Looking beyond the political revolution of 2010

If ever there was a year of political upheaval it was 2010. The Tea Party steamed into Washington with newly elected Kentucky Senator Rand Paul at the helm. The arch conservative is a political rogue who seems ready to rattle the foundation of the GOP, and he just may give Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a few lessons on how far right the Republican Party can be pushed.

However, changes in the political environment go farther than Rand Paul. In the battle of ideologies, President Obama has been as much a victim of the GOP filibuster as the American public. But it doesn’t have to be that way and when America got a taste of what a productive Congress looks like, they liked what they saw.

In the last weeks of the Lame Duck Congress, years worth of legislative hopefuls were pushed through the republican blockade with blazing speed. In just one day, America saw the repeal of DADT, the START treaty and a bill that would provide health care for the heroes of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Clearly, people are happy when something gets done in Washington, even if it is not an exact fit with their party’s platform.

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GOP tax cut plan: Redistribution of wealth to the rich?

Throughout the current recession, those hurt the least have been the super rich. They are also the primary beneficiaries of the GOP tax cut deal with President Obama.

If America had a budget surplus the tax package might not be facing opposition. However, with the balance sheet nearly $14 trillion on the red, the United States budget deficit is at the center of this debate.

The Bush tax cuts, as all tax code manipulation, are a form of redistribution of wealth. Whether the discounts go to the rich or poor does not change the mechanics. The portion of the Obama tax bill compromise that applies to the rich will cost taxpayers $420 billion. Since the wealthy will be paying less, (percentage-wise) it is essentially a subsidy from the middle class and poor into the pockets of the rich.

Consensus among democrats and the American public according to a recent CBS News poll, says on the republican tax cut deal is not what the electorate wants; it’s bad for the country, will not create jobs, and will add more to the deficit than it’s worth.

Republicans have been conspicuously silent on the simplest solution to the tax cut debate, which is to pass the bill without the portion that applies to the top tax brackets.

The GOP refusal to cooperate has been called a form of hostage taking by opponents to the bill, including President Obama. Political commentators have hotly debated the pros and cons of the legislation, but few have called the bill what it actually is; a redistribution of wealth that favors multi-millionaires.

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell said, “Remember what supply-side economics is. It is the promise that by cutting taxes, the treasury is going to collect more revenue because the economy will be so wildly stimulated by cutting taxes...But by cutting these taxes the treasury is going to collect less money…”

Mr. O’Donnell’s remarks are probably the most honest, realistic words ever spoken about  tax cut policy.

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Debt panel suggests cutting mortgage interest tax deduction

President Obama’s debt commission has suggested some unpopular plans to reduce the federal deficit. Among them is the elimination of mortgage interest tax deductions. With 15 million Americans still unemployed and the middle class struggling for survival, this proposal is a tax increase targeted at besieged homeowners. However, it does fit with the direction of the current wind in Washington, which is to shift the burden of paying taxes away from the rich and onto the backs of working Americans.

On the surface it appears that the republicans are not concerned with coming off as puppets of the rich. On Wednesday, GOP leader Mitch McConnell sent a letter to President Obama that threatened a Senate voting blockade against all legislation unless tax cuts for the richest 2% of Americans are passed first.

While Republicans are eager to add $700 billion to the deficit with tax cuts for the rich, they are balking at an extension of unemployment benefits, which would only add 18 billion, according to a statement by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The democratic lame duck congress is raising red flags on growing class warfare between the rich and growing numbers of middle –class workers falling into poverty under the weight of the sluggish economy.

US military exercises with South Korea could provoke war

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Military exercises between the United States and South Korea were scheduled for last July, but they were postponed to this weekend. However, the timing of the new drills could not be worse. The artillery exchange on Monday that rocked the tense peace between North and South Korea was ignited by military training on Yeonpyeong Island, about 8 miles from the North Korean shore. Under threats of more attacks from both sides, additional military exercises, especially those including the United States could push the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.

“North Korea’s state-run news agency lashed out at South Korean and American plans to hold a joint training exercise on Sunday in Yellow Sea waters near the island,” according to the New York Times. “The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war due to the reckless plan of those trigger-happy elements to stage war exercises targeted against” the North, the dispatch warned.”

The last war between North and South Korea, (1950 and 1953), was the result of an ally imposed division of the peninsula along the 38^th parallel, following the surrender of Japan in World War II. The Korean War, technically called a police action by the United States, also formed a political line between the ideological values of the East and West during the birth of the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The Korea’s have had tense relations ever since.

  

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War games: North Korea blames U.S. for artillery exchange with South Korea

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Within hours of President Obama’s affirmation of support for long-time ally South Korea, the North Korean state media agency issued a statement claiming that the artillery exchange between the Korea's on Monday were sparked by the United States. According to an MSNBC report, the North Korean’s said, “Washington should thoroughly control South Korea to ensure they won't continue adventurous military provocations."

South Korea had been conducting military exercises on Yeonpyeong Island off the coast of North Korea prior to the artillery exchange that killed four, wounded more than a dozen others, and set civilian homes ablaze. However, the North Korean response came several hours after the exercises had ended, prompting claims by South Korea that the attack was premeditated and had little to do with the military training.

“The North has threatened further military action if South Korea continues on what it called a "path of military provocation", the North's official KCNA news agency reported,” according to the BBC. “After holding an emergency cabinet meeting, South Korea announced it would dramatically increase its troop levels and overhaul the way it acts in the face of threats from the North.”

The Obama Administration has been trying to defuse the tension between the Korea’s through diplomatic channels and has publicly suggested that influence from China is a crucial ingredient in successful of diplomacy.

China has been supportive of diplomatic measures to calm the situation, but Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has not send any signs of encouragement on diffusing threats of further escalation, calling the situation "grim." 

Despite international condemnation of the artillery exchange between North and South Korea, tensions are heating up as both nations continue to boast about their military might and shoot escalating threats at each other.

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• N. Korea warns of new attacks; S. Korea to boost rules of engagement (cnn.com)
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