MEET MARLENE ROSE-- A VIEW FROM ROSEVILLE, CA ON HOW REPLACING THE RULE OF LAW WITH THE RULE OF MEN HAS IMPACTED OUR COUNTRY

Although Sadie and Sophie down in West Palm are already referring to her as "Junior," DWT's newest team member, Marlene Rose, is a 71 year old widow living way up in Placer County, California, John Doolittle's benighted district. Unlike most of the writers on this blog, Marlene and I didn't go to school together. We met recently when she responded to a thank you note prompted by a generous donation she had made to Ned Lamont's campaign via the ACT BLUE Page. She has a keen sense of justice and a great way with words and she's agreed to share a view from the wild, wild north with us. A little background: she's mostly been involved with issues affecting children, having served almost 2 decades on the Board of Education, as well as a PTA president and Girl Scouts leader. The first piece she wrote for us is entitled, ominously, "The End of the Rule of Law."

In 1894, Anatole France wrote: “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”  Anatole France’s cynicism about the poor being free to starve and be homeless is reflected today in the American economy.   Equality under the law has become a joke as corporations and the superrich accumulate more and more power, influence and money, and the assault on the middle class continues.  Those who “rule” us consider themselves above the law in major areas as does our president who violates the National Security Act by warrantless domestic surveillance, and in comparatively minor acts such as the California governor riding a motorcycle without a license.
 
The rule of law has been replaced by the rule of men. Corruption, cronyism and bribery have relegated the average American to the status of a beggar waiting for the crumbs that the unholy alliance between the Republican Party and corporate America may “trickle down.”
 
Our borders are open as the administration encourages the entrance of illegal immigrants in order to supply cheap labor for the corporations that thrive at the expense of the workers they fire. Not content with forcing American workers to compete with illegals here, we have exported manufacturing, technological, and white collar jobs to countries like India and China whose workers earn a fraction of what is paid an American employee.


We have a projected deficit of $400 billion for the coming fiscal year added to the more than $8 trillion National Debt. The bill will come due from the foreign countries (mainly China) that hold our debt, and our children and grandchildren will be expected to repay what is owed. The $9 trillion cumulative trade deficit has already resulted in the selling off of America.  While China graduates 300,000 engineers each year compared to our 60,000, the most critical scientific battle being fought in our biology classes is whether to add Intelligent Design to the curriculum.  
 
The Republicans have squandered our economic, educational and scientific edge over the rest of the world.  Only by restoring the checks and balances of our Constitution and electing a Democratic Congress in 2006 can we begin to repair the damage that has been done in the last six years.