Day: February 26, 2010

The Coffee Party Movement Rises In Opposition To The Tea Party Movement!

Ronald Leave a comment

A new political movement has emerged in opposition to the Tea Party Movement, which is clearly a right wing activist organization.

This progressive movement is called the Coffee Party Movement, which calls for cooperation in government; sees the federal government not as the enemy but rather the expression of the collective will of the American people; and calls for participation in the political system to address the challenges that the country faces. The movement calls for supporting leaders who promote positive views and programs, and to hold obstructionists accountable for their negativism and opposition.

The Coffee Party is gaining support in 30 states at this time, and it has emerged on Facebook with a growing number of followers. Plans are being made to have a national march or conference this summer.

The one thing that stands out about both the Tea Party and Coffee Party Movements is that that they are encouraging ordinary citizens into political action, which is good for the promotion of our democratic system of government.

But the Coffee Party has a positive, optimistic side to it, which is definitely much more appealing! There is a lot about the Tea Party Movement which is very ugly and scary, encouraging extremist conspiracy theories and hate of government, as if we can do without government!

Senator Jim Bunning: A Disgraceful, Despicable Action To Block Unemployment Compensation And COBRA Extension! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky already has a reputation in the chamber, even among his fellow Republicans, of being a “problem”, an embarrassment, and as one of the absolutely worst senators in the history of the United States!

He has used foul language, been totally uncooperative even with the Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, a fellow Kentuckian, and people have wondered about his mental alertness and sanity.

The fact that he finally chose not to run for reelection is a blessing for his party, but now even in his last months, he has chosen to use “senatorial privilege” to block an extension of unemployment beliefs and COBRA health care for the most desperate among us, the long term unemployed. He is another one of those senators who loves to quote religious themes, and yet he is willing to promote a direct assault on those in our society who are the most unfortunate!

The basis of him, all alone, stopping extension, is that the cost of the extension must be paid for, which certainly makes sense, but the fact that he voted to support two wars that have destroyed our budgetary balance, plus voted for both Bush tax cuts to the rich, makes him a total hypocrite now, when the most downcast in our society are in need!

Jim Bunning may have been a great baseball player with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950s and 1960s, who ended up in the Hall of Fame, the only baseball player to have done that and been in the Senate. But in his nastiness and mean spiritedness now demonstrated, yet again, he is certainly no Hall of Famer in politics! 🙁

Portrayals Of President Obama At Health Care Summit: Totally Distorted!

Ronald Leave a comment

I have not had the chance yet to watch the six to seven hours of the Health Care Summit at Blair House, but I have seen excerpts of it online, and it is clear that some news media have painted President Obama’s participation in a very distorted manner!

According to Rush Limbaugh early yesterday afternoon, Obama had pursed lips and was angry at House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, who read from portions of the congressional bills while having them stacked in front of his face to demonstrate the size in pages of the bills.

When John McCain complained about the unfairness of the bill to his constituents in Arizona as compared to Florida and other states, Obama was depicted in news reports as involved in an angry response to his former rival, declaring that the election was over, and it was time to do something on the issue of health reform for the American people, rather than harp on the process!

Having seen these excerpts, I fail to see the portrayal of Obama as anywhere near accurate!

Obama was simply making clear that the desire of the Republicans to destroy all of the many hours of work on health care would not be allowed to occur!

When one realizes that there were hundreds of briefings; dozens of caucus meetings; hundreds of hours of hearings; many weeks of markups in five committees; 25 days of consecutive Senate meetings in the month of December; sixty full hours of Senate debate after cloture was voted twice; and that it passed both Houses once already;–when is enough enough? It is time for action to cut down the unnecessary 45,000 deaths a year caused by lack of health care coverage for millions of Americans!

President Obama was simply being assertive and firm, and acting like a leader. This is his challenge to show leadership in a similar way that John F. Kennedy showed toward the steel industry in 1962; that Dwight D. Eisenhower demonstrated in the Little Rock intervention in 1957; that Lyndon Johnson made clear in the fight over the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and that many other Presidents who have been seen as successful have had to demonstrate!

The propaganda machine churns on, but it is clear that President Obama handled himself very well at the Health Care Summit, and that soon, the Democrats will move to final action on the Health Care Reform Act of 2010!