Obama fights back

Friends,

Obama came out swinging today with a fierce attack on the GOP's 'Austerity for Everyone, Except the Rich Plan'. Obama deftly noted that there is no possible way that the Budget could be balanced with spending cuts alone. He also wisely pointed out that the GOP has abandoned the pursuit of jobs and has instead doubled-down to protect the super-rich and the oil companies at the expense of job-creation and the middle class as a whole. The President kept his focus on jobs and the need to spur investment in the public and private sectors vis a vis government job programs and government loans to private businesses (with some targeted tax cuts mixed in).

The math is simple, to cut $4 trillion from the deficit, one would have to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA budget=c. 7.14-9 billion annually), wipe out the entire Department of Defense-or cut it back substantially for many years ($553 billion), obliterate the Department of Education ($77.4 Billion), Destroy the Corporation for National and Community Service (Americorps, etc. $1.3 billion) and so much more. The total from those programs: roughly $640 billion the first year. So, even with these massive cuts, the deficit still would not be cut enough to reach that $4 trillion number.

It is clear that taxes need to be raised-first on the super rich-then on the rest of the nation. Congress needs to end superfluous subsidies for oil companies and ethanol industries. Congress should push job bills, not deficit bills, to put Americans back to work. Once Americans are working again, money will flow in through increased tax revenue and increased spending. Increased consumer spending will mean businesses will hire more people to keep up with the rush. A positive feedback cycle ensues and the economy begins to fully recover.

Austerity will not only destroy programs for the poor, elderly and middle class, it will hamper our recovery. We do not need austerity! We need jobs!

Thanks for reading.

-Cameron

The true cost of war. 3 wars and counting

Afghan girl by Steve Mccury

Hey Readers,

Afghanistan:

As you may know, President Obama has ordered the return of some 10,000 troops, somewhat immediately, from Afghanistan. Mr. Obama is struggling to convince the nation that we have won in Afghanistan. Have we 'won'? Well, It depends how you define the term. According to NYTimes reporting on the matter, our armed forces have assassinated 20/30 of Al-Qaeda's operating hierarchy. Seal Team 6 took out Osama and dealt an undeniably severe blow to Al-Qaeda's virulent efforts. We have spent billions training the Afghan army and billions more investing in roads and other vital programs inside of Afghanistan. On the other hand, we have lost 1,633 troops, spent tens of billions of dollars on myriad project (with seemingly little result and too much corruption) and the President of Afghanistan (Karzai) consistently denounces us as occupiers and routinely threatens to join the Taliban. The question that Obama has asked, and decided against, is: is it necessary to have more troops in Afghanistan to ensure our safety?

It appears to me, that most of our gains against the leadership of al-Qaeda and against Taliban officials (not the grunts) has been a result of our special forces. Vice President Biden has argued that we could do more in Afghanistan with very few troops (specialty forces remaining) and drones then with a occupying force. I tend to agree, if and only if, civilian casualties are avoided as much as possible. The blow back from civilian casualties is immense (and heartbreaking by itself) and according to a very liberal source (pound of salt here), over 900,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan by both the Allied forces and the Taliban/Qaeda forces. It is my humble and civilian opinion, that we must bring more troops home than the President requested, and move toward the 'light footprint' plan that focuses on dismantling the senior leadership of enemy networks. It is clear that we should continue our negotiations with the Taliban, as we can not win this war by sheer military force alone (especially since Pakistan is protecting Taliban (and Qaeada) leadership.

Iraq:

To be honest, I feel this is an issue that has been covered too much, but still a question remains: why did we go to war in the first place? I am not interested in the fake reasons and not even interested in exploring the issue here in my blog. I simply still don't know why we occupied(occupy) Iraq. I do know that we have lost 4,463 of our troops (iCausality.com) fighting for that unknown cause. Fighting for that ill defined mission, that odd occupation of a country that had nothing to do with 9-11 (thanks neo-cons). It is surely time that our troops come home from Iraq.

Libya:

There has been around 110 Tamahawk missiles fired in Libya by the U.S. and Britain. Each of those missiles costs around 500,000 Euros or about $1 million to fire (BBC). This is excluding the costs to operate the naval vessels and bombers and the cost to pay the salaries of the service-members involved. It is very noble to stop massacres of innocent civilians. I am more than happy to pay extra taxes to fund truly humanitarian missions. However, Libya looks increasingly like a regime change operation We are obviously targeting Gadafhi. Too many have died in Libya as a result of the fighting, it is heartbreaking. President Obama should make clear what our mission and goal is in Libya and take all strides to avoid civilian casualties. If our mission is to protect civilians, then sign me up as a supporter.

The cost of war:

According to the Congressional Research Service , the Wars in Afghanistan & Iraq have cost U.S. taxpayers some $1.283 trillion, trillion, with a 't'. The same source documents that the wars could cost us around $1.8 trillion by 2021, if god forbid, we are still fighting those wars at roughly our current level. Just for comparison, the entire budget for the UNHCR (an agency that provides food and shelter for millions of refugees) is around $80 million a year.

Can we justify cutting food stamps and aid for pregnant women (GOP ideas) when we spent over $3 trillion on those two wars alone!!??

I think not... time to seriously cut back our wars and to re-evaluate how and why we wage war.

Thanks for reading!

Progressive props for Huntsman

Readers,

Yes, I will use this opportunity to lavish some rare praise for a Republican candidate for President (don't get used to it!). I watched Fmr. Governor Huntsman's Announcement for the Presidency this morning and was struck by his tone of civility. Huntsman, a once- Governor of this deep deep fringe-red state, has often struck a liberal tone on social issues: embracing civil unions, the expansion of health care to underserved Utahns and 'Carbon Cap & Trade'. He has since shied away from these 'liberalisms' if not completely turned his back on them (embracing the Paul Ryan plan and other fringe ideas). But, back to his speech.

Huntsman spoke of returning to civility and (jaw-dropper here) said that "I respect the President" and said that he wanted to run on a platform of 'who would be a better President, not a better American' (paraphrase). I was heartened and impressed by this civility. I love and value passionate, even raucous, debate, but I am so tired of the oversimplifications and sensationalism that characterizes political discussion. Do I believe that Obama or Boehner hates America and wants to see babies cry? No. Do I believe that Paul Ryan wants to kill seniors with his bare hands? No. Do I believe that the GOP 'austerity for everyone, but the rich' policy is bad for our country...YES!.

I like Hunstman's return to civility. I hope he also returns to his embrace of a moderate platform. Either way, Obama will win in 2012. YES WE CAN.

Thanks for reading!

Short Speech on Social Justice

Here is my speech that I gave at the Adrian Maxson Scholarship for Social Justice Benefit Concert. It was meant to be spoken, not read, but thanks for reading!

Social Justice is...

You heard some rocking music, some sweet grooves, and now…a boring speaker! Woo! Haha My name is Cameron Morgan, and unlike a far more talented speaker and man than myself- Barack Obama, I was not born in Hawaii or raised in Indonesia, but born and bred in the heartland itself-Kaysville, Utah. I am going to tell you a little about who I am and why you should support this wonderful cause.

My life was more or less a blur until I discovered the joy of service toward the end of high school and-that joy culminated in my founding of Weber State STAND, a student anti-genocide organization that raised thousands for victims of genocide and gave voice to the struggles of the Sudanese and Congolese. It was an absolute pleasure to hear that I had received the Adrian Maxon Scholarship for Social Justice 2 long years ago-ah to be young again! I am now very old-and perhaps wiser-and an alumnus of this fine University. I will soon be starting a position as a job developer for the refugee population of Utah at a local non-profit organization. I digress, it was an honor to receive this scholarship because I felt like I was some small part of the great human struggle of social justice.

What is Social Justice? Social Justice is the Dream of Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice is the march on Selma’s bridge. The little old lady who refused to move to the back of the bus. The courageous African Americans and whites who risked-and-gave their lives to make America whole-proclaiming loudly that separate is not equal. The LGBT and their allies that refuse to deny anyone their equal rights because of who that person wants to take to the prom. Social Justice is the election of the first black President of the United States-Barack Hussein Obama-YES WE CAN.

Social Justice is a woman having the right to vote-is fighting against the evils of racism, bigotry, and intolerance in any form-in embracing Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and all believers and non-believers alike. Social Justice is expressed in the fact that children can go to school instead of the factory , is heard in the mass that won’t stay quiet in the midst of immoral wars or in the face of bold and ugly- hatred. Social Justice is the love of true Democracy, of tolerance, of critical thinking, of consistent-founding-father-approved civil disobedience. Social Justice is embraced by every major religion and creed-love thy neighbor as thy self, “Do not forget to do good to one another” (Quran), ahimsa (Buddhism); social justice is a trait expressed by a dedicated, but fierce minority of all colors, stripes, and beliefs. Social Justice is the very epitome of Patriotism.

Working on behalf of social justice through STAND and Amnesty international has been the highlight of my life. This is why I was thankful and humbled to receive this scholarship and this is why I urge you to generously support the Scholarship fund and social justice as a whole. Thank you so much for being here and please stop by the STAND and Amnesty International tables outside. Thanks!

-Cameron