Month: February 2010

Barack Obama And Clean Coal Technology Task Force

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President Obama has called for a task force to work on the issue of clean coal technology over the next decade, in order to deal with the energy crisis that faces this nation as we struggle to deal with global warming in future decades.

Governors of both parties, cabinet members, and Vice President Joe Biden participated in the meeting to emphasize the importance of this initiative.

As Obama said, the goal in the next ten years, and long term, is to have “clean” technology, so that we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Part of that goal is also to promote more use of nuclear energy, and more offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.

Movement Forward On Gays In The Military!

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The testimony of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff head Mike Mullen before the Senate Armed Services Committee, endorsing moves toward the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military, are a wonderful first step toward eventual end of the policy that forces gay service members out of the military, despite their ability to make a major contribution to our national defense.

Also, the statement of former Joint Chiefs of Staff and former General Colin Powell that he now backs what he opposed in 1993 during the Clinton Administration is an important moment in the fight against discrimination in our armed services.

It is clear that many service members did not like integration of African Americans in the military when President Truman ordered it in 1948, and also many do not like that women have served alongside men in recent years. But this is not a question of voting or personal feelings. It is an issue of basic fairness and human rights.

If some service member has a problem with gays, they will simply have to adapt and adjust, or leave the military early. The military services cannot allow discrimination or personal feelings to intervene, when it has been demonstrated that many NATO nations and Israel have long had gay members, and have adjusted and adapted well to it.

As former Senator and presidential nominee Barry Goldwater once said, who cares if someone is gay, as long as he can shoot straight on the battlefield? Good quote, and the successor to Senator Goldwater, Senator John McCain, should rethink his position and stop being critical, and support what so many people high in the military have now accepted: It is time for gays to be able to serve openly in the military alongside their brethren, as much as African Americans and other minorities and women!

Bill Clinton To Oversee Haiti Reconstruction: A Good Move By The UN!

Ronald 1 Comment

Former President Bill Clinton, already the UN Special Envoy to Haiti, has agreed to head the reconstruction effort in that earthquake ravaged nation.

Clinton will coordinate work of relief agencies and the activities of donors, investors, international activities, and non government organizations.

Bill Clinton may have his faults and shortcomings, but like Jimmy Carter, he has dedicated himself to doing good deeds around the world, and he should be applauded and commended for his willingness to make this major commitment of his time and labors to a nation which desperately needs the attention and focus of the international community.

Time To Reform The Filibuster As It Is Out Of Control! :(

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It is time for Senate rules to be changed and the filibuster to be reformed, if not, ended!

President Obama made the assertion, in a meeting with Senate Democrats today, that the Republicans had abused the filibuster, and the need for a cloture vote of 60 senators to end a filibuster had gotten out of hand.

He is totally right, as CNN proved! From 1949-1970, records show that a total of 30 cloture votes were needed, with no more than seven in any session.

Starting in the 1970s, with cloture possible with 60 votes, rather than 67, the tactic was used more often, with the 110th Congress in 2007-2008 using it 112 times, a record.

So far, in the 111th Congress, it has been used 41 times, with 39 last year and two this year so far.

Obama’s statement is that the present Congress had used it more than all the Congresses in the 1950s and 1960s combined, and he is totally correct! Remember, the number is 30 over twenty two years from 1949-1970, and now 41 in a year and a month.!

This tactic must be fought against, as it blocks progress and allows a minority to abuse its position. The minority has the right to its views; it does NOT have the right to deny the majority its rights to pass legislation, as a simple majority in the House is enough to pass a bill.

This is not democracy in action; it is obstructionism, pure deception and truculence, and it is time it ended! The majority should have the power, not the minority! Enough of this dirty tactic which has never contributed to anything good, as for years it prevented civil rights laws! Now it is negating the results of the Presidential election of 2008! The people voted, and their will should be obeyed and respected! 🙁

Obama Plan For $30 Billion Investment To Community Banks For Small Business Growth And Senator Judd Gregg

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Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, who at one point considered becoming Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration, has turned totally against the President, now being critical of the President’s plan to invest $30 billion of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds in community banks, rather than the large banks, to help promote small business loans that would lead to creation of jobs and the revival of the American economy.

Since small business employs about half of all workers in the nation, and since we have a severe jobs crisis, it makes sense to invest in small business loans through local and community banks.

And yet, Judd Gregg, who used to be seen as moderate and sensible, decides to issue a cheap political attack to promote the Republican cause, forgetting that it was the Republicans who put us in this economic mess!

I say everyone should condemn Judd Gregg and call upon him to stop his ridiculous attacks on President Obama, and work with him to solve the economic crisis!

Foot In Mouth Disease Occurring In Obama Administration :)

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One year in office, and the Obama Administration is getting itself into trouble by being too blunt and outspoken, and not carefully considering what is said. This could be called Foot In Mouth Disease!

President Obama said that in order to be responsible and prepare for college for one’s child, one should avoid going on vacation to Las Vegas and spending the money on gambling. He actually is correct, but Nevadans were angry over the remark, and Senator Harry Reid protested.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that Hurricane Katrina forced a reassessment of education in New Orleans, and that therefore, it was greatly improved because of that tragedy. This caused an obvious uproar in New Orleans, and Duncan apologized for his use of language.

Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel complained about liberal groups who criticized and refused to cooperate with the President, calling them “retards”and using foul language, and ended up apologizing to Tim Shriver, head of the Special Olympics, but was still bitterly criticized by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who has a Downs Syndrome child. This time, Sarah Palin actually was correct in her response to Emanuel’s thoughtless statement.

In the first two cases, the reality is that Obama and Duncan were correct. In the case of Rahm Emanuel, he has never been noted for diplomacy or clean language, and in that sense, often is a detriment to the President.

When one is a public official, he needs to think clearly before he speaks, but since all human beings have this fault, we can be critical, but still have realization that Foot In Mouth Disease is a normal trait! 🙂

Bill O’Reilly Cannot Do Simple Math! :) Or Is He Simply Manipulating The Facts And The Truth?

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Bill O’Reilly of Fox News Channel made a public speech recently in which he declared that the Obama Administration’s plans to hold civil trials for the September 11 conspirators and terrorists would cost too much money.

The Obama Administration has declared that it would cost about $200 million for a year to conduct the trials, and O’Reilly claims that it would take three to four years, which is highly unlikely.

But let’s say he is correct. If it was $200 million for three to four years, it would cost $600 million to $800 million, certainly not a small sum.

BUT, O’Reilly stated that if it cost $200 million per year for three to four years, it would cost ONE TRILLION DOLLARS!

Does O’Reilly realize that ONE TRILLION DOLLARS is ONE THOUSAND BILLION DOLLARS? Yes, one thousand billion dollars as compared to $600 million to $800 million!

Does O’Reilly have inability to know the difference between millions, billions, and a trillion dollars? Is he that stupid and ignorant, or is it that he thinks he can “pull the wool” over people’s eyes, which may sometimes be the case for those who cannot understand basic math?

In any case, it is more likely that it is the latter,and that Bill O’Reilly is again actively manipulating and distorting the facts and the truth in his quest to gain more notoriety and also, face it, wealth, at the expense of the masses who believe in him and treat him as a reputable human being, which he has proved many times he is not! 🙁

Parental Censorship Of Public School Dictionaries And Books Unwarranted!

Ronald 2 Comments

Lately, there have been crazy stories about a single parent intervening in various public school districts around the country and insisting that dictionaries and books be withdrawn from the curriculum and library, because of something seen as promoting sex.

In one case in California, a parent protested when it was discovered that a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary included the word and definition of “oral sex”.

In a Virginia district, the Diary of Anne Frank, the best literature dealing with the Holocaust, was temporarily removed from the curriculum because one parent did not like that there was evidence in the updated edition of Anne Frank’s growing sexual awakening at age 14.

Why do administrators allow a single person, a parent, who is uptight about sexual matters, to dictate to the school and district what should be allowed to be read and utilized? Since when are most parents qualified to judge what is a good educational experience or appropriate sources?

Do we allow people in other professions to be told how to run their field of expertise by parents or the general public? NO, and it must not be the policy of educators and school districts to cater to every parent who has prejudice or narrow mindedness toward minority groups, or uptight attitudes about sexuality. These parents have no right to decide what everyone else must see or hear or read.

If they have that much objection to the public schools and wish to shelter their children from the real world, these parents have the privilege to withdraw their children from the public schools and enroll them in religiously based schools, or home school them. But it must be a firm NO to the idea that these single examples or even multiple examples of interfering parents should have the power to promote censorship!

John Edwards Scandal: How Low Can One Go? :(

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I must admit that I was fascinated with John Edwards in 2004, when John Kerry picked him as his Vice Presidential running mate, and saw him for a while as my favorite for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008.

Thank God that Edwards flopped and did not end up as the nominee of the Democrats for President or Vice President in 2008, or end up in President Obama’s cabinet as Attorney General! He would have destroyed his party and the nation! Instead, he just destroyed everyone that should have meant everything to him–his wife and children! 🙁

What gall for this man to seek such high positions while covering up a love scandal that produced a child, lying about it to his wife and the nation, cheating on his wife who has terminal cancer, and being a disgrace to his children and all people who want to trust and believe in politicians! 🙁

The best thing that John Edwards could do now is go into hiding as Tiger Woods has, work on restoring his relationship with his children, and beg the forgiveness of his estranged wife, Elizabeth.

Imagine when the time comes and Elizabeth dies! How is John Edwards going to look? Like the jerk, bum, disgrace that he is! 🙁

Roger Ailes, Fox News Channel, And The Republican Showdown With Barack Obama

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Roger Ailes, the President of Fox News Channel, was on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, and defended his station as the “fair and balanced” news channel.

After recovering from laughing over this, one must realize that Fox News Channel basically admitted that President Obama did very well in his showdown with House GOP members in Baltimore on Friday.

How do we know this? Because Fox News did not cover the whole session, which one would think they would do, since they are the mouthpiece for the GOP. That tells us what they began to realize, that Obama was overwhelming his GOP opponents, all 140 or more of them!

Anybody in their right mind recognizes that Obama did a fantastic job in this “question and answer session”, and that is why I would suggest he continue to offer the opposition the opportunity to have more public meetings!

At this rate, the Republican party will be in very poor shape, as they have no means to overwhelm the President, as any realistic observer recognizes that the mess the President is in and trying to work his way out of, is not due to Democrats, but to Republicans who controlled the Congress for 12 years and the Presidency for 8 years.

There will be bumps in the road, but one has to believe that despite insecurity and anger displayed at times, it seems clear that a majority of the American people, if they looked in the mirror, KNOW that Obama is working very hard and trying his best to produce miracles, and that there is a limit to what they can expect in short periods of time.

Fox News abandoning the confrontation between Obama and the House GOP is an admission that Obama was winning! 🙂 No question!