Month: August 2009

Betsy McCaughey is probably the one person who can be more condemned as an enemy of  health care reform than any other individual in America, and that is saying a lot!

An  attractive looking lady, you would never think she is the single most important figure to have worked against the Clinton health care initiative in 1993-1994, and again has become the leader of the struggle against any health care reform in 2009.

If her name sounds vaguely familiar for other political activism,  it is because she was Lieutenant Governor under Republican Governor George Pataki from 1995-1999,  his first term as New York Governor.  But she became  involved in controversy in ways that convinced Pataki to drop her from the ticket in 1998.

She has now become the biggest promoter of the idea that Obama’s plan for health care reform will promote the “death of Grandma”,  the idea of  “death panels”  that is also being newly promoted by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin  (after she withdrew the assertion two days after stating it)  and others, including Newt Gingrich and numerous talk show hosts.   All of the above, and certainly Ms. McCaughey,  KNOW they are promoting lies and deception, but it is obvious they have touched a nerve of scared and fearful Americans and will stop at nothing to destroy any chance for health care reform.

If the health care reform bill fails,  many will be held responsible,  but high on the list,  and maybe the very top of it will be one Betsy McCaughey!   🙁
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Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, and House Minority Whip from Virginia, has been strangely silent as a swastika was painted on the door of Georgia Congressman David Scott’s local office,  and as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have labeled Barack Obama as a Hitler with Nazi viewpoints.

Why is Eric Cantor unwilling to speak up on the abuse of the facts about Nazism, considering that he knows the truth of what Nazis did to the Jewish population of Europe, along with other groups, including gays and gypsies?  Does he really think a black Congressman and black President are Nazi like, enough so that one depiction of Obama has him with the Hitler mustache?  Is  he afraid to speak up against the indecency of conservative talk show hosts and even his fellow Republican leaders and party members?

Does Eric Cantor have a conscience, or is his long range desire to run for President preventing him from showing any principle or guts?

The  Jewish community and all decent people need to hear from Eric Cantor.  Speak up, and as John F. Kennedy wrote,  prove you are a “Profile in Courage”.   Denounce these words and actions and call for a condemnation of talk show hosts who have no desire to do anything but divide the nation,  prevent any medical care legislation,  and promote an atmosphere of violence and bloodshed.

If anything, god forbid,  should happen to the President or any member of Congress, or just an ordinary citizen,  the blood will be on the hands of these despicable peddlers of hate, and also on  the hands of a gutless Congressman named Eric Cantor!

It is a very poignant time if one respects the contributions and public career of Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Acknowledged as the “Lion of the Senate”,  one of its most exceptional members in the long history of that body,   well respected even by his Republican colleagues,  Ted Kennedy has been battling a brain tumor, first made public in May 2008.

He managed to endorse and promote the election of Barack Obama as President,  and has been championing major reform in the area of health care, which unfortunately is now bogged down by rumors, lies,  distortions, misconceptions, and pure demagoguery by talk show hosts,  corporate interests, and the Republican party.   It was hoped that we would be able to accomplish major reform as the culmination of his 47 years service in the Senate, the third longest ever.

Ted Kennedy has had his warts and shortcomings,  as for instance in the Chappaquiddick Affair forty years ago,  but he has done his best to redeem himself  by serving as the voice of the poor, the sick, the elderly, the disadvantaged, and the powerless.  There are very few senators who can match his public record in the Senate, and everyone knows he is a passionate advocate of the causes he cares about.

But recent days show evidence that he may be nearing the end of his battle with cancer.  He only has shown up a couple of times in public this year,  and three developments  in the past week are looming signs of a terrible piece of news that I hope will not occur as soon as it seems likely at this point.

First,  he is the only Senator who did not show up to vote on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court,  a nomination he much applauded.  Second, he was not present when he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this week, with his daughter accepting the award and his sons also present for the honor.  Finally, today, he was unable to appear at the funeral mass of his beloved sister and founder of the Special Olympics,  Eunice Kennedy Shriver.   It is obvious that he would have been present, were he in good enough health condition to be at these momentous events.

So this is a time to be sad and recognize the reality that he may be  leaving us sooner rather than later.   I pray this is not so, but I think realistically,  this is the likely scenario very soon.

This is a moment to reflect and pray as hard as we can for a miracle, which will allow Ted Kennedy to return to the Senate and lead the charge for health care reform and other major reforms that have had to be delayed,  until we could have a progressive President in the White House.  May God look kindly on him and bless him with relief from pain and suffering, and give him a remission, so he can continue his great service to the nation!

The news has come out today that former Vice President Dick Cheney is writing a “tell all” book in which he will strike out against his boss, former President George W. Bush.

The book is due out in 2011, and is sure to be a best seller, revealing the growing chasm that developed between Cheney and Bush during the second term.

Cheney has made it clear that he thinks Bush showed signs of weakness during his second term by playing to popular opinion on many issues.  That, plus  the refusal of the former President to give a full pardon to Scooter Libby, the Cheney loyalist,  caused intense disputes within the White House during the latter part of the second term.

Also,  Cheney was a big defender of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,  and was unhappy when he was finally replaced by Robert Gates during 2006.

To top it off,  Gates has been a very effective Defense Secretary not only under Bush, but under Barack Obama as well.  He has been one of the pleasant surprises in his performance,  although,  in the process,  alienating many congressional Republicans, who do not appreciate a Republican in that high a position agreeing to work for the Democratic administration.

Cheney remains a zealot,  who refuses to go quietly, not only in his ongoing plans to criticize Bush, but also in  his determination to oppose President Obama in a very active way.   He has the view of an extremist,  a hard liner on foreign affairs,  that is seen by most sane people as a dangerous direction.

Cheney did tremendous damage as Vice President,  and he is likely to face further investigation into decisions he promoted that undermined international law and even broke American laws.   We have not heard the  last from Cheney, and are not likely to see him “retire” from the scene anytime soon.

It is hard to believe that we can actually give Bush credit for,  at times,  refusing to go as far as Cheney wanted him to on many matters.   If anything, Cheney’s continued zealotry may have the effect of softening the image of George W. Bush.  That may be the greatest contribution that Cheney will have made to the Bush Presidency.  If that is not an irony, what is?

We can certainly be thankful that despite the terrible image of George W. Bush,  we can, at least, be appreciative of the fact that he survived his two terms in office, and allowed us to avoid the potential and real nightmare of a President Dick Cheney! 🙁

It is absolutely amazing how some so called “Christians”  do not believe in following the teachings and beliefs of Jesus Christ.

There is nothing in the story of Jesus to indicate that he believed in promoting prejudice, racism, discrimination or religious hatred.  There is nothing to indicate that he believed in the idea of everyone owning  a gun.  There is nothing to indicate that he looked down on poor people or thought that assistance to those less fortunate was “socialism”.

In fact,  it is clear that he would believe in the concept of health care being offered to everyone, despite their economic station in life.  He would not be opposed to the concept of people sharing responsibility for those less fortunate.  He would be a “we” person, not a “me” person.  He would not be a conservative, with their mean spirited, nasty, narrow minded view of society–that those who have continue to have, and forget about responsibility to the rest of society.

Jesus Christ would not be pleased with conservatism in America, and religious zealots who promote hate and division, and the Republican party which unfortunately has become the party sowing lies, hate, division of society in its purpose to undermine change and reform and regain power.

Those who attack the concept of health care for everyone are to be condemned as “unChristian”,   people who Jesus Christ would criticize rightfully!