The Most Frightening Thing Is....

"You got that right," said Bob.

"In the 70's, while proudly waving the American flag, under President Nixon, when he put an unprecedented freeze on wages, during the oil embargo and the gas crisis, not wanting to (ahem) stunt job growth, we didn't tax big business then either," said John.

"Wow. No kidding," said Bob. "God bless the United States of America. I pledge allegiance to the flag..."

"Oddly enough though, the top management of the biggest Fortune 500 companies still laid off tens of thousands of workers during the wage freeze, oil embargo, and gas crisis, yet, unbelievably, they all still received their fat bonuses, stock options, and golden parachutes. I guess they didn't consider bonuses, stock options, and golden parachutes as wages that they could freeze," said John.

"Gees, go figure," said Bob.

"With out of control inflation, the rest of us had to make do working for the same frozen wages for years, before our government lifted the wage freeze, long after the oil embargo and gas crisis were over," said John. "By that time, it was already too late. Most of us were behind the eight ball with huge credit card debt."

"I had to declare bankruptcy twice to get rid of my credit card debt," said Bob.

"Tell me this. Why does it take so long to drop the price of a gallon of gas and home heating oil by a penny, when it takes them only a few minutes to raise a gallon of gas and home heating oil by ten cents? How come gas prices never go down in the way they escalate?"

"It doesn't seem fair, does it," said Bob.

"Answer me this question," said John. "The oil companies always blame supply and demand as the reason why their gas and home heating oil prices must increase. First they say because everyone is not buying enough gas and home heating oil is the reason why they must raise prices. Okay. That makes sense. Yet, then they say the reason why they must raise gas and home heating oil prices is because too many people are buying too much gas and home heating oil."

"Huh? That's not right," said Bob. "It's either one or the other. How can they have that both ways? With that twisted logic, when in the Hell does gas and home heating oil prices ever go down? Certainly not when Hell freezes over because then they'll need even more gas and home heating oil."

"Those corporate fat cats, now with increased profits from paying less wages, were the only ones reaping the benefits of our frozen wages during the wage freeze of the gas crisis and oil embargo," said John. "That, my friend, President Nixon freezing wages, not to mention, him romancing China and him establishing HMO's, was the beginning of why our economy is in the toilet and why the middleclass is now the new poor."

"Even in death, Tricky Dicky has lived up to his name," said Bob.

"Our Republican representatives, sorry, our Republican public servants, were determined to level the world markets and make America on par with third world countries, when it comes to hourly wages. That explains why the Republicans are always so against increasing the minimum wage and organizing labor unions."

"Increasing the minimum wage is bad for business and will take away jobs? That doesn't make any sense," said Bob.

"Increasing the minimum wage will take away jobs? What jobs? Minimum wage jobs that the average person can't afford to pay their rent, buy gas for their car, buy food, and pay for their prescription drugs, aren't much of a job at all," said John. "The truth of the matter is, increasing the minimum wage will decrease the huge profits that these companies now earn."

"What a bunch of assholes," said Bob.

"To make economic matters worse for the middleclass, the huge wave of financial fairness and disparity that started the process rolling so much like an out of control tsunami, instead of creating jobs with their huge profits, banks, insurance, and oil companies, et al, bought out one another," said John. "To add salt to all of our wounds, whenever there was a buyout and/or a takeover, tens of thousands of people were let go and their jobs were added to the backs of those who stayed working for less money with less benefits. Instead of creating jobs, they eliminated jobs."

"Ergo the recession," said Bob, "and another recession on the way."

"In the way of the Pyramids, albeit with the same type of slave labor, icons made of gleaming glass and welded steel instead of stone, blatant testimony to their greed, the old, rich, Caucasian men built giant monuments," said John. "Twin Towers, Trump Towers, and Sears Towers and all the other towers around the country and the world, so much like modern day castles against their blue skies, the skyscrapers are a stark contrast of their prosperity to our poverty."

"Visually, it just goes to show you who is making all the money, as the only companies able to afford to build such big skyscrapers are banks and insurance companies," said Bob.

"With golden rainbows to brighten their futures, a terrible financial storm brewed for the rest of us. While they were showered with riches, there were dark clouds without a silver lining and torrential rain for the rest of us. For sure, we'd have a better chance of being struck by lightning than we would in landing a full-time job with benefits."

"God bless America but on the backs of the middleclass. Trick or trick, all trick and no treat," said Bob. "Screw the middleclass!"

"Now with part-time jobs and temporary jobs that pay a third of what we were earning and that are jobs without benefits, we're not expected to complain. Instead, we're expected to work two and three jobs, when we can't even find the one," said John. "We all should be marching on Washington and demanding our fair share. We earned it and they owe us. Instead we have some twenty-something investment banker and some forty-something Senator stealing it all."

"Al Sharpton said that if a jobs bill is not passed by January, he's not only going to march on Washington but also he's going to camp out on the grounds of the National Monument," said Bob.

"Do you remember Ross Perot? The little billionaire from Arkansas with the IBM crew cut," said John.

"Yeah," said Bob.

"A true champion of the middleclass, he's the man we all should have voted to put in the White House, instead of electing Daddy Bush, the ex-CIA chief. Just as Ross knew what he wanted to help the middleclass, Daddy Bush knew what he wanted for himself. He wanted to make enough money to buy his son a baseball team, and he did, the Texas Rangers. Answer me this, forget about buying a baseball team, when was the last time you had enough spending money to take your family to a baseball game?"

"The last time I took my wife and two kids to a ballgame, it cost me more than I could afford. It cost me more than $500 for just average tickets. It cost me $50, just to park my truck," said Bob.

"Ross Perot foresaw all that would happen thirty years before it happened. A true visionary, when the rest of we poor suckers were still working for frozen wages and giving all of our money to pay banks our unsecured credit card debt that somehow never went down, Ross had a plan that included increasing our manufacturing base and decreasing our reliance on imports," said John. "Ross knew what big business was doing to keep the middleclass down, while working for less wages."

"When you factor in the inflation, instead of earning more, not even keeping up with inflation, we're all earning less," said Bob, "that is, those that still have a job."

"Instead of wanting to increase our exports from China, Ross said that we're losing our manufacturing base," said John. "Meanwhile, knowing the future in enhancing his wealth was in sending our jobs overseas, Daddy Bush spun his words to make Ross appear as crazy as his running mate, Vice Admiral James Stockdale. Yet, now that we elected Daddy Bush, tell me, what did Daddy Bush do for us and how did he fix the economy? He didn't help us and he didn't fix the economy."

"I remember that he gave speeches. I remember he wouldn't sign an unemployment extension and if it wasn't for Senator Kennedy pushing Congress to sign another extension, I would have been homeless back then. Tell me this," said Bob, "why is it every time a Bush is in office, I'm out of a job?"

"Read my lips. No new taxes," said Daddy Bush, before signing into law the biggest tax package for the middleclass in the history of the United States, while reducing taxes for the richest corporations, oil companies, insurance companies, banks, and pharmaceutical companies," said John.

"I couldn't believe when he did that. Just in the way that Clinton lied about having sex with Monica Lewinski, Bush lied stone, cold face to all of us about not signing in new taxes," said Bob.

"As a farewell gift to all of us, did you see Daddy Bush and then Bush Junior with the King of Arabia having a good time at all of our expenses. Don't those photos want to make you drive your car at full speed into an Exxon gas pump. What the Hell? Are you kidding me? The Bushes were always in bed with the Arabs," said John.

"Assholes," said Bob.

"Now, because of the Bushes, as part and parcel of the Moslem world, their enemies are our enemies, which is why no one in the world likes America and Americans. Papa Bush and his son made more than a billion dollars in perpetual wars, defense contracts, and oil. While we waved the American flag and sent our sons and daughters to wars they started and wars that we couldn't possibly win or end, the Bush team made lots of money. We can blame the Bushes for terrorist attacks. Apparently, everyone hates the Bushes but us, the middleclass," said John.

"You're right about that," said Bob.

"Instead of fixing the economy, instead of making sure we all had jobs, benefits, healthcare, and retirement, the Bush father and son tag team started wars as their way to personally profit. Just as his son, Bush Junior, started the Iraq War, Daddy Bush, started the Gulf War," said John. "Don't you just love it when you see Pappa Bush or Little Bush sitting front row center at a Texas Rangers game with Nolan Ryan and his beautiful wife, Ruth, while the rest of us can't even afford to watch a game on Direct TV because the sports channel package costs too much money?"

"I wish someone would pat me on the ass and give me a new contract and a big bonus at my job, when I was working at a job, but that would never happen. I wish I had fans watching me work, while cheering everything that I did," said Bob.

"Don't you just love it," said John, "when the Texas Rangers are celebrating with a champagne shower?"

"I'd love to give Laura Bush and Ruth Ryan a golden shower, if you know what I mean. Payback is a bitch, bitches, I'd love to fuck the Bush twins up the ass in the way that their father and grandfather has fucked all of us up the asses," said Bob.

"Now, let me ask you this. Why start a war, instead of fixing the economy? Why? I'll tell you why," said John answering his own question again. "Because there's money in making war and no money in fixing the American economy. While making endless speeches and creating jobs bills that have no chance of being enacted into law, best the United States help to expand third world countries, fix their economies, and cultivate their vast, cheap labor pool than to give the people who live here and who were born here jobs."

"The big war machine. Now that you mention it, I'm sick of seeing so many retired 50-year-old generals on CNN," said Bob.

"Now, there were a lot of white, old, rich, Caucasian men greatly profiting from America declaring war, unfortunately, I wasn't one of them," said John. "Were you one of them? Let me think who it was that not only was in directly and indirectly in charge of our foreign policy and national defense but also who stood to make huge amounts of money in declaring war. Hmm, do you know?"

"No, but I have a feeling that you're about to tell me," said Bob with a laugh.

"Vice President Cheney and his company Haliburton were two of them making huge profits with no bid contracts. Think about that, no bid contracts. How did that bastard get away with a no bid contract? The weasel was watching the chicken coop and the wolf was watching over the herd sleeping sheep, while the rest of us were all fleeced."

"I hate that white haired, pompous bastard Cheney," said Bob waving his fist.

"While we're waving American flags, sticking emblems on our SUV's, and burying our sons and daughters, we've been fucked over so many times that we're starting to enjoy it. Does anyone want to buy U. S. Savings Bonds? How about a bridge or swamp land, I mean, oceanfront property...in Detroit?"

"Yeah, that Cheney guy looks like the Devil incarnate," said Bob.

"Speaking of Flint Michigan, did you know that, during the time of his failed run for the presidency that Ross Perot was one of the largest, if not the largest shareholder in General Motors? With his data processing company so entwined in GM, he wanted to be President of GM, before he ever had thoughts of becoming President of the United States. Instead of making him their president of General Motors, GM and their board of directors buy Ross out for 750 million dollars," said John.

"No kidding. Gee, I didn't know that," said Bob.

"The top management at GM didn't like Ross's ideas," said John. "Too business in the way of an IBM executive, GM executives preferred shooting from the hip, especially when it came to rewarding their top executives with huge and undeserved bonuses, stock options, and golden parachutes. Ross wanted to rock their good ship lollipop by making them accountable and by making them more profitable."

"I wish someone would give me a big, fat bonus check for doing my job," said Bob.

"While I'm on the subject, just wondering, Bob," said John, "do you have a golden parachute?"

"A golden parachute? I don't have any parachute. When I fall, I'll hit the ground and die."

"Instead of a parachute, instead of making a soft, safe landing, we all have slides that goes straight down to the bottom, as if an express elevator that broke a cable or a sinking ship, in the way of the Titanic that falls to rock bottom. Oh, yeah, trust me, your sunken vessel is the closest you'll ever get to the good ship lollipop," said John.

"I have a canoe," said Bob, "but it has a hole in it."

"If it was up to Ross, ala a Michael Moore clone in his spirit of outrage, inequality, and unfairness, he would have done away with big bonuses and stock options for those managers who didn't do anything at GM, other than to collect fat paychecks and ruin a company that once had a huge disparity between Honda and Toyota," said John. "The sad thing is that, 30-years ago, Ross Perot identified all that was wrong with GM. He identified those very things that caused them to finally go bankrupt and the same things that GM was reluctant to change and implement, even after our government gave GM a big, fat bailout check. Just in the way that he paid to help rescue POW's in Viet Nam with his own money, truth be known, Ross Perot had our best interests at heart."

"Wow, I didn't know that either," said Bob, "that he helped rescue the POW's.

"Let me ask you this, Bob," said John. "Did Papa Bush or Little Bush reach into their deep pockets to help free and rescue prisoners of war? Hell no! Why not? Because they didn't want the war to end. If they could they'd start another war. If they could, they'd bomb France."

"You got that right," said Bob. "No one likes the French anyone."

"Let me ask you this," said John, "and all those people in America sitting there with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, no job, no money, no food, no gas for your 12-year-old car, no medical insurance, no house, no hope, no future, and no unemployment extension, where's your bailout? Did you get a bailout? Did anyone, but those who didn't need a bailout, get a bailout. Let's see a show of hands. How many of you got a bail out? How many of you were bailed out?"

"Gees, that's odd. No one is raising their hand," said Bob, while looking out into imaginary crowd.

"Of all those of you that really needed a bailout, as staunch supporters of our government, of democracy, of equality for everyone, and of the middleclass, did any one of you receive a bailout? Or did all the bailout money go to the ones that really didn't need a bailout in the first place and that continue to steal our money with inflated charge card interest, imagined oil shortages, advertise drugs on television in the way they used to advertise cigarettes and hard liquor, and sell us inflated and price fixed insurance policies that we don't want or need? Let me ask you this with a show of hands," said John. "How many of you really need a bailout?"

"Gees, nearly everyone in the room has their hand raised. Wow. Go figure," said Bob playing along with his friend's rhetorical questions by looking out again at the imaginary crowd.

"Boy, oh boy, President Kennedy said it when he said, Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," said John.

"I nearly gave my life for my country," said Bob, "when I was fighting their war."

"Give me a break. Just give me a frigging break. Are you kidding me? What more can we all possibly do for our country that we haven't done for our country already. We gave them our sons and daughters in wars that we can't possibly win, all for the sake of oil and to make a few, Caucasian men billionaires," said John. "We worked all our lives and now they begrudge us our 401Ks, our retirement benefits, and our Social Security. It's time our country did something for us. It's our turn. It's time our country bailed us all out. It's our turn and it's time."

"Yeah, it's time our country did something for us," said Bob pounding his fist in his hand.

"God Bless America. Of the approximately 313 million people in America, I am one of the 99% of the middleclass that doesn't have a voice in Washington or a job. The other 1%, a little more than 3 million people, have it all and control everything," said John. "The rest of us are all just mere pawns in their games of skullduggery and deception. If you ask me, they can't wait for we pain-in-the-ass baby boomers to die."

"Bastards. No good dirty bastards," said Bob.

"Only, can you hear it? Can you feel it? The wind of change is blowing," said John.

"I can hear it," said Bob. I can feel it."

"Now there is something bigger and more powerful than any group of politicians. There is something more frightening and feared by every Republican politician. The middleclass is the most frightening thing on the planet. The middleclass is the sleeping giant that has finally been shaken awake. We are the middleclass and we're all angry. We're not taking it anymore. We want our fair share. We're tired of being robbed and cheated. We've had it with the lies and broken promises. We don't want speeches and we don't want infighting," said John.

"We want jobs," said Bob. "We want money. We want benefits. We want affordable homes and universal healthcare. We want the best schools for our children."

"We want the hope for a brighter tomorrow," said John.

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