Alcohol

Paul Ryan Self Destructs Any Chance To Run For President!

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, who this blogger spent a lot of time working to undermine his Vice Presidential candidacy in 2012, and got blasted for it by right wing websites and bloggers, has again shown further evidence of what a terrible choice Mitt Romney made in his Presidential race, in selecting Ryan to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency!

Ryan, who knows nothing about budgets, except that the poor, the elderly, the disabled, veterans, and the young should see cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other social programs; and there should be no extension of unemployment compensation for desperately unemployed people; and there should be no rise in the minimum wage, now has gone off the “deep end” with his assertion that those who live in the “inner cities” have no sense of the importance of work, and have not worked for generations!

This is a direct and racist assault on African Americans in particular, but also on Hispanics and Latinos, who are a majority of the poor in the urban areas of our nation.

But Ryan acts as if it is only minorities who are poor, and are unemployed, and in some cases, have not worked in a long time. From this statement, one would think that whites are not poor, that they all work, that they all have a heritage of understanding the point of work, and nothing could be further from the truth!

It is a fact, and always has been, that the vast majority of the poor do not live in cities, and are not minorities, although one would think so from a stereotype!

The fact is that there are millions of whites who live in the rural and suburban areas of the nation, and many are them do not work, have no hope of work, and live in depressed conditions often worse than urban slums. Many of these people are living in “Red” states, where Republicans vote to hurt their own constituents, while making it seem as if only minorities do not work, or have no work ethic. They live in Appalachia, the Great Plains, the Rockies, in comparatively sparsely populated areas, as compared to the urban areas on the East and West Coasts.

More whites receive food stamps, and the level of poverty percentage wise is higher in such places as Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska.

It is the lack of education; the tendency to have large families which are also dysfunctional; the reality of drugs and alcohol; the refusal of these state governments to give a damn about their white poor, along with minority poor; and the tendency to turn poor whites against poor minorities so that the GOP can keep power in the House and in the state legislatures, which is destroying generation after generation of deprived people of all races!

Only when there is a REAL war on poverty, instead of exploiting the issue based upon race, as Paul Ryan has now done, will we ever be able to guarantee a good future for millions of whites, as well as African Americans and Latinos!

And Paul Ryan, your potential Presidential candidacy is dead in the water, and while you might run, you have forfeited any realistic chance to be President of the United States, but that was clear, anyway, in 2012!

Barack Obama On Race, Football, And Marijuana

Barack Obama has been very cautious and careful about speaking out on controversial issues, but now, as the fifth anniversary of his accession to the Presidency takes place, he is becoming more open, and it is very refreshing, and really, about time to do so!

Sarah Palin and other right wingers can claim all along that Obama plays the “race card”, when he has never done so in reality. They would love him to play the role of the “angry black man”, so they can further condemn him, and denounce him in the worst possible language!

Instead, Obama frustrates them by his refusal to talk much about race until now, and to reject being the “angry black man.” Rather, he has been dignified, classy, judicious, and respectful toward people he should have long ago rejected in no uncertain terms, and should have denounced them in strong language!

This author would not have the patience and ability to ignore insults that our 44th President has had, and even now, when he starts to speak up openly, he is still graceful and gentlemanly in his language.

So he tells us that he knows some people (actually a lot) dislike him because he is black, and that others like him because he is black! This makes total sense, and there is no debate about that!

He also tells us that if he had a son, he would not let him play tackle football, as too dangerous to the head and neck, and leading to concussions. In this, the author agrees, as no sport is worth one’s health being affected long term. Football may be a popular sport, but it is a vicious, dangerous sport due to the aggressiveness of tackles and other football players, for whom victory is all that matters, and the helmets that are used encourage larger and heavier players to do harm to others, rather than be good sports while playing.

The sad part is how some fans do not give a damn, as long as they can see blood and gore on the field, which pleases their lust for violence. It is as if this is ancient Rome and the gladiators, where spectators did not give a damn about the health, safety, and lives of the participants.

And the fact that the vast majority of players are black, sadly, also promotes a lack of concern by some fans who want the players to be there for entertainment, but no real concern about their long range health and safety long term. If the majority were still white, as decades ago, there would be a greater uproar by fans, and also by team owners and coaches about this health and safety issues, but heck, who seems to care about players of the race that some fans would still not allow in their homes for dinner or social interaction! Face the facts, this is the truth, whether some are willing to say so or not openly!

And Obama speaking up on the effects of marijuana as compared to tobacco and alcohol, that it is far less dangerous than those two drugs, is certainly true, as there is no record of the kind of long range damage of marijuana as compared to tobacco and alcohol. This is not an endorsement of anyone using marijuana, but simply the truth, as Obama makes clear, and ideally, no young person should feel a need to use marijuana, anymore than tobacco or alcohol, as it is not good for one’s health.

Let this author make it clear that he has never used tobacco or marijuana, and rarely drinks alcohol, and has never been drunk, as he prefers to face reality, and does not wish to be under the influence of any of these drugs. It is best for anyone to avoid these different drugs!

But certainly, to have people in prison for marijuana leads to many more blacks than whites, and that is wrong, and reform of sentencing, and release of those in prison for marijuana possession or sale, needs reform immediately!

It was wonderful that Obama opened up on these issues, and it allowed this author to state how he feels about these matters as well, and hopefully, Obama will feel liberated and speak more openly about how he feels, and the critics be damned!