Month: January 2016

A Dozen Republican Governors Are The Most Horrendous In Memory!

It is amazing how so many people seem to believe that the federal government cannot be trusted, and that the true level of competence is state government–legislatures and governors, when the evidence is that, despite the many problems of the federal government, the state governments in many states is absolutely horrendous.

Both parties have their issues in state governments, but it is Republican governors which are particularly wretched as witness the following governors who have set records for the most incompetent and inhumane leadership:

Michigan–Rick Snyder, who has created a major health crisis in Flint, where the water system is totally lead polluted, and is responsible for the poisoning of many infants and young children, who will suffer effects for the rest of their lives.  For this, Snyder should be removed from office, and should be indicted and convicted and sentenced to life in prison, as effectively, he has destroyed thousands of young lives, through his decision to save money by forcing Flint to use polluted water systems.

Maine–Paul LePage, who has been totally off the wall in his rhetoric, and has displayed racism and other indications of insensitivity on a regular basis for the past five years, and faces a likely move toward impeachment and removal from office.

Kansas–Sam Brownback, who has totally bankrupted his state, and has cut education and health care coverage to dangerous levels  that undermine the state, all to cut taxes for the wealthy, and is a great example of a fake religiously devout leader.

Texas–Greg Abbott, who wants to take Texas back to the Civil War, calling for a constitutional amendment to forbid the federal government from having any influence or power over the states, arguing states rights will better protect the nation.

Florida—Rick Scott, who has refused to accept climate change as having an effect, even though his state is already seeing great evidence of the damage that the Sunshine state faces in the next 20-40 years, and also has done everything possible to undermine the lives of the poor in the state.

Wisconsin–Scott Walker, who has engaged in policies to undermine public workers and to destroy the reputation of the state as one of the most advanced states in the nation, and has also engaged in widespread political corruption on a massive scale.

North Carolina–Pat McCrory, who has managed to turn a progressive Southern state into one of the most backward, regressive states in America, one influenced by the corruption and move for dominance by the Koch Brothers in so many areas  of public policy.

Oklahoma–Mary Fallin, one of the most heartless and nasty state leaders, ignoring the growing number of earthquakes caused by the fracking industry, and totally committed to capital punishment even if there are no appropriate drugs to use for execution.

Louisiana–Bobby Jindal, who lost his Presidential ambitions, but set a record as a totally destructive and  heartless governor toward the poor of his state, and destroyed the public education system of New Orleans entirely.

Indiana–Mike Pence, who has caused a major health crisis over AIDS, by his refusal to address the issue of drug abuse, and has shown unwillingness to deal with the needs of those at the bottom of the economic system.

Arizona—Doug Ducey, who has shown total lack of competence or concern for the large number of Latinos in his state, and has shown evidence of corruption on a level that makes one wish former governor Jan Brewer was still in office, as bad as she actually was.

Kentucky—Matt Bevin, with no government experience, and a Tea Party activist, wishing to destroy the ObamaCare Medicaid system of his state, which was a model for the nation, but now is on the chopping block.

 

Personal Attacks On Barack Obama Far Surpass Such Nastiness Toward Any Other Modern President!

Here we are, about to start the eighth and last year of the Barack Obama Presidency, and new evidence of the personal attacks on Barack Obama continues to mount, far surpassing such nastiness toward any other modern President.

We are not talking here about disagreement and attacks on Barack Obama for his viewpoints, his beliefs, his policies, his attitudes, or the results of his effect on the nation.

We are talking about attacks on his appearance, his clothes, his religious views, his wife, his children, his childhood, his close friends, his sincerity when he makes statements or sheds tears or laughs—really anything imaginable that any stupid, ignorant, nasty person could possibly conjure up to demonstrate lack of respect and decency toward an American President!

Yes, comments have been made about John F. Kennedy’s Roman Catholicism; Lyndon B. Johnson’s acquisition of wealth; Richard Nixon’s character; Gerald Ford’s blunders; Jimmy Carter’s ineptness; Ronald Reagan’s ability to promote mythology; George H. W. Bush’s poor communications skills; Bill Clinton’s womanizing; and George W. Bush’s intellectual limits.

But none have had depictions of Obama and his family as chimpanzees; or said Michelle Obama looks like the family dog Bo; or that the children are monkeys; or that Obama is homosexual; or that his wife is really a man; and other outrageous personal attacks, and not by teenagers, but by full fledged adults who believe what the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups preach. No one else has been called the AntiChrist, the devil, the personification of evil, and accused of every immoral action imaginable.

More evidence showed up two days ago when it was revealed that the Presidential dog Bo was subject of a threatened kidnapping by a crazy person, with this blogger posting about this on Facebook, and getting some of the most nasty, sick, abusive responses directed at the First Family and the President.  It is enough to make one furious at the mental illness that many Obama haters clearly have, and makes one realize it is almost a miracle that the President has not been harmed after more threats against him than any President since Abraham Lincoln!

And what other President has been condemned by extremist right wing so called church pastors and talk show hosts with insulting statements that only a person of no character or ethics would ever dream of such attacks?

After seven years of Barack Obama, the level of racism and bigotry is in full pitch, an embarrassment that should not exist, and a sign of just how far we have to go to overcome prejudice and narrow mindedness, as his election twice to the Presidency has not led to an improvement in public decency. until and when such attitudes are wiped from the American psyche!

And the concept that the opposition party would condemn such attacks in the name of common decency is not present, and never has been, as Republican leaders remain silent, and in so doing, are endorsing these nasty, outrageous personal attacks that have reached a fever pitch unseen in earlier American history!

Shameful, Despicable Behavior Of Donald Trump And Supporters At Trump Political Rallies

The Donald Trump political rallies have become a disgusting example of the worst elements of mankind.

We see the most bigoted, most venal, most outrageous behavior by the vast majority of Trump supporters at these rallies.

They display the worst elements of humankind, a willingness to stop thinking, and accept a pure demagogue who could not give a damn about them and their lives.

One can be sure that Donald Trump thinks most of his supporters are morons, who he would not give the time of day to if he met them, as they are simply the vehicle for him to gain absolute power and build up his narcissism and egotism to an ever higher level.

His racism, nativism, Islamophobia, and misogyny are encouraged among his lap dog followers, who seem unable to analyze and evaluate the truth about this bully, this braggart, this obnoxious human being.  So many of them are ignorant, stupid, racist, despicable, hateful and pathetic beyond belief!

The nerve of Trump to force the removal of a Muslim woman at his South Carolina rally yesterday, who stood in silent opposition to his hatred!

The gall of Trump to order a Bernie Sanders supporter to be ejected from a Burlington, Vermont rally two days ago, and to suggest that this person’s coat should be confiscated in 20 degree weather!

Trump may be banned from Great Britain, our leading ally, over his horrible behavior, so just imagine if the nation was crazy enough to elect Trump President.

His boorish, obscene behavior cannot be allowed to result in his destroying the Republican Party, and promoting polarization in the nation, as his candidacy  is a danger to America’s future and to world stability over the next four challenging years!

Vice President Joe Biden Has Regrets, And So Do Many Democrats Who Hoped He Would Run For President In 2016!

In twelve days, Vice President Joe Biden enters his eighth and last year as Vice President of the United States.

Biden has been a “jewel” for President Barack Obama, being a great contributor and supporter to all of of Obama’s many tough decisions.

Biden has been willing to challenge Obama on some issues, but always supportive after the decision is made.

Biden has also been a spur to change, as when he pushed Obama into support of gay marriage before the President was ready to state so.

Joe Biden has given this nation 43 years of dedicated public service, and he has always put his full energies and full commitment to this nation.

Biden is now expressing regrets that he chose not to run, due to the mourning over his son Beau, who died of cancer at the end of last May.  By the time he felt he was ready, emotionally and physically, the deadline for a serious entrance had passed, as he told us in October.  Many of his millions of supporters also regret that he is not in the race, forcing them to choose between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Biden is such a good soldier, such a passionate person in his work life, that to see him retire in a year seems ridiculous, so that is why if Hillary Clinton becomes the 45th President, she should appoint Joe Biden to be the Secretary of State for the next four year term, with his great experience and knowledge of foreign policy, including his Chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for two two year terms.

The Presidency And “Natural Born” Citizenship—Barry Goldwater, John McCain, Barack Obama, YES! George Romney And Ted Cruz, NO!

The question of “natural born” citizenship has arisen in recent years, with the cases of John McCain, Barack Obama, and now Ted Cruz running for President.

It also showed up when Barry Goldwater was running for President in 1964, and George Romney was planning a Presidential campaign in 1968.

It seems clear that the answer as to who of these individuals were or are eligible to run for President is as follows:

Barry Goldwater WAS eligible to run for President in 1964, as he was born in Arizona, which was a territory at the time of his birth in 1909, becoming a state in 1912!

George Romney never actually declared for President in 1968, but arguably, he was NOT eligible to be President, as he was born to Mormon parents in Mexico!

John McCain, when he ran for President in 2000 and again in 2008, WAS eligible to run for President, as he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, which was a US territory from the time of the Panama Canal treaty in 1903. until its turnover to Panama at the end of 1999. And the Canal Zone had a US Military base, which made it US territory!

Barack Obama, when he ran for President in 2008 and 2012, WAS eligible to run for President, as  he was born in the state of Hawaii, which had become a state in 1959, two years before Obama was born, but even if still a territory, Obama was perfectly eligible for the Presidency!

Finally, Senator Ted Cruz’s campaign for President is in dispute, as Cruz was born in Canada and lived there for four years, so despite his statements, he is technically NOT eligible to be President of the United States!

The answer is that IF you wish your son or daughter to run for President fifty or more years from now, make sure that your baby is born on a military base or diplomatic mission of the United States overseas, NOT on foreign soil not related to the United States!

It is ironic that all of the contested cases of natural born citizenship have been Republicans, with the exception of Obama, amazing when one thinks how the Republican Party in modern times is uptight about citizenship and immigration!

“Establishment” Republicans Are Handing The Presidential Nomination To Donald Trump Or Ted Cruz: Destruction Of The GOP In Process!

The so called “Establishment” Republicans are rapidly destroying each other, and in effect, handing the nomination for President in 2016 to either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, which insures the destruction of the GOP is in process, as neither has any chance of winning the Presidency.

Trump is a total charlatan and Cruz is a right wing ideologue who makes Barry Goldwater, the disastrous 1964 GOP nominee, look like a moderate by comparison!

But instead of uniting around one candidate, and giving up their own egos and lust for power, the four “Establishment” candidates—Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie—are attacking each other with a vengeance, which means it is likely that none of them will do better than third in Iowa and New Hampshire, and will destroy any chance of a more centrist candidate being selected!

Whatever one thinks of Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, and George Pataki, they all saw reality, and decided to thin the field in an attempt to avoid the nomination of Trump or Cruz.

But it has not convinced anyone else to drop out, so it looks like gloom and doom for the GOP, with no chance to win the Presidency in 2016, and a good chance that they will lose the US Senate, and see their margin in the House of Representatives cut down dramatically in 2016!

Right Wing Militia Takeover Of Federal Wildlife Refuge In Oregon Must Be Ended, And Federal Authority Asserted Over Public Lands!

Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican President, asserted federal authority over public lands in the West in the early 20th century, to insure that industry and big business would not destroy our natural wonders.

Abraham Lincoln, a Republican President, asserted federal authority to prevent the Southern secessionists from breaking up the Union through assertion of states rights in the Civil War.

George Washington, a Federalist President, used federal troops to resist defiance of the federal government’s authority to impose taxes on Pennsylvania at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion.

Andrew Jackson, a Democratic President, was ready to use federal military force against South Carolina in the Nullification Crisis, but avoided through a negotiated compromise.

We live now in a time of right wing militia who have in the past, and still do today, work to defy federal authority, and to claim the Constitution backs them up, which is a total misunderstanding of the nation and its history.

The US government must enforce taxation and control of public lands under the Constitution  and its laws, and must not allow open defiance of such authority!

If the seizure of public lands in Oregon, a federal wildlife refuge, this past weekend, by members of the lawless Bundy family, can be ended peacefully, all to the good!

But one can be sure that if it was black activists or Muslims or Latinos who were occupying and seizing public lands, the outcry would be that they must be removed forcefully from the scene of their illegal actions.

We would have people saying these are terrorists, law breakers, dangers to national security and the rule of law.

So the fact that these are white men is no excuse to allow a pass on enforcement of federal authority!

Negotiations for these rebels, these trouble makers, these law breakers, to leave peacefully and soon must begin, but after a reasonable period of time, the FBI and the ATF and other law enforcement authorities MUST take action, including the use of force, to let all extremist right wing elements to know that the US government will not allow itself to be pushed around by hoodlums, by bullies, by extremists, who want to undermine the authority of our federal government!

Six Of Twelve Remaining Republican Presidential Candidates Should “Throw In The Towel” And Withdraw From Race!

So we are now in 2016, and in four weeks, we have the Iowa Caucuses on February 1, and then on February 9, we have the New Hampshire Primary.

With four weeks to go until the first votes, we have 12 remaining candidates for the White House on the Republican side, but really, it is time for six of them to withdraw before the first vote, as there is zero chance of any of these six ending up as the GOP nominee for President:

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore

Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania

Former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas

Dr. Benjamin Carson

Carly Fiorina

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky

The race comes down to Donald Trump; Senator Ted Cruz of Texas; Senator Marco Rubio of Florida; Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey; Governor John Kasich of Ohio; and former Governor Jeb Bush of Florida.

After Iowa and New Hampshire, it is likely that two of these six will have ended their quest for President, with Christie and Bush the likely dropouts at this point.

This will leave Trump with his demagoguery; Cruz with his extremely far right conservatism; Rubio with the best chance to end up as the nominee ultimately; and Kasich as the “dark horse”, who could end up as the nominee or as the Vice Presidential choice.

Donald Trump Is The New “Southern” Demagogue: Combination Of Huey P. Long, Strom Thurmond, George C. Wallace!

Anyone watching Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign will notice, if they are using their brain matter, that his greatest appeal is among Southerners who want the “glorious past” returned to them, a time of racial discrimination and prejudice against any minority group which is not white Christian!  Thousands flock to see Trump in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and other Southern states.

The Trump supporters are poorly educated, including many high school dropouts and barely graduates of high school; lower income whites living in rural areas of the South, Appalachia, and the Midwest non urban areas bordering on the South; heavily racist and nativist and blaming minorities for their own shortcomings and inability to earn a decent living; and those who admire narcissism, bullyism, and braggadocio, due to their own mentally unstable and insecure personalities.

The Trump supporter base want a strong man, who promotes obedience to authority and to those, whether religious or political demagogues, who have an appeal that simplifies all of the problems that most people without education and knowledge find appealing.  They want women to go back to the “good old days” when they focused on the bedroom and the kitchen, rather than compete with men.

The Trump supporters also support action to put African Americans, Latinos, and Muslims under control, working against their basic human rights and civil liberties, so they want a return to the days when white male Christians (fundamentalist and evangelical) were in charge, not having to deal with the rise of Catholics and Jews who started to become influential in the time of the New Deal of FDR and since.

So Trump supporters want a return to pre 1930s government intervention, so would support erasing much of the New Deal, Great Society, and Obama reforms,, even though they would be far worse off without Social Security, Medicare, and a multitude of programs that help the white poor and working class!

They want a new “Southern” demagogue, a combination of Huey P. Long, Strom Thurmond, and George C. Wallace, even if its leader is a multi billionaire New Yorker, who only vacations in Florida, and really has no respect or regard for the typical Trump supporter, who he looks upon privately with disdain!

The “Lame Duck Presidency” Transformed By Barack Obama As He Enters Last Year Of Presidency!

The standard argument is that once a President is reelected to his second term, his power wanes quickly, particularly after the midterm election of his second term.

That has generally proved to be true, as occurred with Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

But it most certainly has NOT happened with Barack Obama!

The “Lame Duck” Presidency does not exist, as Obama has seen the victories in the Supreme Court on gay marriage and ObamaCare; has seen him move to start relations with Cuba and negotiate an agreement with Iran to prevent nuclear expansion; has led to him speaking openly on the problem of race relations and crime; has led to great initiatives on the environment; and has led to him openly challenging Republicans on a whole host of issues, and when defied, using executive orders as earlier Presidents did to overcome Congressional recalcitrance,

Of course, Obama is helped by the fact that the economy has improved dramatically under his time in office; and by the fact that we are not engaged in a major war with large numbers of troops on the ground, getting killed and wounded; and has no major scandal that saps energy from the office of the Presidency.

So do NOT expect Barack Obama to sit back in his last 12 months in public office, as he has every intention and desire to promote more change in every way he can in the economy, in foreign policy, in executive orders, and in making the Presidency an office of great power and promotion of reform!