Home of the R$D Fight With BLUE (collar)

By T.L. Dayen

As posted on an online journal beginning in August, 2010, this "collection of essays from the underclass" chronicles the emergence of a great divide that exists within our politics today. From the perspective of full time student and member of the now infamous "47 percent", T.L. Dayen thoughtfully and passionately examines the polar elements that have created unprecedented obstruction and dysfunction in Washington and the greatest crippling income disparity this country has seen since the great depression.

"Coming off the heels of sweeping losses in the 2008 elections, and no longer having a credible fiscal track record with which to sell themselves to the American people, conservatives instead, brilliantly went about building a ‘Trojan Horse’ to present to the voters in 2010. And in November, they were led into government offices all across the country on a red carpet laid out by Independent voters, riding the “promise of American jobs”.

And just like the historical fate of Troy, once inside the city gates, they quickly stripped away their guise of the promise of American prosperity, and swiftly began the business of ripping apart the social fabric of the entire 20th Century." T.L.Dayen

• Language: English
• Publisher: T.L. Dayen
• Release date: Jan 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301533459

T.L. Dayen

T.L. Dayen is a California native who has also lived and schooled in Oregon and now lives in Hawaii. Dayen is currently a student of Political Science and Psychology at UH. Her professional background is in administrative management. Dayen studied the Martial Arts and Eastern philosophy for 12 years and co-founded the first Chinese Shaolin Center Los Angeles chapter. She has traveled to 17 continental states, including Washington D.C. and New York City. Dayen has also traveled extensively throughout Asia including Beijing, Canton and several interior provinces of China; also Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. She is fervidly dedicated to a career in political communications. She considers her co-authorship of The Female Imperative her most significant opportunity and is professionally and personally dedicated to its promotion and its cause. T.L. Dayen is also author of “Home of the Red Fight with Blue Collar; A Collection of Essays from the Underclass.” Shane Stewart is a California native with an incredibly extensive and diverse background in bio lab technology, computer and software engineering, business consulting, and the arts as a singer/songwriter/actor who performed with the “Crickets” in the 1960’s. Stewart has driven across country through all 48 states and has traveled extensively throughout Canada, Mexico, and Europe, including France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England where he lived for a year singing in pubs, clubs and hotel venues. Stewart is now enjoying his retirement in Hawaii. While this is Stewart’s first published work, it reflects decades of experience and understanding of a man deeply committed to personal and social truth and growth. Stewart considers The Female Imperative his most meaningful endeavor and is now fully devoted to the promotion of its cause through the book and its home website, TheFemaleImperative.comunity.

Book preview

Home of the R$D Fight with Blue Collar

T. L. Dayen

Copyright 2013 Tresa L. Dayen

Published on Smashwords

Formatted by eBooksMade4You

* * *

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to wherever you bought it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

* * *

Dedicated to

Nana who fostered my character

My Mom who fed my dreams

My Dad who forged my fortitude

And God who sustains my spirit.

* * *

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue

Introduction: What if the New Deal Had Been ‘No Deal’?

Part 1 Politics of Greed: Forward

1 Politics of Greed

2 The U.S. Chamber of Big Business and Big Spin

3 Has the American Working Class Become ‘A Drag’?

4 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Domestic Economy

5 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in American Politics

6 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in American Courts

7 FOR SALE: 21st Century American Democracy

8 The Case for Citizens United – Unplugged

9 The Golden Rule…An American Value or American Fairytale?

Part II Read the Press: Forward

10 The Repeal of DADT – A Glimmer of Hope for Humanity?

11 Welcome to the 112th Congress!

12 2nd Amendment Remedies

13 A Question of Legitimacy…or Racism?

14 A Certificate of Birth for Obama and Death for Osama; Is it Enough?

15 The Fiscal Cliff ‘Round One’

16 The End Game of the Fossil Industry and the Age of Disposables

Part III The New Right: Forward

17 Independent Voters of 2010, It’s Curtain Call; Take Your Bow

18 Will Existentialism Cripple our American ‘Super Power’?

19 Is Existentialism the ‘Root’ of the Tea Party Family Tree?

20 Far Right Government Branches of the Tea Party Family Tree

21 Is Government Really the Problem?

22 Social Justice…Charity or Responsibility?

23 A Mainstream Voice for Fringe Society!

24 (In Conclusion) Republicans are from Mars…Democrats are from Venus.

Epilogue

About the Author

References

* * *

PROLOGUE

I began this journey of political commentary during the midterm elections of 2010. Yes, I’m a lifelong Democrat and I supported and voted for Barack Hussein Obama in 2008. But while many Americans can hail lifetime devotion to one Party or the other, Home of the Red Fight with Blue (collar) was born out of utter vexation at the level of outright disrespect and disregard for our President; my Party and the American people – simply because we won a national election? The personal attacks and vitriolic outrage from the opposing side was by all accounts unprecedented. I mean, isn’t this something we’ve been doing every four years since 1776? I had to ask myself, why was this election; this President; so loathsome to the Republican Party?

The first thing that may come to mind is actually only the very tip of the iceberg. The fact is, as of 2008, Democrats had only managed to occupy the White House for just twelve years out of the last forty. Before Obama, Democrats were represented by only Carter and Clinton since 1968; while the Republicans were represented by Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Sr.; and Bush Jr.

Yes America, the Right has gotten very used to being in charge. And it has worked quite well – for them. Unfortunately, it has not worked so well for the majority of our citizens. After twenty eight years of Republican policies and trickle-down economics, we now see the greatest income disparity between the very rich and the very poor since literally the 1800’s. We now have a vast demographic in this country recently and regrettably coined the underclass. I recently found out that I am a member of this 47 percent of American citizens – nearly half our nation. I’m currently a part time sales manager and fulltime student. The 2012 Republican Presidential nominee said that I will never take responsibility for my life; that I feel entitled to food; to housing; to you name it. At the height of my full time earning career before the crash, my annual income was approx 48 thousand dollars with overtime and bonuses, but that is less than the cost of the meal purchased by those who paid to hear Mr. Romney speak these disdainful words. America, how many people do you know who could afford a 50 thousand dollar dinner? Second, how many of them actually started with nothing; no rich family; no rich spouse? Does the family you are born into or the person you marry make you more responsible; more deserving of respect; more deserving of a chance at your own measure of success? Don’t we call that a ‘caste system’? Is this America or India?

The continuous loop of contemptuous obstruction and venomous disrespect that marked Barack Obama’s first term was the corollary of this Presidents racial ethnicity; socio-economic background and fierce lifetime dedication to social justice. While these qualities loudly resonated with the majority of Americans, they also laid bare a stark divide in this country that until now had quietly persisted under the radar of public scrutiny.

I peevishly watched the vigorous healthcare debates in Washington; the fervid town-hall clashes across the country; and the nauseating imagery at the Tea Party Rallies. It was the summer leading up to the mid-term elections of November, 2010 that I began to broach and articulate my thoughts about what I was witnessing into this collection of essays.

Part I Politics of Greed involves many hours of research exposing the simple party platform of the establishment Right represented by the United States Chamber of Commerce – amassing wealth and power – at any and all costs. It also covers money in politics and the Case of Citizens United. Part II Read the Press identifies key social and political events that defined Obama’s first term. Part III The New Right explores and explains the rise of the Tea Party and the new existential revolution. As I compiled the book, I was struck at the dates of the entries. Not much has changed my friends; a scary thought indeed.

It should be noted that much to the chagrin of my family and friends, I am a political junkie, but these essays are just as much about American history, social philosophy and inspiration as they are about American politics and patriotism. Though most of the content of my essays is purely (educated) opinion and insight, where there is factual content, I have provided ‘references’ within the text and/or at the end of this book.

Read, learn and use this information. Knowledge is power - to the people, for the people, of the people and by the people!

Enjoy the Journey. Use your power.

T.L. Dayen

* * *

INTRODUCTION

What if the ‘New Deal’

Had Been ‘No Deal’?

Thursday 21 October 2010 9:22 pm

The country is facing complete financial collapse. The general consensus of the time places the blame of this collapse on the previous Republican administration. The incoming President has the task of bringing this country back from the brink of a decade of non-regulation policies. He is charged with not only saving the country from oblivion, but also making reforms that will avoid future depressions from plaguing our country. In his first 99 days, the President proposed, and Congress swiftly enacted legislation to deliver ‘relief’ to the unemployed and those in danger of losing their farms and homes; ‘recovery’ to agriculture and business, and ‘reform’. By that time, some 13,000,000 people were out of work and virtually every bank was shuttered. U.S.History.com

News headlines from 2009?

Try 1932!

This is a historical account of the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration’s efforts to confront the Great Depression. In his 1932 Presidential nomination speech, this Democratic candidate said:

I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a ‘new deal’ for the American people. He won that election, and in his 1933 Inauguration, Roosevelt declared, Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself – needless unreasoning, unjustified terror, which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

‘During this critical time in our history, legislation and reforms passed as a direct result of the New Deal, not only brought us out of the Great Depression, but went on to dramatically improve our country’s economy and the lives of all Americans.’

The New Deal

-The Emergency Banking Act: re-opened viable banks and allowed for banking regulations.

-The Glass-Steagull Banking Act: instituted banking reforms and created the Federal Bank Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

-The Federal Securities Act: stiffened regulations on Securities.

-The Farm Credit Act: provided for refinancing of farm mortgages.

-The Home Owners Refinancing Act: established the Home Owners Loan Corp. (HOLC) to refinance residential mortgages.

-The Federal Emergency Relief Act: provided states $500 million in relief funds.

-The Agricultural Adjustment Act: subsidized farmers to decrease crop surpluses.

-The Civilian Conservation Corps Act: put 3 million young men between the ages of 18 and 25 to work in road building; forestry and flood control.

-The Works Progress Administration Act: (WPA) put 8,500,000 million people to work (2 million per year) in reforestation; rural electrification; water works; sewage plants; school buildings; slum clearance; and flood control resulting in the Bonneville Dam.

-The Tennessee Valley Authority Act: built dams and power plants in the highly and critically poverty ridden Tennessee Valley connecting 8 southern states in all, bringing electricity to thousands and creating badly needed jobs and area development.

-The Fair Labor Standards Act: enacted the 40 hour work week; overtime compensation; the Minimum Wage; and Child Labor laws that made it illegal to employ children under 16 years of age.

-The National Labor Relations Act: allowed for Unionization and Collective Bargaining.

-The Social Security Act was passed in 1935

Most of this legislation took place during the first 200 days of Roosevelt’s Presidency. The New Deal beat down the beast of poverty in this country born out of the unbridled greed and non-regulation ‘hay-day’ of the roaring 20’s. But our country would be facing an enemy larger than the Great Depression. We would soon be entering the 2nd World War. The New Deal brought this country back to its feet. We were no longer a top heavy house of cards toppled. With new and improved infrastructure and financial and social safeguards and systems, we stood strong and ready to take on the War Effort, which, by the time it was all over, resulted in the strongest middle class this country, and the world, would ever see.

‘The moral of this story is that this is ultimately the historical account of the birth of the ‘American Dream’ - an entire generation of middle class financial security and stability.’

It is also the historical account of how the United States became an unprecedented economic and military world power. But ‘history’ did not write itself my friends! It was written by the decisions and actions of the people in that time. But what if ‘history’ had been different? What if the people of that time had made different decisions; had taken different action?

You see, even though Americans blamed Herbert Hoover for the stock market crash and the Great Depression, and even though he lost his re-election bid to Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, it did not stop the Republicans from working at every turn to stop, block and overturn the relief; recovery; and reform policies of Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression. The biggest complaints at that time against the New Deal came mainly from conservative wealthy businessmen who were alarmed with rising deficits; upset with increased regulations; and disgusted with legislation favorable to labor.

The main arguments used at the time to support their grievances were fear of Socialism; Marxism and the Republican general consensus that most of the New Deal was ‘un-constitutional’. FDR also had critics on the Left, most famously a Senator from Florida rallying that the New Deal didn’t do ‘enough’! Does all of this sound too familiar – 80 years later???

‘What if in 1932, the Republicans had been successful in their attempts to erase the New Deal Policies? ’

What if in 1932 the American people had truly believed that the Republican Party, and not Roosevelt, had their best interests in mind; that ‘small government’, ‘tax cuts to the wealthy’ and a ‘free market left to its own means and regulations’ was our best chance of saving America from ruin? Imagine if you will how this ‘alternate historical account’ might have read. Would their ‘status quo’ policies really have not only brought us back from the brink, but also prepared our country economically, socially and psychologically for the National effort needed for victory in World War II? Would our ‘World Power’ status ever have been achieved? Would the National ‘American Dream’ ever have been realized by our parents and grandparents? Small government; tax cuts; and free market reign – Really? I shudder to think.

‘Truth is, we can only learn from what DID take place.

In 1932, the people had a choice, and they made it.’

You can thank my Grandmother’s generation for the National Pride we enjoy today as we look back at our American history. We can thank them for having the courage to face reality, work together and change their destiny. The Republican Party can thank them for their fortitude against the fear mongers, even if only in hindsight. I beg you to consider how ‘eerily similar’ the choices are before us now! Where we find ourselves today, and how we got here is nearly parallel to 1932, however, the stakes this time around are far greater.

‘Today we have so much more to lose after everything we have gained.’

Americans have suffered 20 of the past 28 years of Republican policies that have rendered the American middle class extinct; policies that imploded the finance industry and the financial markets; policies that mainlined ‘greed’, resulting in the collapse of huge corporations like Enron and WorldCom and creating monsters like Bernie Maddoff; policies supporting the reduction of health, safety and environmental regulations resulting in countless environmental disasters and loss of human and wild life; policies purporting ‘trickle down economics’, creating a whole new social class of ‘bottom feeders’; policies that actually support and reward companies that fire American’s and give their well-paying, high-tech, customer service and manufacturing jobs to people in India and China, feeding the American unemployment rate. Meanwhile, supporters of these policies actually have the nerve to call American’s lazy, and accuse illegal aliens of ‘taking good American jobs’ – like janitorial; field work and maid services – really?? We may be broke, but we are not stupid!!!

‘They will try even harder this time around to sell us on the idea that their policies