We Cannot Forget!

We cannot forget the momentous effort to roll back the tide of fascism that swept the world into chaos, a maelstrom of hate and horror, targeting the Jews, Communists, LGBTQ persons, and trade unions, and anyone else who didn't meet the Aryan standards of whiteness. 

Nor must we forget that powerful interests in the United States expressed sympathy for the leaders of fascism: for Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany, Franco in Spain. There were many in the United States who shared Hitler's hatred of Jews and people of color.

We must not forget that Christians and their church officials across Europe welcomed these fascists dictators because they all returned the church to a place of prominence. 

Big Business around the world feared Communism (read: Worker's Rights) and were more than happy to do business with the Fascists who signed in blood their hatred of Communism and Atheism. And to this very day, such interests still use the term "Communist" or "Socialist" to fire the blood of those easily misled.

On this days, tens of thousands of young men stormed the beaches of Normandy, and nurses and staff and journalists were right there, too. Americans, Canadians, British, Free French, and nationals from the Netherlands and Poland, and the Scandinavian countries, fought for one another, for freedom, and for Democracy. 

January 6 of this year, the GOP incited hundreds of misguided people to storm the Capital and overturn a free and democratic election.Across the nation, even as I write, the GOP is dismantling our Democracy through voter suppression, reinstating capital punishment, bleeding to death our educational system, and more than happy to leave millions of Americans behind, so that the rich can prosper all the more.

I will never forget my visit to Normandy some years back - a sacred silence takes hold of everyone who strolls among the graves and reads the memorials. Silence, a testament to the magnitude of the Evil that confronted our world, and a testament to the good that rose up in concert and made the fateful decision to wrest the conquered nations from the grip of tyranny and restore the world. 

It's a battle that never ends, and I pray that women and men of good conscience will lead us in the struggle to resist fascist instincts, to sustain our Democratic principles - that all are welcome, everyone can vote, schools are safe and well-funded, with a decent social safety net  for all.

Is this too much for which to hope?

Not at all.

Anything less would be a betrayal of those young soldiers who stepped off the landing crafts into a hail of bullets to reclaim the lands of Europe. God rest their souls.

 "It's a game" or so it seems to me, from afar, as to how the American tug-of-war plays out - the Plantation Capitalists on one end of the rope, tugging with their might and main, and those who see Democracy for what it is - equality for all before the law, and equality of opportunity, supported by laws to keep the Oligarchs under control and enable the rest of us to have a fair and decent chance at life.

From afar, it feels like a game.

But up close and personal, it's a struggle to the death.

Plantation Capitalists won't have it any other way, but their own.

For them, to own it all, to make all the decisions, to be sure that government stays out of their way and supports their claims, protecting their property - human and material.

They hate Democracy.

On the other hand, from the founding mothers and fathers to the present, the impulse of freedom, trying to figure out how to balance the scales of justice and opportunity, to make America a haven for the world, an example of how people can live together - without an aristocracy and kings and queens, without the landed powerful lording it over the rest of us, with a government that works for all of us, and not just the few.

From Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt, from FDR to Eisenhower, to this moment with Biden, the voice of liberty cries out to be heard, while others are doing everything they can to still the pure voice of hope.

Who will win?

Democracy is under fire right now, and autocracy holds out the promise of efficiency and power - the alluring vision of Mussolini, Franco, Hitler and tinpot dictators throughout history, including our former president and those who surrounded him with their praise and adulation.

But the human heart can still sing, and there is always hope. America has come through some of the worst, and it will come through again. 

Liberty, Democracy, Hope, will win.

My Nation

My nation has entered upon difficult days.
Dark and dangerous times.

Two competing visions of America.
One, generous and kind, mindful of people, not the dollars.

Determined to help everyone find the American Dream.
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Fully understanding:
We're all in this together.

Because all of us owe a huge debt to one another.
A debt paid without question or regret.

The other, of course, all about the dollars.
Government on the cheap.

With a mission to further feather the pockets of the mega-rich.
While telling everyone else to take a hike.

Or, worse,
"Improve yourselves and get your own money."

Somehow or other believing the money taken by the mega-rich,
Will trickle on down to the rest of us.

Which it never does.
Because once it's gone into the money machine of the rich.

It's gone.
Gone forever.

Taken from us.
US ... you and me.

Who made this money, in the first place.
With sweat of brow and brawn and brain.

Two visions.
And the contest is on.

We've seen it play out before.
In the fateful days leading up to Sumter.

Gettysburg and Shiloh.
Bull Run and Chickamauga.

And out of the smoke and blood.
Other such seasons, as these two recurring visions lock horns.

Hoover and the Great Depression.
Busted banks that went too far.

And then FDR.
Out of the blue, so to speak.

A man of polio.
Who knew what it was to depend upon others.

FDR. Who wasn't perfect.

Understood this America of mine.

So did Eisenhower.
And even Nixon.

But the GOP has, as of late, gone mad.
I mean, really, thoroughly, deplorably, mad.

There is no kindness left in its ranks.
Bitterness and bigotry have consumed its soul.

Racism and misogyny.
War and power.

A disgust with the poor.
And love of money.

Led by a madman.
A Russian puppet?

Who knows what scurrilous elements comprise this closet.
What shenanigans hide beneath that mop of hair.

So, where are we?
For now, bad times.

As the GOP flexes its muscles.
To deconstruct FDR's America.

And create Amerika anew.
A feudal society.

A few haves.
And the rest, have-nots.

This, too, will run its course.
But not before damage has been done.

Real damage.
That may take years to repair.

And some damage, permanent.
Beyond the failsafe point.

Two visions now test America's soul.
I stand with FDR on this one.

An America for all.
An America ... for all.

Distressed Reading … Ike, Iran and Guatemala … 1953 and 1954

I've always know this, but never in detail, and it makes me sick.

What we did in Iran in 1953, to support the craven interests of the declining British Empire and it's stranglehold on Iranian oil is so disturbing to me - our CIA, with Ike signing off on it, as he grew increasingly more frightened of the Communist Boogeyman, fomented a "revolt" paid for by American Taxpayers against a democratically elected leader (who had nationalized British petroleum interests - Communist-inspired for sure) and installed the Shah, with a new deal for oil in hand … and everyone was happy, except the Iranians.

Even as this was going on, efforts were underway in Guatemala to remove the democratically elected leader who had instituted land reform (this became proof positive of "Communist" influence); United Fruit Company, with its bananas and tentacles throughout the American Government, cried for help, and got it. "Rebels" were trained, and by golly miss molly, the president of Guatemala resigned and in his place, a dictator. And everyone was happy, except the Guatemalans.

For years, the Iranian deal was carefully hidden from the American People, until the final piece of Ike's diary were declassified May 10, 2010, admitting "covert" involvement. Steven Ambrose, Ike's biographer, had first seen this entry as early as 1984, but subsequent books omitted it.

What's tragic for me is that an otherwise savvy President, who understood colonialism in Indochina and thus refused to save the French, failed to understand British colonialism in Iran and American business "colonialism" in Guatemala. All along the way, folks who wanted to influence Ike glossed over the facts and used the threat of "Communism." Such language didn't work for Ike in Indochina, but it did for Iran and Guatemala.

And what a price we've paid.

As a side note, the Dulles Brothers were legal counsel for United Fruit in Boston; Eisenhower's personal secretary was wife of United Fruit's public relations department; Ike's national security advisor was the banker for United Fruit; CIA soldier of fortune on the ground in Guatemala, E. Howard Hunt, would later spend 33 months in federal prison for his role in the Watergate break-in.

When I finished this chapter in Eisenhower: In War and Peace, I felt dirty - my mind had been dragged through a pig sty. While I have great regard for Eisenhower, he surrendered his ability to think and weigh the realties by succumbing to the American hysteria of the time - a Communist behind every tree and under every bed.

He would have done well to heed the advice of his long-time friend, William Prescott Allen, publisher of The Laredo Times, who visited Guatemala in June of 1954: "Yes," he cabled Ike, "Guatemala has a very small minority of Communists, but not as many as San Francisco."

Those Always-Crazy Republicans

Those always-crazy Republicans …

"The Republicans in Congress had no intentions of giving up their opposition to the federal government just because their party had captured the White House. Eisenhower's principal adversaries throughout his tenure as president were not the Democrats but the calcified wing of the Republican party, which continued to live in the shadow of Calvin Coolidge and to see Communists under every bedstead." p.581 - Eisenhower: In War and Peace.

Folks like Cruz and Ryan are not the exception - they represent a constant wing of the GOP that now seems to have won the day. The GOP has always been a haven for these mavericks of mayhem, but whereas in the past, there were Republicans of wiser bearing, the far-right has now occupied virtually the whole of the GOP.

The media, of course, love them - they're the Steve-Martins of politics, making fools of themselves while purporting to have the facts and insider knowledge. When, in reality, they're but privileged children, given to bullying, lacking sound judgment and pretending to be wise.

Eisenhower Tax Rates???

What could we do if tax rates for the wealthy were at the Eisenhower level?

We could engage in one of the greatest public works building projects ever seen.

We could repair some dams, take others down, and even build some new dams.

We could do the same with bridges, highways and water and sewer systems.

We could lay down miles of light rail and trolley track ... we could revolutionize public transportation.

We could build new libraries ... and fully-fund our public education system.

We could help railroads rebuild their trackage.

We could fully-fund our national and state parks - we could have the greatest park system in the entire world.

We could provide for the homeless and the mentally ill ... and for our wounded vets.

And just maybe, provide single-payer health care for the entire nation, and get ourselves out of one of the worst health-care delivery systems that has made us the laughing stock of the world.

And all of this for starters.

One of these days, Americans will figure out how to be a real nation - a nation with a solid reputation for wisdom and compassion.

A nation that sets the pace for the world - a nation of greatness.

We did much of this under Eisenhower ... we can do it again.

McCain and Goldwater

Ironic!

That two senators from Arizona should lead the GOP into the wasteland - Goldwater and McCain.

Click HERE to check out this thoughtful article by Richard Cohen.

I've known a good many Republicans over the years who were fiscally conservative and supportive of our military, who wanted smaller government and tilted toward the needs of the wealthy ... but who would have nothing to do with the "bedroom politics" of anger and bigotry that has now captured the GOP.

I watched Palin on SNL - I couldn't help but think of a terrible disconnect between the fun she was obviously having and her religious ideology - who is Palin?

Like so many of her fellow travelers, it's a religion without connection - hence, without compassion, without reason, without a positive purpose, intent only on discrediting what others believe and wanting to impose restrictions and controls on sex and abortion, jealously infatuated with power!

The GOP today is not the party of Eisenhower or Dirksen - it crashed and burned in the ashes of Barry Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan and W. I mostly exempt the first Bush from this scenario, because I think H was more in line with earlier GOP traditions, although every Republican presidency has had to dance to the far-right tune of folks like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, especially since the days of Roe v. Wade.

Colin Powell is the quintessential Republican, but in his move to Obama, we see something of the greatness of a Senator Dirksen whose cross-aisle work enabled Johnson to pass his monumental civil rights legislation.

I'm a Democrat, and I made that decision when I was first eligible to vote - for me, the Dems are all about the people, and the welfare of all, not the few. It's a big vision, and for me, a person of faith, a Christian, entirely consistent with the way I see the world.

But to ensure a healthy political process, we need two parties (a third party won't do it) totally healthy. We need traditional Republicans - we need the GRAND Old Party.

May they find their way, and who knows, maybe in the next go-around, after Obama's 8 years, we'll see a REAL Republican enter the fray.