Courage or Fear?

The True Cost Of The Stimulus: Totally Unbelievable: $3.27 Trillion [Posted 2009-02-19 in the Daily News Record by the editorial board.]

It appears that the cost of the "spend-u-lus" package recently signed into law by President Obama is mind-blowingly large in the eyes of our feckless and fearful editorial board. Because Democrats are now in charge they'll surely make permanent the funding for

"Head Start, food stamps, Medicaid, IDEA special education and the like — in other words, welfare..."

Spending on these programs and others, like mortgage relief, bank and auto company bailouts, are wasteful and needless according to the editors. Spending on real folks, here at home, to help American citizens to actually build a better, more modern, safer, and more productive country for generations to come is regarded by the editors as "generational theft," a needless burden on future generations.

This is morbidly twisted. When the news that the true cost of the Iraq War [talking about real costs, both long and short term] would approach 3 - 5 TRILLION dollars, the calm, stoic, sober, serious conservatives [the editor] just nodded knowingly and clucked that because it was for national security [imperialist conquest, Pax America, a boost for the military industrial complex...etc] it is money well spent. 3 - 5 Trillion dollars spend largely on DESTRUCTION without anything left to show for the money.

Now we find that it will take 3 - 5 TRILLION dollars to keep ourselves out of a depression here at home and much more than that world wide. Now that the money is to be spent here at home to help US, rich and poor, city and town, farm and factory, it is considered outrageous, ill-spent, a true disaster, and financial suicide for generations to come. The fearful, cowering, outraged, shrieking, whining conservatives [including our fine editor] are now screaming with fright and outrage. Our jaws are supposed to drop and we are told to be afraid once again.

How much clearer can the editors state their fanatical support for the rich and powerful. The old Plantation system is in full flower, described beautifully in this short piece.

The purveyors of "No" are running amok. No to the poor, no to the hungry, no to the innocent civilians in Iraq who were slaughtered for our sake. No to the farmers, no to the factory workers, no to the clerks, the grocery baggers, the Wal-Mart greeters and the convenience store clerks. No to teachers, school boards, town councils, firefighters, police, and civil engineers. No to clean water, clean air, energy efficient automobiles and alternative energy.

The wealthy and their courtiers are indeed fighting valiantly to preserve their influence, wealth and power. How can you blame them? They are staring into the eyes of a nation and lots of good Americans are looking right back... unafraid.

This, friends and neighbors, is the essence of the "guns or butter" debate. The fearful see danger and want guns, the courageous see hunger and want butter. Courage or fear?

I'm ready for a call to courage. I'm ready for for my leaders to ask us to be brave and face our fear with courage and faith. I'm ready for a call to confidence and a steely resolve to MAKE THIS WORK. We ARE America! We are Americans and we CAN make this work.