Supreme Isolation

Back in the sixties, I was a junior partner in one of the country's largest stock brokerage firms and I   represented the firm at a meeting of business leaders (I was a spear carrier in this parade) in Newark, NJ to discuss the city's problems. I met all the brass, including the city's very controversial police chief. He gave a fine speach emphasizing what his department was doing to ensure law and order and especially to protect property values, which were zero at the time because of the infamous Newark riots. Everything was low key and business like. And then there were some questions and one touched upon the US Supreme Court. The Chief went ballistic! The smooth veneer slipped off and he literally raved about those unspeakable morons on the Supreme Court of the United States of America. His audience cringed with horror.

I wonder what can and should be said about the men and women of today's Roberts Court? How about that a majority of them are blind to reality, blatantly political or simply out of touch with the world we live in? One could say none of the above, or only that five of them are capable of really monstrous error and it would be a serious indictment. What else can one call Citizens v. United wherein corporations are people and allowed to give unlimited amounts of money in political elections as a matter of free speach? Has it really brought about what they wanted? Would the founding fathers have approved?

Does anyone, except maybe David Koch, really believe that we need more money in American elections? Over and over we have seen what happens when big sums of money become involved in these campaigns which seem never to end - more mudslinging, nonstop attack ads, more dirty tricks. Money from wherever it can be found, pollutes the our political process to the point where facts don't matter and logic gives way to theater. Bucks trump (no pun intended) everything because they can buy the best spinsters, the most imaginative attack ad promoters and contrived public " moments", even if they are shortlived. Nothing matters except election day and, of course, the type of post election spin game that got George W. Bush elected by the Supreme Court we're discussing.

Things are going to change in American elections, but how soon, no one knows and how much more damage can our system take? Americans are deeply disturbed and disillusioned by the present horror of our political system, to which a misguided Supreme Court has contibuted mightily. It's ironic like a Greek tragedy, and look where the people who invented democracy are today. They are protesting in the streets of Athens. Will Americans follow in Washington? Without big changes very soon, you can be sure of it.

Let's look at Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul. Why would he put tens of millions that we know about into Republican coffers? He is alleged to be singularly interested in the State of Israel and we assume that he wants the lowest possible corporate tax rates, but is it possible hes has invested secretly more millions in Mitt Romney because of some deal he's made to protect Israel against Iran? Romney has been outspoken about his determination to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon. If Mr. Adelson hasn't made a deal for his millions, what if the Koch brothers want to emulate him?

If you think such pay to play deals are nonsense, consider what former British prime minister John Major testified to a week ago in the parliamentary inquiry into whether Rupert Murdoch is fit to wield huge business power in England. Mr Major essentially said that it was a rare event for a visitor to sit before a British prime minister in his office and demand a major change of national policy in return for the support of Mr. Murdoch's newspapers. Mr. Major refused to comply with Mr. Murdoch's demands and lost his support and the next national election, at least partly as a result

Mr. Adelson's money couldn't save Newt Gingrich and maybe corporate billions won't put Mr. Romney into the White House, but what about huge money in state races. We saw recently where Gov. Walker won his recall election in Wisconsin by outspending his rival 7 - 1. That may be enough to turn any election, but it's clearly possible now. Maybe Citizens v. United will be reversed or modified one day, but for now we are self inflicting great wounds on our wonderful country with this kind of foul play which serves further to drive out decent people like Olympia Snowe and Richard Lugar. These are trying days for the Supremes and I wonder if they know they aren't living up to what's expected of them..

Barry's Baby Reprise

Back in June, my blog "Barry's Baby" outlined briefly the disgust to which Americans can expect to be treated as the dirtiest political campaign in American history gets under way. It's happening as we blog.

My prediction noted, in part, that the Republicans would use the tactics taught them by the late, but unlamented Lee Atwater: they would attack the president's strengths, not his weaknesses. Indeed, those tactics worked beautifully on John Kerry who was and is a war hero, but was successfully branded as a phony by Karl Rove, George Bush's great "architect" of victory.

Mr. Rove is at it again, as he attempts through a superpac (Crossroads GPS) to paint Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate who is going to unseat Scott Brown and become junior senator from Massachusetts, as the person who helped pay big Wall Street businessmen fat bonuses using TARP money! Nothing of course could be further from the truth. Prof Warren is anathema to such business leaders who are staunchly defended by Republicans in Congress.

In addition, this week President Obama, who has been widely praised for his handling of foreign affairs, came under attack from Mitt Romney and other Republicans for favoring terrorists rather than the people of Israel! I'm doubling down on my bet that this is going to be the most revolting political campaign of modern times. Donald Trump is still casting doubt on the president's citizenship and it is only a matter of time before he and Atwater's other heirs claim Barry has an illegitimate child somewhere, or offer some similar calumny.

Nah, that's not it.

David Brooks is a brainy guy who writes very well as a conservative columnist (and author) for the New York Times. His recent article entitled "What Republicans think" is, however, considerably off the mark.

Brooks says that Republicans see the current economic crisis here and abroad as the beginning of the end for the welfare state, which President Eisenhower fostered and successive presidents of both parties encouraged and funded. Now everyone has gone too far with the benefits and the house of cards is crashing. It's possible he's prematurely right, but where's the evidence? Who says so? Most of our congressmen/women don't show any sign of having world views or the ability to express them if they did. "Nah, that's not it" was my thought almost immediately, as I read his column.

What Republicans are doing is just another version of "starve the beast", ie the federal government. Did Scott Walker talk about a world view as he attacked labor unions and went after Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin? Does Paul Ryan really think the world can be fixed by socking it to the poor? There's been nothing from John Boehner about the big picture and who would listen if he did see beyond DC? Eric Cantor has spoken breezily about telling people the US can't afford retirements or benefits anymore, but he's really focused only on easing John Boehner into early retirement. Beside this, we haven't been nearly as negligent as the Greeks or those other countries where people take naps in the middle of the day and retire at 50 with full pay.

Our American  crisis would be far along on the way to recovery, in fact, if our government were functioning at even a modest level. Instead, at a time of intense crisis wherein millions of Americans are suffering severely, our politicians are working energetically against each other, focused on old partisan issues like abortion, birth control and RACE, whether it's stated or not. It is positively dumbfounding and disgusting to the point of being traitorous.

We're at a profoundly sad time in American and world history when American leadership is so greatly needed and there is nothing in Washington except gridlock, acrimony and one party's determination to bring down our first black president and return to the good ole unregulated Golden Age of the great tycoons. I don't think Republicans are really thinking at all.

Ah, Springtime II

Spring always brings graduation days and related commencement speeches. In anticipation of numerous invitations to speak that have not materialized, due no doubt to economies imposed upon the US Postal Service, I have prepared remarks I will share with you, minus all the drivel about hard working graduates and long suffering parents.

You are graduating at one hell of a tough time and your century is going to be just as difficult as mine, or more so. Think about that for a minute. There are so many problems you need to solve immediately I am only going to touch on one because of my concern for your physical well being. That problem is simple fairness and justice, the stuff  that you supposedly learned about in grade school.

When people do bad things they must be identified and punished. If there is to be law and order in this land that we love there has to be accountability. Without that guarantee things go down hill fast. Fair and equal justice is a core value. If the core rots everyone is in terrible danger and in many cases justice delayed is justice denied. That's what is happening as I speak.

So tell me, esteemed graduates, should people who betray the trust of our nation by leading us into 2 wars (!) improperly and under false pretenses be punished at least minimally? Too tough a matter for this fine day? OK, let's consider something less complicated: should people and institutions who brought our banking system almost to its knees and caused a mortgage crisis of unprecedented severity (great pain to millions) be punished or rewarded?  How about the rating agencies, Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poors? Want to throw in the SEC and the robo signers speeding foreclosures along the way?

Getting down to the bone, what kind of justice should be handed to the top CEOs at the too big to fail banks, Citi, Goldman, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase? Shouldn't we include for punishment also some of the directors of those companies who have been grossly neglient and careless? Why that's anti-business thinking, at best, and contrary to our free enterprise system in addition, you might say. I must be a commie for even thinking of such an assault on the democratic system. No way! I want it to continue better and stronger than ever and that can be achieved only by putting some accountability back into the mix. It has been missing for too long in this age wherein no one ever resigns and few are convicted. Remember Sherman in Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities?He wondered if he'd be socially ostracized for his infidelity and other sins that had become public information only to discover that all was well and his friends merely shared his discomfort while he endured his 15 minutes in the spotlight.

Consider also now what to do with leaders who deliberately publish campaign information they know to be false, or totally twisted? The headline is front page news, the retraction, if there even is one, is on page 37, next to cat-up- a- tree stories. America's election commisssions and ethics committees are jokes and are simply augmenting the decay of our society.

Lastly, is it just or fair that a tiny portion of our nation's population ends up fighting our misbeguided wars? I know you're draft bait, but this question may be the clincher for whether or not you got what you came here for and whether or not you'll be able to do good stuff with it. Thanks for inviting me and accept my appologies for not delaying my departure to answer questions. Did I mention that  I was on the varsity track team?

The Green Berets of Grief

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I saw on TV a young woman and mother of one make as fine a tribute to her killed-in-combat husband as I have ever witnessed. She was a Green Beret of Grief.

Green Berets are renowned as highly intelligent fighters who have been trained to jump out of airplanes, climb vertical cliffs, ford raging rivers and eat snakes, if they need to." They show their pride in their training and in what they do by wearing green "covers" on their heads. They are proud soldiers.

The young woman I watched exercised tight discipline on her emotions; she was dignified, smart and brave. She had felt the pain of all humanity and she was stronger because of it. Her personal strengths had been augmented and refined into something of which her husband would have been immensely proud. She could  become a national leader, if she so choses. 

For those in great grief with or without an attachment to the military, deep comfort can be found in the teachings of a Jewish carpenter who was meek and mild but had power to command the wind and walk on the waves. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," he said. They have been marked by their encounter with the pain of the world that extends even to the animals and their comfort contains an enablement to march on and do even more. Our loving God has "consecrated to them their deepest distress" and it shows, for those with the discernment to recognize the subtle signs. There is no glistening medal or unusual hat, but they have been healed and sent back into the fray as Green Berets of Grief.

Lions and Hyenas

When I was in Wall Street, it was a very good place to be. It was respectable work and I felt like I could earn good money and help other people to do the same thing. My beliefs have changed greatly in the intervening years and I haven't been able to recommend a career on "the Street" to anyone in decades. A Wall Streeter still looks great in a $5,000 suit with all the hand made accoutrements, but even that may be coming to an end.

Romney has made much of his experience with Bain Capital, where he made millions (and still does) and helped to bring into our lives some success stories like Staples and The Sports Authority. He calls himself a private equity expert, but now people are beginning to understand that he might also be called a corporate raider, even maybe a bottom feeder and I don't think he's going to be able to keep up the masquerade as a Lion of Wall Street when he may more closely resemble a hyena or a vulture. At Bain, Romney who was the Founder and CEO, was focused exclusively one making a profit for himself and his partners and not all of his efforts were successful. None of his moves were altruistic, unless one imagines that removing roadkill is useful work. He chose his field, declining to be an investment banker or hedge fund manager, so it isn't unfair to ask why the much less attractive field appealed more to him

When Bain, or a similar enterprise, takes over a failing company there is much dirty work to be done that most people would find extraordinarily ugly. Often the buyers avoid getting their hands bloody by bringing in CEOs with colorful names to do the wet work. Al Dunlap, who was known for his brutal efficiency as "Chainsaw Harry" comes to mind. These new bosses fire everyone in sight, strip out benefits for those remaining, sell off anything removable and then see if the parts can be sold for a tax advantage or somehow be made profitable enough to recover their highly leverage investment. Sometimes the resultrs are re-leveraged so management can get every possible advantage. Inevitably, it is hell to work for a company that has been tajken over. Employees are scared stiff and productivity is pushed to the max. There will be no bowling teams working and no little leaguers sponsored. I believe Mr. Romney saw a chance to run a financial firm and make big money and that was enough.

When people think of American big business, they tend to envision Ford assembly lines, oil rigs in the Gulf or huge drug companies, but there's a seamy side, too, that few like to contemplate, except Mr. Romney and others with similar business interests. This is seldom high minded stuff, it's Wall Street at its worst and Americans need to know it's there, out back behind the handsome facade. The law of the jungle prevails in business, but I don't believe this kind of business experience is what I'd prefer for the leader of the free world. Mr. Romney might do better to talk more about his experiences as governor of Massachusetts, but he can't do that, can he?

When One Speaks for Many

As a music lover, I enjoy singing, but it takes a chorus of at least 500 to c0ver my mistakes and self consciousnes. So it was the other night (actually some weeks ago) as I listened with interest to people speaking out at the Tea Party Debate for republican candidates for president in 2012. There was no reticence or timidity here. Members if the audience were comfortable with each other. One might even say they deserved each other.

One man shouted out "Let him die," when the moderator asked about what to do with an old person who had outlived his resources. Did I hear that clearly? It sounded lie I had suddenly been transported back to the Roman Arena. Yep, sadly I did and that person must have felt entirely comfortable yelling his comment. It was probably another Rep. Joe Wison type who couldn't contain himself seated cozily with other Republicans in the House of Representatives during the State of the Union Address last January. Imagine it! vLet the bum die, who cares? Do you supposed that man goes to church? It's an attitude that has zero virftue, something better left unsaid.

I was shocked,frankly, but I shouldn't have been because arlier in the evening Gov. Perry had been boasting about his excellent sleeping habits, unconcerned about the incredible number of people executed i9n Texas dduring his reign. He was certain none had been put to death innocent. Couldn't happen in the Great State of Texas. How could any official be quite so callous, or pretend to be, about one of the most serious of his responsibilities as an elected representative of the people? Why couldn't he have said something responsible like "authorizing the execution of another human being in the administration of justice is a part of my duties as governor that I take with the utmost seriousness and I would be horrified if my state ever took the life of a man or woman who did not commit the crime for which he/she was convicted. Accordingly..." Nope, Gov. Perry chose to posture. People do heinous things in my state they get fried. We don't need a president like that.

To me, the Perry types and those who yell comments like "Let him die" remind me all to clearly of those that screamed "crucify him" 2011 years ago.

(In the interim between when this piece was written and today when it is belatedly being posted, and at still another Republican Debate, a soldier who was praising the demise of Don't Ask Don't Tell was booed by the crowd without drawing the slightest rebuke from any of the potential commanders in chief present. How sad.)

To me the Perry types and those who yell "Let him died