About six years ago at the pinnacle of the Bush/GOP Dictatorship, I began telling you that the wealthy and Corporate America were laying the ground work to politically, financially and physically take over America.
Bush was waging full-scale class warfare on the middle class and using his powers beyond their limits to escalate that war.
Bush packed the Supreme Court with bobble-head loyalists to protect him and Cheney, and to play a big role in the takeover. Their job was to strike down any law that hindered the takeover, that the GOP couldn’t filibuster or kill in Congress. A perfect example is the health care law the GOP-controlled Supreme Court will rule on this year.
Some scoffed and laughed at my prediction, and one writer declared me insane, saying that it was impossible for one sector of society to take over America. But the proof, not a prediction, is self-evident, and the possible is staring you in the face!
This takeover began with Ronald Reagan, and has been 30 years in the making. Reagan began the union-busting tactics that we’re seeing today from the GOP-controlled states including Indiana. Reagan struck down the law that prohibited corporations from hiring “replacement” workers if the union went on strike. He also created trickle-down economics that gave all wealth to what we now call the 1 percent.
The main thrust of the wealthy is to use the GOP party that they’ve bought and paid for, as their main “weapon.” To bolster their plan, Karl Rove and the Koch brothers gave birth to the Tea Party. Their job was to eliminate anyone who wasn’t totally committed to the take over and fulfilling Mitch McConnell’s goal of “making Obama a one-term president.”
The plan is simple: Use the GOP/Tea Party in Congress and the “red states” to obstruct, ambush and defeat any law that would prevent them from maneuvering, and manipulating the bulk of the American people into submission. Their “battle plan” is to deny people employment, health care and to take away the safety nets that some rely on to survive. The GOP has always hated Medicare and Social Security, and it wants to kill them.
When the GOP couldn’t keep the White House and control Congress in 2008, it shifted its plan of attack to the GOP-controlled states. The failure of the middle class to vote in 2010, added Indiana to that list. What you’re seeing (if you’re paying attention) in Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, New Jersey and Michigan, to name a few, is a full-blown war on unions and the middle class using their power. They’re passing laws such as the voter ID law and right-to-work law. These laws are to obstruct those who have proven to vote Democratic and take away the unions’ finances so they can’t donate funds to the Democratic Party at election time.
The GOP governor in Michigan has gotten a law passed in that state that gives him the power to declare “martial law” in any Michigan city. He can appoint a “city manager” to take complete control of any city and strip all elected officials of their positions. That means they’re fired, and the GOP can do anything they want with no opposition.
The chains of social slavery are rattling and clanking all around you and your family. An independent study group has documented that one out of two families lives in or near poverty, and the GOP solution is to give more tax breaks to the wealthy. You are systematically being stripped of your financial freedoms, your independence and your rights that are given to you by the constitution. Unless you unite and fight back, this will continue to happen.
Remember the old saying “the squeaky wheels gets the grease”? The only way to get your vote heard is to come together in large numbers. Whether it’s the Occupy group or whatever their name may be. You must give your support to stop the immoral, unethical movement that threatens America and its people.
I must close with a message to Howard E. Pennell who sends me GOP/Tea Party/hate mail to my home. Howard’s goal is to intimidate me, and or silence me from writing articles to the opinion section. If this were not his goal, he would rebut my articles in the opinion section. Just so there’s no misunderstanding, no amount of hate mail will silence me and bring back an old truth. The GOP will do anything to win.
— Ron Hastings
Clinton
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Republicans enable war on middle class, unions
- Flashpoint
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FLASHPOINT:Bipartisan vs. Nonpartisan
During the primary election season there was much discussion regarding whether bipartisanship is a positive or negative attribute as it relates to the work of the United States Congress.
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FLASHPOINT: School libraries essential for reading achievement
If the situation were not so serious, it would be laughable. How can we improve reading achievement if we make it more difficult to put books in the hands of our children?
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FLASHPOINT: Lugar warns of 'unrelenting partisan mindset'
I would like to comment on the Senate race just concluded and the direction of American politics and the Republican Party.
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FLASHPOINT: Is money a problem in politics? Depends on where you sit
The role of money in politics needs to be better understood. Does it make the political system work better, or is it a problem — and if so, how much of one?
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FLASHPOINT: ‘Private’ clubs should be exempt from smoking bans
Over the past several years I have watched the Vigo County Council, followed by the City Council, and lastly the legislature of the great state of Indiana, wrestle with a smoking ban.
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FLASHPOINT: Downtown developers should share more details on project
With all of the opinions being expressed about the fate of the 500 block of Wabash Avenue, one element is sorely missing: the details.
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FLASHPOINT: Be careful when making accusations of ‘racism’
Perhaps, in a way that he doesn’t understand, Attorney General Eric Holder is correct in accusing America of being cowardly about discussing issues of race.
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FLASHPOINT: Historic hotel demolition was shameful day for Terre Haute
In an April 13 article on the potential demolition of historic buildings at Fifth and Wabash for student housing, Mike Ellis says, “I love the old historic buildings and have always had a passion to see them saved and restored. I was an opponent of seeing the Terre Haute House come down and the new hotel go up,” he said. “I have been proven wrong with what that would do for Terre Haute.”
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FLASHPOINT: Notes on saving structural history
There are several reasons why the historic buildings adjacent and west of Roger’s Jewelers should be saved, and why our downtown needs to protect and embrace our remaining historic fabric. First and foremost, rehab and reuse saves our historic buildings for future generations to experience, and the more architectural authenticity our downtown preserves, the more admired and “walkable” it will become.
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FLASHPOINT: Can anyone hear the call from Farrington's Grove
On Friday, March 30, a dear friend was brutally attacked in broad daylight in an alley in the neighborhood I grew up in, on the edge of Farrington’s Grove.
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FLASHPOINT: We have the power to co-exist without violence or prejudice
Innumerable forces in our lives, and throughout our society, seem to have convinced us that immediacy is best. We have to do it now. We have to have it now. We must go there now. We need it now!
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FLASHPOINT: Issue surrounding Florida shooting fueled by race
I am writing as a mother and as president of the Terre Haute branch of the NAACP because there may be some who wonder why the shooting of Trayvon Martin has created such an uproar: “What exactly is the issue?”
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana — open for business
With the 2012 legislative session in the rearview mirror, the two-year work of the 117th General Assembly elected in November of 2010 is complete.
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FLASHPOINT: The Constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act
On March 26, the United States Supreme Court will begin three days of hearings with six hours of oral argument on the constitutional challenge filed by Indiana and 25 other states against certain sections of the federal health care law: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare.” This historic lawsuit will explore the limits of the power of Congress under the U.S. Constitution.
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FLASHPOINT: The burning questions of ‘Fahrenheit 451’
“Remember the firemen are rarely necessary. The public stopped reading of its own accord.” — Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451”
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FLASHPOINT: Wonderful place to be during a very hard time
University Hospital (Indianapolis), part of IU Health Group, is a wonderful place to be if you are seriously ill.
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FLASHPOINT: America’s energy brings America jobs
The increase in fuel prices affects many aspects of our daily lives.
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FLASHPOINT: Change coming to the Indiana Statehouse
The General Assembly is about to undergo a major face-lift. I’m not talking about new construction. I’m talking about destruction — partisan destruction, in fact.
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FLASHPOINT: White House rejects Keystone XL: Sad day for U.S. workers
Imagine a project that could create 20,000 American jobs during construction, and as many as half a million longer-term positions.
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FLASHPOINT: Graduation rates are up; great news for Indiana
As Hoosiers celebrate the conclusion of a truly remarkable Super Bowl experience, there is even more good news that should fill us with pride.
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FLASHPOINT: Tech trail leading us into a dense, digital forest
It seems the Southwest Parke schools are the latest to play the laptop lottery game.
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FLASHPOINT: Republicans enable war on middle class, unions
About six years ago at the pinnacle of the Bush/GOP Dictatorship, I began telling you that the wealthy and Corporate America were laying the ground work to politically, financially and physically take over America.
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FLASHPOINT: Howey ignores truth to advance his agenda
Brian Howey’s Jan. 8 column about the U.S. Senate race proves once again that he will not allow the facts or journalistic ethics to get in the way of attacking Richard Mourdock and promoting his chosen candidate, Dick Lugar.
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FLASHPOINT: Putting fairness first
This time of year, with chords of Auld Lang Syne still ringing in our ears, it’s not uncommon or unnatural to think of days gone by as being more desirable than the era we live in today.
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FLASHPOINT: What really motivates right-to-work proposal?
You may have heard about the upcoming “right-to-work” legislation before our lawmakers in the next session of “law making.”
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FLASHPOINT: The right-to-work debate: ‘Devil at Our Doorstep’
As the 2012 Indiana Legislative Assembly convenes, January will represent a tipping point for all Hoosiers’ individual freedoms as politicians and Big Labor draw battle lines to determine if Indiana will become the 23rd right-to-work state.
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FLASHPOINT: State’s House Democrats will offer alternative for job creation
As the leaders of single-party control in state government outline their agendas for the 2012 session of the Indiana General Assembly, it is easy to be cynical about their intentions in the months to come.
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FLASHPOINT: Community colleges must lead way in reshaping higher education
In the 1970s, I began what was three decades in the automotive industry. ... Today, in my position as president of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, I see higher education confronted with some of these same challenges.
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FLASHPOINT: There’s little right about ‘right to work’ proposal
The danger contained in these three simple words – “Right to Work” — is that they sound so innocent.
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FLASHPOINT: The next big movement? Reform Congress
We are living through one of the most remarkable times in recent history.
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FLASHPOINT:Bipartisan vs. Nonpartisan
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