The New Political Reality

We live in a new political reality, because the GOP has reaped what it has sown. President Barack Obama won a second term. He won both more of the Electoral College and the popular vote. Ohio, Virginia, Florida, and New Hampshire were key states in giving the President the victory (including others like Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Colorado). The Senate gain more seats for the Democrats to be the most diverse Senate in American history. The Republicans maintain their majority in the House causing divided government. This is a historical time and it's a significantly watershed movement in American politics. The Democrats have more power politically and the Republicans are in the wilderness again seeking self-reflection. The demographics in America are changing. Most people who voted for the President and the Democrats are primarily women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, young people under the age of 30, labor, and other groups. The reactionaries have to blame themselves, because they organized voter suppression efforts, lying ads, distractions, anti-poor scapegoating, and slander. All of these evil actions will result in a negative result, because most people rejected that form of deception. When some reactionaries now are advocating secession against America, you can tell that they hate America for real. At least activists like Dr. Martin Luther King or Fannie Lou Hamer didn’t advocate secession. America is about diversity and for the human race to respect differences of all backgrounds. America isn't about unnecessary divisions and an embrace of intolerance. To assume when the government is promoting the general welfare of society to people is equivalent to Stalinist Communism is a total lie. We don't want the government to control all aspects of people's lives. That is not the name of the game. We just don't want reactionaries to eliminate necessary government programs that can help the human race in America. That's the real point. When these ignorant reactionaries call the President a Communist, they omit that the President issued a Wall Street bailout and praised the free enterprise system in public. Anyway, the Romney campaign failed. The Republican agenda of outlawing trade unions, depriving human rights, and using other methods as a means to try to harm other liberties have been thwarted for now. Romney's neocon foreign policy advisers are not going to be in the White House at all. The GOP's racist Southern Strategy has been defeated fully in 20012. They started it in 1968 after popular leaders were assassinated like John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and others. Today, the GOP seeks to follow an extremist foreign policy that still believes in interventionism in an unjust fashion. They believe in the hysteria about false flag terrorism and on economics. Now, in this age, the President can go to the path of revolutionary reform or the grand bargain of austerity including centrist, corporatist policies. The Democrats are divided into the populist wing and the more corporatist pro-Wall Street wing. Ironically, most Americans don't want massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid (and most Americans want increased taxes on the super wealthy). Therefore, both parties aren't perfect. We have the responsibility to fight for solutions and we should demand the government to be made accountable for its own actions.


 

People know the efforts of free market fundamentalism. Free market fundamentalism is wrong. The reason is that in a complex society, markets can easily go overboard. That is why you need the management of the markets, so they won't be nihilistic. This is why all human enterprises and all public spaces need boundaries. This doesn't mean that the libertarians are wrong on all of their views. They are right that some governmental regulations are bad. They are right that government corruption readily exist in the world. Producers and consumers ought to have basic freedoms. We don't need government tyranny. Yet, the Austrians go too far in blaming all monopolies on the government, while ignoring corporate corruption, cartels, and the monopolistic tendencies of capitalism (if left unfettered). The reality is that in human history governments have been used by corporate elites as a means to create monopolies as to control society. Decent people can rule the government as a means to make the government to act more reasonably. Monopolies can exist if market players can disable small time competition and rule the free market. That is why the government was correct to end the power of the robber baron during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Transnational Corporation plundering local economies is wrong. The libertarians sometimes take choice to the extreme since Rothard once defended the right of parents to sell their children in the free market. He's wrong since he didn't see children as people. That is why we have a moral imperative to help society even by some interventions if necessary. People aren't perfect and society needs standards. The essence of modern Libertarian is to do what you will. It's all about humans having to promote self-interest above anything else. This philosophy was expressed by Aleister Crowley, Ayn Rand, and others. Ayn Rand admitted that she wanted man's duty to be first to himself not to other persons. The truth is the opposite. Our primary concern is to help our neighbors beyond selfishness. We don't need to embrace a wicked ideology of selfishness, but selflessness. The dialectics of Libertarianism/Austrian Economics and Communism have been funded by the establishment as a means to divide and confuse the masses. The Austrians claim to support markets free from monopolies and manipulation, but they fail to admit that the current market is dominated by the top 300 or so Wall Street/London firms. There isn't a free market when the market is manipulated by private interests with more power than some countries. Hyperinflation is wrong, but deflation is wrong as well since deflation is the decrease of the price of goods and services including the contraction of the money supply (which can harm the economy, especially during a recession). Common sense economic policies, fair trade, managed markets, and other progressive actions are superior to neoliberalism indeed.

 

People know what the Grand Bargain is all about. People have called it the Grand Lie or the Grand Charade. I like to call it the Grand Charade. Now, this deal is about trying to reduce the deficit. If the deal doesn't come through by January 1, 2013, there will be spending cuts and tax increases. There will be the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts if nothing happens. Half of that would come from defense. Yet, spending cuts will increase if the Grand Bargain will come about. On the other hand, I don’t want automatic cuts to social programs if a real deal doesn’t transpire though.  If the Bush tax cuts expire for people making over $250,000 (and you have the middle class tax cuts remain), then you have 1 trillion dollars in tax revenue. The compromisers want to move the spending cuts from defense and more to the middle class and the poor (by hacking away at Medicare and Medicaid including the elimination of deductions). The President said that he is trying his best to maintain some tax increases on the super wealthy. He also wants to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent. Tax cuts readily don't decrease the deficit. It was the Bush tax cuts that increased the deficit including the war on terror. Republicans want to close some loopholes and make policies that are revenue neutral, but we are trying to raise revenue (not make things revenue neutral). I have no issue with closing loopholes though. If you raise revenue, you can grow the economy. If nothing happens and you reinstate the middle class tax cuts, you can get about 1 trillion dollars in revenues (and more if you include other economic alternatives. The downside of doing nothing is that social programs could witness cuts). Yet, the White House is planning to have as high as $3 trillion in spending cuts. We don't need robbery. The reactionaries also want to have the Medicare eligibility age to increase for younger folks when Medicare costs are less than private insurance companies in America. This policy will shift money from the middle class who would get the benefits of those years of Medicare to private insurance companies and to the rich in the form of extra tax cuts they finance in the federal budget. This is theft. This is slick austerity as promoted by Republicans and their Blue Dog Democratic allies. The Grand Bargain is full of austerity proposals. Proponents of the Grand Bargain believe that we must do this, because they believe that entitlement programs play a role in the federal deficit, but this is faulty thinking. The reason is that government spending is one action (out of many) that can end this recession. Entitlements are not collectively responsible for the budget deficit. Cutting Social Security is blatantly wrong, because it has no bearing on the federal deficit at all. Nearly half of the U.S. public debt explosion is the result of the George W. Bush's tax cuts, which chiefly benefited rich Americans (including the Bush wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). In other words, you can't deal with the debt without dealing with the Bush tax cuts. We can use an increase of government expenditures, we can increase taxes on the super wealthy, we could eliminate loopholes, we should continue tax cuts for all Americans (except for the super-rich), execute other economic solutions (like having a living wage, reform our income tax system to be more progressive or fair, have investments, etc.) and maintain our social safety net. We don't need austerity. The austerity agenda include the following sick goals: the eligibility age for Medicare to go higher and cut health benefits for the program’s elderly recipients, reduce Social Security payouts to retirees, slash the Medicaid program for the poor, cut health benefits for veterans, lowering the corporate tax rate, and gut other social programs. Now, I agree with the President that the super-rich should pay their fair share, but we shall see if he will follow either further austerity or real change. The truth will come out. We will have to see what the Grand Bargain deal will consist of if it exists (since all of the details haven't been finalized yet).

 
 

 

One of the tragedies of the 2 party system is that both major parties in America aren't serious about handling our civil liberty crisis in the USA. Now, in our day, we have to promote fundamental human rights. Far too often, both parties have a love affair with Empire. We don't need an unitary executive power base as advocated by John Yoo. We must have the separation of powers as outlined in the Constitution and by expert scholars of the past like Montesquieu. Today, Guantanamo Bay is not closed. There is the continuation of military tribunals and the practice of torture in Afghanistan. These are a small number of immoral realities we witness in our foreign policy apparatus. There is a continuity of these policies between the Bush and Obama administrations. The political system causing these policies to exist in the first place came about long before administrations transpired. The National Defense Authorization Act violates much of the concept of habeas corpus for U.S. citizens and foreigners. The Patriot Act even authorizes indefinite detention without indictment for foreigners suspected of having links to terrorist organizations. The executive order of November 13th, 2001 enables the trial, by these military tribunals, of foreigners suspected of being in contact with Al Qaeda, or having “committed, prepared or helped to devise acts of international terrorism against the USA." Some of these laws violate even the military code itself beyond being harmful to liberty itself. These tribunals were set up to judge foreigners suspected of terrorism, and no proof which could invalidate such charges is admissible by either civil or military tribunals. The Military Commissions Acts was passed in September 2006. The law legitimized the military commissions. The law extends the notion of "illegal enemy combatant" which no longer describes only foreigners captured on the field of battle, but also foreigners or US citizens who have never left their country of origin. While US citizens indicted on the basis of this notion of illegal enemy combatant must be deferred before civil courts, it is not the case for foreigners, who may be judged by military commissions. These courts will not allow defendants to choose their own lawyer. A defense lawyer will be a military person as appointed by the President. The amount of physical coercion is determined by the President. The lawyer also has no access to evidentiary elements of the case which may be classified as “secret." The law only gives the President the power to designate people (even the U.S.'s own citizens) as an illegal enemy combatant. The 2009 Military Commissions Act of 2009 was supported by the President and the President opposed the old legislation back in 2006. The new law no longer mentions ’illegal enemy combatants’, but “hostile non-protected enemies”. However, the main thrust remains – the inscription of the notion of ’enemy’ into criminal law, and thus the fusion of criminal and military law. But the term “belligerent”, which characterizes the notion of ’enemy’, widens the field of incrimination. The new definition includes folks who act even in solidarity with those oppose U.S. armed forces. This ambigious definition of belligerent can include American citizens under certain circumstances. The National Defense Authorization Act was signed by President Barack Obama on December 31, 2011. The law authorizes indefinite detention without trial of indictment of suspected terrorists. The White House issued a signing statement that the indefinite provision doesn't apply to American citizens, but indefinite detention of any human being is a violation of international law and basic human rights. That is why people are in opposition to the NDAA as I am. The ACLU is right to mention that: "..."the breadth of the NDAA’s detention authority violates international law because it is not limited to people captured in the context of an actual armed conflict as required by the laws of war..." The law concerns any person designated by the administration as “a member of Al-Qaeda or the Taliban, and who takes part in hostile action against the United States”, but also anyone who “substantially supports these organizations”. This formula enables an extensive and flexible use of the law. For example, it would enable the government to lash out at any civil defense organizations who seek to protect the constitutional rights of US citizens who have been designated by the executive as enemies of the USA. The big picture is that the executive branch ought to respect international and nation law. There is a division of powers here. Our human civil liberties ought to be respected not only for Americans, but all people in the world. There are still real people that oppose the TSA tyranny, the Patriot, the NDAA, SOPA, and all unjust, anti-civil liberty laws completely.

 

Kenya is growing as an African nation economically. Kenya has a newly announced geothermal power generation project. Some believe that this project will cause Kenya to become an economic powerhouse in the region. In April of 2012, the government launched the Menegai Geothermal Development Project. This is the first initiative of its newly formed Geothermal Development Company, which has been set up to fast track the development of geothermal resources there. The chief executive officer of this project is called Dr. Silas Simiyu. He said that by 2016 the first phase will generate 400 MW, which is enough to light up 500,000 households and run 300,000 small businesses. "It is situated 180 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, and will have a capacity to produce 1,600 MW of electricity by the time we implement all three phases in 2030," said Simiyu. According to Nashon Adero, a policy and economic analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, the first phase of the project will have a significant impact on the country as it moves towards industrialization. “At the moment, the country consumes 1,600 MW," Adero said. "Four hundred MW is therefore an additional 25 percent. And given that the country has embarked on other ambitious projects of green power generation, such as the Lake Turkana Wind Power project, which will generate an additional 300 MW, Kenya will become an economic giant within the region." There is construction on the Lake Turkana Wind Power project. It will be the sub-Saharan Africa's largest wind farm. Kenya is concerned Eastern and Central Africa's financial, communication, and transportation hub. Its GDP is increasing by four to five percent in the past 10 years. "Kenya’s GDP is currently the largest in the (East African) region given its strong agricultural industry, particularly in tea and coffee production, and floriculture," said Ezekiel Esipisu, Habitat for Humanity’s regional operations manager for East Africa and the Middle East. "This, coupled with investments at the Nairobi Stock Exchange and the manufacturing industry, means that the country is one of the leading economies in Africa." Esipisu told IPS that the country’s investment in power production would propel economic development further. "All of Kenya’s neighbours have power deficits. The roadmap towards further power production will definitely boost development. We will see Kenya move closer to industrialization, and it will become a real economic giant in the region." About 60 percent of Kenya's power is hydroelectric. This power is generation when falling water from a dam is used to drive turbines. This supply has been influenced by perennial drought and erratic rainfall. Since hydroelectric power generation can be dependent on climatic conditions, some are using geothermal as said by John Omenge. John Omenge is the chief geologist at Kenya's Ministry of Energy. Geothermal is not affected by drought or other environmental calamities. Kenya is the first nation to diversify into geothermal power. The country is already generating 209 MW of electricity from the Olkaria Geothermal Projects, which are located in the Rift Valley and are operated by the Kenya Power Generating Company. Kenya is promoting Vision 2030 or a development blueprint in that Kenya will be more industrialized and have more middle income people by 2030 (and generate about 5,000 MW of electricity) from geothermal sources at various places in Kenya. Kenya could be the economic heartbeat of Africa. Nairobi is now the regional office location of the African Development Bank.

 

By Timothy