byte&chew

Ike was right

There’s no question that these are some of the most challenging and troubling times since the Great Depression and WW2. It’s my belief that, over the years our political system has been high-jacked by big money and special interest, something that some very wise people saw coming a long time ago. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us back in the 50’s about the threat by some of the largest industries of that time, the military industrial complex. He warned us that our large corporations would infiltrate our government through their lobbyists and influence all political decisions in our country. I believe that Ike was right and, we the people did not heed his warning which has led us to the mess we’re in. At the moment there are signs that the society and the standard of living you and I have enjoyed is in the process of being dismantled. Just look at your own situation, look around your own neighborhood and compare what you see with what you experienced when you were a kid. Has your quality of life improved? Have conditions in your neighborhood or city/town improved? Do you feel safe and secure economically? Do you believe that your kids will have the same opportunities you and your parents had? If the answer to these questions is NO, then you agree with me that we’re in decline. The real challenge and where it may be difficult for us to agree is on the course of action that needs to be taken to put us back on course.(If that’s our goal)  I believe that the last time the citizens of this country were as politically divided as they are today was during the Vietnam War, but unlike the 60’s, hardly anybody has taken to the streets.(yet) It’s a very different story in Europe where street demonstrations have become daily events. Of course the main issue both here and abroad is the economy and the plight of the working poor and the dismantling of the middle class. The size of the middle class and their salaries raised the standard of living in this country as nowhere else in the world. If I had to point to a single event that triggered this decline I’d say it was when Ronald Reagan fired the Air Controllers and the pilots crossed the picket lines. To me that was the beginning of the end of a country where the majority of its citizens belonged to the middle class. Working class wages have remained flat for over 30 years while the cost of goods and services has increased dramatically. Our paychecks are buying less and less as the cost of some necessities of life such as food, healthcare and energy have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled over this same 30 year period. Because these changes were spread over time the effects were subtle and, the ordinary citizen didn’t pay much attention to the consequences. Our grocery bills increased a couple bucks a month, our fuel oil bills increased a couple hundred dollars a year, gas went up a few pennies now and then and soon we needed a second paycheck to maintain our standard of living. Gone were the days when women could stay at home and raise the kids and we could have a  boat, a snowmobile and a camp on a pond or lake. Recently I’ve had more than one person tell me that they’re prepaying their heating fuel for next winter and that it will cost them $1,000.00 more than last year. Some of our residents will have to come up with $3K to $5K for the heating season, how some people will mange remains to be seen. Retired folks have a double whammer, these rising costs all while their retirement plans such as 401K keep losing value each time the stock market takes a dive. We may be the first generation whose standard of living will be lower than our parents and our grandparents and how we deal with that reality also remains to be seen. Here in New Hampshire, the infinite wisdom of newly elected republicans/tea baggers, voted to repeal the minimum wage law saying it was “killing jobs”. What jobs? Certainly not those sent to China by our own corporations. Removing the minimum wage law will just further facilitate the dismantling of the middle class and the standard of living that three generations worked so hard to build. Maybe we should just call this the age of reckless ignorance as most of us join the ranks of the working poor in a developing two class society.

A Tomgram:

August 21, 2011
Tomgram: Karen J. Greenberg, Taking the Justice Out of the Justice System

Can you even remember the world before 9/11?  You know, the one where you weren’t stripped in the airport or body-wanded at the ballpark?  It’s as much a lost world as anything Conan Doyle ever imagined.  And it seems there’s no turning back.  An administration voted into office by a populace tired of George W. Bush-ism has, remarkably enough, added on to Bush’s wars, redoubled his “secret” drone campaigns, further expanded the special operations forces that have grown into a secret military inside the military, upped the level of secrecy that envelops the National Security Complex (whose further expansion it also has overseen), renewed the Patriot Act, supported further surveillance of Americans, dumped yet more money into the Pentagon, and in sum seems intent on recreating Bushism without Bush.

Now, barely noticed, basic American institutions are starting to wobble under the strain of our post-9/11 world.  With the Supreme Court ensuring that corporations would be prime actors in electoral campaigns and the coming of billion-dollar elections, national politics has become a bread-and-circuses media affair that could at best be considered a “semi-democracy.” Similarly -- as Karen J. Greenberg, TomDispatch regular and author of The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo’s First One Hundred Days, tells us -- the courts, already under increasing financial pressure and suffering layoffs and slowdowns, have been losing the confidence of Washington.

Osama bin Laden must be spinning with pleasure in his watery grave. Tom

What leadership?

As I think back at the day when I launched byte&chew, little did I know how much time and effort it takes to maintain a blog. Byte&chew was born out of the need to have a serious conversation about the proposed Laidlaw Biomass Plant and who would have believed that Michael Bartoszek was going to bail on the project and that the Independent Power Producers were going to be the projects biggest obstacle? At the moment, we’re all playing a wait and see game to find out if the IPP’s get their day in court or if PSNH will offer them an acceptable Power Purchase Agreement. Also yet to be explained or resolved is the challenge of getting that amount of electrical energy to the grid over the existing transmission lines of the Coos Loop and, who will be paying for that upgrade. One thing is for sure, we’re not about to see smoke coming from the old stack for a few years, if ever.(Sorry Barry) In the meantime, the world continues to turn and new events seem to have captured the attention of those who read and comment on this blog. Some of the issues that have drawn the most attention make the Laidlaw issue “kids stuff” as compared to the complexities and importance of the economic issues of the country and the world. It’s been my experience that, when there’s big money involved you’re sure to find politics and politicians nearby. Some build their political careers on promises fabricated as a solution to problems that few of them understand, never mind solve. Others watch in disbelief as their careers come to an end over events way beyond their comprehension or control. The rest of us bicker among ourselves believing that we can influence outcomes by aligning ourselves with one political party or philosophy while defending our point of view as if we knew what we’re talking about. I believe that the reality is that, most of the time the script for these events have been written by those who will profit economically or politically from the chaos and we’re no more than spectators. Just look at the Laidlaw project. What role did Mayor Grenier really play in bringing the project to where it’s at today? In reality, none! Yes he became a cheerleader, but in matters that really matter he played no role at all, but the issue did get him elected mayor. This only proves that he’s a great opportunist. In the meantime and for the past 5 to 6 years Berlin and the North Country has languished in the aftermath of the paper mills closings and hardly a sound is heard from our political leadership about any effort to develop a new economic base for the City and the Region. Assuming that Berlin Station eventually gets built and goes online, those 40 jobs won’t even come close to providing the level of economic activity that will keep our children here or attract others to invest and move here. Nothing short of a significant effort will keep Berlin and the Region from losing more residents and our communities becoming mere shadows of their former selves. Is anybody paying attention to this issue? As I said, not a sound about this matter is heard from Mr. Grenier or Gallus and the cries of “jobs, jobs, jobs” have long been silenced by their lack of creativity or imagination, leaving the future of the Region to chance. I believe that they’re waiting for the next smooth talking promoter to stumble upon the remains of our communities and again, they’ll come alive as cheerleaders chanting “jobs, jobs, jobs”. That my friends is pathetic and, is a total lack of political leadership!  They need to address this issue during the next election cycle and, we need to make damn sure they do!

From TomDispatch

August 16, 2011
Tomgram: Chris Hellman, The Pentagon's Spending Spree

China just launched a refitted Ukrainian aircraft carrier from the 1990s on its first test run -- and that’s what the only projected "great power" enemy of the U.S. has to offer for the foreseeable future.  In the meantime, the U.S. Navy has 11 aircraft carrier task forces to cruise the seven seas and plans to keep that many through 2045.  Like so much else, when it comes to the American military, all comparisons are ludicrous.  In any normal sense, the United States stands alone in military terms.  Its expenditures make up almost 50% of global military spending; it dominates the global arms market; and it has countless more bases, pilotless drones, military bands, and almost anything else military you’d care to mention than does any other power.

In other words, comparisons can’t be made.  The minute you try, you’re off the charts.  And yet, in purely practical terms, when you take a shot at measuring what the overwhelming investment of American treasure in the military, the U.S. intelligence community, the Department of Homeland Security, and the rest of our national security establishment has actually bought us, you come up with a series of wars and conflicts headed nowhere and a series of post-9/11 terror attacks generally so inept it hardly mattered whether they were foiled or not.

Still, when it comes to cutting the U.S. national security budget, none of this seems to matter.  The Pentagon “cuts” presently being discussed in Washington are largely in projected future growth, not in real funds (which continue to rise) -- and even then, the Pentagon and its many boosters in Washington are already crying bloody murder.  Give some credit for all this to the giant weapons makers and to the military itself: both have so carefully tied military-related jobs into so many state economies that few congressional representatives could afford to vote for the sorts of real cutbacks that would bring perhaps the most profligate institution on the planet to heel and yet still leave the country as the globe’s military giant.  You want, for instance, to cut back on that absolutely crucial Navy acrobatic flying team, the Blue Angels.  (What would we all do without dramatic military flyovers at our major and minor sporting events?) Count on it, hotel keepers in Florida will be on the phone immediately!  Add in the veneration of American soldiers and you have a fatal brew when it comes to serious budget cutting.

Absurdity, logic. Neither seems to matter. Still, the financial basics remain eye-opening, as TomDispatch regular Chris Hellman of the National Priorities Project makes clear. Tom

Cause and effect

I have no idea if most people feel the way I do about the events of the past couple weeks, but I’m tired, maybe sick and tired of the daily ups and downs of politics and the economy. In the past couple weeks we’ve come close to our government defaulting on its financial obligations due in part to the actions of a small minority of politicians who adhere to a policy of my way or no way, regardless of consequences. Then and as a result, Standard and Poor downgrades our credit rating from AAA to AA not because we’re broke or we’re about to collapse financially, but as stated by the head of S&P, “because of the political situation in Washington”. Those who are always ready to point to the Constitution and the founding fathers as justification for their position on issues and reckless behavior, fail to understand that, our government was designed by people who wanted the country to be ruled by debate and consensus and by people who would put the best interest of the country first, not by political ambition or self interest. We now have elected officials who have pledged their allegiance not to the Country or its Constitution, but to self appointed right wing fanatics who in return give money to political campaigns. These fanatics now “own” these politicians because going against their pledge will mean not only the loss of financial contributions, but gutter level media assaults at election time. Now this circus in Washington triggered not only the downgrade by S&P, but it set off a wave of negative reactions in the financial markets, the likes never seen before. This roller coaster ride of the markets has cost most Americans with 401K plans and other retirement investments, losses in the 10% to 25% range. In earlier posts I’ve expressed the opinion that these simplistic (dimwits) had no idea what the consequences of their actions/positions might be or the fact that they didn’t seem to care. I believe we’re witnessing a perfect example of the results of that narrow (lack of) thinking right now. Did those who were pushing the debate to the brink of default actually take into account the possibility that their actions might cost the average American to lose 10% to 25% of their retirement savings? Had we defaulted, how much more serious would the impact had been? I doubt the consequences of their position ever crossed their simple minds. What will their mindless and narrow view of the next issue bring us? As I said, I think we have an example unfolding right before our eyes.

From TomDispatch.com

Best of TomDispatch: Chalmers Johnson, Dismantling the Empire

Posted by Chalmers Johnson at 4:55pm, August 7, 2011.

Chalmers Johnson died on November 20, 2010, but -- for me at least -- his spirit lives on in the most active of ways.  In his last years at TomDispatch.com, he regularly chewed over the profligacy of the Pentagon, our unbridled urge for military spending, and our penchant for war-making and war preparations without end.  He was convinced that we had long passed the point at which we were still a “republic,” that we had decisively opted for empire, and -- long before the U.S. intelligence community came to that conclusion -- that we were on the downward slide, helped along by what he called a “military Keynesianism” run amok.

One question he raised regularly in conversation, but never answered in print, was: What would it mean for the United States -- i.e. a great military superpower -- to bankrupt itself?  After all, we aren't Argentina.  But if there was no obvious model to draw on, he never doubted one thing: if we didn’t change our ways and reverse course on empire, we would certainly be a candidate for debtor’s prison and a wreck of a country.  In his last major essay, also the title of his last (and still unbearably relevant) book, he turned to the issue of “dismantling the empire,” knowing full well that it wasn’t on any imaginable Washington agenda.

Having just lived through one of the more bizarre months in the history of the former republic -- what I recently termed “a psychotic spectacle of American decline” -- it seemed to me that Johnson’s “dismantling” essay couldn’t be more timely, and so on this quiet Sunday in August, on the weekend the author of Blowback would have turned 80,  I’m bringing it back from the TomDispatch archives.  It was first posted on July 30, 2009, and it has only gained in relevance from the two years of debacle that have followed.  If only I could bring Chalmers back as well.  This country could use him right now.  Tom

Looking in

Last Monday, the day that our political kids in Washington were throwing a tantrum and voting to raise the National Debt Ceiling, I took the day to visit friends in Canada. (I had to get away from C-Span) Looking back at my trip which was very enjoyable, I will now try to share my impressions of how we look from across the border. First, let me tell you where I went which may have influenced my impression. I went to a small community called Stanstead Quebec. What’s special about Stanstead is that it’s a community that sits right on the border, that’s right; the community is divided by the border. (US/Canada/Vermont/Quebec) To demonstrate that point, my friends brought me to the Town Library which has a line across the floor defining where the border actually is. So in fact, you can walk back and forth within the library going back and forth between the two countries. Outside the library there’s a white line on the asphalt of the street, again showing exactly where the border is located. I believe it’s also important to note that, many of the residents have dual citizenship having been born in the “States” as they call the USA, although their parents lived on the Canadian side of the border. Another demonstration of how this community straddles the border is when you’re driving down Canusa Street (CAN-USA) for about a mile, the houses on one side of the street are in Vermont and on the other side they’re in Canada. There are two “legal” border entries in or near Stanstead, one on I-91 and the other in Beebee, a small hamlet which is indistinguishable from Stanstead. On Monday’s trip my GPS chose for me to enter Canada in Beebee where the custom facilities are very small with no parking lots etc. and, situated right in town at a very busy intersection and on the westerly end of Canusa Street. As you drive into Beebee from Derby, you go up a rise in the road and there on the right is the American customs office. My first sight was of two US border agents in dark commando style uniforms, bloused pants tucked into combat boots and with impressive weapons at their side. They stood there at parade rest, watching me go through the intersection with staring looks (You don’t have to stop at the US customs going into Canada) Immediately across the intersection was the Canadian customs and there a Canadian officer smartly dressed in a class A style military uniform with tie and dress shoes waved me in and welcomed me with a broad smile and without a weapon. This was quite a contrast with the scene across the street where the armed American officers stood at attention, glaring at every passing car. (The street is a no man’s land) The Canadian custom officer was polite and courteous thanking me when I gave him my passport and thanking me again when returning it. He asked where I was going and wished me a good day. Now let me skip ahead to the experience returning to the US. Again the two armed officers were in the front of the customs office, the two never cracked a smile and one came to my car and took my passport without saying a word. Returning and handing me my passport said; “Where are you from?” New Hampshire I said.  “Where have you been in Canada?” Just up the road about 4 miles to a friend’s house I replied. “How come you have friends in Canada he snapped?” These are people I met years ago at a campground in the States I replied. He mumbled something I didn’t understand and exhaled loudly. “Bringing anything back?” Nothing I replied. He stood at attention and waved me through. The whole experience was like a scene from a 70’s movie at some German border crossing during the height of the cold war. If the whole experience is meant to make an impression, it does and, it’s not positive. (I actually felt relieved when I couldn’t see them in my rear view mirror) What I just described is pretty much the way the Canadians see us as a people, uptight, unfriendly and armed.  During my visit, my friend asked me; “What’s happening to you guys anyway, you all seem to be so…nervous and scared. What are you afraid of?” I gave all kinds of dumb explanations like 9/11, Iraq etc. It was at this point that I began to realize that we indeed had changed as a people. My friend told me about an ugly scene last winter, when the Americans (Homeland Security) had barricaded the street by the library preventing the residents from driving down the street to their homes on the American side.(Forcing them to drive two miles to the “official” entry point) The Canadian authorities took the barricades down then the Americans returned and this time with guards armed with automatic weapons and, re-installed the barricades which are still in place today. If we need a lesson on how people feel about Americans and why, just go to Stanstead Qc you don’t have to go to Iraq or other far away places. I think that it’s a shame that we’re perceived as bullies cowering behind our tough façade of guns and threats. We may be a kind and generous country but our actions are less than pleasant or positive to those looking in.  I saw it with my own eyes and was not pleased with what I saw.