The Eleventh Reagan Administration

 The Eleventh Reagan Administration

by C.A. Matthews

My predictive skills are uncanny when it comes to what politicians will do next. Sometimes I even amaze myself. I'm almost never surprised by what they say or do. What's my secret?

It's simple. I read a lot, and I make note of a politician's past behaviors and stands on issues. Nine times out of ten, they'll do the same in a similar situation. The tenth time? Well, they may do something a little bit different, but rarely will they do anything that's the complete opposite of what they did before.

For instance, I could tell you that Joe Biden wasn't going to do a darn thing to help immigrants get out of for-profit detention centers or listen to the cries of Black Lives Matter activists or work to defund the police. How did I know all this for a fact? 

Think about it. Do you recall the bill that Biden had a hand in passing through Congress that he likes to brag about the most? If you said the "Biden Crime Law" of 1994  then you're right. He loves locking up people, particularly poor people of color. And his vocal anti-desegregation stance in the 1970s where Biden said he didn't want his children going to integrated schools demonstrates he isn't interested in doing anything to improve the lives of African-Americans.

Will Biden ever expand Medicare to all Americans regardless of age or financial status? Will he ever consider a Universal Basic Income (UBI)?  Will he give students a break and grant them student loan forgiveness? (He said he'd give $10,000 in loan forgiveness during his campaign). In 1995, Biden sought to cut Social Security. In 2005, he fought to deny bankruptcy for student loan defaults. What do you think? Yeah, I don't think he's too worried about the poor, those without private health insurance, or debt-laden ex-students.

Can you see why I'm never surprised by Biden now? In fact, nothing about the last eleven presidential administrations has been particularly surprising to me. By looking at the behaviors of the past six neoliberals to sit in the Oval Office, one can safely predict what will happen more or less in Biden's term. We can expect more tax breaks for billionaires. More banks will be bailed out. More wars will be started to distract the voters away from how miserable their current hardscrabble existence is. More legislation will be passed that is against the workers, against unions, against the poor and downtrodden.

The strongest thread that winds throughout the actions of Presidents Reagan through Biden is their enthusiastic support of the status quo, the oligarchy, the billionaires. Every move they make (or don't make) keeps the money flowing upwards into the coffers of the billionaires. It never "trickles down." Regulations are relaxed or eliminated altogether that cut into corporate profits.  These presidents have each exited  high office with much more money in their bank accounts than they had before they entered .

There's no mistake. A president only makes $ 400,000 a year, and yet Obama bought a mansion worth $11.75 million on Martha's Vineyard immediately upon leaving Washington. It's pretty obvious that doing as you're told by your rich donors while in the White House pays well. 

I know what's bothering some of you. You're thinking: Why do you say these presidents are all like Reagan when some of them are Democrats? How can you say they're more alike than they are different when they have different party memberships?  

To find my answer to these questions, read the opening paragraphs of this article again. I'm "color blind" in the fact that I don't care what party or political faction an elected politician claims to belong to. I simply observe their behavior and make note of it and then compare their actions with other recent presidents. From what I've observed, political party affiliation makes little difference in how a politician may act.

Don't believe me? Two names prove my point: Manchin and Sinema.

Are either of these  senators "Democrats" if they thwart every bill their party attempts to pass? How does their supposed party alliance affect their behaviors? It doesn't. They're following orders from the oligarchs to maintain the status quo.

Note what Biden does in the coming months and then do some reading about the past "Reagans" and make note of their actions. Contrast and compare. Can you make some predictions of what Biden will do next? 

The duopoly of the United States of America makes things both easier and harder to understand when it comes to our presidents' behaviors. It's easy because our two so-called "major" political parties are basically one and the same. They both work hard to increase and protect the wealth of the 1%, the Wall Street mavens, and the Military-Industrial Complex. 

It's harder to understand because by allowing the banksters, billionaires, and warmongers to run our country, we're endangering the entire world. We are forever being drawn into military conflicts and potentially nuclear warfare. The US military is the single most polluting agency on the planet. The rising temperatures, rising ocean levels and melting tundra, releasing methane into the atmosphere further warming the planet, will eventually cause mass extinctions and destroy all life.

Why would any sane human being risk nuclear war and exacerbate the climate emergency? I find it impossible to understand. Profits alone can't explain an entire civilization's suicide, can it? 

We must extract ourselves out of this infernal Möbius loop before it's too late for the planet and humankind. We can't survive another Reagan administration.

Related articles:

https://www.dailyposter.com/biden-reversal-gives-wall-street-a-big-win/  

https://www.directleft.com/p/joe-biden-praises-mitch-mcconnell

https://truthout.org/articles/both-gop-and-democratic-party-want-us-to-surrender-to-covid-for-capitalism/

https://popularresistance.org/on-the-biden-plantation/

https://www.thoughtco.com/presidential-salaries-through-the-years-3368133

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_Crime_Control_and_Law_Enforcement_Act 

https://scheerpost.com/2021/09/15/biden-listen-to-the-radicals-or-risk-failure/

 Should Biden by primaried by the left? https://youtu.be/v2pCCuw8I4c

***

The hospital industry wants you to believe that Covid-19 is the reason for the so-called ‘nursing shortage.' But health care workers who've been fighting for safe staffing for decades know the real reason: Unfettered greed. 

The New York Times just released a powerful video that shares the stories of nurses on the frontlines and the grave consequences of hospitals placing profits before people.

Will you support us in our fight for safe staffing by sharing this video with your family and friends?

Share on Facebook »

Share on Twitter »

The hospital industry has been neglecting nurses and deliberately short-staffing hospitals for years. Now, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed these practices and the nurse staffing crisis they have created. As registered nurses face increasingly unsafe working conditions, moral distress, and injury, many are leaving the bedside. 

There is still time to reverse this crisis and ensure nurses have the protections and dignity they deserve. We are calling on Congress and the Biden administration to adopt federal policies that value the vital work of direct patient care RNs and that ensure employers meet their legal obligations to provide safe and healthy workplaces.

We need your help to inform as many people as possible about this serious issue. Will you share this powerful video and join us in the fight for safe staffing?

Share on Facebook »

Share on Twitter »

Even if you’re not a nurse or other frontline health care worker, you can still play a vital role in helping spread awareness of this serious issue.

Thank you for standing with us,

Michelle Mahon, RN
Assistant Director of Nursing Practice
National Nurses United

 ***

Last week marked one year since Joe Biden was sworn in to become the 46th president of the United States.    After four years of devastating policies under Trump, Joe Biden and his administration faced the extremely difficult task of building a fair, functional, and humane immigration system.    In the year since, the Biden Administration has made progress on implementing immigration policies that have extended protection to communities that need them the most, but much remains undone.   Some of the notable actions President Biden carried out early included a series of executive orders to end the Muslim and African bans, fully reinstate DACA and end the construction of Trump's wasteful and offensive border wall. He also ended the “Public Charge'' rule that served as a wealth test used by the previous administration to punish immigrants, and created a task force to reunite children with their parents that were separated under the Trump Administration.    However, on bigger items such as providing a path to citizenship for undocumented workers, restoring the asylum system, creating new paths for legal immigration, and fully protecting Dreamers, TPS holders, and other essential workers, the President has failed to live up to his promises.    Our new report recaps the Biden Administration’s first year and looks to the future with an in-depth examination at what still needs to be done.   Read the report>>>   The report covers topics such as DACA, TPS, COVID-19, the Remain in Mexico (MPP) policy, Title 42, the disproportionately inhumane treatment of Black migrants, legislation, right wing and GOP developments, and more.

So as we enter the second year of the Biden Administration, the task on immigration is clear: the President and his team need to do more. Our report carefully outlines what has been done and what policies still need to be implemented. 

The Biden Administration needs to review the unfulfilled promises and rethink its strategy on how to deliver. Effort is no longer enough as immigrants need real results. 

Read our report here>>

Immigrants dedicate their lives to our country in many ways. Nothing has shown that more than the COVID-19 pandemic as essential workers continue to show up every single day to keep our country going during these turbulent times. Additionally, many immigrant communities were key organizers in Joe Biden’s campaign. 

It is time to find a way to deliver. 

Support our work to hold the Biden Administration accountable for the promises they made on immigration and ensure they build a fair and humane immigration system by donating to our organization today. 

Click here to donate>> 

In solidarity, 

Juana

 

***

Three years ago Trump & co began the horrific and racist Remain in Mexico program. Since then it’s forced 67,000 vulnerable children and families to wait in constant peril in danger. 

There was never supposed to be a three-year anniversary of Remain in Mexico.

One person has a critical role in ending it. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has a track record of leading with compassion, implementing DACA, and even receiving an award from immigrant groups for his work on refugee rights. On the anniversary of this horrific policy's beginning, let’s call on him to live up to this legacy:

Can you add your name to help end the racist Remain in Mexico program today on the anniversary of this cruelty?

take action

As a child of refugees himself, Secretary Mayorkas benefited from having a functional process to accessing safety in the U.S. Right now, Mayorkas has the opportunity to provide the same for thousands of other families and show that we are still a country where children and families can find the refuge they deserve.

Secretary Mayorkas has the opportunity to make a clear statement that families seeking safety deserve better. On the anniversary of the start of the Remain in Mexico policy, we must demand Secretary Mayorkas fulfill the promises made to families just like his:

Dishonest Government

A Brief History of Dishonest Government
by Coast Watcher

America has an honesty problem featured in its relationship between elected politicians and the ordinary people they purport to represent. The people generally do not trust elected officials. In many cases they don’t even believe they’re intelligent. “Selfish” is the adjective most often used to describe politicians' attitude, and the percentage of those who believe politicians are honest is in the single digits.

The modern distrust of government stems from the 1960s when Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and later Richard Nixon embroiled the United States in the Vietnam War. Most of the population opposed the country’s involvement. Protests against the war erupted, one of the most violent of which was during the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. Such was the level of opposition the government resorted to the draft to feed the military's killing machine. The measure led to people tearing up their draft cards or fleeing abroad, some never to return. The courts even upheld these actions as they were held to be an expression of free speech. 

Following brutal attacks by police and the National Guard on protesters exercising their right to free speech at Kent State and Jackson State, Americans further distrusted their government's motives. All the drama and outrage over the war obscured Johnson’s efforts to continue with implementing FDR’s New Deal to benefit ordinary citizens.

Time and again the US government has let down its citizens. The Watergate Scandal shocked the American people to the core. No ordinary robbery, the intruders were connected to President Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents. Nixon took aggressive steps to cover up the crimes, but when Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed his role in the conspiracy, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. 

Watergate changed American politics forever. Americans were left feeling betrayed, especially by the Republican Party. The scandal led many Americans to question their leaders and think more critically about the presidency in general. Nixon’s Vice President, Gerald Ford, took his place in the White House and promptly pardoned Nixon, adding fuel to the fire. It appeared highly-placed politicians could carry out any illegal act they pleased and get away with it.

(Remember Trump’s boast during the 2016 campaign that he could walk down to Fifth Avenue in New York City, shoot anyone he pleased, and not be convicted? The more things change...)

During 1977 to 1981, America battled stagflation. Stagflation is a concatenation of rising prices and inflation combined with the decline of job availability—something the modern world may well see happen again thanks to the COVID-19 crisis. The price of a cup of coffee nearly tripled and the price of a burger doubled in those four years. Gas prices steadily rose making it impossible for some to afford fueling their vehicles while others lined up in long queues at the gas station. President Jimmy Carter tried and failed to grapple with this situation, the result of previous administrations’ ineptitude or sheer corruption, and as a result he served only one term.  

History looks upon Carter much more kindly now. Reagan—less so.

Reagan in his inaugural address famously said of America’s then-troubled economy, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.” His words found a favorable reception in the American public, since the perception of government being inherently corrupt had taken hold. Alas, Reagan’s administration turned out to be spectacularly corrupt from the get-go, and following his inauguration Reagan announced that Iran had agreed to release the remaining American hostages captured in the Tehran Embassy several months before. The timing of Iran’s decision led to suspicions that the Reagan campaign had made a secret deal to prevent the Carter administration from unveiling a so-called “October surprise”—the release of the hostages before election day.

Reagan's policy known as “Reaganomics” led to tax cuts for the rich and Big Business. He also increased military spending to $1.5 trillion over a five-year period in an effort to outpace the Soviet Union,  “the evil empire.” The military-industrial complex maintains this advantage to this day. In another echo of modern times, in 1983 Reagan set up the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a plan to develop space-based weapons to protect America from attacks by Soviet nuclear missiles. Trump’s much-trumpeted “Space Force” is nothing new. Reagan's “Star Wars” missile defense boondoggle came first.

To fund these policies there were reductions in social programs and measures passed to deregulate business. Reagan’s policies led to budget deficits that could never be reconciled, yet Reagan dubbed single mothers “welfare queens,” implying they were to blame for the drain on public funds. Reagan used this slur  to cover his cuts in so-called discretionary spending on social welfare programs such as education, Food Stamps, low income housing, school lunches for poor children, Medicaid, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).

George Bush’s subsequent presidency failed to set the world alight. He continued most of Reagan’s policies, as did his successor Bill Clinton. Clinton’s implementation of just about every public-damaging policy the Republican Party offered made him appear Republican. Bush’s son George W. continued the theme of dishonesty. More suspicions fell upon government following the notorious attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. Conspiracy theories concerning the true nature of the attacks and the level of  George W.’s complicity in them continue to this day.

Obama’s presidency promised hope, but ultimately delivered so little. His Affordable Care Act helped a number of poor Americans who would not otherwise be able to afford healthcare, yet it didn’t go far enough and outlaw private health insurers and institute a single payer system. Obama allowed the Republicans to insert harmful clauses into the bill, such as fines for those who wouldn’t buy health insurance, rendering the act toxic. 

And let’s not forget that his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, used her time in office to feather her nest. She oversaw the downfall of Muamar Quaddafi, the Haitian government’s cave-in over its proposed increase to their minimum wage so that American corporations could continue paying slave wages, and the deportation of thousands of vulnerable Central American immigrants to their home countries where many faced abuse and death.

So we come, at last, to Trump. This is the man who makes the corrupt administrations of the past look like choir boys by comparison. This is the man who makes money out of shares in a pharmaceutical company by promoting a drug as a cure for COVID-19 that is useless for the purpose at best, harmful at worst. This is the man who sells copies of the Presidential Seal in his various properties, which is illegal. This is a man who breaks the law time and again, yet he gets away with it. His followers yell  “That was cool! Do another!” He praises them, calling them “fine people” even when they launch armed invasions of the Michigan State House in an effort to force a reopening of businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.

All the while the so-called Democratic Party makes every effort to muzzle and contain the efforts of Senator Bernie Sanders and his followers, instead of choosing Sanders as the nominee. They know full well that he’d gut their party and cleanse it of the corrupting Clinton influence. Their anointed nominee is Joe Biden, a man who never met a war he didn’t like; who drew-up the Patriot Act, a dangerous law that abrades civil liberties; and whose record of sexual assault is still relevant to this day.

Dishonesty in government is nothing new. It’s as old as the concept of government itself. It remains to be seen if the American public will respond to the age old goads to revolution which we see in this COVID-19 world—dramatically increased unemployment, increasing crime born of desperation, restricted supplies of necessities, and a feeling that the government, the so-called representatives of the people, really don’t give a sh*t about the ordinary person.

Perhaps it really is time to build those guillotines and sharpen those pitchforks... Why should dishonesty be rewarded? Dishonest governments should be afraid of their people, not the other way around.

Related articles:

https://www.thoughtco.com/stagflation-in-a-historical-context-1148155

http://mostcorrupt.com/Most-Corrupt-Administrations.html

 

BIO: Coast Watcher has been observing various world governments for years, wondering when we'll see a glimpse of honesty in any of them. This current pandemic is not the time to give up hope--it's the time to expose all dishonest leadership for what it is and sweep it into the dustbin of history. Pitchforks will work much better than brooms, too.

If we truly had "Honest Government" what kind of advertisements would they produce? The Juice Media approximates the level of honesty we should demand from our leaders in their series of "Honest Government Ads." Watch and learn from their latest.

https://youtu.be/aWl7kQZHZE0

*** 

You wanna keep things honest? Then support independent media!

It's hard to know whom you can trust nowadays. Mainstream media has one goal and one goal only: to make money off its viewers/readers/listeners. Independent media exists because indies simply want to share truth without the manipulation of corporate bias.

Support an indie publication today--give whatever you can spare to The Revolution Continues.  Every little bit helps. Thank you!

Paypal us at http://paypal.me/camatthews

***

From Faithful America:

Friday morning -- the same day Jim Bakker attacked us on-air again -- Pat Robertson's 700 Club aired a misleading hit piece against Faithful America.

According to the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), "Faithful America does not have anywhere near the grassroots support it claims." The piece says we're "just another half-fake, left-wing nest of operatives" "using faith as a cover to silence conservatives."

CBN's goal was obviously to dismiss social-justice Christians like us as just "a few thousand grumpy left-wingers." To listen to the narrator ominously describe our campaign victories, you'd think we couldn't possibly be Christian (we are) or could never actually have 160,000 grassroots members like you (we do).

Please join us in wearing these attacks as a badge of "grumpy" honor! Our campaigns are clearly getting to Robertson and Bakker -- and they're afraid. The religious right needs its supporters to believe you don't exist, or their entire Christian-nationalist narrative would come crashing down. If ever there was a time to keep things up, this is it.

Sign our open letter: #SorryPat! We exist, and we're not going anywhere!
After you sign, please be sure to share so that we can get the hashtag #SorryPat trending, and spread the message to reporters and voters everywhere that being Christian doesn't have to mean supporting Donald Trump or the religious right.

Thank you for everything you do to love your neighbor and reclaim the Gospel from the religious right.

In peace,
Rev. Nathan and the Faithful America team

*** 

From JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace) Action:

If you’re like me you can’t think of a single reason why children should be in prison. PERIOD. To stop the spread of COVID-19 and prevent unnecessary tragedy, governments worldwide need to release prisoners—but Israel’s armed forces are arresting and detaining even more Palestinian children. 194 Palestinian children were detained in Israeli prisons at the end of March, an increase of 6% from January. Over 60 percent of these children are being held pre-trial, not even serving sentences.

Israel is the ONLY country that systematically detains children in a military court system, and these children – some as young as 12 – are frequently abused and tortured. It is heartbreaking that Palestinian parents must face this reality. 

So during a global pandemic, where social distancing is impossible in jails, you would think that Israeli prison officials would AT THE VERY LEAST free those being held without charge and the most vulnerable: the elderly, the ill, the CHILDREN. Instead, they’re making the crisis worse. 
Take action here.

Can you pitch in to help us keep campaigning for Palestinian rights?
Each day under COVID-19, we see acts of humanity – and the opposite. Israeli officials land on the side of the extremely inhumane with their choice to continue arresting children and putting them at risk of contracting and spreading the virus through their jails.

Among the first cases of documented coronavirus was 19 year-old Nour Eddin Sarsour, who was held for two weeks in Ofer Prison and exposed to COVID-19 by a guard. 

We’re teaming up with Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) as part of the No Way to Treat a Child campaign to raise the alarm about child prisoners and call for their release. Israel won’t take action unless we can bring real pressure to make them.

Will you take 20 seconds and sign our petition? Together we can bring about the change we need to happen. So many things need our attention right now, but I know that, like me, you are not forgetting Palestine and the need to keep working for justice, dignity and equality for all in the region.

Thank you for all you do.

Granate Kim
Communications Director

***

From Public Citizen:

I want to talk about one especially heartbreaking way the coronavirus can ambush families.

The crisis is obviously causing unprecedented financial hardship for millions of Americans — indeed, for our entire economy. This can affect us even if nobody we know gets sick.

Then there are the tens of thousands of families who lose a loved one to the disease.

Many families simply don’t have the money to cover the basic cost of burying someone they’ve lost to the pandemic.

This is tragedy on top of tragedy.

And the federal government could be helping.

There is already a program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help struggling families with burial costs when disaster strikes.

But Donald Trump has so far refused to authorize FEMA to release that funding for victims of this national emergency.

By simply signing a piece of paper, Donald Trump could help families whose livelihoods and loved ones have been lost to the coronavirus.

Tell Donald Trump:

Immediately authorize FEMA to help American families with burial expenses for loved ones lost to the coronavirus.

Add your name now.

Thanks for taking action.

Stay safe.

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen