No, I am not a Trump Troll!

To all my fellow democrats who support Hillary Clinton, and are uncomfortable because I decry her. No, I am not a TrumpTroll, a right winged zealot, I don't trust FOX news, I don't trust many news outlets these days as a matter of fact. I am not brainwashed by the "republicans" as if being a republican in it of it's self is a bad thing. I know good republicans, and I know bad republicans, same goes for democrats. This was inspired by another post earlier today. I am journalist without a paper to write for, so I write and blog for myself. I feel compelled to share. 

We need to be able to ask serious questions since the press is failing us. I understand your fear, I too share a fear, but not of Trump. I fear a system that is so sick, that the people live in fear, and allow it to collude their judgement. That goes for both Trump and Clinton, they are two awful sides of the same twisted coin. Believe me, I wish it were not true. The evidence is staggering. Clinton is very crooked.

The saddest part is that she will lose, and badly, or bigly, this is where we are. Trump has momentum, a momentum that Clinton will never have. Crooked Hillary sticks like glue, because it's true. It is no fault of Bernie, or his supporters, that this is how it is. In fact, I am sometimes pissed off that Bernie does not address the FBI, FOIA, the civil lawsuit, The Clinton Foundation, oh The Clinton Foundation. I respect that Bernie wants to stick to the issues, but I view a criminal investigation as a major issue. So major that I feel it disqualifies Clinton to run for president. That it does not is woeful.

The media is responsible for informing the public with a free press! THE PRESS IS NOT FREE! The media belongs to the people. The airways, newspapers, networks, and soon if we continue this the way, the internet, will have been highjacked by deregulation, corrupted politics, and policy. Bare with me here. The press is owned by six corporations, NPR included, in its own way as a nonprofit.

Where are the serious question that should be asked by journalists? Like, why did you have a private server? Why did you give Sid Blumenthal access to secret government information when Obama didn't trust him? What about Bengazi and Blumenthal? Iraq, a business opportunity? Clinton called Iraq a business opportunity. Why isn't she being asked about that?

She does not have the popular vote. She and the media forgot all the people who caucused, 15 caucuses 12 of which U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders won. THAT COUNTS TOO! Sorry for the cap locks, but I am so sick and tired of hearing about her having the popular vote, when it is not true. Her un-favorability is 61%. If the media was doing their job the public would know all this. The election season is full of fraud. WHAT ABOUT AZ, MA, IL, NY, KY,??? Why did you give a victory speech in AZ so soon after the polls closed, with thousands of people still in line waiting to vote, Mrs.Clinton?

The broadcast networks Laissez-faire attitude is a great tragedy for our country and freedom. I fear where we could be headed. Just remember, Watergate wouldn't have been possible without journalism. I am impelled to decry a presidential hopeful under full scale criminal FBI investigation.

Please feel free to comment. I respect debate. Debate allows us to grow. Peace.

Hillary Clinton and the Complacent Media

The election of 2016 has brought to the forefront of the American psyche how dysfunctional our broadcast media has become. In 1996 the Telecommunication Act, deregulated the media, “The Telecommunications Act of 1996...enabled the handful of corporations dominating the airwaves to expand their power further. Mergers enabled tighter control of information...The Latin American writer Eduardo Galeano commented..."Never have so many been held incommunicado by so few.” Howard Zinn, “A People’s History of the United States, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996. 

Here is the elephant in the room, the media and its coverage of the numerous scandals that are linked to Hillary Clinton, her private email server, The Clinton Foundation, her tenure as Secretary of State from 2009 till 2013, special favors, and espionage. Our media is being complacent, almost ignoring the biggest political and criminal scandal our country has ever known. Pundits brush off the fact that Hillary Clinton is under a full FBI investigation, a civil lawsuit and dozen of Freedom Of Informations Act lawsuits. Fox covers it, but that's basically it. For the rest of the networks, It almost doesn't matter, but it does, it matters a lot! Never before in our history, at least that I am aware of, has a presidential nominee been under a serious FBI investigation, and a civil lawsuit, both of which could lead to serious charges and an indictment. Let’s take a detailed look at some of what is going on. 

In 2013 Sid Blumenthal was hacked by Marcel Lazăr Lehe, an out of work taxi driver  in Romania with a penchant to hack in his spare time. Marcel Lazăr Lehe goes by the name Guccifer, Guccifer is a combination of Gucci and Lucifer, “The pseudonym Guccifer is a portmanteau of Gucci and Lucifer, meaning “the style of Gucci and the light of Lucifer,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ The FBI opened the Benghazi investigation in May of 2013, and in March of 2015 the FBI opened an investigation on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Hillary Clinton exclusively used her private email server while she served as Secretary of State. If it is proven that Guccifer hacked her server, she will be charged with espionage.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton_email_controversy 

With a cheap computer and a stealth wit, Guccifer hacked into some major American leaders email, and social media accounts, Collin Powell, George W. Bush, and Sid Blumenthal, were a few of his high profile victims. It was because of Guccifer’s hack that we discovered Clinton’s private server. What Guccifer discovered was detailed correspondence between Clinton and Blumenthal regarding Libya and the 2012 Benghazi attack. Please note, when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State, she wanted Sid Blumenthal on the White House payroll. Sid Blumenthal was Clinton’s senior advisor for her 2008 campaign, and a longtime friend who also served as Bill Clinton’s assistant and senior advisor. “According to a report in the New York Times, "Emanuel talked with Mrs. Clinton ... and explained that bringing Mr. Blumenthal on board was a no-go. The bad blood among his colleagues was too deep, and the last thing the administration needed, he concluded, was dissension and drama in the ranks. In short, Mr. Blumenthal was out.”^[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Blumenthal 

Despite this, Sid Blumenthal had access to very sensitive information and was advising Hillary Clinton on Libya. What’s even more suspicious is that Blumenthal had close ties with Najib Obeida, a business man in Libya, “Blumenthal asserted that a businessman named Najib Obeida was among 'the most influential' of the Libyan prime minister's new economic advisers—without mentioning that Blumenthal was advising a group of contractors courting Obeida as a potential business partner.”^[22] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Blumenthalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Blumenthal

Here is where it gets even more interesting. After the Obama Administration refused to hire Blumenthal, he was hired by the Clinton Foundation. Blumenthal’s job at The Clinton Foundation was to highlight the legacy of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Employees at the foundation were not happy about it, “The foundation hired Blumenthal after former President Clinton requested it, and the move was scrutinized by some foundation employees, according to Politico.”http://spectator.org/62870_blumenthal-earned-10k-month-clinton-foundation-while-advising-state/ Was Blumenthal put on the Clinton Foundation's pay role to advise Clinton as Secretary of State? Why was he hired by the foundation after the White House refused to put him on it's payroll? There is a glaring conflict of interest here and more questions need to be answered about Blumenthal’s role as an unofficial advisor to then Secretary Clinton.

The Select Committee on Bengazhi is moving at the pace of a snail with partisan bickering, “I wanted to have this completed by the end of December 2015,” Chairman Gowdy told Politico. “But you have to have access to documents and witnesses — that is the lifeblood of an investigation… And when one side controls documents and the witnesses and the other group is trying to conduct the investigation, that creates something of a quandary.” https://benghazi.house.gov/news/press-releases/over-10000-days-of-delays-obama-administration-s-delays-on-benghazi-documents

Both the media and the Clinton campaign and the DNC accuse the committee of being political. “The House voted May 8, 2014 to establish the United States House Select Committee on Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi, voting 232-186 — 225 Republicans and 7 Democrats in favor, 186 Democrats voting against.^[24] The Democratic National Committee sent out a statement describing the committee as a "ploy" and "political stunt.”^{[25] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigation_into_the_2012_Benghazi_attack}

What does that mean? Is it being political to be investigating a democratic nominee? Yet there is very good reason to investigate what happened in Benghazi, and the American people have a right to know what happened. This we do know, “Blumenthal, a longtime confidant of Bill and Hillary Clinton, earned about $10,000 a month as a full-time employee of the Clinton Foundation. During the 2011 uprising in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi, Blumenthal prepared, from public and other sources, about 25 memos which he sent as emails to Clinton in 2011 and 2012, which she shared through her aide, Jake Sullivan, with senior State Department personnel. In the form of intelligence briefings, the memos sometimes touted his business associates and, at times contained inaccurate information.^[20][21]” .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Blumenthal The Obama Administration is dragging it’s feet and the media is the echo chamber of, “its political and right wing attack against Clinton”, and the public has almost forgotten, maybe even tired of the political infighting. 

Let’s take a look at The Clinton Foundation. The Clinton Foundation was set up in 2001 at first is was the William J. Clinton Foundation, now it is The Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit 501c3. That means they do not pay any taxes, and that the money  raised is to be used for charity and the foundations operational costs. Could Hillary be using funds from The Clinton Foundation to fund her campaign? Could she be laundering foreign donations from the foundation to her campaign? The foundation does not have to disclose who its donors are. The Clinton Foundation did release some of its donors and controversy immediately ensued, “The ethics agreement between the State Department and the Clinton Foundation that was put into force at the beginning of the Secretary of State Clinton's tenure came under scrutiny from the news media during February 2015. A Wall Street Journal report found that the Clinton Foundation had resumed accepting donations from foreign governments once Secretary Clinton's tenure had ended.^[69] Contributions from foreign donors who are prohibited by law from contributing to political candidates in the U.S. constitute a major portion of the foundation's income. The foundation's chief communications officer Craig Minassian explained that it is a "false choice to suggest that people who may be interested in supporting political causes wouldn’t also support philanthropic work."^[3] A Washington Post inquiry into donations by foreign governments to the Clinton Foundation during the secretary's tenure found six cases where such governments continued making donations at the same level they had before Clinton became secretary, which was permissible under the agreement, but also one instance of a new donation, $500,000 from Algeria for earthquake relief in Haiti, that was outside the bounds of the continuation provision and should have received a special ethics review, but did not.^[8] Foundation officials said that if the former secretary decided to run for president in 2016, they would again consider what steps to take in reference to foreign donations.^[8] But in general, they stressed that, "As with other global charities, we rely on the support of individuals, organizations, corporations and governments who have the shared goal of addressing critical global challenges in a meaningful way. When anyone contributes to the Clinton Foundation, it goes towards foundation programs that help save lives."^[8] State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki attested that the foundation's commitment to the ethics agreement in question "has been over and above the letter of the law”,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Foundation

Charles Ortel, a Wall Street financial analyst and investor who discovered accounting fraud at GE before its stock crashed, has been studying The Clinton Foundation's financial records for the past 15 month, and he has 40 reports that he plans to release. According to Charles Ortel, “The numbers that the Clinton Foundation supplies to the public in its legally mandated filings do not add up, are frequently incorrect, and appear to be materially misleading. In numerous cases, the Clinton Foundation appears to have followed inconsistent policies adding in appropriate portions of the various activities it pursued around the world to create “consolidated” financial statements.”http://charlesortel.com/tag/Clinton%20Foundation

With all of these allegations surrounding Hillary Clinton, how is that she is still eligible to run for president? If it is proven that Guccifer hacked her email and got into her private server, she could be charged with espionage. If the accusations of Charles Ortel prove correct, The Clinton Foundation is a fraud.Then what? I didn’t even cover the civil lawsuit, you confined more on that here, http://www.judicialwatch.org

There is also a new film to be released in July, Clinton Cash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Cash

Why isn't the media asking the hard questions? Maybe this is why: 

“NBC Universal, News Corporation, Turner Broadcasting and Thomson Reuters are among more than a dozen media organizations that have made charitable contributions to the Clinton Foundation in recent years, the foundation's records show.The donations, which range from the low-thousands to the millions, provide a picture of the media industry's ties to the Clinton Foundation at a time when one of its most notable personalities, George Stephanopoulos, is under scrutiny for not disclosing his own $75,000 contribution when reporting on the foundation.The list also includes mass media groups like Comcast, Time Warner and Viacom, as well a few notable individuals, including Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecom magnate and largest shareholder of The New York Times Company, and James Murdoch, the chief operating officer of 21st Century Fox. Both Slim and Murdoch have given between $1 million to $5 million, respectively.” Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/05/clinton-foundation-donors-include-dozens-of-media-organizations-individuals-207228#ixzz49bK6nyNQ 

When Water Is Free for Nestle In Michigan and The People Of Flint Are Poisoned

Twenty years ago, sitting around a table talking about life and politics, the subject of selling water came up. Huh, I said? The water falls from the sky, it is part of the natural fabric of our life. Water is free. Nothing could have prepared me for the stark reality in 2016, bottled water. It started with sparkling water known as Perrier. It was sleek and cool, a sign of wealth and prestige. The sparkling water in a nice pretty green glass bottle, imported from Vergèze spring in France. Innocent enough, but the future tells another story. In 1992, Swiss giant Nestle brought Perrier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perrier. Nestle is one of the largest producers of bottled water in the world, with hundreds of bottled water brands, Nestle makes billions of dollars a year selling water. 

Bottle water, what could be so bad about that? After all, water is the best hydrating drink for satisfying thirst. It’s better than all that sugary soda and juice. In fact, a bottle of water at the little league game will cost you more than a can of soda. Seems kind of odd. Soda is comprised of ingredients and a process of creation, where as water, is water. Let’s take a deeper look beyond the surface of the billion dollar bottled water industry. Let’s go to a county in Michigan,Mecosta,home to a large fresh water aquifer surrounded by the Great Lakes.

Imagine living next to the Great Lakes of Michigan, surround by fresh water. In fact, Michigan has 20% of the world’s natural fresh water supply. Now imagine one day waking up and finding a multinational corporation sucking the water from the aquifer that is part of your municipal water supply. Thousands of gallons a day taken form the public water supply at no charge to Nestle. I repeat, NO CHARGE. Nestle was pumping 400 gallons of water a hour from the public aquifer and making huge profits. Local residents began to notice changes in the environment. Areas once full with fresh water began drying up. A small group of citizens took Nestle to court and for ten long years battled the giant. 

The citizen’s of Mecosta won, well sort of. They were able to stop Nestle from pumping 400 gallons an hour, and limit pumping to 200 gallons an hour. Nestle still has the right to pump water at no cost or  reimbursement to the public, whose water they are using to make money for themselves. They do pay a small permit fee of approximately $5,000. Not bad. They ship public tap water all over the world and make billions of dollars in profits. Yet the people in Michigan are left paying the toll. The 46th Governor of Michigan, John Engler, 1991-2003 had a very comfortable relationship with the giant bottling company, “The Engler administration has literally paid Nestle approximately $10 million in local property and state education tax abatements, job training, and infrastructure grants to steal Michigan’s fresh water. These subsidies actually led to three separate citizen blockades since April at the company’s new bottling plant in Stanwood.” Meanwhile a few hours from Mecosta the residents of Flint, Michigan, are being poisoned with bad water. While Nestle pumps water for nothing, and get’s tax payer subsides for doing so, “Nestle is selling the water that could be used for the people of Flint, and they are making a fortune doing it. All of this was encouraged by Michigan’s former Republican governor, John Engler. http://countercurrentnews.com/2016/02/flint-nestle-water-tax-scheme/

How did Flint end up with toxic water? For starters, Michigan’s current Governor Snyder, removed elected officials in Flint and replaced them with unelected Emergency Managers. The managers decided to save money and divert the Flint water supply from a safe place, to a toxic river. What’s that saying? If it ain’t broke, yeah that! This led to the crisis we see today, where the people of Flint, who pay the highest water bills in the country, are poisoned while surrounded by fresh water. It appears that the government in Michigan values Nestle over it’s own people. While Nestle pumps water for nothing, the people of Flint are paying to be poisoned. Nestle has been generous and donated Michigan water, in bottles, back to the poor residents of Flint. It would be better if Nestle would fill trucks of water, and send them to every neighborhood in Flint.It's the least they can do with all that free fresh Michigan water, but that’s not profitable.

For two years the people of Flint were silently poisoned with lead in their water supply. It is a wonder how  Governor Snyder of Michigan has not been removed from office because of this crisis? His actions have led to sickness and permanent disabilities for the children and families in Flint. Not only that, homeowners have seen the value of their property sink to nothing. Who's going to buy a house where the water is full of lead?  When we allow our natural resources to be extracted and sold for profit we lose in many ways. Flint, Michigan, is a sad example of a government gone bad. The water crises should be a warning to all of us, fresh water is not a commodity, fresh water is the essence of life. Bottled water is an extraction of a natural resource and the consumer should be aware of the true costs of bottled water. This is also a prime example of why we need to get private money out of public government. The people of Flint pay the price for leaders who serve money rather than the people. This tragedy can happen anywhere, we are all Flint, Michigan and Mecosta County. 

http://www.savemiwater.org/mcwcvsnestle/

http://www.democracynow.org/2016/2/17/michigans_water_wars_nestle_pumps_millions

On The Eve of Super Tuesday. What Will You Do?

On The Eve of Super Tuesday. What Will You Do? 

By  Jennifer Shafer Wood

As we approach Super Tuesday, I hope to see a major change sweep this country. We are at a point in history where we stand upon a cliff... Will our democracy fall over the edge, to be ruled by an oligarchy in a ever growing plutocracy? An oligarchy is a small group of elite people controlling the masses, and a plutocracy is the country or territory that is ruled by a small elite group, an oligarchy. Do you understand. Do you see how the oligarch works to build a plutocracy in the United States? 

Let me explain, there is a small, yet very powerful group who controls our country today. I know, I sound like a bad SciFi conspiracy theorists. I wish I were! Money has more power in the United States than the voice of the people. Citizens United, for example, basically gave money the right of free speech. If you don't have money, no free speech for you! What happened to We The People? Two words, Big Business. Here is a prime example of this elite force, the Koch Brothers, but don't be fooled, it's not just them, there are a few others, but the Koch Brothers are the most outlandish, and are a perfect example of an oligarchy. Do some research and see for yourself. There's no excuse, you have the resources at you fingertips. This new American Dream, for the wealthy by the wealthy, will bankrupt us all. There will be the super rich, the poor, with the indebted middle class, one pay check from poverty.  

This is a fundamental problem, and we as citizens of this country need to get up and fight for our republic!  

This country was founded on the premiss of freedom and equality. We do not have equality in the United States today, far from it. The American Dream is dead for the vast majority of Americans. For the naysayer that will scream communist! because of the word equality, you are woefully miss informed. Equality, doesn't mean everyone is the same, it means every person in this country who works full time should be able to live outside of poverty and support their family. It means that healthcare is a right for all human beings. It means that Carried Interest, a tax loophole used by CEOs, and billionaires, which allows them to pay less in taxes than a teacher, a policeman, a janitor, or any wage earner in the United States, must be eliminated. Go ahead, don't believe me, look it up, Carried Interest, and see for yourself. 

Over the last 30 years, a huge transference of wealth happened in the United States. Trickle Down Economics, the baby of Milton Friedman, and the battle cry of the Reagan Administration. It wasn't just Reagan, since him, Bush, Clinton, and Obama, have helped to solidify this growing economic divide, money is bipartisan. Here's what Trickle Down Economics gave to the average American. It's  like going to get a drink of water, but the spigot only drips. It will take a long time for you to ever satisfy your thirst. But the boss has more water than he can drink! 

It used to be that CEOs made 20 or 30 times more than their employees, today conservative estimates puts that at roughly 250 to 350 times more than their employees. It's cheaper to be rich. You pay less in taxes, because you can manipulate the tax code. Heck, if you have enough money you can manipulate the tax law. Take for example George Bush's tax break for Capitol Gains, you know those millions and billions generated from being the boss. Sometimes those gains come from dubious practices like laying thousands of people off, or shipping jobs overseas where labor is cheap. It comes with environmental costs too. When Koch Industries pollutes the community where its factories are and fill the waterways with toxic waste, it causes high rates of cancer for the residents. Yes, they make money on that too! During the Reagan years, Capitol Gains tax was at 30%, after George Bush it is at 15%, and with it came $2.9 trillion dollars in deficits, and untold amounts of suffering and growing poverty.  

We are not meant to be ruled by an aristocracy like an oligarchy. This is not fair, when you earn wealth in a free and democratic society, you have to pay the people that helped you earn that wealth, because you didn't do it all by yourself, that is the American way! You also have to pay your fair share of taxes, and stop using loopholes, like Carried Interests, to skirt your tax responsibility, that is the American way! Big Business also needs to be responsible for the environment, that is the American way! 

But the system is rigged. The stacks are against the average American, and Big Business rules the land, oblivious to the pain and the hardship their unbridled greed has caused this country. With money comes power, and power over the broadcast airways is the most pervasive and insidious power that any entity can have. Thanks to deregulation, the media which was once fair and balanced, is no more. It has become a propaganda machine for the wealthy elites to promote their message and convince the masses of people that their best interest is financial servitude. Political pundits used to be neutral, however if you peel way the layers, you see the pundits are on the pay rolls of the candidates they endorse with their rhetoric. Talking media heads convince average Americans that tax cuts for the super rich are good for them too, when they are in fact against their better interest. Talking media heads balk at climate change, when climate change is very real, and that poverty is a choice, when it's not. That a welfare queen and an immigrant live high on tax dollars when they don't. There is no welfare queen, and immigrants are not stealing your jobs, or getting free healthcare. As a matter fact, immigrants face the threat of deportation, or incarceration( that's a whole other story. Go ahead, look up immigrant prisons for profit) The talking media heads say that free speech is money,when it's not. That the war on drugs is good, when we have the largest prison population in the world. That Republicans and Democrats are different, when they are the same. 

It is time for a political revolution. It is time for all of us to join together and reclaim our democratic republic. A lone voice has risen above the shadows that the corporate media casts, his message penetrates in flickers across the corporate media spectrum, while the message roars across social media platforms. His name is Bernie Sanders, a self proclaimed Democratic Socialist aka A New Deal kind of leader. The longest serving Independent congressional leader in history. He changed his party affiliation to run as the Democratic Presidential nominee. Let's face it, we still have a way to go before we get an Independent in The Oval Office, so Bernie chose to go with the Democrats. His campaign is solely financed with small donation from average Americans. He raised $94.8 million in small campaign contributions since he announced his candidacy 9 month ago. His record is an incredible testament as pioneer of social justice all his life. A civil rights activist since he was a young adult. A champion of healthcare for all, free education, a living wage, investing in our infrastructure, protecting our environment. Most importantly, he has ignited a massive movement of people to unite and reclaim this land. Like Bernie says, this presidential campaign is about all of us! We have to stay in the fight. The powers that be do not want to give up their dominance. Are you going to live via the rule of the oligarchy in a plutocracy, or are you going to live in a Democratic Republic and become an active and informed citizen? 

The time is now. What will you do? 

"Brothers and sisters: Now is not the time for thinking small. Now is not the time for the same old – same old establishment politics and stale inside-the-beltway ideas.

Now is the time for millions of working families to come together, to revitalize American democracy, to end the collapse of the American middle class and to make certain that our children and grandchildren are able to enjoy a quality of life that brings them health, prosperity, security and joy – and that once again makes the United States the leader in the world in the fight for economic and social justice, for environmental sanity and for a world of peace.

My fellow Americans: This country faces more serious problems today than at any time since the Great Depression and, if you include the planetary crisis of climate change, it may well be that the challenges we face now are direr than any time in our modern history." Bernie Sanders

The tail that wags the dog, American Corporate Media.

It started with the show, 60 Minutes, the first newsmagazine that set the precedence for the entertainment news we have today. During the 80s money began to overshadow hard news and journalism. Since then, news has become a very profitable commodity whose power can spin elections, and change the opinion of the public. It is very pervasive. Think George Orwell’s 1984. Hitler rose to power due to the airways, film, print, and radio.

Today, journalists have become protagonists in an infotainment style story that embodies extremes, and distorted information, which is controlled by the few whose only interest is profits and power. It is the epicenter of fear, power, and control. No matter how much money can by, money will not sustain a healthy republic, money sustains an oligarchy.  “The networks’ entertainment and sports operations are so troubled that news, particularly in prime time, is becoming one of the networks’ most consistently profitable businesses. To some extent, news programs are now looked to as ways to subsidize entertainment and sports offerings—just the reverse of the way things used to be.”

In 1987, the FCC eliminated the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to be honest, equitable, and balanced. Broadcasters were required to cover controversial matters of public interest. AND contrasting views. Some may argue the news we have now, covers what's happening, and provides contrasting views. In reality it covers some of what's happening, and its not fair reporting, and its not balanced. We have lost balanced, honest,and equitable. “The demise of this FCC rule has been considered as a contributing factor for the rising level of party polarization in the United States.^[2][3]” 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine

We must be active citizens and demand that the government serve the interests of the public for which it represents, and the public airways it is suppose to protect. The airways belong to the people, not business. We The People. Corporations are not people, money is not free speech.We need to reclaim our cable and broadcast airways, and enact policy that takes away the power of money, and replaces  it with the interests of the people of this country. When news becomes entertainment, and makes a handful of people, rich and powerful, our democracy is in deep trouble. The rise of Donald Trump, hate speech, and American exceptionalism, are the products of corporate media. Trump gets more airtime than any other Republican candidate. 

Free speech is hard to find on the networks or cable news. The internet has become a place where all opinions can heard, well maybe… The flip side is that there is a lot of noise, and misinformation out there. We need to protect our free and open internet from the same monied interests that have corrupted our public airways, and we need to take back what belongs to us. Vote money out,  it starts with us, The People. Get active, be informed and question every source. Or Donald Trump might become the next president.

http://niemanreports.org/articles/the-transformation-of-network-news/

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/03/business/deregulating-media-overview-regulators-ease-rules-governing-media-ownership.html?pagewanted=all

Why I am voting for Bernie Sanders.

Since a young age I have always been interested in politics. At one point in my life I considered running for office at the local level. I turned 18 in 1988 and voted in my first election. I was so excited because, Geraldine Ferraro was Michael Dukakis’s VP nominee. I survived the Reagan years as a child of a lower middle-class family, and experienced Reagnomics AKA trickle down economics first hand. I couldn’t, and I still can’t, understand how regular people, lower and middle class, can support candidates that are not out for their best interest? My best guess is that they fall for the Hollywood Effect. Reagan seemed like a likable guy. A hard working cowboy who knew the true values of America, but sadly he was an actor with no real experience other than the public loved him. The one thing Reagan and Trump have in common is they are TV stars. 

Needless to say George H. Bush won in 1988. He only lasted one term. I remember when Bill Clinton ran. I was somewhat happy, but really he was the only ticket in town that I could vote for. By his second term I became an Independent. Bill Clinton disappointed me on many levels, but by far the worst thing he did was deregulate Wall Street, and that deregulation lead to the largest economic crash since 1932. Bill Clinton was heavily funded by corporate elites and his legacy is proof in the political pudding. Hillary is the same, and though I would love to see a woman in the White House, SHE IS NOT IT! Hillary takes huge donations from Wall Street and she will be a minion to her contributors. She has already proven that with her flip-flopping and the policies she has supported. 

I switched my party affiliation back to Democrat in 2008 to vote for Barrack Obama. He deeply disappointed me! He did not bring the change he promised, and worse yet, he bailed out Wall Street, and thanks to Obama, Wall Street is bigger than ever. The next crash will be far worse. I am also deeply disappointed with the Affordable Care Act. Obama gave too much influence to private insurance companies, and that is why health care in America is still unaffordable for most people. Honestly, after Obama, I lost hope. I considered not voting, but I had to vote! I feel it is my responsibility to vote as a citizen of this country, and especially because it took women 100 years to win the right to vote! Thank you Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton! Those ladies were true American pioneers and sadly they died before the first women got to vote! 

Here we are again, another election on the horizon. At start of the election season, I was right along with moveon.org begging Warren to run! Run Warren Run! Elisabeth Warren is true champion of the people and she is really needed as a senator right now. I respect her decision to not run this time. I hope to see her run for president someday though! Disenchanted again…then Bernie Sander jumped in! I knew Bernie Sanders from Vermont. His progressive policies that benefit people, and not money. He voted against the Iraq War, Keystone pipeline; he’s in favor of a living wage, climate change policies, paid family leave, he supports women’s reproductive rights, he’s in favor of people and the policies that help regular people, not just the ultra rich. So I watched, a bit skeptical, could a senator from the small state of Vermont rally the support and funds needed to beat Hilary Clinton and her arsenal of corporate money? YES, he can, and he made history doing it with over 250 million people donating to his campaign in small amounts! When I see his Bernie Bus, it’s a shinning light of people power! 

This is the most exciting election in my lifetime! Two unlikely candidates Sanders and Trump rising to the top! What that says, is that the people are fed up with politics as usual, and that means change is coming! Though I hope our change is with Bernie and not Trump, here’s why. 

Many people argue that Bernie will bankrupt the country, we can’t afford to have the progressive policies he’s in favor off, he will give all those lazy people freebies, free school, single payer healthcare, et cetera. My arguments in this opinion piece started on FB when a commenter said, Bernie is for Freebies. First of all, Bernie is not looking for freebies, he's looking to tax the ultra wealthy, who we currently fund via tax loopholes, subsidies, and bailouts. Not to mention the billions in American taxable income in offshore accounts, that hide tax free for the wealthiest 1%, who by the way, own 60% of the wealth in this country. Brief history lesson: This country started when the people in England and Europe got tired of living via the rule of kings and the aristocracy, and left to build a new world. Remember? That good ole American Dream? I know, some people think the liberals killed it, wrong. Greed killed the American Dream, and greed bought our government with their opulent wealth. Now back to the point. Second, he's calling for an active populace to change the tides and restore balance in this country. It surprises me how many Americans blame the poor on our woeful economy, instead of the fat cats that suck this country dry with their greed. Go see, The Big Short, that's quite an eye opener! 

It also surprises me that people do not see the social welfare corporate America takes from the people of this country. Why is Walmart on welfare? What you say? They're the richest family in America, with an astonishing 100 billion dollars. They have so much money that it would take hundreds of years to count it all by hand. Okay you say, they earned it, this is America, the land of opportunity. Well, then why do we give them subsides? Why do we pay via Medicare and food stamps to Walmart employees, because their wages are so low that they need welfare. Tell me again how Bernie is looking for freebies?   

I know you think you could be rich like them too. We could all be rich like them if we tried hard and wanted it. But the reality is that the average American works harder than ever just to keep food on the table, never mind getting rich. It's near impossible today. Besides, most folks don't care about excessive wealth, they just want good paying jobs, retirement, healthy food and the ability to save for the future. The playing field is no longer a place of opportunity with equal chance for all to have the American Dream. The average worker makes $700 less a month than they did back in the 70s, yet our country is richer than ever. Unfortunately the regular tax paying public is poorer than ever. Bernie Sanders is experienced, and he does not talk like a typical politicians. He says our government is corrupt. How many politicians say that? The two front runners, Sanders and Trump, (I don’t care what the main stream media is saying, Hilary is not the front runner, it’s just not true.) step outside of typical Washington rhetoric. 

People seem to like Trump, because he says it like it is, but does he really?  Yes, the system is corrupt, I agree with that, but. What is Trump's experience? Well, he was born rich and got richer. He shoots from the hip with no clue how to run a country. Yes, he runs a business, but that does not qualify him for president. Why do people think he will look out for the average Joe? Trump is clueless to what life is like for us average folks. He will promote policies that help him gain more at the sacrifice of the rest of us. Not to mention he's decisive and his rhetoric is hateful, racist, and misogynistic. I cannot believe that Tump is Ivy League educated. He expresses himself with a very low vocabulary. He repeats himself over and over again with no real answers to what he'll actually do in the White house. All I can gleam from his speeches are, ‘I am going to win, win, win. I am going to build walls and prison camps.’ I don't want to live in an America surrounded by a wall, with Muslim people marginalized and possibly locked in interment camps. Of all the wonderful things Franklin D. Roosevelt did for this country, interment camps was not one of them! I cannot believe Donald Trump would use this as an excuse, that FDR did it, so it's a good idea. Obviously Trump needs a history lesson. Our country has since apologized for doing such a horrible thing. It is a scar on our liberty and values. Yet this man says that's how he'll handle terrorism. Terrorism is not synonymous with Muslim, it's very ignorant and plain racist to believe so.

There have been some pretty terrible acts of terror committed by Christians here in our country, Oklahoma City bombing to name just one. Actually domestic violence perpetrated by white men far outweighs the amount of ISIS attacks that happen. So the question that begs to be asked, should we put all white Christians in interment camps? No. We shouldn't lock up any person unless they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Period. That's America, innocent until proven guilty. America is melting pot of diversity, an innovative country that has the potential be a leader in world that is not full of violence, a world where all people matter, a world where justice prevails and violence no longer dominates foreign affairs. We can make a better world together. America is screaming for change. The public has had enough. It is time for politics as usual to end, and that is why I am voting for Bernie Sanders! He will be a people’s president, and he is calling on all of us to be part of a political revolution, and work with him as we become a nation for the people by the people! #FEELTHEBERN

Make America Great Again!

Awhile ago I said I was giving up politics. My husband said it wouldn't last, LOL! Most of my adult life I have been an activist on various issues, both locally and nationally. From protesting the many wars I have witnessed in my lifetime, to writing testimony in favor of informed consent for vaccines, homeschooling rights, and GMO labeling laws here in CT; I have exercised my civic rights with my voice and written word. Civics is something that has been wiped clean from our public school curriculum and replaced with social studies, and that is a shame! Part of the problem I see in our country today is a passive attitude toward government, and the policies and laws it creates. This passive apathy has allowed our government to run amuck. Maybe it's the lack of civics being taught in high school, maybe people are too busy? Whatever it is, it has got to change! We are a free society, and we have to be civic minded in order to protect our eroding liberties. The government is meant to serve us, the people, not the biggest campaign contributors and the billionaire class. 

As I write this, we have some very scary laws that are not only unconstitutional, they are against freedom, and in favor government tyranny. Some of you reading this may be shaking your head right now in disbelief. Let me briefly touch on a law that scares me the most. The NDAA know as the National Defense Authorization Act, which gives the president of the USA the sole right to lockup American citizens. The law was passed a couple of years ago and signed into law on Christmas Eve by President Obama. The law strips away due process, allows the president to seize your assets, allows the president to have you taken away to a foreign prison without access to a phone call, a lawyer, and your family will not even know where you are, or that the federal government took you! All this can happen based on suspicion and the president's discretion. http://mic.com/articles/20835/why-the-ndaa-bill-is-even-scarier-than-you-thought#.0ln3T4gnd

A group of journalists led by Chris Hedges took the Obama Administration to court over indefinite detention, which is part of the NDAA. "The principal allegation made by the plaintiffs against the NDAA is that the vagueness of critical terms in the NDAA could be interpreted by the U.S. federal government in a way that authorizes them to label journalists and political activists who interview or support outspoken critics of the Obama administration's policies as "covered persons," meaning that they have given "substantial support" to terrorists or other "associated groups".[9]" Hedges et el lost, this law is now a solid part of the the federal governments arsenal of laws that strip American's of their fundamental rights granted under the Constitution and Bill Of Rights. 

Our history is not perfect, we can go back to how we acquired this land and see how brutal that acquisition was. I am ashamed of what my ancestors did to the native people to take control of America. I cannot change that history. However, I am proud of The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and Bill Of Rights enabled women to win the right to vote, ended slavery, entitles American citizens with the right to privacy, pursuit of happiness, freedom of expression, and due process. Sadly, we are losing these rights rapidly. Our government spies on us, we now have free speech zones, you can be taken to jail based on a suspicion. The government can seize your property, bank accounts, and other valuables based on suspicion alone, and you don't even have to be charged, and you have to fight the government to get you stuff back, and you may lose anyhow, even though you are not guilty! http://dailysignal.com/2015/05/14/federal-government-to-return-107702-irs-seized-from-north-carolina-convenience-store-owner/

This is why I cannot afford to be apolitical. We live in a time of fear and paranoia, where terrorism lurks in the shadows, and constant war reeks havoc overseas breeding more terror. We live in a time of the greatest imbalance of income equality, where the middle class is disappearing with our freedom. We live in a time where all the income and prosperity is stuck at the top. We live in a time where women's rights are being eroded, where fear and hate are breeding a toxic racism. We live in a time where the mass media is owned and operated by a small handful of wealthy elites who shape the mainstream news with their propaganda, and hide hard news like the largest methane gas leak in history now happening in California. We live in a time of the greatest corporate welfare in the form of tax loopholes and rent seeking, "Rent-seeking results in reduced economic efficiency through poor allocation of resources, reduced actual wealth creation, lost government revenue, increased income inequality,[1] and (potentially) national decline. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking

We live in a time when most American people feel helpless and angry. Maybe this is why Donald Trump is the republican frontrunner. People say that Trump says things that other politicians are afraid to say, he's not bought and sold, he has his own money. He will make America great again. His plan? Ban Muslims, and Mexicans, build a giant wall to keep immigrants out. More tax breaks for the wealthy, hey he's a business man, he knows how to get the job done. Well, sort of. He knows loopholes and ways of keeping his fortune, his companies have bankrupted 5 times, while he kept his billions. Who paid for this? We the people did and still do. For a regular Joe, they can only claim bankruptcy once and it's much harder for a regular Joe than Donald Trump to do so. 

Trump makes lots of claims that he really will not be able to keep, but one thing he can do as president is use the NDAA and that is why I cannot give up politics. I cannot sit silent and watch a presidential hopeful spew misogynistic insults and degrading comments about women, minorities, and people with disabilities. Trump hits below the belt with cheap shots that make him popular with an already angry public. I know why Trump supporters are angry, they're tired of not being able to save money, of losing jobs to China and other foreign countries, they're tired of politics as usual. Our leaders in Washington have failed us! They don't tell it like it is, they dance to the tune of the almighty dollar. The politicians in Washington today are oblivious to the people they are suppose to serve. The two party system is two sides of the same coin. I am sick of it too! Money dictates policy and laws. 

I feel hopeless at times. We need real change, not the hollow promises of Barrack Obama, who I voted for once and did not the second time around. He campaigned on promises he would never keep and raised a billion dollars of corporate money to take office. He proved to be the same old thing another politician blowing a lot of hot air, a great disappointment! I lost almost all hope... Then Bernie Sanders came along. The senator from the tiny state of Vermont who rides in coach, who has made history with the most donations from regular folks like us! He doesn't take super pac money, he says things the other politician won't say, he speaks the truth! He addresses income inequality, corporate greed, Wall Street, and America's shrinking middle class and growing poor. Bernie Sanders is a breath of fresh air, and I hope some of the folks supporting Donald Trump will come to see that Bernie Sanders will bring back our economy, jobs, and make a fair playing field for America to be great again. Bernie can't make these changes alone, no one can! What Bernie needs, what America needs, to be great again, is an active citizenry! So today I jump back into politics, America cannot be great again until the people rise up and help make that happen! Thank you Bernie Sanders, for so eloquently saying such. "We must launch a political revolution which engages millions of Americans from all walks of life in the struggle for real change." Bernie Sanders