Author / Ed Domaingue

Posts by Ed Domaingue

Retired journalist. Former vice president for news at The Union Leader, Manchester, NH. Previously worked for newspapers in New Haven and Hartford, CT, Lakeland, FL, and Springfield, MA.
by Ed Domaingue

Government Is Inherently Evil

Don’t be shocked.

You already know that.

You might not want to admit it, but you do know it.

Government does not exist to serve We the People.

It serves its own self interest. First, and always, its own self interest.

It constantly demands more money, raises taxes, increases its workforce, acts inefficiently, serves those with the greatest power and influence and, ultimately, controls the political establishment because politicians are lazy and bureaucracy specializes in creating complexity.

We, as a nation, spend billions fighting poverty. Billions. Yet poverty is visible everywhere we look.

We have spent billions on Model Cities and urban renewal. Yet vast ghettoes exist in every major city.

We have declared drug war after drug war, have put tens of thousands of users, victims, behind bars, and watch unprecedented numbers of our young people dying on the streets every day.

How many drug lords have we arrested or klled? How many drug crops and drug manufacturing facilities have been destroyed?

We are led to believe they are untouchable, beyond reach, on foreign soil, thus beyond the reach of our law.

Consider that absurdity.

Beyond our reach?

They are killing our young people, preying on the weak, waging a deadly war in our cities, suburbs and countryside, indeed in our schools.

Beyond our reach?

Beyond a cruise missile?

Beyond the reach of the Special Forces?

Beyond the reach, and capability, of our so-called intelligence community?

I don’t buy that for a single moment.

There is no government commitment to the drug war. There is no government commitment to ending poverty. There is no government commitment to ending ghettoes, the modern reservations of hopelessness, crime and despair.

Fixing any of those problems would be very bad for government. Very bad, indeed.

It ultimately would cost jobs. It would result in budget cuts. It might even mean the elimination of entire agencies.

Government protects itself and its interests first, last and always.

And it will, until there is no more money, until the debt can no longer be increased, until the interest payments can no longer be met.

You should wonder, often, every day, why government never fixes anything. Why more money is required every year to perform the same tasks without any measurable impact.

You should wonder, often, every day, why government contracts always cost more than private enterprise would pay, why, given its size and influence, the government can’t negotiate the lowest possible prices, why defense contractors, to cite only one example, always benefit from enormous cost overruns.

Who is protecting your interests?

Certainly not the politicians. They have been bought and paid for many times over. By the Special Interests. By the forces aligned against you.

Certainly not the voters, you, who can’t get off their fat, lazy butts long enough to cast an intelligent ballot. Or, more accurately, any ballot.

Keep paying your taxes, though. And watch those debt numbers soar. Government has an unimaginable appetite for spending. And it is your money being spent. And your debt accumulating.

You will pay.

It is inevitable.

by Ed Domaingue

Is Democracy Doomed?

I have been quiet for more than a year now, watching, contemplating, worrying.

Democracy is in deep trouble.

Very deep trouble.

In fact, there are very few paths to survival.

The obvious one, where voters suddenly come to their senses and throw out incumbents, Democrats and Republicans alike, demand imposition of term limits, ending the era of “career” politicians, and adopt true and meaningful campaign finance reform, chasing Big Money, special interest money, from the political arena, seems unattainable.

The country is too sharply divided to act even in its own self-interest. I am no longer certain We the People are capable of defining our self-interest. We certainly are not doing anything to defend it.

The Special Interests are firmly in control of the political process.

When Presidential campaigns cost billions, when Senate, House and gubernatorial campaigns cost tens of millions, there is no way the people can control their fate. Politicians, ALL politicians, are bought and paid for long before they are administered the oath of office.

That is not cynicism.

It is a harsh and indisputable fact of life.

Every one of those elected officials takes office needing to raise an amount greater than they just spent to win the office to ensure that they retain it in the next election.

Whose interest is paramount in that reality? Think about it.

It doesn’t need to be that way, U.S. Supreme Court decisions not withstanding. It does not need to be that way, and is not, anywhere else.

Think about that. Think hard about it.

A specific, limited campaign period can be established. There can be limits on campaign spending, and, therefore, on campaign fund raising. Television remains a regulated medium. It can be required, as a price of its license, to present free campaign time for debates and for becoming acquainted with the candidates. Those debates, as are the Presidential debates now, would be covered by tbe rest of the media, because it is news.

Now, I would be the first to admit television networks and station ownerships would scream bloody murder. Probably too would all the cable networks and remaining newspapers.

Who makes a killing off all those political ads? Guess. Try hard. Yeah. They would lose revenue. Tons of it. But Democracy would be stronger, much stronger. The field of candidates would be more impressive, because you would not have to raise millions, while selling your principles, to run for office.

Change requires difficult decisions.

Democracy requires participation.

Neither is likely, as we grow fatter, lazier and stupider with each passing year.

Freedom requires sacrifice.

It requires commitment.

I see neither sacrifice nor commitment sweeping across the nation like a wildfire.

I should.

But I do not.

One of the greatest raids on the U.S. Treasury of a nation rapidly approaching bankruptcy, a nation with uncontrolled spending, just occurred. It occurred despite staggering deficits. It occurred despite almost inconceivable debt. It occurred without any pretense of an effort to address timebombs like Social Security insolvency, Medicaid or Medicare reform. It was the full responsibility of the Republican Party, those strident hypocrites preaching about fiscal responsibility for decades. Liars. And hypocrites. Without principles.

It gifted tax CUTS, very substantial cuts, to corporations, major sources of campaign funds, and the rich, particularly the very rich.

The major beneficiaries of those tax cuts, made without any corresponding spending reforms, ensuring even greater deficits, even more staggering debt burdens, going forward, are very happy. As well they should be. But their view is very short-term. Even if they continue pushing their wealth to offshore havens, the ultimate collapse that occurs when the debt reckoning day arrives will hurt far more than the shorter term benefits.

I believe the Golden Age of Democracy has passed.

That is unfortunate.

by Ed Domaingue

America’s Utterly Predictable Tsunami of Pension Problems

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/americas-utterly-predictable-tsunami-of-pension-problems/2017/02/22/1e5de00e-f869-11e6-9845-576c69081518_story.html?utm_term=.2365c6c69248&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

The link above is to a very important piece of commentary from columnist George Will. 

The underfunded pension issue is not new. Much like Social Security funding issues, it is well-known and well-informed.

The problem grows worse with each passing year, the victim of at least three separate and indisputable realities:

 First and foremost, that the false promises continue to escalate specifically within the public sector every time new contracts are negotiated; Second, by the refusal of pension fund managers to use realistic projections on earnings, preferring instead to try and make the funding gap look smaller by pretending existing funds can generate unrealistic returns; and Third, by the refusal of pension promisers to provide anything even vaguely resembling adequate funding to guarantee the promised benefits.

The entire system is a Ponzi scheme, a lie.

It already is blowing up, without a rational fix in sight.

Government at least has made token, if entirely inadequate, efforts to force the private sector to better fund its promises to workers but still allows far too much leeway and use of totally unrealistic interest rate expectations.

It has done nothing to regulate the public sector and protect against promises that simply cannot be met.

I first wrote about this ongoing lie, and its long-term consequences, decades ago. I was not alone by any means. 

Not only has nothing constructive been accomplished, the situation continues to exacerbate.

Perhaps ignorance is bliss, but while all the elected ostriches bury their heads in the sand, the proverbial Piper plays on.

by Ed Domaingue

On Democracy

Ignorance and acceptance doom Democracy. 

Ignorance and acceptance are in evidence throughout our land today. 

 We may well be in the twilight of the American era, as many claim.

But this need not be the ignominious end of the greatest experiment in self-government that the world has seen.

It is not too late, perhaps never too late, to pull back from the brink as long as We the People retain the vote. 

In any analysis, in this Democracy, the people do retain the ultimate measure of control: They can freely and regularly change the direction and composition of their government without firing a shot, by simply casting a ballot.

The unlikely, virtually impossible, election of Donald Trump to the Presidency, is the purest proof Democracy, though perhaps in shambles, still survives.

 Trump’s election represented a rejection of business as usual.

It does not matter that Hillary Clinton won more votes. 

Trump captured the White House via the standard established procedure.

To do so, he garnered enough votes from the thoroughly disgusted, the downtrodden, the masses, to defeat the untrenched political-economic power structure. He was the ultimate loose cannon, but also the ultimate outsider. 

Combine his votes with those of the Green Party and Bernie Sanders’ supporters and those so discouraged or hopeless that they simply stayed home, and you begin to see the true potential of an uprising, a return to power, of We the People.

The revolt need not be violent. In fact, violence always is counterproductive. No matter if the Tree of Liberty from time to time needs the Blood of Patriots as fertilizer. Dumb wars in dumber distance places have spilt more than enough Blood of Patriots. The Tree is well-fertilized.

Ballots are far more powerful than bullets. 

The most recent election proved that indisputably.

Trump won with an unlikely coalition, but one that clearly demonstrated the power of an aroused and unhappy electorate.

That electorate has good reason to be unhappy.

The greed that undermines Democratic self-government is evident in every facet of American life.

The lie that unregulated free enterprise will always act in the best interests of the people has seldom been more obvious. The only reasonable check on unmitigated greed, unionization, has been crushed.

In reality, unregulated free enterprise is the handmaiden of the unscrupulous, as has been abundantly evidenced throughout the American experience.  Count the scandals. Those who downplay the reality are lying. The proof is evident in the history.

Special interests, those who seek to pervert government toward their own ends, toward the fulfillment of their unique needs and desires, also are enemies of true Democracy. They seek special privilege at the expense of others.

Those who seek power for power’s sake also are enemies of Democracy. They cannot serve multiple masters, and if power is their primary God, then by necessity they must worship at the altar of the special interests, those who seek to buy their influence to advance their own desires at the expense of others.

Think of the financial industry. Insurance. Oil. Gas. Coal. Pharmaceuticals. There is an endless list of monied interests always seeking more at the expense of someone else.

I have most reluctantly come to believe that free enterprise, as practiced today, is the ultimate enemy of Democratic self-government.

 First, it is not free, in any sense. 

Second, the monetary rewards tilt far too disproportionately, greedily, to professional managers whose interest benefits from maximizing profit at the expense of workers.

Certain things need to happen to restore the foundation supporting Democracy.

First, citizens need to vote in their self-interest. Not what monied special interests tell them is their self-interest, but rather in what they determine to be their self-interest. They must shoulder their responsibility to determine exactly what that self-interest is, in terms of their individual needs and desires, but also in terms of the needs and desires of the larger social-economic-political structure. Education? Healthcare? The environment? Trade? Defense? Social Security? 

Second, Democracy requires citizen legislators. There is no place in Democratic self-government for professional politicians who brag about “serving” the people for 15, 20, 25, 30 years.

 They have been bought and paid for many times over by those funding their campaigns. They have been seduced by power and the corruption that shadows it.

Third, there can be no place for unlimited, unrestricted money in politics. Unlimited, unrestricted campaign funds simply allow the highest bidders to buy the greatest influence … At your expense.

The solutions are within easy reach.

They are obvious.

Term limits, not just for the President, but for ALL political offices. We do not need, cannot afford, the ugly burden of professional politicians.  

Do not buy the lie that government is so complex it requires professional politicians to run it. It is complex only because that is in their self-interest. 

Its complexity certainly does not interfere with their inaction or their frequent vacations.

Campaign finance reform.

 Limit the campaign period. 

Require the media, now engorging itself on special interest ad funds, to provide free debates and policy forums. 

 Special interests have a right to be heard, but their ads must address issues and it must be clear it is their view and their view only. 

This is not complex.

 It is basic.

Ensure that the right to vote is universally recognized in this great nation _ and universally respected. 

There is nothing unreasonable about requiring a voter to provide identification.

 You must have identification to drive a car, purchase alcohol, collect government assistance, carry a gun.

 It is patently ridiculous to claim requiring  identification somehow limits or interferes with a person’s ability to exercise the most fundamental obligation in a free society.

And, finally, why should U.S. Supreme Court justices serve for life? A rational, reasonable retirement age of 75 would hardly be revolutionary. 

While I doubt it would do anything to depoliticize the court, it might provide more frequent and more refreshing changes in view.

 As long as professional politicians promote division at the expense of unity, it is unlikely the courts can be depoliticized. 

But we know how to fix that problem: term limits. 

And while we are at it, think of how wonderful it would be if, in the process of change, we could rediscover that time-honored cornerstone of Democratic self-government: COMPROMISE.

It was how this nation was founded. 

And how it has managed to survive thus far.

Civility.

And compromise.

 

by Ed Domaingue

The New Political Reality Is the Old Political Reality

Wake up, America.

And wake up your political representatives.

If you believe, in your heart, these are the darkest of political times, you will miss a tremendous opportunity to move this nation back toward the political center.

If you have been totally absorbed by, or worse, swept up in, the extremist political rhetoric, you need to step back. Immediately. And reassess.

Unless you truly are one of the extremists, in politics, in the media, in business, in entertainment, you will see the opportunity before us.

There is an extreme right.

It does not speak for the majority of Americans.

There is an extreme left.

It does not speak for the majority of Americans.

The extreme right claims it is the heart and soul of the Republican party.

It is not.

The extreme left claims it is the future of the Democrat party.

It is not.

The heart and soul of America is the unsung center of both parties. That is the political reality, the old political reality, the only political reality.

Together, the centers of both parties can forge a new majority, a ruling party, a power center capable of the critical change Americans crave. 

Let the extremes rant.

Let the extremes rave.

Let the center form a governing majority where the alliances may shift on issues and on individual votes, but where the power always rests with the middle ground forged from both parties, from the voices of reason and responsibility.

Don’t miss the opportunity.

These are not the darkest of times.

They are ripe with possibility.

And possibility is the foundation of hope.

And hope is the foundation for the future.

Make … It … Happen … Now!

by Ed Domaingue

Do Unto Others …

I am angry. I am frustrated. I am overwhelmed.

But I am not defeated. Never defeated.

I have not posted in sometime now. Not because I have had nothing to say,. but rather from fear of being intemperate. 

I do not want to be extreme. Not extreme right. Not extreme left.

And anger is the enemy of reason.

Reality has forced me back in to writing mode.

The political scene is just short of chaos.

It reminds me of eight years ago when extremists, then mostly Republicans, declared Obama an illegitimate President, questioning where he was born, his religion, his sympathies.

The questioning cast a dark cloud over his Presidency and seriously undermined his ability to make a fast start with meaningful accomplishments.

Because of the reality of slim political numbers, rule changes were made. It was clever. It worked.

Now, unfortunately, everything has changed. The Republicans are in control. They are employing, predictably, the same tactics. They will have the votes.

The Democrats now proclaim President-elect Trump illegitimate. It is very true that Donald Trump lost the popular vote. But the popular vote does not elect the President of the United States. The President is elected via the Electoral College vote. Trump won the Electoral College vote. Period. He is the President-elect. I do not like it, but I accept it as political reality.

Hillary Clinton was not a good candidate. She lost an election she should have won in a landslide. She did not motivate key electoral groups. She had everything in her favor and wound up empty-handed. The blame rests squarely on her shoulders for the loss of critical Blue and Swing states. Russia did not steal the election for Trump. The FBI did not give the election to Trump. Hillary Clinton lost it. She failed to mobilize key voter blocs. Period.

Change is in the wind. And it does not have to be all negative, all destructive.

Trump already has reached out to the Russians, with some interesting results. 

If the Democrats truly care about their constituents, truly care about the fate of Americans, about the fate of the Republic, they will pay heed to what Trump says he wants to do.

There can be no clearer example than health insurance. 

Trump has not taken the hardline Republican stance. 

Face reality: Obamacare is dead.

The Republicans have the votes to kill it. And they will. They have waited a long time for this moment. They have suffered humiliating defeats. They will exact revenge.

But Trump says he supports health insurance for all.

He can only do that through an alliance with Democrats and moderate Republicans. The hardline core of the Republican Party does not want insurance for all. The core will fight that with every possible resource.

Remember the old days. The times when meaningful policy was achieved through cross aisle wheeling and dealing. 

It might very well be possible to work with Trump. 

We cannot afford to make that impossible from Day One.

An alliance with the devil can be a far better alternative than condemning tens of millions of Americans to Hell.

And it is not just health insurance on the line. 

Battles are likely on Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, prescription drug prices and so many more crucial issues where Democrats MAY have an opportunity to work with Trump in driving a wedge through the Republicans _ and through the heart of some powerful special interests, like the drug companies, who have bought votes on both sides of the political aisle.

Don’t squander the opportunity.

It might be the best and most effective means of quickly and meaningfully rebuilding a shattered party.

Govern. 

Lead.

Rally.

Compromise. 

There IS hope. There is opportunity.

Seize it.

by Ed Domaingue

More Hillary Clinton Emails, More Questions

 EVERY time I conclude I have no choice but to vote for Hillary Clinton, there is another revelation, a new series of questions, more reasons to doubt her.

She is more than just a flawed candidate.

She is, and has been, almost as self destructive as Donald Trump.

With the likes of these candidates,  it can safely be assumed Democracy is dead.
FBI uncovers 14,900 more documents in Clinton email probe http://a.msn.com/r/2/BBvUo17?m=en-us&a=1