Month: May 2011

House Republicans Begin A Strategic Retreat On Medicare Portion Of Ryan Budget!

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The Republican Party may have committed a “Waterloo” on themselves by promoting the Paul Ryan plan to privatize Medicare over ten years, and taking a vote where all but four Republicans in the House of Representatives voted in favor of what has become a major controversy in House districts all over the nation during the Easter recess.

When Paul Ryan himself, Allan West in South Florida, and other GOP Congressmen witnessed massive assaults on them at Town Halls in their districts, it had a tremendous impact on them, putting some of them into panic mode.

So now House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia has indicated that the GOP will not push the change in the Medicare system until after the 2012 elections.

That is a warning sign of what can be expected if the American people are stupid or ignorant enough to elect a Republican House of Representatives and Senate and a Republican President in 2012.

The Republicans are biding their time, and hoping that corporate outlays in campaign spending and effective propaganda commercials can fool the people a second time!

The Democrats, led by Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, have made it clear that they will hammer home what the GOP wanted to do, and what it will certainly do if they gain complete control of the government. And one can be sure that Democratic National Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the South Florida Congresswoman, will be effective in pushing the issue as well!

There is no question of the need to reform Medicare, but not destroy it, as the GOP has wanted to do since it was first born over their opposition in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson!

The Fox News Channel South Carolina Debate: What It Tells Us About The GOP Presidential Race!

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The Republican Presidential debate in South Carolina this past Thursday, the first in a long group of debates over the next year, tells us a lot about both the Republican race and South Carolina at the same time, and it is not good!

The focus audience at the debate sponsored by Fox News Channel seemed like aliens from another planet, certainly not the mainstream of the nation, and doubtfully, of the Republican party future.

Asked their favorite candidate among the five who showed up, the majority said Herman Cain, the African American former Chief Executive Officer of Godfather Pizza, also a talk show host on radio. His main point was to get government out of the way of business, a typical Republican viewpoint, but his chances for the nomination can be seen as zero!

Their second favorite was former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who has made himself look foolish and extreme on social issues, and no serious observer takes him as a likely nominee, either!

It was interesting that Ron Paul, despite his support among libertarians, and actually making quite a good debate perfromance, failed to excite the South Carolina focus group.

It was also noticeable that Tim Pawlenty, often considered one of the more likely nominees as a “dark horse”, seems to have had no positive impression among the participants in the focus group.

The sum total is to demonstrate that Pawlenty probably lost some advantage by NOT impressing that group of voters, and that the focus group made one realize that there are a lot of people in the Palmetto state who seem not to have advanced beyond the times of John C. Calhoun and Strom Thurmond–meaning continued hatred of the national government as somehow the evil incarnate!

Without the “serious” candidates in the race–Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee–and the controversial candidates–Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich–the debate was basically a waste of time since nothing came out of it that could promise a good future for the Republican Party in the 2012 Presidential race!

Jimmy Carter, North Korea, And Food As Issue Of Human Rights!

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Former President Jimmy Carter hast just returned from a visit to North Korea, which is suffering from a famine considered one of the greatest of modern times.

Carter reports that people are eating tree bark, grass, and leaves because of tremendous shortages of food, causing mass loss of life.

North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Il, has refused to cooperate with the six party talks attempting to negotiate an end of his nuclear threat to his neighbors. These nations include the US, Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan.

As a result, the Obama Administration is refusing to ship food stuffs to North Korea, despite the massive famine conditions that exist there.

Carter is criticizing that decision, stating that politics should not be connected to food supply availability, and that this action is a violation of human rights.

This is a very interesting viewpoint, and it gives one food for thought, no pun intended.

Should a nation use the weapon of basic human needs as a way to push a nation which has its people suffering, but has a recalcitrant government?

The tendency of the author is to agree with Carter, that the United States should immediately make food stuffs available, and stop making it a political issue. The people of North Korea are victims already of a terrible government, but the world should not abandon them and allow mass loss of life if they can have some input to prevent that!

The “Dark Horse” To Watch In The GOP Presidential Race: Jon Huntsman Of Utah!

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Anyone who is paying attention to the GOP Presidential race knows that there is great dissatisfaction with the field of candidates.

Either they are highly controversial and divisive figures such as Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Donald Trump.

Or else they are such long shots that are “unknowns” such as Herman Cain, Gary Johnson, and Buddy Roemer.

Or they are candidates who have been around before, and are seen by many as uninspiring, including Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.

Or they are newcomers who are seen as having potential, such as Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman.

There is also Ron Paul, who excites the libertarian wing of the party, but has no chance to be the nominee.

And then, there are those who imagine that Chris Christie, the “bully” Governor of New Jersey, somehow can translate his tough guy image to the national scene.

In reality, other than Mitt Romney, who has many issues to deal with, but is seen by many as the best candidate, it is, as the author has said many times, Pawlenty and Huntsman who are the best alternatives, but in many ways, Huntsman is much more interesting.

Former Ambassador to China under President Obama, and former Governor of Utah, where he came across as a moderate, Huntsman is much more charismatic than Pawlenty. He is very handsome, dynamic, has the experience in China which makes him appear strong on foreign policy, and could be much more appealing in a two man race against Obama than any other candidate. He is truly the ultimate “dark horse” in the race, and this weekend, he is in South Carolina delivering the commencement address at the University of South Carolina. He is said to be ready to enter the race next month, and seems to many the most interesting person in the race.

Being a moderate on most issues, a Mormon like Romney is, and having worked for Obama in China, are all negatives to many, but don’t bet against him surviving a long way in the Presidential race and keeping it interesting!

Watch Jon Huntsman and read up on him, as he should be a major factor in the political race for 2012!

The Multi Tasking President In His Prime: One Week In Barack Obama’s Presidency

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Everyone knows that the American Presidency is a tremendous burden, with the occupant of the Oval Office having to deal with so many issues and problems at the same time, that he MUST be able to multi task with great skill.

So is the case of Barack Obama, who in one week, did the following:

1. Had Hawaii issue his official Certificate of Live Birth to silence his critics, which now have dropped dramatically, according to public opinion polls.

2. Toured Alabama and other states that were victims of the worst tornado destruction in decades, and was praised for the quick federal response to the natural disaster, as compared to Hurricane Katrina uncer President George W. Bush

3. Traveled to Florida to witness the Space Shuttle launch, which was unfortunately delayed, but also to visit Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, wounded in an assassination attempt in January, who was there to witness her husband, Mark Kelly, the captain of the shuttle crew, begin the space mission.

4. Performed great standup comedy at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner, including teasing of Donald Trump, who has been bad mouthing Obama for the past month, including on the “birther” controversy.

5. All of that week, and even earlier, Obama was planning the raid on the compound in Pakistan to eliminate the Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, the most daring action by a President in many decades!

And in the past week since, Obama has also visited the site of Ground Zero and commiserated with the families of victims of the World Trade Center, and also visited the Navy SEALS who were engaged in the most delicate operation possible, the attack on the Bin Laden compound and retrieval of the body of Bin Laden after he was killed.

This period of the last week of April and first week of May, a two week period, will go down in history as one of the most momentous periods in the history of the nation!

The Economy On The Upswing? A WPA Revival Needed on Its 78th Anniversary!

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The economy saw the addition last month of 244,000 new jobs in private industry, the third straight month of equivalent numbers of growth in private sector employment.

This should be seen as a good omen, but at the same time, there are more people seeking work than before, which therefore raised the unemployment rate from 8.8 to 9 percent.

With the decline in public employment, and the rapidly growing number of young people looking for work as they graduate high school and college, it is hard to know if the unemployment rate will hit below 8 percent by the fall of 2012, a number seen as crucial to insure the re-election of President Obama.

It is clear that the Republican Party does not wish to help President Obama economically by taking steps in the House of Representatives to create jobs through economic investment in infrastructure, such as the government took upon itself exactly 78 years ago today when Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated the Works Progress Administration, which helped to promote the building of hospitals, schools, airports, libraries, roads and other public facilities, along with encouraging artists, musicians, writers, historians, and playwrights to produce with their genius on the public payroll.

That is the only way that true economic recovery is going to occur rapidly enough, but don’t bet on it ocurring anytime soon!

The Degradation And Abuse Of The Elderly In Florida: The Tip Of The Iceberg!

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The true character of a civilization is demonstrated by how it treats its elderly, and America does not look very good in that regard, and the forecast is that conditions will get much worse, particularly in the state which has more elderly citizens than any other, Florida!

An investigation by WLRN, the NPR station in South Florida, and the Miami Herald, has revealed shocking and horrific mistreatment of elderly in assisted living facilities, with lack of regulation and oversight by the Florida Agency of Health Care Administration. This is even before Governor Rick Scott and the overwhelmingly Republican legislature set out with the present massive budget cut to put all Medicaid patients into managed HMOs, a guarantee of even worse conditions in the future.

The stories of neglect and abuse are a scandal that the state of Florida should be ashamed of, but not in the present era of Rick Scott, who became wealthy by abuse and fraud in the hospital chain that he ran in the 1990s, and avoided prison by paying a heavy fine!

Anyone in their right mind who is elderly should have to start consideration of what will happen to him or her when disability or serious illness sets in, as to live in an assisted living facility, particularly in Florida, seems a ticket to a death sentence!

Second Thoughts On Osama Bin Laden Assassination!

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In the flush of excitement over the demise of Al Qaeda terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden, some second thoughts are developing in many people’s minds.

We have learned that a lot of the early news reports were fabricated, or distorted. For instance, it was said that Bin Laden was armed, that he had a woman as a human shield, and that he resisted, and that there was a major battle of our Navy SEALS against others in the compound.

None of that is true, and Michael Moore, the film director, and John Yoo, the Bush aide who justified the use of torture, including waterboarding in the infamous memo that has caused such controversy, both–despite their different sides of the political spectrum–question why Bin Laden could not have been taken alive and put on trial in an international court as the Nazi and Japanese war criminals were subjected to after World War II. Those trials led to executions of most of the war criminals under international law.

There are some observers who claim that what the Obama Administration did was unlawful under international law, and that setting the goal of political assassination, which has been supposedly banned in America since the 1970s, is a dangerous and troubling trend.

Even the publication of the bloody scenes of the three men killed with Bin Laden, one being his son and looking very much like him, is deeply disturbing to many, as the author himself has never seen such horrific photos, and agreed with the Obama Administration decision NOT to publish the photos of the dead Bin Laden. But then, why was not the same care given to sensitivities toward the public for the other three male victims?

While certainly no one mourns the death of Bin Laden, it is much harder in the light of day to be as gleeful and excited about his death, once one considers all of the details we now know, that we did not know on Sunday night!

Al Qaeda Website Admits Death Of Bin Laden: One Conspiracy Theory Destroyed!

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Imagine thanking Al Qaeda and having them applauded for something positive!

The terrorist organization has admitted on its website that Osama Bin Laden is dead!

That is a big relief in the sense that we don’t have to spend inordinate amounts of time debating whether what happened last Sunday is true or a fabrication of the Obama Administration to end the issue, and give Obama a political victory for 2012.

Of course, some loonies out there who wish to exploit the issue for monetary gain will still try to claim otherwise, but it is good that the conspiracy theory is nipped in the bud!

However, we should not be sobered by this as far as the threat of Al Qaeda is concerned, as materials gathered at the compound where Bin Laden lived are clear in the late terrorist’s plans to continue to attack America and the West, with apparent plots to attack the railroad network on the tenth anniversary of September 11.

Even without Bin Laden, Al Qaeda remains a threat, and we will need to continue to be on the alert in the future, not let our guard down, and be particularly concerned on the upcoming September 11, when we mark ten years since the dastardly event that changed all of our lives forever!

The First GOP Presidential Debate: A Major Yawn!

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The first Republican Presidential debate has just taken place in South Carolina, sponsored by Fox News Channel and the Republican Party of South Carolina.

Only one major candidate was at the debate, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and he may be the big winner simply by gaining more notice by participation in the debate, and in comparison to his competitors at the debate.

The others present, none of whom have any chance to be the Republican Presidential nominee, include former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, businessman Herman Cain of Godfather Pizza and a radio talk show host, and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.

Ron Paul was engaging personally as he always is, but as a libertarian, he has absolutely no chance to win the GOP nomination, but his push for withdrawing many of our military bases overseas to save money rings true as a great idea.

Santorum lost his Senate race for a third term in a landslide, and his social conservatism is seen by many as unacceptable because of extreme statements in the past.

Herman Cain and Gary Johnson are so unknown, and it is unlikely that either will gain much from the exposure at this debate.

It is clear that the GOP has not advanced itself by this debate, and that President Obama need not worry about any of these people being a serious challenge to his second term in the White House!