One Party-- Worldwide

I admire the Tunisians, Egyptians, Bahrainis, Wisconsinites, Libyans, Yemenis... They're putting aside their differences and going up against the overwhelming odds and might of the entrenched Establishment and the forces of a status quo that is determined to hold on to power no matter the cost. Does anyone doubt Qaddafi & Sons would kill half Libya's population to hold onto power? So would Wall Street... not there; here. The System is stacked against us-- all of us.

A brief tangent before we come back to America. In Japan, where our version of corporate law was introduced by McArthur's occupation regime, giving Tokyo Electric Power Co the ability-- even the duty-- to worry about bottom line concerns first and foremost, and humanity not and all-- and to gamble with impunity, a gamble that has now endangered the whole nation... maybe the whole world.

Crucial efforts to tame Japan's crippled nuclear plant were delayed by concerns over damaging valuable power assets and by initial passivity on the part of the government, people familiar with the situation said, offering new insight into the management of the crisis.

...The plant's operator-- Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco-- considered using seawater from the nearby coast to cool one of its six reactors at least as early as last Saturday morning, the day after the quake struck. But it didn't do so until that evening, after the prime minister ordered it following an explosion at the facility. Tepco didn't begin using seawater at other reactors until Sunday.

Tepco was reluctant to use seawater because it worried about hurting its long-term investment in the complex, say people involved with the efforts. Seawater, which can render a nuclear reactor permanently inoperable, now is at the center of efforts to keep the plant under control.

Tepco "hesitated because it tried to protect its assets," said Akira Omoto, a former Tepco executive and a member of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, an official advisory body involved in the effort to tame the plant. Both Tepco and government officials had good reason not to use saltwater, Mr. Omoto added. Early on, nuclear fuel rods were still under cooling water and undamaged, he said, adding, "it's understandable because injecting seawater into the fuel vessel renders it unusable."

Traditionally, in Japan anyway, the CEO and the Board of Directors would have already committed seppuku. But corporate law removes the very idea of corporate responsibility for even the worst and most egregious and business decisions. Not one bank president or high level corporate officer or board member has been punished in the aftermath of a frenzy of greed and avarice wrought havoc on the American economy and on the lives of millions of people. In fact, they've all profited mightily.

And both political parties condone, encourage and protect-- with the might of the state-- this kind of behavior. I wish I could say it was only the Republicans in bed with Wall Street. But that would be a despicable lie. Let me share a note that Howard Dean sent out this morning:

Last December, when President Obama made a deal with Republicans to continue the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, I said there was no shared pain in the agreement. I called it the easy way out for everybody. And I emphasized it's not fiscally responsible in addressing the deficit, the biggest long-term threat to America.

Now, Republicans are pushing for well over $50 billion in cuts to the budget, which would result in the loss of 700,000 jobs nationwide according to leading economists. They won't even consider cutting the $53 billion the Republicans have used to subsidize the oil industry or eliminating projects out of the defense budget that even the Pentagon says it doesn't need and doesn't want. Instead, they want cuts on everything from local law enforcement to community health centers, from food assistance to low-income women, infants, and children to rural development investment. And of course, they made it clear over and over again, that cutting Social Security benefits must be on the table.

Republicans have gone from being fiscally irresponsible to morally reprehensible in only a few short months. Their goal appears to be the death of civil society by a 1,000 cuts.

It's time for Democrats to stand up and hold their ground. Republicans in Congress can't balance the budget on the backs of the poor and middle class-- there must be shared sacrifice.

This approach to shared sacrifice is backed up by the support of the American people. A recent Washington Post poll shows the vast majority of Americans believe the best way to reduce the deficit is through a combination of spending cuts and increased taxes on America's most wealthy.

But it's not about polling. It's about responsibility. If there is one thing we've learned from years and years of Republican misleadership, it's that you just can't trust Republicans with your money.

Republicans don't know how to balance budgets. They never have. I've balanced budgets. I did it as Governor for 12 straight years. I'm not the only Democrat with a strong fiscal record. Republicans like to forget that the last President to balance the budget and create a surplus was Democrat Bill Clinton.

Democrats can get the job done as long as we stand up for what we believe and never back down.

Make no mistake about it; the Republicans' obsession with cutting the federal budget at all costs may be good short-term politics, but it's bad policy and not the best course for the country.

It's up to Democrats in Congress to stop them. It's up to us to make sure Democrats know where we stand.

Notice the awkwardness in distinguishing between actual Democrats in America and the mostly slimy bunch working for Wall Street Inside the Beltway... our leaders.

I think Gary Heffern's album will be available in a couple weeks. Here's a first track, "Hand of the Devil" that he sent me to pass along at the appropriate moment: