what do you want out of America's government?

I have in recent diaries at times explored the possibility of leaving teaching, in part because the context I need in order to teach effectively may be changing, becoming more restrictive.  Also, I teach government, and I am not completely sure what our government is.  And, as I told a few people in Austin, something had come up which had the possibility of my moving to the world of politics and government.  People have encouraged me to try to stay in teaching, and those with whom I spoke at NN08 asked me to keep them informed.

This diary is in response to those requests, and in the context which I have just laid out.  And by my standards it will be a relatively short diary.

Thomas Frank in What's the Matter with Kansas:

Not long ago, Kansas would have responded to the current situation by making the bastards pay. This would have been a political certainty, as predictable as what happens when you touch a match to a puddle of gasoline. When business screwed the farmers and the workers - when it implemented monopoly strategies invasive beyond the Populists' furthest imaginings -- when it ripped off shareholders and casually tossed thousands out of work -- you could be damned sure about what would follow.

Not these days. Out here the gravity of discontent pulls in only one direction: to the right, to the right, further to the right. Strip today's Kansans of their job security, and they head out to become registered Republicans. Push them off their land, and next thing you know they're protesting in front of abortion clinics. Squander their life savings on manicures for the CEO, and there's a good chance they'll join the John Birch Society. But ask them about the remedies their ancestors proposed (unions, antitrust, public ownership), and you might as well be referring to the days when knighthood was in flower.

Why? Because Republicans have convinced people that government can't make a difference in their lives, can't solve their intractable problems, hence the only thing that matters are divisive social issues. The demands that government be ineffective has been a planned hallmark of the Bush administration. You don't put a horse lawyer in charge of FEMA if you expect the agency to actually be effective in its mission. So as far as conservative ideology was concerned, Katrina was a resounding success.

This ineffectiveness is centerpiece in conservative self-preservation. If government becomes more effective and works for people, then it could prove devastating to conservatives. William Kristol wrote a now-famous memo as conservatives geared up to fight Hillary Clinton's universal healthcare efforts in 1993:

Leading conservative operative William Kristol privately circulates a strategy document to Republicans in Congress. Kristol writes that congressional Republicans should work to "kill" — not amend — the Clinton plan because it presents a real danger to the Republican future: Its passage will give the Democrats a lock on the crucial middle-class vote and revive the reputation of the party.

And just last year, National Review writers Ramesh Ponnuru and Richard Lowry echoed those sentiments:

[2008 Republican defeats] would probably also mean a national health-insurance program that would irrevocably expand government involvement in the economy and American life, and itself make voters less likely to turn toward conservatism in the future.

Down in Austin I did a short segment on MSNBC's Road to the White House where I was asked such tripe as "what would Obama die for" and "can Obama win without the left?" I did the interview from a remote studio -- just a room with a camera, several backdrops depending on the kind of interview, and a satellite uplink to the network. The networks pay these studios for the time guests are on.

There was one middle-aged woman working the operation that day, roughly 50 years old. The TV was on the background and I heard "Obama" and "Afghanistan" in the same sentence. I asked, "Oh, is Obama already in Afghanistan?" She shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't followed the news."

I stayed quiet, because ill and desperate for sleep, I thought I might squeeze a quick catnap before my segment came on. But the woman continued on her own. "I'm really disenchanted with McCain." Oh, I responded, was she an Obama person? "No, I don't like him either. I don't trust him. And my daughter, she hates him."

I inquired further, why? "Because he's not patriotic, with the flag pin and the pledge of allegiance and his wife!" So we determined that she wasn't going to vote, which was disappointing to American democracy, but good for us because she had been a reliable Republican voter. My interest piqued, I dug a little further: given how the economy was going, people losing their homes, the cost of gas through the roof, none of that was as important as a flag pin?

"Well, they can't do nothing about those things." Aha. The Frank theory, of course. Well, I responded, what about health care, are you happy with your health care? She lit up, "I know no one who is happy with their health care!" and then segued into a rant about the disgraceful state of the health care system.  Well, I responded, Democrats are working for universal healthcare, but Republicans have gotten in the way. But we'll be able to do it next year.

"Ain't no one who can fix that stuff," she sighed, slumping. That brief expression of fire and brimstone snuffed out in an instant. She was adamant that it was all hopeless. Fair enough. She didn't look like someone who'd had an easy life. Health care had touched a nerve, so who knows what sad story or stories she had to tell on that front. But Republicans had convinced her that government was powerless to do anything about it, so ... flag pins!

I had one last argument up my sleeve. Look, I get it, I told her, government hasn't given us many reasons to be confident of late. I can certainly empathize. But can we make a deal? If Democrats push through universal health care in the next four years, will you vote for Barack Obama in 2012?

She looked initially uncomfortable at the thought, but after a pause and a brief internal struggle, she softened and said, "Yeah, I will."

That, in a nutshell, is what Kristol and Ponnuru and Lowry and every conservative in this country fears the most.

crossposted from unbossed

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) website is an interesting one to check in on to see what is going on in government. NTEU represents about 150,000 federal employees working in 31 federal agencies and departments.  The NTEU has also been an aggressive opponent of privatization.

Here is a the NTEU take on the battle over privatizing Homeland Security's Human Resource work. The lucky Privateer is Lockheed-Martin.

Remember this little tidbit of news (via here) from last month? Here's a refresher:

The increasing erosion of our constitutions, civil rights and democracies as they are being gradually subjugated by Authoritarian Security Surveillance States. The bloating no-fly lists and terrorist watch-lists. The continuing inhumane and barbaric renditions, "enhanced interrogations" and indefinite detentions - of children, teenagers and adults alike. The continuing standing of Military Commissions, which are nothing more than politically-driven, rigged, kangaroo courts. The seemingly unending wars of choice and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq - both based on lies to justify a vengeance operation for 9/11 and the securing of foreign oil resources. The ever mounting toll of civilian deaths, displaced refugees and soldier casualties.

This is the overall state of things today with regards to our so-called "Western civilization" - especially with regards to the U.S.A., the U.K. and Canada.

There probably isn’t a man alive who doesn’t reach his hand into his pocket on a daily basis. It is a normal occurrence, paying for a purchase, or just standing around waiting for something, hand in the pocket without giving it a thought.

Well the news out of Washington Friday July 11 was more than a bit disturbing. It seems that we are all familiar with George Bush and his moneyed Republican friends sticking their hands into our pockets, through high gasoline and food prices, as well as through taxes on everything including the kitchen sink.

There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not the Federal Government should be stepping in and fashioning a bailout on Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) which are both publicly traded stocks.  

While I feel strongly that we spend too much money bailing out failed banks, investors and more, I have very strong feelings about this particular bail out.

There's a bigger picture here that you might not understand.  Follow me through the Fannie Mae disaster.  Tomorrow I will write a diary similar to this regarding Freddie Mac.

In todays fast paced life we see new examples and names beening applied to individuals and organizations daily. Old definitions are not applicable to todays terminology, and many folks fall behind in the fast paced evolution of our English language. Older examples are how wghat was once "cool" evolved into "rad" or "radical". A 9 that used to be a number to be counted, has since in music been changed to mean a handgun. Promises and commitments made while pursuing elected office were mostly remembered at least for the first couple of years.

Medicine is in some ways been fairly constent in it's terminology as many of the medical terms are based in Latin, an ancient and dead language no longer spoken, even in Catholic Mass. However there appears to be a growing redefining of psychological and in some cases medical terms by our leaders, advisors and pundits. Below, after the fold I present a brief list that I will expand and terms change with updated definitions.

So, you think domestic surveillance is a problem only for terrorists and criminals? Well, take that smug look off your face. As I write, information collected on millions of Americans is being used to punish them for activities as benign as purchasing retread tires.

Have you visited a bar, played billiards, visited a massage parlor or sought marriage counseling? Then, there's a good chance you have been economically punished for those activities through lowering of your credit limits and scores. That could cost you a home loan or a job, or perhaps a government security clearance. If you reported illegal activities by a former employer, you could be blacklisted for life thanks to databases maintained by firms that conduct background checks on workers for both government and businesses.

As activists have repeatedly warned, corporate and government voyeurism, aided by datamining technology, homeland security mandates and secrecy, has progressed to manipulation and penalization of lawful activities. And, it's likely to get much worse.

It would seem that our democracies in Canada and the U.S.A. are not the only ones ailing - especially with regards to the increasing - and successful - assaults on our privacy and civil liberties ... all in the name of the false God of Security.

Indeed - things are not looking so good either in the U.K. Case in point with the following article (and I invite you good folks to rejoin me below after reading it):

This diary began as a response to a comment posted to a really great diary; entitled Barack-Iraq-Gate: Anatomy of a Media Smear by The Jed Report.

Let me begin by stating that I am not an attorney. I don't pretend to be an expert on the law. But I am an avid reader with an analytical mind and a detail oriented approach to problem solving.

There are three reasons why I'm posting this diary. The first is that it was simply becoming too long to be considered a comment. The second is that it pertains to a subject that I and many others are very interested in. Lastly, I'm posting it because I believe and hope it will add yet another perspective to the current political dialogue.

For the sake of honoring the right of privacy of the person to whom I was originally responding I will use a fictitious user name when referencing him or her.  

Let it be known up front that I didn't grow up in an uber-patriotic household.  Dad didn't display the flag at the front of our house, whistling an out-of-tune but nonetheless heartfelt version of taps while lowering the stars and stripes at sundown every day.  

I always felt a little uncomfortable in the presence of these deeply flag-waving people, mainly because I grew up in a culture of deeply rooted skepticism.  The extremely patriotic were no different from religious zealots in my mind and even as a child I found it difficult to entertain any sort of trust in elected officials.  I found myself constantly reminded of the evil deeds, doublethink, and unethical methods our government had fostered.  This kind of dubious record was, incredibly, in the same breath, combated by a desperate willingness to mythologize and romanticize the historical impact and lasting legacy of its noble deeds.  

WHY IS IT SO EASY TO FORGET? Why is it that we can lose our compassion for ppl so easily? As easy as a new more glammed-up headline coming across our television...that's how easy it is. I don't only blame us but I blame the MSM who constantly bombard us with mind numbing articles ripe with sterotypes, war/hate mongering phrases and pundit opinions that DO NOT INFORM US OF THE REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES! HUD in LOUSISIANA is spending $762 million in taxpayer funds to tear down over 4600 public housing subsidized apartments.

The New York Times printed an exceptional editorial reviewing the the outcomes of the Drug War.  The closing paragraph truly captures the problem:

Over all, drug abuse must be seen more as a public health concern and not primarily a law enforcement problem. Until demand is curbed at home, there is no chance of winning the war on drugs.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

Our government has been ineffective because it punishes drug users instead of helping them get better...

Strange title for a blog and it's obvious where I'm going with this before I even start. Still I have nothing else to do right now so stringing a few random sentences together, underneath a title that seems to suggest that all Presidents follow the same script,it being only the times and circumstances that change, will do. One act follows another in perfect lockstep marching to the beat of an agenda that comes from somewhere other than the American people. How do I know this? Age and observation help plus an ability or perhaps neurosis to connect seeming unconnected events.

I mean I have watched America go through two unpopular major wars and have heard the new president running say he wanted to end the war and the suffering imposed on the people here at home and the lucky host country for that war. Only to hear all that fade into talk of responsible troop redeployment and peace with honor and other trite open ended promises that could and often do mean several contradictory things. I have also seen several economic cycles, oil supply problems, banking disasters, housing crunches, Wall street swoons and the list goes on. There's really nothing truly new going on right now, just slight permutations.

Did anyone catch any of the articles earlier in the week about Blackwater getting raided? Federal agents were there as, "part of an investigation into whether the private security company sidestepped federal laws prohibiting the private purchase of automatic assault rifles."

At the dentist office waiting for my daughter to get out of surgery - she was having her wisdom teeth removed - I was having a discussion with my daughter’s mother, (okay, my ex-wife) about immigration. She started it. I won’t go into the details of that issue during which she, in frustration with my well reasoned responses, dug her fingernails into my upper arm. Because she is now to the far right of Attila-the-Hun, her absurd view of the immigration issue really, in my mind, wasn’t the most bothersome of her concepts. Her argument to control illegal immigrants was to have electronic identification implanted in them so that they could be tracked.