Month: May 2012

America’s Future: A Majority “Minority” Nation! Time To Adjust To Reality!

Ronald 2 Comments

The US Census Bureau has made it official: America is on the way to becoming a majority “minority” country , which will occur by the 2040s, no matter what the white majority, which has dominated America, wishes.

This is so because, for the first time, a majority of children being born are non white by definition, as in the twelve months ending June 30, 2011, 50.4 percent of the births in America were to Hispanic and Latino, African American, and Asian American parents.

Only 49.6 percent of births were to white parents.The economy, politics, and identity of the nation is changing rapidly, and we will never be the same!

Whites are no longer the majority in four states, and in such cities as New York, Las Vegas and Memphis. About 350 counties nationwide have a majority of nonwhites, and about double that number when one considers young children.

And the baby boomer generation, now aging, was vastly white, and now sees a younger generation growing up which is going to be majority nonwhite, a cultural clash already showing up in the fact that senior citizen whites are overwhelmingly Republicans, who are fighting the future, but represent basically the past that is quickly dying out before their eyes!

While whites still represent 63 percent of all Americans, the average median age for whites is 42, past prime child bearing age, while for Hispanics and Latinos, it is 27, and more Hispanic children were born in America in the past decade than Hispanic immigration to the United States in that period.

So minorities were 92 percent of all growth in the past decade, an astounding figure!

This reality is creating tensions between white elderly and minority young, particularly in Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and California.

This is a growing crisis particularly regarding education, as only 13 percent of Hispanics and Latinos have a college degree, only 18 percent of African Americans, but 31 percent of whites.

Education is the future for the nation, or else we will have a lot of minority young who cannot make a living and sustain the elderly whites who are retired and receive Social Security and Medicare.

This is the major social crisis of the future, and the political parties need to come to grips with it, and not only think about how the situation is at present. A vision for the future is essential!

The Catholic Church, Georgetown University, And Commencement Speaker Kathleen Sebelius

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A controversy has arisen over the selection of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as commencement speaker at the prestigious Catholic institution of higher learning, Georgetown University.

Sebelius, who is Catholic, has come out for abortion rights and the health care mandate, which calls for contraception coverage even for religiously based institutions, which challenges the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in America.

The local Church bishops were outraged at her selection, and demanded that the University rescind their invitation, which was promptly rejected by the University leadership, who decided to go ahead with the commencement arrangements.

This is not the first time that Catholic hierarchy has interfered, as they objected when Notre Dame University invited President Obama to give the commencement address three years ago, and Boston College has ignored protests in inviting the widow of Senator Ted Kennedy to its commencement this year.

It is good to see major Catholic universities, such as the above examples, ignore dictates and censorship, and instead promote discussion, debate, and alternative ideas to the rigid views of the Catholic hierarchy, who insist on uniformity, while they cannot control the behavior of their own church leadership, and have been shown to be practicing hypocrisy in their teachings, when compared to their inability to control immoral behavior!

If a Catholic university allows itself to be dictated to in this manner, it loses respect as an institution of higher learning which should be open to diverse views and attitudes, so let us all applaud Georgetown, Notre Dame and Boston College for their open mindedness and tolerance, something not noticed in the Catholic Church’s teachings!

Florida Disgracefully Working To Deny Right To Vote: Corruption In Action, Making Florida Look As It Was Pre Civil Rights Laws Of 1960s!

Ronald 7 Comments

The state of Florida was part of the Confederacy that fought to break away from the Union during the Civil War of 1861-1865.

Florida was a promoter of racial segregation, and great racial violence, in the years from Reconstruction after the Civil War, up through the passage of the Civil Rights laws of the 1960s.

Florida promoted various methods to deny African Americans the right to vote, including the poll tax and literacy test.

Once Florida rapidly grew in population, with a massive increase of people from Northern states, in the decades from 1960 to the present, one would have thought the state had finally given up its infamous past.

But No to such an assertion!

Under a Republican state legislature that has three fourths of the members of their party, and with a corrupt, former medicare and medicaid fraud executive, Rick Scott, able to be elected Governor with no political experience, but having Tea Party support, what is now happening?

Florida is rapidly becoming corrupt in a way that reminds us of the old restrictions on voting that existed just five short decades ago.

So 180,000 poor, black, Hispanic, college student, and elderly voters will soon be off the voting rolls, without any recourse for most, with the design to fix the election of the members of Congress, and the Presidency, in the Republicans’ hands!

The Republicans have also made registration of new voters much more difficult a procedure, and they are ready to do what happened in 2000–use corrupt methods to help fix the vote, which led to the contested election of George W. Bush, by 537 votes, throwing the election to Bush over Al Gore, who had a national popular vote lead of over a half million votes,

Florida may be the fourth largest state, and soon to be number three, but it needs to overcome a disgraceful image that undermines its future in more ways that can be listed here! Time to get over the Old South mentality and promote fairness and equality!

Since The Death Of Osama Bin Laden, 381 Americans Killed And 4,000 Wounded In Afghanistan: Time To Withdraw!

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It has been a year since the death of Osama Bin Laden, and still, we are in Afghanistan, attempting to undermine the Taliban, who collaborated with Al Qaeda, and brought about the events of September 11, 2001.

There is no way that America or the NATO forces in Afghanistan are ever going to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban influence.

Instead, the amazing total of 381 Americans have been killed, many by “friendly” Afghan forces, and over 4,000 wounded, since Bin Laden’s death!

To put it another way, it means on a daily basis, one American is killed and 11 wounded, and for what purpose?

It is time to get out, accept the fact that we accomplished our mission of weakening, and in many respects, destroying, Al Qaeda, and can still do great harm with drones, without sacrificing American lives any longer!

President Obama, it is time to withdraw, and if you feel it cannot be done during the election season, it should be your first action when you are reelected in November.

And President Romney, if that occurs, use your brains and realize this is a lost cause, and not worthy of any more sacrifice beyond January 2013 at the latest!

58th Anniversary Of Brown V. Board Of Education Case: Most Powerful Decision Of Supreme Court In 20th Century!

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Today marks the 58th anniversary of the unanimous Supreme Court decision, Brown V. Board Of Education, mandating the end of public school segregation of the races.

No decision of the Supreme Court in the 20th century has had the impact and longevity that the Brown case brought the nation.

This nation is vastly different as a result of this case, which was brought about by the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren, and the courageous battle in the courts by future Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, who argued the case for seven year old Linda Brown of Topeka, Kansas.

Many African Americans have benefited from the decision, and a growing middle class has emerged, but even now there are many black children who are denied equal access and facilities, and attempts in many states to resegregate public schools has become a growing problem.

So the battle for civil rights continues, a never ending struggle, since there are always evil forces who wish to set back progress, and deny access to equal educational opportunities in the states and counties of the nation.

The Failure Of “Americans Elect” As A Third Party Movement In 2012

Ronald 1 Comment

Independent minded centrists, disgusted with the two party system and the failure to promote political compromise, made a valiant effort to promote an online third party under the name “Americans Elect”, but they have utterly failed for the upcoming Presidential Election of 2012.

This is a bad sign for the future, as it indicates that the party conflict, greatest since the Civil War, is going to continue, and it endangers any hope of our system working, unless one party is able to win and keep control of government for a sustained period of time.

Having said the above, the author still feels that the victory of Barack Obama is essential, and that IF he is given a Democratic Congress, the country can make progress on the many issues that divide us, and loom in the future.

What it comes down to is that all of the potential independent candidates, symbolized by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, simply did not want to break with their party, did not want to go through the literal Hell that is the reality of running for President at a divisive time as we are now going through.

The list of potential candidates included also Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Rick Santorum, Hillary Clinton, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Howard Dean, Donald Trump, Al Gore, Sarah Palin, and David Petraeus.

One looks at this list and is shocked that Christie, Santorum, Paul, Trump, and Palin are on the list, all horrible choices in so many ways.

But to put most of the others on the potential list is also totally out of touch with reality, particularly with Powell, Rice, Clinton, Dean, and Gore.

Daniels, Huntsman, and Petraeus join Bloomberg as the most reasonable candidates, but again none wanted to put their name in the running.

The reality is that the Presidency is becoming such an obstacle course, that many good people will decide NOT to run in the future, leaving us with the danger of the kind of mediocrity we saw this year in the Republican Presidential race.

Barack Obama And Gay Marriage: Politics Or Principle?

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The American public seems to be very skeptical of the motivations of President Barack Obama, when he declared support of gay marriage a week ago.

A new public opinion poll indicates that 67 percent of those polled think the declaration was based on politics, compared to 24 percent who think it was based on principle.

There is no question that the declaration of support for gay marriage has created a new dynamic, which could affect the fall election for President.

Not only devoutly religious Catholics and evangelical Christians are vehemently against what Obama has declared, but also the African American community is split, as many blacks who are devoutly religious join white religious voters in opposition.

Also, older voters over 50, and many Hispanics and Latinos who are religious, are also not happy over what Obama has declared.

At the same time, younger voters under 35, single women under 50, college educated voters, a majority in the larger urban states (such as California, New York and Illinois), and obviously, gay voters, are supportive.

The danger to Obama is that his opportunity to win the Southern states he won in 2008 (Virginia, North Carolina, Florida) is now more in play, at least in theory. Also believed to be in play are Indiana and Nevada and Colorado, other “swing” states that Obama won in 2008.

At the same time, Ohio and Iowa are thought to be still in Obama’s camp, due to the economic improvement in those states, along with other Midwestern states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Pennsylvania still seems safe for Obama, while New Hampshire might be in play.

Let us assume all of the above as stated is fact. How would that affect the electoral map?

Obama starts out with what seems to be 227 electoral votes that are certain, including:

Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii–18 states and DC.

If one adds Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Iowa, it adds 44 electoral votes, making for a total of 271 electoral votes, one more than needed to win the Presidency! That would mean 21 states and DC went for the President.

Now, let’s be frank! Can one really conceive that Obama will lose all of the following: Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New Hampshire, Indiana, Colorado, Nevada–a total of 87 electoral votes?

And beyond all this, remember the factor of LIKEABILITY! Romney is not well liked, and people do not feel that he is someone to trust to be out there for average Americans, that he does not and cannot understand the daily struggle of a majority of Americans who are not rich, and never will be rich!

Barack Obama has 60 percent of the nation liking him, as compared to Romney’s 31 percent.

Barack Obama is overwhelmingly favored by Hispanics and Latinos, single women, a majority of those under 35, organized labor, environmentalists, the college educated, and African Americans.

And now the Americans Elect group, which hoped to get a centrist, independent candidate on the ballot online, has come to the realization that there is no one strong or well known enough to be considered as its candidate, and the organization has folded.

So Barack Obama still has a massive edge, even with the issue of gay marriage possibly muddying the waters somewhat!

New Statistical Method Predicts Election Victory For Barack Obama In November

Ronald 3 Comments

Three political scientists–Seth Hill of Yale, John Sides of George Washington University, and Lynn Vavreck of UCLA–have set up a new election forecasting model, and used it to judge past Presidential elections, as well as the present one.

The factors involved in the predictions are the gross domestic product in the first three quarters of the election year; the President’s public opinion rating in June of the election year; and and whether one of the candidates is the incumbent in the office.

By these standards, Barack Obama, if his popularity rating holds at 48 percent, and even if there is ZERO economic growth, he has a 58.4 percent chance of winning a second term in the White House!

This works if one looks at 12 of the past 16 Presidential elections, and is, therefore, seen as authoritative by many observers.

Using this model, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan had a 97 percent rating; George W. Bush had 76 percent, his dad 64 percent (but affected by Ross Perot’s third party run and Pat Buchanan’s challenge in the primaries), and Jimmy Carter at 34 percent, with everything against him in 1980.

This is just another indication that Mitt Romney has a major challenge overcoming Barack Obama this coming fall!

Interesting Development: Republican Leadership Evading Gay Marriage Issue, Angering Evangelical Conservatives!

Ronald 1 Comment

A very interesting development is the mild manner that the Republican leadership, from Mitt Romney down to members of Congress and even Fox News Channel, is reacting to Barack Obama’s gay marriage support this past week.

Romney, and just about everyone else, is saying they will not focus on social issues such as gay marriage during the campaign, instead focusing on economic issues.

This is shocking and angering social conservatives, evangelical Christians mostly, who insist that gay marriage should be the cornerstone of the GOP campaign for Congress and the Presidency this year.

Tony Perkins, of the evangelical Family Research Council, and Gary Bauer, of the American Values organization, disagreed strongly with the argument that the gay marriage issue is a distraction.

One has to wonder what will happen IF the Republicans continue to push the gay marriage issue to the sidelines.

Is there a chance of a third party movement promoting the social agenda, if the GOP does not do so? Could it affect Mitt Romney’s Presidential campaign?

Stay tuned!

African Americans, Gay Rights, And Barack Obama: Will They Spite Themselves And Promote Denial Of Human Rights?

Ronald 1 Comment

The African American community is divided over the declaration of President Barack Obama favoring gay marriage, and his general backing for gay rights.

A large percentage, often thought to be a majority of the African American community, is theologically conservative, and detests the concept of gay marriage.

They helped to contribute to the defeat of Proposition 8 in California a few years ago, and to the success of the amendment to the state constitution of North Carolina banning same sex marriages, civil unions and any other recognition of same sex relationships.

This is the case despite the historical reality that many Christian groups remained silent for decades over the lynchings of African Americans in the South, and the denial of interracial marriages, and the fact that the Mormon Church, so active in California in mobilizing opposition to gay marriage, did not allow African Americans to become Mormons until an epiphany in 1978 led the Mormons to change their theology!

So the question arises whether the black community will, in large numbers, abandon Barack Obama in November.

The idea that large numbers will vote Republican for Mitt Romney is highly unlikely, but if they stay home and do not vote for President, the African American community could affect the result in some states in a close race.

The point is that if they do just that, stay home, and if Obama and the Democrats lose, who will be the ultimate “victims” of a Romney victory? The answer is that the African American community will spite themselves, in the name of a religion which stood by in large numbers for a long time as they were themselves denied equal rights, only seeing change after many decades of discrimination, as many churches and sects started to change their views, and finally back civil rights for blacks.

So it would be counterproductive for blacks to forget their own struggle for civil rights, and let religion betray their better judgment about human rights!