Day: April 30, 2014

The American Presidency Began 225 Years Ago Today, With George Washington Inauguration!

On this day, April 30, in the year 1789, the American Presidency began its history, with the inauguration of George Washington at Federal Hall in New York City, 57 days later than the official Inauguration Day for every President through the first term of Franklin D. Roosevelt!

No one could have known the challenges, the crises, the good and bad moments that every President, all 43 of them, would face over the next 225 years of American history.

This is a day to celebrate, as it is the marking of an important anniversary in the history of the most powerful executive position in any nation which is democratic in nature, whether a President, Prime Minister, or Premier.

We should never forget the sacrifices those 43 men suffered in order to lead us into the future, and to be the leaders of the greatest nation in the world, which must never stop moving toward “a more perfect Union.” We have come a long way from our imperfections, but we still have a long way to go!

The Schizoid Supreme Court: All Based On Moods Of John Roberts And Anthony Kennedy!

It is clear that the Roberts Supreme Court is a schizoid body, sometimes doing what is right, and sometimes going totally wrong!

So the Roberts Court upheld the Affordable Care Act; gay marriage; and environmental regulations now–all attacks on states rights in these areas.

But at the same time, they have opened up the political system to corruption by billionaires with recent decisions; have weakened the Voting Rights Act; and have damaged affirmative action, believing that civil rights no longer is a major problem, just as we realize the extent of racism that still exists in America, despite having an African American President!

It all comes down to the mood of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. as the votes of Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito, are extremely predictable, based on their own lack of ethics in their business dealings, and their close association with the Koch Brothers, creating a conflict of interest.

If things were legitimate, Justices Scalia and Thomas, in particular, would be facing impeachment and removal from the Court, as they have demonstrated that they are the most obstructive Justices of the past century, only matched by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, but with an argument that they are more right wing than Rehnquist ever was!

The Republican Party: The Party Against Life! Pro-Gun, Anti Medicaid, Pro Death Penalty!

The Republican Party and conservatives love to say they are the Pro Life Party, as they oppose abortion rights for any reason, including rape, incest, and life of the mother (for the most so called “religious”).

But at the same time, they are against any gun regulations to prevent future Sandy Hook Massacres or the reality that 12,000 people a year are killed by lack of regulation of firearms. So many cases of children killing siblings because of reckless parents who leave loaded firearms around, or killing of partners by wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, abound.

Also, about half of the states have refused to expand Medicaid, and are therefore responsible for the death of people within their states who cannot gain health care.

And for those states which have the death penalty, and allow the idea that a mix of drugs used to execute prisoners, without awareness of what they are, and their effect on the victim, can lead to the botched execution in Oklahoma last night, is an atrocity only fit for the Middle East or Russia or China, not the United States.

These Republican and conservative and “religious” promoters of death should be condemned, and it is clear that the states have run amuck in regards to basic human rights, including the right to live, free from gun violence, with access to health care, and the abolition of the death penalty, as it has not led to lower crime rates, but simply as a method to kill more people of minority status. The vast number who face execution in states that have a record of racial discrimination over the long period of years is testimony enough to this truth!