President Obama is decisively ensconced in his second term. With a slight few more Progressives, Democrats retain control of the Senate. The House remains in the hands of the loyal opposition, but, thankfully, with a few less reactionaries. So this is Christmas 2012. And we are standing in shit rear-end deep to a tall giraffe.
I'm going easy here. This is an excessively tall giraffe.
We have serious problems and we need serious people from both sides of the aisle to solve them. Yet with every passing news cast we are entertained by herds of psycho-pathetic lemmings blindly charging toward the fiscal cliff. Barring the intervention of, say, a particularly vicious large dog that just plain doesn't care for stupid beasts governed by herdspeak that will stand at the edge and bark back the fury tide, the carnage will be considerable. One could argue that we would all be better off if we just let the idiots go over. Problem is they're dragging my economic well being behind them and for the life of me I can't figure out a way to cut the rope.
To say the working people are getting screwed over is an understatement. As I write this, around 10k of my brothers and sisters are gathering at the Michigan capital to protest the governor's signing the Republican right to work for less pay law. And this in an age when executive pay has risen by 275% to the workers measly 18%. Heads have rolled for less than this.
But it's not just the workers. 22% of children live below the poverty line. That works out to around 15.1 million kids. We were always fortunate enough to put something under the Christmas tree for our girls. I can't imagine being a parent, out of a job for a year or more through no fault of his or her own, trying to figure out how to explain to a six year old why they didn't get that $200 video game. So the next time you get a chance, toss a little something into the Toys for Tots bin or write a check to a local organization that's going to help out these families. And as my grandfather was fond of reminding me, "Never pass by a Salvation Army kettle son. Folks need our help."
8.2 million of us are involuntarily part-time workers. We'd like full-time work but, say the bosses, business isn't good enough, despite record profits in some sectors, like the home improvement company I work for--part-time.
There are more systemic concerns. Our highways are plagued with potholes large enough to swallow a Volkswagen. It's not a bad idea to increase your speed when heading for a bridge; if it starts to crumble beneath you the extra speed may help you make it over, EvilKneval style. And this tidbit just in: our electrical grid ranks 32 in the world, just behind Slovenia, for reliability. Stock up on batteries and candles. Air out your sleeping bag and make sure the air mattress doesn't leak. You next camping trip could be to your family room.
Evidence is mounting that all those ads from the natural gas people telling us fracking is safe are outright lies. Check out Elizabeth Royte's feature article in the December 17 edition of "The Nation." In "What the Frack is in Our Food?" she recounts incidents of dead cows, deformed calves, befouled drinking water, and contaminated soil were chemicals used in the process to extract natural gas could well make their way into our food chain. And the FDA as yet is not monitoring any of this. Bon apetite!
So this is Christmas, 2012. Traditionally a time of hope and expectations of something better. But neither hope nor solutions fall from heavenly skies. If there is hope it will come from within the rank and file of workers who are mad as hell and who just plain aren't going to put up with shoveling shit for the top 2% or the fascist corporations who tried to buy every politician in sight. It's time to turn this around.
Signs are good that a turn around just might be coming. It's been a long, long time since this many people have taken to the streets to make their voices heard. And to the voting booth. Despite, thanks to the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision that allowed democracy to go to the highest bidder; the people fought back with good old fashioned grass roots organization. And we beat the bosses at the polling places. As James Carville said of the billionaires in a recent "Rolling Stone" interview; "never have so many paid so much to get so little."
There are other promising signs. A fledgling movement to amend the constitution to abolish all corporate money in politics. Maybe we should call it "the people's amendment." For the first time a majority of House Democrats will be made up from women and minorities. The states of Washington and Colorado have taken the first steps in getting rid of our ignorant, always doomed to fail, antiquated drug policies by legalizing recreational use of marijuana. Stopping it is impossible. So why not treat it like booze? Regulate it. Tax it. And toss the extra cash into the public coffers. Uncle Sam could use a bit extra.
So this is Christmas; and there is hope. So I'm hoping to head for D.C. on Inauguration Day with a few friends. Sure, it's an historical day. The second inauguration of the country's first Black president, itself a sign that something dramatic has changed. The face of the people's government is no longer all white or even all male or all Christian or Jewish or whatever have you. A good sign that we are finally beginning to live up to the inclusiveness we profess to believe in.
But I'm not going to endure massive crowds, long walks, and god only knows what kind of port-a-potty lines to support the regime I voted for. I'm going to say, with voice and presence, I, and we, are here not merely to support, though that is important. We are here to push, to raise some hell along with some expectations. It's time to turn words and ideas into policies and concrete actions. Get the corporate brigands' cash out of politics. Provide jobs. Make sure those down on their luck aren't sleeping in the street and that our children have a roof over their heads and can at least set down to a plate of beans and wennies a couple times a day. Fill in the potholes and fix the damn bridges. Make sure when I flip my switch the lamp comes on.
November 6th, the people gave their stamp of approval to much of the Progressive agenda. But we are not stopping here. We're going to bring the full-court press. Get it done. Ignore us at your peril.
The Jawbone.
