Month: October 2009

The Terror-Industrial Complex

When Eisenhower left office in 1960 he warned the nation to beware of the military-industrial complex…he gave a rather dire warning of a beast that could be born….and his prediction was ever so accurate.  But what is the MIC?

a concept commonly used to refer to policy relationships between governments, national armed forces, and industrial support they obtain from the commercial sector in political approval for research, development, production, use, and support for military training, weapons, equipment, and facilities within the national defense and security policy.

It has become a helluva beast giving the MIC a unwarranted amount of influence with the lawmakers of the country.  In Eisenhower’s words:

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction… This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.

About now you are wondering just where I am going with this….Patience is a virtue…….

Colin Powell has seen the rise of yet another beast….the Terror-Industrial Complex…..raising its ugly head and just as Eisenhower warned of the MIC, Powell is doing so about the TIC…this could cost him politically.

The following is a post from Lincoln Madison, blogspot.com:

a two-year-old interview by Will Prescott, a college newspaper reporter, with former Secretary of State General Colin Powell, following up on Powell’s comments about the “Terror-Industrial Complex” in an interview with Walter Isaacson in the September 2007 issue of GQ magazine. I had to hunt around to find the video — several sources had broken links — and I didn’t find the text of the full interview. The complete transcript follows below the fold, with verified links to the original video of the interview, the articles from The Oklahoma Daily before and after the interview, and the GQ interview. Incidentally, Keith Olbermann credits Terry Gilliam, the one American-born member of the Monty Python crew, with bringing this interview back to his attention.

LINKS:
Colin Powell “terrorist-industrial complex” video on OU’s website (interview by Will Prescott, The Oklahoma Daily and Nick Tankersley, The Hub)
The Oklahoma Daily/Hub article before the interview [2007-09-11]
The Oklahoma Daily/Hub article after the interview [2007-09-12]
GQ interview by Walter Isaacson of Colin Powell, Sept. 2007
The specific part of the Isaacson interview about the Terror-Industrial Complex

Will Prescott: Good morning – good afternoon, Sir. Again, in a [September 2007] GQ interview with Walter Isaacson, you said we need to be beware of creating a “Terror-Industrial Complex.” What would a Terror-Industrial Complex look like, and are we headed in that direction?

Powell: Well, I think we have to beware of it. We’re spending an enormous amount of money on homeland security — and I think we should spend whatever it takes — but I think we have to be careful that we don’t get so caught up in trying to throw money at the terrorist and counterterrorist problem that we’re essentially creating an industry that will only exist as long as you keep the terrorist threat pumped up. And so that would be the context of that comment, and I feel strongly about it — just as, many years ago, [U.S. President] General [Dwight] Eisenhower warned [PDF] about a Military-Industrial Complex. I just wanted to make a point: defend ourselves, screen ourselves, do everything we can to go after terrorists and defeat terrorism, because it is a threat, it is an enemy — but let’s keep it in perspective. Let’s keep it in context, because the United States has many needs. We have needs to deal with the poverty of some of our people, education, the environment. There are lots of things America needs to do, and we have to make sure we only spend that which is absolutely essential on our military, on our police forces, and on our [anti-]terrorist activities.

Now you can see what Powell was talking about…all you need to do is look at the MIC and see the horrible voracious beast that it has become and now we are creating yet another hungry monster that will eat and eat until there is nothing left……it is like the government has created a Frankenstein and then created its mate…..all in the name of national security.  IT’S ALIVE!

It may be too late already…..this beast like the beast from Hell…once released is here forever.

Has GOP Finally Found A Hook?

Looks like the GOP has found that long elusive hook for their opposition to any health reform…..took the dimwits long enough…..they seem to have stumbled onto the “hook” finally….

All summer long they were shooting their wads at reform….death panels…..socialism….government run……fascism…..on and on….a whole litany of non-existent fears….and with each “new” attack the party would pull a few more people from the rolls of the pro-reform camp.

After a long summer of craziness…..that elusive issue has made it to their attacks……

I know…..I know…..would I please get to the point and stop dragging this out…..what the Hell did they find that would help their cause and attacks on health reform?

One word…ABORTION!

But I bet you thought that that issue had been settled earlier in the summer, right?  Think again!  The NY Times is reporting in yesterday’s edition:

Abortion opponents in both the House and the Senate are seeking to block the millions of middle- and lower-income people who might receive federal insurance subsidies to help them buy health coverage from using the money on plans that cover abortion. And the abortion opponents are getting enough support from moderate Democrats that both sides say the outcome is too close to call. Opponents of abortion cite as precedent a 30-year-old ban on the use of taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions.

With each attack, whether true or misleading, more and more Americans are being peeled off of the side of change….and as this happens, it appears that the country could be moving into a more conservative posture…(a future post in the making)….but will this issue bring down the health reform bill?  Probably not, but stranger things have happened…..abortion was attempt to be used this past summer and the Dems adjusted their wording to silence the opposition on the matter, but now……it is BACK!

But with that said…it needs to be pointed out that they, Republicans,  were standing on the pier and the ship went right pass them….they missed the boat and continue to miss the boat….

But after a summer of calling Dems socialists/Nazis/Death dealers/etc…..a whole litany of lies and misinformation…letting the conservs on radio and TV lead the opposition and to set the agenda…..I have but one thing to say to the GOP…….

Are you dipsticks ignorant or just plain stupid?  Why do I ask?  All the bills that have come out of both chambers and all the committees have increased taxation…..I mean you idiots tried to scare the public with made up crap….why not use something that really exist?  Like…….. TAXES!

If this is the best you morons can do…then the Dems do not have a whole lot to worry about in 2010……I mean if you cannot use one of your tired old attacks, especially when it would be spot on for a change, then maybe you need to make the talking heads on the air waves your leaders….because the ones you have no are IMPOTENT!

GOP Bitch Slaps AARP

As I approach my twilight years (always wanted to use that term) I am bombarded with ads and flyers and deals and on and on……..from the King of the elderly….AARP…..I have resisted joining because of the TV ads for their Medicare plan …..somehow it does not sit well with me that they are pushing United Health, which is one of the biggest screwers of the consumer…..

CQ Politics is reporting:

House Republicans trying to thwart Democrats’ plans for a health care overhaul are questioning the motives of AARP, the 40-million-member seniors’ organization that the GOP accuses of putting its own interests ahead of its members’.By attacking AARP, the Republicans are wagering that seniors who fear that proposed changes to Medicare will hurt them can be turned into a potent force against an overhaul — even if their biggest advocacy group is friendly to many of the Democrats’ ideas.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana and Dave Reichert, R-Wash., fired new salvos at AARP. Reichert said that the group, which collects royalties when its members buy AARP-endorsed coverage from private insurers, is helping Democrats kill off a private-sector version of Medicare called Medicare Advantage so it can collect more commissions from seniors who would be forced to find new arrangements.

I truly wish I could come to the defense of AARP in this matter…..but alas…I cannot…

A New “Robber Baron”?

Recently I gave a lecture nad we had a helluva battle of words…..it seems those students studying finance believe that what is best for business id best for the country….I did not agree and a war of ideas ensued…..

I tried to point out that we have seen all this financial tap dancing before….back at the century of the 20th century they were called “robber barons”……

Robber baron is a term that revived in the 19th century in the United States as a reference to businessmen and bankers who dominated their respective industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various anti-competitive or unfair business practices. The term may now be used in relation to any businessman or banker who is perceived to have used questionable business practices or scams in order to become powerful or wealthy (placing them in power of everything having controlled most business affairs.)

A pretty good definition and thought I would ask……sound familiar?

What many on Wall Street do not realize that Main Street is getting more angry with every new deal that they see coming out of Washington….they see the wealthy getting wealthier while the people struggle and fail dealing with their lives…..they (the people) see businesses that made awful decisions get money to make the same type of decisions again….while Main Street gets a foreclosure notice….Main Street sees the politicians covering Wall Streets butt while they in turn screw the people in the same region of the body.

And the financial media desperately tries to convince Main Street daily that all is well within the economy…..and in the same voice tells Main Street that there is NO consumer confidence……

All this leads one to believe that their is a new generation of Robber Barons that are manipulating the economy for their benefit and the people pay the price in their daily lioves as well as the bailouts that have done NOTHING to help Main Street.

And there is Washington…..NOTHING is being done on the scale of the bailouts of the wealthy for Main Street…..the anger persists and is growing…but will the people forget all this suffering once the economy rebounds?  My guess is they will forget…..until the Robber Barons find another way to make more money, put the economy in jeopardy and gets their pound of flesh from the taxpayer……..NOTHING changes…they just re-label it and try to hide the fact that the wealthy get the gold and the people get the shaft (to resurrect an old saying).

A Robber Baron by any other name is still a thief!  And Wall Street is full of thieves!

Here It Is……The House Version!

You asked for it….now you got it!  The House version of the health reform bill has finally seen the light of day…it has just been announced….and now we can pick it apart…well, as soon as all the details are out……let the fun begin!

CNN has its report on the bill:

The bill — a combination of versions passed by three House committees — includes what is termed a “negotiated rate” public option. It will cost $894 billion over 10 years and extend insurance coverage to 36 million Americans, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.

The bill guarantees that 96 percent of Americans have coverage, Pelosi’s office said. The figure is based on an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Under the House plan, health care providers would be allowed to negotiate reimbursement rates with the federal government, according to Democratic leadership aides.

Pelosi’s office said the bill would cut the federal deficit by roughly $30 billion over the next decade. The measure is financed largely through a combination of a tax surcharge on wealthy Americans and spending constraints in Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicare expenditures would be cut by 1.3 percent annually, Pelosi’s office said.

Under the House plan, health care providers would be allowed to negotiate reimbursement rates with the federal government, according to Democratic leadership aides.

Any bill passed by the House of Representatives will eventually have to be merged with legislation passed by the Senate. Both chambers would then have to pass a revised measure before sending it to President Obama to be signed into law.

You may have only thought that the “robust” public option was still alive…….

Are you ready for the fun?  The GOP already hates it….go figure and as more details are released the more of an overall picture we will have of the proposal.

I will begin……”negotiated rate” public option?  What happen to there would be a “robust” public option?  Negotiated rate does not sound robust to me.

Sorry, progressives….so far you guys are getting bumpkus of the stuff you wanted….the GOP ought to be thrilled….why?….they have succeeded in killing the possibility of ALL Americans getting adequate health care….that is a win….so far the Dems are losing…but as the pundits say…if Obama gets a bill to sign, then that would be a win….

And that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard……

More to follow…………….

A Thug On The Payroll

Daily Agitator

I read an article in the NY Times and then I heard a news bite on the tube about the story.

President Karzai’s younger half brother, long accused of links to the drugs trade, was embroiled in fresh controversy today after The New York Times reported that he had been on the CIA’s payroll for the last eight years.

Ahmad Wali Karzai had been paid by the agency for services including arranging contacts with the Taleban and helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitary force in the southern city of Kandahar where he lives, the newspaper said.

He was also paid for allowing the CIA, US special forces and the local militia, called the Kandahar Strike Force, to use a large compound outside the city — the former home of Mullah Omar, the Taleban’s founder — it said.

There seems to be a bit of a quandry in the news……I heard some of the pundits concerned that CIA may have a thug like this guy on their payroll……(thinking)……I ask who do you think would be on the CIA payroll?  Nun?  Or perhaps a priest or two?

Are you people stupid or just doing a few downers?…..Of course CIA has thugs like this a/hole on the payroll….how do you think they get things done in the shadowy world of espionage?  CIA has ALWAYS had thugs on its payroll; if you want someone whacked you do not call on a preacher to do it for you…please people pay attention….you cannot be as naive as these pundits seem to be…..

Now thanks to the NY Times, this guy will be looking over his shoulder for the next thug to step up and do his job….and there is a possibility that that guy will also be on the CIA payroll.  This guy’s brother, the pres of Afghanistan, might want to try and remember history a bit…..the pres of South Vietnam, Diem, was whacked by CIA thugs…they did not like his way of handling things in the country…..keep an eye on history…..my only suggestion for Karzai…..

It’s Alive! But Will It Live?

The public option is dead…as predicted in the media and now….it lives!  Well, it is walking with a limp, but walking…the best question to ask is “can it be rehabilitated”?

I listened to the guys and gals step in front of the mic and tell us all about the “new” public option with the opt-out clause…..many of us that were listening are totally confused….what the hell are these people talking about?

The opt-out provision is a compromise between lawmakers who want a government alternative and those who don’t. Details of how it would work were still sketchy, but states would get a year after the 2013 phase-in of health-care legislation to decide whether to participate.

How the Plan Might Operate

Some details of a provision, to be included in the Senate bill, for the government to sell health insurance in competition with the private market:

Probably beginning in 2013, insurance-buying “exchanges” would be open to people buying coverage on their own and to small businesses. They could choose from private plans, or from the public one, which probably would be cheaper, since it would not need to turn a profit.

The public plan would be in effect nationwide, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s proposal would allow states the opportunity, starting in 2014, to “opt out” of it.

Various proposals are being considered for how states could opt out.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D., N.Y.), who came up with the idea, proposed requiring that states

pass laws to exit the public plan.

The public plan would get startup money from the government, but that would be paid back over time, and the plan would be paid for by premiums from participants. Rates paid to providers would be negotiated by the government.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20091027_Senate_bill_has_public_option.html

There you have your answer on how the plan could possibly work….satisfied?  Or are you as confused as the rest of America?  The best I can tell is that it will actually insure few of the uninsured……I still do not see the insurance industry losing in any way….costs will most likely shoot up before it is implemented……so, is this a good idea?  It is a beginning…that is the best I can say right now…..

Is It “Corporate Communism”?

I have begun to appreciate MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan…..he seems to be one of the few that are calling a spade …a spade….he is an irritating individual to some of his guests because he will interrupt try and force them to answer a question, instead of the BS talking oints they want us to hear…I give him his props on that….

Back to the point Dylan has been using a term, corporate communism, at lot and I have been meaning to write a post on this and just today he had Elliot Spitzer, the ex-governor of New York, on his show….a side note, Spitzer is a very knowledgeable man on economics,  we as a country could do a lot worse then him on understanding the economics of the bailout……back again….corporate communism…..

Ratigan writes in the Huffington Post:

Lack of choice, lazy, unresponsive customer service, a culture of exploitation and a small powerbase formed by cronyism and nepotism are the hallmarks of a communist system that steals from its citizenry and a major reason why America spent half a century fighting a Cold War with the U.S.S.R.

And yet today we find ourselves as a country in two distinctly different categories: those who are forced to compete tooth and nail each day to provide value to society in return for income for ourselves and our families and those who would instead use our lawmaking apparatus to help themselves to our tax money and/or to protect themselves from true competition.

If you allow weak, outdated players to take control of the government and change the rules so they are protected from the natural competition and reward systems that have created so many innovations in our country, you not only steal from the citizens on behalf of the least worthy but you also doom them by trapping the capital that would be used to generate new innovation and, most tangibly in our current situation, jobs.

If you have just a small amount of understanding of economics then you will see that Ratigan is correct and he should be applauding for saying so…..Americans HATE communism or socialism or whatever you would choose to call it…but they accept the protectionism that prevails in the financial world……they take from the taxpayer and do as they desire with NO checks and balances (where are those people that pitch a bitch about checks and balances as talked about in the Constitution?)

I seldom….I repeat SELDOM recommend a news show because people have their own likes and dislikes, but “The Morning Meeting” with Dylan Ratigan on MSNBC should be required veiwing for any and all economics courses…..whether you agree or disagree with him, it is thought provoking and excellent news source….

NO I do not get anything in return for recommending Ratigan…just the satisfaction of helping people understand what is what with all the bailout cash….and hopefully it will help make the people more angry that they are being screwed without even a kiss….I put this disclaimer in there because in the past I was accused of being a shill for other people….personally I do not agree with Ratigan on some things but I appreciate his effort to get news makers to answer questions, not put forth some talking point given to them before the show.

What About A Flat Tax?

For years I have argued that there needs to be a flat tax in the US….of say 10-15% with NO deductions or loopholes for the wealthy to take advantage of in the year end accounting…..well it has been a long uphill climb to say the least.  I also like a land value tax, first put forth by economist Henry George, yet another uphill stumble….that is for another day though…(if one wants more info in the LVT go to my page on the subject)

For now let us talk about the flat tax, the Conservative Party candidate for the state of New York, Hoffman has thrown it into the campaign in the state election:

The U.S. currently uses a progressive tax system, under which people who earn more money pay a greater percentage of their total income in taxes. A flat tax would have every wage earner pay the same percentage of their income in taxes – no matter how much or how little they earn. The flat tax would also eliminate deductions that are allowed under the current laws.

Supporters of a flat tax argue that such a tax is fairer to everyone and would result in many people actually paying less in taxes than they do now. Because a flat tax is simple, more people would pay their taxes and the cost of overseeing the income tax system would decrease, they claim.

Opponents argue that a flat tax places a disproportionate burden on lower- and middle-income wage earners.

Flat tax plans have been brought forth periodically in recent years, with little success. Democrat Jerry Brown included a flat tax proposal in his platform during his 1992 presidential bid. Republican Steve Forbes proposed a similar plan during his presidential bid four years later. Republican Richard Armey, who served as majority leader in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, championed the idea in the House and has continued to press the proposal since leaving office.

Now there is an idea, but the is one thing that immediately turned me off the plan……and that thing is Richard Armey (Dick)…..one of the sponsors of the Tea Party theater….and a lobbyist that is too far right for the common good….

Dick Armey and I have had little consensus on the subject of governance and now that he thinks it is a good idea…makes me re-think my acceptance of the idea…..

When All Else Fails…..Tax The Bastards!

Daily Agitator

Thirty years ago when the government started its assault on tobacco, I said then that we have not seen the end of it if it was to be successful…..back in the day, I did not think that any bad would come to the tobacco industry for they had the “clout”…I was mistaken….and then they came for trans fats….and again I was mistaken……now they are coming at sugar….in the form of a tax on the sodas and such……

And back during the start of the tobacco tax, I said, that if they succeeded then there would be NO stopping them elsewhere….looks like I was a seer and did not know it…..

And then I was listening to the news on XM Radio and heard the magic word, Tax”  and this time they were calling for a tax on red meat….atr first I thought I was once again mistaken….after a little Googling for the helluva it I found this on taxmeat.com:

PETA is calling on members of Congress to support a “sin” tax on meat. Why? Among other reasons, meat is the number one cause of global warming, a looming environmental disaster that threatens the United States with billions of dollars in damages from rising sea levels, worsening storms, and increased droughts. A tax on meat would help prevent future global warming-related natural disasters by encouraging a decrease in meat consumption.

A 10-cent tax on every pound of chicken, turkey, pig, fish, and cow flesh sold in grocery stores and restaurants would also help reduce Americans’ skyrocketing annual health care costs by encouraging people to eat less meat. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians are less prone than meat-eaters to develop heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer or to become obese. Revenue from the tax could be used to fund education programs about the health and environmental benefits of reducing meat consumption.

There goes the burgers on the barbie thingy!

Okay, dipsticks…when is enough enough?  I would have said that this was not possible….but then I think back to my disbelief on the tobacco tax so many years ago and I wonder…..

I wonder where all this intervention in people’s personal lives and decisions will cease….just like the seatbelt thing…Americans want to drive 80 mph into a tree and walk away….they are trying to protect people from themselves…..who and when did we give them this option?

Once again I would like to ask where will this stop?  What will be next?  Salt is bad for your health, when will it be the next thing in the bull’s eye of taxes?