Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy has been one of the most devastating hurricanes in American history. The Hurricane affected numerous states. Almost 10 million people have lost power and over 108 human beings have died by the storm alone. It affected places from North Carolina to Connecticut plus Rhode Island. New Jersey was hit extremely hard by the storm. Many communities have been buried in sand and a lot of homes have been destroyed. More than 75 percent of the Jersey shore has been flooded. Many gas burning fires have existed in New Jersey, Queens, New York City, and other places. The FDNY have evacuated from Bellevue Hospital in New York City. New York City subways have been flooded and the devastation has been truly horrendous. Seaside Heights, New Jersey has been damaged greatly as well via the winds and the power of Hurricane Sandy. There has been closure of NYC's JFK and LaGuardia airports. These

airports are now open. International flights have been grounded in places all over the world. This is one of the worse Hurricane hits in modern American history. The images of the aftermath of the storm have been indescribable. New Jersey is hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy indeed. The water has almost completely flooded Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The federal government, state government, and the local government are working together in other for them to send resources in helping the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Many National Guard groups are coming into the Northeast in trying to assist the human beings suffering from the storm. Some folks have been arrested for looting on Coney Island, Brooklyn. Yet, the looting is done by a vast minority people and some in the alternative media (like you know who. Also, some in the alternative media are acting like Republicans in denying that the federal government can do any good for society and they hate collective power. One Republican Rep. King said that he didn't want money sent to Sandy to be spent on Gucci bags and massage parlors. Donald Trump said the worse comments that the President is pretty much bribing his way to reelection via the disaster) are exploiting the looting as a means to promote their sick, intolerant agenda. The one important thing now is the survival of human beings. The election now means very little as compared to the necessity of saving lies and giving confront to the victims of this overwhelming tragedy. The storm has caused up to 3 feet of snow to exist in some parts of West Virginian Mountains. The Northeast haven't witness a storm of this magnitude in a long time. There is an infrastructure issue too. Since, much of the Northeast doesnt just need economic help, but the whole infrastructure should be rebuilt. This can be done with federal, state, and local power. The hurricane caused damage in Cuba, Jamaica, and other locations too. President Barack Obama met up with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in surveying the damage in New Jersey. The cost of the damage so far is estimated at ca. $20.4 billion. It is certainly important to express sympathy toward the victims of the tragedy. Some people are doing their part in giving charity and necessary resources as a means to help human beings that are the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

There are many problems as a result of the Hurricane Sandy disaster. It will take a very long time in order for the Northeast to be back on its feet reasonably. Some unrest continues to occur in New Jersey and New York State. Some alternative media agents are going around using these news as an excuse to promote austerity, poorscapegoating, and other evils. This event is a result of the disaster not "big government" like Mike Adams claims. The reality is that it isn't about big or small government per se, it is about the fact that efficient government (not just private entities) can greatly help society. The private sector and the public sector can work in one nation to help citizens that are suffering as a product of any natural disaster. Also, the federal government has

helped society for eons. People have the right to receive food, water, fuel, clothing, and more. Some people in the Northeast are hungry and angry. That's all more the reason for charities, private resources, and public resources to come into that region without politicizing the event as some like Mike Adams does (which he seems to forget that the corporatists supported Austrian economics for decades). Now, there are problems in that region. Gasoline supplies are not available in that region. There are huge power outages in the areas. People are in vain to receive batteries, foods, and phone service. Also, it is important to prepare for disasters like own weapons for self-defense, having food, fuel, water, etc. Yet, this disaster shouldn't be blamed on the suffering folks. The disaster is to be blamed on the storm alone. Even the damage of the storm can even ruin backup supplies. Staten Island is having issues with supplies as well. Power and gas are lacking in the areas of New Jersey, New York, and other places. This disaster is so huge that any level of government will struggle to send supplies to the victims. Also, Mike Adams forgets that massive privatization and laissez faire capitalism harmed society in many areas too. I think it's sick and disrespectful for a man like Mike Adams to blame the people of Staten Island (and others) for not being prepared enough for the disaster (when the disaster was so massive that it affected the rich, the poor, and the middle class massively). Not all people are super rich to buy all of these supplies when we have economic issues here. There are homeless people here as well. In reality, these victims aren't responsible collectively for them experiencing disaster. Also, people have the First Amendment right to talk about the Red Cross and other problems with wanting a response from the government (since the government was created by the people in order to serve the people). Also, regardless of what Republican-lite Mike Adams said, most people in the Northeast aren't looting at all. Expressing legitimate grievances is very human. Some people have over hyped the Hurricane and even make wild claims about the storm being a product of HAARP technology without conclusive evidence. I will admit that HAARP technology is real though. Its real indeed. The storm will not cost over 100 billion dollars regardless of what pro-disaster capitalists believe in. There are food shortages in Brooklyn even. Mike Adams seems to embrace scapegoating the victims of a tragedy and social Darwinist propaganda, but I embrace compassion and a holistic approach in solving problems. When you deal with a multiple state disaster, individuals can't do it alone. They need assistance. Making all things for profit or the privatization of all public resources is harmful for our society. No reasonable person is demonizing those who take preparation seriously (a reasonable human being respects any person that has great reserves or is adept at preparedness), but I won't demonize the suffering because of the disaster either. Real responders are doing their job to rescue human beings and save lives also. Also, unsung heroes day in and day out are working together in helping the poor, the elderly, and all victims of this tragedy indeed. These events mean that a national program to address poverty and our economic situation is necessary in our time near 2013.

Many folks are trying to cope with their entire lives changed. People have talked with the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and other groups that seek to improve the conditions in the East Coast. The events of the Presidential election of 2012 pale in comparison to the needs of the people who are suffering (as a product of the Hurricane). So, we should our part as human beings to help anyone that legitimately need help. As for FEMA, we need the federal government to help society, but we can't ignore the problems with FEMA. Patriots and scholars have exposed the errors found in FEMA from messing up supplies to being involved in trying to influence pastors (via a May 2006 FEMA document entitled, "Pastoral Crisis Information") to support an unconditional allegiance to government in times of crisis. I believe in positive government and a powerful federal government to help citizens when it's necessary, but I don't believe in worshipping government. I worship God alone. The Hurricane is a whole lot worse than Irene. The President of the United States is doing what he is supposed to do. He is speaking out, coordinating agencies in assessing the situation, and surveying the damage. The President is our brother. We need to keep it real and respect any human being (like the President) as an equal. 2012 is certainly a new era of time. If we want to be free, then we will have to look at the bigger picture. That picture is that globalists influence society and we have the right to expose these globalists (and advocate constructive activism to help our community). Sean Hannity is one of the most famous neo-cons in the world. He is an anti-union extremist. This extremism is a common fixture of the philosophy of reactionaries. That is why one GOP official called union members terrorists. His name is Shawn Kenney from Virginia. He formerly served as the communications director for the state GOP. He is now the chairman of the Fluvanna Co. He posted an entry on his blog titled, We Dont Negotiate With (Union) Terrorists. The post features a video of a brief fight that occurred outside the Michigan state capitol. Before the video, Kenney writes: and these people are terrorists. He is wrong since unions aren't terrorists at all. Even Hannity's hero Ronald Reagan was in the Screen Actors Guild for years, which was in an union. Crowder also admitted to coming out of the tent and pushing demonstrators. From the video Fox finally aired, the unedited one, its clear from his stance and his left arm being extended, that he hit that man. The other video from which the stills of the demonstrator swinging on Crowder, the one shot from the other angle, still hasnt surfaced. But that one probably shows Crowder ducking under the other camera and hitting the protester. Crowder didn't file a complaint with the police. We know the weaknesses of neoliberalism and how it can harm a nation. The establishment regularly demonizes progressive ideologies. Hannity advanced Crowder's version of events before the total truth about the incident came about. Hannity falsely classified this event as the ugly and twisted and bad soul of liberalism. Hannity ignores the U.S. death squads in Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and in other nations throughout the world that advance the agenda of neo-imperialism. Crowder edited the video about him harming a demonstrator. Now, Sean Hannity

follows the Left/Right Paradigm by advancing the two party system (and real issues are not discussed from globalization to eugenics). There is nothing wrong with the concepts of cooperation, compassion, empathy, social justice, and the greater good. Numerous unions are doing their best to help society. There are still protests against austerity in France, England, and Italy. In the final analysis, the establishment want to destroy as much of the New Deal as possible. The destruction of the New Deal has been mapped out in the 1930's. In the 1960's, Ronald Reagan even spoke out against Medicare and Medicaid. Alan Simpson is a liar and bashes Social Security when it is an insurance program paid for by its participants. Wall Street supported Democratic and Republican efforts to harm or partially privatize Social Security. Also, it is hypocritical for some to talk about Bush's war crimes, but ignore the war crimes going on in this present administration. The reactionaries are still extreme. They are so extreme that they hated Henry Wallace's campaign back in 1948 (when Henry Wallace wanted friendly relations with the Soviet Union, an end to the nascent Cold War, an end to segregation, full voting rights for blacks, and universal government health insurance). In the West, jobs are being outsourced, wages are falling and unemployment rising. As the market becomes saturated with goods and demand is unable to mop up supply, firms go bust. There is a shift towards powerful monopoly capitalism, while citizens and workers experience increasing powerlessness and immiseration. Instead of having paranoia about socialism, we should fight against unregulated capitalism instead. The struggle for human dignity and power is still here amidst the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy. We have to work to do since the disaster of Hurricane Sandy is still apparently real in the Northeastern part of America. It shows profoundly that a combination of grassroots organizing, public resources and private resources can develop the areas which are damaged heavily from the storm. We have issues still. Once, NYC pulled the plug on housing authority residents (or turning off electricity) before the storm to force residents to evacuate. We realize about the thousands of people who waited in line to buy gasoline and evacuees having difficulty in finding residency basically. Staten Island residents were angry about the temporary inaction of the Red Cross plus other organizations in helping people. One of the good news about the situation was the story about Occupy Sandy. Occupy Sandy had little to no money, but they provided food, clothing, and medical care to the hardest hit neighborhoods. The Occupy team pumped water from damaged homes and even gave direction to the National Guard and FEMA teams. Occupy Sandy helped people just like the public and private sector can do their part. Michael Bloomberg was wrong in trying to carry forward with a marathon, but he ended that plan as a product of fierce opposition. Bloomberg was forced to do so. The corporate sponsored event ended, but many of the athletes did do the right thing by helping the victims of Sandy in the Northeast though. Now, in urban communities of America, we still have to fight against the displacement of the poor, against inequality, and against corporate-sponsored gentrification. Gentrification is when corporations

force black residents (or residents of color) out of urban places in order to be replaced by richer people. Many of the newer jobs are low wage. Hurricane Sandy proves to us that we must continue to promote grassroots organizations that are helping people. If you want something done, we have to demand it. The marathon was closed when folks protested about it. The Red Cross finally came when the residents of Staten Island spoke out against being ignored by authorities. There are problems in Red Hook, Brooklyn (some people lack electricity and any meaningful form of instrumental power), and parts of New Jersey as well. So, cooperatives, grassroots entities, and other instruments can assist the poor and the suffering.

*Hurricane Sandy gave us a lot of lessons. One lesson is that Nature is still more powerful than man. No matter our technological advancements and scientific achievements, Nature can easily destroy a huge part of our societal infrastructure. Sandy also harmed areas in Caribbean countries not just in America. Haiti experienced 54 deaths from the storm including 20 missing. There were 11 people killed in Haiti. It killed people in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas including Jamaica (plus Puerto Rico). A food crisis continues in Haiti and a developing cholera infestation exists in eastern Cuba. Thousands of homes have been damaged in Cuba. New cholera cases are still in Haiti. Also, our brothers and our sisters in Haiti have been sexually abused by UN peacekeepers, so I won't forget that. Some are trying to make the United Nations to combat the disease that have killed 7,564 people and infected 600,000. This has not been a priority for the international community, said Dan Beeton, of the Washingtonbased Center for Economic and Policy Research. The UN could implement water and sanitation infrastructure that would eventually allow cholera to be eradicated for about the same cost it would take to allow UN troops to stay in Haiti for one year about a billion dollars. Cholera was introduced into Haiti by UN troops, who have been given another years mandate. The victims of the Hurricane deserve our solidarity and sympathy. There should be an allocation of resources from the local, state, and federal levels of government to assist the victims. It will take a long time for homes to be rebuilt, schools to grow, and for infrastructure to be reconstituted in America and other foreign places where Sandy struck, but the journey to rebuilt places must begin. New York City's metropolitan area has the most densely populated region in the USA. In NYC, the subway and commuter rail system has been damaged. People in the Northeast seek food and shelter including gasoline. Some of the poor in Staten Island suffered greatly. In numerous disasters, the rich receives help first and then later the middle class and the poor. Some from public housing projects are without water and electricity for lights or elevators. Some residents in poorer communities are using water from even open fire hydrants. Extremists and in my mind sick people have tried to

blame the victims for the storm (and yell about self-reliance). They tell the story that the government can't do everything. These critiques call the victims even irresponsible. This is a big piece of lies. The government can't do everything. Yet, the government can provide resources and give immediate relief to those that need it. It can be a foundation where homes, schools, businesses, transit, and infrastructure system can grow in affected areas. Millions of people are ready to work. Long term, we have to modernize our anti-storm and flood control system. I do believe in self-reliance, but I also believe in using the common wealth as a means to assist the human race. The establishment gave 23 trillion dollars to bailout Wall Street. The government can at least send billions of dollars to help people to get back on their feet. There have been proposals for the building of strategic storm barriers in and around the New York harbor. These proposals would have prevented the catastrophic flooding. They were rejected out of hand because of the estimated cost of $10 billion. This is nothing compared to the profits and bonuses of the banks and financial institutions headquartered in Manhattan. Hurricane Sandy proved that the modernization of our resources is needed and we need a real war on poverty in the world. The federal government has a great role in promoting the general welfare of America indeed. There should be a national program to provide full employment for all those who want to work (along with education and training programs). Its fine to have a living wage for all Americans who work. There should be a decent living standard among all Americans. There should be decent, affordable housing for all people. Universal health care and real educational opportunities should be made real. Our water and air should be more purified and our transportation system needs to be modernized. These actions can grow our economy and build up the standard of living in the world society.

Appendix A: The Hurricane Katrina/Hurricane Sandy Connection You can't discuss about Hurricane Sandy without reviewing the historical components about Hurricane Katrina. On August 29, 2005, New Orleans wasn't adequately protected at all. Even in early 2001, FEMA predicted that there was going to be a terrorist attack on New York, a major San Francisco earthquake and a hurricane plus a flood in New Orleans. New Orleans was shaped like a bowl below sea level. The unprotected areas didn't have a chance. Many of the poor black communities suffered the most from Hurricane Katrina. Predatory capitalism displaced numerous populations during the aftermath of the Hurricane back in 2005. Levees were left weak in the Katrina era. The hurricane strength winds damaged many placed in the Gulf of Mexico in the realm of a Category 3 storm. A sick then Congressman Richard Baker even said that: "...We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldnt do it but God did. Even Common Ground Relief co-founder Malik Rahim admitted that the corporate elites exploited Katrina in ethnically cleansing poor neighborhoods via the building of upscale condos (and other high profit projects on choice city land). The developers worked on the people's land to create more gentrification projects. Most displaced black people weren't allowed back on their own land. Corporate predators and complicit politicians worked their policies on land exploitation in New Orleans. Floodwaters heavily damaged the lower Ninth ward. A huge amount of the percentage of the New Orleans population has been displaced. After more than 7 years after

Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has the world's highest prison rate. Louisiana according to Loyola University New Orleans Law professor/Center for Constitutional Rights Legal Director Bill Quigley wrote that: "...Louisiana imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of the other 50 states. New Orleans has the 2nd highest U.S. homeless and poverty rates in cities over 10,000 population. Income inequality is the highest in America. Crime is still high and police abuse is still rampant. Over 35,700 homes are abandoned or blighted in New Orleans. Public school enrollment is so low that charter school figures are very high in New Orleans. The catch is that most of the charter schools are for profit. People need rental financial aid and real, affordable housing. Some parts of New Orleans are still vulnerable for flooding like in 4 of the 13 Planning Districts. The list goes on, so Post-Katrina New Orleans doesn't validate laissez faire capitalism. It proves that there is evil in the worst forms of disaster capitalism.

Now, the good news is that real organizations and real, compassionate people (of every background) are doing their best in helping rebuild the Gulf Coast region including New Orleans. New Orleans has a long way to go in fully recovering, but it is not completely destroyed. The reactionaries from the Heritage Foundation still want massive cuts to FEMA, deregulation, the suspending of the Davis Bacon Act (that allows federal funds on construction projects), the cutting environmental regulations, and other pro-corporate goals. Today, the Heritage wants deregulation and privatization during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy ironically enough. The Heritage Foundation omits that cost cutting, under investment, poor infrastructure, and indifference are responsible for Sandy causing thousands of lacking power, heat, and public services (not so-called "big government"). Now, a disgraceful response by FEMA and the Red Cross has been done involving Staten Island. Yet, the Heritage Foundation wants more privatization of government functions. Some extremists want no federal involvement in helping people who suffered major disasters. A Blue Ribbon Commission appointed in 2007 by New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority warned of precisely the type of flooding of subway tunnels that occurred recently. It urged the creation of strategic storm barriers for the NYC harbor and estuary. Budget cuts federally, state wise, and local wise have prevented a real response to national disaster tragedies. So, a holistic approach is needed to help the victims from the public sector and private sector without austerity. There ought to be an allocation of billions of dollars to restore power, mass transit in the Northeast (including a repair of infrastructure, real help to families, and the upgrading of the anti-storm, electric, and flood control systems in the region).

Appendix B: Foreign Policy Matters and Poverty

Many people have talked about poverty in the world. If the reactionaries and their Blue Dog Democratic allies had their way, trillions of dollars from social programs would be cut immediately. That extreme policy will leave a huge amount of people out of luck plus suffer destitution. Hunger and poverty will continue in America with that radical form of austerity. The final deal of the fiscal cliff is uncertain for now. Poverty and hunger is in very high rates still. There are a record amount of people in America receiving food stamps in August of 2012 being about 47.1 million people (according to the Department of Agriculture figures). This is up from 1 million from 2011. The figure was 30 million in October of 2008. In Washington, D.C. and the state of Mississippi have more than one fifth of residents now receive food stamps. The average monthly food benefit per person is $130. This is very small or $4.33 a day, which is less than the price of an expensive coffee in lower Manhattan. Now, we could have a bill where tons of children, elderly, and disabled people would be in poverty via the stripping of

resources. 50 million people in America suffer food supply issues. We have about 49.7 million people living beneath the poverty line in America. This is 16.1 percent of the Population according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure released in November of 2012. In 2006 there were 37.3 million people in poverty and the official poverty rate was 12.5 percent. Huge poverty is found in states with a high cost of living. Even California has about 23.5 percent of its citizens in poverty or one in four of its residents. California is the nation's wealthiest and most populous state in the Union. California has Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It also includes garment sweatshops and migrant farm labor camps without one of the nation's highest levels of income inequality in the USA. The Census data showed that median household income in America (adjusted for inflation) fell by 1.5 percent from the previous year. The figure was 8.1 percent lower than in 2007 and 8.9 percent lower than its high point in 1999. The income of the typical U.S. family in 2011 fell for the fourth straight year and sank to levels last seen in 1995. The economic crisis is responsible for this high poverty rate and social misery. It can be worse with draconian cuts to social programs. Government poverty keeps almost 50 million people out of poverty. Without these programs, the poverty rate would be twice as high according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Unemployment insurance in 2011 helped 26 million workers according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP), and lifted 2.3 million people, including more than 600,000 children, above the poverty line. In 2010, about two-thirds of people counted in the governments unemployment figures received unemployment benefits. By 2011, however, that number had fallen to 54 percent. This year it fell to only 45 percent, according to George Wentworth, NELP Senior Staff Attorney. It is expected that the extended unemployment benefits would end by December 31. These benefits came in response to the economic slump and the growth of long term joblessness. If the problem isn't renewed, 2 million people would be cut off and no workers will receive more than 26 weeks of jobless pay after being laid off. Wentworth said that only a quarter of those who are officially unemployed would receive any form of benefits. The 2012 election massively omitted the need to really handle poverty in America. The political establishment is overtly opposed to really address the issue of poverty concretely and comprehensively. Half of the nation is poor or near poor. It's hypocritical for the Tea Party to lust after attacking the social safety net when they refuse to expose Wall Street corruption. The mainstream media slanders real programs as "entitlement" and want them cut when they oppose any tax on Wall Street or a super wealthy tax on them. Some of the 1 percent killed people throughout the ages via eugenics, wars, and other evils. They are in no position to lecture anyone on responsibility or morality. That is why we need a radical national plan to address poverty. The public and the private sector ought to be part of the solution in ending poverty (including a radical redistribution or economic and political power).

Appendix C: Who was Ed Koch?

Ed Koch passed away recently. He represented the DLC version of the Democrats and the continued reactionary trajectory of the Democratic establishment in general. He was the three term mayor of NYC. Many tributes have come to him from political, economic, and media establishment leaders. Bill Clinton attended his funeral on February 4, 2013. Three former New York mayors, many former government and other political figures attended his funeral. He was 88 years old when he passed away on February 1, 2013. He is called a historic figure. Some believe that he almost single handedly caused the rebirth and rescue of NYC. His critics believe that Koch is a significant figure, but he rescued NYC much in the same fashion where Ronald Reagan rescued the U.S. He was in city hall during the Reagan era from 1978 to 1989. Even Ronald Reagan or the reactionary actor and the liberal turned reactionary Ed Koch have much in common. Koch and other human beings acted to speak for the aggrieved middle class. Yet, they worked for the ruling establishment and their politics became more reactionary as they following a social counterrevolution that was directed against the working class (especially among poor and vulnerable human beings). To the 1 percent, wealthy friends of Koch, and multimillionaire retired politicians, NYC was a happier place for them. On the other hand, millions of working people suffered under Koch's reign. Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal praised Ed Koch as a person who was a liberal being mugged by reality in the late 1970's. This view was agreed upon by the father of the neoconservatives named Irving Kristol. Irving Kristol hated socialism and agreed with American imperialism even up and including the war crimes in Iraq. Irving Kristol died in 2009. Koch said that he was a Democrat, but he often supported Republicans. Koch was born in the Bronx of a small businessman father in 1924. He served the Army during World War II. Koch backed the anti-war Democratic Party boss Eugene McCarthy in 1968. He ran for mayor in 1977 as a law and order candidate when New York almost had a bankruptcy. Koch harnessed the anger among some of the middle class in NYC. Many bigots back then refused to blame the social problems in the late 1970's on economic exploitation and a solely profit driven system. They falsely blamed it on those on welfare, the poor, the young, the unemployed, city employees, etc. Koch won the mayoral race only weeks after the NYC blackout, which saw massively looting in New York. Koch wanted to be tough on crime and he hated welfare. He made a racial appeal, addressing himself to those who feared changing neighborhoods and crime, while usually avoiding rhetoric that could be called overtly racist. He combined this with equally violent attacks on municipal workers and other sections of the working class. Koch was wrong to characterize school bus driving strikes as goons and bastards. These human beings

only wanted to fight to defend their job security today in early 1979. In 1980, when New Yorks powerful 35,000-strong subway and bus workforce defied the anti-strike Taylor Law in an eight-day walkout, Koch led a crowd across the Brooklyn Bridge, hysterically whipping up sections of the middle class. By his third term as mayor, Ed Koch still had economic problems. The ruling elite were done with him. During this time, there was huge racist, police brutality and racist murders against black human beings. We know about the

death of Michael Griffith in Howard Beach, Queens in 1986 and the killing of 16year-old Yusuf Hawkins in Brooklyn in 1989. This was accompanied by a series of police shootings, including the shotgun killing of 66-year-old Eleanor Bumpurs in her own apartment in 1984. When the stock market crash came in October in 1987, New
York suffered again. There was the drug epidemic and the city's transit system and other public services were badly underfunded. He closed down the first All-Black doctors run Sydenham Hospital in Harlem created in 1892 once the NY racist hospitals refused to admit Black doctors. Even Ed Koch regretted that decision. Koch defended himself against corruption scandals. He was defeated in 1989 after trying for an unprecedented fourth term. He working in the major law firm of Bryan Cave and kept busy with other ventures from movies to public appearances at $20,000 each. He was on the television show the People's Court as a judge. He lived in a rental comfortable apartment in NY's Greenwich Village. In 2004, he endorsed George W. Bush and spoke at the RNC. The reason is that he or Ed Koch was an aggressive neo conservative on foreign policy matters. He backed the Iraq War and claimed that folks who opposed the war on terror harbored some anti-Israel philosophy (or calling them anti-Semites in coded language, which is a lie). He expanded some housing, but he allowed the super rises of the price of housing. Economic inequality grew under his term. Koch voted for Michael Bloomberg. I will end this on a more positive since he passed away. Ed Koch loved the culture of New York and I do believe that he did some legitimate things in his life.

Appendix D: Updates on the Fiscal Cliff in December 2012 and January 2013

The President Barack Obama gave a recent speech about the fiscal cliff. Is the fiscal cliff serious? The answer is yes, because if it comes, millions of Americans will lose unemployment benefits without a deal. The President talked about how Boehner and Reid could make an economic deal. He said that if no deal is made before the end of the year, then he called on Harry Reid to send a bill that outlines his political plans to Congress on an up or down vote. If the GOP turned down the austerity filled Plan B from Boehner, which included cuts to food stamps, then you know that some of them are extreme. If nothing happens, then unfortunately tax increases will come on all taxpayers and budget cuts will come in the USA. The political establishment controls both the leadership of the Republicans and the Democrats. A worst case scenario is when the burden to handle the crisis is sent to the least to defend themselves, which includes the unemployed, the sick, the elderly, and the poor. If nothing occurs, then we will see the end of the Bush era tax cuts. There will be the elimination of a series of tax credits for college students and low income families with children. There will a sharp decline in Medicare reimbursements to physicians, which is likely to reduce the number of doctors willing to take Medicare patients. These negative results along with more will cause a devastating blow to the working class' living standards. Workers who are

unemployed will suffer greatly too if the status quo continues. If nothing happens, as high as $600 billion can be drained form the economy over one year alone. Regardless of what happens, the political elite will not suffer greatly since they have offshore accounts and other resources to prevent a massive economic sting. The working class and the poor will suffer the most, because for over three decades, the wealth has been redistributed from the poor to the rich. Economic inequality among the poor and the rich has grown in the past few decades too. Both Republicans and the Democrats issued rebukes against each other as a means to blame each other for the financial crisis. The truth is that both parties have made crucial errors in the whole circumstance. The Democratic-controlled Senate convened Thursday, with Majority Leader Harry Reid denouncing the Republican House Speaker John Boehner for exercising a dictatorship by refusing to allow a vote on a Senate plan to extend the Bush tax cuts for families making under $250,000 a year. He said it was now likely that there would be no agreement to avert going over the fiscal cliff. Last week House Republicans blocked a proposal from Boehner himself that would have allowed the Bush tax cuts to expire for families with annual incomes of $1 million or more. Geithner said that the federal government may temporarily halt payments of pensions to retired federal workers. The debt ceiling could reach 16.4 trillion dollars. The Republican controlled House doesnt want to raise the debt ceiling, which could allow the Treasury to further borrow money.

The fiscal cliff is still upon us. If real changes don't come, then a second Great Depression could come in the world. Among the poor, the cliff is already here. Our economic condition is still very poor in the close of 2012. These economic issues are worldwide. We have the threats of poverty, illiteracy, disease, unemployment, homelessness, inadequate sanitation, low social mobility, and exclusion in our world. As high as 27,000 children have died from

needless poverty each year in the world. Some children die from starvation, malnutrition, and diseases like diarrhea. Pennies can end a lot of these maladies in the world. 1 billion children out of 2.2 billion children live in poverty. These facts alone condemn the mainstream existing economic systems in the globe. The policies of the IMF, the World Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, the Asian Development Bank, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the international system of privatized central banks, and similar groups haven't solved our economic complications at all. Now, 3 billion human beings in the Earth live on less than $2.50 per day. This is incredible. This is almost half of the world's population. These events relate directly to the situation of globalization. There has been a growth of the middle class in parts of the world, but 80 percent of the human race receives less than $10 per day. At the other end of the scale, the most prosperous 20% of the worlds population account for 75% of total world income, and this distribution becomes even more extreme when permanent assets are considered. Almost 1 billion human beings are malnourished worldwide. 50 million Americans rely on food stamps. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization in Rome, there are in 2012 some 925 million persons experiencing hunger and malnutrition. Some 578 million of the hungry live in the Asian and Pacific countries, followed by 239 million malnourished in sub-Saharan Africa. The FAO lists 19 million hungry in the developed nations. We have huge unemployment and lack of clean water in the world. Many of these issues came from the austerity imposed by the IMF and other central banks. In America, we have the fiscal cliff issues. Austerity plans have been proposed by reactionary Republicans and the Wall Street token centrist Democrats. The recessions in Europe have influenced the marked downturn of the Chinese economy. The imperialists exploited the legitimate grievance of being opposed to authoritarianism in the Middle East as a means to cause destabilization campaigns in Libya via NATO, and Syria. We know about the neo cons and the crimes of NATO. Sometimes, we need to learn about the IMF since they cause much of the economic instability in the world via bribes and threats of economic harm. We have tried Austrian economics before. It doesn't work, because allowing the free market nearly unlimited powers will not deal with the social safety net or real public resources at all. Free trade that doesnt have regulations or limitations can increase environmental damage, low wages, and economic exploitation. The shift of the recovery should be placed into making the hands of the international bankers accountable that caused the recession in the first place. There is nothing wrong with cheap, long term loans and bond purchases for the reason of building up a nation's resources. Even some Democrats want to be anti-New Deal and pro Wall Street with their pro-austerity proposals. Individuals like Erskine Bowles want massive cuts in our economy to exist. The elitists want austerity as a means to harm the working people to pay taxes for the crimes of the elite. The reactionaries believe in the lie that it is immoral for the super-rich to pay even one cent of increased taxation. Many networks will talk about crimes, but not the crimes of parasitical bankers and hedge fund players at all. That is why we need to reject austerity

measures, have real banks to provide help, and revive our infrastructure as a way to end a casino type of economic system that witness in 2013.

On Militarization and War

One of the biggest lies from the establishment is that we do not have tyrannical laws and everything is okay. The truth is the opposite of that lie indeed. The truth is that we have tyrannical laws on the books now from the Patriot Act to the Military Commissions Act. These laws existed for a long time even before the days of Nixon. Power is readily centralized under the oligarchy. This oligarchy uses military and police power to dominate human beings mentally and physically. From police brutality to the usage of sound weapons against peacefully protesters in Pittsburgh years ago, these acts define extreme, unjustified, and abhorrent police state power. The National Defense Authorization Act or the NDAA makes huge leaps on who can be arrested and detained in the world. Some may be blind to the truth, but we know about the cartel capitalistic clique that is increasing its militaristic imperialism operations. Military suicide rates have skyrocketed in recent years. The Chief of the U.S. Central Command once said that: "...It's fun to kill people..." His name is Marine Corps General James. N. Mattis. He served as a lieutenant colonel in Operation Desert Storm back in 1991, he commanded the first ground troops that went into southern Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion of that country. He led Marines in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In April of 2004 he headed up the first US assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah and helped plan the siege later that year that destroyed the city and killed thousands of its residents. In a speech to Task Force Ripper during Desert Storm, he reportedly said, Its the mission of every Marine in the battalion to send one dead Iraqi home to Mama. This is the mentality of many of these egotistical members of the military industrial complex. Also, the government has used informants to illegally spy on fellow citizens for decades. Just look at COINTELPRO to witness the proof of that. War has been used to build up defense armaments and many wars have been fabricated from the start from the Gulf of Tonkin to the yellow cake claims shown in the United

Nations. Many wars developed in human history as a contrived process wherefore political and economic purposes are used by those in power. War is a great means of mobilization of profit and it killed millions before including now in our present modern age. When wars come about, many of the elite don't directly participate in the front lines of it. That is why JP Morgan, Jay Gould, James Fisk, William Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Philip Armour, and Andrew Mellon (some of the most powerful men of the 19th century) bought their way of out of the draft during the Civil War. Today, the American Empire is still potent and powerful. The war on terrorism is costing us 6 trillion dollars. Israel's reactionary government (as opposed to the genuinely sincere, peaceful Israelis and Palestinians that want real peace in the Middle East. The elite is our enemy not Jewish human beings or Arabic human beings at all) is giving billions of U.S. dollars over many decades, even in military aid. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other reactionary governments in the Middle East (that brutally suppress the human rights of its citizens) receive millions of dollars form us as well. These nations are Western allies. This problem existed long before President Barack Obama was in office, so I want to make that perfectly clear.

There is no way that they are going to destroy the Voting Rights Act, not on our watch as members of the Joshua Generation. The Attacks on the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Some of the Supreme Court members are attacking the U.S. Voting Rights Act. This vicious assault is not new and it is just as bigoted and oppressive as Jim Crow. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Shelby County vs. Holder. This case involved the reactionaries trying to challenge the key enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The reactionary justices

Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, and John Roberts have expressed their overt intension in their clear opposition to the act. Justice Clarence Thomas or the fourth member of the bloc is silent and he is the swing vote on this topic. Even Justice Anthony Kennedy questioned the relevance of the Voting Rights Act. Some in that court want to overturn or eviscerate provisions of the law that require states of the former Jim Crow South (and other jurisdictions to pre-clear changes in voting procedures with the federal government as to insure the rights of blacks including other minorities to vote). The challenge to the Voting Rights Act has been rejected by the federal trial court and the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. In our time, there is still an assault on democratic rights by the ruling class. The power of Congress is being usurp, because the 15th Amendment outlawed voting discrimination based on race including the Voting Rights Act. Congress voted to extend the VRA for years, even recently in 2006. Both Houses voted overwhelmingly to extend the act for another 25 years. The vote was 98 to 0 in the Senate, 390 to 33 in the House. The Voting Rights Act is necessary for many reasons. We already have the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. Yet, the state and local governments of the South disenfranchised African Americans via taxes, literacy tests, violence, and terror. That is why mass struggle in the 1950's and the 1960's executed by thousands of African Americans including nonblack workers in the nation fought against legal segregation. They were involved in marches, sit ins, protests, etc. Some were assaulted and killed form state and local authorities including terror groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Bombings, lynchings, and beatings killed other human beings. The struggle for human rights caused the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The VRA involved all of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and Alaska, as well as parts of Arizona, Hawaii and Idaho. In 1975, Texas was added due to findings of persistent discrimination against non-English-speaking persons. Today, all or part of 16 states fall under the pre-clearance requirement of the VRA. By 2006, a Texas municipality challenged it on grounds similar to those at issue in Shelby County. The debate is on Sections 4 and 5 of the act, which are necessary because of the voter suppression efforts made by the GOP during the 2012 Presidential campaign. We should have the pre clearance requirement in states that have a known history of discrimination. There are attempts at voter suppression in Alabama and other regions of the nation. Scalia, Roberts, Alito, and Kennedy want to repeal Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. This will cause Congress to create a new formula for determining which jurisdictions fall under the scope of pre-clearance, a remote prospect in the present political context that would have much the same effect as striking Sections 4 and 5 altogether. Scalia made the recent bigoted comments of: Now, I dont think thats attributable to the fact that it is so much clearer now that we need this. I think it is attributable, very likely attributable, to a phenomenon that is called perpetuation of racial entitlementIts a concern that this is not the kind of a question you can leave to Congress. Even in the year of 2000, voting rights were eliminated. Our democratic rights are in stake when you have voter ID laws, harming early voting, the purging of voting rolls, calling corporations the right to donate unlimited cash to election campaigns, and other evils. The Republicans have shown fear of the changing demographics in America. That is why they want to use gerrymandering schemes as a means to maintain their power. The attack on the Voting Rights Act is an attack on all human beings, not just African Americans. Our living standards should be maintained. We don't need a ruling class to have police state with indefinite military detention, domestic spying, and assassinations of U.S. citizens either. Neo-Confederate thinking has infiltrated the Supreme Court on many levels. U.S. demographics are changing. The reactionaries are scared and angry over this reality. So, some folks in the Supreme Court want to end the most important part of the Voting Rights Act. If that part of the Voting Rights Act is gone, then minorities could be suppressed the right to vote in a higher level. Section Five of the VRA being gone by the Supreme Court will mean that jurisdictions that have a history of racial discrimination in voting could issue new restrictions to vote (that can harm the rights of African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities). This voting discrimination occurs nationwide, especially in the Old Confederacy. Jim Crow laws could be resurrected. Now, we have Republican legislatures and governors nationwide who are creating new strategies for diluting the value of votes from minorities and urban living citizens (as a means to protect GOP power). We know that the Republicans have done aggressive gerrymandering of Congressional districts. There has been a continued GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives

although Democrats outpolled Republicans nationwide in Election of 2012. Some GOP ruled states have tended to vote Democratic in Presidential elections are now considering apportioning presidential electors according to these gerrymandered districts to give Republican presidential candidates most of the electoral votes even if they lose the state. There are Republicans on the Supreme Court. Some of these have indicated that they want to strike down parts of the Voting Rights Act. Reactionary Justice Antonin Scalia implied that black people voting was some kind of government handout, which is racist nonsense. Even Justice Anthony Kennedy insisted that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was an intrusion on Alabama as an independent sovereign. This is neo-Confederate states right language that the Old Confederacy loved. The neo-Confederates today love the Articles of Confederation since it advanced sovereign states and allowed a weak federal government. George Washington and James Madison wanted to eliminate the Articles, so the Constitution can be created. The Constitution allowed federal law to be supreme and allowed national sovereignty to be in the hands of the people beyond the authority of 13 states. The federal Bill of Rights is superior to states rights. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments gave rights to human beings. Yet, the reactionaries used Jim Crow as a means of racial oppression against black human beings. In the 1950's and the 1960's, heroes fought for the federal government to end racist laws and actions. The angry white backlash then came and a historical, Confederate revisionist view of history including the Constitution came about. We have the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, and the Federalist Society that are working together to claim that even the Founders were federal government haters and states rights lovers collectively. The truth is that Federalists like Madison wanted a strong federal government. Many Justices sound like FOX News hosts instead of judicial scholars. For instance, Chief Justice Roberts questioned the need for Section Five of the Voting Rights Act by making the clever but disingenuous argument that blacks in Mississippi vote in higher proportions relative to whites than those in Massachusetts. However, his point is illogical because, first, that would indicate that the Voting Rights Act is working as intended in Mississippi not that it should be struck down and, second, people arent saying that Massachusetts has taken actions to discourage black voting. In the United States, people have the right to vote or not to vote. The legal problem arises when state and local jurisdictions try to stop people from voting. This assault on voting rights by some is a continuation of the Citizens United case of 2010, which allowed corporations to have the power of people. In truth, Alabama has no right to set up its own voting rules without federal oversight. Human rights are superior to states rights period.

Funds for the Sandy Victims

The House GOP blocked brief relief for the super storm Sandy victims. This comes in the decline of a lot of the influence or power of the GOP. The outgoing 112th House or heavily Tea Party rejecting a Senate passed bill which provided $60 billion that would be sent to assist the victims of the Super Storm Sandy. Sandy affected New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner promised the governors in those states that the $60 billion would be approved and sent to Obama for his signature as soon as the fiscal cliff was out of the way. Boehner refused to bring Sandy relief to a vote as a concession to the Tea Party extremists, who were angry over Obama's success in raising taxes on the wealthy. Even some Republican politicians from the Northeast where Sandy has impacted denounced their own party, because of the lack of response to the victims. These human being like especially Republican Governor Christie of New Jersey criticized House Speaker Boehner by name and at length. He accused House Republicans of playing toxic palace politics with the lives of the citizens of New Jersey in the back.

Republican Congressman Peter King of Long Island announced that anyone from New York or New Jersey would be crazy to contribute money to Republican campaigns. Boehner voted for a scaled down 10 billion dollars bill in the House. 67 Republicans members voted it down since it according to them had $400 million of pork barrel spending in it. They wanted more cuts when human beings are suffering. Paul Ryan of the young guns voted against the bill. Many Southern Republicans legitimately gave money to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but refused to do so in the Northeast. Ryan, Marsha Blackburn, Gohmert, Joe Wilson (the one show said you lie to the President), Steven Palazzo, and others have voted against the Sandy bill. This can harm the Republican Congress people in the Northeast. The radical austerity agenda has been advanced by Ron Paul too. Paul always argued that the federal government should never pay any disaster aid whatsoever, since the victims of hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes had themselves chosen to live where they did. This is sick, evil rhetoric since the federal government has every moral right to help those that need help. The GOP refused to vote on a farm bill with money for food stamp money to 50 million Americans. Now, the old farm bill has been extended until October 1, 2013. The GOP needs to see that civil liberties, ending Empire, making equality real for all human beings, and progressive, efficient government are great ideals to embrace. Either they reject xenophobia or they will perish as a major party in the next 50 years.

My actions of believing in truth, opposing globalization, and rejecting austerity are clear. War mongering, massive austerity cuts, scapegoating, promoting the interests of the 1 percent, and xenophobia arent the essence of the Dream. See, that is not the name of the game. The Dream is about us showing respect for humanity of every background (that means that we oppose the genocide of our black brothers and black sisters in Libya by sick terrorists. We oppose the harm done to our black brothers and our black sisters

in Haiti by UN peacekeepers as well) and not to scapegoat specific people collectively for every social ill in America.

By Timothy