I’m No Expert…

I have to hand it to the Republicans, with slight of hand and misdirection they have all but convinced America the deficit was caused by the Democrats and President Obama. But this is not the first time they misdirected the attention of the American people:

“Democrats were quick to point out that President Bush’s budget creates a 1 trillion dollar deficit. The White House quickly responded with ‘Hey, look over there, it’s Saddam Hussein.’”
– Craig Kilborn, April 2003

Tags: Economy, Politics by Jay Stuart
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The Republicans have always had an uncanny ability to fool the American people and here we go again. Well they are at is again. In July,22 NY Times, Paul Krugman’s insight into the Republican’s new campaign to rewrite history and cleanse Bush policies of having anything to do with the current ec0nomic mess will have consquences if the American people fall for it again. Don’t miss this important read!!

 “Republicans aren’t trying to rescue George W. Bush’s reputation for sentimental reasons; they’re trying to clear the way for a return to Bush policies. And this carries a message for anyone hoping that the next time Republicans are in power, they’ll behave differently. If you believe that they’ve learned something — say, about fiscal prudence or the importance of effective regulation — you’re kidding yourself. You might as well face it: they’re addicted to Bush.”

Tags: Economy, National Issues, Politics by Jay Stuart
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Everyone seems to agree that America needs to break its addiction to oil. But for many the solution is to drill more oil wells here in the lower 48, Alaska, and offshore; you know “Drill Baby Drill.”  But that really doesn’t break our addiction, it only changes “dealers”. That’s like trying to quit cocaine by switching to a dealer closer to home.

I’m no expert, but these people don’t seem to have a clue. Even in the wake of the greatest oil disaster in history, they still think “Drill Baby Drill.”

Breaking our addiction from oil must begin with changing the mindset of Americans. Oil can be just one component of our energy. As we add other sources, such as renewables, we use less oil. More drilling only begets more more drilling! It’s time to break the viscious cyle of oil.

Tags: Energy, National Issues by Jay Stuart
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As if you really need to ask. But Jonathan Powers, a veteran of the war in Iraq, reaffirms the reasons, probably adding a few you never thought of, and describes the consequenses of maintaining the status quo.

“This year, as Americans across the nation celebrate July Fourth with barbecues and fireworks, those most responsible for defending our independence, the military, will continue to fight two wars. And it is a shame that we will let yet another July Fourth pass us by without making substantial progress toward ending our unnecessary dependence on oil, a dependence that is funding the bullets that our enemies fire at our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.”  READ MORE

Tags: Energy, National Issues, Politics, Renewable energy, environment by Jay Stuart
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The United States economy didn’t fail over night. It took years of wrong decisions, neglect, cutting banking regulations and so on to get us here. The “Bush” years specifically. You remember when the Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress.

But now, as midterm elections near, Republicans think it’s time for President Obama to take ownership of it and stop looking back at what caused it. Now I’m not exactly clear what they want him to take ownership of? The loss of millions of jobs that occurred at the end of the Bush administration? The collapse of the financial system that occurred primarily because of the rampant deregulation and internal Bush policies that had government financial regulators cozy up with Wall Street? The “tax-cut-and-spend” policy of the Bush years that turned a trillion dollar surplus into a half a trillion dollar deficit? Or Republican stonewalling and filibuster threats to bold recovery efforts unless they were scaled down? And let’s not forget the conservative’s genuine wishes for “Hope for Failure” to Obama’s recovery policies.

After two year in office Obama can take ownership, but remember where he started…at the bottom. The economy is slowly improving . But the rich are losing the tax cuts that is the foundation of our current deficit and not getting richer fast enough for Republicans. So the new Republican slight-of-hand strategy is to be make the American people believe our current situation is all Obama’s fault.

Tags: Economy, National Issues, Opinion by Jay Stuart
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