http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/blog_rss/richardplambeck Reporter to Lt. General George S.Patton: "General, isn't it true most Germans joined the Nazi party like Americans become Democrats or Republicans?" Patton:"Yeah... that pretty well describes it." So Newt Gingrich is back in the news, lambasting President Obama for his handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. It's sad the the Republicans have to pull these tired geezers out of mothballs to maintain credibility with their constituents. Particularly in Gingrich's case where he was dethroned by pornographer Larry Flint for his questionable behavior behind the scenes. It is of great interest to me how the most powerful mouthpieces in the Republican party are themselves disgraced former office holders or talk radio hosts who've never been elected to anything... when was the last time you heard from RNC Chair Michael Steele... Oh, yeah... when he apologized to Rush Limbaugh... that's right. Link here:http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090420/pl_politico/21445_2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZxW http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZxW/commentary#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:42:55 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZxW Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZxW/ President Obama is hard to pigeonhole when it comes to dealing with this financial crisis the nation finds itself in. On one hand he says he wants to help homeowners stay in their homes, on the other hand he lends billions to the very banks that directly or indirectly created the situation to begin with. He criticizes and rebuffs the corporations that built sand castles by backing derivitives that created the inflated housing and stock market, then when its time to step up to the plate and do something about it, he backs down to a moderate 'let's see if there's a constitutional way' of managing recalcitrant beneficiaries of the public trough. The question remains, what's constitutionality got to do with individuals benefitting from public funds. As a government, procedures are in place when a contractor runs over budget to recover some losses through punitive fines and penalties. But, in the case of AIG, President Obama says he wants to find a better legal remedy than punitive taxes on a few millionaires. Well, Mr. President, I submit to you that a company receiving government funds is obligated to act in the best interests of the United States... not the corporation, and if it does not conduct its fidiciary responsibility, the company, its officers and employees are liable for that cost. That used to be part of every business contract. Duh! Link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090323/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQYM http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQYM/commentary#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:59:08 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQYM Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 3 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQYM/ Today's headlines are that AIG, the financial golden boy, blessed of the administration through hands-off, lax oversight, has flooded foreign banks with billions of dollars in taxpayer money. In Washington, the White House lights are on and nobody's home... while millions of former taxpayers look for non-existant jobs, try to stay in there homes, and put food on the table. Link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090316/pl_politico/20039 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsf http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsf/commentary#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:52:13 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsf Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQsf/ AP just posted the following report that AIG, which received $170 billion in bailouts is contractually obligated to pay $165 million in bonuses to employees, and there's nothing the US government can do about it... other than whine. My humble opinion is taxpayer funds, since they have already been awarded, should be earmarked for 'cost of business.' Any prior contractual obligations AIG has with employees should come out of their operating capital... and if they can't pay, they go belly up, and the funds loaned by the government revert to the government. That sounds fair... sorry AIG employees, there's 4 million Americans out of work right now... guess you can choose to keep your jobs and tighten your belts or join them in the unemployment line. Link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090315/ap_on_bi_ge/aig_bonuses http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsL http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsL/commentary#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:36:36 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsL Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQsL/ Those were the famous last words on the Constitution from the lips of the Honorable George W. Bush in summation of his opinion of the law of the land. Steven Colbert had an outrageous segment of ‘Wag the Finger’ on ‘The Colbert Report’ today. It consisted of Rush Limbaugh’s recent address to CPAC, in which Limbaugh quoted the preamble of ‘the Constitution’s’ statement on ‘Life, Liberty, Freedom (sic), and the pursuit of happiness. Colbert then rightly pointed out that this quote is not, in fact from the Constitution, but from the Declaration of Independence. There seems to be a serious disconnect between politicians, politicos, and pundits everywhere about what the law of the land actually states… other than among the fundamentalists who believe it sounds an awful lot like the Ten Commandments, carried, of course, on the shoulders of the late Charleton Heston, a.k.a, Moses, a.k.a Mr. Past President of the NRA. In a nation of laws, the disturbing trend of ‘making it up as you go along,’ is almost as bad as the Legislative and Executive branches willingness to throw taxpayer’s money at a problem and ‘see if it floats,’ with little if any oversight. Of course this trend is nothing new, as the following analysis on domestic intelligence and torture from the Bush administration demonstrates, courtesy of the VVAWnet: “The documents currently being released by the Justice Department that demonstrate the Bush administration’s view of the president’s constitutional power in a “state of war” tell us things we suspected but didn’t want to know. “The first seven of these official memorandums issued last week dealt with claimed presidential powers to unilaterally abrogate international treaties; suspend constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and press; and order warrant-less searches, wiretaps and seizures of documents and indefinite imprisonment inside the U.S. without trial or criminal charges. The memorandums claimed that Congress has no overriding authority in these matters. “The authors of all but one of these documents were John Yoo and Jay Bybee (both then of the Justice Department but now, respectively, a member of the University of California at Berkeley Law School faculty and a federal judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals). They were also the authors early in the Bush administration of two special memorandums defining torture much more narrowly than in the United States code of military justice or U.S. civil law. “They redefined torture to permit what ordinarily is illegal in U.S. military and civil law under the so-called Federal Maiming Statute. This law makes it a crime to disfigure faces and body parts with knives or razors, or to cause blindness, or cut out tongues, or perform other grotesque and gruesome tortures that this column will leave to the consciences of professor Yoo, Judge Bybee and the senior members of the Bush administration who wished to be advised on their exemption from such legal limits. “The final thing I will say about this is that many or most of the documents now being issued on how President Bush might ignore the U.S. Constitution had to do with domestic surveillance and the (illegal) use of American military forces against the American public. “That probably would have begun in a small way. “Troublemakers” disappearing here and there. Protest groups rounded up and sent to camps. Possibly a day would have come when some conference of lawyers, or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, or Americans for Democratic Action, or the Cato Institute, or some political pressure group like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, did something that seriously annoyed the White House. “…If a battalion of military police took over the hall and the participants “disappeared,” it would certainly have made the newspapers, if the newspapers still reported such things. But considering the precedent of the American popular reaction to torture, what else would have happened? Possibly there would have been a popular new television program about the subversive forces at work in America, and how patriots should deal with them.” Full story link: www.williampfaff.com . This could be Rush’s next TV show… the last one bombed so badly, a hour long Cop- style reality show based on liberal bashing should go over great… Oh! Wait, they already have Fox News. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsJ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsJ/commentary#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:53:02 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQsJ Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 4 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQsJ/ In a country full of psychotic dichotomies, this really takes the cake. Pull out your flag waving, 'Support the Troop' magnet wearing, mission accomplishing home bound patriots on both sides of the aisle...Shame on YOU! From VVAW.net this morning: "Not even waiting for the debacles to end and all the soldiers to come home, where have I seen this All before! "I get a newsletter, many 'Nam Vets and now OIF and OEF Active and Vets are on his list, from a brother 'Nam Vet that started in the drum roll of War and has continued these last 7 plus years. It's called the "Military Project" and is based on the Underground GI Newspapers during the Vietnam War, sans online technology, that were started on Military Bases around the World and In-Country Vietnam as the Military troops started organizing against our countries failed policies and devastating Conflict and Occupation. "This was in the recent news letter: Veterans groups want cap on tuition aid under new G.I. bill "Just a few months after securing a historic, multibillion-dollar increase in veterans educational benefits, some veterans groups may ask Congress to wipe out part of what they gained. "The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and the American Legion are among groups considering asking lawmakers to place a cap - $13,000 per year has been suggested by the IAVA - on tuition aid for veterans. That's far less than would be available in many states under a new GI bill for post-9/11 troops but is enough to cover virtually all public college costs, advocates of the limit say. "The cap would make the new benefit program easier for veterans to understand and simpler for the Department of Veterans Affairs to run, said Patrick Campbell, the IAVA's legislative counsel. "One of the reasons I became active in Veterans issues, outside of being one and especially one who served in-country 'Nam my last year of a four year Navy hitch, was in watching the political game playing and an apathetic society, that doesn't serve, not raising their voices against what goes on. I was seeing benefit monies not increased, because of our failed political foreign policies that created another generation of combat vets, but transfered from one group, Korean Vets, to us returning 'Nam Vets, than quietly cut each year or walls put up to make it tougher to receive what was due for our service to country. "Why this new generation of Vets, especially in a highly respected group like IAVA-Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America would be looking to start rolling back what they fought so hard to get passed, the New GI Bill and teaming up with the American Legion, one of the long standing Veterans Groups, virtually silent on what happens to those returning, along with other long standing vet groups, until well after the investigative reports have hit the mainstream, is beyond me, but I've watched it all before. And the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars-VFW have been part and partial to the political will of backing these types of cuts to their brothers and sisters, one of the reasons many of us 'Nam Vets belong to neither! "I'll say this, IAVA you're being played and played for the benefit of these long entrenched Veterans Groups with political agenda's, not agenda's strickly for us who've served! "a cap - $13,000 per year has been suggested by the IAVA - on tuition aid for veterans. "This is what Thomas, of the "Military Project" has in footnotes to the article: "Translation: veterans are unfit to go to more expensive private colleges so we sell-out, backstabbing worthless s**t-eating fake "Veterans Organizations" don't want them to have the money to go; those are for the children of the rich, after all. "We can't have a bunch of grotty veterans around campus reminding Muffie and Bruce Jr. about the unpleasant realities of American life. As the super rich of Greenwich, Connecticut like to say, "They just wouldn't fit in." And by the way, did you catch the weasel words, "virtually all" public college costs? That means it won't cover all public college costs. Duh. "Thomas can get extremely colorful in his language { you can read the recent news letter here in PDF }, like myself, when he's Extremely Pissed, as we watch, and have been witness to, the DeJa-Vu concerning our Wars and Occupations and the Returning Troops, we've been fighting this crap for many years now, and continue to do so, living up to our Oath to our Service taken when we joined and lived! "The cap would make the new benefit program easier for veterans to understand and simpler for the Department of Veterans Affairs to run, said Patrick Campbell, the IAVA's legislative counsel. "The news letter adds this, along with a few more colorful rants, as to that little tidbit and others in the report: "Well yes. Every veteran can certainly understand if a pack of scum rat traitors f**k them over by getting Congress to cut the amount of money they get to go to school. And yes, it will be simple for the VA to give out less money to the veterans. Oh, sorry, misunderstanding: the purpose of the program isn't to benefit veterans first, they come after making things "simpler" for the VA, yeah, that's what the priority should be, right, f**k the veterans. What a pack of lame, stupid sleazy bulls**t. "This is a list of Maximum In-State Tuition & Fees Payable, and I have a much simpler way of handling the wide ranging fluctuations in the tuition's and fee's of the many colleges and universities across the country and give back to this new generation of Combat Veterans, those serving the many multiple tours in both theaters and those serving during these times. "Why not get the Schools to Sacrifice and bring in line, across the country, their tuition and fee's!! "This country hasn't been asked to sacrifice a damn thing, except the Off Federal and Department of Defense Budget's Supplemental Costs, Billions upon Billions no questions asked, during these conflicts and occupations. "Time has long passed for those serving be served by the greater majority, and especially in these times of economic collapse. "These soldiers are well trained and disciplined, as those before them, and would become the leading forces to be once again, serving this country, if given what is due those that want, the Best Education our Colleges and Universities can offer. "Take the tuitions and fee's of all the schools, come up with an average between all of them, fund that average and tell the schools that's what they get. The least expensive, would benefit by getting more than what they receive now, which than could be used to help them expand their programs etc. not only for these veterans but all their students. The most expensive, now, if they feel they are getting shafted could look at their real needs and see if the funding would fit, if not than raise the non-veteran students contribution a few bucks to make up the differance, or take it out of the sports programs of the bigger schools reaping millions from those. "I'm sure that these establishments of Higher Learning have Intelligent Administrations that can make it work, sacrificing a few dollars and helping those who already sacrificed in service to country become a force in the professions they choose to serve once again, helping this country go forward in leadership by example! Here's your link: http://imagineaworldof.blogspot.com/2009/02/deja-vu-vets-looking-to-slash-veterans.html I wondered why it was taking so long to roll out the final version of this 'groundbreaking' legislation... well, there it is... so vet's aren't good enough to attend some schools? ... I agree with every f and bs in this post. Being a veteran really doesn't mean anything to Joe the Plumber, Six-Pack, or Jackass, does it? Shame on veteran's groups that recommend such limits, shame on legislators that listen to them, and shame on people that would put a price on sacrificing your civilian career, family and life for a country that behaves so badly toward you afterwards. ~Doc~ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9v http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9v/commentary#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:45:02 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9v Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ9v/ This report is so disturbing, I can't begin to comment on it. Haven't our service men and women had to put up with enough? This report came courtesy of the VVAWnet: "AP INVESTIGATION FORT BLISS, Texas - As soldiers stream home from Iraq and Afghanistan, the biggest charity inside the U.S. military has been stockpiling tens of millions of dollars meant to help put returning fighters back on their feet, an Associated Press investigation shows. Between 2003 and 2007 - as many military families dealt with long war deployments and increased numbers of home foreclosures - Army Emergency Relief grew into a $345 million behemoth. During those years, the charity packed away $117 million into its own reserves while spending just $64 million on direct aid, according to an AP analysis of its tax records. Tax-exempt and legally separate from the military, AER projects a facade of independence but really operates under close Army control. The massive nonprofit - funded predominantly by troops - allows superiors to squeeze soldiers for contributions; forces struggling soldiers to repay loans - sometimes delaying transfers and promotions; and too often violates its own rules by rewarding donors, such as giving free passes from physical training, the AP found." Link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090222/ap_on_re_us/army_s_stingy_charity_abridged http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9Z http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9Z/commentary#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:25:55 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9Z Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ9Z/ Postmaster General John Potter, recently in the news asking to reduced delivery service to contain costs for mail delivery, is himself a magnet for monitary controversy, as well as an on-going source of investigation... this past November, Potter was under investigation for getting a 'sweetheart deal' from Countrywide, a national mortgage broker on points and fees. Today, the Washington Post reveals that Potter's compensation totaled $800,000+, a figure somewhat above the figure Congress has authorized... approximately $237,000, and definitely out of the reach of most other federal agency heads. Not a bad paycheck for a man who says his agency is facing a potential $6 billion short fall this year and needs to increase postage rates and reduce service to compensate. This is not the kind of opportunistic department head the Obama administration needs at this moment of economic crisis as more and more American's are faced with lay-offs, business closures and home foreclosures. Link here for full story: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/17/in-hard-times-postmaster-earned-800000-in-pay-perk/ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9n http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9n/commentary#comments Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:42:45 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQ9n Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ9n/ According to an article from Truthout today, several states are challenging the federal government's indeterminate commitment of their National Guard Units deployed in war zones. The right of the executive branch to federalize these units then tie the hands of the legislature by allowing war to be declared but not halted is being questioned as are several other suppositions left hanging by the schizophrenic policies of the previous administration, including the constitutionality of such actions. It would appear that the first hundred days will only be the beginning of the janitorial duties the Obama administration must engage in before it can get down to developing its own policies. Link here: http://www.truthout.org/021109J http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQYZ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQYZ/commentary#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:16:59 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQYZ Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQYZ/ Leave it to the well trained conservative press to put an 'silver lining' spin on the misfortune of middle class Americans. Its very unfortunate that the practice of 'the other side of the story' sound bytes that made Paul Harvey such a populist has been turned into a tool of exploitation for those bent on propagandizing the benefits of unemployment for the masses. In the face of such a grand failure of spin in this nation on fear politics, shill games, and radio talk shows all but blaring out from public speakers across the nation playing the psuedo-patriotic psychodrama they espouse, one wonders when they will collapse from the weight of their own hollow carcasses. Link here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090208/ap_on_bi_ge/unemployed_time_on_their_hands http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQfb http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQfb/commentary#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:22:05 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQfb Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQfb/ As the costs of maintaining our presence, as opposed to advancing goals whatever they may be, in Iraq and Afghanistan approach 600 billion dollars with no end in sight, and with the economic meltdown topping the news daily, displacing the other drain on the public coffers, now is as good a time as any to number the reasons that there is no immediate effort to reduce troop numbers and stand down our military presence in spite of the enormous cost and in light of efforts to resuscitate the rest of an economy in cardiac arrest. Without a thumbs up or down on how United States forces deployed in war zones are doing, these are some of the realities facing our reservists and guard units. Many of these troops will be returning to unemployment due to layoffs, downsizing and closures of businesses in which they were formerly employed due to current market conditions. State unemployment services are already approaching their thresholds of funding for non-military residents caught up in current downsizing. Many of these troops will need services from the Department of Veterans Affairs, services that it is currently unable to provide, be they medical, educational, or readjustment oriented. No budget available according to the VA. Even the highly touted new GI Bill hasn't been rolled out yet. Many of these troops will require long term or permanent compensation for physical and mental health issues related to repeated or contiguous assignments in combat areas, even if the VA reforms claim processes to reduce lengthy, redundant and expensive hearings and appeals processes. No budget available according to the VA. Frankly, isn't it cheaper to keep the war going than it is to bring back 150,000 plus troops and try to reintegrate them into an economy in crisis. After all, these folks have been over there for so long already… some on their third and fourth tours. It's like a second home to them. But is this really a good reason to keep a war going? It worked in Vietnam, didn't it? Or did it? Of course in Vietnam, the fewer of us that came back, the fewer the administration and the VA had to worry about taking care of. History has shown that scenario worked out really well for the Nixon administration. Mission accomplished, victory with honor, stupidity with consistency. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQTk http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQTk/commentary#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:34:27 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQTk Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQTk/ Yesterday, on NPR, I had to listen to how this current economic crisis is basically our fault as the American people... yeah, right. This is a theme that is currently being played over and over again in the press. Someone's economic experts expect us to start spending and investing again after the last four months of meltdowns in banking, stocks, credit... Wall street just lost a couple hundred points at the end of trading last week. Now, I don't own a bank, I lost principal not interest in the stock market crash, and screw creditors that charge 22+ percent interest to consumers. Until the bankers and stock brokers that embezzled billions of dollars from depositors, stockholders, and the general public, are locked up for embezzlement, fraud, theft and corruption, we consumers and citizens don't owe the government, Wall Street or anyone else an apology. After all, they are spending our money to bale out businesses that basically took advantage of deregulation pushed through by majority Republican legislators and a sympathetic or complicit administration. President Obama himself recently stated 2.1 million jobs are gone. Those who still have jobs have a hard time balancing their lives outside their jobs, forget health or any other benefits they may have had in the past. Sociologically, that would seem to put more stress on families than gay marriage. Those who have no jobs currently have no prospects, because banks and businesses are at the head of the line at the taxpayers trough. Who's going to fix it? We could start with the Republicans, or as I like to call them, the anarchists... after all they believe no government is good government... which feels a lot closer to reality if your retired, unemployed or disenfranchised. From there, they could fire all the bank executives and replaced them with displaced. unemployed and underemployed workers... people who have to make ends meet on a family budget with not a whole hell of a lot of money, don't get bonuses after the taxpayers provide TARP funds to fix their cash flow problems, and have no resources for corporate jets at taxpayer expense like Citibank. After the banks are filled with empathetic, understanding people, we could start cleaning up Wall Street... have the SEC make businesses sell stocks that have an equity share in a corporation rather than a fictitious market of dirivitives that have no basis in fact... that way if companies go under, you can force the sale of assets and recover at least some of your losses, which is the way the market is supposed to work in the real world... make these corporations that want to sell stock in their business accountable to the stock holders... after all, no one forces these companies to sell stock... and if they choose to do so, they should be governed by laws that make them accountable... no more ENRONs or MCIs. Make businesses earn investors trust rather than appeal to their greed. Make them put their money in the banks... there's a novel idea... build bank assesses on the value of business instead of on subprime mortgage schemes that are designed to fleece homeowners by getting them into a home with no intention of allowing them to refinance at the end of the 'introductory' rate so they can be legally financially raped. It takes a lot of brains to do business honestly doesn't it? There's no 'crisis of confidence' in America... just a crisis in 'conservative' morality and ethics. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQTq http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQTq/commentary#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:11:35 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CQTq Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQTq/ When everything goes to hell, you hold the people who were in charge accountable. You fire them! Isn't that what an employer would do to you if you were responsible for oversight of company funds and they were stolen, embezzled, or 'misdirected?' And if you were in charge of getting your company the best energy prices possible, yet the cost of energy during your tenure went up sixty percent, how long do you think you would have your job? And if your employees watched the company downsize, get shipped overseas, and there jobs go along with it, while their real estate prices eroded because there was no longer any employment in town, would you be expecting a banquet in your honor, and a pat on the back saying 'hope things are better next year?' For the first time in many elections the issues are as clear as 'Guns or Butter,' and if you can digest lead, more power to you... but if you don't want to see bread lines, apples and pencils being sold for a nickle on street corners because there's no other jobs in town, get down to the polls. There's a joke out there that more dead people will be voting in this election than ever before, so its up to the live ones to make your vote count. When you're getting your tail out of your home just in front of the repo man, ask yourself how things went in Iraq today, and then thank the men responsible for the headlines at the polls on November 4th, and may God have mercy on us all. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZBS http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZBS/commentary#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:23:11 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZBS Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZBS/ Since the elected members of Congress have now done the 'politically-correct' thing by their constituents by voting the bailout down yesterday, they are now free to vote for and adopt the bail out that so many found 'distasteful' to voters and hellions back home who flooded phone lines and emails protesting any bailout of the banking systems. You thought they were through? They haven't even considered all the options, according to a recent article in the New York Times. Here are some interesting highlights from the article… note the rate of inflation that was the result of banking 'deregulation' which McCain-Palin seem so anxious to follow through on: From the NY Times "September 23, 2008 Stopping a Financial Crisis, the Swedish Way By CARTER DOUGHERTY … "A banking system in crisis after the collapse of a housing bubble. An economy hemorrhaging jobs. A market-oriented government struggling to stem the panic. Sound familiar? It does to Sweden. The country was so far in the hole in 1992 -- after years of imprudent regulation, short-sighted economic policy and the end of its property boom -- that its banking system was, for all practical purposes, insolvent. But Sweden took a different course than the one now being proposed by the United States Treasury. And Swedish officials say there are lessons from their own nightmare that Washington may be missing. "Sweden did not just bail out its financial institutions by having the government take over the bad debts. It extracted pounds of flesh from bank shareholders before writing checks. Banks had to write down losses and issue warrants to the government. That strategy held banks responsible and turned the government into an owner. When distressed assets were sold, the profits flowed to taxpayers, and the government was able to recoup more money later by selling its shares in the companies as well. " "If I go into a bank," said Bo Lundgren, who was Sweden's finance minister at the time, "I'd rather get equity so that there is some upside for the taxpayer." … "Property prices imploded. The bubble deflated fast in 1991 and 1992. A vain effort to defend Sweden's currency, the krona, caused overnight interest rates to spike at one point to 500 percent. The Swedish economy contracted for two consecutive years after a long expansion, and unemployment, at 3 percent in 1990, quadrupled in three years. "After a series of bank failures and ad hoc solutions, the moment of truth arrived in September 1992, when the government of Prime Minister Carl Bildt decided it was time to clear the decks. Standing shoulder-to- shoulder with the opposition center-left, Mr. Bildt's conservative government announced that the Swedish state would guarantee all bank deposits and creditors of the nation's 114 banks. Sweden formed a new agency to supervise institutions that needed recapitalization, and another that sold off the assets, mainly real estate, that the banks held as collateral." It would appear that to most Congressional members the idea of turning the light of shame on the real cause of the problem, that is to say the men who made it, rather than focusing on the problem they created is 'distasteful,' and that we as taxpayers should be good sports and reinvest our $300 or $600 refund checks… plus a few thousand (tens on hundreds with interest and 'fees') more a piece to 'help out these ailing businesses' that we need to 'keep our economy strong' through greed, mismanagement, and, dare I say it, theft… so their executives can take their taxpayer provided golden parachutes, invest in their Cayman Island paradises where they don't have to pay taxes back to the government that bailed them out… do you REALLY get the picture? Link to full article: http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/stopping-a-financial-crisis-the-swedish-way/?scp=3&sq=Sweden&st=cse http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZMm http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZMm/commentary#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:11:57 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZMm Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 2 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZMm/ This came from the "Out in Left Field" Blog this morning. Thanks, Kate for letting me use this: "If you're a minority and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates, you're a "token hire." If you're a conservative and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates, you're a "game changer." Black teen pregnancies? A "crisis" in black America. White teen pregnancies? A "blessed event." If you grow up in Hawaii, you're "exotic." Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you're the quintessential "American story." Similarly, if you name your kid Barack, you're "unpatriotic." Name your kid Track, you're "colorful." If you're a Democrat and you make a VP pick without fully vetting the individual, you're "reckless." A Republican who doesn't fully vet is a "maverick." If you spend 3 years as a community organizer growing your organization from a staff of 1 to 13 and your budget from $70,000 to $400,000, then become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new African American voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend nearly 8 more years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, becoming chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, then spend nearly 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of nearly 13 million people, sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veterans' Affairs committees, you are woefully inexperienced. If you spend 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, then spend 20 months as the governor of a state with 650,000 people, then you've got the most executive experience of anyone on either ticket, are the Commander in Chief of the Alaska military and are well qualified to lead the nation should you be called upon to do so because your state is the closest state to Russia. If you are a Democratic male candidate who is popular with millions of people, you are an "arrogant celebrity". If you are a popular Republican female candidate, you are "energizing the base." If you are a younger male candidate who thinks for himself and makes his own decisions, you're "presumptuous". If you are an older male candidate who makes last minute decisions you refuse to explain, you are a "shoot from the hip" maverick. If you are a candidate with a Harvard law degree, you are "an elitist-out of touch" with the real America. If you are a legacy (dad and granddad were admirals) graduate of Annapolis, with multiple disciplinary infractions, you are a hero. If you manage a multi-million dollar nationwide campaign, you are an "empty suit". If you are a part time mayor of a town of 7000 people, you are an "experienced executive." If you go to a south side Chicago church, your beliefs are "extremist". If you believe in creationism and don't believe global warming is man made, you are "strongly principled." If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian. If you have been married to the same woman with whom you've been wed to for 19 years and raising 2 beautiful daughters with, you're "risky". If you're a black single mother of 4 who waits for 22 hours after her water breaks to seek medical attention, you're an irresponsible parent, endangering the life of your unborn child. But if you're a white married mother who waits 22 hours, you're spunky. If you're a 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton, the right-wing press calls you "First Dog." If you're a 17-year old pregnant unwed daughter of a Republican, the right-wing press calls you "beautiful" and "courageous." If you kill an endangered species, you're an excellent hunter. If you have an abortion, you're not a Christian, you're a murderer (even if it happened while being date raped.) If you teach abstinence-only in sex education, you get teen parents. If you teach responsible age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society. If you're a Republican senator who solicits gay sex in an airport bathroom, you get to return to your job in the Senate and are encouraged to run for re-election. If you're a Democratic Senator who is out of public office and have an affair, your political career is over and your wife who has terminal cancer is to blame." So when all the above is said and done, when do politicians stop bantying around words and personalities and get down to action on real issues: war, health care, jobs and quality of life? ~Doc~ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZGs http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZGs/commentary#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:32:47 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZGs Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZGs/ ...Could one political party beat the hell out of working people by creating an atmosphere of fear of invasion, shift the tax base from corporations to middle and lower income tax brackets, be intolerant of free speech and protest (such as by using Secret Service agents as a goon squad to intimidate of Ron Paul supporters among others at the RNC), a do nothing judiciary, and create the worst economic environment in the country in at least 25 years and still pull ahead in the polls... unbelieveable! Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080908/pl_nm/usa_politics_poll_dc Man, you got to give it to those 30 percenters, they are hard to beat. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZGv http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZGv/commentary#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:25:00 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CZGv Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZGv/ Agendas within agendas seems to be the theme of the current administration... first we're going to invade and get rid of Saddam Hussain... then we're going to eliminate Al Kaida from Iraq... where it wasn't, then we're going to bring Democracy to the Middle East, as if Israel wasn't enough... Now America is going to convert the heathen Arab while catalyzing Armageddon. When did we become so arrogant as to think we dictate to God when the end will arrive? Ask you local fundamentalist Army, I'm sure they have a pamphlet for it. Article quoted below courtesy of VVAWnet: "US Military's Middle East Crusade for Christ by Robert Weitzel "They are proselytizing not on behalf of the Constitution of the United States . . . but rather on behalf of some sort of fanatical view of end times. And they are using our army to affect that." -Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson Last August the watchdog group Military Religious Freedom Foundation foiled a Pentagon plan that would have allowed the shipment of "freedom packages" to soldiers and Marines in Iraq. The parcels were put together by the fundamentalist Christian ministry, Straight Up, and contained Bibles, proselytizing tracts in English and Arabic, and the apocalyptic "Left Behind" computer game, in which Christian Tribulation forces convert or kill infidels-nonbelievers, Muslims and Jews. On May 1 the Senate approved the promotion of Brigadier General Robert L. Caslen Jr. to Major General. Currently the commandant of cadets at West Point, he will become the commander of the 25th Infantry Division. He is also president of the stridently fundamentalist Officer's Christian Fellowship, whose vision is a "spiritually transformed military, with ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit." General Caslen was promoted despite the Defense Department's recommended disciplinary action against him and several other senior military leaders because they had "improperly endorsed and participated with a nonfederal entity while in uniform" by participating in a promotional video for the Campus Crusade For Christ's Christian Embassy, an evangelical organization that ministers to Beltway politicians and sponsors weekly Bible studies at the Pentagon. According to the DoD Inspector General's report, one of the generals involved "asserted that Christian Embassy was treated as an instrumentality of the Pentagon Chaplain's office for over 25 years, and had effectively become a 'quasi federal entity.'" Arguably, he believed his participation in the video was in the line of duty. Considering both the Pentagon's evangelical proclivity and a 2006 Pew survey which found that of the major religious groups in America, evangelicals have the most negative views of Islam and Muslims, the U.S. sniper who was recently caught using the Quran for target practice in the Baghdad neighborhood of Radhwaniya might be excused for thinking the book was a legitimate target upon which to perfect his craft . . . excused for thinking he was acting in the line duty. And is it any wonder that with evangelicals and fundamentalists at the very top of the military's officer corps -- to say nothing of their Commander in Chief -- that an enlisted Marine was passing out Christian "witnessing coins" inscribed in Arabic at a checkpoint in Fallujah? One side of the coin asked, "Where will you spend eternity?" An evangelical favorite, John 3:16, was on the flip side. Sheik Adul-Rahman al-Zubaie, a tribal leader in Fallujah who was outraged by the Marine's proselytizing said, "This event did not happen by chance, but it was planned and done intentionally." While the Marine's proselytizing is not the official policy of the predominately Christian force occupying the predominately Islamic Iraq, it was done "in the line of duty" with a wink and a nod from his chain of command. Think Abu Ghraib! >From Fort Jackson, the Army's largest basic training facility, where trainees are encouraged to attend Campus Crusade's weekly "God's Basic Training" programs, to the U.S. Air Force Academy where students are pressured to attend the Crusade's weekly "cru" (short for crusade) Bible study, American military personnel are, as Campus Crusade's Scot Blom gloats, "government paid missionaries" when they complete their training. As the demands of fighting a perpetual war against "radical Islam" begins to strain both the military's resources and the country's resolve, the Pentagon has begun outsourcing larger chunks of the war to private contractors. Predictably, our "government paid missionaries" have become more expensive and much less controllable or accountable. The Bush administration's favorite contractor, Blackwater, is the most powerful private army in the world. It commands thousands of mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan, has over a billion dollars in government contracts, and enjoys complete immunity from prosecution for its theater of operations' conduct. Blackwater's founder, Erik Prince, a staunchly conservative Catholic, has also served on the board of directors of Christian Freedom International, a crusading missionary organization operating in the overwhelmingly Islamic countries of Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Prince envisions an evangelical "end time" role for his warriors: "Everybody carries guns, just like Jeremiah rebuilding the temple in Israel -- a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other." No one in the last decade has contributed more to end time, apocalyptic evangelism than John Hagee, a televangelist seen by millions of viewers weekly and pastor of the 19,000-member Cornerstone Church. Hagee preaches that in order to bring about the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture of true believers, Islam first has to be destroyed. In a 2006 interview with National Public Radio's Terry Gross, Hagee told her, "Those who live by the Quran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews." He went on to claim that there are 200 million Muslims waiting for the chance to attack Israel and the United States. From his pulpit, Hagee makes it clear to his congregation and the radio and television audience what they can expect from American Muslims if such an attack ever took place: "While American Muslims live in America, 82 percent are not loyal to America and are not willing to fight and defend America." In his book, "Jerusalem Countdown - A Warning to the World," Hagee warns that the war between Islam and the West "is a war that Islam cannot and must not win." John Hagee is not just a mad evangelizing prophet. He is the mad evangelizing prophet who is courted by a war president, a hawkish presidential candidate and members of Congress from both parties. His Islamophobic bilge has trickled down from Capital Hill, through the labyrinthine corridors of the Pentagon, and into the chamber of a sniper's rifle and the hand of a Marine guarding a checkpoint in Fallujah. Officers in the military are expected to lead by example. Enlisted personnel are expected to follow that example. If the recent incidents at Radhwaniya and Fallujah are not just the acts of renegades, then the chain of command seems to be working the way it was designed." Here's the link: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/09/9510/ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqmf http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqmf/commentary#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:21:48 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqmf Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cqmf/ This article comes via VVAWnet distributor John Zutz this evening. Somehow, 'Oh, come off it,' just isn't going to be sufficient in the face of these incredible technicalities that are surfacing this early in the election year. The article follows: "At a quiet 1999 ceremony in MaComb County, Michigan, a plainspoken former Texas governor delivered a patriotic speech to commemorate Veterans' Day. But none of the eight veterans interviewed by The New York Times after the ceremony promised George W. Bush their vote. A new report Thursday reveals that Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake told two Democratic senators his department will not help injured veterans register to vote before the 2008 election. "VA remains opposed to becoming a voter registration agency pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act, as this designation would divert substantial resources from our primary mission," Peake said in an April 8th letter to Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) acquired by Steven Rosenfeld at Alternet. Peake refers to a 1993 law that allows government departments to engage in voter registration efforts, Rosenfeld says. What this means is that many injured veterans still in VA hospitals who can't find means to register outside of their facilities will effectively lose their right to vote. Wounded veterans who have moved must re-register at their "new addresses" or file for absentee ballots in order to participate in the presidential and other elections. Peake defends the decision by saying that a court recently ruled the VA's limits on "partisan political activities" "does not on its face violate [veterans'] First Amendment' rights," Rosenfeld notes, without articulating how registering veterans is a partisan activity. Peake added, "VA shares your commitment to assisting veterans in exercising their Constitutional right to vote." The court ruling he's appears to be referring to is Patrick Griffin v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in which a Federal Circuit of Appeals court upheld the VA's rules governing the conduct of those who practice "free speech" -- or protest -- in government graveyards. Among other things, the VA prohibits "partisan activities, i.e., those involving commentary or actions in support of, or in opposition to, or attempting to influence, any current policy of the Government of the United States, or any private group, association, or enterprise." Sens. Kerry and Feinstein fired off a letter in reply. "The Department of Veterans Affairs should provide voter materials to veterans," Feinstein wrote, according to Rosenfeld's report. "I believe the cost of providing these voter materials is minimal. It's a small price to pay for the sacrifice these men and women have made in fighting for our nation's freedom. I am disappointed." "You'd think that when so many people give speeches about keeping faith with our veterans, the least the government would do is protect their right to vote, after they volunteered to go thousands of miles from home to fight and give that right to others," Kerry said. "And yet we've seen the government itself block veterans from registering to vote in VA facilities, without any legal basis or rational explanation." Link: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Veterans_Department_not_keen_on_veterans_0410.html http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqf4 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqf4/commentary#comments Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:48:16 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqf4 Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 475 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cqf4/ In skimming through the news over the net tonight, MSN carried an article from Newsweek on actual legislative records. Damn... who ever thought voters might really want to know what legislation each Democratic candidate actually sponsored and became law? Link is here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/129976 The article left it up to the reader to research the specifics of the legislation, but it did give issue topics and where each candidates priorities were in specific bills. It made for very interesting reading because how a legislator votes is always more important than what is said in electioneering rhetoric. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqdd http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqdd/commentary#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:17:05 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/Cqdd Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cqdd/ You really have to wonder if anyone is at home in Washington, D.C. any more and who, if anyone is earning their salary. They say disasters come in threes, well sometimes those 'three' diasters are not mutually exclusive. Take for example the deficit created in part by the never ending war which is creating a credit crunch. Information Clearinghouse says it so much better than I in their article 'How Lethally Stupid Can One Country Be?' up on the net this morning. Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19596.htm Can we make it to the election? http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CqdJ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CqdJ/commentary#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:55:27 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardplambeck/CqdJ Doc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/7fb070b28e7075984a_06bmv2oev.jpg Doc 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqdJ/