My voice

Approximately eight years ago, I was beginning to feel this cleansing in my spirit of Hope and a positive vibe about my country, The United States of America. People had done much introspection and were to a stage of wanting change. A change from the prior eight years of discomfort and discomfit of my person in this country that seemingly had lost its moral, ethical and religious values. We became involved in a war that was unnecessary and born of the insidious deception and lies at the expense of many Americans and certainly the tremendous loss of life and scorching of a country that had nothing to do with our 9/11. We stood helplessly watching the unscrupulous actions of large banks and Wall Street knowingly derailing the foundation of our economy. Then, came the election of our first black POTUS that was providing this country with newfound hopes and aspirations toward a new and vibrant America and the rest of the world was witnessing and also, seemingly, exuberant about this change. They were once again looking to us as leaders of the world toward a better future. Unfortunately, this was short-lived when the ugly head of vitriol and disingenuous representation by a Republican lead Congress became our Presidents worst nightmare. Republican congressmen began making disparaging comments toward our sitting President, sent letters to Irans leader in an attempt to disavow the negotiations, invited Israels, Netanyahu, to try to influence public support in the U.S. for the Iran Nuclear negotiations, both of these actions are treasonous. This congress has become obstructionist at every turn, surreptitiously trying to dismantle every effort by our President to correct the egregious wrongs from war, to debt, failings in deregulating and oversight of large corporations and banks which caused our economy to fall into an abysmal, seemingly insurmountable correction. Their continued defunding of many necessary social programs critical to the survival of those with the greatest needs while professing and promulgating the notion of a Christian America but sadly while disavowing and disenfranchising those wanting to practice a different religion or belief system which is afforded via The United States Constitution.

This Republican lead congress has continued to legislate and has been able to politically influence the Supreme Court in ruling against women’s rights, human rights, civil rights, etcetera. They are in continued rejection of scientific findings that our earth is in a critical state of ominous climate change, deny the dangerous effects of fracking and the direct relationship to a great increase in earthquakes and the continued contamination of rivers and lakes from companies that are lining their pockets with monetary influences for political favors. The ugliness of this insidious present governance legislative body of a Republican-led Congress is being manifested through the coterie of Republican candidates for the upcoming Presidential election which is and who are inciting fear, violence and the rest of the basest of human-kind through their voices with an un-Christian like platform of hate, bigotry, misogyny, racist vitriol and anger.

Through his leadership our President, Barack Obama, has allowed America to breathe once again with a sign of recovery in spite of the obstructionists. This upcoming election will once again test the America we love and once again take pride in, though, will require our involvement through fair and just voices and most importantly through the active participation of our VOTE.

  * Please note that the name of this blog is, ‘Opinion Politico’. This is my personal
     opinion and will entertain other opinions as long as they are not personal attacks

Recommended readings: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson; Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

My Friends

Amidst the chaos of pain and travails,
tears of anguish, feelings that
one is alone, come the songs from
the choir of caring voices, the hand
of a stranger who lends it to raise
you up and shares with you the little
she has but in sharing, it is a lot

For those of you who have lost so much
by the angry hand of Nature,
unforgiving storm of life, when in the morning
there’s smiles of love, in the evening
strangled with distraught
you’re in the hearts of many
by those who have not much to give
and those who do cannot replace
your loss

I know there are those who will read this
who will be disdainful of just words
in the face of the reality of death,
the devastation of life’s labors lost
I beg for your patience that in
these words sometimes they're heard
by those who can assist with resources
and this might just be the
smallest of emotional impetus for money
needed and their hands

To those of you who hear my voice
and welcome the little that I offer
my thoughts of good intentions and
the slightest relief that may come from
our hearts and prayers being with you,
that soon you will be in the comfort
of your home and in the embraces
of your love ones


Con abierto brazos
Y Corazon

Debilitating Options

We have come to another crossroad in the remaking of United States of America. Three years two months ago we came to a significant crossroad where we as citizens and voters, one must be synonymous of the other, decided to transition what had recently (eight years) been a deteriorating America. It was being tugged into a direction of misappropriation of America's founding characteristics of ethics, morals, economics and true freedoms and liberties.

In the ethics front;

Eight years had been aligned with those in leadership roles, The Republican Presidential Administration and Congress,  made many decisions for the U.S. based economy which directly affected global economies via individual selfish desires. Their methods pushed the legal boundaries through re-interpretation/manipulation and legislation to fit the new interpretation which benefited only a certain segment of the U.S.'s society, power holders i.e., wealthy, big business (banks, corporations,wall street, etc.) and right wing politicians.
Wars were started for personal gain without regard for human lives both here and in the country we condemned to Hell. The decision makers for going to war were closely aligned with large military institutions that profited from this evil pursuit. They used our citizens, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, to attain their gains without regard to life and world view.

In the  morals front, secular and fiscally based;

War in Iraq was started in a 'lie'. In this 'lie' (much like Vietnam), military leaders enabled conditions to be created whereby soldiers placed in untenable situations where their decision making processes, their individual psychological rationale were pre-determined by a 'dog-eat-dog' survivalist environment, inescapably, forcefully assimilated into the individual soldier's mindset. This irrational survivalist mindset creates a machine of wanton destruction and immoral human actions.
At the same time in this period of time the Attorney General employed autocratic, authoritarian powers suppressing the public right to information while attempting to contain the freedom of press by deploying surreptitious connotations that government unapproved information could be interpreted as
leaking military secrets. An environment of fear and conspiring curiosity toward who was or
wasn't American was determined by whether one's ideology ran in parallel with their position.    

In the governance side of morality; our leaders were allowing the large corporations and financial institutions to run amok through a volitional decision of dismissive oversight while avoiding the implementations of regulations. The wealthy became very wealthy through amoral methods via unregulated financial lending institutions.  The economy and the educational system were allowed to deteriorate by redirecting monetary support,  and our infrastructure was ignored. Companies were allowed to export jobs and whole businesses by not providing incentives to remain in the US. Reinvesting vs 'spending'as referred to by the Republican base in our infrastructure/education which would keep the jobs in the U.S. was not appropriated because we didn't have the money. Going from a national surplus to a deficit in the eight years of the Bush administration along with billions of dollars of debt to China who paid for the Iraq War.

 In the religious moral front; this being the underlying impetus behind my wanting to write this opinion of how a negative fiber of hypocrisy runs through.
The Republican platform wants be known as a conservative based party both fiscally as well as religiously.
On the fiscal issues spent and indebted the US during the Bush years more thatn any prior Democrtatic administration. They, the present GOP candidates, are now regurgitating and espousing the same policies that put us in this economic abyss. Reduce the deficit by cutting social and educational programs while trying to recall the National health program already a law and showing signs of significant gains in it's efficacy to providing health care and foreseeable cost savings while  excluding military spending. Cuts without revenue increases via, doing away with the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and forcing the one percent of the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share of taxes. They want to deregulate industry further and do away with the EPA. I wish they would read Governor  Jennifer Granholm's (Michigan '03-'11) book ' A Governor's Story:The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future'.

On the Religious conservative issues; Ironically the Republicans are proposing eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood on the bases that they hold a position of giving access to women on pro-choice alternatives.
Using Planned Parenthood as a political football through contributing organizations, example; the Susan G. Komen Foundation, to not fund them based on their assisting in contraception and personal pro-choice. They want to demonize organizations and individuals who exercise this right of choice. A war against a large majority of women. This of course has back fired.
They, Republicans, purport to be Christians yet, ironically in unchristian like acts, they judge and disavow and with some condemn non-Christian worshipers basing it on their interpretation of the U.S. Constitution stating the the US was Christian founded.
In this recent campaign they, the Republican candidates have been using fear mongering tactics/language to re-incite the emotions of those that hold inside that inherent racism and prejudice. They demonize Latinos on the immigration issue, Gays with the prop. 8 which has been recently been overturned by an appeals court, Muslims all are terrorists because of their Islam belief, the Chinese being the latest face of attack for stealing our jobs and unfair monetary practices even though it's our lack of investment and policy legislation, our homeless and poor threaten the fiber of our country according to one Florida Republican because they have a much higher proclivity of using drugs via the welfare checks on and then the latest unfortunate underlying patriarchal tactics of attacking issues that are most important to women, their health. These are the GOP's faces our debilitating options. 

Although, those of us that were hoping for more non-compromizations on issues by President Obama, he has taken us from a potentially death defying national abyss to surviving and progressing toward recovery in spite of every effort by a Republican congress and party to create obstacles. They, the Republican congress members signed an oath to 'just say no' to any and all presented legislation at any cost to the country and individuals so as to counter any position presented by President Obama's for the sole purpose of having him viewed as failed in all his efforts. This has stagnated let alone halted all progress on any attempts at progressive legislation. They care little of the damaging affect to the country and those that don't hold their common belief or persuasion.
This effort by this Republican campaign has been an assault on defeating President Obama and those who stand by some of the issues he represents at 'all cost' despite what is 'good' for the country, our place in the world and their view of US.

Wake up America   
  

Concerned

Recently I saw on major television networks and youtube an advertisement by CAGW, Citizens Against Government Waste(http://www.cagw.org/) that portrays Asians, more specifically a Chinese audience, seemingly laughing at the United States of America because they now own our debt. These Asian faces are laughing, seemingly nefariously,,while a host, Asian also, in Chinese with subtitles is telling this audience how they now own the United States of America. This portrayal could easily create an animous between our US citizens and China. This commercial and portrayal was quite offensive to me. Being of hispanic origin, I have witnessed this ploy of using of a particular ethnic face, latino and black, in a stereotype malevolent way toward a self serving agenda. They, China, didn't steal our country's debt we asked them to pay for our War of choice, Iraq. We all know what administration and political party was responsible for this decision after the realization that the oil from Iraq was not going to be our source of payment as they had erroeously assumed. Now we find this organization, CAGW, attempting to associate this indebted condition to our present administration . The CAGW organization has many close affiliations with the GOP/Tea Party.and is once again, quite surreptitiously, attempting to deceive albeit at the expense of Asians and the citizenry of the United States of America.

Those of us aware of the various underhanded machinations being utilized by the right wing of the Republican Party or Tea Party in the manipulation of information in support of their party's agenda must be diligent about exposing their efforts. We must bring it to light to the voters, the citizens who are too busy with their daily struggles and don't have the time to sift through the bombardment of misinformation. This deployment method is of course just another way of manipulating the uninformed with the psychological methodology that if something false is repeated enough as being true then people will eventually think it to be true. 

Take time to watch this video on YouTube (http://www.cagw.org/) and question if your sense of observation in the way this video is presented doesn't leave you with that feeling of being manipulated and worse with a sense of prejudice or bias against China or Asians.

Wake up, America!

Where Are We?

The U.S. of America

Domestic Issues: Jobs, spending, economic growth and Education are the major domestic issues being considered as priorities by our legislative representatives and Obama Administration

A) Jobs seem to be evincing gradually in lieu of losses. This is due to a
     reinvesting in our infrastructure, our investment in those large institu-
     tions that provide domestic jobs, tax legislation credits and incentives
     to inspire Small Business growth and Entrepreneural chance taking,
     Housing market incentives through percentage reduction on loans
     and mortgages.
     * An issue of concern is the recent publication of the disparity in the
        hiring of men vs women for jobs available.
     * The House of Representatives was returned to the Republicans by
        voters on the issue of Jobs. They have spent all there time trying to re-
        call the Health Care Reform program, destroy the middle class through
        break up of unions, cut all programs that are for education, the poor,
        the voice of NPR, deregulate the EPA programs, etc. They, the GOP/Tea
        Party have expended their time in a destructive endeavor rather than to
        their campaign promises of introducing legislation for jobs building.

B) Spending is being tossed around in Congress with the unfortunate
     continued bipolar bias that that is being voted on strictly along poli-
     tical lines. Unfortuantely, many of the spending issues that are being
     considered for the 'cutting board' are those that are going to affect
     the common folk and the legislatures are voting based on a bottom
     line basis that affects their individual personal interests.
     * My personal injection is that congress members should be reedu-
        cated with a mandatory course on 'morals and ethics', on the
        nuances of our Democracy taught by Sam Harris, Philosopher/author
        or Amy Chua, Prof. of World Econ. and Political Sci.

C) Economic growth is a mindset of whether the Spending is an expendi-
     ture or an investment. Our 'free market' economy has been historically
     advanced with expansion or diminishment by way of a domestic mindset
     that incites more or less investment. The country, after six to eight years
     of downward growth, seems to finally be turning toward a positive mind-
     set of investment and job growth. This will 'snowball' in a free market
     economy. We must welcome new approaches, new ideas.
     * Our Republican and Tea Party friends(no difference) are attempting to
        dwell or highlight all the negatives possible to not allow the Obama admin-
        istration to seem successful in their efforts. After all, 'defeat the Obama
        administration at all costs, just say 'no' GOP politics is still in affect.

D) Education must be the number one issue our Country must address in regard
     to the growth of our Nation with the underlying impetus directed toward our
     children and people. Our societal priorities must be rearranged making edu-
     cation and all associated contributers, ie. teachers, buildings, class rooms,
     libraries, etc.,  the top investment by America. President Obama and his wife
     Michelle are very strong advocates and proponents of education being the
     foremost priority of this country and every community. They are both Phd.
     certified extremely erudite and published authors. This allows them the
     right and qualified to press the importance of education.
    * Education is key to growth of not only the individual but the community
       and the Nation.

International Issues: The Iraq, Afghanistan Wars, Trade Markets, Interna-
tional politics and now Libya

 A) President Obama kept his promise to pull our 'fighting' soldiers out of Irag.
      Of course we still have round troops in the outskirts to oversee the transition
      ot Iraq's new construct. Their version of the integration of their political per-
      suasions, ie; Sunni, Shia, secular etc.
      * G.W. Bush's war of choice finally coming to an end.

B) Afghanistan was also started by President Bush for an appropriate reason,
     9/11, but later dropped the ball and chose to start a war with Iraq leaving
     our soldiers in Afghanistan in much greater harms way by pulling out Amer-
     ica's resources. We had the Taliban on the run if not almost defeated at least
     in their people's minds, we had al Qaeda hiding and also running scared yet
     the Bush administration; Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, wanted oil instead of cap-
     turing the head and tentacles of those responsible for 9/11.
    *This manifested very deceitful, ill-informed, incapable leadership.

C) International Trade and Market policies are being reintroduced into real dis-
     course and negotiations with the oil industrial nations, the dollar vs yuan valu-
     ation with China along with it's trade policies and the highlighting of the need
     to redevelop American made products and industry both domestically consum-
     ed and injected back into a very competitive international market. It raises the
     bar for quality produced products by our labor force and industry.

D) Libya, the most recent military action by the US has been action taken not
     without designated United Nations Charter. It will be strictly abided by and
     in accordance to Security Council Resolution 1973 of a 'No fly zone'. We
     will not invoke a ground troop mission without the approval of the United
     States Congress and in coordination with a United Nations direction. This is
     what President Obama has stated and continued with the reason for US mili-
     tary involvment is a humanitarian mission trying to keep pro Gadhafi forces
     from  massacring his own civilians by bombing them. The US was condemned
     for not assissting soon enough in Bosnia, Darfur, Rwanda. There is criticism on
     both sides of this action. "...Winging it" stated by Sec. of Def., Gates, conti-
     nues to cause debate of our or plan or lack of to extricate ourselves as the
     country in charge of this military action and whether President's Barack Obama
     over reached the Constitution's: Informed Consent.

We the people of the United States of America are in extremely precarious times domestically and certainly internationally. We must all become involved by writing our congressman or congresswoman and speaking out before the political and media pundits state their opinions saying that they speak for us 'the people'(an abused term to connote that they speak for us). We must be very cognizant and diligent so as not to allow these misrepresented voices to manipulate the truth as well as our voices consequentially resulting in undesireable political legislation by our Representatives.

GOP's Master Plan

Democrats and Independents, we need to recognize the sureptitious impetus behind all that is being vociferously highlighted by the GOP's number one motivation which is to defeat President Barack Obama in the next election. I must give credit to the planning board of the GOP for how successful their plan and objectives through an insidious dissemination of misinformation to the masses without caring about whatever group this information may injure, has been implemented. The following are the individual major issues the Republican Party under the guise or mask of the right wing of their party, the bigeted, prejudiced xenophobes that use a historically liberating representative name to feign the cause it's name represents, The Tea Party, are putting forth.

1) The inception of  'The Tea Party' as a supposed independent group of the
     people

2) The Tea Party through their unscrupulous representations win The House
     of Representatives

3) Defeat all issues and causes of the Obama Administration at all cost regardless
    of it's benefit to the country and those most in need, 'Just say No'.

4) Attempt to recall the National Health bill voted by the people as law without
    regard to it's manifesting benefits and what group it will most negatively affect
    by:
     a) pressing to defund certain line items
     b) dissemination of misinformation of cost and eventual savings
     c) depicting it as a Socialist pursuit

5) Depicting the Obama Administration as the responsible party for bailing out
    big banks and companies when it was the GOP and President Bush, previous
    Republican Administration, who placed us under the historic deficit we're in,
    started Wars of choice placing our soldiers in harms way without appropriate
    battle gear and not paying for it or the war (where's the oil money they told us
    would pay for the war and where are the weapons of mass destruction that was
    the reason to send our soldiers to die?) but borrowing the money from China
    making us an 'indebted nation', etc.

6) Questioning President Barack Obama's citizenship (a xenophobic attempt)

7) Behind the motivations of individual states to implement harsher immigra-
    tion laws, ie Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer's instilling fear mongering tactics
    through Bill 1070, Indiana Representative Delph through Bill 590, by
    amendmending to Article 11 of Federal Immigration Bill 1070 with
    Article 8 section E:  A law enforcement officer, without warrant, may arrest
    a person if the officer has probable reason to believe that the person has
    committed any public offense...This person may be stopped if found that
    reasonable suspicion exists that this person is an Alien* unlawfully present
    in the United States
* "Alien": what does one look like?

8) Attempt to take away bargaing rights from unions with the underlying motive
    of breaking up unions who were a major voting force behind President
    Obama's election. They are what historically has created our Middle Class
    (critical to the inherent nature of our Democracy and Capitalist system)

9) Pushing through partisan bills with the threat of shutting down the govern-
    ment if the Republican's don't have their deficit reduction request for this
    fiscal year: implementation would affect expenditure for the rights of women,
    planned parenthood, major environmental issues( ie mercury emissions
    upping ethanol percentage, mountain top mining, fertilizer pollutants runoffs
    into major waterways), job creation, aid for schools in nutrition programs,
    heating and housing programs for the poor

10) Most ominous is the pressing to withhold all funds from a voice that has
      been the epitome of a checks and balance segment of  'free' press, NPR.
      This in itself manifests the true motivations of those that wish to stymie
      the inherent nature of America's Free Democracy.

Democrats/Independents we must become active in turning this around by
exposing the Republican/Tea Party's surreptitious intentions and our 'Will" to
disseminate correct information. We must make sure that the middle class
survives and the poor get assistance. We cannot allow 'fear mongering',
denegrating and derrogatory demonizing methodologies to represent our
country's make up. This happens through voting and "Us" speaking out!!!

To be or Not, to be

Begin this beginning wondering
are the souls hovering o’er their incarnate shells
lying in the streets of Bahrain
in the dessert of Libya
or sidewalks of Iran
make the cause worth the loss

As I watch from the comfort of my home
seeing of how the strong arm of autocracy
is squelched by the gathering of voices
of those oppressed

The strength of this revolution
comes from the strife and scars
of faces gathered who’ve made a choice
to fight with life for human dignity
so that their children will live
in self rule and liberty

We see the violence and lives lost
People in these countries fighting for a cause
Dictators suppressing the fight
through sectarian genocide

In my own back yard I feel a strife,
a strain upon my person.
My face is brown, my hair is black
when I now walk outside my door
I concern myself, always looking back

I’ve lived a citizen of this country
now for many years
placing my life in jeopardy in 1969
still I must walk amidst the question,
because my hair is black, my face brown
‘where are my papers?’, I’m now, forever bound

The oligarchic elite wish to keep the power
They hoard the money and jobs
Pass legislation maintaining privileges
for those whose face is white, the right

Right wing politicians legislate perfidy
Surreptitious and insidiously
they suppress today’s undesirable ethnicity
Their identity is masked as liberators
stealing the name from America’s history
‘ Tea Party’, of those that truly were

Unlike history, though, this Party believes in segregation,
excluding some religions, ideologies and race,
because of this there will always be interrogation
for those that look like me and you