From Philippines Congressman Mong Palatino…

Excerpts of keynote speech delivered during the second general assembly of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns in New Jersey, United States.

When I (first) arrived here (in 2008), people were talking only about two things: Obama and the recession. Obama promised change and the voters believed him. His victory was seen as something that would usher in a new political era. But the political euphoria immediately died down when the inconvenient truths of the economy were finally revealed. It soon became apparent that the minimum wage earners will be the most vulnerable sector if the recession worsens. Indeed, workers lost their homes while banks received bail-out funds, thousands were laid-off from work while bank executives were given fat bonuses. The American Dream became a nightmare for those who are barely surviving from paycheck to paycheck.

This was America in 2008. Three years later, it seems the situation has changed for the worse. Obama is still Obama, promising here and there about hope and change. Wall Street is still Wall Street, accumulating more fictitious wealth for the corporate shareholders at the expense of the working classes which produce the real wealth of society. Bank executives are allowed to ruin the economy through their black magic (popularly known as speculative investments) and their irresponsible behavior is ignored by the government. They hoard the money during good times but they require everybody in society to make a lot of sacrifice to help solve the financial mess they created.

During the Cold War, it was believed that if the US sneezes, the world gets a cold. It’s still true today: the virus of the US financial crisis has spread to many parts of the world.

But if there is something to cheer today, it’s the rising and visible resistance of the masses in the virtual and offline worlds. The people’s struggles are intensifying. The birds are even angry, the plants are fighting the zombies, and the fighting collectives are multiplying.

What is the role of Filipino migrants in this global counterstrike against the exploitative financial and economic system whose controlling apparatus is located here in the US?

You perform a very special and significant task. Special because you echo the devastating impact of neoliberal globalization in the Third World. Your militant presence, your voices, your status updates, your organizing in the grassroots can unmask the evil economic order. Significant because as you struggle for better protection for migrants you are also strengthening the people’s capacity to defeat the empire. You are slaying the dragon inside its lair.

It’s inevitable that your actions are both local and global; and you must realize that their impact is also felt locally and globally. I admire the inventiveness of the migrant’s movement because you are able to articulate your demands in a foreign land without losing your symbolic and organic ties with the homeland. I salute NAFCON for affirming the link between the immigrant rights movement in the US and the struggle of the Filipino people in the Philippines for genuine democracy, freedom, peace and justice. This admirable political standpoint must inspire Filipinos in the US to act decisively against economic inequality, corporate greed, racism, and political repression; and this should bring them closer to the revolution which is raging in the Philippines as they become part of the global people’s movement for genuine change.

Or in other words, Filipinos must realize that shouting and marching for immigrant rights in the US will also contribute to the victory of the people’s movement in the Philippines. As you militantly assert your political demands here, the unjust domination of a corrupt and highly abusive political-economic system in the Philippines is weakened too. You can’t present a genuine alternative to the public without disturbing the hegemony of the empire here in the belly of the beast and in the peripheries of the kingdom. If you punch, a tyrant somewhere in the Philippines will receive the blow. So punch hard like Pacquiao.

But NAFCON and its member organizations are relevant not only because of your interventions in behalf of all Filipino migrants but also because you are determined to address the roots of the problems confronting the community. You are correct to highlight the feudal backwardness of the Philippines and the despotic rule of oligarchs in the archipelago as the culprit for the forced migration of Filipinos to distant shores. It’s essential to pinpoint the criminal responsibility of politicians, past and present, in maintaining a system that draws its sustenance from the sweat, blood, and labor of migrant Filipinos.

What kind of government allows its own people to be exported to other countries and expects the continued inflow of remittances to keep the economy afloat? What do we call a policy that shamelessly sells the labor power and dignity of Filipinos to the altar of the global market? How can we accept the argument that the damaging impact of migration like separated families, the exodus of skilled professionals, the exploitation of cheap Filipino labor, the silent agony of discriminated Filipinos who experience various humiliating forms of racism – can we endure and ignore this suffering just because the OFW remittances constitute the black gold of the Philippine economy?

Only a leadership with a shortage of imagination could proclaim that no alternative is available to this social set-up; that we have to continue exporting our own people; and that we still need to experience more pain and anguish for a longer time. If this is the way our government thinks, then we have no choice but to do the only honorable and right thing and that is to export all our politicians to other countries. Or to Mars if no one will accept them.

I have some bad news to share and also some good news as pasalubong from Pinas.

The bad news is that the present supremo of the Philippine Islands is no torch bearer of genuine change so the situation in the country is bound to worsen. Why do we say that? Because 1) President Noynoy Aquino, the son of two democracy icons, the country’s most illustrious bachelor, the brother of Kris, the former owner of a second-hand Porsche, the hacendero president is surrounded by advisers who faithfully cling to the neoliberal dogma; 2) After more than a year in office, his single concrete achievement as president is the elimination of wang wang in the streets but the more insidious forms of wang wang mentality like the refusal of landlords to distribute their lands to small farmers are tolerated; 3) There is no review of anti-people policies implemented by previous governments like the reduction of state subsidies to social services, unabated profiteering of oil companies, and active promotion of labor export.

The Daang Matuwid is now operational but it’s only for Porsche cars, the president’s friends and kamag-anak. And if you are lucky, you can pass but you must pay high toll fees, VAT included.

What should migrants do? As the boss of Pnoy, demand reforms, assert your migrants’ agenda. Remind him that decent jobs will not be created if he continues to subscribe to a discredited economic thinking. Make him understand too that progress shouldn’t be equated with abstract numbers like GDP, foreign investments, and rising profits of big corporations. We are more concerned about the quality of living in society like the social opportunities for the poor, relevant education, accessible health care, peace in the community, delivery of social justice, solidarity, bayanihan in society. These are the things that truly matter.

Most of all, migrants should show to Pnoy and to other ruling oligarchs that you are prepared to exert the full potential of your power, and I do not only mean your purchasing power, but the power to change the world, the power to refashion a new social order.

2011 is an important year for the people’s movement. This year is the 10th anniversary of the Edsa Dos Uprising, the 20th year of the historic Senate vote that rejected the US Bases Treaty, the 25th year of the EDSA People Power, the 40th year of the Diliman Commune. The year started with the Arab Spring uprisings; then the Occupy Wall Street protest inspired several ‘Occupy’ actions. In the Philippines, farmers and workers conducted an ‘Occupy Mendiola’ protest a few days ago. They said they are the 75 percent of the population who are urging the other 24 percent to join the struggle in resisting the oppressive rule of the 1 percent.

But after we ‘Occupy’, we must organize. Otherwise, the repressive state will attempt to seize control of the spaces we liberated. The protesters in Wall Street and other ‘Occupy’ sites need to regroup, expand, and organize the people, the masses who are preoccupied with something else.

I said earlier that I have some good news as pasalubong. I’m happy to announce that the people’s movement in the Philippines is getting stronger and bolder. The parliament of the streets has been successful in presenting the people’s agenda; and it has been consistent in unmasking the bankrupt and reactionary programs of the Aquino government. Meanwhile, the mass movement in the countryside for genuine agrarian reform and the protection of our finite natural resources continues to frighten the enemies of the people. Day by day, inch by inch, zone by zone, victory is getting nearer.

This is my pasalubong. What about your pabaon to me? Well, I can report back to our kasamas in the Philippines that the Filipino community in the US, led by NAFCON and other allied organizations, is ready to enter into a new era of resurgent struggles. The community is prepared to boost the full potential of the mass movement in advancing the rights of migrants, the workers, the poor, in solidarity with all those who are struggling for a better world, a new future.

Once again, I salute the NAFCON for leading the noble fight of Filipinos in the US. Laban mga kasama! Tuluy-tuloy sa pakikibaka! Mabuhay ang migranteng Pilipino!

From Philippines Congressman Mong Palatino…

A specter is haunting Edsa today: the specter of street crimes. Car thieves and bus bombers are causing panic in the metropolis. Traffic and pollution are getting worse everyday. Giant billboards are displayed on every building along the highway. The old folks are asking: where are the trees in Edsa?

The government assures us that peace and order will be restored. In fact it has dispatched the MMDA as its executioner in Edsa. Discipline will be enforced (sa ikauunland ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan). Police patrols will be more visible. State agents will man the buses. Phone SIM cards will be registered.

The networked citizens are cheering. Bravo MMDA for the traffic updates. Bravo MMDA for the CCTV images. Yes to SIM registration; after all we have nothing to hide. We are good citizens of the Republic. Mussolini could be smiling in his grave. After all, Mussolini’s fascist regime was once praised in Italy for making the trains ran on time. Let’s continue the tradition of equating the ruthless but efficient delivery of public services with good politics.

Why did we allow this to happen in Edsa, our Edsa? Just 25 years ago, it was the site of a spectacular uprising of the people against state repression. Its political value was affirmed in 2001 when anti-Erap forces converged there. Its subversiveness was exposed when the pro-Erap plebian crowd used the same space to express their hatred against the elites.

The self-proclaimed guardians of Edsa have since then banned the gathering of suspicious crowds in the highway in order not to repeat what they claim to be the desecration of church properties in Edsa-Ortigas. Desecration my foot! What they really wanted to avoid was the repetition of the political sequence in 1986 and 2001 because the next aspect of that gathering could be a more radical or more genuinely radical event. They fear that if the masses will succeed in Edsa, the hegemony of their rich patrons will weaken. In short, they wanted to preserve Edsa as the site of the last great stand of the intelligentsia and middle forces.

The state is also afraid of Edsa and its radical meaning. And so in the past decade, the MMDA has banned the presence of people in Edsa (Bawal ang tao dito, nakamamatay). Don’t cross the streets, use the footbridge. Don’t walk and march in Edsa – its either jaywalking or illegal assembly. Also, only state and corporate slogans and artworks are permissible in the highway.

Edsa, the site of world-class people power movements, is now off-limits to people. But we don’t complain because this sacrifice is needed to spur progress and better civilization.

The bourgeois state is cunning. It knows that removing the people in Edsa will make state-sanctioned politics the dominant force in the place. There is no People Power (as we know it) without the collective presence of people in Edsa. The ruling party in power feels safe without the threat of People Power haunting the bureaucrats.

And so we must resist. The people must fight back.

The first duty is to remember. The name Edsa orders us not to forget the past. Edsa is historian Epifanio de los Santos, one of the chroniclers of the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Remembering Edsa as a protest landmark is easy since it only refers to the immediate past. Use the memory of radical Edsa to challenge the oppressive present and not to prettify the image of the haciendero president.

The second duty is to question and challenge the dominance of the bourgeoisie in Edsa. They have reterritorialized the space in favor of their class interest. If we allow them complete ownership of Edsa, we will soon lose Commonwealth and C-5. The toiling masses, the real builders of society, are rendered invisible in Edsa. Let the proletariats terrorize the capitalists in Edsa!

How to do it? The third duty involves the restoration of progressive politics in Edsa. There are concrete struggles today: Reject the anti-poor LRT/MRT fare hikes. Defend the San Roque community in North Triangle. Expose and oppose the elements of a police state which are now prevailing in Edsa.

The other alternative (easy but cowardly) is to do nothing. If we choose this option, two kinds of terror will win. The deadly terror inflicted by the anonymous bus bombers and the numbing terror of the state masquerading as public service.

To fight terror, we must bring back politics. Radical politics is needed to defeat terrorism. People Power, not state terror, is the answer to the specter of ‘street crimes’ in Edsa.

Rejecting politics means we are surrendering our right to claim Edsa. If that day comes, Edsa will be in the hands of terrorists, surveillance experts, police/military elements, corporate vultures, and porsche-riding politicians.

From Philippines Congressman Mong Palatino…

Thanks to @kabataancrew for helping me draft this speech. Delivered on November 30. My second privilege speech in the 15th Congress; my 5th as a legislator.

Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues, a pleasant afternoon.

I rise today to talk about the just demand of our public universities for a higher share in our national budget. I will also discuss the problems plaguing our country’s education system and why the government needs to rethink its education policies.

Today we are commemorating the birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio, one of the country’s national heroes and without doubt the most popular working-class icon in our history.

The best way to honor the memory of Bonifacio is to continue his revolutionary dreams. And today, while it is truly depressing that the conditions of the poor during Bonifacio’s time and our time have not significantly improved, it is also worthy to mention that Bonifacio’s militancy continues to inspire countless Filipinos, many of them young. And like Bonifacio, today’s young idealists rely on the collective wisdom and power of the oppressed to build a better and more humane and progressive society.

I wish to cite the campus strikes initiated by students in our public universities as a good example of how our youth are reliving the legacy left behind by Bonifacio. We are all familiar with the issue of the decreasing subsidies allocated by the national government to our state universities and I do not wish to repeat the arguments already raised when we tackled the national budget during the committee and plenary deliberations. But I wish to thank our colleagues, those who supported and signed the manifesto urging the government to increase the budget for education.

The reason why students continue to protest is to convince the senate, which is expected to pass the General Appropriations Act bill this week, to make significant amendments in the budget; in particular, restore the slashed MOOE funding of state universities and provide some Capital Outlay to deserving schools. This appeal, I think, is very relevant, doable, and reasonable.

But tomorrow’s campus protests will be different. For the first time in Philippine history, students, teachers, school personnel and university officials will hold a united stand in their respective campuses nationwide. Political bickering inside schools will be set aside for the meantime so that the public higher education sector will speak as one voice tomorrow. There will be various symbolic activities to be staged at lunch time: some will hold prayer rallies, others will conduct campus strikes, student rallyists will troop to the senate. It is hoped that our senators will listen to the collective sentiments of our education stakeholders. It is also hoped that Malacanang will change its hardline position on the issue and begin to review the negative impact of the current higher education policy of the government.

I want to emphasize the last point I made because it is a fundamental issue from the perspective of students. Our students are protesting not merely to beg for a few crumbs from the state; they want President Noynoy Aquino to reject the policy of reducing the role of government in providing higher education services to our youth. They want the president to draft a new higher education roadmap. An education program that does not subscribe to the misguided doctrine that higher education should not be shouldered by the state.

If only Malacanang will review some of the global news stories this year, it will be able to discern that Filipino student protesters are not alone in their demand for greater state subsidy for higher education. For the past few months, we have witnessed massive student protests that swept across the globe. In Ireland, up to 40,000 people flooded the streets to halt a possible increase in registration fees for university students. Tens of thousands of student activists in Ukraine, meanwhile, picketed in front of the Ministry of Education to demand, among others, the scrapping of unjust student fees and to make basic student services accessible to all. Widespread mass actions erupted in London, with hundreds of thousands of students marching steadily into the headquarters of the Liberal Democrats to oppose rising tuition rates and the government’s cutting of higher education budgets.

In other places such as Nepal, Indonesia, New Orleans, California, Argentina, Ottawa and New Jersey, students boycotted classes, barricaded classrooms, occupied universities and disrupted classes for weeks, undaunted and unrelenting in their fight for higher state subsidy for education and the scrapping of detrimental and lopsided education policies.

In all these countries, one common slogan was sprayed on buildings and was written on the placards: “Education is not for sale. We are not for sale.” This message, Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues, best captures the unified and principled stand of students worldwide against how their governments have been treating education—a private good, a commodity, an adjunct of corporate business.

Indeed, the string of massive student protests that erupted during the past few months were only a logical response to the aggravating education crisis brought about by the disarray in the current global economic order. Economies that once seemed unscathed are now experiencing economic recessions. In order to curb their impending decline, countries intensify their privatization, deregulation and liberalization schemes—the three essential components of the current dominant economic framework notoriously known as neoliberalism.

And neoliberal globalization, Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues, is the real culprit behind the problems that our education sector is facing today.

Spending on higher education has been treated as more of a burden than a responsibility the government has to fulfill. As a result, state universities and colleges were forced to fit in the neoliberal framework and generate their own income. To sustain their operations, SUCs either enter into business ventures or increase tuition, thereby transforming education into a commodity.

The student protests that occurred during the past few weeks, thus, were meant not only to put forward the demands of their sector but to call for the dismantling of the prevailing neoliberal policies that neglect the people’s basic rights.

Instead of viewing the ongoing campus strikes as a nuisance, Malacanang should regard it as an act of desperation on the part of our state universities. Because of the reigning neoliberal ideology, state universities are now considered endangered species. And the protests reflect the struggle of our public schools to remain relevant.

Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues, today we commemorate the birth anniversary of Bonifacio, a very important historical figure. Tomorrow, December 1, we could witness the unfolding of another historic moment – that of students, teachers, and school officials linking arms, marching together, speaking as one, reminding the government about its duty to provide decent education to all. My dear colleagues, let us join the education community as they create history.

The 2010 American midterm elections are over, and there’s important metaphorical tea leaves to read regarding the politics of the immediate, near, and semi-near future, especially in terms of electorate, legislative behavior, and the state of the nation. Republicans have taken the House of Representatives, by a strong majority, in addition to a few seats in the Senate that detract from the Democratic majority, while not removing it. There are, however, a number of reasons this occurred, not necessarily in agreement with what many citizens believe to be true.

Most important, in any definition of the term, was the Tea Party: they both built and destroyed the Republican chances within this election. The Tea Party itself is a group comprised mostly of white, elderly, conservative, irrational individuals that have been deftly manipulated to stand-up for corporate interests and the self-serving agendas of many conservatives with political interests – this was an astroturf, not grassroots, movement. They managed, however, to develop a force of their own that was known to be problematic prior to the election, and their influence wreaked havoc on November 2^nd, 2010.

Tea Party favorites, like Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell or Nevada’s Sharron Angle, managed to receive the GOP nomination, only to be soundly defeated in general voting – this occurred numerous times across the country, simply because moderate Republicans, Independents, and Democrats will not vote for such staunchly conservative candidates who were largely unelectable, unprepared, and demographically non-representative. The other result, however, was that the Tea Party created such a conservative fervor that far more right-wing voters turned out than left-wing, giving credence to candidates who would have stood no chance in a more evenly balanced electorate – Senators Blanche Lincoln (AR) and Russ Feingold (WI), among others, lost for this very reason.

Young voters, who elected President Obama in 2008, chose to not vote, as did far too many Democrats. It’s no small coincidence, however, that this was the first election after the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that opened the floodgates for even greater corporate influence in elections, at the same time that Karl Rove and others used FEC and IRS loopholes to spend huge amounts of money, much of it anonymous, to run negative ads for conservative, corporatist interests, dwarfing all Democratic efforts in fundraising or campaigning. In an election with a populace easily influenced by advertising and soundbites, no matter their outright lack of basis in truth, it’s no surprise that Republicans did far better than their opponents, especially with the aid of FOX “News” as a political mouthpiece.

Republicans now have a problem: governing. Those who are now within the halls of Congress are there only thanks to the Tea Party and corporate funding, who turn out to be very different masters. The Tea Party claims to care (an important distinction from actually standing for) about lowering the deficit, controlling government spending, rolling back various legislation from the last two years, and various other items that sit in direct conflict with the corporate interests that focus only on their bottom line. Furthermore, the GOP has come to power on a platform of anti-Obama, anti-government rhetoric that now faces the stark reality that not only is government necessary and that they’re a part of it, but also that they can simply no longer refuse any legislation proposed and consider themselves to have behaved sufficiently. As a party with control of half of Congress, and a great influence on the already-problematic other half, Republicans must propose, negotiate, and vote on legislation – “no” will no longer stand as their party response. How are they going to merge the interests of their two funding sources, both of which will be sure to hold them accountable in 2012, with the actual, non-rhetorical needs of the nation?

In all likelihood, the next two years will see little to no legislation passing – the GOP strategy in the Senate seems to be unending attempts at repealing legislation from within the reign of the Obama Administration, and the House’s strategy still remains unclear, although it seems to be slightly more reasonable. It’s fully possible that the Republicans will now spend the coming months in holding hearings and investigations into individuals, legislation, and situations that will waste everyone’s time, as they have done in the past, but will, in parallel, provide them with political theater and a sense of accomplishment. There will be no impeachment of Obama, if only for the obvious reason he has no reason to be impeached; there will be no repeal of healthcare or financial reform, because they don’t have the votes or the true political willpower; there will be no passing of ludicrous legislation, even if it can get through the Senate, because President Obama will not sign it. What will, happen, however is far too much brow-beating, political theater, and finger-pointing, while the act of governing is essentially ignored. Individuals such as Rand Paul, a government-hating Senator who has incredibly damaging ideas of what it means to govern, will attempt to push a radical far-right agenda, but it will go nowhere.

Assuming that the government continues to function at some level, such as Congress passing budgets and essential pieces of legislation, the next two years are not likely to see any major damage done to the nation – if Democrats and President Obama stand strong. On the majority of issues, there should be no compromise, not as a tit-for-tat measure, but simply because Democrats are all that currently stand in the way of the United States waging more wars, fully handing the political system over to corporate interests, and destroying the civil rights of the American people. It will be frustrating that those Democrats of rational mind can do nothing but vote down legislation and create gridlock, but it must be done. It will be frightening to see what will undoubtedly be attempted by John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, but they have no true power without aid from the liberal, or even moderate, sides of the political aisle. It will be embarrassing for all of this to occur, putting general legislative and political insanity on display for all the world to see, but outside powers should know that what is coming will not represent the true attitudes of the country – it will merely be a reflection of a small subset of the nation that managed to, through a series of just-as-embarrassing mistakes by the populace, rise to power.

All of this, however, points to an overwhelming conclusion that will be worth the pain: 2012 will be another Year of the Democrat. As a Presidential election, there will be a higher voter turnout, and it’s reasonable to expect a strong youth turnout as well, swinging the electorate strongly to the left. In addition to the effects of turnout, the coming two years are going to demonstrate to the American people, who have apparently so soon forgotten, what it means to have Republicans in power and how it does neither the people nor the nation any good. Barring a major political misstep by President Obama, he will be re-elected, especially if any of the current potential GOP candidates end up with the nomination – they are just as popularly unelectable as Christine O’Donnell was. Furthermore, without another nation-unifying event, such as a major terrorist attack or some other catastrophic disaster, Democrats will be put back into control of Congress, regaining the majority of the seats they have just lost. The economy will not have improved greatly by the next election and, as in 2010, it will be used to the detriment of those in power, namely the Republicans.

Gridlock, attempted legislative undermining of the nation, and a forestalling of progress on all fronts is nothing to look forward to, but it should be enough of a warning to Democrats for them to get their act together and come back into power in 2012, ready to behave in a more liberal fashion. Democrats, young and old, didn’t vote in 2010 because they saw their members of Congress as too moderate, too conservative – Blue Dogs are a quickly-disappearing political aberration. So, if for no other reason, rationally-minded citizens and liberals alike can look at the coming Congress as a necessary gauntlet that must be passed through in order to reach the progressive light at the end of the tunnel. There can be no question that if the Republicans prove themselves as inept at governing as they truly are, and have been for decades, their political future will seriously begin to be questioned – moreso as they continue to alienate non-whites, younger generations, LGBTs, the educated, and the rational from their party of corporatist, far-right elitism, all while waging internal ideological wars that will split the party.

This, however, says nothing of the extremely damaging and over-reaching conservative activism of the Supreme Court.

Given the high-stakes ideological wars being fought in modern American politics, and with such intense levels of rhetoric, it’s interesting to consider what the Presidential election of 2012 might look like. Three scenarios present themselves: an extension of the current situation, a Republican Congress for the coming two years (or at least half of Congress), or a Democratic Congress

Assuming for the moment, no matter how improbable it is, that Congress stays in essentially the same form of seat-based gridlock, a curious situation arises: if Congressional Republicans, and the GOP at large, continue the path they’ve begun of obstruction, rollbacks, repeals, and “how far can we move to the right”, they will have essentially handed the Presidency to President Obama for his second Term of Office. Contrary to the belief of some, a policy of obstruction and extreme conservatism is not what the majority of America wishes to see, and it places the members of such a party in an unelectable position. More importantly, however, is the gift they give to their opponent: talking points.

Even if nothing else is passed in Congress over the next few years, President Obama will have healthcare reform, financial reform, the beginning of Iraqi withdrawal, an Afghanistan military timetable, and considerably more to speak about. Additionally, the GOP’s “Pledge to America” and well-documented behavior will give him the ability to point toward the actions of Republicans over the preceding four years, and ask America if this is truly what they want more of. It’s easy to see how, no matter who the Republican candidate is, this would be another landslide election for President Obama – no matter personal opinion of his time as President, he truly shines in a competitive campaign environment, and hard data will only strengthen his position.

Similarly, a Democratic Congress for another two years is merely an extension of the aforementioned situation, as it would both give Republicans the ability to continue to obstruct and generally fail to govern, without actually handing the government over to them. Therefore, the presentation of a Republican Congress is the only truly different scenario, as there would be a period of two years for President Obama to reference, using their failed control of Congress against them. It’s not difficult to imagine a Republican Congress refusing to cooperate with President Obama’s policy goals, just as it’s not difficult to imagine President Obama handily vetoing many of the pieces of legislation passed under such a Congress.

If, however, a Republican Congress manages to achieve some of their stated goals, such as a repeal of healthcare reforms, continued protection of Big Business, or a version of “fiscal conservatism” that results in an even greater national deficit, they will have once more walked into a corner. Two years of Republican policies, perhaps even ones that negatively effect the country, will be far easier set of talking points for a Democratic Presidential candidate to use on the campaign than the obstruction of a Congressional minority. When President Obama can point to the number of ludicrous bills he vetoed, or bills turned into law that were catastrophic in their results, the election will have again been won.

Perhaps Republicans will take some Congressional seats in November, although any form of majority seems unlikely, but this is not necessarily for the net negative – two years of Republican rule in Congress will see President Obama handily re-elected for a second Term of Office, and control of Congress passing once more to Democrats, in a far larger majority than in 2008. The only choice the GOP has to avoid this future is to stop, effective immediately, their continued push to the extreme right of both ideology and religion, but this is, realistically, all but impossible. Having built their existence and negligible growth on the fundamentalist ideology of the Tea Party and other similarly non-mainstream ideas, it would, at this point, be difficult to reverse course, or even slow the process.

Republicans, welcome to your future.

From Kyle Brady…

Kyle can be found on his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

“ Mr. Speaker, we are now in chapter 11. Members of
Congress are officially presiding over the greatest
reorganization of any bankrupt entity in history”…
Congressman James Traficant March 17th 1993

I’m afraid that those words uttered by congressman James Traficant, back in 1993 were true. In fact this was not the first time that the United States and its citizens were secretly in official bankruptcy. It was actually our fourth bankruptcy.

We have been bankrupt right from the start. It’s how banks prefer their patrons, because they can charge them high interest rates and get away with requiring all sorts of servitude, that they would never get away with under prosperity. In 1776 we won our “independence” from England, but we were financially bankrupted by the costs of the war. We took a loan and entered into a bankruptcy agreement with the Bank Of England. The terms of this agreement required us to give our new found property rights over to the bank. Thus the Bank Of England owned the United States Of America
.
The Civil War also created another bankruptcy opportunity for the international bankers. The European bankers helped ferment the war, and then cashed in on our weakened state. In return for our solvency they would extract their pound of flesh! They would do this by dismantling the constitution of one of the major countries whose existence challenged the authority of the crown.

Shortly after the Civil War, congress passed The Act of 1871, which threw out our real constitution, replaced it with the corporate constitution, and created the District Of Columbia. The new country would be called THE UNITED STATES (in all capital letters) as opposed to The United States Of America. The Constitution for the united states of America, as it was once written, was changed to THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The capital letters were placed into the constitution and the name of the country for very specific reasons. The people who drafted the changes where changing the government from a republic to a corporation. In a Republic we each had fixed, sovereign rights, that could not be changed by the majority, or the whims of the powerful. As a corporation however, we now only had “privileges”, which would be subject to change by forces outside the individual.

You are also a corporation. Bet you didn’t know that! I know, I was shocked when I found out. They don’t tell you this in school. However if you look on your birth certificate, drivers license, or any other legal certificate from the government, you will see your name in capital letters. The reason for this is so that the owners of the United States Corporation can own you.

The government does not work for the people. It is beholden to the corporation. The center of the corporation is The District Of Columbia. The lawmakers there work for the corporation, not you and me anymore. The corporation controls the democrats and the republicans. They may try and fool people who do not really understand, but once you know these facts they will no longer be able to fool us.

In 1909 there was a major down turn in the economy ( probably purposeful shrinkage of the money supply ) and the banksters took advantage again by creating the Federal Reserve Bank in 1913. The foreign owners ( hypothecated ) were given the right to all land, and all people, inside the United States Of America, as security. In exchange they would issue us credit, and print as much money as we would need. At least that was the plan that was sold to congress. The bank’s shareholders ( some foreign families ) were given title to everything within the United States, and we the people, would be listed as the beneficiaries, by way of a birth certificate. This certificates would be a commodity. Your birth certificate is given specific monetary value and traded on the stock exchange. The red numbers on your birth certificate correspond to your stock number that is traded on the stock exchange.

You didn’t know you where traded on the stock exchange? I didn’t know either, for the longest time, but it’s true. In fact it is estimated that you are worth between 1-2 million dollars. You can read more about this later in the final chapters where I talk about the Freeman Movement.

In 1933, after the banks restricted the money supply, causing the stock market to crash, and the great depression; congress passed The Emergency Banking Act. This dissolved the United States of America, it’s sovereign authority, and all of it’s governmental bodies. From that day on, the United States Of America would exist in name only.

Authority was turned over to the International Monetary Fund ( linked to the Rothschild’s ). The International Monetary Fund is the “center” of all the central banks around the world. Through similar schemes they have acquired the rights and legal title to most of the property and people around the world.

I find it so sad that politicians have through the ages, sold their countrymen’s freedom and prosperity out to the highest bidder. By doing this they have traded our children’s lives away in exchange for immediate personal fortune. This was true of colonial politicians, like Alexander Hamilton, and even the Joe Liberman’s, Nancy Pelosi’s, and Harry Reid’s of our day.

From Dr. Kazi Kearse PsyD…

Kazi can be found on Facebook, his blog and liveperson.com

From United States Correspondent Gibbs Burke…

From the country that gave you parking on a driveway and driving on a parkway, The United States of America now brings you the most backwards political system – “American Democracy.”

Sure the thought of having, “Governments… instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” (Declaration of Independence) seems like a logical and fair system. But what happens when the system looses its grip on reality? The reality is that the U.S. is currently in the worst depression in its history, unemployment is at a peak, and yet the Government has done absolutely nothing.

Yes, we have had the stimulus package that helped save a possibly even greater financial problem. But when nothing is getting done, and every other week the Legislative branch seems to be on vacation, the people see a government that isn’t working. So how has America lost faith in itself? Why do we feel our Government is all just smoke and mirrors? The blame doesn’t simply fall on the officials themselves, the responsibility falls on us, the American peolpe, as well.

How would like a job where you got a 2% raise every year? What about if you were allowed to make rules that didn’t apply to you? Well my fellow Americans - I give you the United States Legislative branch.

That’s right Congressional members get a 2% raise every year and the kicker is, they don’t even vote on it. The sheer aspect of not voting means they get their raise. Congressmen can retire receiving their salary for life after only one term of service, and they don’t even pay into social security. Many of the laws to which Americans citizens are subject, members of Congress are not; some of which include sexual harassment or the recently passed Health Care Bill.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote, “that all men are created equal” apparently there was a footnote that American Politicians are created greater. These are not just some rants from a man in a straight jacket. The above mentioned information is FACT.

We the people need to look deeper into the way our government works. We need to realize we must elect people willing to change the status quo. The way the system works is not because of the men in those positions, but rather the result of the people that put those men there. “We the people…” are the biggest and greatest utensils for change, and the responsibility lies with us to make these changes.

Bipartisanship, in modern politics, is a lie – a falsehood, a hopeless dream, a fantasy based on nothing.  And yet this doesn’t prevent either side of the political divide from using the idea of it as a tool for derision, division, and justification, even when those employing it know it to be nothing but empty words.

In the purest sense of the word, bipartisanship is a meeting of groups or individuals with opposing views, while sharing some common points of interest, that results in a healthy compromise between the disparate positions for the overall better.  American politics has not seen this kind of bipartisanship in the last few decades, if not longer, and the roots of partisan voting, including its vitriol, can be traced all the way back to the Declaration of Independence, with 2010 Washington doing their very best to continue this unhealthy state ad infinitem.

Recently, bipartisanship, or a lack thereof, has been used by Republicans in attempts to kill legislation of any kind, but their cries of partisanship avoid a certain fundamental truth:  President Obama’s Administration, and its Congress, have not been bipartisan for the simple fact that the Republicans have refused to participate.  The lack of a desire to govern is not at all comparable to a lack of bipartisan efforts, the latter of which has not been in short supply over the last fourteen months.  This is not so much a battle of diametrically opposing ideologies as it is a distinct dislike for President Obama and his efforts and goals, not to mention the striking characteristics of the GOP’s childlike political tantrum.

It’s time to give up, at least for the remainder of the Obama Administration, the idea of bipartisanship – on everything.  If the opposing party, in this case the Republicans, wish to participate with the President and his Congressional majority in the process of running the nation, they may do so, but concessions should not be made to a group of corrupt individuals that have absolutely no intention of being part of the legislative process except for their own personal gain.  While this applies to Washington at present, the same criticisms can be made for Administrations past, on both sides of the party line, and will no doubt continue into the future.

Until politics reaches a state of enlightenment that includes the ability to have reasoned, unemotional debates, bipartisanship is a lie.  Once the American people realize that the idea of bipartisanship is merely a tool used to garner votes for the party out of favor at election time, the country will have a chance at finally moving forward, as those within Congress will recognize the farce as being over.  Applied immediately, great benefits could be had within a very short period of time.

From Kyle Brady…

Kyle can be found on his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

From Kyle Brady…

With all the recent talk of democracy, peace, and individuals’ freedoms in response to the “Yemen situation”, it’s sometimes difficult to take American politicians at face-value, or even seriously – there may have been an attempted terrorist attack within United States’ territory, but the political infighting, deceit, lies, and general democratic failure continue without abatement.  How can the values and ideals of democracy be promoted throughout the world as the solution to unwelcome regimes when it has proven itself so inept during the course of recent history?

Unbridled racism, childlike behavior within Congress, finger-pointing, a year-long debacle to better citizens’ health – these are only the issues that come quickest to mind when pondering the state of American politics within the last year, and there are many more on the list of embarrassments, difficulties, and outright failures.  At a time when Americans needed their government the most, in the midst of the Great Recession, billions were handed out to the very financial institutions that are at the heart of the economic collapse, only to have these funds repaid so that outrageous compensation can be given as rewards to the employees that failed to do their job.  Even more worrisome, Congress does not wish to spend exorbitant sums on the health and stability of the people they represent, but are willing to finance corporations, line their own pockets, and bicker over unintelligent legislative minutiae that is ultimately of no consequence. 

Does this sound like a government that works?  Would a nation that is struggling to stay on its feet look to the United States as a shining example of a beautiful democracy that is their single light in the darkness?  Even with a highly capable, charismatic, and intelligent President, it would seem that the principles on which a democratic republic were founded - intelligence, integrity, freedom, and rationality – can no longer be expected to apply.

In the case of almost all legislation since President Obama’s Inauguration, the House of Representatives has successfully proposed, debated, and voted on legislation many times over, while the Senate becomes mired in neverending debate in all but a few, rare cases – the simple reason for this is that the House has different procedural regulations than the Senate, wherein the Senate follows a higher level of decorum and allows endless speeches.  More importantly, these procedural differences are exacerbated by the most rancorous and vitriolic partisanship, not to mention systemic corruption, that the nation has seen since its birth.

Perhaps before America decides to preach the values of democracy or push for the ideals of peace, the United States should first address these issues at home.  Whether the answer lies in reforming some of the rules of Congress, the entire political system, or simply forcing out those representatives that refuse to abide by principles of intelligence and rationality, it would seem that America needs to quickly solve its own political and domestic problems, lest the entire system become a parody of democracy – only then can failed states and hopeful peoples look to the American example of democracy in action.

Kyle can be found on his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

With the American Congress and much of the country’s population debating healthcare reform, people from the outside looking in don’t quite understand what all the fuss is about. Even more so, many look on in disbelief over why things have gone so far off the deep end. Name-calling, racial slurs, accusations of communist or even Nazi like behavior, and above all else, a steady stream of fear-mongering - all inspired by a plan that simply tries to provide medical coverage to more Americans. With enough of the populace now successfully confused or afraid and lawmakers appearing more concerned about saving political face, healthcare reform as it was intended appears over. Why did this happen? Why can’t the wealthiest country in the world come up with a way to provide  medical care for all of its citizens? This week RELATIVTY OnLine welcomes American writer Kyle Brady into our humble mix of multiplicity. Our first correspondent to come to us from the United States, each week Brady will take us inside our planet’s most powerful nation. In his first peice, Brady discusses recent attempts at healthcare reform in his country and what he calls the disappointing behavior of his congress.

Congress, it would seem, is hell bent on upsetting and ignoring the American people on a consistent basis, as evidenced by their recent actions within the realm of what is supposed to be healthcare reform.

Even with staunch Republican opposition to any legislation not borne as their own, the House of Representatives passed their version of a healthcare reform bill that stood as a decent start for the legislative process, public option included.  While the bill had its flaws, such as a lack of support for abortions within the public option, victory appeared within grasp for the majority of Americans that have been clamoring for such legislation since President Obama proposed this action during his campaign.  However promising the bill may have been, the Senatorial half of Congress has proven this so-called reform to be an exercise in futility.

The status of true healthcare reform, the public option, and regulation of insurance companies is quite simple: dead. For all intents and purposes, Democrats, Harry Reid especially, have shown a surprising lack of tactical brilliance by negotiating away any legitimate benefits to the American people almost before it started, all while insisting on a 60-vote passage of the bill, rather than the 51 votes needed for a reconciliation between the House and Senate versions.  To many following the issue, the process of reconciliation seemed what the majority party was aiming for after the passage of the House bill, where the bills in each half of Congress could have flaws that would be fixed at a later date with a higher chance of success.

But recent behavior has shown otherwise, as the insistence on 60 votes continues:  numerous Democrats have refused to vote for the bill for various reasons that range from the petty to the easily disproved, which has weakened the majority.  Furthermore, those in power within the Democratic party have attempted to include Republicans on the making of the bill, despite the last eleven months proving they have no interest in cooperation, only obstruction – this has resulted in the stagnation of the bill and whittling away of any value it once had.

The public option is now considered to be dead, but insurance mandates still exist that would require the purchasing of private insurance by all citizens.  There are little to no regulations left to place on the insurance companies.  Medicare may be extended to those starting at the age of 55.  Insurance companies will still have antitrust protection.  How does any of this solve the problem that the legislation was created to address?  As it stands, the only real outcome of the Senate’s version of what is decidedly not healthcare reform is a requirement to purchase insurance, and severe penalties for those that do not.

This is as much the Republicans’ fault as it is the Democrats’ – Republican obstructionism forced concessions almost immediately, and the Democrats have shown a considerable lack of spine.  It is entirely unacceptable that passing legislation would take an entire year and yet have no tangible, let alone beneficial, results once passed, but this appears to be what Congress prefers.  Special interest groups, lobbyists, and corporate pockets have all but prevented progress within the borders of America, and it didn’t even require outside influence by nefarious forces.

When Congress’ finances are at stake, they seem to be willing to take quick and decisive action, no matter how much populist anger it may raise: TARP, the auto-industry, and various other situations have proven this since President Obama’s Inauguration.  But when those financial interests do not wish to be disturbed, most Congressional politicians take it upon themselves to make sure nothing gets done within their supposedly venerable halls – Joe Lieberman is a prime example of such shamefully unabashed sellout behavior.

The House moved considerably quicker than the Senate, to much greater success, and for this they should be applauded, but one of the key reasons for this was that the methods by which the House operates allow certain voices to be ignored or limited if necessary.  The Senate does not have these restrictions, and therefore the debate drags on endlessly to the great frustration of the American people, all while Senators pretend to be making great progress, participate in showboating, and taking extraordinarily necessary means to make a point that has been made many times over.

Unless there is a grand scheme, such as Senate Democrats secretly organizing a 51-vote reconciliation process that President Obama would be clandestinely involved with, true healthcare reform appears dead in the water and will exist as a shameful black mark on the American record for years to come.  If there is no public option, no extension of Medicare to all citizens who wish it, and no regulation of insurance companies, then it is not healthcare reform – it’s corporate expansion masquerading as social progress.

This is not the time to give up, however.  The need is now greater than ever for Americans to attempt to make their voices heard by Congress, the Senate especially – the vocal and irrational minority that has hijacked such an important issue must be drowned out with the proclamation that citizens of the United States of America will not suffer being lied to, manipulated, and deceived.  If healthcare reform cannot pass because of sabotage from within the Democratic Party by those that masquerade as liberals, progressives, or even moderates, for them there must be a reckoning.

Congress should be aware, Democrats and Republicans both, that many political careers currently hang in the balance due to their disappointing behavior surrounding the healthcare reform process, and that their party affiliation will not save them from being voted out of office in the next election – from this, President Obama is not excluded.  In what was to be one of the defining moments of his Presidency, President Obama appears to be willing to accept any sort of legislation so it can be labeled as groundbreaking progress, and this is unacceptable to many of his greatest supporters that range from young to old, progressive to moderate.

Both 2010 and 2012 may end up being more of a race than incumbent Democrats had imagined.

Kyle Brady can be found at his blog, on Twitter or via email at kyle@kyle-brady.com / brady.k@gmail.com