Day: March 7, 2010

Sarah Palin Invokes God To Defend Palm Notes: Is She For Real?

Sarah Palin, the former Alaska Governor and 2008 GOP Vice Presidential nominee, has been ridiculed for having written a few key words on the palm of her hand during the Tea Party Convention last month. One would have thought that she would have known the key points she was going to make in her speech.

As ridiculous as that looked, Sarah has now made things worse by stating that God wrote on his hand, and that she was simply following his lead!

It must be admitted that this explanation will appeal to maybe 30 percent of the country, the same population that automatically supports Sarah Palin, but it only adds to her ultimate problem: Can anyone in the Republican party take her seriously as a candidate for President based on such statements, added to all her other liabilities?

Have we ever had a nominee of a political party who is best remembered for the weirdness of his or her statements and behavior? Are we willing to descend to the lowest common denominator in picking a President of the United States? Hopefully, the answer is NO!

The Capture of Adam Gedahn: Will Dick Cheney And The Republicans Stop Calling Obama Weak In The War on Terrorism?

The just announced capture of American expatriate and Muslim convert Adam Gedahn, who grew up in California and became a spokesman for Al Qaeda in 2004, and is on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, is a great step forward in the war on terror worldwide!

This comes on top of arrests recently of other Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives, primarily by cooperation between the Pakistani spy agency and our CIA.

To accuse the Obama Administration of being weak in the terrorism fight, as Dick Cheney, other Republicans, talk radio, and Fox News Channel asserts, is obviously ridiculous and outrageous! 🙂

It is time to stop politicizing this threat to our security and unite around the President. However, is that likely? Don’t bet on it, as the Republicans and conservatives are only interested in promoting fear and division, rather than unity and support for our President, whose administration is doing a fantastic job, way beyond anything accomplished during the Bush-Cheney Administration!

NOTE:  IT TURNS OUT THAT ADAM GEDAHN WAS NOT CAPTURED, AND IS STILL AT LARGE!

General David Petraeus And Gays In The Military

General David Petraeus appeared on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria Global Public Square today, and made major news.

The head of the US Central Command, and past leading General in the Iraq War, said that he had served with gay and lesbian soldiers in his 36 years in the military and with CIA personnel, and that after ten seconds of absorbing that fact, that then the issue was simply can we all work together on the military mission to accomplish the goals at hand.

And Petraeus said the answer was “Yes”, so therefore he has no problem with exploring the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”!

So Petraeus joins Admiral Mike Mullen, head of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State Robert Gates, in endorsing the end of the discriminatory policy.

It is time for President Obama to assert his leadership, and take the kind of action by executive order, as Commander in Chief, that President Harry Truman took courageously in 1948, when he ordered racial integration of the military, no matter how much opposition there was in the South and in the military itself!

Realize also that 25 countries already allow gays in the military, including Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and Israel, which Petraeus describes as “pretty good” military! So it is time for change!

Tom “The Hammer” DeLay Is Back: Please Go Back Into Obscurity! :(

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, forced out of office, and facing a federal trial on corruption charges in the future, was back in the spotlight on CNN State of The Union with Candy Crowley this morning, and after his appearance, the best advice one could give him is GO AWAY! 🙁

Already controversial for promoting the “Birther” movement which has questioned the birthplace of Barack Obama, DeLay now has the gall to defend those senators, including Jon Kyl of Arizona, who claim that unemployment compensation promotes laziness and lack of interest in seeking work! 🙁

DeLay expands this idea of Kyl to say that everyone knows that most people on unemployment compensation like being unemployed, and will only look for work a few weeks before it runs out! So in other words, the fact that unemployment compensation only covers up to half of a worker’s salary up to a certain level, is motivating to have people sit around and enjoy their unemployment period! 🙁

What an insult this is to the millions on unemployment compensation, many who are desperate to feed their families, pay their rent or mortgage, and have no health care in most cases while unemployed! 🙁

I hope the Republican party continues to promote this hard hearted, Social Darwinism concept of those who are unemployed and poor. In the midst of the Great Recession, the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, primarily caused by Republican Congresses and the Bush Administration through their advocacy of massive tax cuts for the rich and deregulation of business corporations, they have the nerve to advocate such views! 🙁

This kind of mentality will, if there is any common sense left in this country, lead to the GOP NOT gaining massive numbers of new seats in Congress, as they have the cocky belief is about to happen! 🙁

Obama Is Wrong On Central Falls, Rhode Island, Mass Firing of Teachers!

The controversy over the mass firings of the entire teaching staff at the lowest performing high school in Rhode Island, in Central Falls, has reached a new level with President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan endorsing the action by the superintendent.

The fact that the teachers union was demanding more pay for extra time and commitment led to this action by the top administrator of the school district. And certainly, the scholastic performance of the students is atrocious, with half the students failing every class, and only seven percent on the normal grade level in math!

But realize that a vast percentage of the students in the school and district are immigrant children who have a language barrier adding to their problems in performing well in school.

No one is saying that it is acceptable for students to do this poorly, and for no one to have accountability. But did it ever cross the President’s mind and that of the Education Secretary that there is also accountability on the part of students and parents?

Immigrants through many generations have had to deal with poverty and difficult times, but have achieved and accomplished through their own strength of character. To blame teachers en masse is unjustified and scapegoats them for the failures of students to commit themselves to learning, and also the importance of family involvement!

Certainly, it can be argued that teachers unions tend to protect inferior teachers, and that besmirches the many good and dedicated educators. There is an argument for periodic reassessment of teacher performances, but it should not be based solely on student performance, but rather on how teachers relate to students on a personal level. That is, are the teachers putting out efforts to educate, and are they sympathetic and caring in their personal approaches to their students?

If it is shown that a teacher is refusing to provide help to their students, and are antagonistic toward them and fail to fulfill the expectations we have of professionals in the classroom, then there are grounds for their removal, and tenure alone should not protect such inferior, incompetent teachers. But let’s not go ahead and endorse the mass firing of teachers in Rhode Island or elsewhere based on a power play by the superintendent, or the desire of conservatives to go after unions as an anti labor strategy!

Oh, and by the way, IF we truly want the best people in the classrooms all over the country, it is time to stop blaming them for societal ills and start compensating the “best and the brightest” so that we gain the best minds committed to the education of our future generations!

If we continue to go down this road of scapegoating and mass firings, it will only lead to more teachers leaving the profession, and therefore, furthering the decline in our educational system!

Treat teachers with dignity and respect, and insist on excellence and maximum effort, and you will gain much more than by using them as a political football, whether on the part of the Obama Administration or the conservative enemies of our education system!