Thursday, February 24, 2011

Screaming Into The Hurricane.


A lot of my blogging buddies don't blog as much as they used to anymore. A lot of them have eschewed this medium for the short sentence world of Facebook and the even shorter sentence world of Twitter. I'm on both too...I admit, both mediums are a lot easier to write on consistantly.
I have had some great conversations and exchanges on both mediums. I am also certain that I reached a larger audience too. (Though on Blogger ,you can never be sure just how many people are reading your work and just not commenting.)

I used to average about twenty to twenty five comments a day at the height of this blog's popularity. Most days I'm happy if I get one or two comments...I'm a comment whore, what can I say? At the same time I have to remember why I got in the blogging game in the first place. I had something I wanted to say. I was angry about a lot of things and I wanted to put it out there for the public to see. I always said that I was blogging for me and that I would blog whether anybody commented or not...That being true...I 've been on my soap box all week about this thing in Wisconsin. This is important....It ought to be important to any American who is reading this who works somewhere.

Look, at this time in this nation...we are still in the midst of a serious economic crisis. That being said, It's true that we gotta make some serious changes in the way we do business, in the way we spend money...in the way we live period. and that there is a need to make changes in government budgets at all levels, from the state capitals to Capitol Hill. Some of the choices involved are tough ones, including those proposed by President Barack Obama in his version of the 2012 budget.

But! There is always a but! How far is too far? For those who may feel left out of the revolutionary spirit that we are seeing in the Middle East (Egypt,Libya, Yemen ,Bahrain), a spirit of revolution has also been brewing here in the United States because of the economic crisis we find ourselves in that has gripped us since 2008.

Now that Republicans have taken over many important political seats in the aftermath of last fall's elections, that spirit is rising to even higher levels. Republicans in power have a new task: fulfilling the promises made to politically active conservatives and naive folks who put them in office, while guiding an anxious populace through turbulent times.

The Radical Far Right (and down right crazy)Tea Party wave that put many Republicans into office is looking for deep spending cuts that reflect the movement's philosophical approach to small government, Conservative populist leaders such as New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin's Gov. Scott Walker have taken on unions and the negotiated agreements that now threaten to bankrupt their states.(So They say) Republicans on Capitol Hill (led by Speaker of the House John Boehner) are proposing cuts that could jeopardize at-risk Americans in education and other areas of need.

Now I want to ask a question...a serious question for you to think about..Are all of the targeted Republican cuts and actions really necessary? There is a clear need to make unpopular cuts that will ruffle feathers at all levels of society. All politicians realize this. President Obama was no exception, with his proposed cuts to Pell grants that have helped low-income students attend college. These Republicans,especially the Tea Party inspired ones are going to such lengths that many Americans are beginning to question the direction of the government. (Sound Familiar?)Ironically, many of those opposing the thrust of Republican leadership are doing so in a tone that resembles the angst of Tea Partiers just a few years ago -- and, further still, an anger similar to that of the grassroots movement on the other side of the Atlantic.Uh Huh?

Those who don't believe that the clash in Madison, Wis., this week to protest Scott Walker's proposal to eliminate the collective-bargaining rights of Wisconsin teachers was inspired by both the Tea Party movement and the Egyptian revolution undervalue the power of new media in the 21st century, as well as the frustration of people globally with the status quo in politics. This is a lesson that Republicans must heed quickly before they become victims of the very wave that helped them win power: People will no longer take the patient path and wait for results. I've run out of patience a while ago.

I think that a lot of Americans of all races and classes are anxious for changes that improve their collective lot. Like people overseas who protested for change, Americans are no longer interested in watching political machination or philosophies dictate policy, particularly at a time when cronyism and flunkyism has played such a key role in creating the conditions that people from Egypt to Eau Claire are facing now. I'm one of those Americans...I consider myself an Activist/Blogger.

Tea Party/Republican attempts to rein in spending would not face such opposition if the proposed budget cuts did not so closely reflect the GOP's recent history of ignoring the practical realities facing urban(ie- Black and Hispanic and poor white) residents. Scaling back the economic pressures that they say unions impose on state budgets could be negotiated and justified as a necessary evil in these economic times, if the actions of New Jersey's Governor Christie (who continues to look to freeze teachers' salaries in New Jersey) and Wisconsin's Scott Walker at the bureaucratic level of education were not accompanied by proposals within the Republican Continuing Resolution to eliminate programs that directly affect students, particularly funding for higher education. This is definitely not the time to do that...Our kids need to be able to compete at a global level in order to get the few jobs that are still available....and right now...we aint cuttin it.

When you combine all of these actions, you find yourself with a political reality that many moderates and liberals feared would happen after the Republican wave of victories in November 2010. Their worst nightmares are coming true: Republicans in power are looking to use the current economic crisis to slash budgets like crazy, ignore the existing economic disparities facing disadvantaged Americans, and promote policies that contravene sustainability and recovery for struggling, everyday Americans.

I've gotten very long winded this week...No fluff pieces...This was too serious to let slide..I felt as though I had to speak out....Sometimes I feel like I'm just screaming into the hurricane...Maybe not...Maybe somebody out there is reading this and it means something...Who knows?

I'll close by saying this...What goes around comes around...The same so called extremism of the Obama Administration that frightened so many stupid people who's only frame of reference is Fake, I mean Fox News and Talk radio can be the same extremism that fires up the Working Class, Minorities, Women, Gays ,et al and have the Republicans getting the kind of political shallacking they gave the Democrats last year...If and when that happens...remember where you heard it first....Then I'll know I wasn't just screaming into the Hurricane.

This is why I Blog!

21 comments:

Toni said...

Well Said,I mean written!

James Perkins said...

Wow...Powerful Post man...I've been reading though not commenting all week...You have really been getting the information out there.

Angie B. said...

Tell em how you really feel Keith,LOL!

Sunflower said...

Very,Very informative...Have been loving your last few posts.

Samuel Bastion said...

Sometimes the oppressive nature of the enemy is good. It brings home better than any speech or article the very nature of the beast. Great post man.

Brenda said...

Thanks for speaking up for the unions.I'm a school teacher and a member of a local....I certainly hope that our Republican Governor doesn't get any ideas from that crazy Wisconsin Governor!

Tate 2 said...

You're preachin to the choir man, I hear you!

Jazzy said...

Glad you've been writing these kinds of posts...I read so many blogs that aint about nothing fam...You always have something interesting to say...even in your so called fluff peices..Keep up the good work bruh!

Swaggie said...

Good posts man...On all of your blogs!

Angie B. said...

Ditto what Swaggie said!

Grover Tha Playboy said...

So glad you do blog my brother...Your three blogs make my day!

Sean said...

Keep bangin my brother! Keep tellin it like it is...I'm here, I don't comment all of the time..But I always read!

Captain Jack said...

You are givin it to the people!

Cheryl said...

You're not screaming into the hurricane Keith, People are reading and hearing you...Even if we don't always comment.

Vanessa said...

I share in Brenda's concern that the other governors don't get any ideas from this kook in Wisconsin and start trying to do the same..
I'm a State Worker here in Pennsylvania and I'm very concerned.

Halo said...

As Always Keith, You are always on point with your political observations!

Lisa said...

These Tea Party people are out of their minds...I'm waiting for the sleeping giants that are the unions and the progressives to get mad and give them that shallacking that is way over due.

DBH said...

Go get em Keith, Mister Blogger-Activist...lol!

Yvonne Anderson said...

Your last few posts have been on point...I too am a school teacher..
(Not in Philly) and my union leaders are watching the latest developments very losely.

Arlene said...

Good one, Keith! I do agree that sometimes bad things happenning can force people to take steps in the right direction. Or their hearts become hardened. The hard hearts have to be broken to get change.

I think it's "hammertime." We have to break some hearts (not heads like
Libya) to get some sense into some minds!! Maybe the actions of the Republicans will cause people to think and act on their own behalf, not for the wealthy. Perhaps people will deal with reality, not just watch scripted "reality" shows.

And our grandmother would have said "pissing in the wind!" LOL

CareyCarey said...

Hello my fellow flyboy,

It's been awhile. but since you were one of the first to visit me to the blogsphere (and I hate tweeting tweeters) I thought you'd understand my need to run my mouth.

Yep, I am not a drive-by kind of guy. Well, I don't have to tell you that.

Anyway. It seems like this new voice in America is really an old voice. I mean, those that are protesting against that foolish Govenor and those that would take their basic right, is a voice I've heard from the past.

Are the chicken coming home to roost?


Keith, although you've heard this before, let me put it to your readers like this.

Is the black man and unions and teachers really needed? There will be jobs for everyone - white. Unemployment will be at it's lowest. No more BET to wreck the minds of the inquisitive white kids. White folks could turn on the TV and root for all the white guys shooting 3 pointers. Dunking will be banned. There would be no more debates about immigration because everybody that even looks like they've ever kissed a dark skinned person would have to run for the hills.

Who needs unions and the black man. Collective bargaining my ass. Why doesn't America take the black man and unions out of there misery? There's A Republican train a comin? Maybe we should just bitch and moan and cry and bullshit while telling others what "THEY need to do". Yes sir, us white folks are all for the people.

But Keith, time has shown that it's not the concern of any one race. The victims of the violence and hatred are lower middle-class, young and old, famous and unknown. They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed. No one - no matter where he lives or what he does - can be certain who next will suffer from some senseless act of power pulls. And yet it goes on and on and on in this country of ours.

You know, that boisterous sales pitch that intrudes our listening pleasure. It like a loud commercial. Unfortunately though, some people love commercials. They remember the jiggles and they sing along. I never liked commercials except when I was a child watching Saturday morning cartoons. I loved to watch and wish upon a star that I might one day have all the fantastic toys and sugar glazed cereals that flashed across my television screen - instead of the oatmeal, toast and scrambled eggs, my mother presented to me. Looking back, I now understand what she meant when she said I would thank her later. Aside from her obvious message of proper nourishment, she said, "commercials don't mean anybody no good". Maybe that's why I don't listen to Glen Beck or those that mimic his sound bites. Well, at the very least, I listen with a very discerning ear.

So here is what I am now hearing: Didn’t you po middle-class white folks know that game was made to be sold and not told.
Didn’t you notice that Republicans only voted bipartisan when the issue was
about war. Didn’t you realize that when you voiced your constitutional right to
run your mouth, we knew that some of you freedom riders would ride right into
our trap. We bought and sold you dumb ass white folks. Yeah, we call ourselves Republican, and so did you, but you were never part of this party. We just used your ass. You always did love the rope.
It looks like the pigeons have come home to roost. You’ve been hanging yourselves. Too late now mutherfu*ers, guess who’s coming back to dinner!

You guessed it, greed, racism and power hungry dogs.




KEEPING THE FAITH: RANDOM PRAYERS "ON THE DOWNLOAD"

DEAR GOD: There are times when I feel completely helpless to alter the circumstances in my life. I am powerless to turn around a bad economy, or ensure a favorable report from my doctor, or guarantee my spouse will always love me, or make sure I am never in an accident. When I sense that I have no control over what is occurring in my life, my energy lags and fear and frustration begin to overwhelm me. Let your spirit of peace spill freely over me until I recover my inner calm. Help me remember that it is not control that gives me peace, but knowing that I am loved and beloved by the heart of heaven. Amen.









































































"Mommy, can I go to Timmy's blog and play?"



































Click on image to enlarge for reading






Click on image to enlarge for reading



Click on image to enlarge for reading