Day: July 18, 2011

Herman Cain Vs Muslims, Mormons, And Latinos!

Herman Cain is one of the lesser GOP candidates for President, and has hardly been mentioned by the author because of the belief that he was going nowhere, having had NO political experience, and whose major accomplishment in life has been as the CEO of Godfather Pizza, and a conservative talk show host on radio.

But Cain, who is African American, and therefore, should be more sensitive than most about prejudice, has now become embroiled in controversies over religion and nationality, and is coming across as whacky and loony as a result!

Cain has opposed building of a mosque in Tennessee, claiming it would lead to the adoption of Sharia Law, even though only 25 percent in a poll in Tennessee are against its construction. There is no justification for preventing the building of ANY religious building anywhere in America!

Also, Cain has come out against the Mormon faith, saying Mitt Romney cannot be elected President because many Southerners don’t like the Mormon church!

The fact is that it should not matter if ANYONE likes or dislikes someone for being Muslim, or Mormon, or Catholic, or Jewish, or even African American, or any other religion or ethnicity! Does Cain really believe, for instance, that many Southerners would have no problem with him, an African American, becoming President, when so many, as it is, have been shown to be against Barack Obama, to a great extent because he is African American?

We do NOT decide who should hold public office, or whether a religious house of worship should be constructed, based on bias or prejudice or narrow mindedness!

And while we are at it, Herman Cain should also be criticized for telling Latinos that he favors building of a 20 foot “Berlin Wall” along the Mexican border, with electrification and moats that would contain alligators!

How can anyone take such a whacko seriously as a Presidential candidate? Cain sounds just as whacky and loony as Congressman Allen West of Florida and South Carolina Congressman Tim Scott, both also African American and conservative, but just as outrageous in their assertions and beliefs!

Republicans Declare War On The New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau!

The Republicans in the US Senate have declared war on the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which passed into law last year, and has finally found a person to lead it, as President Obama has chosen former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new agency.

Cordray was chosen, instead of Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren, who really led the effort to create the new agency, but in so doing, alienated Republicans and the banking community, neither of whom wants any regulations that help consumers, when it comes to credit cards, car loans, and home mortgages. So, Obama, in trying to be more cautious, selected Cordray, who has been active with Warren in support of the agency’s creation, but has not caused the personal animosity that Warren has apparently brought about, just by advocating for the agency.

It seems doubtful that Cordray will be able to be confirmed, as the Republicans can insist on a 60 vote majority just to vote on the nomination, and have no problem with showing themselves to be anti consumer! It is just another example of the outrage that the GOP has become, refusing to cooperate with Obama on ANYTHING, while Obama has made many concessions!

The irony of it all is that Elizabeth Warren may now go back to Massachusetts and challenge Senator Scott Brown for his Senate seat in 2012, so imagine if she does do so, and wins, she will be a colleague of these Republican colleagues who have always wished her ill, because she cares about the average American consumer!

What a sad and tragic state of affairs this country is in at this difficult moment in American history!

Six Months Of Rick Scott As Governor Of Florida: What Hath The Voters Wrought?

It has now been six months for Rick Scott as Governor of Florida, and he stands at a low point in public opinion polls, recently 29 percent, but now down to 27 percent, the lowest of all Governors of the 50 states!

Scott, who came from a corrupt background of Medicare fraud into politics, and spent over $70 million of his own fortune to win the Governorship by about 50,000 votes statewide and less than a majority of all votes cast, has set a horrific record as Governor, but is arrogant enough to claim he does not care about his public opinion ratings!

As a recent Miami Times article outlined, Rick Scott has been responsible for the following tragic developments in the Sunshine state:

1. Mandated drug testing for state workers and welfare recipients, although there are law suits in process against these tests, and he seems to have backed off on state workers taking such tests.

2. Enacted Jim Crow style voting laws, creating new restrictions on voting, and undermining the Voting Rights Act of 1965, while bringing back memories of the voting restrictions that existed before that federal law went into effect under Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidency.

3. Fought a Prescription Drug Database, even though Florida is the state with the most drug abuse, but finally backed away after a lot of pressure was brought, even by his own Attorney General.

4. Privatized Medicaid, causing confusion and loss of services and funding for severely disabled Florida citizens, with cases now in court against this, and appeals by individual families in process.

5. Outsourced prisons to his political supporters, who want to privatize them, despite fact that Florida already has more prisoners than any other state except Texas, and has made no prison reforms which are badly needed, so instead prisons are being made a profit industry.

6. Cut jobless benefits to 23 weeks in a state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

7. Gave tax breaks to large corporations while not being concerned about the survival of unemployed people.

8. Slashed public education funding dramatically in a state which ranks among the worst in educational standards, but at same time took away tenure from teachers, and required ALL public workers to pay three percent of their income for their pension plans, a pay cut in difficult times, and undermining morale.

9. Worked aggressively against environmental protection programs statewide, ignoring the significance of the Everglades and other environmentally sensitive lands, instead promoting development. by private corporations.

10. Rejected high speed rail development funds from the federal government for expansion in the high traffic area of Central Florida.

11.Refused to be interviewed by the news media, comments only in Twitter style, and set up signing of bills to include only friends and supporters of what he is doing.

Governor Scott has shown the height of arrogance and insensitivity to groups that are being victimized by his policies, and Florida must, somehow, bear three and a half more years of this, unless Scott can be found to have done something illegal, leading to impeachment, or IF a recall movement can be brought about, but unlikely since it is not provided for in the state constitution.

This is the result of citizens NOT paying attention, and either not voting, or not understanding the issues when they do vote!

It is a good lesson in the importance of citizens paying attention to politics and public issues in the future, so as to avoid the nightmare Florida is going through right now!