I must admit to being stunned to see all the hypocrisy, disinformation, ignorance and stupidity during the tax day tea party demonstrations. It is as if the media is clueless to the facts and report only what suits their own personal agendas. Let me try to set the record straight on the tea parties as I saw it.
This event was not organized by the Republican Party, and was as much a protest against them as it was against the Democrats. It was attended by people from all parts of the political spectrum. Attempts by any political party, their pundits, as well as individual politicians to claim this movement miss the point of the protest. We were protesting both parties and what both parties have done to our country. The message is that we are on to you and will continue to speak out until something changes.
The Democratic Party was swept into power because the Republicans broke their promises to its constituents. When the Democrats took the White House, they promised change from business as usual in Washington. Nevertheless, many of the fingerprints on the free money handout are mainly Democrats in Congress that crafted the legislation both under Bush and Obama. Since taking office, President Obama has been challenged more by his own party than the Republicans. If he is truly a reformer he needs to start with getting a handle on his own party. It is sad to see the party of "Civil Rights"- treat President Obama like they wanted his face and not his ideas. Obama is the man whose name will forever be linked to this period of history. Will his legacy be as a reformer or just another political hack? The Democratic Party has once again proven that they do not practice what they preach. They have their own reform candidate in office yet seem in no hurry ferret out the truth about the Wall Street bailout or to even discuss it.
Members of Congress are not in a hurry to reform. They seem to be covering up the truth about what has been going on for the past 20 years. Meanwhile the unemployment numbers continue to rise, the price of oil rises, the auto industry shrinks, and everyone on TV wants to buy your gold. At the same time we are selling our children's inheritance to the Chinese and the Saudis to prop up the short term economy but we can't keep it up forever. We are being humbled by the foreign interest to which we owe money. We have virtually no options except to finally deal honestly with our deficit spending. When do we realize that both parties are equally to blame for this mess we are in? How bad must the crisis get before The Congress gets its own day of reckoning? What are the chances of the citizens learning about the Washington/Wall Street connections when those most responsible are in charge of investigating themselves?
Here are some simple questions for both parties to answer to clarify our perspective. How secure is our country when our economy is in a shambles? What will our economic foundation be if our manufacturing base continues to shrink? How many elected officials will tell the truth and name names about the part played by the Washington/Wall Street connections? Who will follow the money and find out who got rich on the collapse and who got rich on the bailouts?
My suggestion is that Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich should be given task of investigating the crisis and the bailouts. I can not think of two more honest and sincere men to lead an investigation that starts with the actions of Congress leading up to this crisis and continuing up to the bailouts. We need to know where the all the wealth went and who got it, or we will never begin the process of restoring the peoples trust in government. In order to find the truth, the veil of secrecy must be lifted on the inner workings of the Federal Reserve. Interestingly the regulation happy Democratic leadership wants nothing to do with looking into the Fed and finding out where the money went. Meanwhile the Republicans are out of power because they did nothing to stop the economy from its mad rush to economic suicide.
The harshest criticism should be reserved for the current state of Journalism in the United States. The watchmen are either asleep at their post, incompetent or looking the other way while friends in Washington and on Wall Street run wild. People quit reading newspapers because they have more advertising than news. Newspapers need to be run by Newspaper people and not sales people or mega media corporations. The people are not as ignorant as television producers think. The people know when they are being herded to a particular conclusion. Here's a suggestion for the television news networks. What if you try using a rational discussion of the issues instead of rude behavior, pointless interruptions, and abbreviated analysis? As for talk radio it will be harder to regain credibility than it will be to change your message. You can't excuse and defend one type of behavior of a Republican and condemn the same behavior in a Democrat.
In conclusion, it is time for everyone to stand on principles and honor---not for our sake, but for the future of our country.
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