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!