Ever since September 11, 2001 our nation has been obsessed with terrorism. But terrorism didn’t begin on that date. Terrorism in one form or another has been with us since the dawn of mankind. Anytime a bully uses threats or beats up on someone it’s terrorism. So why are we so obsessed with the issue now? It’s because our government is telling us to be.

If you’ll remember, despite what I’ve heard from several political pundits, 911 was not the first terrorist attack on American soil by foreign terrorists. In fact 1992 saw an attack on the same target as 2001 by people representing the same ideology. The only difference was the severity of the outcome. But we didn’t go to war after the first attack. And that’s because like now there was nobody to go to war with. These acts were not carried out by foreign governments. They were carried out by psychopathic thugs with no agenda other than revenge. And the 2 wars we are still mired in haven’t changed anything at all. The reason being that we are fighting an idea. And fighting an idea with military force is futile. Just ask the all white government of South Africa that no longer exists.

A prime and very recent example of this was the mass shooting at Ft. Hood. All the evidence points to a person who acted on his own not unlike the domestic terrorist Timothy McVay. But did we go after the anti-government groups whose propaganda may have incited him? Of course not because in this country we hold individuals responsible for their actions, not what motivated them. Charlie Manson claimed the Beatle song “Helter Skelter” was his motivation. So motivation can come from anywhere.

The difference was that the response to the 1992 attack was reasonable and measured. Unfortunately the response to the 2001 attack was motivated by a desire to dominate the Middle East through military force. An ideology that had and has absolutely no chance of ever being successful. Again because we are trying to fight ideas with force.

So does terrorism really pose as great a threat to our nation as we are led to believe? While I absolutely will agree that terrorism does pose a threat, there is a much greater threat to us than terrorists. And that threat is from the wealthy and powerful right here in our own country.

Statistics have revealed that today well over 40,000 Americans die every year because they can’t afford health care. But it wasn’t a foreign terrorist group that killed them. It is because the wealthy and powerful have successfully blocked every effort to reform health care for many decades. Over 40,000 people die every year in automobile crashes. Why? Because more than half the highways in this country are substandard. And why are they substandard? Because the wealthy and powerful don’t like paying taxes.

So why is it that the wealthy and powerful who are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths every year get away with it Scott free while the terrorists who are responsible for a few thousand deaths receive the full attention of our nations political and military power. It’s simple folks… It’s because the wealthy and powerful own our politicians lock stock and barrel. And the threat these people pose is not just to our physical lives. The threat is to our very way of life.

I’m sick and tired of hearing about how our government is in a constant state of tightening it’s belt. I think it’s an act of treason to insist taxes be so low that our government has to operate on the cheap all the time. The very idea that education, police and fire protection or even our military has to be cut to mitigate tax cuts is obscene.

Stop worrying so much about terrorists that have been and always will be with us. What we need to focus our attention on are the wealthy and powerful who continually keep sucking the very life out of our civilization.

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You can listen to Devin talk politics at earlymorningpundits.com with Dr. Candace House and Devin Barber every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00 AM Eastern and 5:00 AM Pacific. You can also listen to recorded shows anytime.

Devin Barber, Politics Correspondent

Devin’s column, “Left Of The Right” published weekly or more to Gather Essentials: Politics is a Blue Collar Democrats take on current political news.

Devin was raised by proud Roosevelt Democrats. Being the son of parents counted among the throng of Americans displaced by the Great Depression has given Devin a deep rooted passion for causes dealing with the poor and the working class.

You can find all of Devin’s columns at LEFT OF THE RIGHT

You can keep up with Devin’s postings and his Gather activity by joining his Gather network. Just click here: Devin Barber and then select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page.

You can find Devin and other Political Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other politics experts at Politics.gather.com.

The 3 that immediately come to mind are Former Alaskan Governor and infamous Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Minn. Rep. Michele Bachmann, and House Minority leader Oh. Rep. John Boehner. These three have humiliated themselves so many times on the national stage, it truly boggles the intelligent mind.

Just a week or so ago Boehner crammed his foot in his mouth when he referenced the United States Constitution, held a pocket copy of it up in the air, and then proceeded to quote the Declaration of Independence. The incident took place at the so-called press conference held by Republicans opposing health care reform on the Capitol steps and attended by Tea Baggers and 9-12er’s. You remember… it was actually a Republican political rally and FOX News’ coverage included crowd footage of a rally held months before because the actual crowd was so thin. But then they were busted by the Daily Show and Hannity had to apologize. But Boehner never apologized for his misquoting of our nation’s most hallowed document. In fact I don’t remember any of these miscreants ever apologizing for the plethora of stupendously insane statements they are on record as making.

Examples of the blatant stupidity of these stooges are too numerous to count. But some prime examples follow. When asked which of the national newspapers and news magazines she read, Sarah Palin could not name even one. Palin’s statements accrediting her experience with international affairs being her States proximity to Russia were so over the top, that it left intelligent people blinking in disbelief. My favorite though was the report that came from some of McCain’s own campaign staffers. That during her preparations to debate Biden, Palin let it slip that she thought South Africa was a reference to the southern portion of the African continent and was unaware that it was a politically sovereign nation.

Both Boehner and Bachmann share the distinction of apparently not having even a peripheral idea of just what carbon emissions are or how they effect climate change. When George Stephanopoulos asked Boehner what the Republican plan was to address carbon emissions, he replied, “George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide. And so I think it’s clear…” I’m not going to explain how profoundly stupid this statement is because if you don’t already know, I’m not talking to you.

Michele Bachmann argued that manmade global warming doesn't make any sense because "carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of nature." Again, if you need this explained, please move on to another article. But her “I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back” statement took stupidity to a whole new level. Does she actually believe that it’s ok for an elected officer of the United States government to incite violence against the very government she has taken an oath to defend?

The issue though is not that these 3 along with many other Republicans holding national office are obviously and blatantly stupid. The issue is how in the hell do they get away with it. Despite the pointing out of these departures from truth and reality by talking heads like John Stewart, Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow, the guilty never correct or even acknowledge their inaccuracies or lack of understanding. They just keep trudging along with those disturbingly blank stares, spewing lies and half truths backed up by blatant idiocy. And they keep getting away with it.

The other issue is to ask how in the world did these people obtain college degrees or get elected to such high office. One must conclude that pickings among electable Republicans must be pretty slim. But even more disturbing is that voters looked at these people and then elected them. I can only assume that in some corners of our great nation, it IS possible to fool most of the people all of the time. It is a true mystery to understand how so many are able to take people like this seriously.

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You can listen to Devin talk politics at earlymorningpundits.com with Dr. Candace House and Devin Barber every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00 AM Eastern and 5:00 AM Pacific. You can also listen to recorded shows anytime.

Devin Barber, Politics Correspondent

Devin’s column, “Left Of The Right” published weekly or more to Gather Essentials: Politics is a Blue Collar Democrats take on current political news.

Devin was raised by proud Roosevelt Democrats. Being the son of parents counted among the throng of Americans displaced by the Great Depression has given Devin a deep rooted passion for causes dealing with the poor and the working class.

You can find all of Devin’s columns at LEFT OF THE RIGHT

You can keep up with Devin’s postings and his Gather activity by joining his Gather network. Just click here: Devin Barber and then select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page.

You can find Devin and other Political Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other politics experts at Politics.gather.com.

A Gallup poll that was released 2 weeks ago, for some reason was all over the Tuesday morning 24 hour cable news channel talk shows. The poll revealed that 40% of Americans identify themselves as conservative, 36% moderate, and 20% liberal. But why this is news is a mystery. These numbers haven’t changed significantly in decades.

Of course Republican pundits were touting the poll as proof the American people actually agree with them. But when you break down the poll, you learn that the American people are more grounded about what it really means to be a conservative, moderate, or liberal than politicians are. For instance, did you know that 22% of Democrats and 35% of Independents identify themselves as conservative. In other words, for a lot of Americans being conservative does not mean you have to agree with Republicans. Considering the record of stewardship of the Republicans between 2001 and 2007, it should be of no surprise. For virtually nothing they did in that time period could be considered conservative.

Politicians have been busy muddling the meaning of these words since our Founding Fathers inked the Declaration of Independence. I’ve often pondered the contradiction of labeling an environmental conservationist a “liberal.” And the contemporary term “neo-conservative” is a virtual admission that politicians have no qualms about altering or completely changing the meaning of words. Neo-conservative meaning “new” conservative… what? It should mean “not” conservative.

Unfortunately, as is with any attempt to simplify something as complicated as a persons political ideology to just 3 categories, one misses the nuances and gray areas of the subject. A person may identify themselves as a conservative in general. Yet they will harbor moderate and even liberal views on many issues. You don’t see them among the ranks of politicians very often. But among political activists and everyday people they’re everywhere. The Log Cabin Republicans come to mind instantly. They are a group of gay Republicans. And in my travels I’ve met hundreds of Pro-choice Republicans and Pro-life Democrats.

So when it comes down to what it means to be a conservative, a moderate, or a liberal there seems to be 2 universes. There’s the universes of the politicians where conservative means Republican, liberal means Democrat and moderate means Independent, which means “up for grabs.” Then there’s the universe where the people live. Where these ideas are applied in a reasonable and appropriate manner. On issues like the environment, energy, and international affairs we need to be conservative. But not this “new” conservatism. More like the Eisenhower style conservatism. On issues like human rights, education, and health care we should be liberal. And on issues like the economy we need to be moderate.

However I don’t hold out much hope this poll will be treated in a even handed way in the media. It’s so much more fun to make the guys who are in power look like they’re in trouble. It’s like these ridiculous off year elections where Republicans who were already favored to win… won. Except for the Democrat who won a seat that hadn’t been held by a Dem in a scrillion years in northern New York State. The GOP is acting as if this miniscule victory is signaling a complete reversal of the sweeping Democratic victories of November 2008. I’ve been commenting on politics for some time now, but the Republicans ability to spin a mountain out of a mole hill continues to amaze me.

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You can listen to Devin talk politics at earlymorningpundits.com with Dr. Candace House and Devin Barber every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00 AM Eastern and 5:00 AM Pacific. You can also listen to recorded shows anytime.

Devin Barber, Politics Correspondent

Devin’s column, “Left Of The Right” published weekly or more to Gather Essentials: Politics is a Blue Collar Democrats take on current political news.

Devin was raised by proud Roosevelt Democrats. Being the son of parents counted among the throng of Americans displaced by the Great Depression has given Devin a deep rooted passion for causes dealing with the poor and the working class.

You can find all of Devin’s columns at LEFT OF THE RIGHT

You can keep up with Devin’s postings and his Gather activity by joining his Gather network. Just click here: Devin Barber and then select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page.

You can find Devin and other Political Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other politics experts at Politics.gather.com.

An obscure special congressional election in the 23^rd district of New York State made national news this last week. A traditionally conservative district Republican Dierdre Scozzafava was expected to easily defeat her Democratic challenger Bill Owens.

Enter Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman isn’t your run of the mill third party candidate with little chance of winning though. Doug Hoffman is actually the preferred candidate of what one pundit called the far “out” Right wing of the Republican Party. With endorsements from Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and a lot of money Hoffman was easily able to out poll Scozzafava effectively pushing her out of the race.

The problem with Ms. Scozzafava was that she dared to have positions that are considered liberal like her support for abortion rights, same-sex marriage and union rights. As the ideology of what is left of the GOP continues to narrow each day, room for radical thinking Like Scozzafava’s just isn’t going to be tolerated.

Republican House Leader John Boehner in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," said "We accept moderates in our party, and we want moderates in our party. We cover a wide range of Americans." I laughed so hard I nearly split a gut. The Republican Party doesn’t want moderates. In fact they don’t want anyone that does not conform exactly to the Specified doctrine.

As a person looking at all this from a Left perspective I’m happy to see my adversaries implode. But at the same time I’m confused by seeing what otherwise seems to be educated folks acting so stupidly. Do the Republicans not understand that to win elections they need to appeal to the Center? And their rhetoric keeps getting more and more insane.

One of the things the vast majority of economists and Americans in general agree on is that the stewardship of our economy by Republicans has been a disaster of Biblical proportions. Yet the Republicans continue to espouse the virtues of low tax, supply side economics. They actually try to sell the idea that the only reason for the current economic situation was because they were not allowed to go far enough. The most confounding part is how this is supposed to create jobs. That’s what they claim yet it was during their watch we saw the economic collapse that led to the bleeding of jobs over the last year.

The Republicans have no explanation for this. When asked they side step into a rant on how the only reasonable way to create jobs is to lower taxes and “get the government out of the way.” It’s actually like trying to take something away from a toddler that doesn’t want to give it up. It’s the only way to describe the GOP’s obsession with the low tax, supply side approach… childish! They cling to it like a security blanket. Despite the blatant evidence that low taxes have bankrupt our States, Counties, and Cities as well as our Federal coffers. That supply side economics has turned Wall Street into a giant casino and our banking system into pyramid scheme for the ultra-wealthy, the Republicans sing the praises of these failed policies as of there were no other song. It really boggles the mind.

I’ve been hearing some Republicans saying that 2010 will be a comeback year. I don’t see anything like that happening. The reason being that each year the voters of this country ere becoming more and more diversified. At the same time the GOP is becoming less and less inclusive. That does not add up to a comeback.

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You can listen to Devin talk politics at earlymorningpundits.com with Dr. Candace House and Devin Barber every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00 AM Eastern and 5:00 AM Pacific. You can also listen to recorded shows anytime.

Devin Barber, Politics Correspondent

Devin’s column, “Left Of The Right” published weekly or more to Gather Essentials: Politics is a Blue Collar Democrats take on current political news.

Devin was raised by proud Roosevelt Democrats. Being the son of parents counted among the throng of Americans displaced by the Great Depression has given Devin a deep rooted passion for causes dealing with the poor and the working class.

You can find all of Devin’s columns at LEFT OF THE RIGHT

You can keep up with Devin’s postings and his Gather activity by joining his Gather network. Just click here: Devin Barber and then select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page.

You can find Devin and other Political Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other politics experts at Politics.gather.com.