Michael Moore is a leading American liberal. In the forefront of the fight to help the poor. He was an integral part of Occupy Wall Street, has picketed the White House, written books and created documentaries supporting the cause of the poor. It was recently reported that his net worth was $50 million.
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are likewise fighters for the poor and downtrodden. Their net worths respectively are $5 million and $10 million.
Detroit was once America's city on the hill. A successful and popular community. This past week Detroit filed for bankruptcy. The first major United States city to do do.
Infrastructure has been dramatically neglected in last 15-20 years. Money has been desperately needed by cities. To repair bridges, streets and schools for example. The necessary monies have been denied primarily by Republicans. The same group which led us into two unnecessary and expensive ten year wars.
The Travon Martin case has consumed the media in recent months. Martin was black. Zimmerman an Hispanic. Prior to Martin's death, Hispanics were grouped with Blacks. Latinos, Hispanics and Blacks were all considered persons of color.
The media labeled Zimmerman a white Hispanic. Never before had an Hispanic referred to as white.
The United States is the only major industrial nation without government provided/paid for medical coverage. Obama was successful in having a program passed. The Republicans keep fighting it. They want the Obamacare law rescinded/repealed. The United States House of Representatives has voted close to forty times to repeal the law. The House of Representatives is Republican controlled.
Many on the Republican right believe government mandated medical assistance is not required. Churches and neighbors will step in and assist those who are ill.
Banks placed the United States economy in serious danger. Their actions culminated in the recession which began in 2008. The United States bailed out the banks. The government did not bail out the millions who lost and are losing their homes as a result of mortgage foreclosures.
Bank of America was a primary culprit in the bank wrong doing which led to the recession. It was recently reported that Bank of America stock almost doubled in the past 12 months. It was also reported that United States banks have been flooded with profits this past year. The net profit of the six largest banks for the second quarter was $23 billion. Up 40 per cent for the same period from the previous year. Overall profits for the past 12 months totaled $70 billion.
Banks are clearly making money.
In the meantime, banks are not lending money on any significant basis. They invest among themselves and in safe markets. Their profits increase dramatically while middle America can neither borrow nor get out from under mortgage foreclosures.
American banks have been determined to be too big to fail and too big to prosecute. So says the United States government. Their wrongdoing has gone unpunished.
Halliburton is a major international corporation. They are into everything from oil drilling to providing services to the military in war zones to corporate farming to whatever. They have the capacity to rule the world.
Halliburton was a player in the Gulf Spill. The largest oil leak/spillage in history. Halliburton recently plead guilty to destroying evidence in the spill investigation. Halliburton plead guilty to one misdemeanor for its wrongdoing, was fined $200,000, and placed on three years probation. Halliburton also agreed to contribute $55 million to the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. A tax deductible gift.
The United States Department of Justice announced it would not pursue any further criminal prosecution of Halliburton.
The Christian right exerts great influence in the United States. With a large segment of the population and in the halls of Congress.They come out with new programs on a consistent basis. The most recent of interest is by a religious right organization known as the Family Research Council. The group wants to eliminate pornography on college campuses. They are fighting to rid dormitories of porn.
The Council claims abstinence is the ultimate solution to the problem. The hormonal one.
Pat Robertson is a prominent religious who is a leader in the Republican right. Many thoughts emanate from him. They ultimately become policy. One involves the role of men and women. Robertson said the following is ".....painful for ladies to hear.....if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband is the head of the wife, and that is the way it is, period."
Fifty per cent of the American public subscribe to one or more of the anti positions. They are against Obamacare, porn on campus, and women's rights.
The pending New York City mayoral election has candidates of a different bent running for office. Immorality appears to be a necessary ingredient in a political candidate.
Anthony Weiner wants to be Mayor. He resigned his Congressional seat in 2011 when it was discovered he was Tweeting pictures of his privates over the internet. He claimed he saw the error of his ways and corrected himself. Now it comes out he continued to so Tweet even after having been caught, resigned, and promised to sin no more.
Eliot Spritzer is a former Governor of New York State. He resigned after he was discovered doing business with a prostitute. With his socks on, which I found an interesting quirk. He now says that is all behind him and he wants to be Comptroller of the City of New York.
Weiner is a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination. The primary is soon. The winner will in all likelihood be Mayor of New York. Spritzer appears to be a shoo in for Comptroller.
Twenty five years ago, it would have been difficult for either of them to win. Let alone run.
Americans have made a turn about when it comes to morality and candidates who are a bit tarnished. Americans may hate the sin, but love the sinner. A forgiving nation.
