Orwell's Tea Party Pigs

PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
OPINION, OCTOBER 9, 2013

For House 'pigs,' all's well that ends Orwell 

 By KEVIN MCKINNEY

 THEY ARE the worst kind of bad guys. Worse than knife-wielding street thugs or gun-toting gangsters.

 They dress up in their dandy monkey suits and assume a self-aggrandizing arrogance, as if they were mythical heroes, fighting for justice.

 They make phony, empty speeches, posing for the public, pretending that they give a rat's tail about us, the people.

 But really, they are the pigs in George Orwell's Animal Farm - standing upright on two legs, dressed like humans and sipping tea with the enemy.

 Whether or not they ever possessed a righteous bone in their body, the truth is plain: House tea party Republicans, consumed by fear and corrupted by power, answer only to an influential select few. That's why they so easily can shut down a government, leaving some 800,000 federal workers without pay, risk crippling our economy further and give America's faltering reputation as the world's leading democracy another black eye.

 If the unprecedentedly obstructionist and politically opportunistic tea partyers are so sure that ObamaCare is a disaster, why not sign off on it and virtually guarantee a grand tea party in the White House come 2016?

 Wouldn't a meltdown of the Affordable Care Act effectively trash Democrats' and the president's credibility, bolstering Republicans' chances in the next congressional and presidential elections?

 Sure, like Animal Farm's pigs, tea partyers like to proclaim that "all (Americans) are equal." But the House hogs, a la Farm's pigs, time and time again since 2010 have demonstrated their true sentiments: Some citizens are "more equal than others."

 Of course, that "equality" is gauged by the size of a person's bank account, on- or offshore.

 The disparity between this country's rich and poor has never been greater.

 An estimated 13 percent of our children are living in poverty today. Millions go to bed hungry each night. And what's Republicans' sole obsession?

To reel in the Wall Street recklessness or reinforce lax financial regulation - the key failures that led to the Great Recession of 2008?

 Nah. No, Republicans, tea partyers in particular, are chomping at the bit to cut $40 billion from the food-stamp program over the next decade.

 Do social-welfare assistance programs need belt-tightening to weed out abusers? Certainly.

 But maybe we should make it a priority to close the loopholes that directly caused the economic crisis five years ago before we risk literally stealing more food from the mouths of babes.

 This talk of ObamaCare as a job killer is nonsense. Small businesses are hiring steadily. Under the new health-care plan, only 3 percent of small businesses (with 50 employees or more) are mandated to insure their workers. And some 96 percent of those businesses already provide health care.

 The alarmist, Republican-propagated remarks about ObamaCare's impact on Medicare and Medicaid have been refuted by analysts. Those programs will only be improved and expanded under the act.

 Emboldened by the suspect redistricting in the South that nearly guarantees that numerous Republicans will get re-elected in 2014, the tea partyers on Capitol Hill open their mouths only to oppose, disparage and destroy.

 Where are the conservatives' fixes or alternatives to the much maligned ObamaCare? Actually, considering the landslide of lies that the tea party has propagated about ObamaCare, it's impressive that a polled citizenry still slightly favors the new health-care law.

 So, it only stands to reason that the tea-party-controlled House, in reality, is terrified that ObamaCare - which surely won't be without its share of red-tape glitches, initially - will actually end up as one of this country's greatest achievements for the people.

 The only card that the House has left to play is to block a budget debt-ceiling plan. Then amid any resulting chaos, they can childishly point a finger at the president and insist: "He did it!"

 And they are betting, just like the pigs in Orwell's Farm, that the masses will be effectively brainwashed by such garbage.

We should take a lesson from the old, hardworking cart horse named Boxer in Animal Farm. He wasn't easily swayed by the pigs' empty assurances and twisting of the animals' democratic commandments - to benefit the pigs only.

Boxer asked questions; he sought the truth. Orwell indeed was a prophet. But what good has it done us?

Now, amid this partial government shutdown, heading for worse times, will the people finally see the House tea partyers for the pigs that they truly are? _________________
 Kevin McKinney is a freelance writer living at the Jersey Shore.

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Walmart Rolls Us Towards a "Rollerball" Future

Those great deals you find at Walmart ultimately are costing Americans way too much. With Walmart leading the way, we are fast approaching the futuristic scenario depicted in the movie "Rollerball," where corporations keep the people in their pocket; Big money, in the movie, runs the country and controls the people -- even to the point of instituting its own corporate anthem before each rollerball contest. I wonder what Walmart's anthem will sound like? No doubt some synthesized garbage cheaply produced like the cheap plastic junk they bribe the American people with in their "super" stores. Sure, Walmart recently stepped up with some concessions for their employees, but only after mounting public pressure -- and of course to ensure they have a ready and willing workforce this fast approaching holiday season. To be sure, Walmart's great deals that attract Americans like the religious masses to Mecca, ultimately have cost us dearly. The conglomerate has bought us out, paid us off with $4 prescription fills and wholesale prices on eggs and the like so that we keep our mouths shut. In the meantime, the chain store giant has short changed the American work force in hours, overtime pay, and benefits. They've monopolized and undermined our sense of community. It's powerful conglomerates like Walmart, that the House Tea Party is really fighting for by opposing ObamaCare. Not small businesses. Not the people. Anything to save the big boys a buck, while people struggle on.

This GOP Gamble Looks To Go Bust

In the same way the reckless Wall Streeters and banking industry profiteers rolled the dice with the livlihoods of multiple millions of Americans before the Great Recession, Republicans, complicit in that meltdown, are betting big again. House Republicans, led by the Tea Party, have rolled the dice again, allowing the government shutdown in hopes, of course, that the President and Democrats will get the blame. But this time,the stakes may be too high and the people are watching.

Tea Party is The Enemy

At least with your typical kidnapper or bank robber you know where you stand. These House Tea Party Republicans disguise themselves as the good guys. They pretend they give a dam about us. They claim they are acting on our behalf. But they are in essence, the Tea Party Pigs of George Orwell's Animal Farm.

Shutdown

If the obstructionist, politically motivated House Republicans are so convinced that Obamacare is a disaster, why not sign off on it and virtually garauntee a 2016 presidency?

"Absolutely Not" should be the Syrian vote

”Absolutely not,” should be the resounding cry throughout the land from the people to their representatives in response to President Barack Obama’s quest for a military strike in Syria. Weariness over the costly and bloody Iraq and Afghanistan wars should be just one of many reasons for members of Congress not to authorize a strike on Syria. Of course, front and foremost is the diplomatic option, proposed by Russia, to have international monitors take control of Syria’s chemical weapons. So far, President Basher al-Assad has agreed to the plan. But even if that weren’t to materialize – hopefully it will – an air attack on Syria is the wrong move. Never mind the powder keg a Syrian strike could turn out to be – with Syria, Iran and Russia on one side and Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States on the other. What sense does it make to bomb Syria and risk killing or maiming more children and families? One of President Obama’s arguments for an attack on Syria cited a significant number of children killed in a chemical attack outside Damascus towards the end of August. Remember, the first 50 strikes against “high value targets” in the Iraq War all missed their intended targets, resulting in scores of civilian deaths and injuries, according to published reports. And how dependable is the intelligence? We know elements of Al Qeada are sometimes fighting alongside the Syrian opposition forces. And we know the CIA has been aiding rebel fighters there. But to what extent has the CIA become involved and to what extent would a military strike simply be serving the military industrial complex?

Tough Love?