Month: July 2012

Mitt Romney’s Foreign Policy Debut In Great Britain: Total Disaster!

Ronald 6 Comments

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the GOP Presidential nominee, has struck out in his first foray into foreign policy, of which he has no background or experience at all!

Of all places, he bombed in Great Britain, the closest ally and friend of the United States for the past century!

He stupidly criticized London as not having prepared adequately for the Olympics, which totally insulted the mayor of London, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron.

This man cannot utter a statement that is not seen as inadequate, as incomplete, needing further explanation, or being a pure embarrassment!

The British press is comparing Romney to Sarah Palin and George W. Bush! What kind of hope of diplomacy with our closest ally is seen as possible when the first impression is so negative?

British observers have said that Romney came across as without “charm, warmth, humour, or sincerity”!

What is a greater indictment of Romney than that statement? All of it is TOTALLY TRUE, as Romney is clearly a total PHONY, unconcerned about how people feel, and clearly, if he can alienate Great Britain, imagine Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, etc!

Romney is giving further proof that he is the WORST GOP Presidential nominee since James G. Blaine, the extremely corrupt nominee in 1884, against Democrat Grover Cleveland!

Realize this includes Richard Nixon and George W. Bush, but realistically, Romney is far worse than either of them or any other nominee since Blaine 128 years ago!

Romney is clearly digging his own grave!

The Senior Citizen Generation In California Politics, And A Future Potential Leader

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California, the state which represents the future in American politics to many, has become a state which has government leaders who are senior citizens, who have been part of the political system for decades.

A strongly Democratic state in the past twenty years, California’s top office holders are all in their 70s.

Governor Jerry Brown is 74, and was governor when he was in his mid 30s in 1975.

Senator Diane Feinstein is 79 years old, has been in the Senate for 20 years, and was Mayor of San Francisco in the late 1970s.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 72, and has been in the House of Representatives since 1986.

Senator Barbara Boxer is 71, and has been in the Senate for 20 years, and was previously a House member since 1982.

When one wonders who the leaders of the future are in California politics, the person who sticks out the most is Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, who is 45, and seen as a likely nominee for Governor in the near future, after his earlier service as Mayor of San Francisco.

Chick Fil A And Politics: Not A Good Match!

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The Chick Fil A restaurant chain has managed to get itself involved in a controversy over politics which can only hurt business and alienate customers, by the decision of its management to take a strong public stand against gay marriage, and for traditional marriage.

It is not the job of any corporation to take political stands on controversial issues, as there is no way to avoid alienating many people in the process.

Of course, the management have a right to their view, but to go out of their way to promote their private ideas to the public is totally inappropriate.

What it has led to is a break by Jim Henson’s Muppets as an ally in advertising, and a silly campaign by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to show support for Chick Fil A, a way to draw attention to himself, since he seems to crave public attention which has been ignoring him since he decided not to run for President this year.

One even wonders if Huckabee is vying to be Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, although, considering his nasty comments about Mitt Romney in 2008, it would be a shot gun marriage!

In any case, corporations may have the right to spend money excessively in political campaigns, due to the infamous Citizens United Case of the Supreme Court in 2010, but they should NOT be taking political stands on divisive matters, that split the country, in so doing!

Regarding Chick Fil A, the author has always admired your chicken, but he is not going to be a customer anymore, until and when they renounce their views, which is not likely. I guess Boston Market is now the place to go, as an alternative, until and when they decide to put their business at risk by a stupid decision to get involved in politics!

Mitt Romney: The “Gutless Wonder”, Beholden To Wayne La Pierre, Grover Norquist, And Dick Cheney! Is This What We Want In Our President?

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Mitt Romney refuses to come out squarely for ANYTHING, other than kowtowing to the extreme right of the Republican Party!

This man is a “Gutless Wonder”, not a man of courage and convictions, but simply a man who is afraid of his shadow, afraid to assert himself, afraid to tell the whacko elements of his party that they are wrong, and that he is not going to be beholden to them!

So he refuses to speak up for reasonable gun control policy; for reasonable tax policy; and for a foreign policy that has, as its main goal, avoidance of war unless it is totally unavoidable!

This man is a total coward, unwilling to show any principles, but just obsessed with the idea of having power, even though he has no conception of what he would do as President!

Based on his refusal to take a strong stand against extremist elements, one cannot have confidence that he would be tough and strong in any crisis with a tough opponent, whether domestic or foreign!

A Joint Statement And Press Conference Of The Four Former Presidents Now Needed To Call For Action Against Mass Murder Epidemic In America!

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The crisis that America faces now after the Aurora, Colorado Massacre last Friday requires courage, principle, and determination being expressed by the men who have held the Presidency, and know of the need for some gun regulation, including banning of assault weapons and large capacity magazines.

Therefore, former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, crossing party lines and doing what is moral, ethical, and essential, need to issue a joint statement, and go further.

They need to meet together in public in Washington, DC, hold a press conference, and all four need to make comments to the nation at large on the essential need for both political conventions to adopt resolutions at their national convention five and six weeks from now of the need for gun regulations to stop the mass murder going on in our nation!

Yes, this will stir controversy, and anger the National Rifle Association, but it is time for our former Presidents to forget politics, and bring their stature and dignity onto their parties, and put the opponents of such resolutions and actions on the spot, fully exposed for who they are, and embarrass the anti gun regulation opponents at the least!

This is a national emergency, really more significant than the economy, foreign policy or just about anything else. This is a “war” on America, a “terrorist” attack from within, more dangerous than Islamic terrorism, and it is time for action, and for our four former Presidents to be statesmen, not politicians!

Bill Clinton And Mitt Romney: Two “Draft Dodgers”, But With A Difference!

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In 1992, Presidential nominee Bill Clinton was constantly attacked for having avoided the draft during the Vietnam War, using his talents to evade service. Clinton, however, demonstrated against the war, so was principled about his opposition to the conflict that he avoid serving in.

But then there is the case of Mitt Romney, who also evaded the war, got draft deferments, and instead, used the excuse of being a Mormon missionary in France in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

But the difference is that Mitt Romney publicly expressed support of the war, held signs supporting the war, and advocated others joining the war!

Which is more to be condemned? The man who evades service on principle, or the man who evades service while supporting the war and the draft of OTHERS, but not his privileged self?

The author thinks you know the answer!

Victims Of Aurora, Colorado Massacre Also Unable To Afford Life Insurance Or Health Care Coverage In Many Cases, So Victimized In A Different Way!

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Twelve people died in Aurora, Colorado, due to the insanity of James Holmes.

It is certain that many did not have life insurance, being young and not concerned about such things, and also unable to afford it, and now their funerals are a financial burden on their families.

Also, 58 people were wounded, many seriously, and it is certain that very few had health care coverage, so for those with severe wounds and lifetime disabilities, they will face a medical bill for life of millions of dollars, not able to be paid by them as things stand, but ruining their credit for life!

We have millions of Americans who mourn what happened in Colorado, but will we see the wealthiest among us volunteer, including Mitt Romney, to contribute to the health care costs and funeral costs of the victims?

The answer is most certainly NO, as those who are fortunate among us have no concern for anything but their mounting wealth, and to avoid taxes!

Why should they contribute to help the needy, when the Republican philosophy is to have no concern for those less fortunate?

This is the biggest scandal of all about this tragedy, and is another argument for the idea that ALL Americans should be entitled to health care, no matter what the cost, as health care should be an entitlement, not a privilege, for all!

The Voter ID Laws: Based On Lies And A Denial Of The Voting Rights Act Of 1965!

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Many states, all controlled by Republican Governors and legislatures, are systematically violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in an attempt to fix the Presidential Election of 2012 in favor of GOP candidate Mitt Romney!

After having manipulated the results in the Presidential Election of 2000, with the help of the partisan Republican Supreme Court, now strict photo ID laws are being imposed to cripple the ability of the elderly, the poor, the young, and minorities to vote, knowing full well that these groups would be likely to vote Democratic for Barack Obama!

Claiming that there has been voter fraud in the past, when there are almost no such examples, now the state of Pennsylvania has openly admitted there is NO evidence of such fraud, but still they want to disenfranchise people, a violation of the civil rights laws, and a disgrace to the idea of democracy!

So the Republican Party is saying that the only way they can win is by denying people the right to vote, and also spending inordinate amounts of money to “buy” the election!

What a disgrace for a political party to be stifling the will of the people!

Some Facts About Guns In America: The Toll They Take!

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Every day in America, 87 Americans are killed by gun violence, close to four per hour!

Every day in America, 183 Americans are wounded by gun violence, close to eight per hour!

Every year in America, about 1,000 young people under the age of 21 are shot, about three per day!

Gun violence cost annually is about $100 billion, which could be used for health care or education, instead of the cost of the suffering that guns produce!

One would think such statistics would be more than enough reason for sane, rational people to say it is time for gun regulations to prevent acquisition of large amounts of ammunition, and to ban totally any possibility of assault weapons.

But of course, there is too much profit in gun sales, and the National Rifle Association enriches itself and its leadership, by stirring its members into a frenzy that legitimate purchase and use of guns would ever be totally banned!

Two Distinguished Women Set Records: Hillary Clinton And Susan Collins

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America is fortunate to have some women leaders in government who make us proud!

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently visited her 100th nation in her role as our chief foreign policy expert in the past three and a half years, surpassing the first woman Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in that regard!

And Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, just about the ONLY Republican to applaud in the US Senate after the retirement this year of her colleague, Olympia Snowe, and Indiana Republican Richard Lugar, set an amazing record.

Since she came to the Senate in 1997, she has never missed a roll call vote, and just cast her 5,000th vote, quire an achievement.

So in the midst of cynicism about politics, let us salute Clinton and Collins for a job well done, and wish for more such cases among both women and men in our government!