Secessionist Groups Are On The Rise In America

There is a rolling tide of disgruntled citizens in America today. We have the Southern Nationalists in South Carolina. There is another group called the “Indomitables.” this Neo-Confederate group advocates leaving the Union by any means possible and training for the coming conflict as of the rendition of this article. [See Article]

These Groups Want To Take This Country Back To The Days Of The Civil War!

” The league believes the “godly” nation it wants to form should be run by an “Anglo-Celtic” (read: white) elite that would establish a Christian theocratic state and politically dominate blacks and other minorities.[The LOS]

 The LOS was formed by a group of Southern University professors but don't let that fool you. This organization is run rampant with racist, poor, uneducated white people who denounce the Federal Government, Northern, and Coastal States as part of the 'empire.' To these right-wing radicals, if you are not with them, you're constituted as nothing more than a perverted ungodly minion of society.[See Source]

Mike Hill[LOS]

“If the scenario of the South (and the rest of America) being overrun by hordes of non-white immigrants does not appeal to you, then how is this disaster to be averted? By the people who oppose it rising up against their traitorous elite masters and their misanthropic rule. But to do this we must first rid ourselves of the fear of being called ‘racists’ and the other meaningless epithets they use against us. What is really meant by the [anti-racist] advocates when they peg us as ‘racists’ is that we adhere to ethnocentrism, which is a natural affection for one’s own kind. This is both healthy and Biblical. I am not ashamed to say that I prefer my own kind and my own culture. Others can have theirs; I have mine. No group can survive for long if its members do not prefer their own over others.”
— Mike Hill, Web essay

Where Did This Hate Come From And Who's Behind It?

One might ask where did all this hate come from? Back last year here in the House of Public Discourse we answered that question. [Read:Why Do Poor Uneducated White People Vote Republican?]  In short, the rise in right-wing hate is why! These so-called secessionists have simpleton minds. You factor in a dedicated decades-long media strategy with the 30 plus-year-old political device known as the Southern Strategy and what results is ' loony tunes' wanting to play army in the woods and re-fight the Civil War. These self-proclaimed defenders of the American way are nothing more than self-absorbed deluded people with an ax to grind for their shortcomings. [ See:Personality Traits Of The Right Wing Extremist] Factor in cognitive dissonance and a heaping tablespoon of " Right-Wing Authoritarian Followers Syndrome," and what we have is a multitude of Timothy McVeigh's  running around now with the go-ahead to open carry their weapons.

Right-Wing Authoritarianism Explained 

Persons of color, immigrants, and liberal-minded Americans are all perceived to be part of the out-groups destroying the American way. This reality has been promoted in right-wing hate talk radio, and news organizations like Fox News. These fringe groups and mindsets have always been prevalent in American culture. However, with America electing a person of color as president, these subversive groups have escalated.  In fact, hate crimes are becoming so common in America today it barely gets any media attention at all. The reason for this as these crimes become more common most people tend just to tune them out like we do those car salesman ads. What the problem is, is that these racist right wing haters listen to these media outlets, and the results have been deadly. This message of hate has proven to cause dull-witted individuals to act out  their hate towards what the individual perceives to be a violation of the American way.

CLICK HERE TO BUY " FREE SHIPPING

There is no question in this writer's mind that hate radio and commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News Sean Hannity and others have radicalized the American right. 

Then Along Comes Known Racist and Nut-Case Ron Paul Encouraging Secessionist Groups. 

Former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul from Texas told the National Journal that there should be more secessionist movements in America. 

Ron Paul

"It's something that I think is going to grow because the failure of the federal government is going to get much worse," he said. "When the bankruptcy evolves, and maybe some of these pension funds are confiscated, and the wars never end, and bankruptcy comes forth, people [will say], 'Hey, we're getting a bad deal from this. Why don't we leave?' "

Paul went on to say.

"I think what is most important is we have a concrete right to secede," Paul said. "Even if we never had any secession, or any state declare independence, we would be so much better off because there would always be this threat. Once the threat of a state leaving was removed, it was just open-door policy for the federal government to expand itself and run roughshod out over the states because the states couldn't do much."

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree!

There is little doubt that potential 2016 presidential candidate Rand Paul(R-KY) thinks like his father on this issue like many others. What perplexes the House of Public Discourse is that unlike his whack father, Rand Paul has a far greater chance of getting the GOP nod than his father ever did!  I would like to be a fly on the wall hearing these two " peas in a pod," discussing this radical position with which the elder Paul has taken and gone public. See, as reported by the House of Public Discourse, Rand Paul has made a science of " talking out of both sides his mouth," and " wearing two faces under one hat."

What a prospect. We have a GOP front runner that comes from the land of secession,  Texas,  who very well could be one low voter turnout away from the presidency. 

This article is part 2 of a series of articles we are researching and writing here in the House of Public Discourse. [Join Our Facebook Group] In part one we posed  the question, The American Experiment Is Under Crisis! The fact that these secessionist groups and the subsequent domestic violence associated with it are growing by the day is proof positive that our nation is in a crisis. In part 3 we will look at how sectionalism is rearing its nasty head again and is very much a root-cause for our nation's current polarization. 

Political Polarization in the US

The United States Of Koch, And Why It's Wrong For America

Recently the infamous Koch Brothers held their annual " Who Wants To Be President," convention in Palm Springs, California. It's  a gathering of the  who's who of Millionaires and Billionaires in America. The primary focus of the conference is to decide who will be the Koch Brothers' " puppet on a string" for the  upcoming 2016 Presidential race. ABC's Jonathan Karl moderated the discussion between the prospective presidential hopefuls.

The overall narrative of the event is to schmooze the Koch Brothers for their money. 

This activity is not how our democracy should work. This activity is how our democracy has been corrupted.  It's well  known that the Koch's have a political infrastructure across the United States that buys politicians and uses this leverage to manipulate public policy. It was reported in the New York Times that the Koch's will be spending more money on the 2016 election than both parties  [See Article] What's sad is that many who follow politics will not be shocked by this information.

What Would Our Founding Fathers Think About The Koch Brothers?

Read Jefferson To Kercheval Here


Jefferson To Kercheval
Source: Library of Congress

  

"Those seeking profits where they are given total freedom will not be the ones to trust to keep the government pure and our rights secure." [Thomas Jefferson]

There is a long history in America of those seeking to amass vast fortunes as being the source of corruption in our governance.  One must take into account the year this correspondence was written.  In 1816 England, there was no such thing as a middle class. You had a minuscule percentage who were rich and a large group of working people that constituted the working poor. Yes, there were a few people who were doctors, lawyers, and shop owners that made up a minor middle class, but for the most part in England you had no middle-class influence whatsoever. Sounds like America today?

One of Jefferson's main points in this letter was that by keeping the people undereducated and poor, it abated them from calling their oppressive oligarchy government into account for these inequalities. We see this taking shape in America today. In the Republican Party and its Tea-Party and Libertarian factions, there is a "go fend for yourselves" attitude. Jefferson made reference to the abusive state of man against man, and we see this being played out daily in our news feed.  To the point, Jefferson and the rest of the founding fathers would be turning over in their graves. The modern-day Republicans, the ones with any intellect, are still misguided and follow the flawed philosophy of Thomas Hobbes.[See Source] In Jefferson's letter to Kercheval, he [Jefferson] was explicit in his disagreement with Hobbes. 
 

Thomas Jefferson To James Madison 1785 Letter Concerning Equality In America [See Letter]

Thomas Jefferson

"Another means of silently lessening the inequality of property is to exempt all from taxation below a certain point and to tax the higher portions of the property in geometrical progression as they rise. " 

 One of Jefferson's main points even back in 1826 in a letter to William B Giles was that America was already moving towards an Aristocracy.

Jefferson, an old man at the time, pointed out that some in the John Adams wing [Federalist] looked to a single and splendid government of an Aristocracy, founded upon banking, corporations, under the guise and cloak of their favorite branches of manufacturing, commerce, and navigation. The modern-day examples would be the oil barons, defense industry, and Wall Street, riding and ruling over the plundered plowman and the everyday people of this nation. If the overgrown wealth of an individual, for example Father Koch,  who helped start the John Birch Society, is to be deemed dangerous to the state, is the best corrective measure  the law of equal inheritance to all in equal degree? An inheritance tax.

The United States of Koch, And Why Is It Wrong For America?

 Everyone has heard of the Koch Brothers, even a casual observer of politics, right? Wrong! A George Washington University poll conducted in 2014 found that 52% of likely voters have never heard of the Koch Brothers. [See Source] This fact does not surprise this writer. 70% of the American people don't take part in the political process so keeping up with politics is not the order of the day for most Americans.  What is upsetting is that these people haven't a clue how these two brothers have a daily impact on their lives. The Koch Brothers have more wealth [100 Billion combined] than the bottom 40% of Americans put together. What is now Koch Industries Inc, began as Wood River Oil and Refining Co in 1940. Based in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Industries is one of the largest corporations in America. They have many subsidiaries involved in manufacturing, trading, and investments. The Brothers own 84% percent of Koch Industries, a massive company and conglomerate with investments in oil, fertilizer, electronics components, and even toilet paper. The firm employs over 50k people in the U.S. and 100k worldwide.[See Source]

See: How you support the Koch Brothers (even if you don’t know it)

So the next time you go to the bathroom to do your business you very well could be wiping your butt with the Koch Brothers. Many questions come to this writer's mind concerning the Koch Brothers. Why don't they just go on making their billions? Why do they feel the need to inject themselves into our government at such an overwhelming level? Is it the power? Do they feel with this wealth they have accumulated they have the right to lord it over us mere minions of society? Most people involved in politics know the importance of Television ads during an election cycle. Even though there is some debate on the topic, many Americans base their choice on a candidate by these ads. An example of this would be Jesse Ventura, ex-wrestler who won the Minnesota Governor's race based mainly on his award-winning Televisions ads. Undoubtedly, Television ads play a significant role in a political election. 

Low and Behold, Here Comes Citizen United!

The Supreme Court decision in 2010 to allow unfettered amounts of dark money into our political process has enabled the Koch Brothers to be like a " kid in a candy store." It has allowed the Koch's and other Billionaires like them to set up they're own political mechanism separate from the political parties. They [Koch Brothers] started providing massive sums of money directly to a candidate of their choice and creating their media campaigns  to sway public opinion toward their views. In the 2014 election cycle, " Americans For Prosperity," a Koch Brothers political front group, aired more than 17,000 broadcast TV ads, compared with only 2,100 aired by Republican Party groups. What this reveals to us is the overall influence these brothers had in the 2014 Mid-Term Election. Under Citizens United, the Koch Brothers, Super-Pacs, and Corporations can lie because they are not held to any standard. They can bold-faced lie on a Television Ad without any recompense.

Scott Walker Gov.(R-WI)

Even though most Americans disapprove of the Citizens United decision, our elected politicians refuse to overturn it with legislation. If we are going to have this unlimited amount of money allowed into the political process it's the position of the House of Public Discourse, we must have full disclosure. We[The House] suggest this should be the responsibility of the person running for public office. We The People need to know just whose hip-pocket these candidates are in. In jest, we need these candidates walking around in NASCAR suits wearing the logos of just who is sponsoring their campaigns. 

However, the way the system of things is set up now the Koch Brothers can spend millions to billions on a political election. They don't  have to be honest or accurate; they can just simply spatter the right-wing media echo chamber with untruthful propaganda. We have the " Roberts Court" to thank for this most unhealthy addition to our political process.

To The Christian Right, Nelson Mandela Was A Terrorist

Nelson Mandela's life was an example for all of us to follow. The entire world  mourned  his death, we rejoice in his spirit and may it give us all renewed strength never to give up. These were my feelings back in Dec 6, 2013 during the time of his passing and are the feelings I share to this very day. America, we have a far-reaching problem Religious Extremism in any form is self-destructive, unproductive, and dangerous.


To many in America, Nelson Mandela was a terrorist. As we have learned, the Radical Right, Christian Zealots and Dominionist are on a political/theocracy witch hunt to this very day as they were throughout Nelson Mandela life.

American Right Wingers and Christian Zealots labeled Mandela, a terrorist.

The History

The African National Conference [ANC] relationship with the U.S. has been a complicated one. The U.S. has not always supported the efforts of the ANC to gain their freedom from oppression. There were many conservative groups and Christian right groups that had strong lobbies in Washington, D.C. while in the 1980’s who urged Congress, not to give any aid to the anti-apartheid cause.

The George W. Bush administration removed  Mandela from the terrorist watch list imposed by Reagan just prior to Mandela receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on his 90th birthday in 2008. Even so, some Republicans supported the Mandela movement — 21 Republican senators voted to sustain the Reagan veto.[See Article] 

Despite a growing international movement to topple apartheid in the 1980’s, President Ronald Reagan maintained a close alliance with South African government that was showing no signs of serious reform. And the Reagan administration demonized opponents of apartheid, most notably the African National Congress, as dangerous and pro-communist. Reagan’s bill to impose sanctions on South Africa was overruled by Congress.[See Source] One could argue that this issue along with abortion [social problems] was the genesis of the modern-day influence of the “Christian Right ‘ in the political mix. However,  the man we know as Nelson Mandela confounds the passage of time, and his legacy will endure in the hearts of all the people of the world. Where there is such a parallel is the close resemblance of the tactics used by the South African apartheid government and that of the “Jim Crow” southern states. What raises this writer’s eyebrows is the trend in those same southern states to regress back to the “Jim Crow” era.

Rev. Jerry Falwell

Republican VP Dick Cheney labeled the ANC as a “terrorist organization.”  The Christian right front  has been vocal in opposition to Nelson Mandela and his ANC group directing the flock to write their congressman and senators to oppose sanctions against the apartheid South African government. Notably, Christian right patriarch Jerry Falwell commented:

"South Africa is torn by civil unrest, instigated primarily by Communist-sponsored people who are capitalizing on the many legitimate grievances created by apartheid, unemployment and policy confrontations."

Pat Robertson

In 1986, the 700 Club did a series of reports on South Africa and the white government’s struggle against the African National Congress. While many socially liberal religious leaders decried the apartheid regime, Robertson openly supported it because he felt that it was a bastion against communism. For Robertson, everything else was secondary to defeating what he saw as the enemies of God. Robertson sent a copy of The 700 Club program to Freedom Council’s Dick Thompson to have it forwarded to Pat Buchanan, who in turn promised to show it to the president. Reagan’s attitude toward South Africa was one of his most controversial foreign policy stands, and Robertson was one of Reagan’s few allies on the policy.

Those same forces that have been at work since the influx of the “George Wallace Democrats” over civil rights legislation and now the evangelicals spurred on by the Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson 700 Club, and others all who deemed this very much-loved “soldier of love” man a communist terrorist are the same identities of today who have done nothing but obstruct and demonize President Obama. The same ones that called Martin Luther King, Jr. a Communist, home-grown terrorist, and urged Hoover to put him under FBI surveillance.

The George Wallace Crowd Are " Alive  & Well"

We The People Are Paying For Our Peril!

In America, we have seen a materialization  of cops meeting the military. Once upon a time, cops and the military had very different missions. It was widely held to conflate the two wasn't good for a free society. What we have seen happen over the last generation or so, beginning with the " War on Drugs,"  is the military selling weapons to police, including, tanks, armor-coated vehicles, helicopters, guns, and other heavy armaments.....even the old bayonet!  One of the first results of this practice was for police agencies across the country, big and small,  to form S.W.A.T like teams within the police force.

In fact, the number of S.W.A.T teams across the country has risen dramatically. It's this drastic rise that has Americans in every corner of the country in protest mode. Pencil in the NSA and America has a very serious problem. What's totally unfair and evil is " We The People" are paying for our peril with our hard earned tax dollars, .[Buy Source Below]

RISE IN S.W.A.T. RAIDS  ANNUAL FIGURES.

1970-----2005

• 1970's---Few Hundred
• 1980's[Early]---3000
• 2005---50,000

Source: Peter Kraska Easten Kentucky University

Before the Reagan " War on Drugs,"   most towns with 25K individuals who had S.W.A.T teams was about 15% but today that has risen to well over 80%.  What we see now is a domino effect from the 'Military Industrial Complex.' For example, we see Drones being used by police now. This development is problematic. America does not need a militarized police force! The recent events all over the country exhibiting police overkill have enlightened many Americans and motivated them to the point of national protests.

The Root of the Problem?  Under the Justice Department's COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) program, 629 of the 800 police jobs funded for the next three years – all the newly hired officers – must go to veterans who served at least 180 days' active duty since 9/11. This is the first time the 18-year-old COPS program has required cities and counties seeking grants to hire veterans exclusively.[See Source] Why is this a problem one might ask?  Thousands of Vets are getting ' less than honorable' discharges because they have (PTSD). How many of our Vets turned Cop suffer from this disorder in some capacity that, for a variety of reasons have slipped through the cracks?[See Article]

What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?[PTSD]

According to a CNN report, the suicide rate among Veterans could be as high as 22 a day. That equates to a suicide every 65 minutes. The point here is that Veterans of wars have known mental issues. How many of these psychological issues have been masked by Vets looking for work in the civilian workplace? How many of these former soldiers turned cop have gone undiagnosed?  What has come to reality is that America has loose cannons running around in a uniform with a gun and, based on the history of police related shootings and the conviction rate thereof, a ' licence to kill' unarmed American citizens with no recompense. This civil injustice has caused millions of Americans to become larrikin, which in turn creates trigger happy police who shoot first and ask questions later.

This Is Not A War, It's a 12 year old kid!!

Earlier this year, the House of Public Discourse also found evidence of our nation's military brainwashing and encouraging our impressionable young soldiers to become " Holy Warriors."  Killing in the name of God was posh in the Dark Ages; are we returning to the Dark Ages in America? Is there a crusade against certain segments of our society?  If these questions seem far-fetched, why are our nation's police forces buying military gear at record levels at the expense of the tax- payer?

WE THE PEOPLE ARE PAYING FOR OUR PERIL!

There are lots of things going on here concerning the militarization of America's police forces. What we don't know is important. What's even more important is why we don't know it. This ambiguity is one reason, in the House view, the Ferguson community reacted in the way they did. For instance, the Ferguson Police Dept. has had cameras their officers could wear. Their cruisers have dash cameras installed. For whatever reason, they decided not to use them. Why? If they did use these devices as they were intended, we would know what transpired on that day Darren Wilson shot an unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown dead. We would know a lot more as to who was at fault. In fact, these devices could have justified the action of officer Wilson. In reality, what we got was a grand jury process run amuck.[See Article]

Is America In A State Of Emergency?

What has added fuel to the fire is how America's 

police forces have reacted towards this civil-

disobedience. For example, who can forget the 

nonchalant press conference held by St. Louis County 

Police Chief Jon Belmar.  

In retrospect, there was a peaceful protest shortly after this news conference. Police met this protest with a substantial resistance, including snipers who had guns pointed at unarmed peaceful protesters. This show of force by the Ferguson Police Dept set the stage for this entire travesty of justice. When you show up at a protest expecting violence you, in fact, are self-fulfilling a narrative of seeing the protesters as the enemy.  All the protesters were doing was exercising their rights provided by the U.S. Constitution. When the protesters look at police and see this posture of Robo-cop, the people see these cops not as a protector of the community but the centerpiece of the very institution they are protesting. When you immediately respond in such a manner what you are telling the protesters is you don't have the right to public expression, and we are here to curtail this expression.  

We The People Must Demand Transparency and Accountability from Law-Enforcement. 

One of the significant problems our research found was the demographics of the Ferguson Police Dept, which was a far cry from the demographics of the Ferguson community, and this is prevalent all over the country.  It is critical that the community see itself in the police force they are funding with their tax dollars. Our study into this situation has shown that communities need to see the cops as representations of their ranks; not some ex-military person from who knows where, hired because of some government program to show favoritism over a non-military local applicant from the community. It's imperative that the community sees that the local law-enforcement has a stake in the commonwealth of all the people of the city, town, or nation it is tasked to serve and protect. When a community doesn't see itself reflected in the police force, like in Ferguson, they see these individuals as outsiders imposed upon them. By the same token, when the police officer does not identify with the people from his/her area, it's harder for him to feel a part of that community.

   What human psychology  suggests  is when this situation is self-evident,  people are less likely to see each other as neighbors and more as threats. 

One of the major side-effects of this societal condition is a lack of corporation between citizens and law-enforcement. This situation is dangerous because there is this attitude that if you talk to police you will be labeled a snitch. What is troubling  is that this goes to violent crimes as well as non-violent ones. What is so profound about the fiasco in Ferguson,MO  is that,  not since the killing of students at Kent State University in the 70's,  has the American public witnessed a police show of force that mirrored a military type endeavor on the streets of Baghdad,  by supposedly civic- minded policeman. Throughout our nation's history as a ' rule of thumb,' we have been adverse to using our military for domestic law enforcement. 

      

The business of being a soldier is very different than that of a street cop. What concerns this writer is the fact our military trains soldiers to become killers. What has become evident by the escalating questionable police shootings in America  is that we are putting trained killers on our streets with psychological issues like PTSD, to oversee communities that many do not identify with or relate to, and in some cases loath. A police officer in America is supposed to be a civic-minded civil servant. In fairness, the United States Military has for the longest time held the position of staying out of civil law enforcement and does not want to be involved for the most part. However, this has not stopped them from selling outdated and overstocked military equipment to state and local police agencies. Where the problem festers is with civil law enforcement who have a strong desire to become more like an army. No matter if a cop is an ex-military or a civilian recruit,  when we supply them with war-like equipment, train them in military tactics and tell them they are in some war, it begs the question: what type of mindset are we cultivating?

Our founding fathers were extremely aware of having the military enforce civil law. They got a high dose of it from the British and was one of the main reasons for the American Revolution. This tension came to a head in the Boston Massacre, which ultimately led to the American Rebellion. There are some bottom lines here. Soldiers are trained to kill people,  not protect them. By having individuals with this indoctrination and training now in civilian policing,  what you have is a time bomb and what we see in the here and now is an explosion. What must not get lost is that these killings by cops have become an everyday event, with very few reaching the national media attention as did the Ferguson and New York cases.

In closing, our advocacy here at the House of Public Discourse contends we must reverse these trends we see playing out in our news feeds on a day to day basis. How many more of these police shootings will be tolerated by the American people before the country erupts from civil discourse to civil unrest?  How many more unarmed suspects have to die before we return to some sanity in America where we demand justice for all with a sense of fairness for the everyday citizen? The fact is "We The People" need to take back our government from the corporations who have our elected officials in their hip-pocket. The cops are employees of the people. Our taxes pay for their salaries, equipment, pensions, and in most cases,  health care. I for one,  am sick and tired of my tax dollars going to fund this abhorrent and racist behavior by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. America is in a backward free fall across the board regarding civil rights. America has regressed into a corporation owned fascist government with an attempt to dumb-down this nation by cutting funding for education and having a military police force on stand-by when we as people try to express our rights and express our dissatisfaction through constitutionally protected public discourse. What should make us all emboldened to take action is how "We The People Are Paying For Our Peril!

President Obama Has Taken Some Positive Steps.

Source of Article: Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko

The Untied States Of Corruption, What Happen To We The People?

" We The People Losing Its Luster Around the World."

America's Constitution has seen better days. We have enacted legislation that suggest corporations are people and that a dollar bill represents 'free-speech.' We have seen the Supreme Court rule on issues that are in complete violation of the ' church and state.' doctrine.[See Article]
The Constitution is the founding document of this country and the oldest written and still valid set of laws and precepts still in force anywhere in the world.[See Source]

“Of the 170 countries that exist today, more than 160 have written charters modeled directly or indirectly on the U.S. version.” [Time]

According to a recent study,  conducted in 2012 by David Law of Washington University in St.Louis and Mila Versteeg of the University of Virgina. The U.S. Constitution seems to have lost its luster as a model for constitutional drafters.


Mila Versteeg

“Among the world’s democracies,” Professors Law and Versteeg concluded, “constitutional similarity to the United States has clearly gone into free fall. Over the 1960s and 1970s, democratic constitutions as a whole became more similar to the U.S. Constitution, only to reverse course in the 1980s and 1990s.”

The United States of Corruption! 

There are several factors that can be attributed to this decline of influence. Our research here at the House of Public Discourse has identified these factors as follows.

1. Instead of having short publicly funded political campaigns with limited or free advertising like many European countries. Here in  America we have long drawn out affairs in which those running for office have their palms greased with money by a particular interest. [Special Interest] Therefore they spend much of their time fund-raising. The general view of most Americans is that those running for political office are on the take. For example, House Majority leader John Boehner recently passed out cash on the floor of the House from the tobacco industry to other House members. The Citizens Untied case is the grand-daddy example of all time of how money has influenced American politics and given it a black-eye from other countries perspectives.

American politicians don't represent " We The People," they represent the 1%. American democracy is being corrupted out of existence. [See Source]

2. Politicians in America are being bribed by capitalistic lobbyist to reduce regulation of their prospective industries. This political corruption, for example, has led to the financial corruption that is so apparent in our society today. In some cases, this corruption has been legalized. Without oversight, regulations, and government auditing, Wall Street went wild and actuated corrupt policies that led to the 2008 stock market crash.

3. Let's reflect for a moment. 90% of Americans still have not recovered from the 2008 Wall Street crash under then President George Bush II. Any valid thinking mind knows there were malfeasance and criminal behaviors undertook with a conscience. The mere fact that not one person has gone to jail is the epitome of corruption.[See Article] 

4. The United States spends more money on the military than the next twelve countries combined.[See Source]  What goes unreported is that about half of this spending goes for outsourced services, not on the military. This spending is nothing more than a prime example of corporate welfare on the grandest of scales.

Grand Theft Pentagon :Tales of Corruption and Profiteering in the War on Terror

5. There has been a concerted effort among venture capitalist in American to privatize prisons. The results of making a business of criminal activity is evident in the swelling prison population of American citizens to the tune of 2.2 million and growing daily. It is the view of the House of Public Discourse that it's wrong for corporations to profit from putting and keeping people behind bars. This wrongful trend is  even more aggravated by the move in the justice system spurred on by the aforementioned lobbyist to give over-the-top sentences for minor, non-violent crime. Then deny parole and "void"  people from life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.[See Article]

6. The growing inequality gap in America has reached epidemic proportions. With the narrative of the Republican Party, to cut taxes for the wealthy, with a view, that miraculously there will be this " invisible hand" to trickle money down to the minion. Has been a complete policy failure by the Republicans.[See Article] As a writer, one of my most fundamental beliefs is that history does repeat itself. This difference we see in these modern times is very much like the times in our nations past when the Robber Barons roamed the earth. Both of these periods are marked with corruption.

7. The National Security Agency[NSA] domestically spying on American citizens in the House of Public Discourse view is a violation of the very basic principles of  American democracy. The Patriot Act itself the way it was written and implemented lends itself to corruption. This practice could be the grand wizard of all present day crime. So many of the already modern-day Robber Barons[1%] and corporations masking themselves as human beings "legally " mind you have violated the rights of citizens to unwarranted search and seizure of many fronts. This Constitutional imbalance and moreover contradiction created a server lack of trust and paranoia in the American populist. 

    

We could go on for hours, days and years about the corruption in the Untied States government today. This factual presence of corruption alone has created many qualified eligible voters to disenfranchise themselves from voting and engaging in our countries governance. The larger questions that linger to the people who still care is how do " We The People,"  overcome this corruption. No matter your political identification it is a given that most Americans feel our government is corrupted. The question we here at the House of Public Discourse raise are you one to surrender or fight? Because, this country without  a doubt is in a severe state of polarization and overall malcontent. Which begs the question, " What Happen To, "We The People."

Is Capitalism A Threat To Democracy?

It is stunning following the Wall Street crash, how there has been no expression from any key player from Wall Street of regret or apology for having brought down the entire economy. Nor is there any sense of shame or embarrassment in their continuance to extract exuberant bonuses for producing nothing for the whole of society. There are even traditional conservatives who hold this view. This writer comes from a traditional conservative background. I grew up in a small community in North Carolina called Rosewood. My family raised me to believe in local control, community responsibility, and community values.

However, over a period, I came to realize there are two different definitions of conservatism in the Untied States. One is about the aforementioned traditional values that my family raised me up to believe. I can honestly say for the most part they brought me up focusing on the positive aspects as opposed to the hate element we see in conservatism of today.

What Are True Conservatives Like Today?

The traditional meaning of conservative is a monarchist. One which advocates monarchical rule.[Source: Dictionary.com] The word originated when the term democracy took root in America. The Conservatives were the ones defending the monarchy and central control.  Tension has developed among Conservatives who believe in  global elitist government and those who believe in local and state control. In many ways based on this "writers" understanding of conservatism, there is reason for concern when you see a concerted effort to centralize control.

The world today is all about globalization. The global economy. Huge corporations are parading as a person. The whole dynamic that we have been introduced to as globalization is a process driven by these companies for their corporate interest. They want to eliminate national boundaries, and reduce the capacity of governments to create regulation that maintain a sense of community interest and national interest in the economy. Companies have consolidated their power to rule the world without any democratic accountability. What is interesting is the counter to this corporate globalization. The behavior of these corporate entities has awakened the American people and restored the desire to return to a time when community values and keeping the local, state, and national economies close to home. There is now a globalization of people power. In my view, within this framework we must learn as a society how to work together collectively regardless of  one's political ideology.

You Cannot Have A Capitalistic Democracy! 

Milton Friedman

In many ways, capitalism and democracy are a contradiction of terms. Think about the Milton Friedman's and Ron Paul's and the whole Libertarian babble about free markets and freedom. At best, their sense of freedom is restrictive. It's not the freedom of the working person to control their lives as they see fit.[See Source]  The Libertarians don't like democracy. The freedom they speak of is the freedom to submit oneself to control by a higher authority.[Free Markets] [See Article] The reason the Libertarians don't like democracy is because they are Capitalist. Libertarianism in the United States is, in fact, an extreme example of what true Libertarianism is not. They are in favor of private  tyranny. The worst kind of tyranny!Tyranny by unaccountable concentrations of wealth. When they [Liberitarians] say we don't want government interference in the markets, they mean it. The type of intervention they want to block is the kind that would permit constraints on the utterly irresponsible behaviors of the super-rich.

Corporations are a prime example of private tyranny.

It's worth bearing in mind how radical in opposition this is to classical liberalism.         

Modern-day Libertarians love to invoke Adam Smith.  But, if you read Adam Smith he said the opposite. Libertarians claim Adam Smith was opposed to any form of government control. This presumption is not valid. Adam Smith was in favor of government regulation as he put it "when it favored the working man." He [Adam Smith] was against interference when it benefited the masters. That is classical liberalism. Libertarianism as called in the United States is a concocted methodology which is a complete contradiction to classical liberalism principles. It is astonishing the amount of people especially young people who are attracted by this complete fabrication by design. They say Adam Smith; they invoke him all the time. He was an icon of his time. Many factions considered Adam Smith a radical in his day. Why? Adam Smith was very much an anti-capitalist. Smith condemned the vile maxim of the masters of mankind. All for ourselves and everyone else could just " fend for themselves." Sound familiar! It was Adam Smith who championed the phase and doctrine called the invisible hand.

What is Meant By The Term " Invisible Hand."

Adam Smith rarely even used the term invisible hand. The term is mentioned once in his signature literary work " The Wealth of Nations." The context is an argument against Neoliberalism. Smith argued that if a company in England invested abroad and imported from abroad it might  be profitable for the business but would be harmful to the people of England. Sound familiar! However, they will have enough of a commitment to their country. [home-bias] That if by a. " invisible hand," they will keep to the less-profitable actions, and England will survive what we now call neoliberal globalization. To summarize, England was at the time an agriculture producing nation. Suppose some landlord accumulates an enormous amount of land. This reality creates a situation where everyone else has to work for the owner. Smith held the position that this would not turnout to badly because the landlord will be motivated by his natural sympathy for other people that he will make sure the essentials of life will be equally distributed. This practice in turn will create an equal distribution of wealth as by some invisible hand.

In Wealth of Nations, in the first couple of pages Smith talks about the butcher and his interest. The baker and his interest and this conflicting interest created what came to be known as a division of labor. However, how many have read a couple hundred pages into the work where Smith bitterly attacks the division of labor. Smith pointed out if you pursue the division of labor people will be directed to actions that they will repeat the same mechanical operation over and over. What this reality does is deskill a person. Smith advocated this would turn people into stupid and ignorant as a human can get. Therefore, in any civilized society the government will have to intervene to protect the will of  " We The People." This view is very different than the one held by Libertarians today. A Capitalistic Democracy would self-destruct and for the most part did during the Bush II administration and after decades of Reagan's trickle-down economic theory which mirrored the invisible hand concept. And, with the current time disparity in the distribution of wealth this hand has surely been invisible.

Reagan's Trickle Down Was A Prime Example of the Invisible Hand Debacle!

Who Are These People; Taking Over The GOP?

Order Here

Who Are These People; taking Over The GOP? They are not strangers to the American political experience. The Radical Right. The Christian Coalition! The John Birch Society! The Tea Party. These people are the Radical Right. There are many faces to these politically extreme people.  Sadly, these people desperate as they might be to hold power often win.

"We are not coming up against just human beings to beat them in elections. We're going to be coming up against spiritual warfare." (Pat Robertson at a 1994 Christian Coalition national strategy conference)[Source: Theocracy Watch]

With the mid-term elections upon us, we here at the House of Public Discourse could not help but notice that many politicians on the upcoming ballot for November 4th, are products of the Radical Right.

The most notorious of these is  long-time Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who is being opposed by Alison Lundergan Grimes. McConnell's campaign manager has already resigned amid a allege bribery deal. " The ole Washington two-step [See Article]

Alison Lundergan  Grimes

According to the latest polls, Grimes holds a slim lead over McConnell. Grimes is the current Secretary of State in Kentucky. 

The Progressives  know Mitch McConnell well. There is a history. Being from North Carolina, I liken McConnell a modern-day Jesse Helms look-a-like. Its has been McConnell that has led the charge of obstruction against the Obama Administration. It has been McConnell who has been caught with his " pants-down," lying in bed with the Koch Brothers.

Case In Point.






It was McConnell who wasted the money of tax-payers on the bogus IRS scandal and was a washout when questioned by the press. The big question now is, are the people of Kentucky fed up with McConnell enough to show him the door at the ballot box. With the overall approval rating of Congress somewhere in the low-teens and McConnell being the face of that disapproval, many feel this could be the end of the line for McConnell.  So, with all this said, who supports a guy like Mitch McConnell? The Radical Right that is who? The Koch Brothers. It's time for the people of Kentucky and say no to these politics by mob in Kentucky. To many Progressive Democrats and Independents alike feel that Mitch McConnell's behavior and actions during the Obama years has bordered on sedition. One thing is for certain the outcome is still very uncertain. Which begs the question, who are these people taking over the GOP!

Guess What? Republican Tax Cuts Don't Work, And The Only Thing That Trickles Down Is Deficits!

Guess What? Republican tax cuts don't work, and the only thing that trickles down is deficits. In the 2010 mid-term elections, the Republican Party had a field day. Due to lack of involvement the Democratic Party took the election off and will pay dividends for years because of it. Not only has it allowed for stalemate in our national and state-wide governance it has created a helpless state of gerrymandered safe-zones for Republicans.

It was about this time last year, when the GOP was ranting and raving about the unemployment, the ill effects of Obamacare, and how it was ruining our economy. And, of course, the deficit. Quite frankly, with a politically uneducated American electorate the GOP was salivating with talking points for the now nearing 2014 mid-term elections. What a difference a couple of good financial reports, in the last several months has had on erasing those aforementioned talking points. See, time is a revealer of the truth. As reported earlier this month, in a historically right-wing financial Bible for lack of term, "Forbes," it was indicated that, in fact, Obama has out-performed Reagan on jobs, growth, 

investing and the deficits. 

There is an example after example of how Republican ideology fails not just in the social arena but in the financial realm as well. Cases in point. In 2010, Kansas voted Republican Sam Brownback as its governor. He got right to work cutting taxes. One of the biggest realities that the Republican Party and its adherents tend to overlook is that when you cut taxes-"taxes get cut." Subsequently, revenue could not keep up with expenses that will create a shortfall of about $900 million by fiscal year 2019. [Source: Bloomberg Business Week] This action by the so-called Tea Party favorite Brownback got the states credit rating downgraded by Moody's Investment Services which stated it was the states tax plan that was the main reason for the downgrade.[Source: Washington Post] 

In 2010, a Republican Governor took over in the state of New Jersey. Chris Christie. You know the one-time Republican front-runner for president before." Bridgegate."[See Article] One of the first things Christie did once in office was to cut taxes. Once again, seemly shocked to realize that by cutting taxes you cut revenue the state had a whopping $807 million revenue shortfall which added yet another self-imposed misery on the  wonder-boy of the Republicans.[Source: NJ.Com] 

What is apparent to this writer is this is a trend. These are not isolated occurrences. In 2010, North Carolina elected Republican Pat McCory to be governor of that state. In step, with his republican ideology he gives the wealthy a tax cut which in turn blows up the state's budget. These tax cuts created a deficit to the tune of $445 million. [Source: WRAL.com] Once again, its like a reoccurring nightmare that will not go away. Tax cuts wreck economies, slowdown growth, and wipe-out job creation. In fact, as I reported back last year in a Liberal America article  the good Governor raised taxes on the poor and middle-class to attempt to soften the blow, which in practice gave many of the very people who voted for him in that state a tax hike.[See Article] What were the reasons for these failures? According, to these governors, it was Obama's fault. Right, blame it on the black guy. 

While these Republican Governors were busy blaming Obama for their failures, a report was released on a budget that Obama was the overseer of " The Federal Budget." which indicated a 107 billion dollar surplus.

“Compared to the size of the economy, the deficit in 2013 is much lower than in 2009, when Obama took office. The deficit will be 5.3 percent of gross domestic product this year, nearly half the 10.1 percent of GDP in 2009.” [Source: Forbes]

 Republican's, Have Tried To Focus Their Media Echo Chambers On False Scandals To Avoid The Reality Of Falling Deficits Under The Obama Administration. 

Deficits Have Lowered At A Historic Rate Under President Obama's Term.

Republicans have purposely ignored these historic reductions in our nations deficit under Obama. Over the course, of the last two years and the entire Obama term Washington has been eaten up with fake scandals and left field conspiracy theories. To be honest, it would be hard for the most dedicated political study to keep up with them all much-less a causal follower of politics. While the Republican Party was blowing our tax dollars trying to repeal Obamacare a law that the majority of Americans are in favor of and voted for in the last two elections. Is it not clear that the Republicans are suffering from a new form of political dysfunction called the ' Deficit Attention Disorder." In English,what this means is that the GOP does not want to face the music that the deficits are falling at a historic rate under Obama. This drop has been unexpected. And, the truth is it has caught the Republicans off-guard. One of their most relied talking points for the 2014 mid-terms has evaporated. In a Washington Post report, the Congressional Budget Office[CBO] claims the deficit problem has been solved for the next 10 years.  

The conundrum for the Tea Party, Republican Party, and Libertarian's is their mantra of public discourse, they're tried and true rallying cry, of how liberal and progressive policies,  are unsound  has been discredited by facts and empirical data. It's as if the. "carpet has been jerked from underneath their feet." All we have heard from the right from politicians like Sen. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is how Obama refuses to do anything about the debt crisis. A picture of the egg in the face comes to this writer's mind. Where are the Republicans celebrations? Where are the front page headlines? Where is Fox News telling us what a great day it is to be an American. Any logical person would think this economic upturn would draw praise from the right. But, the realities of this polarized world we live in comes into focus. All we have heard from the right is Benghazi-Benghazi-Benghazi.

As a writer, my goal is to make one think and ask questions. What were Republicans doing when all this good news about our nations economy hit? Trying to repeal Obamacare for the umpteen thousand time at a dastardly cost  of millions to We The People. We The People voted overwhelmingly for Obamacare, and to see it start to pay dividends and be a positive influence on these very deficit reductions brings the ole ' please pass the jelly," commercial to mind.

What is Obamacare?

One of the biggest determinants to our debt as a nation has been health care. With the implementation of Obamcare between 2009 and 2011, total health care spending grew at the slowest rate in the last five decades, at just 3.9 percent per year.[Source; New York Times]  Health care cost are coming down which was one of the goals of Obamacare. Where is the " that a boy,'" from the Republicans? As a student of politics all my life, this writer has insights on this question. When politicians in Washington are talking about deficits, in fact, they are not. Truth is republicans don't care about the deficit and haven't for a long time especially since Reagan. The reason the republicans are not lauding the president for lowering the deficit is that they don't care.

There Has Been One Person In Washington For Sure Who Cares About Deficits And He Now Has The Stats To Back It Up. 

What the Republican Party has done for decades now is use the deficit as a cloaking issue. As the House of Public Discourse reported just last month, the Republican Party relies heavily on  poor, uneducated white people for votes. They use this issue to get the base all riled up knowing that most of their constituents don't know or care that they the Republicans have been the biggest villains in terms of driving up our nations debt. George Bush, Jr ring a bell. If not, do a Google search on the growth of our nations debt under Reagan. What the Republican Party is sayings is they want to cut spending on social safety net programs and  first-step help initiatives to compensate for their giving the wealthiest members of our society tax cuts. These are the very tax cuts that have driven downgrades and revenue short- falls in mostly red states.

What is paramount in the now, is that the Republican Party once thought to be a shoe-in to take back the Senate and House and pick up more Governor seats is in serious jeopardy. With these vanishing talking points, the only real hope for  Republican's is a low voter turnout like in 2010. Many are predicting that to be the case. As a liberal progressive writer, I harken back to the ole baseball saying " say it isn't so, Joe." We will see if these predictors hold true. But, this writer is an optimist and Guess what? Republican tax cuts don't work, and the only thing that trickles down is deficits.