Month: February 2012

75th Anniversary Of Supreme Court “Packing” Plan Of FDR: Its Significance Today

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Seventy five years ago on this day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced his plan to reorganize the Supreme Court, becoming known as an attempt to “pack” the Court, which became a turning point in many ways, including the fact that it was repudiated by the Senate in July 1937; weakened the power and clout of FDR shortly after his landslide victory in 1936; and led rapidly to a transformation of the Court, and FDR replacing, over the next five years, all but two members of the Court he was challenging.

The Supreme Court had stood in the way of change and progress during the Great Depression, declaring many New Deal laws unconstitutional, and FDR brought the Justices under attack as a result. Bitterly criticized as acting dictatorial, FDR was put on the defensive, but the long range was the Court adapting to an expansive view of the Constitution within a short time, and leading to a Court which dealt with the expansion of federal power and greater support of civil liberties and civil rights.

Today, three quarters of a century later, the Republican dominated Supreme Court has opened up the gates of campaign spending abuse in election campaigns, by its Citizens United decision of 2010. Additionally, crucial cases, including the Obama Health Care Plan, are to be decided by June, which will determine the fate of much of what Barack Obama has done and wishes to do as part of his agenda as President. Obama already made clear his criticism of the direction of the Court two years ago, with the Justices sitting there at the State of the Union Address. And three of the nine Justices–Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito–have boycotted the past two State of the Union Addresses, and represent the major challenge to the Obama Presidency, more than any other members of the Court.

No one is saying or predicting that Obama will attempt such a bold act as FDR did, and were he to do so, it would certainly cause the biggest controversy and split possible to imagine, greater than any issue so far in his administration.

But the Supreme Court IS an issue in the upcoming Presidential campaign, as the likelihood of replacements on the Court in the next term are very likely. This is particularly the case with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who has had bouts with cancer, and would pass 80 years of age at the beginning of the next term. Her liberal vote would be lost if the Republicans win the White House and she leaves the Court. Additionally, based on aging, it is possible to imagine that Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, and Stephen Breyer could leave the Court before 2017.

So who is elected President, and who controls the majority of the US Senate, which would need to confirm a Court appointment, is very significant, although not much attention is being paid to this issue because of the troubles with the economy.

Stock Market Revival Under Barack Obama: Wonderful, But Not Time To Declare Victory!

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Three years into the Obama Presidency, and the great news is that the stock market has seen a tremendous revival under his watch.

Yesterday, the stock market reached a level unseen since before the economic collapse of 2008 and the Great Recession, as the Dow Jones reached its highest level in four years, and the Nasdaq reached its highest level in eleven years.

With a 5,000 point gain since the Obama inauguration, there is a temptation to think that the economic decline is over, but that would be unwise to believe. There is still too much unemployment, and too many people who are underemployed, so it is not a time to declare victory in any shape or fashion. 8.3 percent unemployment is the lowest in three years, but not good enough to rest on one’s laurels.

However, if Obama can bring about or have the fortune that at least 150,000 jobs are created every month from now on, with last month bringing 250,000 growth in jobs, then the unemployment rate will go below 8 percent, and the odds of Obama winning a second term will be greatly enhanced.

The point is that Mitt Romney and other Republicans will have less of an issue to use against Obama if that growth occurs, and already, one can see that Romney is having problems being coherent in his reaction to the job and stock market gains.

The long range issues of foreign policy and defense and national security, and the significance of the federal courts and the Supreme Court, will, hopefully, start to come to the forefront, as in the long run, these are the more important issues for the future of the nation.

GREAT News: Unemployment Drops to 8.3 Percent, With Larger Employment Growth Than Expected!

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The nation’s unemployment rate dropped dramatically in January, by two tenths of one percent, from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent, a great sign of economic recovery.

About a quarter of a million jobs were created in the private sector, more than was expected.

This is great news for the Obama Administration, and for those who found work, and it gives hope of a more rapid economic recovery than previously forecast by economists.

It also makes the economy, at least for the moment, much less of a political plus for Mitt Romney or any other Republican Presidential nominee, which is a good thing, as the main focus in the election should not be the economy, but rather foreign policy leadership, and the effects on the future of a President selecting federal judges and the Supreme Court Justices, which has a longer range effect on all Americans than the economic problems we have faced in the past few years.

The Truth About The Safety Net: Full Of Holes And The Worst In The Developed World!

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Mitt Romney claimed two days ago that we have a “safety net” for the very poor, and that, therefore, we don’t have to worry about them.

What a distortion of the truth, as we have the absolutely WORST “safety net” for the very poor in the developed world. It is not enough to say how fortunate our poor are as compared to Africa and parts of Asia and Latin America, as this is America!

Here are the facts:

The official US poverty rate is 15.1 percent, and it does not include the millions of the middle class who have been impoverished by the Great Recession and its aftermath.

One out of five children lives in dire poverty in America, and if one is born into that background, the odds of escaping it are far less likely than for other children.

Our Food Stamp program provides $1.44 per meal to each of its recipients.

Medicaid only covers the poorest children, of parents working at 63 percent of the poverty line, and 37 percent of non working parents. The new health care law would cover the gaps, but Romney endorses repealing it.

Only one in four poor renters get housing vouchers as assistance to pay the rent.

Supplemental Security Income helps the impoverished elderly and disabled, but only 27 percent of this group receives such welfare assistance, while in 1996, 68 percent received such aid. And SSI at its best only lifts those families to 75 percent of the poverty level.

Any person who wishes to be President should have the decency and the compassion to recognize that the “very poor” are not well treated in a society which believes in mobility, and that we MUST do better, and stop having conservatives and so called “religious” people continue to condemn and deplore the poor, and not give a damn about their ability to survive and advance in society, with a sense of dignity! This is a MORAL cause above all!

Mitt Romney And His Mormon Church: Disturbing Realities

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With Mitt Romney seemingly the likely Republican Presidential nominee, focus turns to his religious beliefs, as he would be the first Mormon President if he won.

The Mormons, a much persecuted religion in its less than 200 year history, is seen by mainstream Christians of all denominations as a cult, rather than a Christian sect, even though Mormons claim to be Christian. There is discontent about its polygamous past, and the fact that a radical separatist sect still practices polygamy in areas of Texas, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. Its decision to get involved often in politics, rather than promote separation of church and state, also disturbs many.

But there are other more important issues.

The Mormon Church forbids any non Mormon from entering its temple in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When Mitt Romney was married to Ann, his wife, she needed to be converted, but her parents were not allowed in the Mormon Temple for her marriage, and had to stay outside.

When Ann Romney’s father died in more recent times, he was converted to the Mormon faith after death without his permission, and despite the fact that he was a religious skeptic, in actuality a declared atheist.

This tendency to convert dead people has included Jews who died in the Holocaust, who unknown to their families, have been converted.

The Mormons keep detailed genealogical records on many millions of people around the world, useful in studying ancestry and family connections, but disturbing to many as intrusion, and wonderment about why they are gathering so much personal information on non Mormons.

The Mormon Church never allowed blacks in the church until suddenly in 1978, from on high in church leadership, and under a federal lawsuit on civil rights, magically they were finally allowed into the church as equals.

The Mormons, like all other religious groups, treat women as second class citizens in the church, and promote the traditional family role as a norm for women, who are not allowed leadership in the church and are expected to obey their husbands, and spend their life pleasing them in all possible ways.

Mormon women are encouraged to have large families and avoid using birth control of any kind.

The Mormon Church will disown any member who is homosexual, and the norm in most Mormon families is to do so, and the names of such people are officially banned from the Mormon Church records as if they never existed. The church led the fight against gay marriage and Proposition 8 in California in 2008, financing the attack openly.

While the Mormon Church has tended to support immigrants and work to promote citizenship for illegal immigrants, it is seen primarily as a practical matter, due to the widespread missionary movement of the church in Latin America.

The Mormon Church has been strongly anti labor oriented, in regards to union organization and workers rights, even before the recent anti labor crusade by conservative Republicans.

The Mormon Church takes a very conservative view on most issues, and most of its political arm are Republicans. although there are major exceptions such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, and his cousin, Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico.

These realities stated above are not pointed out to promote bias or discrimination, but to make the general public aware of the growing influence of the church in American life, much of its practices and agenda highly disturbing!

Defense Of Liberalism And Progressivism: All Major Reforms Brought About By The Political Left!

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Lawrence O’Donnell on THE LAST WORD on MSNBC this evening utilized an episode of the old series, THE WEST WING, to defend liberalism and progressivism, demonstrating what all people of those persuasions know, but sometimes forget to use in defense against conservatives: that ALL major reforms in this country have come about due to those defined as on the political left!

Liberals and Progressives, (interchangeable names) brought about the following, whether Democrats or Republicans:

Anti Slavery Movement
Woman Suffrage
Social Justice Reforms
Labor Reforms
Voting Rights
Civil Rights Laws
Social Security
Medicare and Medicaid
Environmental Reforms
Consumer Reforms
Women’s Rights Movement
Gay Rights Movement
Disability Rights Movement
Immigration Reform
Anti Vietnam War Movement

What can conservatives claim, except to help the rich get richer; help corporations monopolize; undermine labor; exploit and condemn the poor; support religious groups that wish to restrict human rights; work against consumer rights and environmental regulation; deny voting rights; support slavery and segregation of blacks; deny woman equality in all ways; exploit immigrants and deny them equality; deny the “safety net”; work against equal rights for gays and the disabled; and support military adventures overseas that enrich corporations.

Would any conservative wish to deny the above? If so, write and comment on this post!

The Total Hypocrisy Of Christian Conservatives: Not Interested In Social Justice!

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President Obama spoke this morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, giving the usual impressive speech he is capable of, and spoke of his Christian beliefs including the need to care for others, and give up some of what he has to help others.

For this, he was immediately attacked by Christian conservatives led by Ralph Reed, who used to work with the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition led by Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, as Reed asserted that Obama is distorting the message of Christianity by promoting activism to assist those less fortunate. Obama endorsed Social Justice Christianity, something advocated as early as a century ago during the Progressive Era by such ministers as Washington Gladden, Walter Rauschenbusch, and Josiah Strong.

Reed, now associated with the Faith and Freedom Coalition, argued that Christianity had nothing to do with what Obama advocated: caring for the least among us (the poor), being your brother’s keeper, and demanding much of those to whom much has been given.

The Republicans intend to make religion, their conservative Christianity, an issue, as they declare war on Barack Obama, who they claim is out to destroy religion. Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich have made this a key issue specifically. Their sick view of religion would be enough for anyone of conscience to wish to be an atheist, rather than a hypocrite!

Presidential Empathy And Emotional Connection With The American People

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There are so many talents, abilities, and skills required for a person in any occupation or field of work to have success, and the same is so for the American Presidency.

We have had Presidents who, despite many other talents, abilities and skills, were simply unable to show empathy and emotional connection with the American people. Instead, they came across as aloof, distant, plastic, and unable to relate to the “common man”!

Among those Presidents who failed to demonstrate empathy and emotional connection with the American people would be the following:

William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Jimmy Carter
George H. W. Bush
George W. Bush

Among those Presidents who had the ability to display Presidential empathy and emotional connection were the following:

Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton
Barack Obama

Does Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, or Ron Paul have these abilities? The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT, and this will make it more difficult for any or them to serve in the Oval Office in a time of great human suffering due to the economic collapse since 2008.

Robert Gates Challenges Republican Presidential Candidates Who Call Barack Obama Weak On Defense And National Security

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Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates tonight, in an interview on CNN, challenged Republican Presidential candidates who have asserted that Barack Obama is weak on defense and national security matters.

Gates, a Republican who served at the Pentagon under both George W. Bush and Obama, said that when you look at the record, Barack Obama has been very willing to use aggressive tactics against terrorists, referring to the death of Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders.

Gates also said that Mitt Romney’s charge that Obama promotes “Pretty Please’ tactics to adversaries has no basis, as there is nothing wrong with reaching out to enemies and hoping that one can reason with them, get them to do what we want, and utilize the military option only as a last resort. Without actually saying it, he was clear in believing that promoting confrontation is not the best tactic for a President to start off his administration, a slap at Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich, who all seem ready to declare war on Iran on Day One in the White House.

While not willing to take a stand on GOP Presidential candidates, Gates smiled and said he has voted in the past for Democratic Presidential candidates, without specifying whom, and that he would keep his vote this November to himself, refusing to say he would back the Republican nominee because of party loyalty.

Based on earlier assessments of Obama by Gates, one would not be surprised he voted for Obama, who it is clear he has very high regard for. Gates was a tremendous help to Obama in the first two plus years of his Presidency, and will go down in history as a truly decent, caring, patriotic Republican who was willing to help a Democratic President, rather than be petty, vindictive, obstructionist, all in the name of partisan politics, rather than doing what was right for the nation as a whole!

The Worst Possible News For Mitt Romney: A Donald Trump Endorsement!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, still reeling from criticism for his remark yesterday about the “very poor”, getting it from all sides including conservative commentators who are furious that Romney “let the cat out of the bag” that they and Republicans don’t give a damn about the poor, now has what can be regarded as the worst possible news imaginable: an endorsement from builder Donald Trump, the total egotist, narcissist, and overall obnoxious businessman, who always is looking for a camera and says things that most normal people would be embarrassed to say publicly!

A wealthy man being endorsed by a much wealthier man, who Romney probably envies, because of his overly materialistic nature and envy of those wealthier than himself, is a total nightmare that will haunt Romney and the Republican Party!

Romney would be better off to repudiate support from Trump, but must fear that Trump might run as an independent if such an event occurred. But the truth about how Romney feels about Trump is that he was the one GOP candidate visiting Trump last year who sneaked in and out of the session, avoiding journalists and cameras completely.

It is not clear why Trump is endorsing Romney, since Trump seemed to have a closer friendship or association with Newt Gingrich, a fellow egotist, narcissist, and overall obnoxious, embarrassing public presence similar to Trump!

Will Trump help Romney in any way by endorsing him? NO, and it will boomerang on Romney, Republicans and conservatives, and maybe finally, intelligent voters will realize that the GOP and conservative talk show hosts, all are very selfish, self centered, greedy, uncaring about anything but their MONEY. As said in an earlier post, the Republicans and conservatives only care about PROPERTY, while Democrats and progressives and liberals care about PEOPLE!

Coming off his Florida victory, Mitt Romney has now has the two WORST days of his quest for the Presidency, and it is NOT going to get better. His candidacy is DOOMED and cannot be recovered, but the GOP has no better alternative unless they become so divided that the Republican National Convention in Tampa in late August chooses to nominate someone who did not compete in the caucuses and primaries, a highly doubtful scenario!