IMAGINE

ON THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION

(WHAT WE SHOULD BE, WHAT WE COULD BE, BUT ARE NOT)

     Imagine a country with universal health care for all. Imagine a country with free public college and university education for any and all, with class sizes limited to 20 or 25 students, with emphasis on critical thinking rather than simply job training! How about an actual realistic effort at improving infructure for traveling! What about a more realistic and urgent plan to shift from fossil fuels to green energy. And, let’s take the money out of politics. Provide free and equal media time for all qualified political candidates. Place realistic limits on financial contributions to political candidates. And finally, let’s imagine that we put an end to the ever increasing yearly imbalance of wealth between the rich and the rest of us in order to adequately fund the public services listed above. Tax the rich like they did in Franklin Roosevelt’s days, 90%!

     Back in those days a singer named Barry McGuire popularized a song termed “The Eve of Destruction”. He may have missed the mark by about a century! And it might also be noted that in the 80’s a character named Gordon Gekko played by Michael Douglas in a movie called Wall Street attempted to convince or con the world into believing that “Greed is Good”. And, of course, greed is good for the wealthy, if you can simply disregard all those who are not, in the new EVE of Destruction! And yet, what good would money and   wealth be if no one was left on earth to use it? Of course, many would rather not bother to deal seriously with the actual threats to human existence we face today. Major countries, in their greed for more territories, are threatening the use of atomic warfare. Human activities are contributing to climate change already wreaking havoc in many areas. Airborn viruses are mutating, proliferating, and spreading diseases at an unprecedented pace. Are we prepared to provide the cooperation necessary to combat these threats to human existence? Or are we too consumed with greed to prevent accelerated competition from giving way to the necessary cooperation required to actually and effectively deal with these threats, and help preserve humanity?

     Let’s face it. The future looks dire! Can humanity really become wiser than the viruses? Are we able to regenerate as they do to better combat adverse   conditions? If only we could take the time to remember, AND TAKE SERIOUSLY, the words of the Beatles’ John Lennon: “Imagine, if there were no boarders, no religions, just the brotherhood of man”. Of course, that would be a tall order. Yet that may be what it takes to transform to the cooperative nature in order to survive the present threats we face today.

     Just where might be a starting point to address this apparent blight in human nature that favors competition over cooperation? The answer, my friend, is “Blowing In   The Wind”, (Bob Dylan) if you realize that almost half of Americans voted recently for a narcissistic individual possessing the conscience and integrity of a mongoose! The remedy must lie somewhere in the field of education. In public schools from elementary to high schools to colleges to grad schools, the emphasis on teaching must shift to courses on critical thinking, logic, psychology, civics, history, and literature. Courses such as these should be mandatory! Schools primarily dedicated to job training should be financed privately. The financing of public schools must be taken out of the hands of competing states, and left in the hands of the U.S. government. All citizens should have an equal opportunity to receive a well financed education. Isn’t it about time to put an end to the dummying down of Americans?

 

Ralph Shroyer (Aug. 17, 22)

Check U-tube Ralph Shroyer or Ralph Shroyer.com   

      

HEALTH CARE EDUCATION SOCIALISM BERNIE

Arguably, health care and education should fall into the same category as the army, the post office, social security, the justice system etc.  Particularly, health care and education should not be for profit. Private Hospitals and schools should be run as non- profit organizations as many charitable organizations are. They should not be corporations seeking profits for their stockholders, or excessive salaries for their chief executives!

Talk about socialism! Those familiar with history might remember Franklin Roosevelt. He basically saved us from the Great Depression in the thirties. Government spending exceeded anything from the past or future. Taxes on the rich were set at 90%. Roosevelt’s socialist work programs plus World War 2 Put our economy back on track.

Should we not smell something familiar here! At present we have a stock market collapse, a virus pandemic and President Trump just announced that we are “at war”(with the virus). Perhaps now shouldn’t we take a better look at Bernie’s socialism!

Ralph Shroyer, Woodland Hills, CA. 3-26-20

LATEST ANALYSIS REGARDING THE COMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

It appears that fear of Trump getting reelected has created a quagmire amongst the members of the opposition Democratic Party! The divide has widened the space between the liberals and the conservatives within the party. Bernie Sanders represents the left and Joe Biden represents the right. Whichever candidate gains the nomination to run against Trump will fear that the losing candidate’s supporters might either lose interest, or even remain spiteful and neglect to actually go to vote.

The reality remains that anybody, even Homer Simpson, would prevail over Donald Trump. But among the Dems fear prevails, causing them to favor the conservative side, in spite of the fact that most would probably prefer the more substantial reforms proposed by Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie in order to defeat Trump.

However, fortunately for the Democrats, the recent collapse of the stock market caused by the Corona Virus epidemic has left Trump with hardly a limb to hang on to.  For the present, the Dems have little to fear. Trump’s bragging, demagogic behavior, lies and hypocrisies will have left him hanging naked in the wind that flows incessantly from his mouth!  All his little Trumpites and Republican senators may soon be observed running for the hills.

As that wind blows, recently Trump has much to hide from. When the virus hit us during the first weeks, in spite of warnings from doctors on his own staff, He originally told the public “It’s only a Democratic Hoax”. Later, when things became more serious, he said, “Don’t worry, I have it tremendously under control”. Following that he said, “Anyone that wants a test can get one”.  Totally    untrue. When asked by a reporter if he felt any responsibility for his misstatements and slow response to the onset of the virus attack he replied “I have no responsibility”! Later, when a reporter asked Trump how he rated himself   on his response to the virus. He said, “Out of a scale of 10 a 10!

The fear factor is, of course, enhanced by the general perception that Americans seem to value and vote for the more short term market profits rather than the more long term advances in health and education needs exposed by Bernie and  fear involves the public’s general misunderstanding of the word “socialism” which is intrinsically associated with Bernie Sanders campaign. The word itself brings forth memories of Hitler’s National Socialism, Stalin’s and Mao’s Communism, or Fidel Castro etc. Most have forgotten or died since the esteemed journalist, Walter Cronkite, once warned us that “we must find a middle ground between Capitalism and Communism (Socialism)”. That middle ground is suffering today. In reality, generally the word socialism refers to the areas where people’s interests are better served by central governments than by private interests.

HEALTH CARE EDUCATION SOCIALISM BERNIE

Arguably, health care and education should fall into the same category as the army, the post office, social security, the justice system etc.  Particularly, health care and education should not be for profit. Private Hospitals and schools should be run as non- profit organizations as many charitable organizations are. They should not be corporations seeking profits for their stockholders, or excessive salaries for their chief executives!

Talk about socialism! Those familiar with history might remember Franklin Roosevelt. He basically saved us from the Great Depression in the thirties. Government spending exceeded anything from the past or future. Taxes on the rich were set at 90%. Roosevelt’s socialist work programs plus World War 2 Put our economy back on track.

Should we not smell something familiar here! At present we have a stock market collapse, a virus pandemic and President Trump just announced that we are “at war” (with the virus). Perhaps now shouldn’t we take a better look at Bernie’s socialism!

Ralph Shroyer, Woodland Hills, CA. 3-26-20

WANT TO SAVE YOUR SOUL?
(Understanding Donald Trump)

Pay close attention to the present American Presidential Election process! There’s a lesson there for all – one that you can’t normally get from school. Critical thinking is required here – an element that doesn’t receive much attention in our school curriculums these days. Accordingly, the polls demonstrate that most citizens tend to view the present election as simply a circus in which two very unpopular contestants vie for a position that neither one deserves. Hillary has, of course, been excessively harassed on issues regarding her own judgement, believability (transparency), and health. (Benghazi, careless e-mail, lack of transparency, pneumonia) Trump, mainly through his own doing, has displayed a penchant for you name it: demagoguery, racism, bigotry, hypocrisy, name calling, and generally childish behavior.

Trump appears to have two distinctly and totally different opinions about almost anyone he comes in contact with, expressed of course at different times. Take Ted Cruz: “Ted Cruz is a nasty guy. No one likes Ted Cruz”. “I like Ted Cruz a lot”. Megan Kelly: “You have done a great job. I could never beat you.” “I have zero respect for Megan Kelly. She’s highly overrated”. Hillary Clinton: “A terrific woman. I think she does a great job. I like her.” “Hillary Clinton was the worst Sec. of State in history.” The State of Iowa: “I love Iowa. We’ve done really well there.” “How stupid are the people of Iowa”. All documented quotes coming from the same pie hole, but suited for the convenient occasion! Take Iraq: When asked if we should invade Iraq on the Howard Stern’s Show, Trump replied, “I guess so. I wish we could have done it correctly the first time.” Later during the Republican debate on FOX, “I was the only person on the platform that fought very, very hard against going into Iraq”. On the subject of guns in schools, Trump on CNN said first that guns should not be in the classroom. Seconds later he said that some teachers might need them there. (Take your pick!) In truth, it would appear that Hillary’s indiscretions actually pale in contrast to those manufactured by Donald Trump. With the News Media’s thirst for a close contest, and to some extent, with the candidate’s acquiescence, and the American citizen’s thirst for excitement, the emphasis in the race has become based primarily on personality rather than issues and actions which would more seriously affect our wellbeing. In contrast with Trump’s glowing endorsement of Hillary in 2012 as “a great person doing a terrific job”, he characterizes her now as “crooked, lying, and her having been the worst Sec. of State in history”. Hillary Clinton counters by describing Trump as “a racist, a bigot, a bully, and a scam artist unqualified for the presidency”. And, she refers to his supporters as “half of them belonging in a basket of deplorables”. After all Trump wants to build a wall against Mexico. He has stated that we should ban all Muslims from entering our country. He has complained that a man of Mexican decent should not be allowed to judge him in court. The beat goes on! Trump, of course, took issue with the “deplorables” word complaining that Hillary was denigrating half of America’s hard-working voters. Hillary consequently backtracked. However let’s be real here! If Trump is really a racist and a bigot, in which he really is, why shouldn’t anyone supporting a racist and a bigot (or even worse) be considered deplorable? Of course, the Donald presently continues to add to his long list of recent distortions, lies, hypocrisies, slanders, etc. He now accuses his opponent, Hillary Clinton of giving birth to the birther movement against President Obama which he pursued relentlessly for the past 5 years. Now that he admits he was wrong and that Obama was born in the U.S., rather than apologizing he wants to take credit for ending the conspiratorial idea that he claims Hillary started. There is actually no creditable evidence that Hillary had anything to do with beginning the “birther movement” lunacy! Not missing a beat, Donald next, speaking before a second-amendment gun enthusiast group, stated that the Federal men guarding Hillary Clinton be disarmed to see what might happen to her. Not the first time Trump has threatened or alluded to possible violence against his distracters! To be honest though, there’s a serious irony here. Should anything fatal happen to Hillary; that would most likely be the Presidential Candidacy death of Donald Trump! Up to the present, it appears that Hillary Clinton has unintentionally been Trump’s best ally. Her stand-in whether it be the likeness of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Tim Kane, or almost anyone else would doubtlessly overwhelm the Donald. Of course Hillary although far from perfect, as most of us are, has been given a ridiculously bad rap embellished by her detractors and enemies. Notwithstanding, even acknowledging the perennial nearsightedness of the American voting public, Hillary still figures to become our next president. After all, the unimaginable couldn’t happen. Could it?
Ralph Shroyer 9-18-16

FACING THE TRUTH ABOUT FIGHTING THE TERRORIST THREAT

Perhaps only a massive change in the direction, the quality and the financing of our educational system will offer real hope of diminishing the threat of terrorist actions facing our nation. Only then, when our schools place the emphasis on civics, humanism, intellectualism and critical thinking rather than basically economic goals can we expect to face our fears and dilemmas with intelligent, rather than emotional reactions. As we approach the Presidential Election of 2004, no politicians dare offer to the public even the slightest reference to the actual underlying causes spurring the rapidly growing terrorist activities. Generally, Americans have been educated, nurtured and bred to believe that our material advantages offer sufficient proof of our superiority to most peoples of the world. Pride and patriotism are the order of the day. And consequently our ethics and morality in our dealings and relations with other countries is considered if not beyond reproach, at least justified. We are instructed that the terrorists are simply spawned by a few “evil” men who hate us for our freedoms and are jealous of our luxuries. We are assured that those sacrificing their lives to attack us are cowards. And that we can solve the problem simply by courageously seeking them out and bombing them to death! This kind of rationale is both obnoxious and counterproductive, if we hope to deal effectively with terrorists. We are effectively playing into the hands of the terrorists, and creating more every day. When we acquire the courage to seek and examine the real source of the growing terrorist menace, we may then have a chance to reduce it. When and if we somehow come to realize that American policy and actions towards the poorer countries of the world has resulted in the deaths, miseries, poverty, and oppression of millions – perhaps even billions of our earth’s inhabitants we may then have a start on an effective attack on terrorism! Katrina & Bush As for the disaster in New Orleans, Bush says “You can’t do anything about Mother Nature.” He figures that just going around in New Orleans hugging crying black people will suffice. Someone said they overheard him saying “I’ll get that Mother Nature dead or alive!” He seems to forget that last year he cut the funds for restoring the dikes in half – even after the Army Corps of Engineers published a report that the city couldn’t take a hurricane over level 3. Scientists had repeatedly warned that global warming had made a category 4 or 5 hurricane very likely. Good old Shrub took this so seriously that he appointed an unqualified crone who lied on his resume to head the recently downgraded FEMA department. Apparently, just as with evolution, Bush considers Global Warming just another unproven theory. It appears that Shrub is just a simple man who figures Prayer to God will take care of our problems. But let’s not kid ourselves any more. Things are far more sinister! Bush is really using a shitload of rationalizations to deceive an unwitting public in order to gain a shitload of power and wealth for himself and his army of cronies at the expense of others. History certainly does tend to repeat itself! When Shrub’s popularity was sinking in 2001, he neglected to heed warnings about 911, and with a few well thought out lies was able to enact a “nice little war” to unify the country behind him. Will the neglect that led to New Orleans eventually lead to renewed popularity. Of course Bush and the “boys” are again gambling on that tried and true old adage: “You can never underestimate the gullibility of the American Public!

Cheers, Ralph

Why New Orleans Is in Deep Water By Molly Ivins

Creators Syndicate Thursday 01 September 2005 Austin, Texas – Like many of you who love New Orleans, I find myself taking short mental walks there today, turning a familiar corner, glimpsing a favorite scene, square or vista. And worrying about the beloved friends and the city, and how they are now. To use a fine Southern word, it’s tacky to start playing the blame game before the dead are even counted. It is not too soon, however, to make a point that needs to be hammered home again and again, and that is that government policies have real consequences in people’s lives. This is not “just politics” or blaming for political advantage. This is about the real consequences of what governments do and do not do about their responsibilities. And about who winds up paying the price for those policies. This is a column for everyone in the path of Hurricane Katrina who ever said, “I’m sorry, I’m just not interested in politics,” or, “There’s nothing I can do about it,” or, “Eh, they’re all crooks anyway.” Nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my life, nothing I can do about any of it. Look around you this morning. I suppose the National Rifle Association would argue, “Government policies don’t kill people, hurricanes kill people.” Actually, hurricanes plus government policies kill people. One of the main reasons New Orleans is so vulnerable to hurricanes is the gradual disappearance of the wetlands on the Gulf Coast that once stood as a natural buffer between the city and storms coming in from the water. The disappearance of those wetlands does not have the name of a political party or a particular administration attached to it. No one wants to play, “The Democrats did it,” or, “It’s all Reagan’s fault.” Many environmentalists will tell you more than a century’s interference with the natural flow of the Mississippi is the root cause of the problem, cutting off the movement of alluvial soil to the river’s delta. But in addition to long-range consequences of long-term policies like letting the Corps of Engineers try to build a better river than God, there are real short-term consequences, as well. It is a fact that the Clinton administration set some tough policies on wetlands, and it is a fact that the Bush administration repealed those policies – ordering federal agencies to stop protecting as many as 20 million acres of wetlands. Last year, four environmental groups cooperated on a joint report showing the Bush administration’s policies had allowed developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands. Does this mean we should blame President Bush for the fact that New Orleans is underwater? No, but it means we can blame Bush when a Category 3 or Category 2 hurricane puts New Orleans under. At this point, it is a matter of making a bad situation worse, of failing to observe the First Rule of Holes (when you’re in one, stop digging). Had a storm the size of Katrina just had the grace to hold off for a while, it’s quite likely no one would even remember what the Bush administration did two months ago. The national press corps has the attention span of a gnat, and trying to get anyone in Washington to remember longer than a year ago is like asking them what happened in Iznik, Turkey, in A.D. 325. Just plain political bad luck that, in June, Bush took his little ax and chopped $71.2 million from the budget of the New Orleans Corps of Engineers, a 44 percent reduction. As was reported in New Orleans CityBusiness at the time, that meant “major hurricane and flood projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now.” The commander of the corps’ New Orleans district also immediately instituted a hiring freeze and canceled the annual corps picnic. Our friends at the Center for American Progress note the Office of Technology Assessment used to produce forward-thinking plans such as “Floods: A National Policy Concern” and “A Framework for Flood Hazards Management.” Unfortunately, the office was targeted by Newt Gingrich and the Republican right, and gutted years ago. In fact, there is now a governmentwide movement away from basing policy on science, expertise and professionalism, and in favor of choices based on ideology. If you’re wondering what the ideological position on flood management might be, look at the pictures of New Orleans – it seems to consist of gutting the programs that do anything. Unfortunately, the war in Iraq is directly related to the devastation left by the hurricane. About 35 percent of Louisiana’s National Guard is now serving in Iraq, where four out of every 10 soldiers are guardsmen. Recruiting for the Guard is also down significantly because people are afraid of being sent to Iraq if they join, leaving the Guard even more short-handed. The Louisiana National Guard also notes that dozens of its high-water vehicles, Humvees, refuelers and generators have also been sent abroad. (I hate to be picky, but why do they need high-water vehicles in Iraq?) This, in turn, goes back to the original policy decision to go into Iraq without enough soldiers and the subsequent failure to admit that mistake and to rectify it by instituting a draft. The levees of New Orleans, two of which are now broken and flooding the city, were also victims of Iraq war spending. Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, said on June 8, 2004, “It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq.” This, friends, is why we need to pay attention to government policies, not political personalities, and to know whereon we vote. It is about our lives.
Ralph’s essay on Iraq.

TO FOSTER DEMOCRACY, AND TO SAVE US ALL FROM A MADMAN POSSESSING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Weapons of mass destruction? After four months the U.N inspectors have found no real evidence of them. Only some faked evidence that Nigeria was sending Iraq fissionable material; some plagiarized written material from a student in England, and some comical tapes of unidentified Iraqi soldiers attempting to move some unidentified materials before the inspectors arrived, offered by U.S. Sec. Colin Powell. As any “amateur rocket scientist” could attest, it would be impossible for any nation, particularly Iraq, to build deliverable atomic weapons without detection. On the contrary, we should, of course, realize that chemical and biological poisons could be produced in any small town in any country, at any time, anywhere in the world, without detection. Considering the level of worldwide animosity aroused by our preemptive war on Iraq, how many other places must we invade to insure our safety from chemical and biological weapons attacks? Or could it be that with our “terrorist attack” on Iraq that we are simply insuring the inevitability and proliferation of terrorist attacks upon ourselves? Democracy? Why don’t we start at home? Less than half of Americans bother to vote in our elections. And perhaps, often with some reason! Plutocracy might best describe what passes for democracy in our country. Over ninety percent of the winners in our “elections” turn out to be the candidates that spent, or received the most money. The media generally considers the candidate’s financial resources even before deciding to provide coverage. If we really cared much about true democracy, we might have avoided the abortive results of our last presidential election by choosing the kind of electoral reforms that could lead to democratic results rather than the usual plutocratic outcome. Why don’t we have comprehensive public financing of elections, Instant Runoff Voting (second choice voting on ballots), Proportional Representation, an end to the “Electoral College”, etc.? Apparently, to date, most Americans are too wrapped up in consumerism, and too morally bankrupt to stand up and fight for democracy at home. Yet ironically they’re not beyond being sold a “bill of goods” to join a fight to provide it abroad! Why Then The War? It seems even more ironic that our administration would be posturing democracy as a reason for our incursion when the U.S. and the Western Powers have been obstructing it in the Arab countries for the past 80 years in order to obtain oil profits for themselves. Obviously if the people had their say a much greater share of the oil revenues would have been coming their way rather than to the ruling few and their Western collaborators. It’s not simply accidental that there are no real democracies in any of the Arab nations today. Saddam Hussein was only the latest of a long line of Iraqi leaders installed by England and the U.S. only to be deposed or assassinated by B.I. or C.I.A. when they appeared to place their people’s interests above those of their “benefactors” by calling for the reunification of Kuwait with Iraq. We aided, encouraged, and applauded Saddam when he brutally annihilated the Communists, Socialists, Unionists and all opposition in taking power. We helped supply him with the arms and technology, including poison gas, to help defeat the Iranians in the eighties, and subsequently congratulated him sending Donald Rumsfeld, and Sen. Simpson over to shake his hand and embrace him. Of course, our Administration now finds it expedient to excoriate Saddam as a mad man for the use of the very despicable methods of which we, ourselves, were supportive and compliant. What’s This Got To Do With Oil? Both the President, and the Vice President are former oil executives. Our National Security Advisor, Condaleeza Rice, is a former Director of Chevron Oil. The Bush campaign received close to $2,000,000 in contributions from the oil industries in the 2,000 election. We must also consider the fact that U.S. oil interests have been to a great extent banned from Iraqi oil fields by Saddam since the end of the Gulf War, while such nations as France, Russia and China have received favorable treatment, and profits from Iraqi oil. Could it be only coincidental that these nations oppose the “regime change” that we so eagerly pursue at any cost? Is It Only About Oil? It was once said, “That if there was no God, man would invent one.” I’m sure you know where this is going. If an economy were failing, would a politician seek a nice little war to restore his popularity? What Might We Stand To Lose In This Reckless Gamble? The greatest loss is perhaps the possible destruction of the United Nations as a force to resolve disputes and preserve peace in the future world. The law of the jungle will no longer suffice in the world of tomorrow. The cost of the war could be ruinous to our already declining economy. We desperately require the funds to support education, healthcare, and old age security to maintain any kind of decent society. When are we going to learn to value the lives of the innocents we destroy as much as our own. And, of course, how great will be the retaliation sought by the billion Muslims of the world?

INTEGRITY – ISSUE FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

Recently I witnessed a performance on the popular TV show “America’s Got Talent” in which a group of contestants from Texas sang “I’m Proud to Be an American”. Two of the panel of commenting judges expressed hearty approval of the group’s undisputed talent. The third judge (an Englishman) remarked that the talent was apparent, but that he thought that the performance was “cheesy”. (Apparently an obvious attempt to influence the votes through patriotism than simply talent) But what’s this nonsense got to do with health care? Well, if you haven’t suspected by now from the example above the word is INTEGRITY! That means placing a sense of fairness to others, above, or at least, on a par with one’s own perceived self-interest. (This includes such things as honesty, reliability, and the absence of hypocrisy.) Presently, Pres. O’bama’s desire and efforts to help provide decent and affordable health care for all represents a good degree of that integrity. So why is he now being pressured so violently by so many to compromise that integrity and accede to a plan that leaves American health care basically unchanged, and left in the malaise in which it’s been drifting for the past many years? Of course, at this point in time it might be noted, almost all of America’s major institutions seem to be broken, or braking down – not just health care, but banking, education, prisons, homeowners, religions, even government. They all seem interrelated. And it seems fair to assume that the roots of these failures have something to do with that word – Integrity! Yes, that overwhelming desire to ask, “What’s in it for me?” may cause us to become shortsighted enough to overlook the bigger picture. In regard to health care, most Americans presently have a health plan, and seem to fear that any change would require that they would have to pay for others who don’t presently have insurance. Fifty million, most probably children don’t, and most likely can’t pay. However, most Americans (callousness notwithstanding) are tragically unaware of the real facts. We are rated 37th among nations for best health care by the World Health Organization. We are well down the list among industrialized countries in birth survivals. Even people in Cuba have longer life spans than those in the United States! We are paying twice as much per capita for health care than many countries in Europe which provide better care. The answer to this apparent irony and the responsibility for our broken health system, of course, must be shared by all – the insurance companies, the lawyers, the hospitals. the doctors, and last but not least, the citizenry itself which is content and apathetic enough to allow the self-interest lobbyists to control our legislature, and the corporate sponsored media to control our minds. Almost all industrialized countries around the world have some kind of single payer or universal health plan. They basically eliminate the middle man (insurance companies) that in the U.S. sucks up a great share of our health expenses. The governments of other countries with their justice systems deal with malpractice, not lawyers with their malpractice suits which scare doctors and hospitals into ordering costly and unnecessary tests and operations just to cover their legal concerns. In a word, medicine should not be for profit. Most industrialized societies have adopted some form of socialized medicine. I know of none that has abandoned it once adopted.

Ralph Shroyer (8-11-09)

RELIGION AND HUMANITY

The great challenge humanity must face in order to survive the onrushing nuclear age involves the adaptation of an intelligent approach to dealing with religion. Even Einstein writes that at the age of 10 he realized that the religions of the day were basically fraudulent and rooted in mythology. And regrettably, it appears that today nothing much has changed since then. The ultimate and infinite Power that orders the working rules of our universe and our world truly remains a mystery. This is not to imply that individuals should not have the right to conjecture on, and place faith in the belief or speculation of their own relation to this power or the hereafter. We simply must realize that this “faith” cannot be considered infallible. If there is such an act of sin, this arrogant assumption of infallibility just might be the major one. As almost any student of history, or the present, could attest, misplaced faith in religion has contributed to more gaps in human understanding, and untimely deaths resulting from conflict and war than one could imagine.

ISSUES ADVOCATED BY THE PEACE & FREEDOM PARTY

Withdraw U.S. troops from foreign lands now! Public control and ownership in such vital economic areas as medical care, power and transportation. Equality for all minorities: women, gays, racial groups, immigrants, senior citizens etc. Right of choice for women on abortion Abolish the death penalty Decriminalize drug use – legalize marijuana Tax the Rich – increase the minimum wage Defend the Bill of Rights End illegal incarcerations and surveillances Protect the environment and workers rights throughout the world – abolish or reform and modify NAFTA, GATT, and the WTO. Tuition-free education Provide adequate public financing for schools Establish an electoral system which Includes Proportional Representation, Instant Runoff Voting, and Public Financing of all qualified candidates in elections.

LET’S GET PHILISOPHICAL (THE CASE FOR ELECTORAL REFORM)

No, not which came first – the chicken or the egg? But which came first with regard to the American voting public – the ignorance or the stupidity?! Just recently Americas most politically liberal state voted by a large majority to seat a conservative in the U.S. Senate whose main issue was to defeat health care reform instead of the liberal who favored health care reform. This, in spite of the fact that all the polls indicated that the public favored health care reform. Of course this apparent paradox might best be understood in light of the fact that the health insurance companies poured untold millions into the conservative campaign designed to scare the wits out of the voters who actually heard little or nothing from the other candidate on the left. The money in support of the Democratic liberal candidate simply wasn’t spent. The result crippled any serious hope for the passage of any health care reform in the near future. How many will die or suffer as a result of this neglect? How many we may never know, but we can be sure many will. Thus, one might conclude that there is simply no limit to the susceptibility of the American Public when exposed to propaganda! Just one day after the Massachusetts fiasco an even more daring and devastating blow to democracy and the American public was delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Five conservative judges outvoted four moderates on the Court to overturn previous rulings and decree that no limits be placed on corporations spending in support of political candidates. Labor Unions were included as well. However it must be observed that Union’s financial capacities are miniscule in comparison to that of corporations. Presently, as in the past, 90% of the winners in U.S. Congressional elections are the candidates that spent the most money. And, as we all should realize by now, that those elected generally support the interests of those that contributed to their campaigns. Now then, should it really require a rocket scientist to realize that rather than futilely pursuing much needed reforms such as health reform, educational reform, banking reform, national security reform, etc. shouldn’t we better first attempt meaningful electoral reform! Obviously, under the present system entrenched financial interests can and will block almost any effort to adopt effective changes in any of our major institutions or areas of need. What we need is an honest democracy – not a plutocracy, where wealth determines power and policy. Our present system essentially dedicated to greed, corruption and discontent can only be overturned and overcome by extensive reforms concerning the way we select or elect our policymakers. Without this effort our hopes for necessary improvements in Health Care, Education, Regulating Banks, Entitlements, the Economy, etc. remain relatively futile! The wealthy can be expected to utilize any means available to maintain and protect their advantages, generally remaining oblivious to the long term detrimental effects of their policies on our society! Realizing that it may already be too late, or possibly too difficult, to establish the necessary reforms to allow our outdated electoral system to serve the people, rather than the rich, let’s nevertheless examine the possibilities. 1) We might begin with the Electoral College. More than once in the past the Presidential candidate who won the popular vote lost the election. We are not still a federation of colonies as construed in our early beginnings. We are now the United States – one country! One person’s vote should count no more or less than any other person. The Electoral College should be abolished! Financial reform is, of course, a must. The recent capitulation of the Supreme Court to the Republicans who placed the Court’s majority in power will allow corporations to offer unlimited financial support to candidates of their choice. The Court justified its ruling as being based on “freedom of speech” required by the Constitution.

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT AMERICA’S SINKING AND SHRINKING ECONOMY?
(Not necessarily that we should expect that anything actually can be done to rescue it)

“The government today, announced that it’s changing its emblem from a Bald Eagle to a CONDOM, because it more accurately reflects the government’s political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of dicks, and gives you a sense of security while you’re being screwed. It just doesn’t get more accurate than that.” (Joseph Hosey) Today, as of July 31, 2011, the American Media reports that our government is teetering on the brink of financial default. It is reported that if our members of Congress fail to enact a federal budget allowing our debt ceiling an increase by August 2ond in two days hence for the 1st time in history we will be unable to pay our bills, and shall be considered in default. Those dependent on Social Security, federal employees, including the military, would not receive pay, and perhaps even more seriously, the decline in our credit rating throughout the world could lead to unparalleled disaster. We ask, why cannot the two parties in Congress come to agreement to deal with this problem after months, actually years, of debate on the issue? Of course, the main obstacle appears to be the 14 trillion dollar debt already owed by the U.S. government. Both sides in Congress seem to agree that it would be nice to have at least, a balanced budget to deal with this debt. In order to achieve this, the Republicans would require cuts in financial aids to the more needy, such as health care, social security, education, etc., and especially no new taxes! This under threat of refusal to extend the debt ceiling! On the other hand, most of the Democrats, to their credit, seem to realize that not just cuts, but increased revenue (meaning taxes) has to be part of the solution to solving our budget crisis. Since the failure to immediately enact a budget bill in Congress verges on the unthinkable, (default and disaster) the Republicans have elected to hold the Democrats and the President (Obama) hostage. The “party of the rich” appears poised to dump the country into the abyss. The “compromise bill” the Republicans in control of the House of Representatives have prepared to push through protects the rich from any tax increases, and includes spending cuts which could hardly put a dent into the 14 trillion dollar National debt. Once this “compromise bill” passes the Republican dominated House of Representatives, the Senate, in spite of the Democratic majority there, will be forced to pass the “phantom” bill to the president who will in turn have to sign it into law due to time constraints in order to avoid the catastrophic credit default. Everyone seems to agree that we must do something soon to deal with this burgeoning national debt. It’s a heavy drain on our economy. Yet even Mr. Magoo could recognize that the best that Congress can produce today is simply bogus. The cuts proposed are numbered in the billions. The debt amounts to trillions. Even the politicians themselves tend to admit it’s a joke! Of course, the Republicans find the situation rather convenient. Nothing like extending economic hard times until the elections of 2012! Perhaps the public won’t notice who’s mainly responsible! After all, in the Congressional elections of 2010 when the Republicans took over the House did anyone bother to notice who put us in the economic mess we were in? It was during the Republican administration in 2008 following the failure of the government to regulate the financial institutions which orchestrated the housing collapse that the crash commenced. The banks engaging in “credit swaps” with bundled mortgage packages of which it is estimated amounted to about 50 trillion dollars of debt. Then there was the extension of the tax cuts for the rich enacted precisely when revenue was most needed to counter the falling economy. And, of course, there was the pursuit of counter-productive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, resulting in an increasing drain on a suffering budget and economy. Yes all this, the brainchild of a Republican President! Thus, apparently the blame for the American demise cannot be pinned entirely on the Republican Party. They simply took advantage of an ill-informed and apathetic electorate! Americans have taken the “coolade” and accepted the belief that taxes are evil, and that the Republican con of trickle-down is the way to grow our economy. However, if we really wish to get to the bottom of all this, we’ll need to accept the fact that our system is broke. Our educational system is not up to the task. For over the last fifty years the wealth gap between the rich and the rest of the country has increased each year. We’ve reached the point where our economy can barely function. Any possible starting point to reverse this slide involves the revamping of our electoral system which has been the captive of the rich and corporate interests which translates into greed. Since today it requires a treasure chest of over a million dollars to win a seat in Congress, the elected officials are invariably the captives of and indebted to the moneyed interests. For starting points we should: 1 Enact restrictions on financial contributions 2 Provide effective public financing for qualified candidates 3 Provide equal time in the media for qualified candidates 4 Allow for 2ond choice voting on the ballots 5 Abolish the antiquated bicameral system (have one legislative body rather than two) 6 Abolish the antiquated electoral college 7 Modernize the Constitution

Ralph Shroyer (7-31-11)

BALANCING THE NATIONAL BUDGET

What would it take to get the American economy back on course? It appears that few rational observers today disagree with the view that our economy is spinning out of control and headed for a crash. Our federal budget is dangerously unbalanced. Distribution of wealth among citizens is seriously unbalanced. (The top 1% own 40% of it) Our trade balance with other countries has been negative for the past 40 years. (We owe countries like China and Japan about a trillion dollars.) Largely due to political (selfish interests) and what is referred to as philosophical disagreements, the Congress appears unable to effectively address the dilemma. The cure to this seems fairly clear. First and foremost spending must be cut. It needs to be in the area of what we prefer to call “defense”. We have been spending more money on that than the total money spent on armaments by the next seventeen richest countries together in the world. It could well be that our effort to control the world with military power actually evokes a counter-productive result. (It’s been over fifty years since President Eisenhower warned us to “Beware the military industrial complex”.) Now aside from exhibiting gross insensitivity, those (essentially Republicans) advocating cuts in Entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security would only serve to further damage the economy as well as delivering a serious setback to the mental and physical health of our nation. Serious cuts in education have already transpired, leading an already slumping institution into further depths. It’s pathetically ironic that the one area required most to produce the knowledge necessary to successfully confront our economic woes is the first to be cut. Doubtless educational reforms are necessary to fashion it to fit the 21st century. More emphasis on the individualized approach to teaching students may require additional finance. Overcrowding the classrooms is not the answer! Although a new modernizing effort using cybernetics to provide individualized programs to educate students (recently espoused by Fareed Zakaria of CNN Broadcasting) holds promise. However that could be a problem for jobs (teachers), and consequently possibly impact the economy. However, most importantly, a far greater emphasis must be placed on teaching civics in our educational system if we expect democracy to work. We should not be blaming the politicians if the requirement for being elected is to appeal to ignorance and bias. Finally, any really serious and effective effort to address the budget problem involves increasing revenue. Just cutting spending or government spending, as Republicans espouse, would simply reduce jobs and do greater damage to our economy in the end. Of course, there are two main ways to produce revenue for our government to deal with the budget problem. One way is to tax, the other is simply to print money. The latter, of course, would increase inflation which in turn could seriously impact our economy. Since the 1% of our population has 40% of the wealth, taxes would appear to be the best option. The arrow undoubtedly points to the 1% clinging to the 40%! The argument used by most Republicans that the rich are the “job creators” and that higher taxes on them would be counterproductive to the economy conflicts with past and present history. Since the recent bail outs and the ever increasing wealth in the hands of the rich has at present has left our economy, as well as the rest of the world in serious trouble, the redistribution of wealth is imperative. We must also be aware, that contrary to what we hear from our Republican “friends”, increased government control and supervision over our financial institutions is imperative. The great “Crash of 08” was initiated when we allowed these institutions to pile up 50 trillion dollars in credit swap debts while gambling to pursue profits. Of course, many of the individuals within the institutions did profit greatly when they received commissions and bonuses for each sour deal that transpired! (As the real estate market plummeted throughout the country and the world) Should we wonder that the gap between the rich and the poor is ever widening? In conclusion, it seems that cutting the spending on the military-industrial complex, adequately financing and reforming our antiquated educational system, extending government supervision and controls over our banks, and altering our tax system in order that the wealthy would provide the financial means for the government to repair the budget, and build and finance programs which would provide jobs to take care of our society’s real needs is the order of the day.

Ralph Shroyer (1-1-12) Tuesday 19 April 2005

Washington – German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican theologian who was elected Pope Benedict XVI, intervened in the 2004 US election campaign ordering bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters including presidential candidate John Kerry. In a June 2004 letter to US bishops enunciating principles of worthiness for communion recipients, Ratzinger specified that strong and open supporters of abortion should be denied the Catholic sacrament, for being guilty of a “grave sin.” He specifically mentioned “the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws,” a reference widely understood to mean Democratic candidate Kerry, a Catholic who has defended abortion rights. The letter said a priest confronted with such a person seeking communion “must refuse to distribute it.” A footnote to the letter also condemned any Catholic who votes specifically for a candidate because the candidate holds a pro-abortion position. Such a voter “would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for holy communion,” the letter read. The letter, which was revealed in the Italian magazine L’Espresso last year, was reportedly only sent to US Catholic bishops, who discussed it in their convocation in Denver, Colorado, in mid-June. Sharply divided on the issue, the bishops decided to leave the decision on granting or denying communion to the individual priest. Kerry later received communion several times from sympathetic priests. Nevertheless, in the November election, a majority of Catholic voters, who traditionally supported Democratic Party candidates, shifted their votes to Republican and eventual winner George W. Bush. Dec. 7, 2013 Domestic and International Politics of America: 1950 – Present (History of actions and policies of U.S. presidents 1950 – now) Both Pres. Truman and Eisenhower felt that we must stand firm against what most Americans believed was a serious threat from the expansion of Communism. This, of course led to our entry into the Korean War. The Chinese Communist regime with aid from Soviet Russia supported the Korean side against the U.S. and some Allied forces. Both sides suffered serious losses. Finally an agreement was reached to divide Korea into two sides – the South and the North in July of ’53. The “Cold War” became entrenched under the administration of Eisenhower and carried on until the breakup of the Soviet regime in the “nineties”. This occurred in spite of Eisenhower’s famous warning at his departure in 1960 that we must “beware of the military – industrial complex”. Carrying on with the containment policy, the Bay of Pigs debacle occurred under Pres. Kennedy. Then we had the Cuban Missile Crisis when Soviet ships with missiles headed for Cuba were turned around after a chilling but last minute agreement between Soviet Premier Nikita khrushchev and Pres. Kennedy. Pres. Johnson felt compelled to continue the Cold War and containment policy by inventing the Gulf of Tonkin excuse and expanding our troop commitment in Vietnam. The Tonkin attack appeared later to be a falsified account. The pursuit of the War eventually led to a serious decline in Johnson’s popularity. Next, Pres. Nixon’s Incursion across the border into the once friendly Cambodia to stop Viet Cong troops, led to the ousting of Prince Sihanouk and the rise of the Pol Pot regime. This created the greatest genocide disaster in the world since the Nazis in W.W. II. The Viet Cong under Ho Chi Min managed to defeat the U.S. and the puppet South Vietnamese Regime ending the War in 1973. It is estimated that the U.S. lost 50,000 men and the Vietnamese about 3 million. In the final analysis the war ended in a disgrace for America and the Presidents Kennedy through Nixon. In the 60’s and 70’s the cultural climate underwent considerable changes. The civil rights movement, the sexual revolution, and the women’s liberation movement took off at the conclusion of the 50’s. The civil rights movement began in the South with Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. This led to a bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama. It was followed by the incarceration of Martin Luther King. Incidents of atrocities in the South, the bombing of the 16th St .Baptist church in Alabama killing black children, the three freedom fighters that died at the hands of white racists, the killing of Emit Till, etc. helped create a greater sympathy for the “rights cause” enabling to allow Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to go forward with policies and laws to establish greater freedoms. John Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy helped usher freedom for blacks to integrate in schools. Troops were sent to Alabama to stop Gov. George Wallace from standing in the school doorway to prevent black students from entering previously white only schools. The Supreme Court Ruling, Brown vs The Board of Education was followed up with bussing plans and expanded integration throughout the country. Following Kennedy, Pres. Johnson pushed through the civil rights voting rights act in 1965. In regard to woman’s liberation, rights were passed in state and national legislatures favoring freedoms in employment, child care, abortion rights etc. The Supreme Court in the Roe vs. Wade ruling favoring abortions in 1973 set a landmark to which this day conservative Republicans still decry. Rather than the sexual repressive attitudes of the thirties and forties, the sixties and early seventies entered into an era of sexual freedoms. Men like Hugh Hefner, and Larry Flint helped lead the parade toward “sexual excesses”. The administrations of Johnson and Nixon were generally in trouble with the youths of the country largely due to their promotion of the War in Vietnam and the draft during the 60’s and 70’s. Pres. Nixon was driven from office during the Watergate Scandal. Tapes of Nixon in the Oval office provided evidence of his complicity in illegal operations concerning the break-in at the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate Hotel. Nixon was a “bad man”, although he did accomplish some good things. He presided over the signing of the SALT treaty to diminish nuclear weapons. He opened relations with China in the early seventies. However, in the seventies the Nixon Administration made strong efforts to counter and prosecute young groups such as the Black Panthers and Tom Haden’s Students for a Democratic Society, as well as the Weatherman Underground group. Another serious perhaps criminal act was his complicity along with Henry Kissinger and the C.I.A. in the Killing of Salvador Allende , the democratically elected president of Chile. This coup backed by the U.S. allowed the army to install a merciless dictator, Pinochet, to pursue a reign of terror and a genocidal act towards his enemies in Chile. The motive was primarily because Allende was an admitted socialist. The shortened Nixon term in office was succeeded by former V.P. Gerald Ford. Perhaps his only remembrance was his act of issuing a pardon the Richard Nixon! By the avent of the eighties, the administration of Jimmy Carter (a good man) was undercut by an economic period of run-away inflation, plus the hostage crisis in Iran, which was exploited by Ronald Reagan, enabling him to gain the presidency. Reagan was an ardent advocate of supply-side economics (often referred to as “trickle-down”).i The policy of reducing taxes on the rich was supposed to lead to prosperity, but generally seemed to have the opposite effect in the past. Reagan was later discredited when the Iran Contra Affair was revealed. His administration was discovered to have been selling arms to Iran to funnel money secretly to the Contras in Nicaragua in violation of Government Law. Reagan has been, or has taken credit for, the fall of the Soviet Union, by his merciless promotion of the Cold War. He described the Soviet Union as “The Evil Empire”. He was known for his advocacy of the Star Wars Program. It was a foolish plan to provide for an unworkable missile defense system which turned out to be an economic disaster. He backed oppressive dictatorial and murderous regimes in Central America which lead to considerable atrocities for the people in those countries (particularly El Salvador) in the name of opposing Socialism or Communism. One final economically disparaging act orchestrated by Ronald Reagan caught him on television surrounded by a group of crony bankers signing a bank deregulation bill. This act eventually led to the severe Saving & Loan Crisis of ’88 in which rouge bankers ripped off the public to the tune of about half a trillion dollars using the FDIC to cover fraudulent loans given to “friends”! Taxpayers are still paying for the public debt today. The sun of George Bush Sr. (Neil Bush) was actually involved in this scandal along with the Silverado Bank in Colorado. George Sr. was famous for the first War in Iraq. It basically involved the protection of our oil interests In Near East. It has been reported that Bush sent an ambassador to Saddam Husain purposely deceiving him into believing that the U.S would not interfere if Saddam attempted to annex Kuwait. Saddam apparently fell for it, and the U.S. attacked, resulting in the “Highway of Death”, as Saddam’s forces retreated from Kuwait, and the defeat of Iraq. Bush Sr. deserves some credit for having the foresight to leave the Iraqi government intact, allowing Saddam Husain to remain in power and preserving a semblense of order in the country. The senior Bush lost much partisan popularity later when he failed to abide by his famous quote: “Read my lips, no new taxes”. The election of ’92 found Bill Clinton riding into office on only around 40% of the popular vote due to the presence of millionaire Ross Perot on the ballot, as well as the Republican candidate. It was an admirable but failed attempt to provide a third party to our democracy. Clinton was a popular personality, and politician. In spite of being a married man he was able to overcome multiple sexual indiscretions, and an attempt to impeach him by Republicans after the famous Monica Lewinsky affair. Clinton presided over a change in the welfare rules which appeared to be less kindly towards working women with children, but without husbands, and the poor. He apparently failed to achieve some of his major goals: Improving health care (Hilary tried) and education – both sorely needed. He left office in 2000 with a surplus balance in the budget. George W. Bush, in an apparent travesty to democracy, managed to gain the oval office in 2000 after losing the popular vote to Al Gore. Major factors involved in the election were the antiquated electoral college, a five to four vote by the U.S. Supreme Court along party lines (five judges appointed by Republican Presidents), and much skullduggery from the Republican Governor and Sec. of State in an extremely close vote in Florida. (Many qualified potentially Democratic voters in Florida were falsely disqualified by Kathrin Harris, the Florida Sec. of State George W. Bush acting under false information, or perhaps false pretences, used the excuse (claiming that Saddam Husain possessed “weapons of mass destruction”) to invade Iraq and, contrary to his father’s policy earlier, depose and eliminate Saddam Husain. Most seem to agree that this was a serious mistake. Many Iraqis have since died and suffered as well as some American occupiers during the long occupation. To this day the country has been in virtual turmoil with religious factions opposing each other. As well, the American economy paid a heavy price for the war. One might also say that by then the “chickens had finally came to roost” in regard to Reagan’s deregulation policies as well as the perhaps even illegal repudiation of “Glass-Steagall” laws of 1933 protective of banking excesses, which occurred during the Clinton Administration. Bankers had gone over the edge in engaging in what was called “credit swaps” (speculating in insurance deals with each other) to the tune of what is estimated to be in the area of 50 trillion dollars! Unscrupulous mortgage agreements led to a huge collapse in the housing market throughout the world. A serious economic recession ensued by the conclusion of the Bush term, almost assuring a victory for the democratic candidate in the following election. President Barack Obama was ushered in amid promises and hope in the ensuing election of 2008. Apparently, after over 40 years of enduring the steadily widening gap in wealth between the rich and the rest of the people in the country, the masses could no longer be fooled by the “trickle-down” propaganda orchestrated by the Republicans. Perhaps if we had had an educational system in our country that encouraged critical thinking and political involvement as much as it does vocational skills we might not have had the progressive stagnation that was endured under the administrations of such as the Nixons, Reagans, and Bushes. Unfortunately, so far the Obama Administration has been mainly hamstrung by a divided Congress. The Republicans in control of the “House” seem reluctant to give up hopes of disgracing Obama in order to prevail in the elections of ’16, even to the extent of shutting down the U.S. Government if they can’t have their way. The Republicans have pinned their hopes on an effort to discredit what has been considered Obama’s signature achievement in office – the Affordable Health Care Act (termed by them as “Obamacare”) The act does have flaws, but it is certainly better than the health care system we had which leaves many of the poor uninsured. Obama originally preferred a Universal Health Care program that most industrialized nations use (which he realized couldn’t pass Congress). He then tried for what was termed “The Public Option”, a plan for a government insurance program to compete with private companies (to keep them honest). Of course the “blood-sucking” insurance companies wouldn’t have anything to do with that! After all, aren’t they paying their Congressional representatives to serve their interests? Yes, poor Obama had to accede to their interests – thus we got the A.F.C.! The other industrialized nations in our world are reported to have health care for all, of basically equal quality for half the cost per person. As Nelson Mandela was akin to say, “In this age, earning a living should be a right, not a privilege”, He would have said the same for healthcare I’m sure. Healthcare should not be for profit! Pres. Obama seems to be a good fellow. No doubt he means well. He makes a great effort. He speaks brilliantly, but usually to an ill-informed, obtuse, politically uneducated crowd – the American public! He believes that he is required to play the traditional game to get something accomplished. Apparently the opposition (Republicans) seems more interested in power rather than accomplishments. They tend to reject his judicial nominations as well as other political or governmental nominees. In Congress they block his programs to improve our economy. He has been called a liar, a communist, a socialist, a Muslim, a foreigner (born in Kenya) and an atheist, among other things by his fellow Americans on the right. Those guys really know “how to play the game”! In truth, Obama has spoken out for a number of good causes. He finally favors the right to same sex marriages. He wants to tax the rich. He prefers negotiations over the sanctions with Iran rather than proceeding to bomb them as some Israelis would seem to like to do. He has shown caution over rapidly going to war in Syria. He has negotiated an agreement about the storage of poison gas in Syria. His major obstacle to popularity appears to be a stagnant economy lingering from the crash of “08! In essence, Obama has been a breath of fresh air when contrasted with his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Ralph Shroyer (Dec. 7, 2013) September 24, 2013

The Affordable Healthcare Act

The article on the front page of the Daily News (9/22/13) describes the current affordable Healthcare act (Republicans call it Obamacare) and its relation to the history of American Healthcare. The article compares the ACA (American Healthcare Bill) to the rollout of the Medicare creation of the 1960’s, which wasn’t an easy sell then, or is it now, with the ACA. The Republicans have tried over 40 times, since the bill was passed by both houses of congress and signed by the President three years ago, to repeal to the act. In signing the ACA, the President said that he is setting in motion reforms that generations of Americans that have fought for marched for and hungered to see. In my own observations, it seems that the Republican opposition to the ACA is based on its traditional appeal to the rich and the well to do who regrettably have little thoughts or concern for the less fortunate in our society. Those who attempt to overturn the Healthcare Act of 2010 (ACA) seem not to acknowledge the fact that about ¼ of the children in America do not presently have access to decent healthcare- the same care that the more prosperous in our land feel entitled to. Following recent news reports, the Republicans, in their greedy anxiety to abort the ACA have actually gone to the extreme extent of threatening to shut down the American government if congress refuses to defund the ACA. They plan to refuse to pass the government budget in Congress which could prohibit the United States from paying any of its debts or bills. Even John Boehner, the house Republican leader, has stated that this could be catastrophic for us all. It would seem that the wealthiest nation in the world could at least provide the same Healthcare for all (universal healthcare plans) as most of the other developed countries of our world have. And generally, these countries offer this care for half the cost to them. Unfortunately, do to our essentially undemocratic electoral system favoring the rich and the Powerful, we seem up to now unable to rectify the inequity we have with healthcare for all. Even with the ACA, which is soon to begin, the confusion and the cost continue. We still forfeit much of the cost to insurance companies, which should be abolished if we were to have universal government health insurance as do many of the other countries. Finally in conclusion, we need to revise our electoral rules before we can set our ship to full sail. We could take a great share of the financing out of elections (overturn the recent Supreme Court ruling, that money equals people). Give Third Parties a chance by allowing a second choice on the ballot for each person should their first choice lose. (Gore could have beat Bush in 2000 in Florida and subsequently the election). Abolish the bicameral system (having two legislative houses) and accept the parliamentary system. End the Electoral College where a minority may elect the President. (Again, Gore would have beaten Bush!) Then maybe we could have a chance to evolve into a more honest democracy with decent health care for all!

Ralph Shroyer (9-25-13) November 3, 2013 Ralph Shroyer

OBAMACARE

Our electoral system is rigged to allow the rich and powerful in our country to serve their own best interests. This is especially so because the voting public is generally kept ignorant of political and social realities. The less affluent in our society are often so consumed with economic insecurity that they usually haven’t had time to keep sufficiently informed to know what’s really in their own best interests! Thus they may easily be lead to believe that the Affordable Health Care (Obamacare) program is a total failure by the sound bites presented by the media, which is often presented by the corporations that own the media. Of course the failure of the A.H.C. website is presented as undeniable evidence of the futility of “Obamacare” . However to put things in perspective, let’s recall that when social security was initiated in the thirties the sailing was rough, glitches were present. Congress at one point even refused to fund parts of the program at first. Things soon worked out then, as should be expected for the A.H.C. at present. As well, the recent shutdown of the Government has been blamed by many, including Congressman Texan Ted Cruz, spokesman for the Tea Party, because of the issue of “Obamacare”. Republican leaders in Congress such as John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have publically stated their desire to oppose and destroy “Obamacare”. Obviously, Republicans, in their desperation, are using the issue of Obamacare to strengthen their chances of winning in the next election! (Research CNN, Pierce Morgan, Bill Maher 11-1-13) (PBSHD, Bill Moyers 11-3-13) Those who blame Congress for our delima must face the realization that Congress is actually held hostage by the financial stranglehold of the lobbies from the insurance companies and the American Medical Association run by wealthy medical companies. (Research, CNN, 11-1-13 Bill Maher) What the aforementioned “special interests” tend to ignore is the values of the Affordable Healthcare Act. With all its shortcomings, it is better than the failed and unduly expensive system previously in place. Of course we would be better off with a universal healthcare system as used by most other industrialized countries , or at least one with a “public option”. Hillary Clinton argued for a universal health plan in 1986, but was beaten down and disgraced by the corporate interests. Barak O’bama origionaly proposed a universal plan and then a public option until he realized the Congress wouldn’t go for either. The best that could be achieved was the A.H.C. (Research, Text Boyer’s) (CNN Bill Maher 11-1-13) Now at least we have a plan to serve the needs of many that were not able to have the kind of decent health care they and their children deserve. It is estimated that about 50 thousand Americans lacking needed health insurance had died last year. Perhaps, some day in the future, we may be able to reduce the unnecessary costs of healthcare in the United States by the elimination of the private insurance companies and dismissing the lobbyists for the entrenched AMA., thus, lifting a heavy load off the back of our faltering economy. Health care in any country should NOT BE FOR PROFIT!

Ralph Shroyer (11-3-13)

REAGAN’S LEGACY

The King is dead. Yet I find it heard to mourn. Not while the legacy lives on. That legacy being the abysmal state of political, economical and social understanding possessed by the American populous. Of course we can’t blame Ronald entirely for that anymore than we can honestly give him total credit for the collapse of the Soviet Union as Fox News apparently would have it. Americans themselves have allowed themselves become willing dupes for the philosophies espoused by Reagan and the self-serving corporate interests backing him. Reagan certainly must have loved the poor. Otherwise why should he have produced so many of them!? During his watch the rich got richer and the poor became poorer. Those living below the poverty line increased by one third. He signed a banking deregulation bill saying, “I believe we hit the jackpot boys,” which allowed his cronies to steal over $500 billion from an unsuspecting public. The national debt tripled during Reagan’s term in spite of the fact that he campaigned for election to balance the budget! When the Iran-Contra scandal occurred and federal law was shamelessly violated the buck was passed on to underlings picked by Reagan to uphold the law. Levels of health care, education, and protection for the elderly and the poor failed to advanced. Yes, the King is dead – but ignorance lives on!

BILL MAHER’S TAKE ON RONALD REAGAN

“Ronald Reagan was an anti-government, race-baiting, anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-intellectual individual. He cut tax rates on the rich in half. He had an incurable love affair with the industrial-military complex. He said that Medicare was socialism that would destroy our freedom. He inspired many individuals who hate government to go into government. He was the man most responsible for our decline.”

UNDERSTANDING DONALD TRUMP

Key to an understanding of the supposed ;mystifying; Trump phenomenon rests primarily in the understanding of the American voting public. One must first realize that the lack of wisdom and commitment of the voters in our country cannot be underestimated! Although Trump has ostensibly gained the nomination of the Republican Party for the Presidential Election in November in 2016, he has actually so far received only about 5% of the votes from all the people eligible to vote in our country, notwithstanding the fact that he has received the majority of the Republican delegates. It’s also a fact that in the past less than half the registered voters generally show up to vote in a Presidential Election, and another half of eligible voters fail to even register to vote, leaving roughly 25% left to determine who’ll be the “ leader of the free world”. Considering that about only 25% of the electorate are Republicans and that only about half of them are registered to vote, and that a little over half of them have had the chance so far to vote in the Primary at this point the math then leads to that about 5% have actually supported the “Donald”! Of course, it’s still true that there are many out there victimized by the media’s massive coverage that go yipping yapping and trumpeting for Trump. Then why, we ask, would so many turn a blind eye to “The Donald’s” glaring hypocrisies, promotion of ludicrous foreign policies, encouraging violence at rallies, narcissistic behavior, constantly uttering childish vulgarities, racial slurs, denigration of women, etc.? The answer, of course, is “Blowing in the wind” that comes out of the Donald’s mouth! Trump appears to have two distinctly and totally different opinions about almost anyone he comes in contact with, expressed of course at different times. Take Ted Cruz: “Ted Cruz is a nasty guy. No one likes Ted Cruz”. “I like Ted Cruz a lot”. Megan Kelly: “You have done a great job. I could never beat you.” “I have zero respect for Megan Kelly. She’s highly overrated”. Hillary Clinton: “A terrific woman. I think she does a great job. I like her.” “Hillary Clinton was the worst Sec. of State in history.” The State of Iowa: “I love Iowa. We’ve done really well there.” “How stupid are the people of Iowa”. All documented quotes coming from the same pie hole, but suited for the convenient occasion! With respect to the actual issues, Trump is also at no loss for doubletalk. Take Libya: On Howard Stern’s show, The Donald spoke, “We should stop Gaddafi. We’re doing nothing to bring down Gaddafi in Libya”. Later on CNN, “Libya’s a disaster. I would have stayed out of Libya.” Take Iraq: When asked if we should invade Iraq on the Howard Stern’s Show, Trump replied, “I guess so. I wish we could have done it correctly the first time.” Later during the Republican debate on FOX, “I was the only person on the platform that fought very, very hard against going into Iraq”. On the subject of guns in schools, Trump on CNN said first that guns should not be in the classroom. Seconds later he said that some teachers might need them there. (Take your pick!) What about Foreign Policy? Trump has the answers! A 2,000 mile wall fifty to a hundred ft. tall along the Mexican Border, to be paid for by Mexico! At present, ban all Muslims from entering our country. Immediately deport fifteen million Mexicans back to Mexico. Abolish our present ties with NATO. Let Japan and South Korea build their own atomic weapons to defend themselves. Trump is a draft dodger who has suggested the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the Middle East, and killing the families of terrorists. He has a “secret plan” to destroy Isis. How could we go wrong??? Apparently, a number of Trump’s esteemed Party members feel it could be wrong! Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, presently refuses to endorse Trump. Mitt Romney, former Republican Presidential candidate elect, is following suit, as well as quite a few others of the Party mainstream. The Donald’s personal behavior has certainly fallen into question. At rallies he has been witnessed encouraging followers to rough up protesters. This action appears to have simply encouraged more protesters and some violence! He refers to the Bible as his favorite book, and aside from getting some passages mixed up, forgets to notice the one that says “Tis easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to pass into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Trump seems never at lost for ways to disparage women. “Women that have abortions should be punished”. “Look at that face”, as he refers to his feminine Party opponent. He posts an unflattering picture of Ted Cruz’s wife next to his own – a former nude model. He not so subtly referred to a panelist’s [Megan Kelly] menstrual cycle following an unwelcome question. He’s been quoted as once stating that “the only company he enjoyed was a total piece of ass”. (L.A.Times 5-27-16) Now, if by some freak of nature, The Donald should actually gain his fantasy and become President, how easy could he find it to work productively with “crooked Hillary” and “lying Ted”, and quite a few others? How far could he go on this narcissistic pattern of behavior? He never ceases to brag about his poll numbers at every opportunity. He loves to disparage those of his opponents. During his speeches he seems to have a difficult time using the word “we” rather than “I”. Talk about humility! The ugly truth remains, sticking out like the perennial sore thumb. People are angry. Our economy is listing. The rich get richer every year, and the rest pay the price. We are lagging and sagging in education, in health care, in infrastructure, in employment, in homelessness etc. The people tend to blame the government. But more realistically they should be ready to share the blame. After all we elect the men that allow the corporations to run the show. This provides a fertile ground for any demagogue to make some hay. We don’t need a wall. We don’t need a tariff war over foreign goods. And we certainly don’t need a “loose cannon directing our foreign policy! Probably Bernie has the best solution about several things. We need to tax the rich to have decent healthcare, education, infrastructure, social security, etc. To achieve that we’ll need to reconstruct our electoral system! Especially elect a candidate for president that will choose a Supreme Court judge to help reverse the “Citizens United” ruling, and return to an actual democracy by limiting the cancerous effect of money on our elections!. Rather than panic over the loss of industrial jobs being shipped overseas, we need to follow Franklin Roosevelt’s plan and train and employ the displaced workers with a government program to place the workers where they are most needed, in education, health care, repairing infrastructure etc. Let’s also get rid of the bloodsucking health insurance industry that consumes a huge portion of our healthcare dollars, and put ourselves on a par on spending for care with the rest of the industrialized countries of the world in health care.

Ralph Shroyer (5-9-2016)

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

(A Broken Halleluiah) (An election synopsis) Many would attribute the greatest performance of the year 2016 to go to president elect Donald Trump. Who in the world would have believed he could pull it off after witnessing the atrocious behavior exhibited by the Donald during the electoral campaign for President of the United States! Nevertheless, my vote for best performance goes to Kate McKinnen! She played Hillary Clinton Saturday Night Live while playing the piano and singing “A broken Halleluiah”. The words included “I tried. I did my best. I didn’t try ta fool ya. It’s just a broken Halleluiah”. She set the mood beautifully for perhaps most Americans following the day after the election. Trump had lost the popular vote by about two million Americans, and his approval rate by most polls was under 30%. He won election with the votes of less than 25% of the eligible voters in the country actually voting for him! Hitler by contrast won in Germany in 1930 with 30% of the vote. So much for democracy! Must be something else at hand! The Irony of the whole situation was best set forth by the words in the song sung by Mckinnon “I didn’t try to fool ya”. It seemed apparent that she really didn’t, as Republican United States Attorney General Coney, after an intensive investigation was compelled to state that Hillary did nothing intentionally wrong or illegal. The previous Republican Presidential candidate former Gov. of Massachusetts Mit Romney portrayed Trump as a “con man, a fake, a fraud, and a phony”. In truth, Trump really did try to “fool ya”. And to a large degree he succeeded! Perhaps his legacy for the future will be that he demonstrated how easily many Americans can be conned. About the only seriously exploited rap on Hillary was her mishandling of an e-mail account while acting as Sec. of State, and possibly engaging in a cover up regarding it. She openly apologized for the matter. Weighing this as an equal counter-balance against the multitudinous indiscretions enacted by Trump during the course of the campaign would appear at best incredulous! Yet, Trump with a bit of assistance from the media managed to portray and savage Hillary’s reputation over this misstep as the most unforgiveable and disgraceful criminal action of all time. This possibly more than anything else gave many already irrationally fearful of immigration and terrorism a rationalization to vote for Trump and against Hillary Clinton. In spite of the Donald’s obvious lies, abusive remarks, flip-flops on issues and words, past hundreds of lawsuits, bankruptcies and unscrupulous business activities, the polls indicated that the public tended to believe that Hillary was less trustworthy than Trump! Yet fact-checks from the Media showed that Trumps lies during the campaign by far outnumbered those attributed to Hillary. Then why, we ask, would so many turn a blind eye to “The Donald’s” glaring hypocrisies, promotion of ludicrous foreign policies, encouraging violence at rallies, narcissistic behavior, constantly uttering childish vulgarities, racial slurs, denigration of women, etc.? The answer, of course, is “Blowing in the wind” that comes out of the Donald’s mouth! Trump appears to have two distinctly and totally different opinions about almost anyone he comes in contact with, expressed of course at different times. Take Ted Cruz: “Ted Cruz is a nasty guy. No one likes Ted Cruz”. “I like Ted Cruz a lot”. Megan Kelly: “You have done a great job. I could never beat you.” “I have zero respect for Megan Kelly. She’s highly overrated”. Hillary Clinton: “A terrific woman. I think she does a great job. I like her.” “Hillary Clinton was the worst Sec. of State in history.” The State of Iowa: “I love Iowa. We’ve done really well there.” “How stupid are the people of Iowa”. All documented quotes coming from the same pie hole, but suited for the convenient occasion! With respect to the actual issues, Trump is also at no loss for doubletalk. Take Libya: On Howard Stern’s show, The Donald spoke, “We should stop Gaddafi. We’re doing nothing to bring down Gaddafi in Libya”. Later on CNN, “Libya’s a disaster. I would have stayed out of Libya.” Take Iraq: When asked if we should invade Iraq on the Howard Stern’s Show, Trump replied, “I guess so. I wish we could have done it correctly the first time.” Later during the Republican debate on FOX, “I was the only person on the platform that fought very, very hard against going into Iraq”. On the subject of guns in schools, Trump on CNN said first that guns should not be in the classroom. Seconds later he said that some teachers might need them there. (Take your pick!) What about Foreign Policy? Trump has the answers! A 2,000 mile wall fifty to a hundred ft. tall along the Mexican Border, to be paid for by Mexico! At present, ban all Muslims from entering our country. Immediately deport fifteen million Mexicans back to Mexico. Abolish our present ties with NATO. Let Japan and South Korea build their own atomic weapons to defend themselves. Trump is a draft dodger who has suggested the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the Middle East, and killing the families of terrorists. He has a “secret plan” to destroy Isis. However, once elected, our “Magical Medicine Man” can be counted on to maintain his stream of hypocrisy. So much for the “cleaning of the swamp policy”so appealing to the anti-elite group and his “friends” the uneducated. (“I love the uneducated”) Now let’s check out his proposed Cabinet appointees. (quote from Market Watch) “Hey, Trumpkins — have you worked it out yet? Is the truth dawning on you, or are you still in the dark? See if you can put it all together from the resumes of those in President-elect Donald Trump’s closest political circle so far: Treasury secretary nominee Steven Munckin: Goldman Sachs Chief strategist Steve Bannon: Goldman Sachs Transition adviser Anthony Scaramucci: Goldman Sachs Commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross: Rothschild & Co. Possible budget director Gary Cohn: Goldman Sachs Potential secretary of state Mitt Romney: Bain Capital Trump is just getting started. Check out that “swamp draining.” The whole thing is just draining before our eyes! Take that, Wall Street! Take that, “international financial cabal!” Trumpkins, you’ve been scammed. There’s a sucker in this game — and it’s you.” Remember how Trump used to warn us about Hillary for making a few speeches at Goldman Sax! By golly, by gosh, she had to be in league with Wall Street! And the beat goes on. Build that wall? “Well maybe a fence”. The immediate deportation of those 15 million job grabbing illegal immigrants? ‘Well, not right away.” The immediate ban on all Muslims entering our country? Well, let’s have some qualifications. At least stronger vetting! Locking up Hillary! Hell no. “I like Hillary”. On losing the popular vote by 2 million voters? “Those ballots were all fraudulent”. On business conflicts of interests? “I’m leaving everything to my immediate family”! Obama Care: “Some parts sound all right. Allow for previous conditions. Keep the plan for kids in families up to 26 years.” And on and on and on!! Of course, the cutest jolt to the “hopefuls in the basket” involves the trickle-down tax plan! Lower the taxes on the rich and the businesses to provide future benefits for the poor. This has never worked in the past for anybody but the well to do. Perhaps politics major con!

Ralph Shroyer (12-2-16)

THE THIRD REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE (2015) PHONEY (BUT DANGEROUS) BALONEY!

The overall tone of the nonsense espoused during the debate of course, demonstrates an appeal by the participants to what they would believe to be their core constituents, rather than anything being close to a studied and serious assessment of the complex problems we face. An alien viewing the whole affair from outer space would simply recognize the farcical game designed only to reinforce the misunderstandings and prejudices already hopelessly ingrained in the minds of a large portion of the American electorate! What is truly required is an evenhanded reasoned dialogue about the issues rather than an emotional and threatening dialogue aimed at the electorate. Preaching fear appeared to be the order of the day. Coming in a close second would be the incessant denigration passed on to each other as well as to the present administration by the debaters. How to respond to the terror attacks apparently consumed the minds of the candidates. Poverty, poor education, declining infrastructure, neglected health care, out-dated electoral system, etc. all contributing to millions of deaths in our country, rather that the few hundreds killed by actual terrorists here, should have been the main concern! Of course most of the proposed solutions offered to deal with the terrorist’s scErge would obviously increase the popularity of the Isis forces. Donald Trump said he wanted to take the oil three years ago. He wants to ban all Muslims from entering our country. He says we should kill the members of the terrorist’s families to teach them a lesson. He brags about his wall plan because he feels that it works so well in Israel. Senator Cruz wants to carpet bomb isis occupied territories. It worked so well in Germany and Japan during W.W. 2! The Gov. of New Jersey wants to shoot down Russian planes if they don’t respect “our air space” over Iraq. The Iraqi Government has invited the Russians there. Hooray for Isis! Hooray for WW3! Yes Sir. Thanks to the Repubs it’s Christmas early for Isis recruiters. Only question left now is will there be enough virgins left in Paradise for the Jihadist killers?

RALPH SHROYER (12-18-15)

SAVE the Sinking Economy = Change the Economy!

It’s a matter of philosophy, basically. We, the American Public have taken the “Kool Aid”, and accepted the bribes for at least the past forty years. As a wise man (John Kenneth Galbraith) once told us, it generally takes a catastrophe to shake the conventional wisdom! Now that we have received a sample dose of reality, it’s time for Jesus! No matter that Jesus ever existed or not. Nor does it matter whether that entity looking down on us from the sky, as many modern religions would have us believe, is actually there. The words espoused in Jesus’ philosophy do exist – and it’s time we paid attention!

As we might now notice, greed and war have set the table for our present dilemma. Wasn’t our Lord supposed to be opposed to that stuff? And, after all, if there is someone up there in the sky, wouldn’t he have noticed that Capitalism, not Christianity, has been our religion in practice. I think maybe Jesus would recommend a hardy dose of socialism right now! That is not to say that all free enterprise must be excluded.

As far as banking goes, it must be in with the new and out with the old. We can no longer put up with the foxes guarding the henhouses insanity. A national bank must be created to ensure that loans will be distributed equitably and fairly, unfettered by the profit motive. Let the private banks fend for themselves. Insurance, healthcare, social security and education should be run by the government (call it socialism if you wish). A job core, as worked out by Roosevelt in the thirties, must be created by the government to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure (roads, transportation, housing, creation and development of alternative environmental sources of energy, etc.) to provide employment for all who wish it! Put an end to the present bailout programs which maintain and serve the interests of the dishonest, greedy individuals that led us to our present dilemma! RALPH SHROYER (2-8-09)

INTEGRITY – ISSUE FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

Recently I witnessed a performance on the popular TV show “America’s Got Talent” in which a group of contestants from Texas sang “I’m Proud to Be an American”. Two of the panel of commenting judges expressed hearty approval of the group’s undisputed talent. The third judge (an Englishman) remarked that the talent was apparent, but that he thought that the performance was “cheesy”. (Apparently an obvious attempt to influence the votes through patriotism than simply talent).

But what’s this nonsense got to do with health care? Well, if you haven’t suspected by now from the example above the word is INTEGRITY! That means placing a sense of fairness to others, above, or at least, on a par with one’s own perceived self-interest. (This includes such things as honesty, reliability, and the absence of hypocrisy.)

Presently, Pres. O’bama’s desire and efforts to help provide decent and affordable health care for all represents a good degree of that integrity. So why is he now being pressured so violently by so many to compromise that integrity and accede to a plan that leaves American health care basically unchanged, and left in the malaise in which it’s been drifting for the past many years?

Of course, at this point in time it might be noted, almost all of America’s major institutions seem to be broken, or braking down – not just health care, but banking, education, prisons, homeowners, religions, even government. They all seem interrelated. And it seems fair to assume that the roots of these failures have something to do with that word – Integrity! Yes, that overwhelming desire to ask, “What’s in it for me?” may cause us to become shortsighted enough to overlook the bigger picture.

In regard to health care, most Americans presently have a health plan, and seem to fear that any change would require that they would have to pay for others who don’t presently have insurance. Fifty million, most probably children don’t, and most likely can’t pay.

However, most Americans (callousness notwithstanding) are tragically unaware of the real facts. We are rated 37th among nations for best health care by the World Health Organization. We are well down the list among industrialized countries in birth survivals. Even people in Cuba have longer life spans than those in the United States! We are paying twice as much per capita for health care than many countries in Europe which provide better care.

The answer to this apparent irony and the responsibility for our broken health system, of course, must be shared by all – the insurance companies, the lawyers, the hospitals. the doctors, and last but not least, the citizenry itself which is content and apathetic enough to allow the self-interest lobbyists to control our legislature, and the corporate sponsored media to control our minds. Almost all industrialized countries around the world have some kind of single payer or universal health plan. They basically eliminate the middle man (insurance companies) that in the U.S. sucks up a great share of our health expenses. The governments of other countries with their justice systems deal with malpractice, not lawyers with their malpractice suits which scare doctors and hospitals into ordering costly and unnecessary tests and operations just to cover their legal concerns.

In a word, medicine should not be for profit. Most industrialized societies have adopted some form of socialized medicine. I know of none that has abandoned it once adopted.

Ralph Shroyer (8-11-09)

 WHAT THREATENS US MOST- DONALD TRUMP, OR THE AMERICAN VOTERS?

 (AND WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT)

 It appears here that we have the classic case of stupidity and narcissism versus apathy and gullibility. Obviously, both dilemmas require serious attention if America is to maintain our sanity or survival. But is there a priority here? Is it like which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Perhaps not! Trump did not create the apathy and the uniformed public. The apathy did create Trump. Thus, it would appear that our first priority requires addressing the apathy if we are to maintain our democracy as well as our wellbeing.

 John Kenneth Galbraith, a former protege and appointee of Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, observed back in the 1940’s that when our citizenry seems faced with persistent and mounting problems, we tend to wait until catastrophe actually strikes before any serious action is taken to confront the dilemma. Today we are threatened with an avalanche of dangerously accumulating problems. To cite a few: Threat of nuclear war, declining and under financed educational system, over costly and under covered health care, crumbling infrastructure, unequal and antiquated electoral system, ever expanding wealth gap between the rich and the rest, rampant prejudices involving race, sex, religion, politics, addictions to drugs, junk foods, religion and recreational escapisms, etc.. Big question! Will the election of Donald Trump provide enough “catastrophe” to stir us to seriously confront this avalanche of societal deficiencies before it becomes too late?

 Should America finally gather the awareness, the gumption, and the wisdom to address the inequities listed above, perhaps the vital starting point involves dealing with our electoral system, which actually involves the key to improving many of the societal shortcomings mentioned above. The system we have today is largely based on legal bribery. 90% of the members elected to congress have been the ones that spent the most money. It generally requires at least one million dollars to get elected to congress. To gain such funds needed for electoral races lawmakers must, of course, cater to the special interests, promising to divert tax revenue to projects favored by the rich, leaving precious little left for education, health care, infrastructure etc.. In the past candidates that acquired the sufficient number of petition signatures to appear on the ballot were allowed equal time to an opponent for any media appearances. That has been shamefully abandoned. Several years back the U.S. Supreme Court enacted the “United Citizens” act enabling money to be counted as free speech, consequently allowing the rich to contribute unlimited amounts of cash to a candidate without even disclosure. Shameful again! Must be overturned!

 Of course, to reverse this slide involves the revamping of our electoral system which has been the captive of the rich and corporate interests which translates into greed. To accomplish this transportation we should give serious consideration to the points listed below. :

 1 Enact restrictions on financial contributions

 2 Provide effective public financing for qualified candidates

 3 Provide equal time in the media for qualified candidates

 4 Allow for 2nd choice voting on the ballots

 5 Abolish the antiquated bicameral system (have one legislative body rather than two)

 6 Abolish the antiquated electoral college

 7 Modernize the Constitution

AN INTELIGENT VIEW TOWARDS THE CHANALING OF OUR ENERGIES

In accordance with our basic values, we tend to direct our energies and efforts in various ways which might be placed in several general categories, which would include religions, entertainments, health care, material comforts, and human relations. Were our efforts properly proportioned in pursuit of these values, all might be well. Unfortionaltly for our general wellbeing it appears that our emphasis on values is seriously imbalanced. Religion is important, but normally lacking in logic and often lending to catastrophic events. The desire for an afterlife, against all evidence to the contrary, generally forms the basis for our beliefs in religions. Could be “wishful thinking.” Perhaps the most glaring failure in our ad heritance to values involves the gap between materialism and human relations. Of course, proper education, health care, and even improving infrastructure are essential. However, in an age when intensive destructive technological power now rests in the hands of humans, our number one concern and energies must be directed towards understanding and improving human relations! If we plan to survive the future we need to discard our ad heritance on the ways of the past and sadly even the present.

 For starters, let’s say good bye to “America first”, and that love fest we have with materialism! Let’s try to remember that old refrain: “How many times must a man turn his head, and pretend that he just cannot see. The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.” It’s time we pledge our allegiance to humanity, and let the rest of the world know about it. After all, if we Americans are looking to be a world leader, let’s direct it in the right direction. Most Americans proclaim to be Christians. Isn’t that what Christ would have us do? Isn’t it time to drop the hypocrisy? It might save some lives, possibly all of us.

 Of course, to manage to change our ways we traverse a bumpy road. Presently, our God has really little to do with Jesus, Jehovah, Mohammad or even Moses. America’s God is Green! Call it money, or materialism, or property, that’s what most of us worship. We apparently keep our heads firmly enough under the sand that we fail to be much alarmed or concerned about the undisputed fact that the gap between the wealthy and the rest of Americans has been increasing ever single year for at least the last sixty years. We also seem unaware that our educational system has apparently failed us in this respect. The emphasis there has obviously been more devoted to jobs and making money than to the humanities, civics, logic, and the necessary human values.

 THE CASE FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL

Is it not unreasonable to ask, how much longer will human life, or for that matter, any life to continue to exist on Earth? Of course we occasionally hear scientists speak of the six or seven natural catastrophes the Earth has endured in the distant past, feeling comfortable that one of those is quite unlikely to occur in the near future. The Sun suddenly imploding, or the collision of a spatial body with Earth is basically science fiction. Even most tend to view present day warnings about the threat of global warming, as becoming a serious concern years from now. Let our grandchildren deal with that! As a whole, life can easily withstand and survive the perennial earthquakes, tornados, and floods. So what’s the “big worry”? Yes! It’s us! And we should be worried, very worried. Modern technology has afforded us the greatest opportunity to do the job ourselves. And we certainly appear to be on course to meet our end!

Guns, religions, apathy, hypocrisy, ignorance, greed, demagoguery, boundaries, atomic weaponry (proliferation), are increasingly ganging up on us to no good end. And, since we realize that no one person alone can actually do much to block such threats, many of us decide to sit back and bask in apathy! But, as a friend once remarked to me, “If I’m going to die, I want to go sitting on top of the bomb trying to hold it down? Perhaps John Lennon deserves the all-time humanitarian prize for his words: “Imagine no religions, no countries, just the brotherhood of man”. When Jesus is quoted as saying, “love thy neighbor”, he was definitely not referring to just the ones we like. And also: “Tis easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven”. And, “Turn the other cheek”, etc. What could the self-proclaimed popular demagogic politician, Donald Trump be reading when he holds up the Bible in his hand and proclaims, “This is my favorite book”.

It’s well past time to take a hard look at organized religions. Most religions were derived by well meaning groups throughout history to foster peace, love, charity, as well as freedom from fear of death. Yet, as we must readily observe, religion has as often as not been used as an excuse and a tool for waging war. Wars – generally based on greed, retribution, religious bigotry, ignorance etc. The continued tolerance of bigotry and war in the atomic age, of course, places us right on the edge of human annihilation. In spite of the humanitarian philosophies expressed in the Bible and the Koran, both books are equally rife with verses that give terrorists and the purveyors of hate excuses for their heinous and misguided behaviors. The Koran: “a fiery death for gay people in a shower of brimstone.” The Bible: “If a man has sex with another man, kill them both. (Leviticus) The Koran: “Cast terror into the hearts of non-believers. Therefore strike off their heads.” The Bible: Believers are instructed to stone nonbelievers until they die.” (Deuteronomy) Shouldn’t some editing and revising be in order here? Or better yet, just dismiss and relegate these books to the medieval past from which they came.

Yet, unfortunately, organized religion may actually threaten our existence in an even yet more insidious manner. Humans must be able to think logically and intelligently in the struggle for survival in this day and age. Yet many of the major tenants of today’s organized religions fly in the face of logic. Did Jesus walk on water? Are there virgins waiting in the sky when you die? Are cattle really sacred creatures? Let’s get real! The fight against ignorance is not a joke. There seems to be a dangerous correlation between organized religion and ignorance! We defiantly need to work on acquiring more realistic, individualized, personal and spiritual religious concepts. Perhaps when we do, so many individuals will not fall for the dangerous demagogues that wave sacred books in the air, advocating bigotry and ignorance.

Yes, organized religions, bigotry, ignorance, demagoguery etc. are all important factors to be dealt with in the increasing struggle for human survival. But perhaps, last but not least, we need to address the mother of all these threats to our continued survival – GREED! Throughout history the various societies of the world have often managed to enrich themselves at the expense of others. Embellished, of course, by the use of the typical reasons and excuses: “wrong religion”, “racial bigotry”, “turning the blind eye”, “revenge or retribution”, etc. Or how about: “America First”? Where have we heard that one?

We have all heard the old adage, “We’re all born greedy. “It’s our nature”! Bullshit! We were born to learn. That’s our nature. Today’s human civilization has progressed largely due to human cooperation than from competition and war – at least up until now. Greed still lurks in the shadows, presenting an ever threatening danger to our survival in the atomic age. Mankind’s capacity to learn and cooperate will be severely challenged in this day and age. The truth is that two basic economic theories have had a powerful influence on our inclination to foster either competition or cooperation. The theories are labeled Capitalism and Socialism. Can you guess which one would lend itself more to cooperation rather than conflict? Isn’t it better to place our emphasis on the system that gives us the best chance to survive?

Ralph Shroyer (6-27-16)

TAX AND ECONOMIC POLICY

 We should adopt a more socialistic economic policy to resolve our problems. Changes should be established in our electoral system to allow people more power to achieve economic parity. We should correct the absurd decision of our Supreme Court that corporations are people, thus enabling the financial interests to capture and dominate our elections with their enormous money power. Governmental funds should be provided to all electoral candidates that have secured significant petition signatures to qualify for ballot status. Private funds to candidates should be limited. All qualified candidates should be afforded equal media time. Voters should be allowed a second choice when voting so that their first choice would not be futile, enabling third parties to gain recognition in the electoral process.

 We should emphasize a tax system based on accumulated wealth rather than simply income. As we should recall during Franklin Roosevelt’s time in the early forties the income tax on the very rich was as high as 90%. During that time we recovered from the most serious economic depression in our history! Roosevelt’s administration provided government job programs to get citizens back to function in our economy. We should provide vastly increased government financing in the area of education, health care, transportation, infrastructure, and housing.

 Provide government insurance plans for people rather than make them rely on private insurance companies. Particularly the waste implicit in our health care system essentially due to insurance costs enables many other countries to provide equally efficient care for half of what we pay for it.

 It’s a matter of philosophy, basically. We, the American Public have taken the “Kool-Aid”, and accepted the bribes for at least the past forty years. As a wise man (John Kenneth Galbraith) once told us, it generally takes a catastrophe to shake the conventional wisdom! Now that we have received a sample dose of reality, it’s time for Jesus! No matter that Jesus ever existed or not. Nor does it matter whether that entity looking down on us from the sky, as many modern religions would have us believe, is actually there. The words espoused in Jesus’ philosophy do exist – and it’s time we paid attention!

As we might now notice, greed and war have set the table for our present dilemma. Wasn’t our Lord supposed to be opposed to that stuff? And, after all, if there is someone up there in the sky, wouldn’t he have noticed that Capitalism, not Christianity, has been our religion in practice. I think maybe Jesus would recommend a hardy dose of socialism right now! That is not to say that all free enterprise must be excluded.

As far as banking goes, it must be in with the new and out with the old. We can no longer put up with the foxes guarding the henhouses insanity. A national bank must be created to ensure that loans will be distributed equitably and fairly, unfettered by the profit motive. Let the private banks fend for themselves. Insurance, healthcare, social security and education should be run by the government (call it socialism if you wish). A job core, as worked out by Roosevelt in the thirties, must be created by the government to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure (roads, transportation, housing, creation and development of alternative environmental sources of energy, etc.) to provide employment for all who wish it!

Put an end to the present bailout programs which maintain and serve the interests of the dishonest, greedy, selfish individuals that led us to our present dilemma!

 Where has the money gone? What happened to the jobs? Why can’t it be like it was? The Republicans will advise: “Just follow our time worn policy (Trickle down). Get rid of big government. Cut taxes on the rich. Let them invest in business to provide an abundance of jobs and opportunities for all.” Sounds simple! Yes – If you’ve taken the Kool-Aid!

It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist, or even a fifth grader to spot the problem here. That is – unless you’re really in favor of pyramid schemes. We should be aware that for at least the last thirty years the balance of wealth has been shifting to the rich over the rest of us every single year. With 1% of our population possessing about 50% of the wealth a serious depreciation in consumer purchasing power has arisen. Of course investors are afraid to place their money in businesses when they could fail for lack of customers. Placing more money in the hands of the wealthy with tax breaks hardly appears to solve the problem! Cutting taxes for what’s left of the middle class might offer some relief for purchasing power, but would on the other hand seriously reduce the revenue the government requires to deal with essential expenses and services for the public.

Thus if the rich cannot or will not do it, what must be done to provide jobs, and to put money in the hands of consumers to warrant those jobs? Obviously what’s left is that “terrible ogre” the government! Job programs for needed infrastructure, education, health care etc. must be instigated by government – financing either by taxes on the wealthy or from simply printing money. Sure, inflation! Another ugly, but possibly necessary action to deal with another even more insidious cancer – the ever widening parity gap involving the wealthy and the rest of us.

 It appears that few rational observers today disagree with the view that our economy is spinning out of control and headed for a crash. Our federal budget is dangerously unbalanced. Distribution of wealth among citizens is seriously unbalanced. (The top 1% own 40% of it) Our trade balance with other countries has been negative for the past 40 years. (We owe countries like China and Japan about a trillion dollars.) Largely due to political (selfish interests) and what is referred to as philosophical disagreements, the Congress appears unable to effectively address the dilemma.

The cure to this seems fairly clear. First and foremost spending must be cut. It needs to be in the area of what we prefer to call “defense”. We have been spending more money on that than the total money spent on armaments by the next seventeen richest countries together in the world. It could well be that our effort to control the world with military power actually evokes a counter-productive result. (It’s been over fifty years since President Eisenhower warned us to “Beware the military industrial complex”.)

Now aside from exhibiting gross insensitivity, those (essentially Republicans) advocating cuts in Entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security would only serve to further damage the economy as well as delivering a serious setback to the mental and physical health of our nation.

Serious cuts in education have already transpired, leading an already slumping institution into further depths. It’s pathetically ironic that the one area required most to produce the knowledge necessary to successfully confront our economic woes is the first to be cut. Doubtless educational reforms are necessary to fashion it to fit the 21^st century. More emphasis on the individualized approach to teaching students may require additional finance. Overcrowding the classrooms is not the answer! Although a new modernizing effort using cybernetics to provide individualized programs to educate students (recently espoused by Fareed Zakaria of CNN Broadcasting) holds promise. However that could be a problem for jobs (teachers), and consequently possibly impact the economy. However, most importantly, a far greater emphasis must be placed on teaching civics in our educational system if we expect democracy to work. We should not be blaming the politicians if the requirement for being elected is to appeal to ignorance and bias.

Finally, any really serious and effective effort to address the budget problem involves increasing revenue. Just cutting spending or government spending, as Republicans espouse, would simply reduce jobs and do greater damage to our economy in the end. Of course, there are two main ways to produce revenue for our government to deal with the budget problem. One way is to tax, the other is simply to print money. The latter, of course, would increase inflation which in turn could seriously impact our economy. Since the 1% of our population has 40% of the wealth, taxes would appear to be the best option. The arrow undoubtedly points to the 1% clinging to the 40%! The argument used by most Republicans that the rich are the “job creators” and that higher taxes on them would be counterproductive to the economy conflicts with past and present history. Since the recent bail outs and the ever increasing wealth in the hands of the rich has at present has left our economy, as well as the rest of the world in serious trouble, the redistribution of wealth is imperative.

We must also be aware, that contrary to what we hear from our Republican “friends”, increased government control and supervision over our financial institutions is imperative. The great “Crash of 08” was initiated when we allowed these institutions to pile up 50 trillion dollars in credit swap debts while gambling to pursue profits. Of course, many of the individuals within the institutions did profit greatly when they received commissions and bonuses for each sour deal that transpired! (As the real estate market plummeted throughout the country and the world) Should we wonder that the gap between the rich and the poor is ever widening?

In conclusion, it seems that cutting the spending on the military-industrial complex, adequately financing and reforming our antiquated educational system, extending government supervision and controls over our banks, and altering our tax system in order that the wealthy would provide the financial means for the government to repair the budget, and build and finance programs which would provide jobs to take care of our society’s real needs is the order of the day.

 Submitted by Ralph Shroyer  July 17, 2013

Domestic and International Politics of America: 1950 – Present       (History of actions and policies of U.S. presidents 1950 – now)

Both Pres. Truman and Eisenhower felt that we must stand firm against what most Americans believed was a serious threat from the expansion of Communism. This, of course led to our entry into the Korean War. The Chinese Communist regime with aid from Soviet Russia supported the Korean side against the U.S. and some Allied forces. Both sides suffered serious losses. Finally an agreement was reached to divide Korea into two sides – the South and the North in July of ’53.  The “Cold War” became entrenched under the administration of Eisenhower and carried on until the breakup of the Soviet regime in the “nineties”.  This occurred in spite of Eisenhower’s famous warning at his departure in 1960 that we must “beware of the military – industrial complex”.

Carrying on with the containment policy, the Bay of Pigs debacle occurred under Pres. Kennedy.  Then we had the Cuban Missile Crisis when Soviet ships with missiles headed for Cuba were turned around after a chilling but last minute agreement between Soviet Premier Nikita khrushchev and Pres. Kennedy.  Pres. Johnson felt compelled to continue the Cold War and containment policy by inventing the Gulf of Tonkin excuse and expanding our troop commitment in Vietnam.  The Tonkin attack appeared later to be a falsified account.  The pursuit of the War eventually led to a serious decline in Johnson’s popularity.  Next, Pres. Nixon’s Incursion across the border into the once friendly Cambodia to stop Viet Cong troops, led to the ousting of Prince Sihanouk and the rise of the Pol Pot regime. This created the greatest genocide disaster in the world since the Nazis in W.W. II.  The Viet Cong under Ho Chi Min managed to defeat the U.S. and the puppet South Vietnamese Regime ending the War in 1973. It is estimated that the U.S. lost 50,000 men and the Vietnamese about 3 million.  In the final analysis the war ended in a disgrace for America and the Presidents Kennedy through Nixon.

In the 60’s and 70’s the cultural climate underwent considerable changes.  The civil rights movement, the sexual revolution, and the women’s liberation movement took off at the conclusion of the 50’s. The civil rights movement began in the South with Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. This led to a bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama.  It was followed by the incarceration of Martin Luther King.  Incidents of atrocities in the South, the bombing of the 16^th St .Baptist church in Alabama killing black children, the three freedom fighters that died at the hands of white racists, the killing of Emit Till, etc. helped create a greater sympathy for the “rights cause” enabling to allow Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to go forward with policies and laws to establish greater freedoms.  John Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy helped usher freedom for blacks to integrate in schools.  Troops were sent to Alabama to stop Gov. George Wallace from standing in the school doorway to prevent black students from entering previously white only schools.  The Supreme Court Ruling, Brown vs The Board of Education was followed up with bussing plans and expanded integration throughout the country.  Following Kennedy, Pres. Johnson pushed through the civil rights voting rights act in 1965.  In regard to woman’s liberation, rights were passed in state and national legislatures favoring freedoms in employment, child care, abortion rights etc. The Supreme Court in the Roe vs. Wade ruling favoring abortions in 1973 set a landmark to which this day conservative Republicans still decry. Rather than the sexual repressive attitudes of the thirties and forties, the sixties and early seventies entered into an era of sexual freedoms. Men like Hugh Hefner, and Larry Flint helped lead the parade toward “sexual excesses”.  

The administrations of Johnson and Nixon were generally in trouble with the youths of the country largely due to their promotion of the War in Vietnam and the draft during the 60’s and 70’s. Pres. Nixon was driven from office during the Watergate Scandal.  Tapes of Nixon in the Oval office provided evidence of his complicity in illegal operations concerning the break-in at the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate Hotel.  Nixon was a “bad man”, although he did accomplish some good things. He presided over the signing of the SALT treaty to diminish nuclear weapons.  He opened relations with China in the early seventies. However, in the seventies the Nixon Administration made strong efforts to counter and prosecute young groups such as the Black Panthers and Tom Haden’s Students for a Democratic Society, as well as the Weatherman Underground group.  Another serious perhaps criminal act was his complicity along with Henry Kissinger and the C.I.A. in the Killing of Salvador Allende, the democratically elected president of Chile.  This coup backed by the U.S. allowed the army to install a merciless dictator, Pinochet, to pursue a reign of terror and a genocidal act towards his enemies in Chile.  The motive was primarily because Allende was an admitted socialist.

The shortened Nixon term in office was succeeded by former V.P. Gerald Ford.  Perhaps his only remembrance was his act of issuing a pardon the Richard Nixon!

By the advent of the eighties, the administration of Jimmy Carter (a good man) was undercut by an economic period of run-away inflation, plus the hostage crisis in Iran, which was exploited by Ronald Reagan, enabling him to gain the presidency. Reagan was an ardent advocate of supply-side economics (often referred to as “trickle-down”). The policy of reducing taxes on the rich was supposed to lead to prosperity, but generally seemed to have the opposite effect in the past. Reagan was later discredited when the Iran Contra Affair was revealed.  His administration was discovered to have been selling arms to Iran to funnel money secretly to the Contras in Nicaragua in violation of Government Law.  Reagan has been, or has taken credit for, the fall of the Soviet Union, by his merciless promotion of the Cold War. He described the Soviet Union as “The Evil Empire”. He was known for his advocacy of the Star Wars Program. It was a foolish plan to provide for an unworkable missile defense system which turned out to be an economic disaster.  He backed oppressive dictatorial and murderous regimes in Central America which lead to considerable atrocities for the people in those countries (particularly El Salvador) in the name of opposing Socialism or Communism. One final economically disparaging act orchestrated by Ronald Reagan caught him on television surrounded by a group of crony bankers signing a bank deregulation bill.  This act eventually led to the severe Saving & Loan Crisis of ’88 in which rouge bankers ripped off the public to the tune of about half a trillion dollars using the FDIC to cover fraudulent loans given to “friends”! Taxpayers are still paying for the public debt today. The sun of George Bush Sr. (Neil Bush) was actually involved in this scandal along with the Silverado Bank in Colorado.

George Sr. was famous for the first War in Iraq.  It basically involved the protection of our oil interests In Near East. It has been reported that Bush sent an ambassador to Saddam Husain purposely deceiving him into believing that the U.S would not interfere if Saddam attempted to annex Kuwait. Saddam apparently fell for it, and the U.S. attacked, resulting in the “Highway of Death”, as Saddam’s forces retreated from Kuwait, and the defeat of Iraq.  Bush Sr. deserves some credit for having the foresight to leave the Iraqi government intact, allowing Saddam Husain to remain in power and preserving a semblance of order in the country. The senior Bush lost much partisan popularity later when he failed to abide by his famous quote: “Read my lips, no new taxes”.

The election of ’92 found Bill Clinton riding into office on only around 40% of the popular vote due to the presence of millionaire Ross Perot on the ballot, as well as the Republican candidate.  It was an admirable but failed attempt to provide a third party to our democracy.  Clinton was a popular personality, and politician.  In spite of being a married man he was able to overcome multiple sexual indiscretions, and an attempt to impeach him by Republicans after the famous Monica Lewinsky affair.  Clinton presided over a change in the welfare rules which appeared to be less kindly towards working women with children, but without husbands, and the poor. He apparently failed to achieve some of his major goals: Improving health care (Hilary tried) and education – both sorely needed. He left office in 2000 with a surplus balance in the budget.

George W. Bush, in an apparent travesty to democracy, managed to gain the oval office in 2000 after losing the popular vote to Al Gore. Major factors involved in the election were the antiquated electoral college, a five to four vote by the U.S. Supreme Court along party lines (five judges appointed by Republican Presidents), and much skullduggery from the Republican Governor and Sec. of State in an extremely close vote in Florida. (Many qualified potentially Democratic voters in Florida were falsely disqualified by Kathrin Harris, the Florida Sec. of State George W. Bush acting under false information, or perhaps false pretences, used the excuse (claiming that Saddam Husain possessed “weapons of mass destruction”) to invade Iraq and, contrary to his father’s policy earlier, depose and eliminate Saddam Husain. Most seem to agree that this was a serious mistake. Many Iraqis have since died and suffered as well as some American occupiers during the long occupation.  To this day the country has been in virtual turmoil with religious factions opposing each other.  As well, the American economy paid a heavy price for the war. One might also say that by then the “chickens had finally came to roost” in regard to Reagan’s deregulation policies as well as the perhaps even illegal repudiation of “Glass-Steagall” laws of 1933 protective of banking excesses, which occurred during the Clinton Administration.    Bankers had gone over the edge in engaging in what was called “credit swaps” (speculating in insurance deals with each other) to the tune of what is estimated to be in the area of 50 trillion dollars! Unscrupulous mortgage agreements led to a huge collapse in the housing market throughout the world. A serious economic recession ensued by the conclusion of the Bush term, almost assuring a victory for the democratic candidate in the following election.

President Barack Obama was ushered in amid promises and hope in the ensuing election of 2008. Apparently, after over 40 years of enduring the steadily widening gap in wealth between the rich and the rest of the people in the country, the masses could no longer be fooled by the “trickle-down” propaganda orchestrated by the Republicans.  Perhaps if we had had an educational system in our country that encouraged critical thinking and political involvement as much as it does vocational skills we might not have had the progressive stagnation that was endured under the administrations of such as the Nixon’s, Reagan’s, and Bush’s.

Unfortunately, so far the Obama Administration has been mainly hamstrung by a divided Congress.  The Republicans in control of the “House” seem reluctant to give up hopes of disgracing Obama in order to prevail in the elections of ’16, even to the extent of shutting down the U.S. Government if they can’t have their way.  The Republicans have pinned their hopes on an effort to discredit what has been considered Obama’s signature achievement in office – the Affordable Health Care Act (termed by them as “Obamacare”)  The act does have flaws, but it is certainly better than the health care system we had which leaves many of the poor uninsured.  Obama originally preferred a Universal Health Care program that most industrialized nations use (which he realized couldn’t pass Congress). He then tried for what was termed “The Public Option”, a plan for a government insurance program to compete with private companies (to keep them honest). Of course the “blood-sucking” insurance companies wouldn’t have anything to do with that! After all, aren’t they paying their Congressional representatives to serve their interests? Yes, poor Obama had to accede to their interests – thus we got the A.F.C.! The other industrialized nations in our world are reported to have health care for all, of basically equal quality for half the cost per person. As Nelson Mandela was akin to say, “In this age, earning a living should be a right, not a privilege”, He would have said the same for healthcare I’m sure. Healthcare should not be for profit!

Pres. Obama seems to be a good fellow.  No doubt he means well.  He makes a great effort. He speaks brilliantly, but usually to an ill-informed, obtuse, politically uneducated crowd – the American public!  He believes that he is required to play the traditional game to get something accomplished.  Apparently the opposition (Republicans) seems more interested in power rather than accomplishments.  They tend to reject his judicial nominations as well as other political or governmental nominees. In Congress they block his programs to improve our economy. He has been called a liar, a communist, a socialist, a Muslim, a foreigner (born in Kenya) and an atheist, among other things by his fellow Americans on the right. Those guys really know “how to play the game”!

In truth, Obama has spoken out for a number of good causes.  He finally favors the right to same sex marriages.  He wants to tax the rich. He prefers negotiations over the sanctions with Iran rather than proceeding to bomb them as some Israelis would seem to like to do. He has shown caution over rapidly going to war in Syria. He has negotiated an agreement about the storage of poison gas in Syria. His major obstacle to popularity appears to be a stagnant economy lingering from the crash of “08!  In essence, Obama has been a breath of fresh air when contrasted with his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Ralph Shroyer (Dec. 7, 2013)

RACISM IN AMERICA

Based on research involving racial discrimination in America I have concluded that racism has been firmly entrenched in our society from the beginning of our country until the present day. This is not to say that we are unique in this respect because there has always, and probably always will be, a natural tendency for any society to engage in the practice of racism. It would be present only in matters of degree. Racism has been apparent and prominent in most aspects of our country, such as immigration, the military, housing, economics, education, business, government, sports, entertainment, social attitudes and clubs and events, etc.

In regard to the elements of racism in America I shall attempt to delineate the problems and effects apparent in the aforementioned areas.

IMMIGRATION

Let’s begin with the naturalization act of 1790 which excluded such individuals as American Indians, slaves, free blacks, as well as Asians from becoming citizens. After the civil war in 1868 the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution afforded naturalization or citizenship to all born in the United States regardless of race which, of course, was one great step forward to advance anti-racist policies. It helped address overt racism, but of course left the element of covert racism generally unchecked. Other areas dealing with immigration consisted of uneven or unequal immigration quotas for different countries. European immigrants were given priorities over Asians and other less desirable peoples. There were often clashes among the blacks and immigrant workers. Beginning with the “Gentleman’s Agreement” of 1907 the United States continued to work out agreements with the government of Japan to limit the immigration of Japanese to the U.S. In 1905 in California the Japanese and Korean Exclusion League pressurized the School Boards to segregate Japanese students from white students, and engaged in an effort to propagandize the dangers of the “Japanese menace.” (Research, Wikipedia) And, of course there was the quintessential racist example of the Japanese Internment Camps in California during the World War ll hysteria. At the outset of Peril Harbor in 1942 Japanese citizens and immigrants alike were rounded up in California and placed in what amounted to concentration camps. They generally lost all their land and belongings. They were never compensated for their losses.

ARMED FORCES

Prior to 1945 segregation was a policy within the armed forces. During the Civil War, World Wars 1 and2, blacks were grouped in special battalions. Often they were put in the command of white officers, particularly in the army and air force. (Wikipedia)

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

In professional sports particularly, baseball, football, and basketball, blacks were excluded until later after W.W.2 when such icons as Jackie Robinson, Elgin Baylor and Mohammad Ali opened the doors. In the recent movie, “Mohammad Ali’s Greatest Fight”, the story in the movie depicts how much racism was a factor in Ali’s struggle to avoid being drafted to fight in a war, while in his religious convictions he was opposed going to war. Although Ali was convicted, it was shown how Caucasian people were exempted from the draft that had identical excuses as Ali. An even more stunningly racial story concerns the case of Jack Johnson, an American World champion boxer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. Ken Burn’s documentary entitled “Unforgivable Blackness” released in 2005 presents the picture. After gaining the title, Jackson was arrested on two occasions for consorting with a prostitute. One charge was that of crossing State lines with the accused prostitute who was actually his fiancé. Jackson was tried and convicted in the court of Judge Kenshaw Mountain Landis. Landis later became Commissioner of Baseball and was known to have perpetuated the color line in baseball until his death. More recently, Congress under George Bush and later Barack Obama held a vote to pardon Johnson posthumously (Wikipedia).

EMPOYMENT

World War 2 created a large labor force. While millions of men were under arms, the United States billed itself as the “arsenal of democracy” for the allied forces. There was a desire for giant increases in the production of planes, ships, trucks, tanks, armaments, food, clothing, and all the other supplies that fuel a war. In 1940, eleven and a half million women were employed outside the home, mainly single women, widows, and wives from poor families. African American women like Fanny Christina Hill expected to work in any jobs that were available, such as domestic service. On Columbus Day, 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for a new environment in the workplace. In some communities employers disliked to hire women. In others they were reluctant to hire Negroes. We can no longer afford to indulge in such prejudices. Hill shifted from women’s jobs to defense work, prompting other women who had previously not worked to adopt these new roles. After the war production peaked in 1944 women were persuaded to return to their homes. Women were regarded as baby producers and unnecessary economic tools rather than productive forces. Children were neglected. Seventy-five percent of women surveyed in 1944 and 1945 expressed their desire to continue working after the war. A cultural battle had begun that would outlast the war itself. (Research America First Hand) During the Great Depression of the 30’s Black workers suffered most. They were pushed out of unskilled jobs previously scorned by whites before the Depression. Blacks faced unemployment of 50% or more, compared to about 30% for whites. Black wages were about 30% below those of White workers, who themselves were barely at subsistence level. Racial discrimination continued as African Americans were often the last hired and the first fired in the desperate search for jobs. They were often excluded from relief programs, and civil rights leaders received little support from President Roosevelt. Mexican Americans under the New Deal suffered from discrimination in job competition. Many had to return back to Mexico. Roosevelt’s critics felt that he did too much for business and too little for the unemployed and the poor and the problems of the ethnic minorities. On the brighter side, the 1924 Johnson – Read Act created great opportunities for the Mexican labor force in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Texas. This Act provided the restrictions of European Immigrants from overseas to work in the United States. This tended to lessen the competition for Mexicans. The 1930’s Great Depression caused Jobs to disappear and created the often violent xenophobia of native groups. More encouraging, in 1935, John L. Lewis, head of the C.I.O., spearheaded the industrial union’s drive to extend rights to all union workers regardless of race. (Research America First Hand).

SOCIAL ATTITUDES

Leading the parade for racial prejudice in the 30’s was radio commentator and demagogue Father Coughlin with his “National Union for Social Justice”. He specialized in anti-semitic and fascist oratory. Coughlin was finally ordered to end his tirades by the Catholic Church. Particularly in the South, blacks were barred from “white only” restaurants, restrooms, and drinking fountains. They were relegated to the back seats on buses. (Until Rosa Parks came along, and MLK went to jail!) They were not allowed to consort with white ladies, at the risk of lynching! In the North the situation was, of course, more covet. Certain clubs were off limits. Golf Clubs were generally capable of excluding Blacks, Jews, and other racial groups. And until well after WW2 were excluded from most professional sports, as previously mentioned. The housing situation often called for extended Fair Housing Laws and rules during the period before the second World War and even well after. (Research “The Enduring Vision”) Schools and education were segregated. Of Course, we certainly got off to a rough start when our founding fathers decided that when it came to voting, Blacks would be counted as only 2/3ds of a person! They took it to heart especially in the South where “Jim Crow” laws and the Ku Klux Klan ruled the day.

CIVIL DISORDER

Typical of the racial riots and disorder at the beginning of the twentieth century was the Chicago riots of 1919. Generally the causes of the disorders were related to perceived or actual misbehavior on the part of police, or to animosity arising from competition for jobs, as well as over housing or neighborhood integration. On July, 27^th 1919 a black man on a Lake Michigan beach was killed by a white man throwing a rock. The police accused and arrested another black man of the crime. A vicious riot ensued lasting at least a week, in which 38 people died, and 537 were counted as injured. In Harlem, New York, in 1935 a riot erupted after rumors about the beating of a teen age shoplifter sparked a conflict in which 3 died, and hundreds were injured. Again, in 1943 in the same suburb of New York a riot occurred when a white policeman shot a black soldier who was trying to help a woman that apparently was being beaten by the police. It took Mayor Fiorello of New York 6,600 city police, 8,000 State Guardsmen and citizen volunteers to quell and contain the disorder. In June of 1943, riots erupted in Detroit. It was partly due to too many migrant blacks and two few jobs. Racial animosity exploded. In Ford’s plant a worker with a southern accent was heard to yell out, “ I’d rather see Hitler and Hirohito win than work beside a nigger”. The Ku Klux Klan had been cumulating in Detroit since the early 1920’s. In this outbreak, 34 were killed, 17 by police, over 600 injured, and 1,800 were arrested (85% arrested were blacks). (Research, Wikipedia)

In conclusion, it appears that noticeable improvement has gradually occurred since our country began. However, of course, much still needs to be accomplished. Economic disparity continues to stifle progress towards eliminating racism. Covert racial attitudes tend to die slowly. By the conclusion of World War II, despite continuing turmoil, a faint light could be viewed at the end of the tunnel!

Ralph Shroyer (Oct.16, 2013)