Category Archives: Iraq

  Recently I learned a lesson. I learned that the progressives in media either don’t know how to win or do not even want to win. That is the only way I can explain it. With all that is happening right out in the public for all to see….yet the left can not even take advantage of it. As the right-wing echo chamber whips up their base to support the demonizing of public workers. Such as teachers, firemen, cops and postal workers. As the right works up their base to actually cheer for the death penalty and boo a soldier because he is gay. As social security is painted as a lie. As corporations lay off thousands and CEOs rake in record profits…..the right’s base defends them. Defends the corporation and demonizes cops and teachers? How in the hell did this happen. How did a group of people who once slammed the President for not supporting the troops by wearing a flag pin on his lapel all of a sudden feel cozy and secure to jeer a soldier serving in Iraq? As all of those are going down, the progressives still fail to connect with a public who is stretched financially to the max and on the brink of a mental breakdown. How does this happen?

  Well, it is easy. The right gives talking points. They echo chamber the shit out of them. They spend one minute cherry picking facts that support their agenda and spend the next 59 minutes hammering the talking points home. Repeating them.”Job creators this….risk takers that” “Fight them there,so we don’t have to fight them here” “Jobs are leaving because of taxes” ” Unions are killing this country…Union thug this…union thug that” And so on and so on. They will pick a small handful of things to work the base up into a frenzy so the base will then spread the word and do all the work for them. It is basic. It is easy. They play offense and ignore completely the defense. Reason being…the defense is non existent. For if they laid out all the facts it would disprove their agenda.

 Now what the left does, what the left does is much different. The left is very cerebral. The left likes to see a problem and pick it apart.Never going on the offense. Never trying to get the public on their side. Rather they run around like educated meth heads. From one topic to the next. Always trying to inform and be rational. Problem is, that only appeals to their base. The general public can not and will not sit through a fact-finding mission. The public can only deal with quick hits. Small nuggets of information and things they can relate to. The public can not sit through a whole disertion of how our foreign policy is the root of all our wars, etc etc. The public wants something they can relate to and stew over. The public likes to watch offense. Not defense. The public can’t see they have skin in the game when you bore the shit out of them with too many facts. The key is to grab their attention…then drop the knowledge. The left does half of this. The facts are all their to back up what they are saying. Problem is most tune out. Most are zoning out. If you can not grab their attention qucikly…they are moving on.

 Now the way I always approach the right wing is like this: It is in two parts. Why are they doing this? Why are they getting away with doing this? Now I have said in the past that it all goes back to the unions. All of it.Then I get accused of only thinking that way because I am a union member. That is bullshit. For anyone to not see the connection between what is going on now and unions is either kidding themselves or just stupid. If the left would only see it all goes back to unions and actually attempt to save them and galvanize the base and others…the fight would be over. But they seem to not get it or not really care. It has to be one or the other. Perhaps a combination of both? Maybe.

 When did the draft end. In the early 70′s. When did the attack on unions begin? Early 80′s. Why would the attack on unions begin in the 80′s? Simple. It was a time when corporations were really starting to get their hooks in this country. When deregulation was just starting. When Wall Street and the military industrial complex really took off. So what is the unions connection to this? First thing is unions protect workers rights and make it so they have a voice. Makes it so a group of employees making middle class wages can stand up to a billion dollar corporation. The unions ensure that the employees come first. Safety. Health. Safety, health and security before the mighty bidding of the corporation. Unions choose people over profits. Because in the long run, profits over people is not sustainable. It is for the very rich and powerful. They will always be paid. But the workers. The customers. All expendable. On the other hand, people over profits is beneficially really for everyone. All parties involved.Very sustainable. Because if employees across the board have good paying jobs and security, they will then have the means to buy other products. The middle class will thrive. The economy will thrive. But if the economy thrives it is not good for all. It is not good for corporations real agenda. It is not good for Wall Street either. Or the military industrial complex. If people have well paying jobs why would they have the need to stretch themselves to the breaking point with constant loans. If households were making enough from a single 40 hour work week income that would mean one parent would be home to check up on the kids. Make sure the home work was finished. Ensure that the PUBLIC schools were strong because who would complain about their tax dollars funding good schools. If everyone had a secure, well paying job, why would anyone enlist in armed services. Now granted, some would. But numbers also show that a majority enlist now for school grants or lack of employment opportunities.

 So it does go back to unions.Jobs are easily outsourced and cut when no union presence. Fact. When jobs are scarce and no opportunity for a stable future….people will do the following: Take out loans in hopes things get better. Enlist in the armed services. Take what ever they can get and just be happy they have a job…even if it is a low paying job with no benefits and dangerous conditions. Or they will turn to crime. All things that will feed the right-wing agenda. Banks and Wall Street. Military Industrial complex and a terrible foreign policy. And privatization of all things that once were public. Jails. Police. Fire. Schools. So again I will state: IT ALL GOES BACK TO UNIONS.

  Unions are the last defense. The only thing out there that can have the guy making minimum wage stand shoulder to shoulder with the teacher, the fireman, the police officer, the construction worker, the truck driver…the only thing that can make all these people have a voice so loud that it will drown out the noise that corporations and the military industrial complex makes. However that voice has never been so faint. So faint that it will make the masses turn on themselves. Not in class warfare. Rather in class cannibalism. With out unions all of what I have said will come to fruition. The corporations will continue to plunder and outsource. Continue to under pay and over work their employees. The Banks will continue to gouge the middle class with high interest loans and penalties. Wall Street will continue to gamble with retirements and create more bubbles. The military industrial complex will be ensured a healthy crop of willing soldiers to do the bidding of the failed foreign policies. All of this will happen if the unions are destroyed.