In recent years, we have seen Bernie Sanders campaigning in his endless effort to single-handedly educate the American people that socialism is a good thing for everyone, especially when it is used for achieving the greatest good.
We never heard any complaints from the GOP or the Koch Brothers or right-wing think tanks when the 1% got the biggest tax break in the history of our country under the pretext that the rich will then spend that windfall, and thus the nation would be blessed with having that money “trickle down” to raise the wages of workers. That was socialism for the rich. Turned out, though, and for a second time around as well, it was exclusively for the rich. No trickle down, and no wage growth for the workers at the bottom of corporate America. Wages have remained as flat as they were back in 1984.
I have always wondered why ordinary citizens were so easily convinced that socialism was a system of giving things to the people that they did not deserve to have, supposedly for “free.” But it is good to see Bernie Sanders’ white face, comfortable among black, brown and other white faces, and him preaching the gospel to the diverse crowds gathered to listen.
He is especially accurate, in his view of programs like Social Security, into which each and every working citizen contributes a regular portion of their earnings, throughout their work lives, so we, as individuals, will not sink into the clutches of desperate poverty, because we can no longer work for wages in a productive manner, due to our human frailty, brought on by our aging, none of us can escape.
That money is set aside, with the assistance of our government, and remains our money by rights, until it is parceled out to us when we elect to retire from work life, at the ages of 62 to 70. Together, Americans maintain the world’s largest retirement fund for use in our declining years, to assure that we are not a financial burden on our families, or on our government.
So, when anyone in the government threatens to take away those Social Security funds, they can’t legally do so. That money belongs to the people who have contributed it to the Social Security program, free and clear. And those funds grow with interest being paid to us all. However, from time to time, Congress has borrowed money from our retirement funds with the commitment that those loans would be paid back, in full.
Given the nature of these combative times, as greater numbers of threats about cutting funds from our retirement program are being voiced by some political figures, I think the American people should demand that periodic, independent audits be instituted to assure us all that our funds are correctly accounted for. Tell me if any of you got a notice that any of the borrowed money initiated by Congress was actually returned to the proverbial “locked box?”
If any is missing, we need to hire a lawyer to sue Congress for the return of those funds. And yes, it can be done. Remember, that’s our money. We earned it.
DOUGLASS TURNER, Alfred, N.Y.
For 2-1/2 years The Progressive Populist has published numerous articles regarding President Trump’s lack of integrity.
President Trump recently alleged that the reason he pulled back from bombing Iran was because he received a last-minute estimate that the bombing would result in about 150 Iranian deaths while the Iranians downing our drone cost no lives.
I doubt Trump can be believed. He should be in the Guinness World Record book as a record liar with more than 10,000 lies over the past 2-1/2 years. No president has lied more. In addition, he has shown no regard for incarcerated child immigrants and refugees by forcing them to sleep on cement in unsanitary conditions without blankets, soap, or a toothbrush. Many third-world countries treat unwanted children better.
Trump’s close ties with Russia are apparent. Some Americans believe Trump has placed himself in a position where he can easily be blackmailed by Russia. Many of us are aware of Russia’s close ties and proximity to Iran. It is possible that Russia threatened to blackmail Trump at the last minute to help Iran which, if implemented, could have a serious adverse effect on Trump’s 2020 presidential chances.
It is hard to believe that Trump backed off bombing Iran at the last minute for humanity reasons rather than for blackmail concerns. Humanity and integrity are completely absent from the Trump White House.
EDWARD L. KOVEN, Highland Park, Ill.
The late Gore Vidal spoke a sentinel truth when he stated, “We live in the United States of Amnesia. Americans can’t remember past last Monday what has occurred.” As we edge ever closer to an apocalyptic war on Iran Americans should note their history. How many Americans are aware of “Operation Ajax” — our CIA inspired coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of Iran on August 19, 1953? We, with the help of the British, successfully overthrew the government of Mohammed Mossadegh and installed for a quarter century the Shah. The Shah and his murderous secret police, Savak, ran one of the world’s most brutal and hated regimes. Torture, brutality and the jailing of the innocent was the Iranian norm under our puppet the Shah. There was scarcely a family in Iran that was not impacted by the unspeakable brutality of this regime. The Shah’s regime ended with the famous 1979 hostage takeover in Iran. That event fueled endless American enmity as the 1953 overthrow of Iran was, and to this day is seldom ever mentioned.
It is hard to fathom the pathological hatred showcased by John Bolton and other Trump Administration insiders. Iran has not attacked a country outside its borders since the 16th century. For the US it has been about 16 hours. And Iran’s human rights record looks like platinum gold when contrasted with our close friends, the Saudi’s, who, with our full support, are actively engaged in carrying out the century’s greatest human rights onslaught and tragedy in Yemen. Regarding this horror story that may lead to the starvation of millions, John Bolton and the Trump Administration have been as vocal as an oil painting.
Finally, an attack on Iran can lead to consequences and blowback that we can scarcely imagine. That such an attack could lead to a global confrontation and risk of nuclear war cannot be discounted or minimized. We are leading the nation and the world to the edge of the precipice with our insane hatred and preoccupation with Iran. History, which Americans by and large ignore or hold in contempt, teaches us that the outcome of military attacks and military actions are impossible to predict. Military attacks and war will lead to outcomes unimagined and never anticipated. In the case of Iran, an attack could lead to apocalyptic consequences. A far better strategy-one that would serve both humanity and the world-is an acknowledgement and recognition of past wrongs and the beginning of a new dialogue and diplomacy that would mitigate if not eliminate the unnecessary murder of millions of innocent people in a conflict that can be so easily avoided.
JIM SAWYER, Edmonds, Wash.
Those who are concerned that we may become embroiled in a so-called unintentional war with Iran should understand that it was the US that created this crisis by abrogating the nuclear deal with them so arduously crafted by international consensus. Amazingly, Iran has shown remarkable restraint in abiding by its terms for the past year, all while enduring aggressive and crippling sanctions.
Our unnecessary and unwarranted actions have set the world on a path to war once again, deliberately creating more unjustifiable turmoil in a region still gripped in the chaotic aftermath of our calamitous invasion of Iraq. This should spark global outrage and condemnation. Not to do so renders diplomacy meaningless.
ROBERT McALLISTER, Lantana, Fla.
As if we don’t have enough to worry about, now there’s “Deepfake,” a cyber software video technology where voices can be slurred and facial features and physical placement altered. We didn’t think that cry of “change” meant our faces.
It’s a simplistic description of a newly existing invention we once thought of as Photoshop. Now it’s similar to a horror movie where the little lab egg eventually takes over the city.
But wait — we can reduce our waistlines and appear to be elsewhere during a bank robby. Is that guy in the plane viewing fire and flood desolation actually trumpeting sympathy, or in reality playing golf in the gulf?
It’s hard to be trusting when it’s now “fool me once … fool me twice … fool me thrice … fool me …”
FLORA ORMSBY SMITH, Marblehead, Mass.
I would like to see the US Congress pass a new program into law which would replace the former “Aid To Families With Dependent Children” program which was passed under FDR in 1935 and abolished in 1996. Ever since its abolition, there has been a large increase in the number of people (especially children) living in “extreme poverty” (meaning living on less than two dollars per day) and “deep poverty” (meaning at a level half of the official poverty line). It could be paid for by adopting a “National Wealth Tax” of 14.25% on all individuals with a net-worth of $10 million and higher which is exactly what Donald Trump proposed in 1999 before he became what I always believed to be a “FAKE-conservative.”
In return for receiving this assistance, all recipients would be responsible for doing some type of volunteer-work and/or job-training.
STEWART B. EPSTEIN, Rochester, N.Y.
Re: “Fetuses are not children,” by Hank Kalet [6/15/19 TPP]: In their zeal to outlaw abortion, which to them is murder, the Religious Right supports pro-life politicians – despite the fact that abortion is not mentioned in either the Old or New Testaments.
With that in mind, let’s remember how Prohibition gave us the disastrous proof that it’s impossible to impose moral principles espoused by only some of the people, onto the entire nation. And it also proved without a doubt that those who refuse to bend to a police state of regimented conduct will instead defy it … and drive their own agenda underground.
Thus, In the same manner as prohibition against alcohol, prohibition against abortion will spawn its own tragic consequences. We must not go back to the dark ages of back alley abortions that were so common before Roe vs. Wade, when women died and others were forced to become mothers against their will.
Ironically, instead of creating a nation of saints by decree, Prohibition unleashed a torrent of violent crime, and people by the millions continued to drink their beer and moonshine in defiance of the law – both in speakeasies and in their homes.
DAVID QUINTERO, Monrovia, Calif.
From The Progressive Populist, August 1, 2019
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