Time to Empower the Powerless

I am glad to hear they picked up a suspect in the killing of 80 year-old Mrs. Fimognari. I’m sure the police worked very hard on the case. I was wondering if a rabid bear or cougar had murdered Mrs. Fimognari how would have things been different? I think people would have been worried about their families being next. Citizens would have banded together to hunt down this wild, rabid beast. Well, I propose to you that Mrs. Fimognari’s murderer was no less a rabid beast and should have been hunted down by the citizens of nearby neighborhoods.

I won’t miss anti-union Bob Mangino on WKBN radio. I will say even though he is a conservative, he is a not a GOP hack, who blindly supported GW Bush.  He did none the less worship at the feet of the powerful over the powerless.  He supported the corporations over the workers. Bob is moving on to work in Pittsburgh at the first radio station ever, KDKA. Bob will be replacing Fred Hansburger who recently died. I normally wouldn’t speak ill of the dead. I will just say, if you ever heard Fred on the radio you know he was as delusional as Rush in thinking, that he represented the people.

Please tell me WKBN is not going to give Jimbo Traficant a radio show. Worse yet would be that cackling idiot former Youngstown  Mayor McKelvey. Lord help us all.

Send me your comments on who you’d like to see host  WKBN’s morning show. My vote is for Louie Free.

Talk about delusional people who think they represent the public. I give you, the editor of the Warren Tribune Chronicle, Frank Robinson. Frank can’t write a column without using the word liberal. Frank works for a corporate newspaper and is a corporate tool who knows where his bread is buttered. Fred’s been spreading the butter so thick he’s tearing holes in the bread and clogging up his arteries. He likes to wash it all down with some tea fresh from the latest corporate sponsored Tea Party.

I loved the part of President Obama’s speech when he bitched slapped the five corporate owned stooges on the Supreme Court. He told them the truth that they were in the pocket of corporations for their latest ruling on Campaign Finance. Judge Alito can shake his head and mutter all he wants, “You’re wrong” we know he chose to represent the powerful over the powerless. He can’t help it he grew up the son of a corporate executive. As a lawyer he represented corporations and made over $1 million a year.

Let’s not forget Alito was part of GW Bush’s legal team that stole the 2000 election. When President Obama was a senator he was one of the senators  spearheading the vote against Alito from becoming judge. There is bad blood between these two and looking back I see President Obama was right in trying to keep him off the court.

Alito’s rulings so far have been on the side of the powerful. See this story by Jim Hightower.

I was sad to see that writer J.D. Salinger and historian Howard Zinn died. Salinger helped me understand I was not alone as a troubled youth. Zinn helped me understand our nations history and how we can fight to make it better, for the next generation of youth. I made sure my children read Salinger’s books, “Franny and Zooey” and “the Catcher in the Rye.”

I love history so I was blown away by Zinn’s, “A People’s History of the United States.” This book was the first history book I ever read that really got to the  truth of U.S. history, warts and all. Critics call this, “History from the bottom up” and I love it! When my son set off for college I got him a copy of “A People’s History of the United States.” I knew it would serve him well and he loves it as much as I do. I would also highly recommend Howard’s, “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.” Howard was someone who spoke for the powerless and tried to convince them that as he said, “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people can transform the world.”

Shame on NPR for asking Right-wing racist, David Horowitz to comment on Howard Zinn’s passing.

An America Empire by Howard Zinn

My Country

If those in charge of our society – politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television – can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves.”~ Howard Zinn

“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”~ Howard Zinn

Time to Empower the Powerless

Excuse the lack of spacing something is wrong with my settings.

I am glad to hear they picked up a suspect in the killing of 80 year-old Mrs. Fimognari. I’m sure the police worked very hard on the case. I was wondering if a rabid bear or Cougar had murdered Mrs. Fimognari how would have things been different? I think people would have been worried about their families being next. Citizens would have banded together to hunt down this wild, rabid beast. Well, I propose to you that Mrs. Fimognari’s murderer was no less a rabid beast and should have been hunted down by the citizens of nearby neighborhoods.

I won’t miss anti-union Bob Mangino on WKBN. I will say even though he is a conservative he was a GOP hack who worshiped at the feet of the powerful over the powerless.  Bob is moving on to work in Pittsburgh at the first radio station ever, KDKA. Bob will be replacing Fred Hansburger who recently died. I normally wouldn’t speak ill of the dead. I will just say, if you ever heard Fred on the radio you know was as delusional as Rush in thinking that he represented the people.

Please tell me WKBN is not going to give Jimbo Traficant a radio show. Worse yet would be that cackling idiot former Youngstown  Mayor McKelvey. Lord help us all.

Send me your comments on who you’d like to see host  WKBN’s morning show. My vote is for Louie Free.

Talk about delusional people who think they represent the public. I give you, the editor of the Warren Tribune Chronicle, Frank Robinson. Frank can’t write a column without using the word liberal. Frank works for a corporate newspaper and is a corporate tool who knows where his bread is buttered. Fred’s been spreading the butter so thick he’s tearing holes in the bread and clogging up his arteries. He likes to wash it all down with some tea fresh from the latest corporate sponsored Tea Party.

I loved the part of President Obama’s speech when he bitched slapped the five corporate owned stooges on the Supreme Court. He told them the truth that they were in the pocket of corporations for their latest ruling on Campaign Finance. Judge Alito can shake his head and mutter all he wants, “You’re wrong” we know he chose to represent the powerful over the powerless. He can’t help it he grew up the son of a corporate executive. As a lawyer he represented corporations and made over $1 million a year.

Let’s not forget he was part of GW Bush’s legal team that stole the 2000 election. When President Obama was a senator he was one of the senators  spearheading the vote against Alito from becoming judge. There is bad blood between these two and looking back I see President Obama was right in trying to keep him off the court.

Alito’s ruling so far have been on the side of the powerful. See this story by Jim Hightower.

I was sad to see that writer J.D. Salinger and historian Howard Zinn died. Salinger helped me understand I was not alone as a troubled youth. Zinn helped me understand our nations history and how we can fight to make it better for the next generation of youth. I made sure my children read Salinger’s books, “Franny and Zooey” and “the Catcher in the Rye.”

I love history so I was blown away by Zinn’s. “A People’s History of the United States.” This book was the first history book I ever read that really got to the  truth of U.S. history, warts and all. Critics call this, “History from the bottom up” and I love it! When my son set off for college I got him a copy of “A People’s History of the United States.” I knew it would serve him well and he loves it as much as I do. I would also highly recommend Howard’s, “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.” Howard was someone who spoke for the powerless and tried to convince them that as he said, “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people can transform the world.”

Shame on NPR for asking Right-wing racist David Horowitz to comment on Howard Zinn’s passing.

An America Empire by Howard Zinn

My Country

If those in charge of our society – politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television – can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves.”~ Howard Zinn

“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.”~ Howard Zinn

Democracy For Sale

In 2000 the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Bush V. Gore. In a ruling of five to four they ruled for GW Bush. The five conservative judges basically ruled that if their candidate was winning it was time to stop counting all the votes.  It was surely a vote against democracy. A strange part of the ruling  had never happened before. It was the part that said, that this case could not be used as precedence in any other case.  In other words, next time the conservative candidate might be the one who doesn’t want the vote counting stopped.

Somehow after that vote the people of the United States rolled over. They did not lynch these five judges for destroying the democratic right to have your votes counted. Americans are just to polite or more likely dumb and easily distracted.

When Bill Clinton was elected president he did not win by a 50% majority. That was because of third-party candidate Ross Perot winning 19% of the vote. During the Clinton presidency, Rush Limbaugh started his shows  with an America held hostage countdown. As far as he was concerned because Clinton didn’t get 50% of the vote he was not the legitimate president. In 2000 GW Bush won election by court decree, despite Gore having 500,000 more votes. Rush had no problem with GW winning this way. He never  announced, “America held hostage by the Supreme Court.”

Once again while Americans were distracted taking sides in the Leno/Conan war the five conservative members of the Supreme Court again stabbed democracy in the back. They didn’t this by ruling for the corporate take over of our country. They have made it legal for corporations to spend any amount of money they want to advertise for the candidate of their choice. They will also be allowed to spend unlimited amounts in attack ads against the candidate they don’t want (you know the one against corporate control of our country).

Don’t expect Rush or any of those corporate stooges over at FOX NEWS to have any problem with a corporate owned USA.

Explained better by President Obama

Here is one politician on the  side of the people  fighting to end corporate control of elections.

There is a section on my blog called, “Armchair Activist.” I think it’s important and you may have ignored it in the past. This issue about corporations taking over our democracy cannot be ignored. Therefore I am putting a link you need to sign to fight back right in this spot. Here are more sites as you can’t sign enough to protect your rights: For Fair Elections and Move to Amend.

Says Senator Charles Schumer, D-New York: “The Supreme Court just predetermined the winners of next November’s elections. It won’t be Republicans. It won’t be Democrats. It will be corporate America.”

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio doesn’t understand the ruling as he has said, “The Supreme Court ruling is a victory for fee speech.” I searched various Tea Party sites around the country and found they all think it’s a victory for free speech. Which just confirms as many people having been saying, that the Teabaggers are corporate pawns.

All of this corporate controll reminds me of the 1975 movie Rollerball. I note that the movie is set in 2018 which isn’t far off. Just a movie or a premonition?

States of Mind: A Song for the Herd

Tim Hawkins: Corporate Worship Song

“Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people’s masters.~ President Grover Cleveland

There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short nor an easy task, but it can be done … Corporate expenditures for political purposes, and especially such expenditures by public-service corporations, have supplied one of the principal sources of corruption in our political affairs.
– Theodore Roosevelt

Turn Up the Heat for Brother Martin

First off  is my plug for the region. I stopped at Whitehouse Fruit Farms in Canfield OH. This is one of many treasures in our area. Great prices on cheese  and lunch meats. Nice selection of produce and regional gourmet items. They are also famous for their donuts and don’t forget the apple cider.

This week I had a friend tell me about a relative’s experience in a doctor’s waiting room. The TV news was on reporting about the earthquake that devastated Haiti. A man in the waiting room said, “I’m tired of the U.S. sending money and help to other countries.” Considering the horror of what was on the TV my friend’s relative was dumbstruck by the man’s comment. She did not speak up to oppose him and felt bad because she didn’t. Her heart was in the right place but it is not easy for everyone to speak out.

This week I also had a woman at work say, “Obama spends too much time concentrating on other countries.” I know her as a good woman at heart but she is one of many who has chosen to let Rush and Beck think for them. I told this fellow worker that it’s a big world and people in other countries are our brothers and sisters and we need to care for one another. Having had more time I could have told her that many countries wish the U.S. would have left them alone. This would have required a long history lesson about the U.S. supporting murderous dictators around the world as long as they were friendly to U.S. corporate interests. Of course conservatives would label me a traitorous apologist for telling such facts.

It’s time for people to turn off Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly and all the “we distort you decide” FOX NEWS. Instead read, “Confessions of an Economic HitMan” an alarming insider book that will tell you about how corporations set foreign policy.

I heard callers to CSPAN say, that no country helped us after Katrina. The fact is that over ninety countries offered help but we didn’t accept help from all of them. Some of those countries offering help were very poor countries like, Afghanistan, Mexico, Vietnam, Honduras, Peru, Cambodia and Cuba.

I was hoping no one would try to make some political points by saying we need to take care of “America first.” I was thinking no decent human being was going to argue politics at a time when fellow human beings needed help. I forgot that people like Rush and Pat Robertson are not decent human beings. Keith Olbermann gets it right on these two subhumans.

There are lots of people like the one in the doctor’s office who think they can spew out hate no matter who is in the proximity. My friend’s relative was saddened that she didn’t stand up to this lout. Truth is ignorance is bliss and you can’t say anything that will reach the soulless. That said, I will admit I don’t let any such statements go unanswered ever. I don’t care if I can’t  change that person’s mind. I just don’t want them to think that because I remain silent I agree with them.

I would have politely said to the man, “Mothers are so poor in Haiti that they feed their children cookies made of mud to try and stop the hunger pains.” If he responded back in an attitude of I don’t care I would have gotten firmer. I would have said, “I hope you don’t consider yourself a Christian.” Any argument back from him and I would have finished with, “I’m betting you’re here to see the doctor about getting a heart that works.”

I want to caution and clarify what I am saying because I draw the line at physical violence. You have to realize you don’t hate the  person with unjust ideas, you hate the ideas. I believe in fighting verbal fire with verbal water at first but if that isn’t working by all means fight verbal fire with verbal fire. It’s high time people speak out against racist and unjust comments. Time to turn up the heat!

In a day it will be Martin Luther Kings birthday.  I am sure he would not have been silent when hearing someone trash our brother and sisters  who share this planet. I know he would have spoken out loudly because I remember his words like this: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

I decided some time ago it was not good for my health, to not speak out against injustice when I hear it. It is better for me to verbally beat some soulless slob up then to make myself sick by staying silent. I believe as IWW labor activist T-Bone Slim said, “Wherever you find injustice, the proper form of politeness is attack.” Attack by turning up the heat for Brother Martin!

A trusted organization to send your dollars to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti is Partners in Health. Thanks to the Valley Coalition for Peace & Justice for suggesting this organization.

Linda and the Traficant Lemmings sing: The Jim Traficant Song

Shame on you Casey Malone for attending the above event.

MLK Song: Let Freedom Ring

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” ~ Martin Luther King

“Blogsplaining”

Hi, come on in and sit a spell. The dress is casual so put your feet up and relax.  My blog features: Typos and grammatical errors on purpose. They are there for those that look for such things. I try my best to do something for everybody.

A new year always brings some reflection. For me, I have to ask myself, what am I trying to say with this blog?

I want to continue to talk about problems around our country and the world. I want to do this so I can make some sense of the world my kids are going to inherit. A big part of what is wrong is that our politicians are purchased by global corporations. At some point I hope we realize this and decide to make a stand. No, I don’t believe the TEA Party Movement is part of the solution as they are a big part of the problem. They are part of the problem as they show how easily people are manipulated by the corporations.  Look at the photos on these pages and see if this racist Tea Party Movement is something you’d  associated with.

Another thing I want people to do on my blog is visit the Armchair Activist section. See if there is an issue that interest you and spend a few seconds signing on to a petition. A recent one asked CNN  to fire Lou Dobbs because of his racism. Lou did “quit” his job at CNN. These things work and it doesn’t take much effort. That means they earn the Elecpencil’s award for the “Lazy man’s answer to change.”

I want in 2010 to continue to do all I can to support the area I live in know as, the Mahoning Valley. I will talk about some of the great locally owned businesses in our area that have earned your support. The Elecpencil having taken vows of poverty has limited funds so I use what discounts I can find. Here are a few local sources that I use that could help you: SurfTheValley.com, ClassytheCow.com, RESTAURANT.com and YoungstownDeals.

If you have any other sites to save a buck send them along and I’ll post them. If you love the service of a local company let me know. Also for help for consumers look under my Consumer Info section.

Speaking about great things in the Mahoning Valley I want to mention my favorite local talk radio host, Louie B. Free. I see Louie is having some legal problems and I want to wish him the best of luck and give him my support. Louie does a great job of interviewing people and keeping us all informed. I co-hosted a radio talk show a decade ago for just one hour a week and know how difficult it is.

I will also blog about things that disappoint me in the Mahoning Valley. The latest one is the Struthers Presbyterian Church. Their members  want to secede from the Presbyterian Church USA. The Struthers church says they feel that Presbyterian Church USA is getting to liberal. Over the last 20 years  Presbyterian USA’s general assembly has rejected ordaining of homosexuals and same-sex marriages. So how does that make them to liberal for the Struthers church? The mere fact that over the last 20 years the general assembly’s vote for rights for gays has gotten “closer and closer” to passing is enough to outrage the Struthers  Presbyterian Church. I’m sadden to see such a homophobic bunch trying to keep our valley in the Victorian Era.

I am straight with two kids in college. That does not mean that I can’t recognize that the issues facing gays today makes it the latest civil rights issue. I recently saw a photo of a well dressed black man standing with a sign against gay rights. You would think  blacks who suffered through their own civil rights struggle would be the last ones to discriminate against women, gays or anyone else.

Truth is gay people were more likely to have marched for civil rights for blacks than the angry, anti-gay whites that blacks stand with today against gay rights. I’m betting in 1860 the same type of supposed Christian whites would have looked at their Bible and said, “Slaves obey your master.”  Remember the saying, that no one is as blind as those who will not see?

I have  a comment section for a reason, so use it. I really do want to hear your opinion.

On Tuesday Jan. 10, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. the Pig Iron Poets will have an open reading at Tomasino’s Pizza. It is located at 103 Federal Plaza West, Downtown Youngstown, OH. See you there weather permitting.

Onward to a better year and a better world!

Teddy Pantelis/Damian Knapp

Teddy Pantelis

Lighthouses are more helpful than churches. ~ Ben Franklin

Another Prostitute in a Bad Wig

I saw an area poll where 50% of those taking the poll would vote for Jim Traficant. Another question was does Jimbo wear a toupee? Again 50% said, no, it’s really his hair. I guess if you are dumb enough to not know that is a rug, you are dumb enough to vote for him.

As I’ve said, Jimbo can run on the slogan, “Put the con in congress.” It is sad that some people think a crook like Traficant is the best we can do to represent us. I think highly of my family so I want someone more honorable than Traficant to represent them. I would think it would be the same for others but I guess a politician who took bribes and stole part of his staff’s paychecks is good enough for some people.

Jimbo brings out some strange right-wing wack jobs. Here is a man from Brooklyn  who calls Jimbo a “crusader for the right” (which is enough to get me to never support Jimbo).

Here is also a man that says Traficant should team up with Minnesota’s Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. See here.

Bachmann lashed out against President Obama calling him an anti-American socialist. She has spoken at many Tea Parties railing against the evils of socialism like welfare. Rep. Bachmann meanwhile is a welfare queen who has collected over a quarter of a million dollars in welfare.

I’ve shown you two videos of right-wingers loving Jimbo.  Now for a little hypocrisy, here is a right-winger listing Jimbo as one more Democrat who is a crook. This despite Traficant voting along with Republicans over 60% of the time.

Two can play at the same game so here is a list of Republican crooks.

Of course not all politicians who are criminals have done jail time. Here is Ohio’s Rep. John Boehner admitting he was bought by Big Tobacco.

This guy speaking about marketing at a Tea Party meeting is the kind of idiot that is attracted to the Tea Party Movement that people like Traficant are featured speakers at. Guys like this marketing “expert” prove we need a health care system to get those suffering from mental illness the help they need.

Poor and middle-class teabaggers march to support the rich.

The real story of the Boston Tea Party was not against the government raising taxes on tea. It was against corporate welfare in the form of tax cuts for the largest global corporation at that time. I’m talking about the Wal-Mart of its day, the British East India Company.

I thank my friend Bob from Pittsburgh for reminding me of this. Bob made an interesting statement about the G-20 protesters in Pittsburgh last year. He said, the demonstrators who broke corporate stores windows had more in common with the 17776 Boston Tea party than the  recent Tea Party events around the country.  The G-20 demonstrators were protesting the control corporations have over “our” government.

These Tea Party events were put on by corporations who don’t want their capital gains taxes raised. The events were attended by middle-class people who have gotten a middle-class tax break. Sadly, the corporations are using  propaganda ignited by fear and racism to protect their interests. It has been a winning formula in class-warfare for centuries.

Here is the latest victory as of yesterday for the rich in this class war. It’s just one more case of the rich being taken care of and the burden shifted to the middle-class. The fight is far from over but we need to hold our politicians accountable. I’m glad ones like Traficant talked the talk and said, our politicians are prostitutes up for the highest bidder. Unfortunately  Traficant didn’t walk the walk and pimped himself  out also. It’s high time we start screening all of our politicians for lobby infected STD’s.

Happy New Year!

George Harrison: Ding Dong

U2: New Years Day

New Year’s Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time. ~ James Agate