We Can't Reap the Benefits of Modernity When Leaders and Sheeple Still Advocate for the Dark Ages

Ever since the Supreme Court (back in 1973) ruled that women have the right to reproductive choice to terminate a pregnancy, the religious conservatives and their political branch--the Republican Party--have tried to pass restrictions to access and any other obstacle short of prohibiting the procedure. The latest assault is the Texas law that requires women to get a sonogram and the doctor to give them a description of the fetus.

But, wait, not in case of rape, incest or fetal abnormality. What's the moral standard here? If the fetus is conceived by rape or incest then it's not worth defending its life? Huh?!  But, that's the absurdity of having religious beliefs--or any other unscientific beliefs--serve as guide for public policy.

Meanwhile in the state of New York, same-sex marriage is about to be approved as the governor and a majority of New Yorkers support this. Chalk one up for equal rights and progressivism. 

We're hitting levels of inequality in this country like the ones during the Great Depression (1930s)! Listen to this NPR radio program about How Inequality Hurts Societies. No advanced liberal democracy is like the US in this inequality measure, while they're ahead of us in longevity, health, happiness, and general quality of life. The pro-lifers and the conservatives here are mostly concerned with anti-scientific notions rather than focusing on the actual life of people between cradle and grave. Just the other day, we're reminded that the US has highest infant mortality rates among advanced societies.

The Congressional Republicans just voted for a budget that would end the Medicare guarantee to senior citizens. But, like that Louisiana gov. Jindal said, there's nothing Americans can't do on their own! OK, I'm going to fetch some leaches (home remedy) from a pond while I'm monitoring an active volcano, and I'm going to go snoop around Indian Point {nuke plant in Westchester, NY} to make sure that it's safe. What the hell do we need the EPA anyway? That agency, by the way, wants to take away our freedom! Yes, siree, our freedom to do whatever we like, including the job-providing big energy industry (like coal-burning plants) to emit all those ..natural substances in the air. 


It's time to move our politics to the realm of reality and discuss what makes a society happier, healthier, freer, and more equitable. But, we can't do this as long as there are leaders and sheeple who advocate for policies fit for the Dark Ages.

Our Government Represents Whom Exactly?

We as the electorate have to be smarter. It's not about class warfare--this war appears to be over in the US, and the elite has won it. But, just think how many adverse actions against the vast majority of Americans our government has taken in order to benefit the few and big business. Why? Because, too many of us fall for the smoke & mirrors of skilled magicians, also mainly known as Republicans. 

It's amazing that important issues are reduced to bumper sticker expressions and, worse, mentality. Sarah Palin writes notes on her palm and proudly displays her ignorance. Taxes are bad, she says, never bothering to explain why she wants to keep the tax breaks to the top 2%, which will add trillions to the debt. [Pew Center's analysis]


We also think we make money, and that high salaries and fortune are a birthright for Americans. Only 1 in 10 make more than $100K a year, less than 2% make twice as much! At least now, the majority is for letting the Bush tax cuts (to the very top since the early 2000s) expire this year. But, the Republicans convinced the public the "death tax" (large estate taxes) was a bad idea, while under 2% of Americans would be subject to this!

Rand Paul is the leading Repub Senatorial candidate in Kentucky and he's saying that we don't need the federal government to have safety guidelines "because no one will apply" for jobs in a dangerous mine! Another idiotic statement ontop of many others by this Tea Bagger, who's probably a young-earth (loony) believer!


Elizabeth Warren has been a consumer advocate for a long time now. She should be the head of the consumer protection bureau created by the recent financial reform signed into law. But, she's deemed controversial because she has said the banks & financial institutions screw consumers via their 30-page small print incomprehensible clauses they include in their agreements. She is a Harvard professor who teaches contract law and she's said she can't understand what all of the fine print! 

Yeah, I want to be free from government regulation. I don't want a nanny state. I don't want to know...  It feels better if I'm screwed by the private sector than our government, doesn't it?! Look, I don't want a nanny to take care of me, unless I'm sick and unable to take care of myself. But, I do want information so I can make good decisions. And, by the way, those who don't like big government when it comes to consumer protection, they like it when the use government to shove religion down our throats, and use the monopoly of violence to tell me what kind of sex I can have and what to put into  my own body!

The Camel's Back is Already Broken.... But, Bush Uses One More Club to Bash Consumers

In another political offense, president Bush nominated Michael Baroody to head the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). The revolving-door policy of this administration continues. People from a particular industry are given power to regulate that industry, and, after serving in Bush's administration [not the public interest], they go back to the industry they came from within a few years! Gale Norton, the former Secretary of the Interior, is a recent example.

Who's M. Baroody, you ask? For the past 13 years, Michael Baroody has served as Executive Vice President at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) - a K Street lobbying behemoth devoted to helping big manufacturers evade accountability for their wrongdoing. [more info and action]

The CPSC is our top government agency in charge of protecting consumers from unsafe products! Oh, yeah, don't penalize any company for spilling arsenic in our drinking water! Why, this could harm profits! "NAM claimed that negligent manufacturers would feel a pinch in their profits if forced to prevent their waste products from poisoning local communities." [source] Now, don't tell me that asbestos is conclussively harmful... There's someone somewhere who says it ain't so!; let's not rush to judgment like those tree-hugging freedom-haters who have already been trying to save our environment! Pfff