It took many years and several horrific disasters to finally expose the American Red Cross (ARC) as just another scam charity in America. Although I suspected as much when former Senator Elizabeth Dole was made their chairman or president years ago. You see when a Republican is placed in charge of an organization or government entity it leaves a rot; it becomes infected with corruption, greed, incompetence, and malfeasance. These traits fester for years in the organization but they eventually reach the forefront as they have the ARC. 

As the great reporting by ProPublica has revealed, the ARC has squandered millions of dollars in donations, put forth a phony image of competence, and basically lied to the American people about its efforts and results. Does that sound familiar, people? Do you see the similarity between the real ARC and Republican governance in states governed by Republicans? 

In the final analysis, no one should be surprised by these revelations I just hope voters on Tuesday carry this knowledge into the voting booths and put an end to the rot in America. 

An article in today's NY Times entitled "Economists See Limited Gains in G.O.P. Plan" lists the priorities of the GOP  if they take control of the House and Senate. In brief: '...The list includes measures to approve the Keystone XL pipeline; expand offshore oil drilling; block federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”; and open national forests to timber companies. Also making the cut were more parochial measures, like water projects in central Oregon and in California’s San Joaquin Valley, and rules allowing business owners to record phone calls or meetings with federal regulators.'

So America's republican voters are essentially supporting destroying their clean air and water through fracking, polluting the oceans by offshore oil drilling, and destroying forests. What is not listed are such GOP priorities as denying women equal pay, destroying public education, lowering taxes for the rich and corporations, denying women adequate healthcare along with the rest of America, continuing to allow the outsourcing of jobs, destroying the minimum wage, Social Security, Medicare, and continuing discrimination against gays and minorities. 

So the next time you talk to a republican ask him what it will be like to live in his polluted, racist, corrupt, and bankrupt America.

In today's LA Times an article on the democracy efforts in Hong Kong featured this statement: Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that China should embrace democracy and should start by allowing free elections in Hong Kong.. When you think about it you have to wonder why China does not embrace democracy. 

The Chinese government already controls almost all major corporations and industries (alone with the army) and has a handpicked government who is elected by the top 1%. Government officials are focused on enriching themselves at the expense of the ordinary Chinese citizen, whom they ignore for their special interests cronies, and they constantly harass and abuse minorities. Any voting system they have or would setup is sure to deny the opposition (whether real or imagined) the right to vote and don't forget gerrymandering. They have an enduring slave-labor economy and provide minimal social services. 

In fact, if China embraces democracy, they will be just like the United States of America.

In just the last two weeks we have learned that IRS agents failed to followup on collecting billions owed in taxes, a Secret Service that allows nuts to break into the White House, and now that a gun-nut was on an elevator with the President and the Secret service did not know it. This is all part of the systemic dysfunction of institutions headed by placeholders and not leaders, or real managers, and or thinking people. These incompetent, inept, bureaucrats are sitting in positions earned by ass-kissing, political favoritism, time on the job without accomplishments or rocking-the-boat.
These placeholders are like a desiease