Where did the vitriol start and who started it? UPDATE

On this day of remembrance of all those who lost their lives unnecessarily in the attack on our nation at the World Trade Center, I gave thought to that time and how we were as a people. After the attack we came together as a nation, even though before 9/11 we were divided politically by the election of George W. Bush by the Supreme Court decision over Al Gore. It was a bitter pill for Democrats and some Independents to swallow and it lasted right up to 9/11. But then everything changed. We were all saddened by the loss of life and angry that we were attacked by terrorists. But there was now our President on the pile of debris from the fallen Towers telling the world we are going to get through this because we are Americans and we are a strong people and that we would find the people who did this and bring them to justice. It was a solemn moment in our history and we were all united as Americans right after that, maybe for the first time for many Americans, but I had seen it before. When President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX, we were together then too. The best of the American spirit was shown then too and the outpouring of sadness we all felt and a tribute to the loss of our President and the fact we all knew then the world had changed for us. There were no Republicans and Democrats then. We were all Americans and we were a strong people and that we would find the people who did this and bring them to justice.

Here we are on the Anniversary of 9/11, a very solemn day, and what's on many American's hearts today. I'll tell you, it's idiocy about whether a pastor in Florida will burn the Holy Book of Muslims or not. And, whether the Imam in NY will move his plans for building a Community center, which will contain a mosque, 2 blocks away from the site of the Twin Towers. The Republicans have been connecting the two separate issues even though the Pastor in Fl had not. But then, he finally got there message that there is a connection as Palin, Boehner, and Gingrich have been trying to connect those dots for the weak minded among us for the past week. It's a disgrace. First there is no comparison. Burning anyone's Holy Book is weak minded and not something a so called minister of God would do. But again, he had not connected these dots until these Republican leaders pointed it out to him.

Where do these nut jobs come from? They come from the shadows, where evil lurks all the time but is usually in check when there is balance of spirit and mind between people. But that spirit has been missing for a while now. I was trying to think when did it all change recently? I figured it out. It was when John McCain picked Sarah Palin, as his Vice Presidential candidate. She was not ready for prime time, or any time in my view, but here we are with her leading the whack jobs of the fringe of the Republican party and getting support from the other whack jobs of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and driving our country into madness. And the fools who listen to them get hyped up and do their bidding and think in the shadows about "coming out". And every once in a while one comes out ie. the Pastor in Florida.

But this vitriol started during the campaign for President and by the selection of Sarah Palin, by John McCain. John McCain, the same leader who said "Country first!" and has abandoned about everything he has stood for over his career as a Senator. The same John McCain who said he was a maverick and now said he wasn't a maverick. Make up your mind please, John. Now it was the perfect storm because opposing John McCain was Barack Obama. That helped bring out the racists among us. But you see Barack Obama, in my humble opinion, has done nothing to fuel this divisiveness. He was born from a white mother and a black father. So what? What's the big deal. Get over it and join the 21st Century. Most kids have. Many don't see color distinction, as their older parents do.

I am afraid we have lost that special moment when we were all together as Americans. But when I think about the meaning to me of 9/11, I wish we could go back to that moment in our hearts and stop this divisiveness. It is killing our country now. How you can help? Change your mindset. If you are still embracing the notion that our country is special and what it means to be an American. then you should think that if someone owns a piece of property and wants to develop it and build anything they want they should be allowed to as long as it follows local ordinances and laws. They have a right to build the Community Center and include a mosque in it if they so choose. We should be pleased we live in a country where we can express our religious freedoms in whatever way we want to as long as it doesn't do physical harm to others. By the way, people have been praying in the existing mosque there since 2009, just to set the record straight.

As for the whack job Pastor in Fl., it is a very difficult situation for sure. In this 24/7 news cycle with Social Networks bringing pictures and videos all around the world. One could make the case that he is endangering others and it is illegal, just like yelling Fire in a crowded theater. The world won't end if he does this and some may die too as General Petraeus has warned. But that will be on the Pastors head before God as well as those Republicans who have not condemned the possible act, Palin, Boehner and Gingrich. May God have mercy on their souls.

UPDATE: 10:20am PST

I don't know what has happened by the Florida Pastor has decided that God has spoken to him and that he will not burn any Holy Books now or ever. Hallelujah! He has seen the light. One must be grateful for little steps of progress when they come. Amen! Now if the political leaders of Palin, Boehner and Gingrich can see the light, maybe this will be a memorable 9/11 where something good comes out of it.

Executive Pay vs. Worker pay and the Tea Bagger movement

I took a look this morning at why so many Americans are mad and why this Tea Bagger's movement has gained such strong traction in light of the recent violence directed (or misdirected) at the government. In part some elected officials are responsible for where we find ourselves today, but it is simply amazing to me that the anger that is building, spawned by Republicans like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the likes of these Republican Senators, Sen. Kyle, Sen. Jim DeMint, Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Mitch McConnell, former Republican Congressmen Dick Armey and Minority leader John Boehner, is not placed where it should be. It should be aimed at the Republican Party and its leaders, as is shown in the chart above! (Click on the charts to enlarge them.)

From the chart above on EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION, from the NY TImes you can see the divide between Executive pay and average worker pay since 1940. It is very clear to me that around 1985 this trend skyrocketed upward. This was when Pres. Reagan had massive tax cuts for the wealthy and trickle down economics was touted as going to be a good thing for the Middle Class and the debt began to rise. It is my opinion, and I will get the facts on this, that it was the Financial sectors Executives which were primarily responsible for this move up coincidently with the invention of Credit Default Swaps and other derivative instruments created in those years. Both charts track very well.

It was also emboldened by Sen. Phil Gramm's legislation, called the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, to deregulate the Banking and Insurance Industry by getting rid of Glass-Steagall in 1999 tied to a bill to provide the funds to keep the government running, when Newt Gingrich threatened to shut down all government. The amendment passed in the middle of the night and was signed into law by President Clinton, who in my view didn't know what he was really signing and the implications, but that's another debate for a different time. Suffice to say he signed the legislation to prevent a government shutdown. The effect of this and those new financial instruments changed most significantly Executive compensation possibilities as the stock market had soared to over 10,000 and the Nasdaq to over 5,000.

So enough of the history and now focusing on the chart, the folks to be upset with are those who passed Banking and Insurance deregulation in the first place (Mostly Republicans with the assistance of Bill Clinton and weak Democrats and also Executives in the Financial Institutions and their Boards who approve these ridiculous levels of compensation. The Democrats should be knocking the heck out of Republicans with this issue as they have stood with the workers and trying to help them with programs such as Social Security and Medicare. But instead it is the Republicans who are getting the masses all worked up to "throw the bums out."

I agree with them on that point, but it is Republicans who should be thrown out, all of them, for creating this mess and being on the side of lobbyists on the healthcare debate and backing the Insurance company Executives from For-Profit companies. The Democrats have got to start to play hardball and reverse this inequity of pay for the middle class and help the poorest amongst us. I'll bet if you if you check donations made to Haiti for the earthquake which devastated the country, most were small donations and made by people who could little afford it compared to the salaries of those Executives. It is morally wrong and inhumane. The problem is the entitlement attitude of these people. They see nothing wrong with their compensation compared to the workers. They actually believe they deserve what they are stealing, and I use the word stealing deliberately. It's a crime and they have no shame or conscience. They want to pay off TARP quickly so they can get back to wealth accumulation. What do you think?