Article: Uncle Sam is making the wrong choices

[Norman Solomon]

By Norman Solomon

On a recent day in Petaluma, two very different events spotlighted grim results of upside-down priorities from the federal government.

Upwards of 600 people gathered for an early breakfast at the Veterans Memorial Hall to raise money for the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS), a nonprofit organization that last year sheltered nearly 2,000 individuals, served more than 127,000 hearty meals and distributed 800,000 pounds of food to the needy.

We heard moving stories about — and from — people whose lives have been transformed by active compassion, generosity and their own hard work. But, as speakers lamented, COTS must turn away many who need help.

Charities and other nonprofits are struggling to cope with deep economic wounds that have been festering for years. The dire consequences are far more widespread than private agencies can possibly heal.

Only government has the capacity to provide economic remedies for social distress of this magnitude. But government is failing.

Across the North Coast, elected officials speak of wanting to create local jobs. But city, county and state budgets are going from very bad to worse.

Only the federal government can use the Keynesian tool of deficit spending to bring down unemployment. But Washington is paralyzed by ideology. Job stimulus funding, inadequate from the outset, has dwindled. And the momentum is moving in the wrong direction.

The threats to working people are now even coming from one of our great public institutions, the post office.

Hours after the COTS breakfast, I went across town to a public meeting about a proposal to close both of the regional mail-processing facilities in Petaluma. About 230 employees would be directly affected.

Although enveloped in public-relations fog, the presentation from U.S. Postal Service management was all too clear. This is a national directive. In the name of becoming more “competitive,” the Postal Service is moving to severely damage its quality of service.

Postal employees and the public will suffer. Many jobs will be lost. And millions of us who depend on first-class mail will discover that one-day delivery has morphed into two-day or even three-day delivery.

This approach is aiming to make unwise changes irreversible. So, Ukiah has been facing imminent closure of its beautiful, functional and historic downtown post office. Some people in rural areas are on the verge of losing the only post office within reasonable driving distance.

Meanwhile, nationwide, plans are afoot to eliminate Saturday postal delivery.

A bizarre accounting method, falsely portraying the Postal Service as insolvent, provides a rationale for slash-and-burn “remedies.” Congress has failed to overturn a five-year-old requirement imposed by Republican leaders that cooked the books — mandating the extraordinary pre-funding of more than $5 billion every year for retiree health benefits.

This travesty is part of a pattern. While Wall Street flourishes, Main Street suffers — and powerful forces in Washington are opting for policies that normalize unemployment while undermining individuals, families and communities.

To the north of Sonoma County, economic distress is even more widespread. In Mendocino and Humboldt counties — whether visiting a health clinic, senior center, public transit agency, community college, student ecology project or veterans assistance center — I've seen ominous impacts of severe and protracted funding shortages that are tearing at our social fabric.

Uncle Sam is making bad choices. For instance, policymakers are squandering money — and taking lives — in a war effort that costs about $1 million per year for each U.S. soldier now in Afghanistan. The failure of Congress to enact a proposed one-quarter of 1 percent transaction tax on Wall Street is depriving the U.S. Treasury of $150 billion a year. And so it goes.

Our national funding priorities are out of whack. We must change them to revive our communities.

Norman Solomon is a former co-chairman of the Commission on a Green New Deal for the North Bay and is a Democratic candidate in the new 2nd Congressional District. For more information, go to: www.SolomonForCongress.com.

[phloem]

Norman,
I commend you for your positions and politics, in general. Your heart and mind are in the right place, at least that's what my trusting soul wants to believe. I have grave concerns about your running as a Democrat, but I will abide your decision to do so -- but, ewwww!!! -- the same party as Obama!!! No matter what, I agree with your premise about "wrong choices." But you must convince me how you plan to alter the internal, wretchedly corrupt and deceitful politics of the Democratic Party, and beyond that, override the unconscionable lies and betrayals of the Obama Administration. You could do worse than calling for Obama's impeachment during your campaign!

But, still I must ask:
What are we to do about your treasonous Democratic colleagues: Thompson, Boxer, Feinstein (I'll leave out Lynn Woolsey, as I think she's at least voted her conscience for the duration of her term, and has my respect for doing so)? These elected politicians, their salaries paid from our taxes, purport to represent the interests of Californians, but I will assert they do nothing of the kind. Boxer, Feinstein, and Thompson are craven lackeys to the prevailing corporate interests that are running local government, small businesses, education, social services, health care for all, civil liberties, constitutional rights, and the general public welfare into the ground! I've made myself very clear on the betrayal of these so-called "representatives" for decades, and I'm profoundly pissed off that all we (voters, progressive or otherwise) get back from these over-privileged pretenders to democracy are tired, transparently facile justifications for voting to benefit their own interests! Feinstein and her hubby Blum are the worst, profiting from illegal attacks and occupations of Iraq. Thompson continually portrays himself as a "free trader" who disregards the fact that "free trade" only works for a few large corporations, while consigning millions of job-seeking Americans, farming families in Latin America, and small businesses and laborers to a very "unlevel" economic minefield. Moreover, Thompson is a grape-growing multi-millionaire, profiting economically at the expense of local aquifers, riparian ecosystems, and the rights of all of us to share equitably in the bounty of our local land base -- with all due respect to the indigenous cultures we've all essentially ripped off just by being here. Thompson calls himself a fiscal conservative, then continually votes to fund the illegal wars and occupations of other nations! He's simply a liar, and deserves a criminal indictment. Boxer and Feinstein have yet to cast votes against any AIPAC-sponsored or -promoted legislation, thereby condemning the Palestinians and Arabic peoples to contend with ongoing Israeli totalitarianism and racism, and neither has seen fit to ask the simple question, "How can America afford to arm itself and the rest of the world, to engage in continual war-making, while Americans go homeless, without health care, without jobs or homes, while education and living costs accelerate beyond belief, and while other nations do nothing more than attempt to let their own people live on their own lands?"

The audacity of the crimes of these senators and this one member of Congress and the current president, the glaring hypocrisy and treason of their actions, demands that you, and anyone else who runs for office in the Congress, call them out for their betrayals, for their self-serving capitulation to corporate interests that have made a mockery of the laws of this nation!

I apologize for this rambling rant, but for over 40 years I've done my best to communicate my concerns to elected "officials," and yet, as I know now, for many years more than I've attempted to participate in the myth of democracy, America has made its way at the expense of peace, the rights of people to live their lives, and the rights of every human being to self-determination and happiness. I'm so fucking sick of the way this country operates, and I guess I'm profoundly skeptical that you or anyone else without a nuclear weapon will change the way America does its business -- all the more power to Iran for having the balls to stand up to the world's leading terrorist organization: the U.S. government.

I have been betrayed: a nation that contends that human lives matter, yet sacrifices them for dollars, for wanton greed, for blind knee-jerk international political gain, for the survival of entities that scorn human life for the continuation of economic profits, is not the nation that lives according to its own laws and values. I could care less if the FBI shows up again at my doorstep, the government of this country and the corporate headquarters of the Fortune 500 deserve to be blown to smithereens!

Tell me, Norm, how will you make a difference?

By Norman Solomon

On a recent day in Petaluma, two very different events spotlighted grim results of upside-down priorities from the federal government.

Upwards of 600 people gathered for an early breakfast at the Veterans Memorial Hall to raise money for the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS), a nonprofit organization that last year sheltered nearly 2,000 individuals, served more than 127,000 hearty meals and distributed 800,000 pounds of food to the needy.

We heard moving stories about — and from — people whose lives have been transformed by active compassion, generosity and their own hard work. But, as speakers lamented, COTS must turn away many who need help.

Charities and other nonprofits are struggling to cope with deep economic wounds that have been festering for years. The dire consequences are far more widespread than private agencies can possibly heal.

Only government has the capacity to provide economic remedies for social distress of this magnitude. But government is failing.

Across the North Coast, elected officials speak of wanting to create local jobs. But city, county and state budgets are going from very bad to worse.

Only the federal government can use the Keynesian tool of deficit spending to bring down unemployment. But Washington is paralyzed by ideology. Job stimulus funding, inadequate from the outset, has dwindled. And the momentum is moving in the wrong direction.

The threats to working people are now even coming from one of our great public institutions, the post office.

Hours after the COTS breakfast, I went across town to a public meeting about a proposal to close both of the regional mail-processing facilities in Petaluma. About 230 employees would be directly affected.

Although enveloped in public-relations fog, the presentation from U.S. Postal Service management was all too clear. This is a national directive. In the name of becoming more “competitive,” the Postal Service is moving to severely damage its quality of service.

Postal employees and the public will suffer. Many jobs will be lost. And millions of us who depend on first-class mail will discover that one-day delivery has morphed into two-day or even three-day delivery.

This approach is aiming to make unwise changes irreversible. So, Ukiah has been facing imminent closure of its beautiful, functional and historic downtown post office. Some people in rural areas are on the verge of losing the only post office within reasonable driving distance.

Meanwhile, nationwide, plans are afoot to eliminate Saturday postal delivery.

A bizarre accounting method, falsely portraying the Postal Service as insolvent, provides a rationale for slash-and-burn “remedies.” Congress has failed to overturn a five-year-old requirement imposed by Republican leaders that cooked the books — mandating the extraordinary pre-funding of more than $5 billion every year for retiree health benefits.

This travesty is part of a pattern. While Wall Street flourishes, Main Street suffers — and powerful forces in Washington are opting for policies that normalize unemployment while undermining individuals, families and communities.

To the north of Sonoma County, economic distress is even more widespread. In Mendocino and Humboldt counties — whether visiting a health clinic, senior center, public transit agency, community college, student ecology project or veterans assistance center — I've seen ominous impacts of severe and protracted funding shortages that are tearing at our social fabric.

Uncle Sam is making bad choices. For instance, policymakers are squandering money — and taking lives — in a war effort that costs about $1 million per year for each U.S. soldier now in Afghanistan. The failure of Congress to enact a proposed one-quarter of 1 percent transaction tax on Wall Street is depriving the U.S. Treasury of $150 billion a year. And so it goes.

Our national funding priorities are out of whack. We must change them to revive our communities.

Norman Solomon is a former co-chairman of the Commission on a Green New Deal for the North Bay and is a Democratic candidate in the new 2nd Congressional District. For more information, go to: www.SolomonForCongress.com.

[Norman Solomon]

Thanks so much for writing in response to my article. I don't see the key question as being what I'm going to do, per se, as much as what WE are going to do -- as progressive social movements, which I'm a part of. I don't want to go to Congress as a Lone Ranger or as one person in isolation. I want to be part of the great, wide and deep constituencies that are the vast majority in this congressional district and in this country -- the 99%, so to speak -- becoming more and more assertive as we challenge the power of Wall Street and reorder the national priorities in favor of Main Street. About the Democratc Party, all you need to do is google "Democratic Party" and my name, and you'll see a large number of clear assessments that I've made over the years. When Paul Wellstone spoke about wanting to represent the democratic wing of the Democratic Party, he was making a clear point. Whether Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich or others, there are "Democrats" in the House we can be proud of; I aspire to be one more of them.

[vallor]

When Paul Wellstone spoke about wanting to represent the democratic wing of the Democratic Party, he was making a clear point. Whether Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich or others, there are "Democrats" in the House we can be proud of; I aspire to be one more of them.

I certainly hope so. But so, too, we thought of President Obama...and alas, his term of office has been very disappointing.

And as far as our legislators go (and as I've said elsewhere): I am fed-up with bad bills coming within a hair's-breadth of becoming law.

In short: Legislators aren't doing their job. And when that happens, they lose the trust of We the People.

[vallor]

I certainly hope so. But so, too, we thought of President Obama...and alas, his term of office has been very disappointing.

[Candidate Obama] told CNET in 2008 that: "I will work with leading legislators, privacy advocates, and business leaders to strengthen both voluntary and legally required privacy protections.

"Which has yet to happen. If pro-privacy legislation introduced this summer advances, Obama will get to choose between honoring his civil liberties pledge or siding with the surveillance-industrial complex. Given his poor record in this area so far, this is one privacy test he's likely to fail."

What are the chances of a primary challenge to Pres. Obama? Because as far as I can tell, that's the only way to apply the necessary pressure to get him to do the jobs he was hired to do.

Meanwhile, the DNC has solicited donations from me, which seemed to be more about "we have to stop the GOP!" than anything positive said about the Democratic party. One of the things I told the caller was I couldn't differentiate between Pres. Obama's term and a hypothetical third Bushco term.

But the biggest problem I see is how the legacy media always frames political dialogue as being between "the" two parties. On the idiot box, it's so bad (coupled with their lack of fact-checking), I'd say their "news" is nothing more than one big infomercial -- there is no U.S. news worth watching, and damned little worth reading.

So new media, or primary challenges, or both, are our only hope to restore democracy to our United States.

[tommy]

I think it's choosing a false scapegoat to blame Obama for the malaise with the government. It does not make sense to compare him to FDR and our rise from the depression of the 30s. This is a different world. I think he is walking a tightrope, in a fierce wind, gusts from our decline in the world economy, ending the Bush wars, lingering effects of the Reagan inspired deregulation, battles with the right... it's kinda the end of notions of superiority that has propelled us for so many years. Realistically, if Obama tips his hat too much to the left, it increases the likelihood of a conservative resurgence. Face it: stability is maintained by moderation.

I certainly hope so. But so, too, we thought of President Obama...and alas, his term of office has been very disappointing.

And as far as our legislators go (and as I've said elsewhere): I am fed-up with bad bills coming within a hair's-breadth of becoming law.

In short: Legislators aren't doing their job. And when that happens, they lose the trust of We the People.

[someguy]

Hey Norman,Ever since I heard about your event with Phil Donahue in West Sebastopol, Monday the 8th? (I believe) I've been trying to find out where exactly is this taking place? I have emailed Alice, yielding no results. I called the number you gave out in your email blast, also Alice I might add, she did not answer. I left a message and haven't heard back. What's going on? Do I need a secret password to get in to this exclusive party? Why isn't the exact location published publicly anyways, and why is it so hard to get a response? Thank you kind sir.

[Alysson Wonderland]

Brad, as you know, you did receive a reply to your email on the 30th, which you sent from a different email address than the one you use here. Just to clariy, this is all cleared up; no one ignored your request for information, and we're looking forward to seeing you at the Phil Donahue event!

[Iolchan]

Dear Norman, you write:

Norman Solomon wrote:

Only the federal government can use the Keynesian tool of deficit spending to bring down unemployment. But Washington is paralyzed by ideology. Job stimulus funding, inadequate from the outset, has dwindled. And the momentum is moving in the wrong direction.

The threats to working people are now even coming from one of our great public institutions, the post office.

Norman, "the federal government use" of the "Keynesian tool" has led to the runaway multi-Trillion Dollar National Debt ! Your language indicates that your are perhaps deficient in economic Vision? Obama has been using "the Keynesian tool" all along, in a big way, too - for War and Imperialism.

John Meynard Keynes was a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of England; and the economic system - and practice - named in his honor has been a great boon to the bond-holding class; the folks who collect interest off of the ever- expanding National Debt.

Surely you must know that. I remember how radical you once were, and the speeches you made during the first Gulf War.

Why do you try to fool us with the same warmed-over Democratic Party soup-kitchen porridge, from the vintage of the last Depression?

You know, you could be promoting the authentically radical Idea of the federal government Nationalizing Credit; of Nationalizing the Federal Reserve Bank, as the late Jerry Voorhis once did. But evidently you are a pragmatist and realize that such a platform would probably make you un-electable. So you are preparing instead to go to Washington to sign us on to more Debt? Thanks, but no thanks...

The U.S. Postal Service, by the way, has been a private corporation masquerading as a branch of the government ever since 1971, when Richard Meal-haus Nixon privatized it. Check it out: Google Advanced Search: "U.S. Postal Service" , "Richard M. Nixon" , 1971 , Period.

In this - its private aspect - the so-called "U.S. Postal Service" bears a strong resemblance to that other quasi-private Corporatist entity; the mighty wurlitzer of the Economy - the Federal Reserve Bank; the heart and center of the downtown beast that is Wall Street. Now there's a target for you, Norman. For, to nationalize the Fed would be as noble a cause as you could find; but are you game to take it on?

Sincerely,

Mark Walter Evans

[Iolchan]

Best Wishes, Norman

[Garnette]

Best Wishes, Norman

ohmygosh if youdo some research on obadmans plans for our future you would fight him tooth and claw... I can not imagine anyone who has delved into his plans would consider voting for him...++confused and worried++