Joe America was born into the political and economic system against which he is now protesting. The seeds of the system were sown in the economic upheaval led by Ronald Reagan towards the end of 1985. With the collapse of communism in the beginning of the nineties, nothing remained to block the path of neo-conservative capitalism. The USA opened its doors to globalization; cheap goods and cheap labor flooded the market, and state-owned enterprises were privatized. The results were immediate. Half the nation climbed upwards; the other half sank.

The ideologues of the new system worked overtime to convince the public of its efficiency and advantages over the old system. The establishment shared the cake equally between its old boy citizens ...

I have to admit that I was seduced by the idea of Barack Obama.

I didn't know how close he later gravitated to the Chicago political machine or tried, but failed, to knock off the former Black Panther turned Chicago Congressman, Bobby Rush, in a primary.

He's invoked the spirit of the civil rights movement but was not part of it. He treated Dr. King as a monument before the new memorial, embracing him as a symbol of the past, not a guide to the future.

He took an anti-war stance on pragmatic grounds only, preferring Afghanistan to Iraq. He hasn't extricated us from either battlefield.

His strategy borrowed heavily from the Bush Doctrine. What's the difference, really, as US troops now intervene worldwide?

There was a lot I didn't ...

There are examples of inhumane behavior that baffle us all occasionally but this is a very disheartening story.  Even the most callous and crass agenda put forth by our Rushpublican opponents will not be able to sweep this under a Faux news rug. How does one deal with defiance toward human dignity as despicable as first responder Mark Ekstrum displayed to a 9-11 request ?

Friday, February 18 2011
   (Tucson, AZ)  --  Evidence shows a veteran firefighter refused to respond to the mass shooting that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
   The "Arizona Daily Star" reports internal memos from fire officials in Tucson, Arizona show Mark Ekstrum cited political differences with his crew as his ...

A thimble's worth of grey matter is the only requirement needed to reach a sensible conclusion into why this despicable act took place. Wake up America... we have chemically imbalanced individuals running around out there, people who have been turned away or refuse care when it comes to proper diagnoses and corrective medication. Unaffordable to some, not accepted by others and this country shrugs it's shoulders and walks away.

Now combine this mental imbalance with the availability of firearms. Not a very safe combination in my estimation but the media in this country plays the blame game, never pointing at the short falls of mental health care or gun laws or the simplicity in acquiring weapons and ammunition. The ...

A good place to start is on the website of the American Enterprise Institute – one of the many murkily-governed and business-funded think tanks dedicated to spreading kleptocracy in the United States and around the world. The author is Henry Olsen and the article is a pickup from National Review Online.

This article is an interesting and thoughtful look at how the soldiers of kleptocracy view U.S. politics, with a particular focus on the recent Congressional midterms. The whole article rewards a careful read. But let’s go about two-thirds of the way down the piece, where Mr. Olsen is trying to understand why ordinary working people tend to support progressive parties:

“Ask an American working-class voter why he supports Democrats and ...