EQ 6: Obama + POW release = Right Decision = David Brooks?

Dear Friends,

I have been struggling to understand all the facts and issues surrounding the prisoner swap that lead to the release of Sgt. Bergdahl.  I am criticized for not praising President Obama when he does something good.  Any fair thinking, open minded, intelligent person must agree that President Obama's decision to swap the five prisoners at Guantanamo for Sgt. Bergdahl was the right decision.

I was actually surprised to read the title of David Brooks' column in The New York Times this morning which was "President Obama Was Right" (here).  I almost never agree with David Brooks and while I acknowledge that he is a smart person, he seems too willing to sacrifice his intellectual honesty to cater to conservatives.  Nevertheless, his column this morning was in my humble opinion an excellent one even though he did feel the need to take a couple of unnecessary shots at President Obama.  His last paragraph gives me great hope for America if we could only have the right wing agree with it.

Still, the president’s instincts were right. His sense of responsibility for a fellow countryman was correct. It’s not about one person; it’s about the principle of all-for-one-and-one-for-all, which is the basis of citizenship.

Sgt. Bergdahl is a member of the United States Army.  We should never send any American soldier in harms way if we are not willing to honor our commitment to bring that soldier home.  As David Brooks says we are a community, and Sgt. Bergdahl is a member of our community.  He is the son of members of our community.  He is a person, and we are his family.  If we could all feel that all people are our brothers and sisters, what a wonderful world we would live in.

I have been appalled at the hypocritical, unfair and Islamophobic comments by many Republican politicians and commentators.  Many Republican politicians were criticizing President Obama for not doing more to bring Sgt. Bergdahl back and now they are criticizing him for actually do what they wanted him to do.  It has been clear since President Obama became President that many Republicans will object to whatever he does.  The Affordable Care Act started as a Republican idea.  Cap and trade was a Republican idea.  President Obama's foreign policy is in many ways just a continuation of Bush policies.  The vehemence with which these Republicans object to President Obama's very existence cannot be accounted for simply by the fact that he is a democrat.  There is no doubt in my mind that much of their reaction stems from old white men (of which I am one) who are afraid that they are losing their privileges and control (I am not one of these) to the "others".

The attacks on Sgt. Bergdahl's father as looking like a Muslim because he grew a beard in solidarity with his son are inexcusable and racist and go against the family values that Republicans claim to espouse.

The demonizing of Sgt. Bergdahl is also hypocritical and blatantly unfair.  Senators McCain and Graham both knew about the circumstances leading up to Sgt. Bergdahl's capture (to the extent they are known) several years ago and argued that President Obama was not doing enough to bring him home.  Now they are convicting him of desertion without knowing all the facts, permitting due process or listening to what Sgt. Bergdahl has to say.  Nobody should be treated this way, particularly not a member of the United States Army and particularly not be two Senators who claim to support our troops.  What hypocrites  they are!!

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

EQ5: RCE=GFW∵NKP=GFW

Dear Friends,

For those who cannot guess at what the abbreviations are in the equation,
RCE = regulating and reducing coal (carbon) emissions
GFW = good for the world
NKP = no Keystone XL Pipeline

President Obama has taken an important step by using the President's power under the Clean Air Act to as The New York Times puts it "Slash Coal Pollution" (here).  The ruling making process is long and in this case will be fraught with problems both Republican and some coal state Democrats.  I applaud the President for taking action.  This action alone, even if successful, will not stop climate change but it is an important and meaningful step.  We should all support him for making this obvious but politically difficult decision.

President Obama has been putting off a decision about the Keystone XL Pipeline.  I am sorry that he postponed once again his decision, but no decision is better than a decision to move forward with a project that will be environmentally devastating.  As Elizabeth Kolbert titles in her post on The New Yorker (here), "A Delay Worth Celebrating?".

The important thing is to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline.  So while you are sending your congratulations to President Obama for pushing new rules to reduce the emissions from coal, encourage him to block the Keystone XL Pipeline.  You can reach the President here.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

EQ4: BB≠FAIL, 37=4, 1%=37%

Dear Friends,

It has been well documented that the big banks are too big to fail, but there is much more to that story.  What used to be 37 banks are now just four big banks - CitiGroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.  These four banks have received over $93 billion in bailout funds from the United States government and yet have never had a high level executive go to jail for the misdeeds of the banks.  There has been an incredible consolidation of assets and power in these few banks.  They buy the government, and the government lets them not just be too big to fail but to get even bigger and does not hold them accountable for breaking the law or the economy.

There has also been an incredible increase in the concentration of wealth in the hands of the richest Americans.  There are many catchy statistics to demonstrate this alarming fact - the top 1% of the richest families own over 37% of the wealth in the United States which is more wealth than the entire bottom 90%.  

I recommend a couple of articles to give you a more complete picture.  First one by David Gershon at "The Daily KOS" (here) and the second from Timothy Pilgrim formerly at Western Washington University (here).

The Tea Party talks about taking back their country.  We need to save our democracy which will require many things including a fairer distribution of wealth and power.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal