Day: March 4, 2010

Sarah Palin: What Are Her Plans For The Future?

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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 Vice Presidential nominee on John McCain’s GOP ticket, is confounding observers by her busy life and plans.

She has become a commentator on Fox News Channel, has now tried comedy on Jay Leno’s late night show, and is shopping, according to reports, for a reality TV show involving Alaska and the Palin family!

This is not the typical route for a person contemplating a possible run for the Presidency. It would seem, rather, that between these activities and her best selling memoir, that she is more interested in being a good capitalist and exploiting her fame, or lack of it, from her Vice Presidential run.

The question is whether Sarah Palin could utilize this unusual background and life plans in the present, and a year from now catapult herself into the Presidential race. If that does happen, which seems more unlikely every day, it will be the oddest route to the Presidential race ever seen!

The Levins, Sander And Carl, And Congressional Power And Influence

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The leave of absence of Congressman Charles Rangel as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee opens the door to Congressman Sander Levin of Michigan to become its new Chairman, after 28 years in the House.

At the same time, his younger brother, Carl Levin, has been Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee since 2007, and has been representing Michigan in the Senate for 32 years.

So the brothers Levin are in charge of committees dealing with all spending bills and military matters respectively, and that makes them brothers of tremendous power and influence on a level never seen in Congress in its history.

Both have excellent reputations and have served Michigan with distinction, with Carl Levin being the longest serving senator in the history of the state.

The country will be well served with both Levins committed to decent, honest leadership!

Ronald Reagan To Replace Ulysses S. Grant On Fifty Dollar Bill? How about FDR?

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A move is beginning to replace Civil War General and President Ulysses S. Grant on the fifty dollar bill with President Ronald Reagan.

The argument is that Grant is rated near the bottom of the Presidents, while Reagan is usually rated as in the bottom of the top ten or at the top of the next ten.

Grant was certainly a disaster in the Presidency, but Grant also won the surrender of Robert E. Lee to end the Civil War at Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April 9, 1865.

It seems to the author there is a case to remove Grant, but I have what I think is a better solution.

Earlier, there had been discussion of taking Franklin D. Roosevelt off the dime and putting Ronald Reagan in his place. That would have been a terrible decision, and the idea was dropped.

What I propose is take FDR off the dime, place him on the fifty dollar bill to replace Grant, and put Reagan on the dime!

Since a fifty dollar bill has much greater value and gets noticed more, it seems to me that we should finally honor FDR for the New Deal and his leadership during World War II and for his more than twelve years in the Presidency, which changed our lives in so many ways long term. Don’t forget that he is rated number two or number three of all our Presidents in any legitimate scholarly poll.

Reagan, being more recent, should be on the dime, joining Lincoln on the penny, Jefferson on the nickel, and Washington on the quarter. That should be enough of an honor, and this way two Presidents who made a difference get due recognition!

Academic Freedom Under Attack At Towson State University In Baltimore!

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A case attacking academic freedom has occurred at Towson State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

An adjunct professor of Art, Allen Zaruba, was fired for using the N word in his discussion, a passing comment about his status as an adjunct professor who had no security or ability to improve his status.

Basically, he just blundered, not carefully considering what he was uttering, and while it was wrong to say what he said, for the provost to go ahead and fire him after 12 years of employment part time, and with a record of excellent student evaluations, seems overly harsh.

A reprimand and warning would have been sufficient, as to fire him on the phone without any due process was against our system of justice. The American Association of University Professors declared that Professor Zaruba deserved a full hearing, and a poll of Towson students showed that 77 percent thought the firing was uncalled for on one incident alone.

Towson State University should rescind its action, and if it does not, then the AAUP should censure the institution for its mistreatment of an professor who has been brought under an unreasonable standard. It does not reflect well on that institution, and needs more publicity and attention in the news media to bring pressure to rescind such an unjust action!