A Thief is a Thief – Even if it’s the U.S. Postal Service
A Thief is a Thief – Even if it’s the U.S. Postal Service
This article started out as a letter to Inspector General David C. Williams of the United States Postal Service. Then it occurred to me that the travesty of justice that’s described below is much too serious to be dealt with as a single incident. This is a growing and systemic issue that is so blatant and egregious that I’m sure the OIG is well aware of it. It is also an issue that is such a looming threat to the American people that I decided it needed to be dragged into the light of day.
I recently found out that a friend of mine was the victim of repeated instances of forced labor and time fraud committed by her manager in the U.S. Postal Service. When I first became aware of it I was shocked, but not alarmed. I thought I could simply contact the OIG’s office and have it, and the manager involved, taken care of. I was certain that the OIG would be anxious to investigate the matter and get the offending culprit out of their midst. But to my amazement it not only took two reports, but over a month before I was even contacted on the matter.
Then when I finally was contacted and explained to the OIG inspector, Special Agent Reid Robbins, that a postal manager, Marcie Luna, was forcing an employee to work between four and six hours a day without pay, and was committing fraud by falsifying a government document and changing the employee’s official clock rings to reflect a three (3) hour lunch that the employee wasn’t permitted to take, I was essentially met with a yawn.
“And who are you? How do you know this employee?” Then after we finally got past what felt like an interrogation to determine whether or not I had a right to NOT mind my own business, Agent Robbins went on to explain that the OIG’s office generally doesn’t investigate time issues – which was a blatant lie (they just don’t investigate it when the government is doing the stealing).
Then after giving the matter further thought, I began to ask myself, “What kind of crime fighting organization doesn’t fight crime?” It is my understanding that the Postal Inspection Service investigate external crimes against the postal service, and the Office of Inspector General investigate internal crimes within the postal service. So if the OIG doesn’t investigate the intimidation and coercion necessary to force an employee to work six hours a day for free, or the falsification of documents necessary to steal an employee’s wages, the OIG must not consider employee abuse a crime.
So I attempted to contact Agent Robbins at the number he provided, but he failed to return my calls, even after six attempts. So I decided to leave a message on his voice mail asking him the following questions: 1) Whose office would handle the matter if the situation was reversed, and the employee worked only eight hours and falsified her time to be paid for twelve? 2). Whose office would handle the falsification of government documents? And finally, is he going to investigate the matter, and will anyone be held accountable for the commission of this crime?
I have yet to receive a response.
But it doesn’t stop there. The next day the employee involved called to advise me that Agent Robbins had contacted her. She went on to say that he seemed to be more interested in how she knew me than he was the crime that had been committed against her. She also said his tone was aggressive and intimidating, and he told her that when she accepted the job of acting supervisor, working overtime without pay came with the job – another blatant lie.
The National Association of Postal Supervisors advised me that a certified supervisor can be required to work a maximum of 30 minutes without pay (in emergencies), 204Bs (acting supervisors) who are covered under various craft employee contracts must be paid for every minute they work. We know this information to be accurate because if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have been necessary for the manager to falsify government documents to achieve her objective, to rob the employee.
But even worse than giving the employee inaccurate information, and failing to investigate the complaint, Agent Robbins also revealed both the complaint, and the nature of the complaint to postal management, and that’s supposed to be confidential information.
As a direct result, this highly productive employee who has held the same position for over twenty-one years – longer in the same position than any other supervisor, manager, or postmaster in the Los Angeles district – has been demoted by a manager who didn’t even entered the postal service until six years after the employee was a productive supervisor. And even worse, while the manager, Ms. Marcie Luna, who had recently been demoted from area manager herself, was informing the employee of her demotion, she allegedly commented to the employee, “I just want you to see how it feels when the postal service doesn’t appreciate all that you’ve done for them.”
What!!? Is this manager actually saying that she wants the employee to suffer because she feels that she’s suffered an injustice? How was the employee responsible for the manager’s demotion?
In the interest of full disclosure, I became personally (but objectively) involved in this matter because I know it to be particularly egregious based on my personal knowledge of the employee involved. It also speaks directly to an issue that I’ve been addressing in many columns and is of particular interest to me – the negative impact of America’s new business model on the middle class ( http://wattree.blogspot.com/2009/12/role-of-poor-minorities-and-middle.html). So while admittedly, I know the subject of this piece personally, the facts in this case alone clearly demonstrate the business community’s full-throated assault on the America middle class.
The character of the manager and agencies mandated to protect the rights of the employee is revealed through the facts in this case, but what about the character of the employee?
I became involved in this case when the employee, Ms. Joann Snow, was acting unusually depressed. I became immediately concerned because I’ve known her for over twenty-five years, and what makes her most unique WAS her bubbly, Life’s-a-bowl-of-cherries-type personality. Everybody loves her – especially in her workplace. Her superiors depended upon her because of her can-do, A type personality, and her subordinates would seek her out for council, knowing she could be depended upon to do the right thing (making sure they were properly paid, for example, or doing battle on their behalf with their immediate supervisors over injustices). In addition, she would donate her vacation leave every year to employees who became ill and ran out of sick leave, because she never found the time to take a vacation herself.
This woman was so highly depended upon by her superiors and dedicated to her job that for years she was working seven days a week just to cover their backs against any oversights. And since she had been in her current position for over twenty-one years – again, probably longer in one position than any other supervisor, manger or postmaster in the United States Postal Service’s Los Angeles district – when the administrators needed any kind of information, or any issue addressed, in many cases they wouldn’t bother with the station manager – those people would come and go – they’d wait until after 11:00 a.m. when Ms. Snow arrived so they could address the issue with her.
At this writing Ms Snow has voluntarily postponed a long needed vacation in order to train her own replacement so the postal service and the people they serve won’t be negatively impacted by her departure. My response to that was to ask her if she was insane – but then, she lives by a different code of moral responsibility than I do.
So I think that answers the question of why our government, and particularly the postal service, is so dysfunctional. It’s clear – because the wrong people are in positions of responsibility.
Agent Robbins handled this matter atrociously – both unprofessionally, and unethically. He also made a serious personal error. He made the mistake of thinking I was simply an employee reporting an injustice committed against a friend, which is partially true – I’m a former employee reporting an injustice committed against a friend. But I’m also a journalist.
I write a political column for several publications across the country, including the Los Angeles Sentinel and the Black Star News in New York, two of the most prestigious publications serving the Black community in the country. I’m also a staff writer for Veterans Today, a publication whose reach spans the globe. VT will be particularly interested in this case, because not only does government corruption and the assault on the middle class have a negative impact on returning veterans, but Ms. Snow’s only son is a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force. Thus, while he’s off defending this nation, his very own government is both robbing and abusing his single mother who he’s left behind at home.
So I intend to do my very best to put both the postal service, and the indifference of the OIG’s office, on severe blast across this country. I also intend to move hell and Earth to see to it that this issue ends up on President Obama’s desk, because this sort of institutional crime is not representative of America. Both of these United States government agencies are guilty of reckless and unconscionable behavior. They are both also guilty of failing to carrying out their respective mandates to protect the rights of the American people – especially our right not to be subjected to slave labor.
And let their be no doubt about it – this is not just an isolated attack against one postal employee. This is an institutional attack on the American middle class. It is in direct response to a new business model brought on by a global economy and the new world order. So if we fail to standup as a nation and fight back, it will eventially come knocking at all of our doors.
Columnist’s note – Part two of this series will address the negative impact that this criminal behavior is having on the postal service’s ability to deliver the mail.
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
Is there a Method to Liz Cheney’s Madness?
Many observers have found Liz and Dick Cheney’s fervent crusade to ensure that President Obama define terrorists as “enemy combatants,” and the fight against terrorism as a “war” on terrorism quite curious. Why would a former vice president break the long established tradition of fading into the woodwork to engage in a silly debate over semantics? Now we also have his daughter, Liz Cheney, attacking standards set down by the United States Constitution guaranteeing due process and equal protection under the law. Liz Cheney has now branded attorneys who defended ‘alleged terrorists’ the “Al Qaeda 7,” and she’s calling the United States Department of Justice – that’s simply carrying out the prescription set down by the United States Constitution – “The Department of Jihad.” Could there possibly be a reasonable explanation behind such radical behavior? I think there is.
The Cheneys are engaged in a preemptive strike against the Obama administration in general, and the Justice Department in particular, in order to stir up public opinion against the prospect that the Obama administration will finally decides to prosecute Dick Cheney for war crimes – as the rule of law demands. They’re busily laying the groundwork to incite insurrection across this country to counter the application of the rule of law.
While the GOP is atrocious when it comes to governance, they’re absolute geniuses when it comes to stirring up their base for war – and in this case, they’re preparing the nation for an all out internal conflict. One can hear it in every speech as they sprinkle little gems like ‘secession’, ‘socialist’, and ‘government takeover’ into the political dialogue. Thus, the threat that they pose to America makes Al Qaeda pale in comparison.
They started exactly one month after President Obama entered office when on February 21, 2009, the New York Post published a cartoon portraying President Obama as a monkey being shot by the police. There was a lot of subliminal messaging in that cartoon. True to their usual method of operation, they began to dehumanized the enemy, just like they did Saddam, by portraying the enemy – President Obama in this case – as a monkey. They then show the police shooting the president in order to prevent him from pursuing what they consider an unpopular initiative. By showing the police – respected authority figures – shooting the president, that’s intended to lend legitimacy to the action.
I immediately recognized what was afoot, and I pointed it out in my article, The Assassination Cartoon:
“That cartoon literally sent a message out to every deadbeat, and bigoted loser in the country that they can finally make something of themselves. They can finally find purpose in their previously miserable and lackluster lives by assassinating the President of the United States. Thus, what the New York Post is calling a meaningless joke is actually a clarion call to every bigoted fool in the United States. It says that there are people in this country who will consider you a hero if you bring violence against the president–and they know it. Can you imagine the hue and cry coming from Republicans if the New York Times had run a cartoon depicting the assassination of Ronald Reagan?”
I also pointed out that –
“We’ve had enough experience with neo-cons and radical conservatives where anyone with even an ounce of common sense recognizes that nothing is a joke with them–especially when they’re out of power. They’re dead serious, and they’re desperate. Conservative Republicans know better than anyone that considering their atrocious eight years of governance, combined with President Obama’s competence and responsible statesmanship, that the Republican Party faces an extremely bleak future. So they’ve gone to plan B, to eliminate Obama at all cost, and by any means necessary. As ugly as it seems, anyone who doesn’t recognize that reality has blinders on.
“Look at the facts. Their proven method of operation is to demonize, dehumanize, then eliminate. When the neo-cons decided to exploit Iraqi resources instead of going after Osama, as was the intent of the American people, they first began to demonize, then dehumanize Saddam Hussein–a former ally–in order to prepare the American people to accept the idea that it was necessary to take him out.”
If there was any doubt about my contention, however, it should have been immediately resolved when they trotted out turncoat and perennial loser, Alan Keyes. Keys called into question President Obama’s legitimacy as president. He referred to the president as “a radical communist.” He went on to say, “He’s [Obama] going to destroy this country and we’ve either got to stop him, or America will cease to exist.” He also indicated that since Barack Obama wasn’t legitimately the president, if something wasn’t done about it we were going to end up in “civil war.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DlTgrMCxPg&feature=player_embedded
Thus, these are people are clearly without limits, and have an absolute disdain for the United States Constitution. They’re only concerned about one thing – power, and that’s the only thing they respect. So President Obama’s inclination for compromise and appeasement is totally lost on them. All appeasement does is give the GOP the breathing room to engage in further calculation and plotting. Their strategy clearly demonstrated in the healthcare debate. Even after the president allowed them to water down the bill, they voted against it. That’s their method of operation. They’re not interested it compromise – they want nothing short of complete control.
So when the president signaled Attorney General Holder that “we should look forward, not back,” even though the president was obviously ignoring the rule of law to accommodate them, they didn’t appreciate that. They didn’t say, “Wow, this is a good guy;” they said, “This guy is weak – we’re going to run all over him.”
Had President Obama followed up on his campaign promise of change, on the other hand, and simply allowed the rule of law to play itself out, his entire base would still be behind him, and the Republican party wouldn’t have dared engaged in the obstructionism that they are currently engaged in. First of all, politics as usual wouldn’t have flown in such an environment. And secondly, the roots of Bush and Cheney’s corruption undoubtedly sank so deep into the Republican party that in response to a DOJ investigation a large percentage of the GOP would be too busy trying to cover their own butts to be obstructing the president’s agenda.
During a recent debate I was having on this issue a gentleman indicated that this was no time to investigate war crimes. President Obama has to pick his battles. I strongly disagree. First, I have to wonder if the gentleman would have taken the same position if one of the charges was that a member of his family was tortured and killed?
But beyond any personal or political issues, in any democracy, maintaining the rule of law must always take priority over everything else. Because without the rule of law, there can be no democracy, since a democracy is established by the rule of law.
After all, what’s the sense of enacting healthcare reform, or any other law, if a precedent has been set that renders the rule of law meaningless?
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
Mr. President: By Refusing to Look Back, You’re Jeopardizing What Lies Before Us
I undoubtedly have neither the information nor wisdom to question the vast majority of your presidential decisions. But it takes neither classified information, nor wisdom, to question your decision to “move forward and not look back” regarding the Bush administration’s actions leading this nation into the Iraq War, and the alleged war crimes committed thereafter.
During your inauguration you swore that to the best of your ability you would act to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet, your decision to circumvent the rule of law in response to the Bush administration’s actions leading up to and during the War in Iraq does everything but that. Your position in this matter is diametrically opposed to one of the fundamental principles of this nation – that no one is above the law.
This is not a partisan issue, Mr. President. The concept of equal rights under the law (which also means equal consequences for the violating the law ) is both central to the United States Constitution, and a fundamental cornerstone of the American ideal. Without that concept – the concept that no man is above the law – America is no longer America. So by choosing to ignore that ideal, you’re not only in violation of your oath of office, but you’re striking a much more devastating blow against America than Al Qaeda could ever manage.
And I’m not speculating here. We’ve already seen the negative consequences of setting such a precedent. Hundreds of thousands of people have died just because we failed to hold Richard Nixon accountable for Watergate.
Had Richard Nixon been held accountable and sent to jail for Watergate, chances are Ronald Reagan wouldn’t have embarked upon Iran/contra. And if Reagan had been impeached then imprisoned for his actions during the Iran/Contra episode – including flooding the inner cities of this nation with drugs (an action the Black community is still suffering from) – Bush and his cohorts would have been placed on notice that ANYONE who circumvents the laws of this land will face heavy consequences.
Thus, had Bush and Cheney known that America stood united and unequivocal in that stance, the War in Iraq probably never would have happened, which in turn would have saved the lives of thousands of American troops, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens.
One would think, Mr. President, that you would be particularly sensitive to the importance of adhering to the rule of law. While I’m in total agreement with your position that you were elected to be the president of ALL the people, there was no way you could avoid bringing the experience of the African American collective into the White House with you. That experience should inform you, in a very personal way, of the negative consequences of ignoring the rule of law.
Let me make it clear that I’m not one who subscribes to the belief that because you’re a Black president that you owe Black people any more than you owe any other American. In fact, my article immediately prior to this one is in direct opposition to Tavis Smiley’s position in that regard. I view Tavis Smiley’s position as both self-serving and shortsighted, because the corollary of his position is that all of the White presidents who follow you owe a special alliance to White people, and as I see it, that is exactly the position that the civil rights movement was established to oppose.
But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t bring the knowledge and wisdom of the Black experience to bear as you carry out your job as chief executive. And part of that experience should be the wisdom to understand that this nation’s failure to strictly adhere to the rule of law led directly to the lynching of Black people and the bombing of Black churches in the South. It also led to Jim Crow, rules that distorted the law of the land that were specifically designed to circumvent the law’s intent.
So I sincerely hope that you will consider the historic symbolism of your position in this matter. After all of the hardships that Black people have gone through as a direct result of this nation’s penchant to ignore the rule of law “for the better good,” regardless to what you accomplish on behalf of this nation as president, future historians will look back upon the first Black President of the United States taking a position to ignore the law and “not look back” on the unjust murder of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people and thousands of American citizens, as grossly unconscionable, and a dark mark upon your presidency.
But even if you can live with that, current events clearly demonstrate that the slippery slope in which the nation has slid over the past thirty years is becoming even more steep as this column is being written. Who would have thought just a mere thirty years ago that the validity of war crimes, torture, and the blatant invasion of privacy of the American people would even be a subject for debate in this country? And who would have thought that a Vice President of the United States would be under a cloud for revealing the identity of a CIA agent, or that a corporation that he formerly headed would be guilty of providing American troops with contaminated water for profit?
And further, who would have thought a mere thirty years ago that American troops would be sent into an unnecessary war without the equipment necessary to sustain their lives, then when wounded, made to pay for the equipment that had to be cut from their body and left on the field of battle? And who would believe that this nation would then force those brave troops to pay for their own meals while lying in the hospital recuperating from their wounds in the nation’s defense?
Yet, now you say let us, “not look back?” Oh no, I don’t think so. I don’t think that once the American people come out of the shock of the past ten years they’re going to let that fly. They already sense that there’s something terribly wrong with our government; they’re just currently in shocked disbelief – but they’ll be coming out of that shocked disbelief somewhere around the 2012 election.
In my opinion you’re one of the best presidents that we’ve ever had in many ways, but there’s only one chink in your armor – you seem to be unwilling to confront the GOP in an aggressive and forthright manner. Ordinarily that might be considered less than important, but in the current political environment it is just as serious a shortcoming as if you were reluctant to confront Al Qaeda.
The GOP leadership is a much more serious threat to the American way than Al Qaeda can ever be. While Al Qaeda is undoubtedly a physical threat to the American people, the GOP is attacking America’s soul. They’re attempting to alter what America is as a nation – and you’re failure to address that issue is so counter- intuitive to your political base, who, after all, voted for change, that many are beginning to wonder if you’re not part of the problem.
In short, Mr. President, we don’t give a damn about the appearance of bipartisanship. In this case, to be bipartisan means, “Ok, let’s comprise and just destroy America a little bit.” You’re political base – which includes Democrats, Independents, and Republicans – are not interested in that. We’re looking to you to defend the American way of life, by any means necessary – period.
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
Would Tavis Smiley’s ‘Black Agenda’ Help the Black Community,
BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE
Would Tavis Smiley’s ‘Black Agenda’ Help the Black Community,
or Bring America to its Knees?
I want to begin this column with an apology. I went completely ballistic in my last column (Urban Comedy: Tavis Smiley – A Crab Determined to Reach Beyond His Grasp). Although I feel that it was with good cause, a cooler head convinced me that even though he may agree with my sentiment, by indulging my need to rant, I did both the readers, and the publications that provide me with a platform to keep the public informed, a gross disservice, and I agree.
I don’t work for Fox News, so it’s not my job to ram my opinion down the readers’ throats. As a responsible columnist my job is to simply present the facts, discuss what those facts represent from my point of view, then allow the readers to make up their own minds. Anything short of that is both condescending and less than informative to the reader. So again, I want to apologize. But while I apologize for admittedly falling short of professionalism in my approach, I don’t retract one word of my sentiment in this matter.
On Tuesday, February23, Tavis Smiley went on Tom Joyner’s Morning Show and did a commentary indicating that Rev. Al Sharpton, Ben Jealous, Charles Ogletree, Valerie Jarrett, Marc Morial, and Dr. Dorothy Height said that President Obama doesn’t need a Black agenda. In doing so he not only grossly distorted Sharpton’s comment that the president didn’t need to “ballyhoo” a Black agenda, but he also left the impression that President Obama was ignoring the plight of the Black community – which is blatantly untrue.
So yes, I was quite angry – and one of the things that set me off was his disingenuous self-righteousness. He said:
“I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. This is the way I’m going. If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way. If it means dying for them, I’m going that way. Because I heard a voice saying, ‘Do something for others.”
For a man who loves to quote scripture, he seems to have missed King James 3:14 – “But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth.” One would have to be blind to believe that Tavis is less than envious of President Obama, or that he doesn’t have selfish ambition in his heart. And one would have to be a fool to believe that Tavis is willing to die for the hungry. Personally, I don’t see that kind of selflessness in his character. And while he may indeed be genuine about hearing voices, whose voice he’s hearing should be up for serious debate.
But I was angered even more by his hypocrisy. It was clear that he requested to go on the Tom Joyner show (after giving up his spot as a regular commentator on the show well over a year earlier) to create a controversy just to promote an event that he organized in Chicago for later this month. In his commentary he said the following:
“I know ‘What’s going on.’ I know “We shall overcome,’ but I don’t know this new tune, the president doesn’t need a Black agenda. And I’ve been hearing from other members, Tom, of our Black chorale, all across America as well, who either, like me, don’t know these new lyrics or have heard the song but ain’t down with singing it. That said, it’s time for a choir rehearsal so that we’re all singing from the same page. And so, our choir rehearsal will be held Saturday, March 20, in Chicago at 8:00 am, at Chicago State University, with Dr. Wayne Watson. Now, for all of those who can’t attend the choir rehearsal in person, this rehearsal will be broadcast[ed] on national television.”
Don’t forget to Mark you’re calendars, now. That’s Saturday, March 20, at . . . He sounded like he was doing a used car commercial.
Tavis is also fixated on accountability, and how “he choose to identify with the underprivileged,” yet, as I pointed out two years ago in my article, The 2008 State of The Black Union, while he may choose to identify with the underprivileged, he hangs out with the heads of corporations – and you’re known by the company you keep:
“. . . how accountable is it to produce a show called The State of the Black Union then sponsor it with companies that are largely responsible for the very conditions that you’re complaining about? One of the sponsors was Allstate Insurance–a company that is alleged to have denied the claims of thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims. One victim, Michael Homan, alleges that Allstate denied his claim based on their position that Katrina wasn’t windy enough. Another sponsor was Exxon/Mobile–a company that’s raking in record profits while many Black people have to flip a coin to decide whether they’re going to eat or put enough gas in their car to get to work. Wal-Mart was another sponsor–a company that’s committed to blocking collective bargaining, providing their employees fair wages and healthcare, who destroy jobs by running other businesses out of the community and purchasing their merchandise from outside the United States, and who humiliate their customers by searching them before they leave the store.”
Is that accountability? Does it sound like any of those companies are committed to a Black agenda? It sure doesn’t sound like it to me, and I’m a mere heathen who’s not willing to die for any cause. As a former Marine I was taught that we don’t willingly die for anything – boot camp 101. “A Marine only dies, because he failed to duck.
I was also angry with Tavis because he’s preaching to the Black community through ignorance. He’s trying to lead Black people while he himself is obviously ignorant of history. He seems to be completely unaware of the fact that Richard Nixon also had a Black agenda. Nixon was the president who signed affirmative action into being, and when he did it, he had his tongue firmly implanted in his cheek.
Prior to AA we had a thriving civil rights movement. Not only Blacks, but thousands of whites were out marching with Martin Luther King, demanding equal opportunity for Blacks people.
Then President Nixon said, Ok, they want to fight for the rights of Black people, let’s see how they feel when I allow Blacks to start taking their jobs and replacing their kids in the universities – and his scheme to undermine the Black movement worked like a charm.
While we were busy celebrating our shortsighted “victory,” our victory led to USC v. Bakke, the emergence of Ronald Reagan, and White folks flooding into the Republican Party in droves. These people were far from racists, but it’s human nature to protect one’s own interest. Thus, Bakke’s lawsuit against affirmative action brought White support for the civil rights movement to a screeching halt, and led directly to Ronald Reagan and the Republican era.
And what did we get in return? The only people in the Black community that benefitted were those who needed the help least. The cream of the crop was skimmed out of the community and went to work for large corporations. And with them, they took all of the talent, imagination, entrepreneurial skills, role models, and jobs. That, in turn, left young Black people with no one to look up to in the community but drug dealers.
Then thirty years later Barack Obama arrived on the scene, and the GOP was caught completely off guard. They were shocked. Where did he come from? But more importantly, where did all these people come from who’re willing to vote for a Black man for president?
I’ll tell you where they came from. Those were young Whites, and the closet moderates and progressives that fled the Democratic Party during the Affirmative Action era. They were so anxious for a change from the GOP that they got behind Obama even before Black people saw the light – that’s why I’m so critical of Obama for failing to firmly initiate the change that he promised, an accommodation to the GOP that may, indeed, lead to his downfall.
But while I strongly disagree with his policy to be less than firm with the GOP, Obama is a very astute and intelligent man, so he’s not about to listen to the rantings of Tavis Smiley. He understands history, and he’s not about to make the same mistake twice.
Affirmative Action was a wonderful initiative, but as a result of it, the Black community was bamboozled into making the biggest political mistake in modern history – allowing AA to be based on race rather than need. Had it been based on need, it’s roots would have reached down into the Black community to those who needed it most. It would have also included poor Whites, which would have prevented the GOP from using it as a weapon against us.
So as a direct result of the very kind of policy that Tavis Smiley is advocating, the GOP was able to turn AA into a liability for the Democratic Party that destroyed the most effective progressive coalition that this country has ever known. It was AA that allowed the GOP to turn the term “liberal” into a curse word in the political lexicon.
AA was also used to create Judases like Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele, and Alan Keyes – and they’re not the only ones. Anyone who has ever worked in a major corporation or a government agency knows that these Judases are sprinkled throughout our workforce. As we speak, I’m investigating a piece on the Los Angeles District of the U.S. Postal Service where I have absolute proof that minorities (including veterans) are being forced under the threat of losing their job to work as much as a half day (daily) without pay.
Think about that – I have proof that Blacks and Hispanics who have risen to positions of authority due to Affirmative Action are now being used, and given huge bonuses, as overseers in a United States Government agency to enforce slave labor in the twenty first century! It’s been going on for years (I have documented proof of that as well), and the unions and the Inspector General’s Office know about it (also documented), and they’re doing absolutely nothing about it.
So yes, I’m angry, because Tavis is a corporate tool and manipulator. While he’s trying to keep the people focused on the last war in order to promote his own interests, the powers that be have moved on to a class war. They don’t care any more about poor White folks than they do Black people – the healthcare debate should demonstrate that to anyone with any sense at all. Sen. Joe Lieberman just told the White folks of Connecticut to go to Hell.
So if the people would open their eyes they’d see that Tavis’ self-serving nonsense is an unnecessary distraction. Blacks, and Whites, are now under the gun. So this is no time to be distracted by a self-serving wannabe. He’s not one of us, the poor and middle class struggling to survive – he’s made a few dollars. His chumminess with Walmart and those who oppress us clearly demonstrates that he’s one of them. But don’t take my word for it – ask the people of Inglewood, Ca. whose agenda he promoted during their battle with Walmart.
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
Urban Comedy: Tavis Smiley – A Crab Determined to Reach Beyond His Grasp
Urban Comedy: Tavis Smiley – A Crab Determined to Reach Beyond His Grasp
True to form, Tavis has stirred up this nonsense at one of the most crucial times in American history, and this time he’s even taken it a step farther by accusing “Black leaders” (the phrase ‘Black leader’ suggests that Black people don’t have sense enough to think for themselves), including Rev. Al Sharpton, Ben Jealous, Charles Ogletree, Valerie Jarrett, Marc Morial, and Dr. Dorothy Height of saying the President doesn’t need a Black agenda. In doing so he grossly distorted the meaning of Sharpton’s comment that the president doesn’t need to ballyhoo a Black agenda – a position, in my view, that signals tremendous growth on the part of Rev. Sharpton.
While Tavis vehemently denied it when confronted by Sharpton, on Tuesday, February 23, during his commentary on Tom Joyner’s Morning Show, Tavis said the following:
“But, my Lord, what a difference a year makes. Over the past few weeks a chorus of Black leaders have started singing a new song. I must have missed that choir rehearsal, J., because I don’t know the words to this new hymn. The President doesn’t need a Black agenda, they sing. He’s not the president of Black America, he’s the president of all America, and he need not focus specifically on the unique challenges Black America is facing, they sing.”
I certainly don’t want to imply that either President Obama, or Black leaders, are above criticism – I’ve criticized both. But if one does have an issue to bring to the table, one should at least make every effort to see to it that one’s criticism is accurate, specific, valid, and most important, constructive. And from my point of view, Tavis’ allegation was none of those things. All he’s doing is advocating an agenda that would give Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Fox News more ammunition to obstruct any initiative that actually would benefit the Black community.
But I’m not surprised. This is the third time I’ve written about Tavis’ rants against the president, and each time, his rants seemed to be more ego based and self-promoting than they are substantive. Even if Sharpton did say what Tavis alleged, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, since the President is the president of all of America. Thus, it is his job to address America’s agenda, and thereby, create an environment where all people, including the Black community, can prosper. Isn’t that what we demand of a White President?
In that very same commentary Tavis referred to Dr. Martin Luther King as “the greatest American we’ve ever produced.” Yet, MLK didn’t advocate a “Black agenda either”; he advocated exactly what President Obama is pursuing – universal equality for all – and just like President Obama, he was being severely criticized for it at the time – I know that for a fact, because at the time, I was young, dumb, and severely critical of him myself.
Dr. King didn’t look upon Black people as intellectually challenged. He was of the firm belief that all Black people needed was a level playing field and we could compete with any other group of people in the world. In fact, he was the walking, breathing personification of that fact – and so was Colin Powell, Johnnie Cochran, and yes, President Barack Obama. They are all, the very best the world has ever known in their chosen fields.
All of these men have clearly demonstrated that the Black agenda must originate, and be pursued, in our homes, and at our dinner tables. We’ve got to teach our children that character and excellence should take priority over bluster, ego, and greed; that what’s important in life is WHO you are, not what you are, or our social status. We must teach our sons that our women must be treasured, respected, and cared for, and that our children are our most valuable asset, and we must be there for them. We must also teach them that it takes more of a man to build a life, than it does to take one.
Because the fact is, Black people are the product of a racist society, and as such, we’re just as racist toward other Blacks as the most racist White man in the country – in fact, even more so. Clear evidence of that can be seen in the fact that out of all of the murders of young Black men committed in the past year, not once have we heard that the perpetrator was wearing a sheet.
We’ve allowed the killing and degradation of Black people to become ghetto-chic. If the Klan was putting out the exact same videos that are being put out by many Black rappers, advocating acts of violence against Blacks, or portraying Black women as butt-swinging “bitches and whoes,” the entire nation – including other Whites – would be in an uproar. But Black hip hoppers have raised dragging other Black people through the mud to an art form – and we not only condone it, but reward it, and we allow our children to consume it, all day, and all night long.
Thus, the very top priority of any “Black agenda,” must not only be to correct that situation, but simply getting across the fact that it’s a situation needing to be corrected – and President Obama, even with all of the treasure of Fort Knox at his disposal, cannot bestow either responsible parents, or, common sense upon the Black community – that’s something that only we can do for ourselves.
Tavis should know that, but I don’t think he’s really interested. Yeah, I know – he’s done this, and he’s done that for the Black community. But I think everything he does is calculated to optimize his own profile. I’ve come to look upon Tavis as just another self-servicing demagogue who’s using the dysfunction within the Black community to pursue his own agenda. No, he’s not all bad, but I don’t think that he ever does a thing without considering what it can do for him. Take a look at his website, Tavistalks.com. You’ve never seen such self-promotion.
So Tavis’ criticism of President Obama is nothing more than a temper tantrum that’s been going on every since, then Senator Obama, had the audacity to forego Tavis’ State of the Black Union telecast in order to declare his candidacy for president before the Illinois statehouse. Tavis acted like he was anointed by the Black community to determine whether or not to confer our collective approval.
Thereafter, Tavis was quoted as saying, “I knew Barack Obama, before he was Barack Obama.” That seemed to imply that after Obama started to getting notoriety he became too big for his britches. But what Tavis fails to understand is, Barack Obama has always Barack Obama – that’s how he became president. National prominence didn’t bring Obama stature; Obama’s stature is restoring world prominence to the nation. Tavis needs to recognize that fact, as well as the fact that he and Obama are in two entirely different classes, both intellectually and substantively.
Tavis fails to understand that Barack Obama is one of the greatest men in the history, while he is simply another talk show host that comes a dime a dozen. Thus, Tavis is making a damn fool of himself by even trying to compete with the president. He comes off looking like a ’52 Chevy racing his engine at a brand new Bentley, and he’s getting a similar response.
One would think that a man who has stumbled upon the kind of success that Tavis Smiley has enjoyed would have gained a little wisdom along the way. But it seems that instead of wisdom, all Tavis has gained is a tremendous ego, and a mind-clouding delusion of grandeur – a delusion that’s rapidly turning him into a national joke.
Tavis has come to personify the proverbial crab in a barrel, desperately trying to reach beyond his grasp.
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
The Day America Outlawed Democracy
So liberals and conservatives alike need to open their eyes. We need to recognize that we’re now facing a common foe that has morphed into something that has become a threat to us all. We must also realize that it is essential that we set our respective differences aside – at least temporarily – just long enough to address this common enemy to our way of life. While liberals and conservatives may disagree on their respective philosophy of governance, we must never confuse that philosophical disagreement with the belief that liberals are any less loyal as Americans, or that conservatives are any less sincere in their desire to make America a better place for us all. As different as the two groups are, in the final analysis, both liberals and conservatives want the very same thing – what is in the best interest of the American people. But that can no longer be said of our political establishment. Their current behavior has clearly demonstrated that their top priority entails feathering their own nests by protecting their true constituents – big business.
They were better able to hide that alliance in the past, but the current geo-economic circumstance has forced them into the open. Thus, the political establishment is now forced to betray their true attitude toward the American people – an “ignorant worker class,” with a moral obligation to sacrifice both our families (in war), and wealth (in bailouts), for the personal comfort of the upper class.
That accounts for why the Wall Street bailout sailed through congress like a hot knife through butter, with only perfunctory grumbling from congress for effect, while healthcare reform, the jobs bill, legislation to enhance veterans benefits, and any other legislation aimed at helping the average American has been met with fierce resistance.
It’s no accident that the only Obama effort that’s being supported by the GOP is his initiative to go to war. The “party of no” eagerly says yes to that, regardless to the cost of (lower and middle class) lives and treasure; nor is it an accident that they completely ignore the fact that even after the useless waste of life and treasure, a victory means that Al Qaeda will simply move on to a different location. They don’t have a problem with any of that, because war enriches their constituency, the military/industrial complex.
Neither is it an accident that the rule of law is simply being ignored regarding Bush and Cheney’s war crimes, in spite of the fact that it makes America less safe, or the fact that it led directly to the economic hardship currently being suffered by the America people. They don’t have a problem with because the political establishment is a class within itself, and it protects its own. That’s the one area of agreement that truly seems to be bipartisan.
The reason for that, as I’ve mentioned in earlier columns, is the new world order is not only geopolitical, but economic in nature. “When the United States had a thriving industrial economy one class complimented the other. Labor was well paid and given the security of knowing that they had a job for life, so they had the confidence to purchased goods that the corporations produced. That allowed the companies that sold the goods to prosper to the benefit of the investor class.” But now that U.S. corporations have to compete globally with countries that are paying their workers pennies per day, the American middle class has become a prohibitively expensive liability to America’s ability to compete around the world. So now the U.S. government – both Republicans and Democrats – is in the process of addressing that issue by downgrading the standard of living of the American middle class.
The idea of relegating the American people to second class status isn’t a new strain of thinking in American politics; it’s been around since this nation’s founding. It’s just that after being shot down during the constitutional convention in lieu of a more egalitarian form of government, previous adherents of this philosophy had the good sense to be more discreet in their efforts.
As I’ve pointed out before, Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the fiscal conservative philosophy, said the following:
“All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and wellborn, the other the mass of the people…. The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share in government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second, and as they cannot receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government.” (Debates of the Federalist Convention May 14-September 17, 1787).
So the fact is, the reason that the political establishment is so willing to throw America under the bus is that the new world order has made it politically expedient to embrace Hamilton’s philosophy that lower and middle class Americans shouldn’t have a right to self-government in the first place. But since it would be problematic to try to formally take that right away through a constitutional amendment, it’s being taken away through legislative procedure and rulings through the Supreme Court.
That’s what has led to the current disaffection by both liberals and conservatives toward government. The American people can sense their rights slipping away, but they have yet to come to terms with what is actually going on. They have yet to realize that congressional gridlock is a convenient way of denying them their rights. They have also yet to recognize that the majority in the senate is allowing the minority to abuse of the filibuster procedure because both parties are in collusion. The Republican filibuster provides cover for the Democratic majority for failing to enact, or greatly watering down, legislation being demanded by the people, but neither party wants to enact.
Then on January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court delivered the final blow against the people. In order to insure against any repeat of the 2008 election where the people mounted a grassroots effort over the internet to usurp the power of corporations through campaign funding, the Supreme Court passed what is essentially the modern version of Plessy v. Ferguson, taking away the rights of the people by ruling that the American people and corporations are “separate but equal.”
That ruling should serve as a red flag for both liberals and conservatives alike. In 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson was used to undermine the rights of Black people in this country. Now, the current ruling, Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee, is being used to undermine the rights of the middle class.
The ruling stands as a perfect metaphor for Jim Crow. But this time it ushers in an era of a diminished American middle class, and the jackboots of the new world order, as it formally arrives at our front door.
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
War Crimes
War Crimes
It’s been suggested more than once that the only reason I’m so passionate about having the Bush Administration charged with war crimes is because I’m a liberal, and therefore, harbor some sort of deep-seated hatred for George Bush. But that’s not true. The fact is, I neither hate George Bush, nor any other conservative. I’m a progressive, not an ideologue, so I have no ideological motive to see any adversity brought into Bush’s life, or anyone elses. My passion stems from the fact that because I am progressive, I have a progressive’s lust for justice.
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, progressives have but one guiding philosophy, one that entails the primacy of humanity, justice for ALL, and the search for truth – wherever that truth may lead, and regardless to whose ox is gored as a result. It’s just happens that in this case, the ox that must be gored is in our own backyard.
But in today’s political environment, I can certainly understand how people might feel the way they do, especially conservatives. It is far from lost on me that many of those who claim to be progressives are actually quite partisan – they’re ideologues. They view politics from the perspective of a sports fan – it’s our team against theirs, and the more pain their team sustains, the better we like it.
But I want to assure you that’s not the case here. I’m looking at this situation purely from the perspective of what is just, and what is just in this case, is for Bush, Cheney, and their cohorts be held strictly accountable for their criminal conduct in Iraq. And I sincerely hope that once I’ve laid out my case that even the most cynical of you will understand my point of view – even if you disagree with it.
Let us go back to what we were feeling during Nine-Eleven for a moment. Think about how much horror and pain we went through as we witnessed three thousand of our citizens being brutally murdered. It was such a traumatic experience that now, close to a decade later, we’re still traumatized by it. It seems like it only happened yesterday.
But we’ve never once stopped to consider that if that one day could be so traumatizing to the American psyche, what it must be like for the Iraqis, who have been forced to watch hundreds of thousands of their people killed, and have had to face the horror of a Nine-Eleven every day of their lives for the past seven years. The horror that has been brought upon the Iraqi people goes far beyond what I can express here in words, and the injustice of their situation is bruatally unconscionable – and the Iraqi people did absolutely nothing to us.
Yet, just think of the pure hell they’ve had to go through just to try to protect their children in a Nine-eleven-like environment everyday for seven years; never knowing when something – anything – might explode tearing to shreds the little bodies of the children that mean more than anything else in the world to them.
Imagine what it would be like to have some country come over here and kill hundreds of thousands of Americans (millions in order to have the impact we’ve had on Iraq). Then later, having that country say, “You know, now that we’ve thought about it, we shouldn’t have done this. It was a mistake. But what the hell – what’s done is done, so we need to look forward.”
And even as they speak of “moving forward,” you’re thinking of the past – of happier times. You think of mother’s smile, your father’s laugh, the dreams of your beautiful young sister, and how goofy your silly little brother could be. But now, they’re all now gone. You’re the only one left, so far.
Would you be willing to accept a simple apology? I don’t think so. Well, that’s what the United states is trying to give the people of Iraq to replace justice – at least, President Obama. Dick Cheney’s only regret seems to be that he didn’t torture enough of them.
For the U.S. to think it can just casually walk away from committing that kind of atrocity to hundreds of thousands of families, then simply say, “We’re sorry for what happened, but now’s the time to look forward – forward, but without any accountability – speaks volumes about American arrogance, who we are as a people, and why people want to kill us.
President Obama spoke of “change.” But what could he possibly thinking, if this represents change? What kind of change could he possibly be speaking of where politics is more important than the horror we’ve committed? Doesn’t he realize that if we don’t bring the people responsible for the atrocities in Iraq to justice, America will never be safe again? And beyond that, the U.S. will never be able to look the world in the eye and claim to be a nation that believes in justice, and the rule of law ever again.
And it’s not only what we’ve done that’s so horrible, the cycical, greedy, and corrupt motives behind our actions was almost as bad as the act itself – and that corruption of the American soul still walks among us. We haven’t learned a thing. Dick Cheney claims that terrorist want to kill us because they’re jealous of our freedom. That’s complete bullshit. They want to kill us because we won’t mind our own business, and we keep trying to steal their oil.
America has got to learn two things: First, if you keep slapping your neighbor and picking his flowers, eventually he’s going to hit you back. We may think that we’re “exceptional,” but that doesn’t give of the innate right to abuse others with impunity. And secondly, if you break into your neighbor’s home and wipe out his family, then you get caught with a pocketful of his valuables, trying to plead self-defense won’t fly. Any court in the world will convict you of being a murderer and a thief.
We’ve never executed one criminal in the history of America whose crimes even approached the seriousness of the crimes committed by Bush and Cheney – and many, against our own troops. The crimes committed by Dick Cheney makes Tookie Williams look like a choirboy. Yet, now we want to simply walk away and expect the world to believe that America stands for justice? I don’t think so.
As long as we continue to think the rest of the world is beneath us, and the lives of others aren’t as valuable as our own, we’ll never be just, we’ll never be safe, and we’ll continue to move farther away from what it means to be Americans:
A MESSAGE TO BUSHLAND
It’s scary how easily the American people can be manipulated to the point that they find the death of entire families a hoot; how we can sit in front of the tv set with chilli dogs and fries and cheer on the death of others like we’re watching the Super Bowl. And it’s a tribute to psychosis how America can unleash mass destruction in “an attempt to prevent mass destruction,” in the name of God.
Can’t you see that many of “those Towel-Heads” are children just like your own? You didn’t really think the U.S. could unleash destruction like we saw and not kill children did you? Rumsfeld said, “Well, shit happens.” But shit doesn’t just happen–you allowed it to happen. You made it happen. You cheered it on! Consider that as the children bleed and you’re admiring the beauty of “Shock and Awe.”
Think about your own children as “collateral damage.” Think about them screaming in horror while you’re helplessly watching their limbs being blown off. Think about them desperately reaching out to you for comfort as life slowly drains from their tiny bodies. Think about foreign boots kicking down your front door, then strangers walking through your home systematically killing every man, woman and child. Picture the last sight that you ever see on this Earth is of your sweet little six year old daughter, with her brains spilling from her tiny little head. Think about that picture, America–then ask yourself, who’s really the terrorist?
Where has America gone? Who’s left to stand up for justice and humanity? You say, God Bless America? You’d have to be a fool to think God is gonna bless America after what we’ve done–for choosing Standard Oil over Justice, and Exxon over God himself. In God we trust? How dare you blame this atrocity on God! It is in Bush you trust:
You trust Bush that God has entrusted you to blow off Iraqi arms and wrap them around you to enable them to embrace your benevolence. And you trust Bush that you must lovingly pluck out Iraqi eyes to enable them to see the wisdom of viewing the world through your own. And you trust Bush that in the name of all that is good you must slaughter their children in a desperate attempt to provide them with a better future. You also trust Bush that you must rape their land and steal their wealth in order to allow them to choose the government of their choosing– (so long as they choose the government that Bush chooses for them to choose). And you trust Bush that you do all this in the name of American charity.
You also trust Bush that God will bless America–but this Ain’t America. America is the land of the free, and home of the brave, the land of just souls who freed their slaves. No, this is not America, this is Bushland-the land of small pox infected blankets; the land of public lynchings and church-place bombings; the land of imprisoned Japanese-Americans, and corporate murderers.
Yeah, God Bless Bushland!
The land of the free and home of the slave; the land of My Lai, and Calley’s mass grave.
And you trust that God will bless Bushland?
Well trust this -You are blind, my friend.
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
The Conservative Corruption of Progressive Thought
BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE
The Conservative Corruption of Progressive Thought
As one who has always tried, with varying success, to be progressive in my thinking, I’d like to make a few personal observations on the contemporary progressive movement. I want to preface my remarks with the assurance that I have long since recognized that I corner the market on neither knowledge, wisdom, nor intellect, but I’d like to share my thoughts nevertheless – not as a condescending edict handed down by a self-appointed pundit, but in the hope that the thoughts of an average man, with common facility, are worthy of public discussion.
It is my firm belief that the appropriate attitude for a progressive to bring to every discussion is a firmness of thought, and an open mind to divergent ideas. A progressive, by definition, should have the intellectual capacity to recognize that one can neither scream, nor insult, one’s way to a solution to any problem. And what should always set a progressive apart from all others, is an affinity for the people, independence of thought, and a fierce determination to remain a seeker of truth above all else, regardless to where that truth may lead.
But those value no longer seem to be the case among many who define themselves as progressives today. Many contemporary ‘progressives’ tend to possess the very same rigidity of thought, and meanspirited, knee-jerk adherence to ideology that the progressive movement was created to combat. The response that many of these people bring to even the slightest divergence from their rigid ideological beliefs, can only be described as one of radical reactionism.
That concerns me greatly, because while conservatives and today’s so-called progressives remain completely divergent in their views toward governance, in terms of intellectual disposition, they’ve become different sides of the same coin. I’ve often heard it stated that the regimented intolerance of reactionary conservatism was reminiscent of Nazi Germany. That may, or may not be true. But if it is, it must also be acknowledged that the intolerant regimentation of many contemporary radical ‘progressives’ represent the USSR, at best.
Many modern progressives have allowed themselves to become infected with the exact same kind of intellectual rigidity that we previously associated with the radical conservative mindset. In fact, many who define themselves as progress today, could very accurately be called latter-day conservatives. They have a slightly updated set of values, but their rigidity and rabid defense of those values will surely morph into the closed-minded conservatism of tomorrow.
That’s the primary reason that the conservatives’ reckless campaign of rampant disinformation is winning the battle over reasoned and logical thought. So many contemporary progressives have taken on the conservative mindset of anger before contemplation, and reaction over reason, that there’s no one left who’s actually thinking. Everyone is simply reacting through anger, ignorance, and disinformation. That’s an environment in which the Republican Party thrives, since as any thinking person would know, radical conservatism is reactionary by definition.
Progressives cannot out-scream the Republican Party, and we shouldn’t try. The disinformation that’s currently being disseminated by the GOP must be met with facts, a well thought-out plan of action, integrity, and character.
The American people are not stupid. They desperately want the these qualities in their governance, but the current progressive movement is not giving them a viable alternative. Regardless to what our intent, we’re acting with just as much thoughtless anger and reckless abandon as the Republican Party.
The problem is, we have not coalesced into a solid front with a clear and viable agenda. We’ve divided ourselves into so many factions, with so many different agendas, that the people no longer know what we represent. And the reason for that is that too many of us really don’t know what it means to be progressives ourselves.
Too many of us fail to understand that the primary goal of the progressive movement is to create a viable democracy that serve, respect, and honor ALL of the people. But due to the destruction of our educational system, the corrupting influence of Republican governance over the past twenty years, and an irresponsible media, our ideals and what we represent as a people is only a rumor up for debate for an entire generation of Americans.
But what’s worse, and the subject of this contemplation, is the above is also true of young people of the left who consider themselves progressives. The fact is, while they know that their political orientation is liberal, what they don’t know is there’s a vast difference between being simply liberal, and being a progressive. As a result, many of these young people approach our democracy like it’s a sporting event – our team against their team. Period.
What they fail to realize is that the progressive movement is much more than just a synonym for left-wing liberal. Progressives have also served as America’s philosophers, intellectuals, and conscience. Thus, true progressives don’t see conservatives as the enemy. They understand that both liberals, and conservatives, play an important role in our society. They recognize that both are necessary in order to maintain a balanced America. They clearly understand that while there’s a burning need for a Martin Luther King to remind America of its humanity, there is also a need for a Gen. MacArthur to ensure our security.
Thus, the progressive movement is not so much a political ideology as it is a philosophical attitude towards human behavior. A true progressive, as oppose to an ideologue of any stripe, will always give truth, logical thought, and the interest of humanity priority over ideology. And regardless to how much he or she may admire any politician, he will always hold that politician accountable for truth, justice, and his fidelity to mankind.
I can cite an example of that in my personal life. I’m a huge supporter of President Obama, because I agree with more of his positions on public policy than I do with the Republicans. But I have both friends, and family, who go absolutely crazy on those occasions when I write a column critical of him when I disagree with something that he does, or something that he fails to do. They take the position that I’m only serving to help the Republican Party drag him down.
I take the position, as both a journalist, and a progressive, that while I support Obama, it is not my job to censor information when in my opinion he’s taken a position that’s not in the best interest of the people (failing to follow the rule of law regarding the atrocities of war committed by the Bush Administration, for example). Neither is it not my job to protect Obama’s presidency. It is Obama’s job to protect his presidency, by making the right decisions in office.
Barack Obama is a politician, and a democracy can only remain viable by holding EVERY politician’s feet to the fire. So it doesn’t matter how I feel about him personally, as a journalist, and a progressive, all I’m concerned with is what he does to, or for the people.
In my opinion, that’s what it means to be a progressive, and I find it extremely disheartening to watch the corruption of such an essential component of our political environment. What’s even more disheartening, however, is the impact that it’s loss is sure to have on American life. With the demise of a vigorous and thriving progressive movement, America is becoming a place where power takes precedence over humanity, and that’s a scenario that can only lead to our ultimate destruction.
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
The Fairness Doctrine
BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE
The Fairness Doctrine
The American news media is going to hell in a handbasket. It has become so intertwined with the corporate power structure that the only way one can get an accurate fix on what’s going on in the United States is to turn to the BBC or various media outlets from other countries.
What immediately comes to mind is the way the U.S. news media jumped between the sheets with the administration during the invasion of Iraq. Instead of standing back and taking an objective look at the rationale being literally stuffed down our throats, they immediately went into cheerleader mode. They referred to it as being “imbedded,” when it should have been referred to it as being “in-bed-with.”
The revelation of the Downing Street Memo is a case in point. The Downing Street Memo was a Top Secrete document to Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, issued on July 23, 2002. It was written by Matthew Rycroft, a foreign aide to the Prime Minister, after meeting with the Bush Administration. The document pointed out in graphic detail the Bush administration’s game plan to deceive the world in order to justify its decision to invade Iraq. It pointed out that “Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.”
In short, eight months prior to the invasion of Iraq this official U.K. document indicated that Bush wanted to go after Saddam, but they were going to have to lie to justify it. The memo was leaked by the British press in 2005. But in spite of the senseless deaths of tens of thousands of innocent human beings – including our own American troops – as a direct result of this criminal deception, it’s been all but ignored by the American media. They’ve given more coverage to Tiger Woods’ sex life.
The behavior of the mainstream media during that period, and since, clearly demonstrates why it’s so incumbent upon us to reinstate The Fairness Doctrine. Most Republicans, and many others in Washington, claim that TFD is an attack on free speech, but it’s just the opposite. In fact, it ensures the freedom of speech of those who would indeed keep us informed, but are currently being denied equal access to the airways by media organizations like Fox News and many other news organizations that one wouldn’t expect, as a result of Fox’s impact on the industry.
So what’s actually an attack on our freedom of speech are network news organizations using the public airways and conduits to spread lies, disinformation, or engage in omissions, that have a negative impact on society by distorting public policy, then preventing knowledgeable parties access to those same conduits to present the other side of the issue. That’s exactly what Fox News specializes in for political purposes, and other media organizations follow, if not with a political motive, as a simple matter of dollars and cents.
The American people have just as much right to know the facts about what’s being fed into the minds of our children as we do what’s going into the food that we eat, and TFD ensures just that. It allows interested parties equal time to correct the record when licensed broadcasters abuse the public airways, and other broadcasting conduits, to distort the facts regarding public policy.
The issue has now been further complicated with the advent of new technology such as satellite and cable systems. Now, even with TFD in place, a determined rogue organization can try to circumvent it by beaming into our homes from outside our borders, so in addition to reinstating TFD, new laws need to be put into place to specifically address the issue of intent.
If it is clearly the intent of an organization to beam disinformation into America’s homes from outside our borders to circumvent TFD to negatively impact public policy, there should be legal sanctions. If the organization is found to be domestic in origin, severe legal or regulatory action should be taken. If it is a foreign organization that’s purposely trying to distort the facts on U.S. domestic policy, it should be given a choice – either adhere to the precepts of TFD, or be deprived access to the American market.
So, should the internet be regulated as well?
In a word, no. The internet falls into an entirely different category than broadcasting. The internet falls into the same category as books, newspapers, and magazines. Essentially, it’s an electronic publication. On the internet one has to actively seek out disinformation if one wants it, and that’s the user’s right. But the broadcasting industry is so powerfully pervasive that the public can be inadvertently subjected to harmful disinformation on public policy.
In addition, since our educational system is under such a brutal attack, responsible broadcasters should be rewarded with generous tax incentives to incorporate entertaining educational content into their schedules. Knowledge, presented in a creative and insightful way can be just as entertaining, in fact, even more entertaining, than violence, corruption, and decadence.
Any good story involves people overcoming adversity. Why does that have to be with a gun? Millions of people across this country show what they’re made of by dealing with adversity of every kind on a daily basis, yet, only a small minority of them address those issues with a gun, or violence of any kind. Why can’t we show their stories? Why can’t we show our young men that it takes more manhood to raise a child than rob a bank?
All one has to do is turn on the television and read the programming descriptions to understand why we’re faced with so much turmoil in this country – and I can’t help but think it’s by design. We need to get a handle on our broadcasting industry, and the very first step in that direction should be to reinstate TFD in order to tear the megaphone from the hands of big business.
The one thing that corporations have a healthy respect for is the dollar. Thus, the very best thing about TFD is it gives the networks an economic incentive to be balanced – or at least, not tell blantant lies. If FOX News had to give equal air time for rebuttal every time Glenn Beck told a lie, it would be cost prohibitive. They wouldn’t have any time left for commercials, so they’d be forced to be a responsible broadcaster.
So we need to address this issue immediately, while we still have a country. Because as long as we fail to address this matter, we’re giving carte blanche to the most greedy and corrupt among us. We’ve handed over full control of our news media, and thereby, public policy.
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
Gross Hypocrisy: The Greatest Threat to American Security
Gross Hypocrisy: The Greatest Threat to American Security
As the mainstream media continues to engage in its endless distraction over Senator Harry Reid stating the ridiculously obvious, New York’s Black Star News is running an otherwise completely overlooked little story about the firing of Eric Amankwah, a 28-year-old Ghanian, by Delta Airlines for reporting a serious breach of security.
Amanakwah alleges that on January 2, a mere eight days after the Christmas Day attempt on Flight 253 over Detroit, he was instructed by his supervisor, Yvonne Green, to circumvent JFK security and deliver an unattended suitcase to an out-going flight without inspection. When he protested over the breach of security, he was advised by Ms. Green that he shouldn’t worry about it. It was done routinely. If the suitcase missed its connection Delta Airlines would be fined.
After carrying out Green’s instructions, when Amanakwah returned Green was waiting for him with a second supervisor, Mohammad Taj, to which Ms. Green reported, “Eric completed the job.” Taj then said, “Good,” then left.
According to the Black Star article by Milton Allimadi, after discussing the matter with other Delta employees, Mr. Amanakwah began to have second thoughts about what he had been instructed to do, so he sent an e-mail up Delta Airline’s chain of command, including one to Delta’s CEO, Richard H. Anderson, expressing his concern over the matter. The following Tuesday he was fired.
Black Star News followed up on the story by publishing a request for any other airline employees with similar stories of security breaches to come forward. In response they were contacted by Ms. Mary Stewart-Joyce. She indicated that she was hired by Delta Airlines on May 8, 1997. She goes on to say:
“After completion of the new hire training I was assigned to the Federal Inspections Area at JFK. The lead supervisors were Mavis Thomas, Joseline Lucas, Alix Laincy and Danny Cronin: Mr. Cronin was my assigned supervisor.
“I was not signed up for the Port Authority security class and therefore was forced to work in FIS without the proper Port ID pass. This was a violation of Federal Law. I was told to turn my building access swipe card around and to wear it lengthwise behind my Delta ID so that it would ‘look’ as if I had a port ID.”
Ms. Joyce indicated that she was finally sought out and detained by the customs office for failing to have the proper I.D. She was informed by the customs officer that they were told to find her on the floor and hold her so that Delta Airlines could be fined for breaching security. Later she was informed by a customs supervisor that he was the one who had ordered her picked up and held because he was “sick of Delta’s total disregard for security.”
Ms. Joyce goes on to relate other breaches by Delta Airlines. She says that she knew many of the things that she was instructed to do were a breach of security, but there was very little that she could do about it, because as a single mother, she feared termination. But at this point, she says, she’s not only willing to come forward, but sign a deposition.
As dangerous as this kind of irresponsible behavior is to the flying public, the arrogance of corporate, social, and political entitlement represent a much greater danger to America as a whole. Gross hypocrisy and the entitlement of power have become indelibly ingrained in the very fabric of America. That makes lying, deceit, and the routine manipulaion of the American people just a simply matter of doing business, by both corporations and government alike.
What’s in the best interest of the American people has become secondary to the corporate pursuit of the dollar. This fact is clearly demonstrated by this multi billion-dollar airline’s willingness to put the lives of its passengers in jeopardy just to avoid a fine that amounts to pennies. And many of the government officials that we depend on to protect us are just as corrupt. Washington has become filled with politicians elected to represent the people, who have become nothing short of government-paid lobbyists for big business – Joe Lieberman is an obvious case in point. He’s willing to throw 67% of his constituents under the bus for his own personal gain.
So while Al Qaeda undoubtedly poses a threat to America, it doesn’t come close to the threat posed by the corruption, self-service, and total disregard of American ideals by the ever-growing bunch of demagogues that we’ve casually allowed to gain control of our lives – and even as I write this sentence it’s becoming progressively worse. They’ve seized control of the media, virtually destroyed our educational system, and have let us all but helpless to even grasp what’s happening to us.
America needs to understand that the time to become actively engaged in our own welfare has all but passed. We’re already waste-deep in a class war. Hyperbole? Just take a moment to consider how far we’ve declined since WWII.
They tell us we’re involved in a “war on terror.” But who’s fighting that war, and making all of the sacrifices? When America went to war during WWII, all of America was at war – the rich and poor, Black and White, young and old. But now, the only ones sacrificing for this so-called “war on terror” are the poor and middle-class. The rich hopes it goes on forever, because they’re benefitting from it greatly.
Then they tell us, “Oh, no! It only looks unfair. The difference between now and WWII is that now we have a ‘volunteer military’.”
‘Volunteer military?’ Let’s take a look at that: Our so-called ‘volunteers’ are made up of poor and middle-class young people who are there in lieu of a job so they can try to get an education, or feed and insure their young families. One volunteers as an act of patriotism, not as an attempt to survive.
Clear evidence of my contention is the enlistment rate of the rich. If our ‘volunteer military’ is indeed built upon patiotism, the children of the rich certainly can’t have much love for America, because they’re volunteering in piss-poor numbers. As a direct result of the poor enlistment rate of the rich and privileged, our troops have to take up the slack by placing their lives on the line for two, three, and four tours of combat duty – then these very same slackers are reluctant, and even resistant, to enhance military benefits, even as they pay the personnel of their contractor cronies three and four times what they pay our troops.
Thus, calling our troops ‘volunteers’ is no more accurate than calling your trash man a volunteer. He didn’t volunteer to collect the trash. He’s doing the very same thing as our brave troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, simply trying to feed his family. He just doesn’t have to die to do it.
So America needs to wake up before it’s too late. We’re no longer living in the America we once knew. We’re not safe; we can no longer trust what’s in our food and water; our young people are being taught that it’s ‘un-American’ to put family before corporate profit; and the country is brimming over with demagogues, tycoons, and self-serving politicians having wet dreams over the prospect of personal windfall – in both money and power – of another attack on America.
There’s a reason why Cheney continues to insist that President Obama say “War” when he mentions terror – because “war” means money.
Correction
I was contacted by Ms. Mary Stewart-Joyce regarding this story. She indicated that she wasn’t actually detained by the customs officer for not having the proper I.D. She was warned by the official that they had been instructed to locate her on the floor without the proper I.D. so Delta Airlines could be fined. Thereafter, she took it upon herself to sit out the remainder of her shift in the Arrival Control Office.
Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
Bio
Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles (Watts). He’s a columnist for The Los Angeles Sentinel, The Black Star News, in New York, and staff writer for Veterans Today. He’s also the author of A Message From the Hood, and is a contributing writer to Your Black World, The Huffington Post, and ePluribus Media.
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