Apparently some Americans enjoy being tricked, punked, treated like buffoons, and fed from a constant menu of lies and trivia. Otherwise how do you explain the popularity of reality television, Rush Limbaugh, the over-rated popularity of Fox News, and the Republican Party? With reality television you at least get some semblance of entertainment. And with a discerning and analytical sense of humor, you can even find entertainment value in Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. How much value, entertaining or otherwise, can you see in the obstructionists right wing leadership of the Republican Party?
What is the value of a congressional party that tries to tricks Americans by creating chaos, by creating one crisis after another, and by creating fake outrage? Why do they do it? The answer is very simple. Conservatives are trying to trick its base and the rest of the American people into believing that the economic health of America, its productivity, and all its economic problems can be cured by the privatization of America.
Republicans have made it very clear that they intend to privatize or Shut Down Public Education, Medicare, Social Security, the United States Postal Services, prisons and jails, sanitation and waterworks, National Parks system, retirement systems for the few remaining public servants, and work previously handled by the Department of Transportation--among others.
The GOP has become very good at manufacturing chaos and creating outrage and crises. Two of their top priorities for the privatization of America are the privatization of the United States Postal Service and the privatization of public schools
The Republican Party's hellbent drive to the privatization of public schools is an insanity and a real outrage. Their ground game is simple:
1. Underfund and drastically cut funding to public school systems across the nation.
2. Pass legislation and promote economic and budgetary policies that weaken and destroy the white middle class. Inflict an economic meltdown on the white middle class that destroys a sense of well-being, morale, and the perceived value of education in the same way it occurs in Black neighborhoods in the inner city and in poor south.
3. Under the guise of accountability, force teachers in public schools to spend most of their time preparing students for tests, such as the FCAT in Florida.
Teachers in Florida spend so much time preparing students to pass the FCAT that they have very little time to teach real science, social studies, reading, writing, mathematics, art, music, physical education, art, and literature--all of which help produce a well rounded educated America, capable of critical thinking. This is result of a liberal education that fosters the development of a healthy middle class. What has the FCAT accomplished in Florida? It has helped members of one of America's well know family become more Wealthy.
Using The florida Example:
4. Use taxpayer money to fund Charter Schools.
5. Require Public School Children to pass the FCAT.
6. Do not require charter schools and private schools to take the FCAT. And point out how schools and teacher in Florida are deficient because student don't pass the FCAT.
7. When public school students in depressed neighborhoods, especially Black Neighborhoods, through dedicated work by administrators, faculty, and staff make significant gains, accuse the school of cheating. Hold up reporting the scores and make the students retake the test.
8. Reward teachers and schools that pass the FCAT with pay supplements and increased funding. Reduce funding to teachers and schools that don't pass.
10. Keep preaching to the public that public schools are failing, but don't tell them why. Be confident that the public is too dumb or too apathetic to discern why.
The harm done by the congress to the United Postal Service is an obvious abomination. Even though the United Postal Services 1. Receives no money from taxpayers, 2. The only income the USPS receives is incomes produced from selling products and services to the public, and 3. the USPS provides employment for more than 8 Million Americans--40% of whom are women--Republicans create a Crisis in the Postal Service by forcing it to operate under conditions under which no corporation could survive. They have created a Crisis in The Postal service because their ultimate goal is to dismantle the service and turn its operations over to private businesses and corporations.
Americans must rebel against the selling of America to Corporations and worse of the giving away of America to Corporations and private companies so the rich can get richer and the middle class gets smaller. We should not want our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and the rest of our progeny to suffer for years to come based upon the obstruction of a well-defined but relatively small greedy bunch of Anti-Americans.
Its time to stop being influenced by the members of congress who fabricate crisis and chaos and feign outrage to show that government doesn't work--an outcome they have insured, by not working. It's times to vote out of office any congressional member in national and state government whose only goal is to stonewall the efforts of those who want to help America move forward. Why? they want to show that government is too big and doesn't work so they can turn America over to Corporations.
If you think government services performed by government employees that have been hamstrung by the congress is bad, wait until you get govenrment services being performed by corporation whose only goal is to provide outrageous income for corporate CEOs and profits for shareholders. the public be damned.
Be careful of what you ask for. Be very careful.