$3 Trillion + $900 Billion = Corporate State

It's official. It's waaaaaaay beyond official. The Grand Ole Party has Hulked-out into a well-armed, well-funded, propaganda-spitting, corporate-aiding extortion machine that should change its moniker to the Grand Crony Party.

There is no arguing it. The Republican Party's primary function in government is to act as an armed middle man for CEOs. Their top priority is to take money out of your pocket and take them directly to corporate bank accounts.

Noble Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says the Iraq War carries with it a price tag of $3 Trillion. As outrageous as this number is, it would sting less if that money was spent on veteran care, troop equipment, and the rebuilding of Iraqi schools and infrastructure. Not when the neo-cons are in control of the Republican machine. Billions upon billions have already been funneled into companies like Halliburton and Blackwater, who basically take tax payer dollars to do a shoddy job of things that our troops should be getting paid to do. Make no mistake, Iraq is like an offshore tax scheme for corporate America. War profiteers are nothing new, but the scale is.

In the last six months or so, the Federal government has spent $900 billion to bail out the Wall Street gamblers who work with billion dollar bets. Guess who gets hurt? Local governments who have cut revenues from the home-owner crash and working folks who are losing their homes. These professional gamblers are rewarded with multi-million dollar bonuses and severance packages, while the tax payers foot the bill.

I would argue that all the recent economic woes make a lot of sense when considering the structural deficiencies of capitalism itself. Many free enterprise faithfuls would argue that the system we have set up is nothing like the vision of Adam Smith's free market ideas from 1776. I have to agree with that assessment, but it doesn't mean that large scale capitalism is a great idea. But this is neither here nor there to this note.

The point is this: in the most prosperous nation in the history of planet, anyone who tells you that social security, socialized medicine, housing for all, food for all, higher education for all, and free child care are evil programs, while simultaneously funneling trillions of dollars into rich-white-assholes' coffers is the most vile piece of filth on this little blue planet. These people are the filth who have invaded OUR White House and Congress and air-waves. Some of these are Democrats, most are Republicans, and John McCain is absolutely one of them.

Some Convention Observations

I don't have much time to write this, so there will be no pics or videos. I'm not big on partisanship, and this post will criticize democrats too, but the choice in 2008 could not be more clear. The Republicans have completely gone insane.

First thing first. While I appreciate the Democrats trying to take back patriotism, I don't see how anyone could wave an American flag at either convention, when both Denver and St. Paul are police-states. There is no Constitution at either place. They might as well have had the conventions in North Korea. Seriously. I love the flag because when I see the flag I see freedom and the Constitution. I see a convention and I see police thugs running rampant with riot gear.

Which brings me to a related point. Republicans: stop chanting "USA" like soccer hooligans after every partisan punch line. You look like you're at a skin-head rally.

Republicans were also chanting "drill baby drill" like a Catholic school girl who just found out her parents are going on a vacation the same weekend her biker boyfriend doesn't have to work at 7-11 all weekend. News flash: OIL COMPANIES AREN'T DRILLING ON THE LEASES THEY DO HAVE. Big oil likes high prices, therefore, big oil wants to control oil fields without actually producing any of it to drive price up. Not to mention the fact that Americans don't necessarily see American oil because it's a global market. Not to mention that it is a complete waste of time and money. Not to mention that Democrats are just as big proponents of Gulf drilling now anyway.

News flash: Giuliani is a horrible horrible person. The NYFD hates Giuliani with a passion, enough said.

News flash: if Palin has more experience than Obama, than she is also more qualified than McCain. What city or state has McCain run? Related news flash: presidents are quite often Senators. That's because Senators are some of the most powerful and have some of the biggest responsibilities in this country. Sorry, being a governor of Alaska who has only recently traveled outside our nation's borders for the first time does not give you experience.

Personal stories are not political platforms. This goes for both sides. I love hearing Obama's and Biden's personal stories (even Palin's to a certain extent), but they don't mean a whole lot. If they did matter, the Republican's should be very scared. McCain left his wife who was in the hospital for a pill-popping sugar momma to jump start his career.

Republicans (and some Clintonites): community organizer is not a dirty word. It's called community service. If John Lewis ran for president, Republicans would probably try to demonize the concept of civil rights leader.

Republicans: you can't claim to want to cut taxes and reduce government spending if you support war. There is a reason this country doesn't have a balanced budget and why the economy is in shambles. It's called militarism-gone-wild. You also can't say Obama wants to raise taxes, because his plan is to cut taxes for 95% of working people.

Republicans: Closing loopholes for corporations making more than most countries will not cause paychecks to go down. I suggest comparing today's wealth gap with any time period in American history. It is out of control.

Both parties: you are hearing political posturing. Stop crying and yelling like you just saw Jesus.

Gotta go.