Commentary Musing with Bob Herbert September 03, 2005

The gap between the rich and the rest of us is not growing fast enough. I believe our government has been orchestrating a planned financial Armegeddon since the late 80's.The social dislocations resulting from this war that nobody mentions have been under way for some time. American workers have been hurting badly for years. Revolutionary improvements in technology, increasingly globalized trade, the competition of low-wage workers overseas and increased immigration here at home, the decline of manufacturing, the weakening of the labor movement, the merciless stealing of pensions with the refusal to provide benefits in the long term from big companies that helped us all share in the American dream years ago coupled with the selfish "take it all home for me" attitude exhibited by CEOs nationwide have left American workers with very little leverage to use against employers.

Many in the middle class are mortgaged to the hilt, maxed out on credit cards because in this new economic system the only way the middle class can have anything or any part of the American dream is to put it on credit. The savvy governmental hounds saw the beauty of revolving credit in the sixties and are now sharing their incredibly devistating information with banks, insurance companies and credit card operations . The simple fact: The more they (we) owe the greater the rift between the rich and the poor and the more the rich (they) have to play with. I do not begrudge the rich their portion; just don't stand on my back to get it!

The privileged classes with the government's iron cloak of protection, avoid their fair share of taxes, are reluctant to pay an honest dollar for an honest day's work (the federal minimum wage is still a scandalous $5.15 an hour), refuse to fight in their nation's wars, and laugh all the way to their yachts.

The American dream was about expanding opportunities and widely shared prosperity. Now we have older people and college grads replacing people near the bottom in jobs that offer low pay, no pensions, no health insurance and no vacations.

I you are not religious, this is NOT the time to start getting your life together, preparing for the afterlife. But it wouldn't help to pray al little because we...all of us...the rich and the poor are in deep trouble. We have torn the fabric from which this country was embroidered, sold are assets, mortgaged our inheritance and sold our people, the country's backbone, down the polluted river that once was shiny and blue and gave us hope for something better. Like the Paul Simon song "Train In The Distance" ... we all hope for something better in this life and if you listen right now you'll notice the train is very, very far away barely calling us to even strive for tomorrow.

A Radical Challenge  September 03, 2005

You know someone said recently that Jesus was the beginning of the end of organized religion. When you think about how anti-establishiment Jesus was, and how he basically dealt with people where they were, as they were.. moving them gently from fear to freedom, one has to wonder exactly who it is the Church is taking its mandate from. Certainly, it is not Jesus of Nazareth. From the floor, Jesus says.. "...unless you can do for one another, what I have just done for you..you cannot come with me." How the hell can we justify being so far removed from that radical mandate? We have effectively created a pharisacial situation that tops anything that ancient Judaism ever concocted..

- J. Ohara (2005)

"I more than any of your creatures

was upset to put it mildly

when I heard we had to die...

really, if you'd let us live forever

Montana wouldn't be so empty and

then when we sang together

the harmony'd be much more tempting...

For I was the happiest man til that day

I heard we had to leave this place...

originally it didn't figure in my plans

but now I'll have to clear some space

for thoughts of understanding what it's all about"

- unfinished poem (J. Landru Colby) 2005