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DeLay convicted of dishonesty in US court
Big News Network.com Thursday 25th November, 2010
 Tom DeLay, the former Republican majority leader in the US House of Representatives, has been found guilty of money laundering. Convicted by a Texas jury on Wednesday, DeLay was found to have illegally funnelled corporate money to Republican party election candidates in 2002. It was proved he had used his political action committee to channel $190,000 in corporate donations into Texas legislative races through a money swap. Prosecutors accused DeLay of conspiring with two associates, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, to channel donations into the Republican National Committee, which then sent the same amount to seven Texas House candidates. The prosecutors said the money had helped Republicans take control of the Texas House. The man whose domineering style was felt by US representatives, was once given the nickname: “The Hammer.” His political career, representing suburban Houston, has now come to an end. Today DeLay runs a consulting firm. DeLay faces five years to life in prison on the money laundering charge and two to 20 years on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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Most Americans don’t know GOP won
The Pew Poll suggests that only 46 percent of those surveyed correctly verified that the Republican Party won control of the House as a result of the November 2 midterm elections.
Another interesting finding by the poll was that only 15 percent of Americans knew that David Cameron is the current Prime Minister of England.
The poll, aimed at assessing the US public knowledge on current affairs, surveyed 1,001 adults by telephone between November 11 and 14 with a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
MSD/PKH/MMN
Republicans Vote Against Equal Pay for Women–Unanimously
Susan Collins (R-ME), member of the United States Senate.
Senate Republicans don’t care about equal pay, privileging small business over gender equality. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have expanded womens’ recourse against wage discrimination, died in the Senate today, under the oft-invoked guise of protecting small business.
Even some previously pro-equal pay women turned their backs on the bill–Vermont conservatives Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins both registered “no” votes. Ironically, the bill failed by just two votes.
The bill would have worked to ensure equal pay for women, giving them more remedies in the court system for wage discrimination.
The summary of the bill states that it “amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for, enforcement of, and exceptions to prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages.”
After Fair Pay was annihilated, Obama released a strong statement expressing his dismay. “I am deeply disappointed that a minority of Senators have prevented the Paycheck Fairness Act from finally being brought up for a debate and receiving a vote,” he said. “This bill passed in the House almost two years ago; today, it had 58 votes to move forward, the support of the majority of Senate, and the support of the majority of Americans. As we emerge from one of the worst recessions in history, this bill would ensure that American women and their families aren’t bringing home smaller paychecks because of discrimination.”
Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center, echoed Obama’s sentiments. “In this difficult economy, in which nearly 40 percent of mothers are primary breadwinners, women shoulder increased responsibility for supporting their families and cannot afford to have employers discounting their salaries,” she said in a statement. “Among other important provisions, the law would make it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees who seek to learn whether they are being paid unfairly.”
Republicans’ justification for killing the bill was based on the potential for “excessive litigation against the small business community,” aka bosses who knowingly discriminate against their female employees might actually have to own up to their actions in a court of law. Meanwhile, women still earn 77 cents to every dollar a man earns, on average–a statistic that hasn’t changed in decades, and likely won’t anytime soon. So thanks for that, Republicans.
By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | Sourced from AlterNet
Posted at November 18, 2010, 8:48 am
Let’s Pass Some Laws Before the Republicans Head Into Town (after all, that’s what they’d do)
Michael Moore in 2004
…an open letter to Congressional Democrats from Michael Moore
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Dear Congressional Democrats:
Welcome back to our nation’s capital for your one final session of the 111th Congress. Come January, the Republicans will take over the House while the Democrats will retain control of the Senate.
But Dems — here’s something I don’t understand: Why do you look all sullen and depressed? Clearly you’re not aware of one very important fact: YOU ARE STILL COMPLETELY, TOTALLY, LEGALLY IN CHARGE! When (and if, mostly if) you wake up to the reality that you can do whatever you want for the next seven weeks, you will realize that you have two clear options:
1. You can continue your “Sit Quietly and Hope No One Hits Me” strategy and thus lay the groundwork for an even bigger ass-kicking two years from now;
Or…
2. You can actually use the power you hold for the next seven weeks and have the Senate pass the legislation that the House has already passed!
Wake up, Democrats! You are in an awesome position right now. The House of Representatives, in this current session of Congress, has already passed an astounding 420 bills since January of 2009 — 420 bills that are just sitting there on the Senate leader’s desk. The Senate has refused to take up these House bills because they’ve been afraid of a Republican filibuster. Well, Dems, here’s the truth: You can pass all of these bills and turn them into law RIGHT NOW, TODAY, by simply calling for a majority vote of 50 Senators (plus Vice President/President of the Senate Joe Biden). Yes, you will need to change the filibuster rules. So do it. You have the votes! And yes, the Republicans will scream bloody murder — so let them! Make them. Let America see them in all their hateful, spiteful ways — it will act as a beautiful coming attraction trailer for all the world to see. Let all of America watch the Republicans as they try to derail democracy by holding up a bunch of bills that nearly every American I know would want to see as the law of the land. Many of these bills are so safe, so innocuous, I have a hard time understanding what the heck the problem was in the first place. Like the bill that’s already passed the House to name a post office after Jimmy Stewart. I know, I know, the idea of a post office named after Jimmy Stewart is really, really, incredibly controversial and divisive and somebody on the other side of the aisle might yell at you. Be brave, Democrats!
There’s a whole slew of these bills the House has passed. Some are no-brainers; others are absolutely necessary. You can pass them in the next seven weeks. And because you Dems seem to have a problem with properly naming your bills and communicating effectively with the average American, I have helpfully renamed them for you so they sound like what they actually are — things people would really want. Here’s a partial list of the bills the House has already passed and are now just in need of approval by the U.S. Senate:
• The “Give Mom a Raise Act,” officially known as the “Paycheck Fairness Act,” which addresses pay gaps between men and women. Now, who out there still believes women should be paid less than men? I REALLY want to see Republicans try to stop this one.
• The “Don’t Amputate Our Feet Act,” aka the “Eliminating Disparities in Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act of 2009.” Which Republican will stand to speak out in favor of diabetes?
• The “Pay Up, BP Act,” aka the “Audit the BP Fund Act,” which makes sure BP is paying people hurt by the Gulf oil spill as quickly as possible — and makes BP pay the cost of keeping track of where the money’s going.
• The “Stop Foreigners From Hitting Grandma Act,” aka the “Elder Abuse Victims Act.” This doesn’t really have anything to do with foreigners, but our fellow Americans seem to automatically dislike people from other countries, so this should help just in case the Republicans think an “elders abuse victims act” doesn’t sound patriotic enough.
• The “Let’s Try Not to Destroy Planet Earth Act” (aka Cap and Trade, a lousy half-way measure to begin with, but about the best you can expect from you Democrats these days).
• The “National Bombing Prevention Act” (it’s actually already called that, which is hard to improve on).
And while those of you in the Senate are taking care of all that, the House can come up with a better version of Michelle Obama‘s “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” to improve child nutrition. The Senate has already passed this bill. (The House should fix it so that it isn’t paid for by cutting food stamps to poor people. Yes, you, a Democratic Senate, did that.)
Then there are also things that neither the House or Senate has dealt with. These would take more work during the next two months, but that’s what highly-caffeinated “energy” drinks are for.
Jenni Suri of Ligonier, Indiana, has set up a petition with a good list, which anyone can sign here to tell the Congressional leadership to get started. Among the “to do” items on the list:
• Extend emergency unemployment benefits
• Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
• Pass the DREAM Act (to provide young immigrants with a path to citizenship)
• Pass the Disclose Act to force corporations to say what politicians they’re giving money to
• Pass the Employee Free Choice Act, so we can have unions again in the U.S.
• Pass Rep. Donna Edwards’ constitutional amendment that — in the wake of the Citizens United decision — would give Congress the power to regulate corporate spending on elections
So what do you say, Democrats? What’s the worst that could happen — you’d lose an election? You already did that! C’mon, here’s your one last gutsy chance to show us that you’re made of something other than wish and wash.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Be sure to let the Democrats in Congress know right now you expect action from them during this next month. You can call your Senators and Representative at (202) 224-3121 or find their direct number and email at Congress.org.
P.P.S. If you missed Bill Maher or Larry King on Friday, here are the links to watch my visit to both of them: Maher, Part 1, Maher, Part 2, King, Part 1, King, Part 2, King, Part 3 and King, Part 4.
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Congress Comprised of Fewest Women in 30 Years
In terms of sheer numbers, there are dark times ahead for women in Congress.
For the first time in 30 years, the amount of of women in the house has decreased, with nine representatives losing their seats. And in the Senate, it looks like the number will remain the same at 17, even with Patty Murray‘s recent win–though if Murkowski somehow gets the shaft in Alaska, that number will decrease as well. Even with all the brouhaha about the so-called mama grizzlies–of Republicans, only three women out of 30 candidates ran on open tickets–Congress is still comprised of only 17 percent women. According to Debbie Walsh, Director for the Center of American Women and Politics at Rutgers, “This year is the first time that it has gone down, it’s gone down a little bit, but going down or staying the same if you care about women’s participation in politics.”
But it goes beyond mere participation. As the Republicans take over the house, and the number of men and women aligned with anti-choice groups such as The Susan B. Anthony Foundation increase, the implications of a lack of female representation are troubling. New Hampshire‘s Kelly Ayotte, for example, defended parental consent laws during her time as attorney general–and she was propelled to her new seat thanks to cash infusions from the SBA. Similarly, while women made gains across the country in gubernatorial races, they were generally conservatives who toe the tea party line–radically anti-choice, anti-gay rights, steeped in traditional gender roles–not exactly the paths to parity.
By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | Sourced from AlterNet
Posted at November 5, 2010, 10:07 am
GOP takes house; Dems hold senate
Top news: Riding a surge of voter discontent with the state of the economy, the Republican Party retook the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night, dealing a major blow to President Barack Obama’s domestic and international agenda. Republicans have won at least 58 seats in the House, exceeding the 52 they won during the Republican sweep of 1994.
“The American people’s voice was heard at the ballot box,” said Representative John Boehner of Ohio, who will likely replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
The Democrats will hold their majority in the Senate, though Republicans picked up at least six seats, a significant gain in today’s filibuster-heavy politics. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid held his seat after a close-fought battle with Tea Party favorite Sharon Angle.
Tea Party backed candidates Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio won their races, increasing the anti-big government movement’s visibility and influence in Washington, though others did not fare so well. Despite heavy media coverage, Chrstine O’Donnell was defeated in Delaware and Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, running as a write-in candidate, appears likely to have pulled off a victory against Tea Party-backed Joe Miller, though her votes still need to be verified. Senate races in Colorado and Washington were still too close to call on Wednesday morning.
Despite the passage of major healthcare reform legislation and stimulus spending, polls showed voters even more dissatisfied with congress than when Democrats retook control in 2006. Nearly nine in ten said they were worried by the state of the economy.
FP‘s Cable blog has much more on the foreign-policy implications of last night’s results.
Election Could Weaken Support for U.S. Agriculture Subsidies
Washington, DC, Nov. 1 (EINNEWS)—Jobs, the economy, health care and other issues may be dominating election campaign news, but the results of tomorrow’s voting may have a deep impact on a topic few are discussing: agriculture.
According to the latest polls, Blanche Lincoln, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, will lose her seat, setting up a scramble for a new leader, regardless of whether the Democrats keep control. In the House, analysts expect Republicans to win a majority, with the probability that the new Agriculture Committee Chairman will be Frank Lucas from Oklahoma.
The new committee line ups will jell at a time when deficit reduction will be high on the agenda, a new farm bill will be on the table and longstanding agricultural subsidies will be in play.
New faces on Capitol Hill next January – new faces with new ideas about issues important to agriculture, such as trade, the environment, and farm programs. What happens this November could set the course for American agriculture for the next decade.
Indiana Republican Senator Richard Lugar, one of the most senior members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a recent interview that for decades southern agriculture, particularly cotton and sugar sectors, have maintained a strong hold on U.S. farm policy.
But, he said, new committee dynamics and mounting federal deficits will spotlight the billions of dollars taxpayers spend to protect commodities such as sugar. Lugar believes all support and quota programs will come under scrutiny.
The Obama administration has placed more emphasis on rural development, nutrition, local food and farmers markets than previous administrations. Farm profits have also been setting records, weakening the case for agricultural safety nets.
One of the unintended consequences of tomorrow’s voting could be a radical change in direction for agricultural policy.
The unbearable stupidity of American voters
Obama lowered taxes, and the economy is (slowly) growing. But that’s not what the people believe. Why?
For those of us in the media business, which, supposedly, at least some of the time, implies a mission of informing readers about what’s actually happening in the world, the results of a a poll conducted by Bloomberg last week are incredibly depressing.
For example:
By 52 percent to 19 percent, likely voters say federal income taxes have gone up for the middle class in the past two years.
Except, that’s just not true.
The Obama administration has cut taxes — largely for the middle class — by $240 billion since taking office on Jan. 20, 2009. A program aimed at families earning less than $150,000 that was contained in the stimulus package lowered the burden for 95 percent of working Americans by $116 billion, or about $400 per year for individuals and $800 for married couples. Other measures include breaks for college education, moderate- income families and the unemployed and incentives to promote renewable energy.
Even a plurality of Democrats believe Obama has raised taxes. Poll respondents also think the U.S. economy is continuing to shrink, when in fact it has grown for the last five quarters.
The incumbent majority political party usually is fighting an uphill battle in a midterm election, but when you throw in headwinds of ignorance on this scale, it’s easy to despair. It’s one thing to argue that Obama probably shouldn’t have included a big tax break as part of the stimulus, instead of pouring more money directly at infrastructure spending and aid to states. But when he cuts taxes and everyone assumes that their tax burden rose, the strategy is doubly undercut.
There are two takeaways:
1) Unemployment trumps GDP.
No one cares about statistics indicating that gross domestic product rose at 2 or 3 or 4 percent in a quarter. The unemployment rate is by far the most important economic indicator. If you’ve lost your job, can’t find a job, or are in fear of losing your job, you are unlikely to believe that the economy is growing. The Obama administration made a bet that a $787 billion stimulus bill would bring the unemployment rate down to a politically reasonable point by the midterm election. It did not, and Democrats will be punished for it.
2) Republicans have won the messaging game for the last two years.
It seems remarkable that a party that governed so badly while it was in power, preaching smaller government while engaging in total fiscal irresponsibility, would be trusted by anyone on anything. But GOP talking points, fueled by Tea Party mobilization, appear to have taken hold almost immediately after Obama’s election. Even as Obama was lowering taxes, he was labeled with the hoariest of Republican attack-mantras: tax-and-spend. He was immediately blamed for a budget deficit that was largely constructed by Republicans and the result of recession-induced shortfalls in tax revenue. He is now saddled with responsibility for an unemployment rate that is the consequence of a crisis that occurred before he took power, and that would undoubtedly be higher if not for the stimulus.
But that’s all for naught. Whether the Obama administration could have dented the misinformation by more aggressively making the case for its own actions is something we’ll never know. High unemployment is a very difficult jam to talk your way out of. We knew that. What we didn’t know is that high unemployment can actually twist perceptions of objective reality into an alternative universe. Obama lowered your taxes. It might not have been the smartest thing to do, but it’s what actually happened!
- Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21. More Andrew Leonard
Today Is the Day …from Michael Moore
Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
Friends,
This letter contains (almost) no criticisms of how the Democrats have brought this day of reckoning upon themselves. That — and where to go from here — will be the subject of tomorrow’s letter.
Today, we have one job and one job only: Stop the return of the bigger criminal class, the Party of War, the people who (with a few Democratic enablers) manufactured the very mess we are in.
There is good news this morning: The final ABC/Washington Post poll shows that, among registered voters, people still say they prefer the Democrats over the Republicans by 5 percentage points. It’s only when the pollsters ask “likely voters” who they want that the Republicans come out ahead by a few points.
So it’s clear the majority of voters want the Dems, but the prediction is the Republicans will win because Dem voters are going to stay home.
So, our mission is simple: MAKE SURE NO ONE WE KNOW STAYS HOME TODAY. Here’s what I am going to do right now and what I’m asking the millions of you reading this to join me in doing:
1. Email, call and/or text every non-Republican in your personal address book and remind them to vote Democratic today. If they (rightfully) complain that the Dems have been disappointing, tell them they’re right, then ask them to watch this editorial by Rachel Maddow last night where she correctly lists the dozen or so things this Democratic congress did right — the types of things we’ll never see from the Republicans if they take over (equal pay for women act, taking student loans out of the greedy hands of the banks, funding for our first bullet trains, boosting veterans benefits after Bush refused to for 8 years, etc.).
2. Post a general reminder to vote (and who to vote for) on your facebook page and tweet it to your Twitter followers.
3. If you have the time, go down to a local candidate’s HQ or the local Democratic Party office and offer to make calls or give people rides to the polls.
4. Think local. No matter where you are in America, there’s someone on the ballot today in your town who deserves your vote. Guaranteed. If you’re in Wisconsin and you’re pissed at Harry Reid for letting Joe Lieberman derail the public option on health care, don’t let that stop you from getting everyone you know to go vote for Russ Feingold. In Florida and furious at the way the Obama administration coddled Wall Street? All the more reason to call every single person you know in the Orlando area to go vote for Alan Grayson. In California and mad about the total Democratic failure on global warming? You can still change the world for the better by showing up with all your friends to vote for Prop 19 to legalize personal use of marijuana (and stop the record numbers of people we put in prison who don’t belong there).
5. Explain to anyone who’s given up and doesn’t want to vote today that Obama was handed a terrible mess that he didn’t create. He may now understand he’s moved too slow and compromised too much on the big stuff that needed to get done (after all, Goldman Sachs was his #1 private contributor in the 2008 election). But in the last couple months he’s made some good moves — booting some generals, dumping economic advisor/wrecker Larry Summers, and hiring new people like consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren. Things are very bad right now. But they can get MUCH worse. War with Iran? A genuine worldwide Second Great Depression? A Republican Congress will spend every second trying to make it happen.
6. Finally, we must let the Democratic politicians know that our vote comes with one big condition: If they do not straighten up, get a spine and do what we expect of them, we will find alternate candidates to run against them in 2012. And we mean it. Go vote today, but also sign this petition that I’ll deliver to every elected Democrat — the “I’m Voting Democratic But I Will Work to Defeat You Next Time if You Don’t Do Your Job” petition, aka “The Democrats on Probation” petition. Let’s publicly put them on notice that we’ll give them just two more years to start doing the things we elected them to do. If they move one more inch to the “center” or to the right, they will never get our vote again. And we mean business.
Bill Maher said, “We have a center-right party and a crazy party. Over the last 30 years, the Democrats have moved to the right, and the Republicans have moved into a mental hospital.” That about sums it up. But he also said, “Sure, I’m mad at the Democrats. I’m also mad at my cell phone company. But I don’t throw away my cell phone cause I’m mad and then rub dog shit on my teeth.” We all know this isn’t the best situation to be in. So consider this one last reason to get out and vote:
There are good people the country has never heard of who are running today all across America, most of them for the first time. Somewhere in this great land right now, the woman who will cast the deciding vote in the Senate for single payer in 2016 is running for mayor of your city in her first big race. Somewhere else, the person who will become the first female president of the United States in 2020 is running for the state house for the first time. Their careers will be over and that future will never be if you don’t show up today. Go to theballot.org, find out who’s great and running where you live, and then show up to vote for them. You may help light the spark that will save our sorry ass somewhere down the road. Don’t just hold your nose today as you go in the booth — go ignite a future revolution. The only thing that makes the corporate honchos happier than paying no taxes is making sure as few people vote as possible. They think they’ve bought this election.
Go prove them wrong.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
Founder
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Despair Follows Delusion
Joel S. Hirschhorn
Despite all the hype and rhetoric, only one impact of the midterm elections is assured. Notwithstanding power shifts from Democrats to Republicans in Congress there will not be any deep, sorely needed true reforms of our corrupt, dysfunctional and inefficient government. The culture of corruption in Washington, DC will remain. Hundreds of millions of dollars from corporate and other special interests will assure that.
Voters who think otherwise are either delusional or stupid. It will not matter whether you voted for Republicans because you wanted to defeat Democrats (or vice-versa), or whether you voted for Tea Party candidates, or whether you voted against incumbents, or whether you voted for what you believe are lesser-evil candidates. Americans lost however they voted, but it may take time for most to comprehend that. That is a terribly painful reality, which is why many who chose to vote will resist facing the ugly truth.
When it comes to politics in America, delusion and stupidity are rampant, like a terrible epidemic that has killed brain cells. Several billion dollars were spent selling candidates this year. Who profited? The many media outlets that received the advertising bonanza and companies that supplied mailings, posters and automatic phone calls. At least all that spending was kept domestic.
Yes, you are thinking that this is the most cynical view possible. Cynicism beats delusion. I recommend it.
This is what American history tells us. Americans have been brainwashed and tricked into thinking that elections are crucial for maintaining American democracy. That is exactly what the two-party plutocracy needs to maintain their self-serving political system and that is also what the rich and powerful Upper Class wants to preserve their status. But voting in a corrupt political system no longer sustains democracy. It only sustains the corrupt political system that makes a mockery of American democracy. Think about it.
In the months following this election, when unemployment and economic pain for all but the rich remain awful, anyone who pays attention and is able to face the truth will see that there is little chance of genuine government reforms. Nor will any of the nation’s severe fiscal and spending problems be smartly attacked. The Republicans will blame the Democrats, the Democrats will blame the Republicans, the Tea Party winners will blame the system, the radio and cable pundits will blabber endlessly, and Jon Stewart and other comics will have an abundance of material to take jabs at. The two-party plutocracy will triumph.
Every member of Congress will, as before, spend most of their time and energy doing what is necessary to win the next election. The army of lobbyists will be busier than ever legally bribing politicians to sustain the successful political strategy of the rich and business sector to make the rich and superrich still richer at the expense of the middle class. Anyone who thinks that winner Republicans will work to overturn economic inequality is stupid or delusional. A disproportionate and ludicrous fraction of the nation’s income and wealth will go to a tiny fraction of rich and superrich Americans. Nothing that President Obama or the Democrats have done or championed was aimed squarely at reversing economic inequality and the death of the middle class, which by itself justified defeating them.
President Obama, of course, will continue his self-serving rhetoric with the sole goal of winning reelection in 2012. The presidency just made him destructively delusional. Of course he will speak about working with Republicans. Wait and see.
Here is what non-delusional Americans can hope for: Maybe a decent third party presidential candidate will emerge. Maybe the Tea Party movement will wake up to the reality that electing Republicans is a terrible strategy for reforming the government and restoring the health of the nation and shift their interest to forming a third party. I doubt very much whether any of the Tea Party winners in Congress will stand up and aggressively work for and demand true reforms. The new Republican Speaker of the House is a classic establishment Republican. Maybe the greatly expanded calls for an Article V convention (mostly by Republicans and conservatives) as the constitutional path to reforms through constitutional amendments will gather more energy (especially from Tea Party people) and finally succeed.
Welcome to the good old USA where citizens, unlike those in Europe, do not riot in the streets demanding justice but keep believing in the nonsense that voting for either Republicans or Democrats will work for them and the nation.
Despair follows delusion. Despite the endless media hype, the political revolution of 2010 is like a badly made firecracker – a dud. President Obama, Republicans and Democrats will have learned nothing profound, not enough to dedicate themselves to real reforms. Along with economic pain, widespread anger will persist as nothing tangible results to make the lives of ordinary Americans a lot better. Will Americans demand smarter strategies than voting in regular elections with choices between Democrats and Republicans? What do you think?
[Contact Joel S. Hirschhorn through delusionaldemocracy.com.]