Who do they thing they are?

Having actively supported the failed and bankrupted policies of the last 8 years, the Republicans in Congress have simply gone too far. They are, it seems, the sleeper-cell we have been searching for and my only suggestion to President Obama is: wait before you close that illegal prison down in Cuba, we may have a lot of people vying for those soon-to-be-vacant cells.

While our government was on vacation from 2000 to 2009--where were Bush and the Republicans between the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the inauguration?--the nation has been weakened from head to toe and back again. What the Soviet Union could not do, what Al Qaeda could not do, what Ronald Reagan could not do, W. and his team of mini-me's did. Despite being the sole remaining superpower in the world, we are the weakest we have ever been.

All aspects of our nation's infrastructure--and I don't mean just roads and bridges but also our financial system, military, health care, ability to regulate ourselves--have suffered the neglect of the prodigal son--whose return to the fold was certainly one of biblical proportions.

As our newly-elected and "mandated" president seeks to repair our nation, the Republicans are again calling for the uncreative and so-predictable "tax cuts"; like tossing a 5-yard screen pass when it is 3rd and 20 from your own 5 yard-line, maybe the first two times you can catch the defense off-gaurd, and even still, it is very unlikely you will get the first down (you are really only trying to get better field position for your punter), repeat this same uncreative play time and after time and very quickly the defense catches on.

Are we really ready to punt again? Isn't that what we have been doing for the past 8 years? Trickle-down economics does not work in our modern, American society. We are a greedy nation. How else can we explain the scorched earth business tactics of companies like Wal-Mart? Decimate small business, give it all over to China-China really only earns about .03 cents on every dollar of goods made there--for the sole reason of ensuring that your profits are increased from $8 billion to $14 billion (for example). And then, is that money reinvested in the employee? Are health benefits expanded? Hell no! It is divied up amongst the share-holders and the politicians who support the company; oh, and lest we forget, that $14 billion, becomes even more thanks to tax-cuts!

Tax-cuts only make the rich richer and thanks to the above-stated business development strategies, they end up employing the Chinese. This is all done so that Americans can buy cheaper crap from Wal-Mart and Target; which is really not cheaper because these Americans are now working at lower-paying jobs thanks to the fact that they lost their job at the "bicycle factory" which was no longer able to provide Wal-Mart with such low prices (see my November 13, 2008 blog).

Our bicycle needs repairs; it needs oil put on the chain, a new seat, perhaps new tires. By painting it fire-engine red, putting some baseball cards in the spokes and a cool light on the handle bars, it will not become a faster or better bike; it will just draw more attention to us as we struggle to pedal down the street before ultimately the tires give out, the seat falls off and the chain breaks!

President Obama has come to the White House with energy, vision, a mandate, youth and vitality. It is simply disgusting to listen to the likes of the walking-corpse John McCain, the "Newt-wanna-be" John Boehner and others as they again try to manipulate the facts (lie) and make these lies reality.

America has had enough of this kind of governing. We are lost. Our nation is staggering. The world is waiting for us to stop being so selfish, so greedy, so short-sighted and to make the right decisions for the right reasons. The rich do not deserve to get richer at this time in our history. The nation must refocus and President Obama's critique of the greed that has taken hold of the Republican party and its leaders is spot on.

As we united on inauguration day, so too should all Americans unite to say enough of the tax cuts and failed policies of the Republican Party. Today is the day to rebuild our nation and that requires investment in our infrastructure, making our nation more green-friendly, making the hard choices today for a better and stronger tomorrow.

This is our last chance on the world's stage. The world needs America to lead. Living abroad, I can say that I have not seen this kind of support for America since shortly after 9/11. The world is so happy we are back and they want us to succeed.

Why do the Republicans so want us to fail?