IM2Opinionated - Common sense views on politics

In the past few decades, the argument for privatization of practically every service normally run by public entities, such as cities, counties, states and even the federal government has been pushed by the Republican party.  The claim that private enterprises could do a better job for less expense has been a compelling one.  So compelling was this argument, that when presented to the public, there were few to question its logic, while the arguments of those few who did oppose things such as charter schools, privately run prisons and the construction of municipal facilities by private contractors fell upon deaf ears and were vocalized by mute politicians. Having worked in both the public and private sectors, I can honestly say that private contractors neither save more money, nor do they provide a better product in many cases.  Sometimes the shortcomings of contractors are only apparent in their failure to stay within a contracts budget.  At other times however, the ...

Sorry about the poor quality of the video. Short on time these days. Will post better quality as time permits: Please donate, so I can provide better content as seen in my previous videos. --->>> For more detailed information about Larry Summers and his cohorts in the economic downfall of American, watch this Frontline video and remember, he's Obama's top economic adviser, not Brooksley Born, one of the few to point out the folly of deregulation. Watch all parts

I, for one, am interested in whether a actual link can be made between the banks and those people upon whom the banks are so actively foreclosing. Can some research follow a chain of custody that leads directly from the underwater, unemployed, homeowner to their former employer, to whatever entity financed that former employer. In the research that I envision, analysts would speak to homeowners who had lost their jobs and were now on the verge of losing their homes. Eventually the research would begin to profile people who were recently laid off, but a good start would be those who have the greatest need. The analyst would then root out where the company of the person with the hardship received the credit that allowed it to make payroll month in and month out. Said analysts would then expose the bank that refused to loan money or extend credit to keep the company operational, especially those that received any of the bailout money from the federal government. It is my hope that through...

I HATE: The fact that the world is under the control of power hungry, greedy, selfish people. That freedom of speech does not extend to criticism of the conglomerates that control the food industry. That special interests have a louder voice than the majority of Americans. The way corporations get bailed out, subsidized, deregulated, while people go bankrupt, pay more and are regulated more than ever in history. That some of our leaders follow the philosophy of Ayn Rand, which promotes selfishness and greed and sees all of those in need as parasites. Those who pollute the planet, be it on a small scale or more along the lines of Koch Industries. Laws that allow financial institutions to take billions of dollars from millions of people Private prison corporations that profit from housing illegal immigrants and non-violent convicts, while also profiting from the labor of people who have little choice in the matter. The Federal Reserve, which disguises itself as a governm...

Now that the Occupy movement is going global there are a few things to take under consideration. The first being the use of the masked character from the movie V is for Vendetta, which was adapted from a graphic novel. While the imagery that this character that is conjured up from this character is evocative, this message behind the image could get lost on the billions of people worldwide who have neither seen this movie nor read the graphic novel. To far too many, this image might simply appear to be a way in which to disguise the speaker’s identity and this is in turn could alienate other 99%ers who are not looking to join a secretive organization fronted by a mask wielding character. Another problem that those who are in need of saving, but complacent might have with this character is that he advocated that blowing up government facilities and I doubt that is the message that the Occupy movement wants to be associated with, especially in these early stages. This idea not only i...

Some Ideas to Wrest the American democracy from control of corporations and the elite. Strategies: 1) Build a network of local and small businesses through the following: A) Build network of consumers who need the products or services of local businesses: This has the effect of creating demand for the business, while building trust and loyalty from the business. Tactics: I) Advertise: local newspapers (The Penny Saver, The Miami Herald, etc.) II) Word of mouth of those members of the organization, employees (this could serve as their 1 hour of donated time) (To Regain American Democracy) B) Require 10% of the profit (once the demand increases: A baseline needs to be established prior to committing to providing support) 2) Identify, Target and Hold accountable the elite and corporate leaders (the “job creators”) 3) Start community farms: A) These mini farms can be planted on small plots that homeowners are willing to plan...

http://www.rebuildthedream.com/

Lately, both side of the political aisle have been talking about class warfare and I thought it interesting that the book I've been reading for about a week now discusses just this issue and what possibly lies beneath the claims made by both the Democrats and the Republicans. The book is entitled "Get Up, Stand Up: Uniting Populists" and here is an excerpt: The corporatocracy uses its money and power to try to persuade Americans that it is "populist demagoguery" to even bring up the subject of class war, and that populism means pandering to destructive prejudices. Fortunately, despite the corporactocracy's great efforts here, many don't buy it. In March 2009, a Rasmussen Reports poll reported that "55% of Americans Are Populist." They defined populist as trusting the American people's judgement more than America's political leaders, as seeing government and big business as political allies working against the interest of most ...

Here is an article to get people thinking about this problem of the coporatization of America http://www.alternet.org/story/152158/3_things_that_must_happen_for_us_to_rise_up_and_defeat_the_corporatocracy/?page=entire

I am still working out the bugs on the audio. For now, just turn the volume up a little.

America is at a cross roads: One road proposed by the Republicans and one by the Democrats.  Both parties realize that something has got to change in which the way the United States Government stays sovereign and maintains the ability to keep its economy moving forward.  As things stand currently, the best that both parties could actually hope for would be to keep the U.S. economy from shrinking and the unemployment rate from rising, but which plan of action is the correct choice seems to be the problem. As for the Republicans, their plan is simple, cut spending.  In this plan the only change that would be made to the American economy would be to reduce the size of government and let private industry take the lead to growing the it.  Republicans, it seems would prefer that most aspects of life in America be handled by small business and corporations.  There would be less regulation that they contend gets in the way of capitalism, which would allow the markets ...

The following is a link to a website in which 100s of millionaires fought to eliminate the Bush era tax cuts.  They claim that they did not want them, did not need them and feel that they are not worth the trouble they have caused for the United States of America.  If the wealthy are aware of the burden that immoral tax cuts place on our economy, why are the Republicans trying to force them on the country.  Please take a look at this site and understand that the "Rich people are NOT the cause of a robust economy, they are the result of a robust economy" .  My friends, the rich realize that a country of poverty is not a country to be proud of and no country to live in, no matter how much wealth one has (just pick any country where the wealth is consolidated at the top and determine whether this fits into the American dream: http://patrioticmillionaires.org/ This second link is to a video that several millionaires put together to dispute Republican cl...

Before the American public there were two paths that could be taken. One was open to all, accepting of all and sought to help all along their way. The other path only allowed those who were willing to leave their friends, family and all of humanity behind to travel upon it. Though anyone was free to choose which path they would take, only one allowed for an increasing number of travellers. The other narrowed until there were but a few individuals who could maintain their footing and even that number dwindled as the capacity of this path decreased. Though the two paths were so different in the demographics that followed them, they were plainly viewed by all: Those on the growing path noticed the diminishing numbers of people who chose the one which shrank. They were close enough to call out to them, or so they thought, but for some reason, the people on the other path couldn’t hear them. It could have been that they were simply ignoring what they considered lower class citizens, but i...

America will never recover until it reconciles with its people: Rich, poor, what’s left of the middle class and all individuals in between. This requirement is paramount, because a nation is only as strong as its people’s solidarity and desire to share in both the prosperous and disastrous times. In America, I see this strength waning, as selfish and greedy individuals do everything in their power to decimate the savings, incomes, hopes and dreams of the masses. I believe that those who are the stewards of this once great nation are looking only at the short-term gains to be made with their allegiance to some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals and corporations. These politicians and civic leaders fail to realize that not only are those they steal from turning against their misdeeds, but they are waking up to the possibility of a return to a feudalistic society. This will not stand for a people who have known freedom for so many generations: Freedom of speech, which is bein...

Republicans push state laws when national push fails If the Democrats were true leaders they would currently be addressing those people who are affected by unfavorable, new, state laws that have been passed and those people who will be affected by state laws that will most likely pass by GOP governors and republican state legislations. If Democrat had vision, they would be drawing comparisons to these state laws and those that national GOP leaders tried to pass in congress; failing only because they do not currently have the numbers to get their radical and harmful bills passed into law. Democrats should be addressing those U.S. citizens who have been affected by these Republican laws that hurt everyone except the wealthy and they should be addressing those that will be affected in the near future (prior to 2012) by bills that are being brought up by GOP leadership in various states. National Democratic leaders should be made the case that, had the Republicans in Washingto...

Abortion:                    I have no stance on abortion and I will never take a stance on this matter.  It is too inflammatory and I believe that people make poor decisions on leadership based on this issue and many issues of faith in general:  Case in point:  Too many Americans were duped into believing that George Bush was a God-fearing individual even after he chose to commit troops to a war (Iraq) that was unjustified, immoral and harmful to both nations involved and ultimately, the world.  People’s faith-like belief in Bush has put America and the world in a downward spiral of conflict and economic turmoil. Accountability:           Mistakes are made and lessons should be learned from those mistakes, but the first step to learner from one’s mistakes is admitting that the mistake was made in the first place.  Tho...

As America heads down its current path of consolidation of money, resources, power, freedom and rights to the rich, I thought I would share my plans for this “bright and shining” example of democracy.  In the future that I see, as “mandated” by the Republicans, I foresee a lot of hardship, not shared sacrifice, not shared prosperity, but shared hardship:  A hardship that will be long-lasting and progressively worsening over time.  While I do see plenty of examples of optimistic individuals, I do not share their beliefs and think them to be of a certain naivety or illogical mindset.  Regardless of my rationale for such truisms, the following is a detailed account of what a GOP-lead future entails, at least for me. At 46 years of age, I have suffered from the ravages of time, and have allowed myself to succumb to a sedentary lifestyle.  With an ever-growing workload and an excessive amount of daily stress and responsibility, my health has fallen by the wayside, ...

I hope we (I am a Florida resident) can impeach Rick Scott, because him and his kind are not good for Florida, the US or the world. People like Scott (both the Walker (WI) and Rick persuasion ­­s are bad for the economy. Their actions ultimately harm more people than the most prolific serial killer, but their actions are considered legal. What else is Rick Scott going to take away from the working poor to give to the rich (individua ­ls and corporatio ­ns) who promise to trickle down onto the shrinking middle class? I voted for Sink, because I surmised (quite correctly) that anyone willing to put up $72 million of his own money to get elected had a plan to not only recoup, but to profit. I feel like doing what Forrest Gump did and start walking until I get to Georgia and then keep walking until I find a Blue State. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I am getting much better at expressing myself in 140 words or less.  I try to stay current with what is going on around the country, especially with all of the attacks that recently elected GOP governors are making on the 'working class', poor (which is bleed into the working class), the elderly "Granma's gotta pay!", teachers (who might not be the best people to teach our kids . . . after all, they're staying in a profession that comes under fire year after year and they lose ground every single time) and even philanthropists "if you can afford to give to the needy, you can afford to give to the government", whose donations might soon be taxed in one or two states. Now, I intend to continue to blog here, although I have been slacking as of late, but I TWEET daily, because there are so many things that piss me off in the news everyday and instead of blurting out a string of curse words, I blurt out a string of ideas that counter some of the BS being...

These are the three things that Governor Walker will accomplish with his bill: 1)  No unions, less power for democrats: We will be down to one party, because the GOP will still have corporate support and corporations don't care about people, they only care about profit. 2)  The residents of Wisconsin will be less educated: Who would want to become a teacher given the attacks and salary and benefit cut that they face all of the time. 3)  He will have started a trend of taking from those who don't have money so those who do can preserve their accounts: Where is the logic in taking from the poor and middle class, while not even considering taking the wealthy and super wealthy.  This kind of reasoning is not healthy for society unless its a feudal one. It's actions like Walker's that have caused me to lose faith in this country's ability to remain strong.  It's inaction or or misguided action from those poor and middle class who voted for people like W...

I hear what you're saying and I believe that the Republicans are (maybe not intentionally) systematically going to make Americans dumber and they are trying to further divide the classes by helping the rich who benefited from this economic crisis even richer BUT I don't see the democratic party in D.C. standing against these threats. The Democrates almost feel like silent partners in what I see as a system that will look like the middle east in a few years. For this and other reasons, I feel it quite ridiculous for you to solicit me for money. I donated to Ian's pizza in Wisconsin to help people who are fighting for their rights and indirectly (but visibly) fighting for mine. Sincerely, Chris Ossman (democrate) Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry From: "Robby Mook, DCCC Executive Director" <dccc@dccc.org> Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2011 17:26:18 +0000 To: Chris Ossman<sessions_present@hotmail.com> ReplyTo: dccc@dccc.org Subject: FW: Wisconsin ...