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Some folks think I'm tough on the president. They think the president has done a bang up job and the war's escalation and health care's sellout should have been expected. 'Cause it's really about what Congress is doing and not about the actions of one man, even if that man is the most powerful human being in the world.
Some folks think I'm tough on the president. They think the president has done a bang up job and the war's escalation and health care's sellout should have been expected. 'Cause it's really about what Congress is doing and not about the actions of one man, even if that man is the most powerful human being in the world.
The only person who should be surprised by the implosion of the so-called left is Hillary Clinton. Heck, she campaigned promising more and bigger wars as well as virtually guaranteeing the sellout of health care reform. She's got to be wondering why someone else delivered on those promises and she isn't president!
Still, I can agree with those who blame Congress for this mess, so I wrote this ditty for them to sing. It's the same tune as "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It goes like this:
The first lie of Congress my senator told to me was that all the bad guys are in the pokey. According to a study published by Del Mar University only about 5 percent of white-collar criminals end up in jail. The Del Mar report lists white-collar crime as "companies or individuals knowingly using substandard building material, marketing untested drugs, or knowingly and illegally polluting the environment. Neglect of worker safety requirements may also be considered white-collar crime." Additionally they point out, "91 percent of those convicted of bank robberies go to jail while only 17 percent of those convicted of embezzlement of bank funds go to jail." So much for Congress being tough on crime!
The second lie of Congress my senator told to me was that they would've voted as doves. According to an ABC News survey, "33 out of the original 77 senators" who voted in favor of the Iraq War, "indicated they would vote differently knowing then what they know now." If that's true then the majority of the Senate now believes the war is wrong and always has been, so why are they still funding it?
The third lie of Congress my senator told to me was socialism was bad for all men. Unless those men work on Wall Street: In October of 2008 the Senate approved the government refinance of our death-spiraling stock market. For those who feel this still gives me the opportunity to scold the president who, as a senator, cast a pro-bailout vote -- so did his so-called opposition Sen. John McCain.
The fourth lie of Congress my Senator told to me was mountain top removal companies would eat their words. If the Senate would call the Appalachia Restoration Act for a vote the lying would show. Their inaction on this critical environmental and human rights issue proves that while they claim to advocate clean air and clean water; they actually support big coal and job loss. Further information on the degradation of West Virginia's air and streams is available at the Natural Resources Defense Council's Web site.
The fifth lie of Congress my Senator told to me: five red herrings!
Here are my favorite:
They love our soldiers -- that's why privatized armies make four times the salary! And there are plenty of them; the Department of Defense says the number of contractors in Afghanistan is 73,968.
Privatized prisons making prisoners into commodities isn't dangerous to our liberty: The Wall Street Journal says that the three biggest companies, Corrections Corp. of America, Geo Group and Cornell are trading "at 12 to 18 times what each is expected to earn in 2010."
Repeated deployments aren't hurting our forces. Web search "troop fatigue" and see the truth.
Passing defense of marriage legislation will defend marriage; preserving the institution for guys like Tiger Woods and Eliot Spitzer.
And my favorite: electing a Democrat instead of a Republican will change our policies substantially. Like last month's debate over abortion services in insurance policies, The Center for Responsive Politics found that "Democrats who supported this amendment that added restrictions to abortion-related health insurance benefits received considerably more campaign contributions from anti-abortion interests than Democrats who opposed the amendment." It isn't about the party, it's about the money.
I'm out of space, but keep singing on your own. By now the "Lies of Congress" should be a familiar tune.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Some folks think I'm tough on the president. They think the president has done a bang up job and the war's escalation and health care's sellout should have been expected. 'Cause it's really about what Congress is doing and not about the actions of one man, even if that man is the most powerful human being in the world.
The only person who should be surprised by the implosion of the so-called left is Hillary Clinton. Heck, she campaigned promising more and bigger wars as well as virtually guaranteeing the sellout of health care reform. She's got to be wondering why someone else delivered on those promises and she isn't president!
Still, I can agree with those who blame Congress for this mess, so I wrote this ditty for them to sing. It's the same tune as "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It goes like this:
The first lie of Congress my senator told to me was that all the bad guys are in the pokey. According to a study published by Del Mar University only about 5 percent of white-collar criminals end up in jail. The Del Mar report lists white-collar crime as "companies or individuals knowingly using substandard building material, marketing untested drugs, or knowingly and illegally polluting the environment. Neglect of worker safety requirements may also be considered white-collar crime." Additionally they point out, "91 percent of those convicted of bank robberies go to jail while only 17 percent of those convicted of embezzlement of bank funds go to jail." So much for Congress being tough on crime!
The second lie of Congress my senator told to me was that they would've voted as doves. According to an ABC News survey, "33 out of the original 77 senators" who voted in favor of the Iraq War, "indicated they would vote differently knowing then what they know now." If that's true then the majority of the Senate now believes the war is wrong and always has been, so why are they still funding it?
The third lie of Congress my senator told to me was socialism was bad for all men. Unless those men work on Wall Street: In October of 2008 the Senate approved the government refinance of our death-spiraling stock market. For those who feel this still gives me the opportunity to scold the president who, as a senator, cast a pro-bailout vote -- so did his so-called opposition Sen. John McCain.
The fourth lie of Congress my Senator told to me was mountain top removal companies would eat their words. If the Senate would call the Appalachia Restoration Act for a vote the lying would show. Their inaction on this critical environmental and human rights issue proves that while they claim to advocate clean air and clean water; they actually support big coal and job loss. Further information on the degradation of West Virginia's air and streams is available at the Natural Resources Defense Council's Web site.
The fifth lie of Congress my Senator told to me: five red herrings!
Here are my favorite:
They love our soldiers -- that's why privatized armies make four times the salary! And there are plenty of them; the Department of Defense says the number of contractors in Afghanistan is 73,968.
Privatized prisons making prisoners into commodities isn't dangerous to our liberty: The Wall Street Journal says that the three biggest companies, Corrections Corp. of America, Geo Group and Cornell are trading "at 12 to 18 times what each is expected to earn in 2010."
Repeated deployments aren't hurting our forces. Web search "troop fatigue" and see the truth.
Passing defense of marriage legislation will defend marriage; preserving the institution for guys like Tiger Woods and Eliot Spitzer.
And my favorite: electing a Democrat instead of a Republican will change our policies substantially. Like last month's debate over abortion services in insurance policies, The Center for Responsive Politics found that "Democrats who supported this amendment that added restrictions to abortion-related health insurance benefits received considerably more campaign contributions from anti-abortion interests than Democrats who opposed the amendment." It isn't about the party, it's about the money.
I'm out of space, but keep singing on your own. By now the "Lies of Congress" should be a familiar tune.
Some folks think I'm tough on the president. They think the president has done a bang up job and the war's escalation and health care's sellout should have been expected. 'Cause it's really about what Congress is doing and not about the actions of one man, even if that man is the most powerful human being in the world.
The only person who should be surprised by the implosion of the so-called left is Hillary Clinton. Heck, she campaigned promising more and bigger wars as well as virtually guaranteeing the sellout of health care reform. She's got to be wondering why someone else delivered on those promises and she isn't president!
Still, I can agree with those who blame Congress for this mess, so I wrote this ditty for them to sing. It's the same tune as "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It goes like this:
The first lie of Congress my senator told to me was that all the bad guys are in the pokey. According to a study published by Del Mar University only about 5 percent of white-collar criminals end up in jail. The Del Mar report lists white-collar crime as "companies or individuals knowingly using substandard building material, marketing untested drugs, or knowingly and illegally polluting the environment. Neglect of worker safety requirements may also be considered white-collar crime." Additionally they point out, "91 percent of those convicted of bank robberies go to jail while only 17 percent of those convicted of embezzlement of bank funds go to jail." So much for Congress being tough on crime!
The second lie of Congress my senator told to me was that they would've voted as doves. According to an ABC News survey, "33 out of the original 77 senators" who voted in favor of the Iraq War, "indicated they would vote differently knowing then what they know now." If that's true then the majority of the Senate now believes the war is wrong and always has been, so why are they still funding it?
The third lie of Congress my senator told to me was socialism was bad for all men. Unless those men work on Wall Street: In October of 2008 the Senate approved the government refinance of our death-spiraling stock market. For those who feel this still gives me the opportunity to scold the president who, as a senator, cast a pro-bailout vote -- so did his so-called opposition Sen. John McCain.
The fourth lie of Congress my Senator told to me was mountain top removal companies would eat their words. If the Senate would call the Appalachia Restoration Act for a vote the lying would show. Their inaction on this critical environmental and human rights issue proves that while they claim to advocate clean air and clean water; they actually support big coal and job loss. Further information on the degradation of West Virginia's air and streams is available at the Natural Resources Defense Council's Web site.
The fifth lie of Congress my Senator told to me: five red herrings!
Here are my favorite:
They love our soldiers -- that's why privatized armies make four times the salary! And there are plenty of them; the Department of Defense says the number of contractors in Afghanistan is 73,968.
Privatized prisons making prisoners into commodities isn't dangerous to our liberty: The Wall Street Journal says that the three biggest companies, Corrections Corp. of America, Geo Group and Cornell are trading "at 12 to 18 times what each is expected to earn in 2010."
Repeated deployments aren't hurting our forces. Web search "troop fatigue" and see the truth.
Passing defense of marriage legislation will defend marriage; preserving the institution for guys like Tiger Woods and Eliot Spitzer.
And my favorite: electing a Democrat instead of a Republican will change our policies substantially. Like last month's debate over abortion services in insurance policies, The Center for Responsive Politics found that "Democrats who supported this amendment that added restrictions to abortion-related health insurance benefits received considerably more campaign contributions from anti-abortion interests than Democrats who opposed the amendment." It isn't about the party, it's about the money.
I'm out of space, but keep singing on your own. By now the "Lies of Congress" should be a familiar tune.