Month: February 2013

Disgraceful Action By Republicans Against Former Republican Colleague, Chuck Hagel, Demonstrates Mistake Democrats Made In Refusing To Reform Filibuster!

Ronald 19 Comments

The Republican Senate minority has reached a new low, in rejecting former colleague, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, for Secretary of Defense, as a measure of spite against Hagel for backing Barack Obama in 2008, criticizing the George W. Bush “surge” in Iraq in 2007, and the exploitation of the Benghazi, Libya tragedy as a means to smack the President directly!

Hagel is perfectly qualified to be Secretary of Defense, and to have utilized the filibuster as a means to deny a vote, is reprehensible beyond description! Even Senator John Tower of Texas, a George H. W. Bush appointment as Secretary of Defense in 1989, while rejected for that position in 1989 over womanizing and liquor abuses, had the dignity of going down in an actual vote, rather than the prevention of such a vote, through the dastardly misuse of the filibuster tactic!

The Democrats and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada had a opportunity to change the filibuster rules, and had no guts or courage, and this is the disastrous result!

The Democrats need to learn to play hardball, since the Republicans fail to understand anything else! They should be ashamed at their weakness, and the Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, once again, prove how unprincipled and despicable they are in their “war” on the Obama Administration! They have no common decency, and it is clear that any attempt at bipartisanship over the next two years is out of the question!

So Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who already has had a farewell at the Pentagon, will have to stay on longer, until another attempt at overcoming the filibuster on Hagel is attempted, or Hagel withdraws, and another individual is selected to head the Defense Department.

Fox News Channel Tries To Rehabilitate Its Image: Massive Job Ahead!

Ronald 16 Comments

Fox News Channel has recently dismissed Sarah Palin and Dick Morris from their group of “celebrities”, and has hired former Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich and former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, joining former Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and journalist Juan Williams as their “open minded, liberal” brain trust to improve their image.

Is this a good thing? Yes, in the sense that, hopefully, it might change the editorial view of Roger Ailes and others at Fox News Channel, to attempt to be more fair in their news coverage, and their weekend analysis of the news and politics.

But a station which has Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly spewing their right wing propaganda, and having other right wing favorites, including Mike Huckabee, Neil Cavuto, Andrew Napolitano, Monica Crowley, and Dana Perino, and even a publicity hound such as Geraldo Rivera, has a long way to go before it gains true credibility as a REAL news channel, instead of a propaganda organ, which has the effect of making its followers LESS informed than if they did not watch any news!

Rand Paul Makes A Fool Of Himself In Response To The State Of The Union Speech Of President Obama!

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Kentucky Senator Rand Paul continues to amaze people with a head on their shoulders, as he is rapidly becoming a major embarrassment to his own father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, and to the Republican Party base, which he seems determined to destroy in his quest to become President!

Having already made clear when Hillary Clinton testified about Benghazi, Libya, that he would have fired Clinton if he were the President at the time, an amazing statement to make in the first place, now Rand Paul has responded to the State of the Union Address of Barack Obama, as well as the response of Florida Senator Marco Rubio for the Republican Party, as chosen by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner.

Paul told us he would not have allowed the use of drones against Anwar Al Awlaki, a declared terrorist of American citizenship who we know planned various terrorist attacks, and that somehow, he is going to stop the President from being the Commander in Chief of military affairs. One can disagree with what Obama did, but Paul has the gall to think that somehow he is going to stop the President from what are his powers under the Constitution?

Calling Obama a “King”, Paul makes clear that while the President should not have such power over the military, there should be absolutely no movement on gun regulation or safety in any form, portraying the government as the enemy of the Second Amendment, when all that is being asked is reasonable regulation, not the taking away of people’s rights to own guns, if they are mentally stable!

Paul also advocated massive cuts in spending, including in defense, which fits his image of being a modern day isolationist. Sure, there can be defense cuts, no question about it, and other cuts, but Paul fails to understand the threats this nation faces, and the massive problem of real harm to the poor, the sick, the disadvantaged, were we to pursue his drastic cuts, which almost no one in the Republican Party advocates, including Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, head of the House Budget Committee!

Rand Paul also said Barack Obama is Robin Hood, when we actually need Adam Smith, the author of THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, advocating “Laissez Faire” economics, an idea of the late 18th century, which is totally unrealistic in the modern world of the 21st century!

The major news networks failed to carry Rand Paul’s speech, which in itself is a commentary on how he stands in the minds of serious people. He and his Tea Party followers represent a viewpoint which, if enacted, which will not happen, will permanently eradicate the Republican Party as an alternative to the Democratic Party. If there is the desire to prevent what conservatives call a “one party state”, then they need to adapt to reality and stop sounding like and advocating loony ideas that take us back to the 19th century, when America was suffering through the Gilded Age of unregulated capitalism and a weak labor movement!

Sadly, we are likely to be plagued by a Rand Paul Presidential candidacy in 2016, which just might make the political circus of 2012 seem only like the preview of comedy entertainment!

Cheers To Former Senator Richard Lugar For Blistering Conservative Talk Radio As Out To Promote Discord For Monetary Gain!

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Former Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, one of the few “decent” Republicans left in the GOP, came out yesterday in condemnation of conservative talk radio and other right wing extremists as out to promote discord for monetary gain, in a speech at Duke University.

He also was critical of the attacks on Defense Secretary nominee, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, by right wing spokesmen, both in the Senate Armed Services Committee (including Ted Cruz of Texas and James Inhofe of Oklahoma), by former Vice President Dick Cheney, and by the usual right wing activists on Fox News Channel and talk radio.

Both Lugar and Hagel are a dying breed, conservative Republicans in a field of right wing loonies taking over the party, led by Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and others. One might not always agree with Lugar and Hagel on every vote, but one could have respect for their intelligence and fair mindedness, and willingness to “cross the aisle”!

It is good that Lugar, despite his defeat last year, is willing to speak up on principle about the extremist turn in his party, and how people are making money off of promoting hate and division!

ONLY when we have future Lugars and Hagels will the GOP rise again to the White House and Senate control, as the Tea Party Movement is the destruction of the party and its future!

Marco Rubio Response To State Of The Union Speech Of Barack Obama Comes Up Short!

Ronald 14 Comments

Florida Senator Marco Rubio presented the official GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address last night.

As always, Senator Rubio comes across as charismatic, handsome, well spoken, and a pleasant personality.

But when it comes to substance, Rubio was wanting in many ways.

He hardly touched on foreign policy at all, spending most of his time condemning “big” government, claiming that it cannot solve people’s problems, forgetting that he is where he is because of help from government through student loan programs, which he pointed out he had just paid off finally after many years of payments.

Rubio failed to realize that it is government which provides so many opportunities and forms of assistance, including his mother’s Medicare and Social Security.

Rubio forgets that it was the interstate highway system, initiated by Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, which has allowed the nation, and particularly Florida, to become a success story in growth of population and economic opportunity.

Rubio criticizes government, while making sure that he spends his career in government service, including the Florida legislature, where he spent a decade.

It is also ironic that Rubio and his party attack “big” government, when George W. Bush led the greatest expansion of government in four decades!

Rubio offered no hope for any solution to gun violence, and denied climate change, just as he has, earlier, questioned evolution, so he believes that science has no validity, while invoking religion, of course, all of the time, forgetting that we have a Constitution and Bill of Rights that promotes separation of church and state.

Rubio also shows bad math, as he claims Barack Obama has raised the national debt more than any President, which is not true, and fails to reflect the deep chasm we were in when he took the oath of office, the worst since 1933!

And his belief that often corrupt state governments, including his own state of Florida, can do a better job of operating safety net programs, is belied by the stark truth of just the opposite result!

So Marco Rubio gives a good speech, but the details come up short, if one is interested in reality!

But one thing Rubio accomplished is to make him more noticed as a leading Presidential possibility for his party in 2016!

Barack Obama State Of The Union Speech One Of Leadership, But Also Asking For BiPartisanship!

Ronald 10 Comments

President Barack Obama gave an outstanding State of the Union speech tonight, but one with an attempt to promote bipartisanship as he begins his second term.

He asked for cooperation to avoid constant budget battles that undermine economic recovery, and reflect badly on our image internationally, considering that we are a world leader.

He called for investments in energy, infrastructure, and education, including a preschool program for all young children.

He called for action on climate change, and indicated he would take executive action if nothing was done on the issue.

He called for a program of immigration reform that apparently impressed Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, in an interview on CNN after the speech.

He backed the need for Medicare and Social Security reforms, as long as they did not harm the long term stability of the programs.

He appealed for basic gun legislation to try to cut down the widespread violence, with more than 1,400 people killed by gun violence in the past month and a half alone!

He informed us that half of the remaining 68,000 troops in Afghanistan were coming home within the next year. This made clear his goal to focus on domestic reform, and wind down the overseas commitment of military forces.

He called for an increase in the minimum wage, and for prevention of laws that interfere with the right to vote, informing us that this is basic justice for all Americans.

Any reasonable person would have to say that his speech set a series of goals that were very mainstream and reasonable, but of course, the opposition will see it otherwise. One can hope that a lot of his ideas and initiatives can be accomplished, but it will not be easy to do so!

Former Vice President Dick Cheney And Obama Foreign Policy: Total Hypocrisy!

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Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the architects of the disastrous Bush foreign policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, has now denounced the Barack Obama foreign policy as a failure, and termed his appointments of John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, and John Brennan as dismal and second rate. when the Bush team, including Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet and others demonstrated total arrogance and total incompetence in their leadership of our foreign policy for eight years!

The fact that Obama has fought terrorism effectively is ignored, an amazing development when it was under Cheney and George W. Bush that America was attacked. Imagine if Al Gore had been President on September 11, 2001, and the literal hell that Gore would have suffered for such an attack occurring!

Cheney predicted that the war in Iraq would be won easily, and the fact that more than 4,000 Americans were killed in that war does not concern him, or the tens of thousands of men and women disabled by the war.

Cheney helped contribute to a feeble war effort in Afghanistan, and ten years later, we are still in that nation, with over 2,000 Americans killed, and still with 68,000 troops there facing threats every day of loss of life or serious disabilities.

This man also said that deficits and the national debt were not important issues, but of course, now his party emphasizes that, after the destructive financial policies they pursued, including NOT raising taxes in time of war, and helping the top two percent gain the biggest tax cuts in history, and yet see total abuse by Wall Street and the corporations, leading to the Great Recession!

The fact that this most despicable man of recent times has the nerve to even speak up on Presidential leadership, when his own President was a true disaster in so many ways, shows he has no shame or feeling of guilt or responsibility for what he and George W. Bush have wrought!

Republican House Opposition To Violence Against Women Act Extension Absolutely Outrageous!

Ronald 23 Comments

The Republicans in the House of Representatives are again on the warpath against women, holding up passage of the extension of the Violence Against Women Act.

And why are they doing so?

Because they do not wish to extend protection for women subject to domestic violence to the following circumstances:

Native American women on the reservations.

Same sex marriages or relationships of lesbians.

Undocumented immigrant women.

So because of their lack of concern for native Americans, gays, and undocumented immigrants, they have no regard for the safety or protection of women, if they fit into these groups! Who cares about the basic right of safety and security for these groups, which are despised?

So face the facts, that the Republican Party has learned nothing from the election, and are still promoting racism, anti gay viewpoints, and nativism.

How far the GOP has fallen from its days of speaking for freedom, liberty, tolerance, and progress, as represented by Lincoln, TR, and Ike!

Pope Benedict XVI’s Resignation And The Issue Of Age In Government

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Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that he is resigning from office as he nears age 86, the first Pope to do so since 1415, brings up the issue of age in government.

We no longer allow a forced retirement from employment based upon age, as it is seen as discriminatory, but yet the number of people retiring by age 66 is growing in percentage, and many are retiring as early as 62, the minimum age for Social Security, although many might be doing so at that age due to the poor economy of recent years.

When one considers that we have a United States Senator, New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, who will be nearly 91 years of age when he plans to run for another six year term in 2014, one has to stop and consider the wisdom of such action.

Lautenberg would be the second sitting Senator running for office in his 90s, after Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who ran for his final term of office at age 94, and served until he was 100 years of age, but in a debilitated mental condition much of the time in his last years.

And when one looks at the Senate and realizes that 20 Senators are in their 70s, with some like Diane Feinstein starting her newest term at age 79, and that an additional 13 are 66 up to age 70, making for a third of the Senate being of traditional retirement age, one has to think that there should be some kind of age limit for serving in government, which denies a younger generation and “new blood” the opportunity to serve. Additionally, another 23 Senators are between 60 and 66, so will face the age issue within their next term of office.

In the House of Representatives, there are 9 members in their 80s, 32 in their 70s, and 137 in their 60s, making for 178 out of 435 being of retirement age or near it, about 40 percent, as compared to the 57 Senators who are of that age category.

There are those who believe in term limits, but it is more the issue of age limits that can have a deleterious effect on government.

Of course, one can always find exceptions, such as former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired at age 90, as second oldest Justice in history, and only because he figured it was time. Stevens continues to be totally alert and active at age 93 this April, playing tennis and showing no signs of decline.

But this is the exception to the rule, and it seems worthwhile to, somehow, make an age limit to RUN for office of age 75, meaning out of office by 81 at the latest for high public office, or a Congressman running at age 78 and leaving at age 80.

But, of course, this cannot be legislated, just a thought of what should be understood and accepted, as after all, even the Pope can be replaced, and no one is indispensable, despite their inner ego which thinks such is the case!

Tea Party-Republican Split To Be Aired As Response To Obama State Of The Union Address!

Ronald 10 Comments

Two days from now, President Barack Obama will deliver the State of the Union Address, detailing his priorities for his second term.

Immediately following Obama’s address, Florida Senator Marco Rubio will deliver the Republican Party response, and Time Magazine has called Rubio the “savior” of the GOP.

But now, to steal Rubio’s and the Republican Party’s thunder, the Tea Party Caucus in Congress is also to give a response to the State of the Union Address, which will highlight the growing split within the Republican Party.

And the man who will be challenging Marco Rubio is a person who is clearly planning to run for President in 2016, as much as Rubio seems likely to run. That is Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, the libertarian inheritor from his father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Rand Paul has his loony followers, but his movement represents a threat to any possibility of Republicans regaining the US Senate, keeping control of the US House of Representatives, and having any chance to regain the Presidency.

While Rubio “flirted” with the Tea Party Movement when he ran for the Senate in 2010, he has attempted to separate himself from the destructive image that group represents. But now, he will be in mortal combat with Paul and others who have no scruples in their desire to bring America back to the 19th century, a time of laissez faire economics, and to a pre World War II foreign policy of isolationism.

So the biggest news of Tuesday’s State of the Union Address may come not from Barack Obama, but instead from the competing ambitions of two new Senators who both see the other as one of his leading rivals.

Rubio not only faces the threat of Rand Paul, but also of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, as outlined in a previous entry on this blog a couple of days ago. And Cruz is also a committed member of the Tea Party Caucus.

Oh, and by the way, this is the third time that the Tea Party Caucus and Movement has had a response to the State of the Union Address, with the two earlier statements being by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and by businessman Herman Cain, both embarrassing candidates for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2012. Enough said!