Great Depression. Could you please comment on that? [A long...very long pause and then...]

… if you would like to make a call, please hang up and …

5th Grader: Hmmmm. Perhaps that date – September 4, 1999 should be a date that will live into infamy.

Will Terrorists and Neocons Have a Reduced Impact On the World?

The world seems to be winning the battle against terrorists and neocons. The terrorist’s domain is physical damage. The neocons domain is economic damage.

To the terrorist the evaluation says:

Hillary Clinton hails success in ‘devastating’ al-Qaeda

And to the “stone walling, filisbustering neocons” the evaluation says:

US economic growth up on spending

ATTA BOY America!!!

It is not humanly possible, in a single lifetime, to escape from the many neocon holes dug throughout America’s political landscape. But it certainly is possible to get America back on track.

It was good to see Bank of America starting to look good. The billionaire who helped Bank of America proves that not all billionaires are in a rush to go “overseas” looking for opportunities.

Big Oil, Big Gas and Big Pharmaceuticals – The LIST

The LIST (BIG oil, BIG gas, Big pharmaceutics) can say “ATTA BOY” to the neocons’ tragic management of America’s economy. You see – the LIST got theirs.

The LIST is currently a short LIST. But others, seeing the payback of being on the LIST are wanting to join.

BIG oil got Iraq’s oil. BIG gas got fracking. BIG pharmaceuticals got Medicare part D. And BIG America got a GREAT RECESSION. If BIG America wants to join the LIST, the reasons are likely subtle.

BIG cheeseburgers, BIG coffee, BIG butter and BIG “news” have, in recent times, made known their desires to be admitted to the LIST.

BIG cheeseburgers made news by suggesting, via its employees pay envelope, that they join the neocons.

This happened in the state of Ohio. And, of course, the state of Ohio has had a high profile during the neocon era. In 2004, America’s national election produced much talk about the counting ability of electronic voting machines. Even professional poll watchers were puzzled by the vote count from Cleveland, Ohio.

Also, Ohio is the home of the burning river, Here man challenged Mother Nature’s idea that there is no natural garbage dump on earth. The business expense of having to process garbage was being avoided. The river was used as a dumping ground until it caught fire and embarrassed Ohio and America. And changes were made.

But even today, there is someone, running around in Ohio talking about LABOR’S POWER and how they needed to limit that power. Ohio certainly has had a high profile during the neocon era.

BIG coffee and BIG butter “lent” their voices to persuading American ombudsmen(voters) to accept/join neocon politics.

There is no way in HELL that the list of neocon political behaviors and accomplishments can get through the PEARLY GATES. But BIG greed will deal with that problem if and when it happens.

BIG coffee and BIG butter still seems to have work to do in the health food area. America is now becoming more interested in eating healthy. Perhaps the neocons might de-emphasize eating healthy?

Big News has “put its money where its mouth is”.

Money talks, A million dollar contribution to a neocon leaning organization can probably help BIG news get its hands on the government owned Internet. No, the government does not own your computer which is attached to the Internet nor does the telephone company require ownership of the telephone that is attached to the telephone system.

You see – news sources aren’t what they used to be. Back in the day, America’s culture spoke to the dedication to duty of America’s press. Clark Kent, of Superman fame, worked in the news business. No way in Hell would Clark Kent do what a today’s news source is accused of doing. And the idea that one rotten apple can spoil the barrel might include spoiling other kinds of objects related to the rotten apple – even police departments.

So, how was America’s ombudsmen(voters) persuaded that “it’s all good”? Perhaps they weren’t persuaded. Perhaps they didn’t know. Perhaps some news sources didn’t tell.

After formal education, Americans depend on news sources to put relevant, factual information into America’s CURRENT EVENTS news pool. But when BIG news has a political agenda, don’t expect BIG news to be unbiased. In Clark Kent’s day – BIG news told America to do its civic duty and vote. Today, BIG news TELLS AMERICA who to vote for.

Are we there yet?

Jobs for the Military? Protective Armor for the Military? Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the Military?

America needs its military and its military needs America. America’s neocon leadership made great demands on America’s military. Neocons love wars. There is no greater demand on the military than war whether that war be for well known causes or whether that war be for unknown causes. War is hell.

America’s military did its Iraqi war duty. America’s military really had no options within the fabric of the United States of America. However the neocons did have and exercise options. America’s neocons had the options to DO or NOT DO.

The neocons could have provided military armor for America’s soldiers in Iraq before the soldiers begged. Or the neocons could have waited until after the soldiers begged.

The neocons could have provided, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, excellent medical services for America’s fallen warriors or the neocons could have waited until the conditions under which the neocon government treated its fallen heros became public.

As the Iraq war winds down, through no fault of the neocons, America’s warriors will be returning home to an economy pre-processed by the neocons’ VOODOO ECONOMICS.

While voodoo economics seeks to put money into the pockets of BIG PEOPLE, that is not a “sea to shinning sea” type distribution that might accommodate some 300,000,000 Americans – socialism you know.

In 2003, under unknown pretenses, America’s Army was sent on a journey to Iraq. America’s Army is now, through no fault of the neocons, at journey’s end. Will the neocons welcome them back with the same determination that they sent them off with? Will the neocons try to provide jobs for the American soldiers who left their jobs at the behest of America’s 2003 Commander-in-Chief? Where are we going?

Are we there yet?

With Political Conservatives Around – Who Needs Terrorists?

Terrorists didn’t do it in 1929. And terrorists didn’t do it in 2007. Yet it was done. America was hurt badly without a building being blown-up or a physical body being destroyed. Both terrorists and neocons would like to change the politics of America.

Abraham Lincoln thought that America would not be destroyed from the outside. He surmised that America might destroy itself. And he may well have known his party better than most.

If America is destroyed, it may well destroy itself. Something has been eating at America’s resources since 1929. And there appears to be no cure for that something – called greed.

In a democracy, greed is good. But uncontrolled anything, including greed, is bad.

Good government is the controlling influence on greed and other things bad. And that is why greed attacks government. Like any good health crushing virus, greed attacks what can inhibit its growth or infestation.

Controlling greed is difficult. Greed attempts to consume everything – politics, economies, news sources, jobs and even foods that Americans consume. Cheeseburgers, butter and coffee have already gotten political. And politics is what greed wraps itself in.

The politics of greed has been a factor in many of the world’s problems. Iraq had a problem with being the world’s 2nd largest oil reserves. Greed might not like that. So, it could have cost greed 3tn dollars to make changes to that situation.

Who paid? America paid – in both lives and dollars. What about those sponsoring greed? Did they loose lives or pay dollars?

Can a bear fly?

With political conservatives around – who needs terrorists? Terrorists are not the only ones who can damage or destroy a country’s assets in attempting to make political changes.

The right-wing of America’s Republican party has depleted the assets of America’s treasury – not once – but twice. And if one looks at graphs of how the 1980 neocons “managed” America’s debt – and if one is of sound mind and maybe sound body – and if one has passed the 5th grade – one might question if the cratering of America’s treasury, by America’s neocons, was deliberate.

With political conservatives around – who needs terrorists?

There is an Economy Problem: But It’s Not The Tax Structure

If tax structure was the economy problem, the democrats would have needed an entirely different approach to fix the 1929 crash that happened during the republicans management of America’s economy. Tax structure was not the economy problem in 1929.

If the economy problem was tax structure it would show up across party lines. America’s economy has crashed twice. It was the same political party in power each time the economy crashed.

If the economy problem was tax structure, it would have made no difference if the neocons, in 1999, removed the economy’s protections that had kept America’s economy afloat since the last time the republicans presided over the crashing of America’s economy.

There is a problem with America’s economy, but its not tax structure. Give a 5th grader the facts related to the economy problem and the 5th grader would likely make a better solution step to problem resolution than the neocons are making. You see… the neocons are not entirely unbiased in the search for a solution to a problem that only seems to happen on their watch. And they have not ruled America for 300 years. Likely, if they had, America would still be the banana republic it started out as.

There is a problem with the economy, but its not tax structure. Central to the problem is banks. And banks are, of course, where the money is at. It is totally stupid to have investors owning a country’s economy while banks are free to do as they choose. That is the problem that the neocons are currently trying to cover-up. The neocons are currently trying to cover up greed based activities of their political base. Imagine million dollar bonuses for leading a country into a great recession.

The press, in 1999, should have had a duty to loudly caution America about what the neocons were doing to America’s economy. In 1999 the neocons rolled back America’s economy protections essentially to what they were in the 30′s.

Back in 1999 the neocons in Congress repealed the Glass-Steagall act. The Glass-Steagall Act had kept America’s economy out of recessions and depressions for 70 some-odd-years.

In 2003 a high ranking neocon official decided that the economy needed to be made “more better”. The official wanted everyone, who wanted to work, to have a job. That might exclude the lazy, no good, trifling Americans who had given up the search for jobs. And that expression, “who wanted to work” likely played well among the neocon faithful.

And so, that 2003 State Of The Union Message got the de-regulation ball rolling. Banks could return to their 1930′s behaviors. And guess what? Banks did. And guss what – again? America’s economy crashed – just like it did in the 30′s.

There is an economy problem but its not the tax structure. The neocons could or perhaps should take a hint from Pogo(comic strip): we have met the economy problem and it is us.

What’s Our Next Failure – A flat Tax Economy?

Currently, America’s neocons are managing America’s economy via TAX CUTS and VOODOO ECONOMICS. Perhaps, if America has had enough – America may now be ready to try an experimental flat rate tax system.

America has dabbled in voodoo economics, dope pedaling, penis slicing, water-boarding and war-mongering. So, perhaps dabbling with a flat tax rate may be just what is needed to get America out of the doldrums.

A flat tax disaster would be creative. It might get neocons’ creative juices flowing. And for a political party that has not shown competence on hardly any major endeavor, it may be a chance for the neocons to get their very first “ATTA BOY”. But worse case, which is likely, the neocons will put America back into the same straits it experienced in 1929. They are well on their way at this time.

How successful have the neocons been at accomplishing tasks? Not too successful.

They tried managing the financial support of an adopted war in the jungles of South America. They failed.

They tried managing America’s labor. They failed.

They tried managing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They failed.

They tried managing the Iraq war. They failed.

They tried managing immigration. They failed.

They tried managing outer space. They failed.

They failed at managing most every significant task they tried. At this point in time, it seems, that any major task placed in the hands of neocons will fail.

But who knows – it is still possible for the neocons to accomplish something. They have had a lot of experience with economies. Perhaps the “law of chance” will finally intercede on their behalf and make something come out right. After all, America’s ombudsmen(voters) have allowed them to continue their gamble with America’s capitalist economy for twenty-some-odd years.