So High Above

As the Nightmare of the last seven years winds down to less than a year to go it seems as if GW Bush is trying to create a Legacy for his Presidency. Let us hope that the time of History doesn't blunt the horrific damage that this Presidency has done to the Republic. History must bear witness to this dark time in the American timeline. History should tell the story of an American Economy that was stable and progressive at the time that this Administration came to be the controlling power of the Great Republic. In less than eight years the economy of a Great Nation was turned into the largest Debtor Nation to ever exist. The Bush Administration was able to turn an economy that was enabling all classes to move up a rung on the ladder of economic stability to an economy where economic survival has become a burden to the middle and lower classes. An Economy that was at the fore front of Technology to one that is lagging behind other industrial nations. An economy where energy was affor...

Forty Years since the assassination of Martin Luther King,Jr. doesn't seem possible. I remember that night as clearly as if were yesterday. But I'm sure that Dr. King would not want time squandered on reminiscing, for he was a man of action and a man of peace. What would Martin say about the current situation in America today. America again finds herself in a war that it did not need to fight and a war that it will find difficult to win and difficult to leave. To quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. in a Speech, Beyond Vietnam given on April 4, 1967 in New York, N.Y. "I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together, Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam. The recent statements of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart, and I found myself in full accord when I read its...

As the U.S. Tax Deadline looms it would be nice if the Presidential Candidates talk about the changes that they would like to see in the Income Tax Code. The "Conservatives" are always talking about how they want "smaller" Government and less taxes, but they never present a viable plan. The Plan that is usually presented involves lower the tax on the wealthy, this hardly qualifies as making the tax code equitable. An income tax that is equitable to all would be a set percentage to all with the same deduction for all Individuals and Corporations. The income that an individual needs to survive should not be taxed at all. The standard deduction for all individuals should take into account the income that is necessary to live, thus the money paid for, food, clothing, shelter, health care and transportation should be the basis for the base deduction. As an example, let's say that number at 2008 dollars in $55,000 per person. Therefore, any income below $55,000 per pe...

Today the Federal Reserve Chairman told the Congress, ""Recession is possible," Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee. Possible, did he really say possible? We are IN a recession, and a Depression is possible. it is obvious from the questions asked the Congresspeople and the answers given by by Mr. Bernake that they have not got a clue as to what is going on. Small business in America is dying, due to raising energy prices, escalating insurance costs, property tax increases, unaffordable health insurance and most of all, our customers have no money to spend. As a small business owner for over 30 years, I can see the trends on a daily basis. In 2005, customers were willing to spend, but only on credit cards (which also cuts into the profits of small business because of all the charges associated with accepting credit cards). As 2006 approached, there was more of a shift to Debit Cards, but customers were very careful about how much they spent and most often opted for...

It would be too easy to write an editorial full of rosy scenarios and then say April Fool, but the situation in America is too sad for that kind of satire. How easy it would be to say the middle class is thriving the poor are rising out of poverty, and the wealth of the Nation is being distributed across the broadest spectrum of the American populace than ever before in History. But the real situation is too sad for that. The Middle Class is dissipating into the poor, and the poor are sinking to the lowest depths of poverty and a larger number are sinking into poverty than ever before in Modern American History. What an easy idea to fill a column with laudatory praises of the US President, and then say April Fool. To say that America is more respected throughout the world then ever, but it is too sad because just the opposite is true. To say that America is leading the way in the exploration and implementation of alternative energy, but sadly that is not the case. The American Federal ...

With today's announcement by the Federal Reserve that they are going to enact the biggest reforms since the Great Depression one has to wonder if the wave of Republican deregulation that started in the Regan years has been a complete and utter failure. Now The Federal Reserve wants to take more power centralizing our financial institutions more than they have ever been centralized before, just about to the point of Nationalizing our banking system. How did we get to the point of Nationalizing our banking system? This is the result of no regulation, letting hedge funds and speculators run amok with no oversight. Just as the Eron speculators took down the legitimate energy companies, so too have the speculators put the banking industry in peril. Who will this affect, why of course the average American Family will suffer. Will there be any investigations or indictments of the speculators who were cooking the books throughout these years of no regulation. Of course not. Just as there i...

Where is the Congressional Leadership - have they deserted the American People again? Why are there no investigations into War profiteering, Corporations were given no bid contracts and they have an open door to the Treasury. Is anyone watching what we are paying for and insuring that they are performing for this money. While they are investigating that they should also be investigating how we got to the point of farming out that which the Military used to do itself, like feeding the troops, building the bases, supplying the towels. Then on the home front, are any Billionaires and their corporations are given an ope door to the Treasury while Main Street America is collapsing. The American Family is in foreclosure, credit card companies are loan sharks, food prices are rising due to commodity speculation. Where are the Congress people? The States will all have budget problems because the Federal Money that is normally passed to the 50 States has been given away to the 51st State of Ira...