The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, April 15, 2024

I speak on social and political issues, calling them as I see them. I speak about how abortion is now a toxic issue for Republicans, and the need to commemorate Confederate Surrender Day.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason. April 8, 2024

I speak on social and political issues, calling them as I see them. I speak about the upcoming solar eclipse, and the need for better scientific education. Transcript

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, March 26, 2024

I speak on social and political issues, calling them as I see them. I speak about NBC's wrong decision to hire Ronna McDaniel, and of trump and his legal issues in New York State.

The Mason Missile, March 23, 2024

Greetings, Americans! Again, Social Security and Medicare are in the sights of Republicans, particularly their glorious leader, Donald whatshisface. On the CNBC program Squawk Box (after you get past the commercial), trump raised once more the idea of cutting “entitlements,” using the old excuse “bad management,” with a particular emphasis on Social Security and Medicare, and raising the old scare of “rising inflation.” (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-entitlements-cutting_n_65ef1763e4b0bd5228d4eadd) (https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/03/11/former-president-donald-trump-on-entitlements-theres-tremendous-numbers-of-things-you-can-do.html) Part of the Republican-conservative drive to eliminate Social Security and Medicare is to raise the retirement age for both, raising the scare of “the Social Security fund will soon be insolvent! It won’t have enough funds!” (If they’re trying to eliminate Social Security, why should they worry about its solvency or lack thereof?) The Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus of way-to-the-right republicans, put their proposal out, for the 2025 federal budget, to raise the retirement age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare, along with cuts in SSI for the blind, aged, and disabled retirees. (https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-03-21-republicans-want-to-raise-retirement-age/) (https://www.businessinsider.com/social-security-benefits-republicans-raise-age-retirement-cuts-2024-3) (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-budget-raise-age-retirement-social-security-medicare-rcna144341) Do they actually expect a lot of work out of elderly people, the blind, or physically challenged? But, knowing damn well this idea isn’t at all popular, they announce, in the most soothing tones, that they’re just making “adjustments” to the program, denying that they WILL NOT deny payments to the elderly or retirees. That’s the Republican propaganda tactic, to scoff and mock at any suggestion that they would eliminate these vital programs millions of Americans (like me) depend on to survive. Their real constituency are the billionaires and corporations who have their cushy positions and fortunes, and don’t have to worry about getting from oen paycheck to the next. How long have we heard this? I remember this talk since the 70s: pundits would warn, in an “as we all know” tone, that all of our financial foes stem from “excessive government spending” and “excessive regulation” of industries, and such programs as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps (now SNAP), Unemployment Compensation, etc., and made the scapegoat for such problems, and the mainstream, commercial, “left-liberal slanted” news media picks up on this line and broadcasts it ad nauseam. (Media conglomerates, remember, are also mega-corporations, and they also have a stake in preserving the economic system.) And so, low-income and working-class people are lectured about being “too lazy to find a job, just leaching off welfare,” and racial stereotypes are added in the mix. This line of “reasoning” is seldom ever questioned or examined; seldom are the questions asked, “IS federal government social spending all that “excessive? DOES federal regulation of industries REALLY damage the economy? ARE people of color the only ones feeding off the welfare trough?” NOW is the time to start asking these questions, and the current movement of workers organizing, along with the Bernie Sanders campaigns of 2016 and 2020 and the COVID pandemic, where workers had to either work at home to do their jobs, and “essential” workers like store workers and medical workers realized how essential they were in making the economy, at least the company, run; with our the workers, they’d be like generals without an army, just talking to themselves and can get nothing done. In my reading of history, primarily US Social History, Capitalists want workers dependent upon them for jobs, since workers’ only asset is their labor power; a vast population of unemployed workers, fighting amongst each other for the same few jobs, with no other source of income but the pittance the employer gives them, is their ideal. A form on social insurance, such as SNAP (I remember the program as Food Stamps, and I had them), or Unemployment Compensation, or Social Security (I get that also), gives workers a little breathing space, a little bit of independence, something to live on while looking for a job; it’s a form of independence from the capitalist employers, to show they’re not totally in control of their lives. The capitalist class needs this vast population of unemployed workers fighting amongst each other, to depress wages and make the workers dependent on them; and their political lackeys whine about low-income people becoming “dependent” on government funds to get by. Now, after COVID, these “non-essential” workers see how essential they are to the economy, and to the very life of the corporation they work for. SO, let us continue to support workers’ work in organizing themselves for their mutual protection and well-being. SO, Americans, let us organize and educate ourselves about the REAL issues, the REAL dangers facing us. The CEOs of the multi-billion-dollar corporations are as much a danger to us as are the goons, bullies, and fascists trump riles up in his rallies. And, of course, on election day, get out there and VOTE, like our nation and our democracy depend on it, because it does. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! Am Yisrael Chai! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, March 18, 2024

I speak about the Jewish holiday Purim, and its theme of taking down tyrants.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, March 11, 2024

I honor the memory of my friend and union sister, Barbara Rahke (OBM), and I offer a commentary about the State Of The Union address.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, March 4, 2024

I speak today about the corruption of the Supreme Court, Mitch McConnell's legacy, and trump's judicial problems.