Day: March 5, 2010

The Hypocrisy On Health Care Of Republicans: Totally Embarrassing!

Ronald 1 Comment

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC has just revealed the total hypocrisy and lack of embarrassment of two GOP Senators and a Senate candidate on the issue of Health Care Reform.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, who has four times in the past twenty years voted to cut Medicare spending, and spoke up on the need for Medicare and Medicaid reform during his 2008 Presidential campaign, now is trying to stop health care reform by working to guarantee that there are no future cuts in the Medicare program, just the opposite of everything he has always stood for!

Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who last September said he agreed with 80 percent of the Obama health care plan, now says he does not agree with any part of it, that it is all “junk” even though the administration has included a number of GOP suggestions in the revised health care bill, and in theory, he should, by his own earlier statements, agree with more than 80 percent of it now!

And GOP Senate candidate Sue Lowden, running for the nomination to oppose Senator Harry Reid in Nevada, put out a campaign commercial that opposed federal government intervention in health care, as that would threaten Medicare! The problem, of course, is that Medicare IS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! Does Lowden think the Nevada population is that stupid, and could it be that all three Republicans mentioned have a problem with being honest and truthful?

The Republican party continues to embarrass not only itself, but its history under Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower and even Ronald Reagan. This party is proving to be bankrupt of any ideas or vision, and it is hard to imagine the American people being bamboozled by their propaganda and lies! If that does indeed happen, it is more because of fear and ignorance than anything else, and would be a sad commentary on the future of the country! 🙁

Grace Groner And The True Purpose Of Wealth: Do Unto Others!

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Grace Groner died at age 100 this past January 19, and had gained many friends during her century of life.

She lived frugally in a small one bedroom cottage in Lake Forest, Illinois, and enjoyed traveling in her retirement years and contributing a scholarship fund to her alma mater, Lake Forest College. She never married or had children, but always was gregarious and judged people by their character, rather than their material assets.

She was a secret millionaire from a stock investment in 1935, which kept on multiplying over 75 years, and she laid secret plans to give her assets upon death to her alma mater, so when she died, and it was revealed she had left $7 million to the college, it absolutely astounded people, including the college’s President.

This is a beautiful story, as Grace could have been selfish and materialistic, as so many wealthy people are, not caring about those less fortunate and only concerned about retaining their wealth, and looking down on those who were struggling through life, in a harsh, judgmental way.

Instead of leading a dissolute life, and making no contribution to mankind, she made the ultimate sacrifice. She lived as if she was not wealthy by good fortune, and decided to donate her fortune to college students, the future generation, and therefore to encourage education and occupational advancement.

For her wisdom and generosity and decency, Grace Groner should always be remembered as the unusual wealthy person: a truly decent human being! 🙂

John F. Kennedy And The Proposed History Channel Miniseries

Ronald 1 Comment

The History Channel, a cable station which often has had excellent programming, and has successfully promoted many citizens’ interest in history, is now on the road to the promotion of myth and sensationalism, rather than historical truth.

Already controversial for a series a few years ago that promoted the view that Lyndon Johnson was involved in the conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy, now plans are in the works for a miniseries on the Kennedy Presidency, with actors reenacting the events of the Kennedy Administration, but with great distortions and mistruths as the basis of the miniseries, an agenda being promoted by political opponents of the Kennedy family.

With up to 20 scenes that portray the President as seemingly always engaging in sexual affairs, and apparently focused on that rather than the duties of his office, the series looks as if it will be a hatchet job on a President, who despite his shortcomings and admitted love affairs in office, actually had major accomplishments, and should not be remembered by future generations of students and citizens primarily for his escapades, but for his courage in the areas of the civil rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

It is a disgrace when history is so popularized that it becomes a mythology that will much longer remain in the minds of Americans, than the actual important truths and contributions that are made by historical figures.

The History Channel should immediately change the nature of the upcoming miniseries in 2011, or cancel it promptly! 🙁

Shannon Meehan: Iraq War Veteran Who Deserves Commendation!

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Shannon Meehan, an Iraq War veteran, who ordered a strike on a building in which an Iraqi family was killed in the summer of 2007, and who suffered from brain trauma injury and post traumatic stress disorder as a result, is taking a step to make a major contribution in the future. He is running for the Pennsylvania state legislature as a Democrat in this fall’s election.

Meehan has felt guilt ever since the tragic event almost three years ago, and the fact that he does is both sad but also inspiring as one would hope that all soldiers feel a responsibility when mistakes are made. The fact that he wants to offer himself to improve his state and our country by engaging in American politics is a wonderful result of his earlier, courageous commitment to defend our nation!

It proves that despite the cynicism and anti government mentality of the Tea Party Movement, that we still have many patriotic Americans who see that if we attack our government and promote division, that makes the chance of success and progress less likely.

Meehan is a fine young man who represents the best of American youth, and the author hopes he will succeed in his quest for the Pennsylvania legislature, and will be seen in the halls of Congress in the near future. We need more people of character, principle and morals to lead our nation into the future!

Mitt Romney’s Appearance At The National Press Club: Presidential Potential

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who failed to win the GOP Presidential nomination in 2008, is on a book tour for his new work, which is seen as the prelude to his Presidential candidacy in 2012.

Already believing that Romney is the Republican party’s best bet against President Obama in 2012, the image that Romney left at the National Press Club appearance this afternoon was a good one.

While of course Romney attacked President Obama on both economic and foreign policy, he also made two statements worthy of note.

He was asked if the United States should be considered a Christian nation, and he responded by saying that of course the Judeo-Christian values of honor, family, home, loyalty, etc. have had an important impact on our history, but at the same time we are also affected by other religious values of other faiths, and that it would not be correct to call us a Christian nation. That statement made the author feel very reassured, as we are NOT a Christian nation, but at the most a nation with a heavy majority of people who are born to one Christian sect or another. Romney made it clear that we were not designed to promote one particular view of God on the nation at large. Coming from a Mormon, who will have trouble, unfortunately, gaining support from evangelical Christians who distrust the Mormon church, it is a statement that makes one feel comfortable that his goal is NOT to promote theocracy in America.

Romney also said that he is a conservative (although his record in Massachusetts belies that), but he stated that the goal of government should not be to go too far to the Left OR too far to the Right in making government policy. This statement reassures those who do not want a dramatic swing to the Right, and makes Romney, despite whatever rhetoric he might utilize, seem to be an ultimate centrist or moderate if he were to win the White House, a view that the author has long believed.

Romney has the potential to bring the Republican party back to the center of American politics, but of course the rightward tilt of the GOP in Congress and the growing influence of the Tea Party Movement could very well become a barrier to his having the chance to gain the Republican nomination.

If the Republicans were smart, and they probably are not so, they would nominate Romney as having the best chance to be a strong opponent of President Obama, and who would likely be a mainstream, acceptable President were he to triumph in the election of 2012.

Protests Nationwide Against Higher Education Budget Cuts And The Tea Party Movement

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Higher education is facing a crisis nationwide, as state budget cuts and outrageously higher tuition costs are forcing many students to drop out of college, take more years to complete their degrees, and add an overwhelming burden of long term debt through student loans that will predetermine, in many cases, the fields they specialize in for a career.

This is not an issue just of how it affects individuals; it affects the future economic, social, and security interests of the nation!

The Great Recession is undermining the ability of state and local governments to provide the proper education to the eighty or more percent of students who do not have the economic means to attend private universities. If we do not provide moderately priced public higher education, it will lead to many students not fulfilling their intellectual potential. It also will force many students out of comparatively low paying fields, including nursing, teaching, and social work, which desperately need the best, most committed people for the nation’s secure future.

This crisis also weakens the long term knowledge base of millions of students, who often come out of public high schools poorly equipped to deal with the real world, because of a low general knowledge of what they need to know. Having the stress of needing to work multiple jobs to just survive in college makes the ability to learn permanently harmed, and undermines the purpose of college beyond career preparation: intellectual investigation and inquiry.

Unfortunately, the only solution long term is an increase in taxes and aid from the federal government, but that conflicts with the reality of the economy, with millions of people out of work, and millions not able to pay property taxes as their homes are foreclosed.

It also conflicts with the Tea Party Movement, which promotes cuts in taxes and cuts in government spending, an impossible scenario as that only promotes long term inferiority educationally in all of the states. It is the right wing, conservative willingness to back constant deficit spending for wars, and deregulation of the economy that has led to this horrific Great Recession.

If we have the Tea Party Movement succeed this fall, the situation educationally will only worsen dramatically, as their complaints, and solutions of the crisis we are in will only create further chaos and anarchy, which may just be their purpose ultimately! 🙁