The Politics Of Fear And Anger Have Gone Viral In America

The Politics Of Fear And Anger

The politics of fear and anger have gone viral in America. You can't turn on your television or read your newspaper today without seeing or reading something about fear. We live in a culture of fear and anger. There are SWAT teams kicking down people's doors for simple possession of Marijuana and individuals picking up assault weapons and shooting up the public square in the name of GOD and country. 

Our politicians and news media outlets are packaging fear who tell us to fear terrorist, neighbors, immigrants, refugees, and liberal social institutions established to help poor and elderly people.  There is a consistent cry by politicians proclaiming that war is the only solution. Since 9/11 we have had a government agency[NSA] monitoring our phone calls and collecting other data about our daily lives. The Dept of Defense has been selling billions of dollars of military equipment to local police forces which have turned our police forces into a military force[See Source]

Our police forces have been getting away with murder shooting and killing unarmed civilians while their departments have been receiving tanks, armor vehicles, flat jackets, helmets, and other military equipment as well. 

As we saw in the 'Occupy Movement" peaceful protesters were shot with rubber bullets and sprayed with mace. Enter the war on terror. The war on terror is the logical entry point for constructing governmental policy based on fear. How will they strike us next? The politics of fear has resulted in " We the People" losing our rights of privacy and has culminated in a mentality of fear cultivated by the political elite and the " Military Industrial Complex."

Criminal Justice Plays A Role In The Politics Of Fear And Anger

There is no denying the role judges play in our society. Having fair-minded unbiased judges is critical to a free Democratic society. Judges are tasked with protecting our most cherished right to freedom and basic values. To the point, Judges are the guardians of liberty in America. Judges are the custodians of all the things that matter in terms of evaluating civil liberties. The decisions Judges make matter most of all to people with less power or none at all. The poor. The disfavored and people who have been marginalized. Our Judges must take this role seriously. 

However, this writer fears that judicial independence in our nation is at risk. There are efforts to undermine the integrity and functions of our Judges. There is much to lose if this independence is compromised. The decisions and precedents that Judges make effect our lives in a myriad of ways. 

For example, it was judicial decisions that desegregated our schools and allowed equal voting rights to minorities. It took a political movement to persuade politicians to act on these egregious violations of our civil liberties. If the everyday person had not acted by forming groups which soon became a movement, these legislative changes would not have happened. 

In today's political climate of fear and anger, the progress of the "Civil Rights Movement" in the 1960's has come under attack by right-wing conservative politicians in the Republican Party. They wish to take us back in time when the white man was the only race entitled to these cherished civil liberties.[See Article]

The United States today is a very different place than it was 40 years ago. In the early 1970's when you think about criminal justice in America, there were 350, 000 people in our jails and prisons. Today there are over two million people locked up in our correctional system. There are another six million people on probation and parole. Mass incarceration has affected the lives of millions of Americans. What most people don't appreciate is the collateral effects this has on people’s lives.

Charlie Chaplin Hoodie $40.00 (Free Shipping)

We Must End The Politics Of Fear And Anger

There is a board political reality in America today that suggest we are a nation of fear and anger. Over the last several decades, there have been politicians and their “Christian Right" allies preaching to us to be afraid and be angry. When people are afraid and angry they reconcile themselves to violating the basic human rights of the people whom they are afraid.

If a group or race of people is perceived to be an out-group it's okay to ignore them and their rights to basic human dignity. There are many historical examples of horrific abuse genocide, holocaust, and slavery. 

All of these institutions were created and sustained by a political vision fueled by fear and kept in place by anger. When you listen to politicians on the right today there is no real search for the truth there is only the dynamic of fear and anger. What has resulted is mass shootings on a monthly basis and innocent causalities all based on fear expressed by anger when an individual acts out. 

In 1996 the Clinton administration passed a “Welfare Reform Act" that allowed states to bar citizens from public benefits food stamps, housing, and medical services if they have a prior drug conviction. In this writer's lifetime, the politics of fear and anger has created a cast system in the United States. And, anyone with a criminal record is considered an “Untouchable."

There are scores of American citizens living beneath the public benefits system many who are homeless. There are single moms with children who cannot get public assistance because they have prior drug and other criminal offenses. It's the poor who have suffered the most from the politics of fear and anger. We have a criminal justice system that has become wealth dependent. No matter how innocent you are no matter how strong your alibi the mere fact you did nothing wrong doesn't shield you from arrest, prosecution, conviction, and long-term incarceration. 

Our present criminal justice system treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. 

Wealth, not culpability shapes the outcomes of many judicial decisions today. The poor are being destroyed by this reality. The mentality ill have been locked up in our correctional system. There is very little help for the mentality ill in poor and minority communities. We just throw them in jail or prison. We do not help children who are dealing with these developmental issues we jerk them out of schools because they can't deal with cultural norms we call them criminal we put them in juvenile detention centers they are stigmatized and put on a pipeline leading to criminal behavior. 

There is a sense of hopelessness in our minority communities today. Most African America males feel their lives will be lost due to drug violence or racist cops. Many African males believe they will be incarcerated by the age of 21.  It's high time we engage these children and communities and fight against these feelings of hopelessness. It is the duty of any conscious citizen to help empower our brothers and sisters. 

One of the biggest challenges we face as a society is that most of us have doubts as to what we as individuals can do to affect positive change in our communities. What this writer has learned from my childhood and adult years is you can't buy what you can't sale. If you as a single person have no hope you cannot give hope to others. 

We must end the war on drugs. Stop the modern day equivalent to Jim Crow which has led to mass incarceration of minorities and the poor. America is the only country in the world where a 13-year-old can be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. There is no question that large segments of our society in America have been held hostage to the politics of fear and anger. Now is the time to stop this scourge on our citizens and end the politics of fear and anger once and for all. 

Study: Conservatives have larger 'fear center' in brain

It's Time To Put An End To Private Prisons By: Bernie Sanders

Sign my petition in support of my Justice is Not for Sale Act and say you’ve had enough of millionaires and billionaires profiting by keeping more and more Americans behind bars.

Image From Flickr via Donkey Hotey

Today in America, shamefully, we have more people in jail than any other country on earth. The United States is home to 4.4 percent of the world’s population, and 22 percent of its prisoners. A significant reason for this is because companies that profit from prisons have spent millions of dollars lobbying for laws that needlessly keep people behind bars for far too long.

Go Bernie Go Hoodie $40.00 ( Free Shipping)

It is our job, in my view, to recreate our criminal justice system. And I believe that we cannot do that as long as corporations are allowed to profit from mass incarceration. Today this situation has gotten so out of hand that our prisoners are no longer people — they have just become sources of profit as laborers who work for pennies an hour on behalf of major corporations. Keeping human beings in jail for extended periods of time must no longer be an acceptable business, model. Our focus should be on treating people with dignity and ensuring they have the resources they need to get back on their feet when they get out. I am glad that President Obama this week ordered the release of nearly 6,000 nonviolent offenders from federal prison, but there is much more to do.

I have recently introduced legislation that will put an end to for-profit prisons. My bill will bar federal, state, and local governments from contracting with private companies who manage prisons, jails, or detention facilities. And it will require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to improve their monitoring of prisons and eliminate private detention centers within two years. The private for-profit prison racket is a $70 billion industry, and with so much money at stake, it’s not surprising they’ve corrupted our political process. The industry has contributed millions of dollars to candidates in pursuit of laws that increase incarceration of nonviolent offenders — a practice that disproportionately impacts people of color in the United States. We must stop the practice of governments guaranteeing prison occupancy as part of deals with private corporations that incentive states to keep prison cells filled. And we must halt the practice of private companies charging exorbitant rates for prisoners to contact their families by phone — sometimes up to several dollars per minute to talk with loved ones, and charging outrageous service fees to prisoners trying to access their money upon release. That kind of exploitation takes an already complicated family dynamic between husbands, wives, parents and children and strains it even further.

It is wrong to profit from the incarceration of human beings and the suffering of their families and friends. It’s time to end this morally repugnant process, and along with it, the era of mass incarceration.

But my legislation goes even further. It also takes steps to reduce our bloated inmate population by reinstating the federal parole system so that officials can individually assess each prisoner’s risk and the chance for rehabilitation. It ends the immigrant detention quota, which requires officials to hold a minimum of 34,000 people captive at any given time. And it would end the detention of immigrant families, many of whom are currently detained in privately-owned facilities in Texas and Pennsylvania.

House Variety Store

If we act, not only can we prevent thousands of lives from being destroyed, but we can save billions of taxpayer dollars.

This legislation enjoys a broad coalition of support on both sides of the aisle. And if we stand together and continue to bring attention to this issue, we can put a stop to the abomination of private prisons profiting from human suffering.

Thank you for standing with me.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

Debtors Prisons On The Rise! What Happened To The 14th Amendment?

Debtors Prisons On The Rise! What Happened To The 14th Amendment?

Debtor Prisons Where Suppose to be Outlawed In America

Since the late 20th century, the term "debtors" prison" has sometimes come to be applied when a court sends someone to prison over criminal duties which would normally be imposed monetarily, but cannot be paid.

"A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay a debt. These prisons have been used since ancient times. Through the mid 19th century, debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe. Though increasing access and leniency throughout the history of bankruptcy law have rendered debtors' prisons irrelevant over most of the world, as of May 2013, they persist in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Switzerland and the United States. Then Since the late 20th century, the term debtors' prison has sometimes come to be applied when a court sends someone to prison over criminal duties that would usually be imposed monetarily, but cannot be paid. For example, in some jurisdictions within the United States, people can be held in contempt of court and jailed for non-payment of child support, garnishments, confiscations, fines, or back taxes. The charge for contempt of court is going to jail. The reason for the contempt of court charge is negligent non-payment, obstruction, or fraud." [See Source]

For over 20 years now, debtors’ prisons have been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. That does not mean that they do not still exist. In simplistic terms, the reasoning behind this decision came from the realization that incarcerating someone for a debt was in breach of the 14th Amendment.

"For example, in some jurisdictions within the United States, people can be held in contempt of court and jailed after non-payment of child support, garnishments, confiscations, fines, or back taxes. The charge for going to jail is in contempt of court. The reason for the contempt of court charge is negligent non-payment, obstruction, or fraud."

All this boils down to is mercantile for the lawyers and the local and state governments. It’s a booming business. People who have got caught up in this snare know the system is rigged, and our judicial branch has become a pay as you go franchise. These so-called fines and fees are nothing more than a tax on the human condition. Also, makes a great revenue stream for the growing ” Prison for Profit” trending across America. Additionally, though adequately served civil duties over private debts in nations such as the United States will merely result in a default judgment being rendered in absentia if the defendant willfully declines to appear by law, a substantial number of indigent debtors are legally incarcerated for failure to appear at civil debt proceedings.

Who is fooling who here? The powers that be know that an enormous amount of these cases will result in default judgments for failure to appear. They keep stats on these type of things derived from the court's public record of litigated cases. With the practice of austerity and the cutting of tax revenue in states across America and largely in the ” Red States,” we are seeing a new explosion of non-violent offenders entering into the correctional system.

The legal arguments are mounting against this ever-increasing practice. Many legal scholars and advocacy groups are now starting to question the legitimacy of using the "contempt of court,” dogma as the justification to detain someone for merely owing a debt. There has been a very gross over-reach or overlook of the key prevailing legal terms involved with being in contempt. Willful non-compliance and negligent non-payment.

Coexist T-Shirt $19.99 ( Free Shipping  

Reforms eventually outlawed the practice. But groups like the Brennan Center for Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union say it’s been reborn in local courts that may not be aware it’s against the law to send indigent people to jail for unpaid fines and fees — or they just haven’t been called on it until now.[See Source]

WELL ITS TIME TO CALL THEM ON IT.

Here are some bullet points that this activity fails the 14th Amendment constitutional test.

• In 1970, the Court ruled in Williams v. Illinois that extending a maximum prison term because a person is too poor to pay fines or court costs violates the right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
• During 1971 in Tate v. Short, the Court found it unconstitutional to impose a fine as a sentence and then automatically convert it into a jail term solely because the defendant is indigent and cannot forthwith pay the fine in full.
• And in the 1983 ruling for Bearden v. Georgia the Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment bars courts from revoking probation for a failure to pay a fine without first inquiring into a person's ability to pay and considering whether there are adequate alternatives to imprisonment.

What sometimes seems to escape scrutiny is the balance sheets on this often political centerpiece in local and state elections. The big questions is jailing poor people for contempt of court for failure to appear for a debt practical? The numbers don’t lie.  

“It’s a waste of taxpayer resources, and it undermines the integrity of the justice system,” Carl Takei, staff attorney for the ACLU’s National Prison Project, told Fox News.com.“The problem is it’s not much of a money-making proposition … to throw people in jail for fines and fees when they can’t afford it. If counties weren’t spending the money jailing people for not paying debts, they could be spending the money in other ways.”

For example, according to the report, Mecklenburg County, N.C., collected $33,476 in debts in 2009, but spent $40,000 jailing 246 debtors — a loss of $6,524.[See Source]

But there is a more recent prime example of this. The push to have welfare recipients drug tested. There was a significant cost overrun for the States, which netted a single digit positive drug test result. When you are convicted of a crime courts, impose a fine and link that to a conviction no matter the infraction or classification of the offense. Fees are all those extras tacked on by the court to fund administrative services. These costs are ambiguous from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

The 14 Th Amendment was enacted post Civil War as a stopgap measure to reduce the overwhelming human rights violations going on in the Slave owner South.

There have been studies conducted in several states with high prison populations that suggest the following.

A year-long study released in 2010 of fifteen states with the highest prison populations by the Brennan Center for Justice, found that all fifteen states sampled have jurisdictions that arrest people for failing to pay debt or appear at debt related hearings. Aside from citizens being jailed without legal counsel the study identified four causes that lead to debtors’ prison type arrests for debts;

• State laws that attempt to make criminal justice debt a condition of probation, parole, or other correctional supervision with failure to pay to result in arrest and re-imprisonment.
• State laws that consider incarceration as a penalty for failure to pay criminal justice debt. These actions are seen as a civil contempt of court charge, thus technically not in violation of state constitutions that prohibit debtors’ prisons, but for the same reason those incarcerated must be released immediately if they either pay or prove themselves unable to do so.
• Citizens are choosing jail time under state programs where incarceration is a way of paying down court-imposed debt.
• States that regularly arrest citizens for criminal justice debt prior to appearing at debt-related hearings, leading in many cases to multi-day jail terms pending an ability to pay to hearing.

During 1971 in Tate v. Short, the Court found it unconstitutional to impose a fine as a sentence and then automatically convert it into a jail term solely because the defendant is indigent and cannot forthwith pay the fine in full.[Source: Wiki]

There are so many examples how inequality plays out in the hum-drum of everyday life. We must call these forces out that would detain a person from freedom to move to and fro for non-willful, non-negligent, non-repayment of debt. The practice is a balance sheet nightmare and a big loss to the taxpayer.

The Return of Debtors' Prison via Court Fees

White Men with Guns Welcome in Ferguson...(Thom Hartmann)

Thom Hartmann comments on news that the Oath Keepers 

militia is on patrol in Ferguson, MO during the One year 

anniversary of the police killing of Michael Brown. 

Why Are They Even Allowed Period Explanation Mark, End of Statement!!!

Photo Credit: www.irishtimes.com

Four civilians carrying automatic rifles and sidearms patrolled a riot-torn street in Ferguson, Missouri, early Tuesday, saying they were there to protect a media organisation but drawing swift criticism from police and protesters alike.

The appearance of the four men, all white, quickly drew stares in the mostly black neighborhood, which exploded into violence again on Sunday night as protesters marked the police killing of an unarmed black teen a year ago.

The men identified themselves as part of a group called “Oath Keepers,” which describes itself as an association of current and former US soldiers and police who aim to protect the US Constitution.

Trouble Makers Wanting Play Army Man Is What They Are.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit civil rights organisation, has described the “Oath Keepers” as a “fiercely anti-government, militaristic group,” and St Louis County Police ChiefJon Belmar condemned their appearance in Ferguson.

“Their presence was both unnecessary and inflammatory,” he said, adding that police would work with county prosecutors to see if the men had broken any laws.

Journalists and protesters posted images on social media platforms.

Led by a man who gave his name only as John, the group, whose members wore bulletproof vests and carried sidearms in addition to combat-style rifles, said they had come to protect a journalist from the conservative “Infowars. com” Web site.

“There were problems here, there were people who got hurt. We needed to be prepared for that,” said the man, who noted that Missouri state laws generally allow the open carrying of heavy weapons of the kind that his group were brandishing.

InfoWars could not be reached for immediate comment.

Ferguson has seen months of violent protest since the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer a year ago. Sunday night’s protests were punctuated by gunfire, with police shooting and critically wounding a man who they said had opened fire on them.

Monday’s protests were less chaotic, with about nine people arrested in skirmishes with police that saw protesters throw rocks and bottles at officers.

But many in the crowd questioned the wisdom of openly carrying such heavy weapons into an emotionally charged situation.

“You’re going to bring some uncommissioned citizens, white citizens, into a black community like this? It’s disrespectful,” saidTalal Ahmad (30) who is black and has been a fixture of the last year’s protests, which prompted a Justice Department review that found Ferguson’s police department routinely violated city residents’ civil rights.

“Here, in a black neighborhood, we’re already living in a state of terror,” Ahmad said.

Jim Roberts 

✔@nycjim

Just what #Ferguson needs. A bunch of guys carrying assault rifles. Legally. http://mashable.com/2015/08/11/oath-keepers-ferguson/ …

7:09 AM - 11 Aug 2015

See Related  House of Public Discourse Article Published Last Year

Article Previously Published In The Irish Times. 

Racism Alive And Well In Southern States (Video)

Obamacare + Obstruction X Threats of Impreachment= Racism

The answer to this equation is often the understood but not spoken reason for much gridlock in our government today. Upon my reference, I came across an article, Yes, The South Really Is Different — And It’s Because Of Race. Personally, race has no geographical boundaries in my view. However, the point is well taken that in the South, racist tactics meet little to no resistance such as in gerrymandering, voter suppression, and the very common racial profiling. 

Republicans Have Attacked Civil Rights Legislation, Implemented Questionable Voter ID Laws, with  Regressive Voting Rights Laws  Under Federal Review.

The list could go on, and the pushback is starting to rear its ugly head. With all the rigor and rhetoric of the past weeks, we heard many dogs whistle words coming from the politicians, pundits and citizens; words like "obstruction, ransom, hostage," and phrases like ‘Domestic Terrorist.” There have been many people who feel the actions of the principles on the right were, in fact, seditious. Well, that is a gray area, but one thing this episode did reveal is that the practice of institutionalizing racism is alive and well in the South.

What is Institutionalize racism?  The Urban Dictionary defines it as, “the process of purposely discriminating against particular groups of people through the use of biased laws or practices.” 

 Even though the main purpose of the last government shutdown may have been Obamacare, the underlying issue to all the obstruction and gridlock that led to the shutdown was in fact the fight over the overall regressive policies and practices of the radically right controlled Republican Party; which really were nothing more than prime examples of institutionalized racism. Obamacare is a racial slur given to name what is, in fact, the Affordable Care Act. Yes, it's true that individuals host their set of racist feelings that are, in fact, indigenous to oneself. However, one would be remiss not to recognize the role that institutional racism has played in American History and American Culture. Racism in this country would not have thrived if not for institutionalized racism.

Examples of Institutionalized Racism

• Slavery In The United States- [No Commentary Needed] Civil War ring a bell?
• Racism In Medicine- In a report posted by Mike LaCon/flickr.com he stated that Racism has influenced U.S. health care in the past and continues to do so today. “The most shameful chapters in American history involve the U.S. government funding studies that allowed poor black men in Alabama to succumb to syphilis or Guatemalan prison inmates, mental health patients and soldiers to be afflicted with the disease and other sexually transmitted infections.”
• Racial profiling- People are profiled every single day in this country based on the way they look. People of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent report being routinely profiled at the nation’s airports. In New York City,  Black and Latino men have been unfairly targeted by that city's  "stop and frisk policy.”
• Voting Rights legislation- With the Supreme Court's affirmation that certain aspects of the Voting Rights were no longer relative, there has been an onslaught of voting legislation ram-rodded through.  The Republicans help state governments to make it harder for minorities to vote and use other mechanisms that  purge the rolls of valid voters,  and limit time and access to vote.
• Church Sunday- Racism and segregation can be witnessed in no finer fashion than on Church Sunday.  Even though there have been more inter-racial Church congregations spring up across the country,  most Churches remain segregated and in fairness,  what seems to be by choice. The United Methodist Church and the Southern Baptist formally apologized for their support of Jim Crow laws and other racist practices in recent years as well. Despite their efforts to diversify, overall church congregations remain mostly segregated up until this day.

With the actions of the Republican Party and the Libertarian and Tea Party, all radical elements

within those parties are freely exercising  institutional racism by using the politics of nullification;  the doctrine which holds that the states, singly or in concert, can defy federal actions by declaring them invalid or just ignoring them Don’t expect to see any real change any time soon. In fact, we are seeing emboldened politicians with gerrymandered “safe zones” using nullification to voice the anti-government passions and hate for Obamacare, a fully legally enacted law. We have seen both overt and covert actions to curtail voting, repeal legislation and in the case of President Obama, delegitimize his presidency. 

There Is A Strong Sectional Stronghold of Institutional Racism In  The South

This reality is an understatement. The force of change brings about fear and suspicion to Southern people. Government is seen as an intrusive force with invasive intentions to do harm to individual and community. However, when you look at all unbiased reports, the Southern States garner the most benefits from the “Big Government,” they so rail on about.

To put this all in perspective, a little history lesson is in order. In practical, these radicalized elements within the Republican party are not  new free radicals, they are old radicals nothing more than the old Dixiecrat. The George Wallace Crowd is a group that housed the KKK and other white supremacists within the then Democratic party. You know, the ones who left the party and the Republican Party had no problem embracing when the Democrats adopted both the New Deal of FDR and later the Civil Rights legislation of 1964, which enacted the Voting Rights Acts of 1965.

All of this culminated in a Southern Strategy which is in full force and unlike anytime in history entirely exposed itself since the election of one Barack Obama, the first person of color to the White House and with a foreign name at that. On her nightly show, Rachel Maddow does an excellent job of explaining how this institutionalize racist mechanism has been used for years in the South and moreover, how they won elections using it.

Now that there has been an unveiling of just how some of these racist tactics can be harmful to the overall common good of our citizens, the people are getting a clear view of how right-wing politics is holding back states like North Carolina and Texas and Florida.

Now that there has been a turn on the lights moment when the American people can clearly see how obstruction, voter suppression, and how institutionalized racism has directly caused a government shutdown and legislative gridlock, and the result has been the Republican Party getting the lowest approval rating ever recorded by any political party ever, we can maybe just possibly effect change in the South one voter at a time.

America Loves A Good Conspiracy Theory!

America Loves A Good Conspiracy Theory. A large segment of the American population subscribes to some form of conspiracy theory.

• More than one-third of Americans believes that the Obama Administration is secretly trying to take everyone’s guns away.. 
• Twenty-five percent of Americans believe President Obama is attempting to stay in office beyond 2017, including 44 percent of Republicans.
• More than a quarter of Americans believe that Muslims are trying to implement Sharia Law in American courts while 55 percent disagree.[See Source]

The conspiracy theory of “false flag” operations where the government plans and executes terrorist or mass shooting events to blame on others isn’t popular with a vast majority of Americans, despite the best effort of websites like infowars.com. Seventy percent say the government doesn’t perform that kind of operations.[See Article]

George Carlin Raised A Question With Comedy

What is at stake is more than one small country [Kuwait], it is a big idea - a new world order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom, and the rule of law. Such is a world worthy of our struggle, and worthy of our children's future. --President George Bush in his state of the union address, January 16, 1991

Let's Stop And Think For A Moment

President Obama must be " Superman." He[Obama] has contrived a fake birth certificate so well as to pass every test under the sun, moon, and stars, while managing to create " death panels" in the Affordable Care Act. In addition, this was being timed with Obama's  plan to destroy religious liberty by mandating contraceptives for religious institutions. Oh, I almost forgot the " Deep Water Horizon" incident that was an inside job to garner support for his tree-hugging base. Needless to say, it was Obama who masterminded the Syrian gas attacks as a pretext to war. Let's not leave out he[Obama] planned the shooting of a TSA agent to strengthen agency powers. And lastly, the one that stuns this writer's heart that our President Obama ordered the Sandy Hook school massacre to push through gun control legislation, and build concentration camps to house Americans who resist.

People Believe This Stuff!

People do believe in these conspiracy theories,  and they do so in shocking numbers. For example, about one- third of Americans believe the " birther" conspiracy theory that Obama is a foreigner, and that 9/11 was an inside job by the Bush Administration. " America Loves A Good Conspiracy Theory! 
It's clear that the popularity of conspiracy theories are the fad of modern day rebellion. There is a strong case to be made that many truths have come forth from tirelessly dedicated truth-seekers. However, this " creates a new conspiracy theory tab here button," has gotten a bit over the top. In fact,  it has lessened the overall credibility of many of the legitimate conspiratorial  questions being raised by advocates.

Why Do So Many People Fall For Conspiracy Theories?

One needs to grasp what is meant by conspiracy theory. Our study has found,  once a person believes in a conspiracy theory, it's  like " pulling teeth" for the individual  to see another view. Any fair evaluation on the topic of conspiracy theories brings you to the 'Grand-Daddy," of all conspiracy theories:  the Illuminati & New World Order- Conspiracy. 

What Do We Know That Is Real, Right Now?

Is Citizens United A Conspiracy Theory Come True?

The Supreme Court ruling known as Citizens United vs. FEC, has probably affected the course of American politics  more than any other event in the last several decades.  How could this have happened?  And, in addition, was it foretold in the famous New World Order conspiracy theory? Citizen United will be the case that lives " in infamy " for all Americans who fought to get special interests out of our politics.  It was our " Pearl Harbour," " 911", and "Hurricane Katrina" moments. The Supreme Court has opened the " floodgates" for the Special Interests backed by the Global Elitists to steal the American Dream.  As it stands right now, foreign corporations  can spend undisclosed amounts of cash  and Citizens United tells the American people it's none of your business. 

In the paranoid mind, the Illuminati succeeded in their goals and have now infiltrated every government and every aspect of society. They are responsible for every evil and every unjust act that ever occurs anywhere; the fact that no evidence of their existence can be found only serves to make them stronger and more frightening. They are the demon in the closet and will probably never disappear from the paranoid fantasy world of right-wing conspiracy theorists. --New England Skeptical Society

 What's  So Seductive About Conspiracy Theories?

The idea that conspiratorial persons are these anti-socials living in their mom's cellar is incorrect. Studies have shown that believers in conspiracies are not gender, age, race, income, educational level, or occupational status specific. People with both political affiliations equally  believe in conspiracy theories. Liberals are more likely to suspect that media sources and political parties are pawns of wealthy capitalists and corporations because conservatives tend to believe that academics and liberal elites control these same institutions. GMO conspiracy theories are embraced primarily by those on the left (who accuse, for example, Monsanto of conspiring to destroy small farmers), whereas climate change conspiracy theories are endorsed mainly by those on the right (who inculpate, for example, academic climate scientists for manipulating data to destroy the American economy).[See Source]

The Recycled Conspiracy Theories of Alex Jones, NRA, Glenn Beck (with Arthur Goldwag)

 

Whatever Happened To Liberty And Justice For All?

FDR

While recently listening to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's [FDR] " Four Freedoms" speech, a glaring question popped out at this writer. Whatever happened to liberty and justice for all and was it ever a reality in America? One thing is a certainty.... justice for all is nothing but a catch phrase in America today. It does not exist. We have seen an ever increasing cornucopia of  institutional and social injustices manifested over the last decade in America. We have seen Barry Bonds inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame while on trial for illegal steroid usage.  The out of control banking industry has levied egregious banking fees on helpless consumers. The American Healthcare industry has raked the American people over the coals with. " five times the inflation rate pricing while practicing fraudulent  business methods like billing dead patients just to name one. Wall Street has become a den of thieves betting against their customers.  In 2001, the Patriot Act was enacted and has been turning citizens into suspects ever since. There have been proven cases of U.S. Bishops protecting pedophile priests. And of course we can't fail to mention  the day in, day out civil injustice in the American Criminal Justice System, which has recently been highlighted in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.

The Speech

 

The Never Ending Fight For FDR's Four Freedoms!

It was 74 years ago that FDR made this famous speech and America today is still fighting for its narrative, a free and equal society for all. In this speech, FDR proposed four freedoms. Not only did FDR command these freedoms for all Americans but also every person in the world. FDR's speech was made just prior to the U.S. entering  World War II. The four freedoms were the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom to worship or not to worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear.  The speech was hugely popular with the American people with many of the speeches' key components being a guidepost for many post-World War II countries redevelopment.[See Article]

With the help from what many call America's " greatest generation,"  this statement caused a reshaping of the fundamentals of American society. During this period, America became equal and more democratic. What has happened since the time of FDR in America is unconscionable. With the onslaught of Reaganomics in 1980's to our present time, these basic tenets of freedom for the everyday Joe and Mary in America have all but been wiped out. The equality in America is in shambles and the rising gap between the haves and have-nots is staggering.

How Do We Invigorate The Quest For FDR's, " Four-Freedoms?"

The paramount motivation for FDR delivering this speech in his State of the Union address was that Europe at the time was being overrun by the Germans and East Asia was being terrorized by imperial Japan. FDR knew it was inevitable that America was heading for conflict.  It was FDR's view that it was essential for America to begin to prepare for war. However, it was his[FDR] viewpoint that the most important thing for America to do was become an ''arsenal of democracy.''  England, France, and the Eastern Hemisphere who were under siege from what history has shown as one of the most evil empires ever in the world,  Nazi Germany.  President Roosevelt knew well if you were going to prepare for a national defense , you needed security forces for the nation, but, moreover, you needed economic security for the nation as well. FDR had been fighting for years on the economic  front with labor and others in the New Deal. This address was needed to rally these associations once again. FDR had to hone the American people in on his vision that he had been striving for, for eight years, and that was the " Four Freedoms." Our research into this matter revealed that one of the FDR major beliefs was that all Americans aspired for these freedoms and knew they were a galvanizing force to bring the country to a sense of oneness and purpose.

Freedom From Want

In addressing what FDR was touching on in his ' freedom from want' segment within the speech, one might need an understanding of the term " General Welfare.Clause."

General Welfare Clause Explained

As we know, FDR succumbed from his Polio disease before seeing these aspirations fulfilled, and the reason was well documented.  The Republican Congress and the  newly elected President Harry S Truman, who proved to be ineffective, were left to deal with them. The freedom from want aspect from this speech struck fear into the hearts of conservative Republicans. They [Republicans] imagined that FDR goals would be to take Social Security that he enacted in 1935 and build upon  it to the point that the program would include National Health Care. Moreover, in 1944 when FDR came back to Congress in another State of the Union address, he intended to put real practical meaning  to the program by laying out rights for Americans that would have included guarantees like  a job, healthcare, housing, food and shelter, and clothing. Behind the scenes, we learned that FDR was not hopeful these guarantees [wants], would be enacted.  He felt the Conservative Coalition of the day,  North Republicans and the Southern Dixiecrats would block it. But Roosevelt knew the American people wanted  a Social Democratic America.

The writer of the " Pledge of Allegiance" was a Socialist

Francis Bellamy

1. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country.[See Source]
2. FDR was a very thorough person, and he had surveys conducted by various agencies. These investigations found 85% of Americans wanted National Healthcare and the other aforementioned desires which in practice functioned as an Economic Bill of Rights for the American citizens. 
3. FDR was a visionary and a man of his time and in addition to the socialist GI Bill [Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944] FDR advocated, as now President Obama has,  that all American citizens should have the right to a free college education. 

4. The Voice of America President Obama on Free Community College for all.

What we have in our present time is a post-educational system that has caused nothing but over-the-top debt for America's college students. There is no question that if FDR's vision could have come to pass it would have transformed America,  and leaves its supporters asking the question: what if, and why not? Just like in FDR's time and today as well,  a super-majority of Americans wanted socialized medicine and education and did not get it.   So why is this not a reality in America? Sweden provides its citizens with free health care and a college education. Denmark does this. Norway does this. Germany does this. France does this. Free health care and college were an American idea from arguably one of the greatest presidents this nation has ever seen and yet we do not offer these fundamental freedoms to our citizenry. In this writer's mind it's an outrage and should be something for which every American citizen should be fighting and advocating. 

Ronald Reagan

Unfortunately, what we have seen since Reagan has been an all out attack on Democratic and Social Rights in this country.  All the work and aspirations of the post-World War II generations' quest to bring about the vision of FDR's " Four Freedoms," done in the 40's, 50's, and 60's,   such as reforms in immigration, Medicare, and Medicaid, civil rights and right to vote laws, and environmental protection;  all being dismantled by the 1% stuffed shirts of the GOP.  It has reached a point in this writer's view that the true " Patriotic Duty," of every American should be to protect these rights from the radical-right, Tea Party, and Libertarian factions operating within today's Republican Party.

Is Liberty And Justice For All An American Pipe-Dream? 

One could argue that to imagine an America where all citizens are equal with the same protections and benefits a cohesive society should demand, is a dream long gone. We here at the House of Public Discourse believe it's paramount to remind ourselves of the founding principles of this nation. One of the common themes for this nation should be that this is our land, this is your land, and this is my land from the sea to shining sea. We The People are in this together should be the everyday focus of every single individual in this country no matter their race or any other mitigating factors. Moreover, the reason we have Democratic institutions and the reason we have a government, is to provide for the health and happiness of We The People.  The " General Welfare Clause" was based on these principles. According to the Declaration of Independence, when the government fails to provide for the " General Welfare" of its citizens it's that said government's duty and obligation to correct it or be overthrown by We The People. The founding documents of America are crystal clear. They reveal to us that the purpose of government is to do something good for everyone in our country and not just a privileged few. Our government was not founded on a principle for us but not them mentality. It is to represent We The People not We The Few. In addition, our government was designed to be  a help to us not a hindrance. 

The Declaration Of The Ages

74 years ago, FDR came out and said in his " Four Freedoms," State of the Union address:

"As men do not live by bread alone they do not fight by armaments alone. Those, who man our defenses and build our defenses, have the stamina and courage which come from the unshakable belief in the manner of life they are defending."  

What FDR is saying here is we are not just fighting Hitler, we are not just fighting against an evil empire, we are fighting for something. What does our nation stand for? Once again, this questions leads us right back to our nation's founding first principles of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Happiness? The United States of America's Declaration of Independence was the first time any governmental document in the history of the world had a provision for its citizens to be happy. FDR continued:

" The mighty action that we are calling for is not based on a disregard for all the things worth fighting for, the nation takes great satisfaction and much strength from the things that have been done to make its people conscious of their individual stake in their observation of Democratic life in America. Those things have toughened the fiber of our population, renewed our faith and strength to their devotion to our institutions we make ready to protect." 

It's important to understand that when FDR made this speech we were in the middle of World War II. Certainly this was not the time for any American to stop thinking about the social and economic problems that were the cause of  the Social Revolution which was a supreme factor of the world at that time as it is in our present time.  Our research has found that FDR wanted to drive home the message that the fundamental things expected by the American people were. " Life, Liberty, Justice, and Happiness for All." This narrative is what President Obama should be covering with the American people in his upcoming State of the Union address. When you wade through all the political rhetoric of today,  what the American people want is very straightforward: Life, Liberty, Justice, and a fair shot at having happiness. What the American people are screaming for is an equal opportunity no matter the circumstance you were born into. Jobs for those who can work that pay a wage that correlates with the cost of living in an area would be a great place to start.  Why have the Republicans blocked the Obama administration on creating government jobs to rebuild our nation's crumbling infrastructure? We have seen since Reagan and his government is the evil mantra;  cut our children's education, lack of funding to maintain our roads and bridges, power grids, sewer systems, environmental protections, and the deregulation of the banking industry and Wall Street.  Like the Rolling Stones song proclaimed , it's enough to " make a grown man cry."

One can only imagine what our country would be like today if FDR's aspirations could have become a reality. But after 35 years of Reaganomics, all one can imagine is that it's too late to believe in an America that works for all. If Capitalism cannot provide enough jobs for We The People, when their sole motivation is a maximization of profits, then having government sponsored jobs for any myriad of General Welfare concerns and needs is not only practical and smart it, makes good common sense.  Since Reagan, we have learned new terms like downsizing, outsourcing; trickle-down economics just to name a few and all WE, The People have gotten in return, is the largest  wealth inequality ever recorded in the annals of history!  It is time for our President to be a leader like FDR and step up to the podium in his upcoming State of the Union Address and demand a passage of a jobs bill that will put Americans to work rebuilding our nation's infrastructure and  strengthening our public schools and making two-year college free for all Americans.  Whatever happened to liberty and justice for all?  It was sabotaged by greedy Capitalists and the corrupt politicians who do their bidding.  Citizen United ring a bell?  We as a people can do two things. [1] Do nothing but grin and bear it, or [2] Do something and stand up and fight and demand as our founding fathers did in the Declaration of Independence...demand  our government  change its ways or else be overthrown. So let it be written, so let it be done.