Evolution

Republican Run State Governments, Their Social Agenda, And The Effect On 2012 Elections

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Many states witnessed Republican takeover or consolidation in the Midterm Elections of 2010, but now, 18 months later, the record of those states run by Republicans could come back to haunt them and lead to Democratic victories across America.

Of course, many states have Republican Governors whose voters have “buyers remorse” over, including Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who faces a recall vote on June 5. But also, there is a lot of discontent with other “Bully” Governors, including Rick Snyder of Michigan, John Kasich of Ohio, Rick Scott of Florida, Paul LePage of Maine, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, and in some polls, Chris Christie of New Jersey. Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Martin O’Malley of Maryland, and Dannel Malloy of Connecticut are among the Democratic Governors looking great in the polls.

The Republican controlled state legislatures proceeded to pass laws on social issues, including gay rights, abortion, gun rights, laws against teaching of evolution, and laws allowing invasion of privacy of women’s bodies.

States including Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Maine have passed all kinds of laws that will cause a revulsion among Independents, women, Hispanics and Latinos, and young voters

Even the American Legislative Exchange Council, a business backed group which promotes conservative laws at the state level, has recognized how there could be a reaction against the right wing extremism in many states, and is now focusing on economic issues.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out in November, regarding state legislatures.

Earth Day, The Environment, And Republicans From TR And Nixon To James Inhofe And Mitt Romney!

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The Republican Party under Theodore Roosevelt a century ago promoted conservation and growth of national parks.

The Republican Party under Richard Nixon promoted the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and expanded on the air and water pollution legislation of Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Republican Party under Ronald Reagan, despite his wish to destroy the Environmental Protection Agency, and having a terrible record on the environment, possibly the worst of modern times, actually came to realize the dangers of global warming, which became part of the national security agenda in 1985 and after.

The Republican Party under George H. W. Bush, and then Democrat Bill Clinton, continued to deal with the issue of global warming.

It seems clear that once Al Gore, an environmental champion before, during, and after serving as Vice President under Bill Clinton, lost the Presidential Election of 2000 in the Supreme Court, it became the clarion call of those who would deny global warming and climate change, to push against any such crusade, and to condemn environmentalists on principle, much of it based on fake science promoted by right wing Evangelical Christians, with their leading champion being Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, but certainly joined by others in the Republican Party in both houses of Congress.

So we have even Mitt Romney now straddling the fence, refusing to take a strong stand on the environment, global warming, and climate change, and about to give a commencement speech next month at the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Virginia, where denial of environmental crisis, and even of evolution, runs rampant.

Look how far the GOP has fallen from the time of TR and Nixon to the present–a true national tragedy playing itself out, and certain to have a negative impact on the future of this country and the planet!

Earth Day: A Time For Concern Of Control By Conservatives And Right Wing Christians Denying Reality!

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We will be celebrating Earth Day again on Sunday, first declared by President Richard Nixon in 1970, after promotion the previous year by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.

42 years later, instead of dealing with our environment on an emergency basis, instead we have the power of corporate interests, conservatives, and right wing Christians, who deny global warming, climate change, and even the concept of evolution.

This globe is in a growing crisis, but if you look at the Republican Party and conservative talk radio, you would not know it!

Instead of working toward solutions that will preserve the planet for the next century and beyond, we have people invoking God and putting their heads in the sand!

And behind all this is the goal of a small elite, including the Koch Brothers, enriching themselves at the expense of the rest of us.

So while we can celebrate Earth Day, we must realize that we are living in a time of denial and illusion!

Mississippi And Alabama Continue Their Bad Reputation From The 1960s

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Mississippi and Alabama vote tomorrow in the Republican Presidential primaries, and as we focus on the two states with the worst reputation possible fifty years ago, one has to wonder has anything changed?

The answer is NO, although now the majority of citizens of those two states vote Republican, rather than for the Democratic Party.

But all that happened is that the whites of those states switched, based on the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, from the Democrats to the Republicans, as the Republicans gave up their Reconstruction image of being pro African American rights, and therefore, inherited the segregationists of the 1960s.

Sure, African American involvement in the politics of those two Deep South states has multiplied, but still those states are dominated by the old racism and segregationist mentality of the 1960s! They remain among the poorest states of the union, both black and white citizens.

Now, those states are working to make it harder for minorities to vote, leading to court cases. Also, discrimination against immigrants of Hispanic ancestry is in full swing, particularly so in Alabama.

And a majority in a poll believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while at the same time, NOT believing in evolution, but instead the Bible creationist theory. So they do not believe in science, but believe in a Lord who discriminates based on race and nationality!

What can one say except throw their hands up in frustration and exasperation at the ignorance and narrow mindedness of these two states, whose reputation remains in the bottom ten of our 50 states, and very close to the bottom, if not the bottom!

Rick Santorum On The Rampage: Attacking Public Education, The Environment, And Prenatal Care

Ronald 3 Comments

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is on the rampage, ranting and raving like a maniac, and making many mainstream Republicans roll their eyes as they see the chances of their party disintegrating for November.

Santorum yesterday, while campaigning in Ohio, attacked public education, saying it is outmoded, and should not be controlled or operated by national or state governments, but instead privatized. The fact that we have had public schools since the 1820s is ignored, as he calls such an idea “antiquated” and “anachronistic”! He calls public schools “factories”, and says that local school boards and parents should control the educational system, even though the historical record does not show that to have been done very well in the past! The idea that parents, who in many cases have no knowledge or understanding of educational curriculum, should control what is taught, is as dangerous as to let patients tell doctors how to do their job, or clients to tall attorneys how to conduct cases in court! It is also a great way to distort history and science, teaching a distorted view of the past, and allowing religion to become part of science in relation to evolution and climate change, already being promoted in many states dominated by the Christian Right.

Santorum also attacked those he says are following a false theology, such as Barack Obama, who feel that the earth comes before human beings, and that radical environmentalists want to prevent mankind from utilizing the earth, and therefore endangering the future prosperity of America. Teddy Roosevelt would turn over in his grave at such an assertion!

Santorum also accused those who promote prenatal care, including amniocentesis, of setting out to abort disabled children, preventing their birth. There is no evidence of such a claim, but it is interesting that Rick Santorum, as with other Republicans, constantly calls for cuts in Medicaid, the major program to help the disabled with health care. So Santorum is totally hypocritical on this matter.

The man is displaying all of his instability, weirdness, craziness, and lunacy, which will destroy his ability to attract educated voters, women, independents, moderate Democrats, and those who believe that religion should not be part of government policy, who want separation of church and state.

The more he rants and raves, the more the Republican Party is on the road to total defeat in November, so keep it coming, Rick!

With Ron Paul Having His “Surge” In Iowa, The Investigation Of His Record Begins!

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Texas Congressman Ron Paul has been very appealing to libertarians, and was in fact the Presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party in 1988.

Having run as a Republican for President in 2008, the only repeat candidate along with Mitt Romney, Paul is presently first in some Iowa public opinion polls as the Iowa Caucuses of January 3 get closer.

So Paul is having a “surge”, as earlier Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich have had. Only Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman have not had a “surge’ as the search for the non Romney candidate continues.

So now that Ron Paul is being paid more attention, let us look at the facts about a man who has been around a long time, and has taken positions on all kinds of issues, meaning at least some will be seen in a positive light, depending on the person looking at Paul’s record. But there is plenty to be disturbed about!

But face the facts: There is no way that Ron Paul can be the GOP Presidential nominee, and if he looked as if he was going to be, there would be such a ganging up on him by the Republican Party, which despite its claims, is NOT a libertarian, isolationist party as Ron Paul basically is.

What is objectionable about Ron Paul, in no special order?

1. Ron Paul has in the past, in a newsletter he now disavows, but was under his name, stated racist, anti Semitic, and anti gay statements. While he is not the only Republican to make racist or anti gay statements, the fact that he said them in a newsletter many years ago makes him even more objectionable, since it is harder to refute.

2. Paul is for taking America out of the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and all free trade agreements. He is perceived as an isolationist.

3. He is highly critical of Israel, the only Republican candidate to be so, and yet does not see Iran as a threat for the future with the development of nuclear weapons.

4. Paul is for wiping out most government agencies and their bureaucracies, including Education, Commerce, Homeland Security, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Energy. He also would love to eliminate the Federal Reserve Board. None of this is going to happen, no matter what criticisms there might be of these agencies.

5. Paul promotes letting states decide most matters dealt with by the national government, and thinks climate change is a hoax, and advocates stopping interference with religion’s influence in government, including the teaching of intelligent design over evolution.

6. He is a strong believer in pro-life without exceptions; against any government intervention in the environment; any regulation of guns; and any aspect of affirmative action.

7. Paul opposes any kind of amnesty for illegal aliens, any support of any kind for them, and birthright citizenship for their children born in the United States.

8. Paul believes only in excise or sales taxes, and the wiping out of the income tax, and refuses to support any spending programs that create new debts.

Also, a study by a political science journal, The American Journal of Political Science, came to the conclusion that, overall, Paul has the most conservative voting record of all 3,320 members of Congress from 1937 to 2002!

So the attacks on Ron Paul as outside the mainstream, even of the GOP, is rapidly growing!

The Ongoing Civil War In The Republican Party: Similar To 1964 Goldwater-Rockefeller Race?

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A recent CNN poll demonstrates the chasm that exists in the Republican Party, as the 2012 Presidential campaign comes on the scene more every day.

The demographics, ideology, and temperament of the two warring groups creates a real problem for their future. By 51-49, the majority do NOT support the Tea Party Movement, and can be seen as “Establishment” Republicans.

The Tea Party Republicans are older, more educated, and more male, while the Establishment Republicans are more likely female, less educated, younger, and less likely to be evangelical Christians.

The Tea Party Republicans are more angry about how things are working out in the country. And they are more concerned about the deficit; more likely not to believe science in regards to global warming and evolution; more likely to believe in the abolition of the Department of Education; more skeptical about abortion and gay marriage; more critical of the Federal Reserve Board; and more likely to think social security needs to be changed.

The Establishment Republicans want a candidate who can defeat President Obama, and less concerned about purity in principles.

Realistically, the Tea Party Republicans favor Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann, although some like Rick Santorum, Ron Paul or Herman Cain.

The Establishment Republicans strongly support Mitt Romney, or possibly Jon Huntsman, as legitimate candidates

So the present Perry-Romney frontrunner battle in many ways represents a similar battle to that of Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller in 1964!

The “Science” Republicans Vs. The “Faith” Republicans

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Part of the struggle for the Republican Presidential nomination is between those who believe in the validity of science, relating to global warming, evolution, and stem cell research, and those who believe in the literal interpretation of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

On one side are Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney; on the other side are Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and sometimes, in an inconsistent way, Newt Gingrich, who is intelligent enough to know better!

Are we to have a possible future President who repudiates science and wishes to lead a holy crusade for Christianity in a world in which we must somehow coexist with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other religious faiths that look at the world differently from us?

In a country founded on separation of church and state, to avoid religious conflict, we are now faced with the real possibility of a “Crusade” mentality which will undermine our national security!

The Anti Science, Anti Knowledge Political Party: The Republicans!

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The Republican Party race for the Presidential nomination in 2012 is revealing just how ignorant, how dim witted, and how opportunistic all of the candidates are, with the one exception of former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman.

Only Huntsman is willing to speak up for science, for global warming, climate change, and evolution. All of the rest of the field, except Mitt Romney, prefers to point out that they are “good” Christians, and therefore allow theology to trump science, and put their heads in the sand!

What a model for America’s children, who are being encouraged to let religion dominate their brains, rather than science!

And Romney, who privately has the same views as Huntsman, is starting to hedge on it publicly, because he has no guts or courage, and wants the GOP Presidential nomination so badly he will sell his soul, and act as if he totally agrees with the rest of the ignorant crowd competing against him!

So we have six candidates out of eight who do not accept science, one (Romney) who has no willingness to stand up for what he knows is factually correct, and Huntsman, the only true, sincere, EDUCATED candidate, also with more foreign policy insight than all seven of his opponents combined, competing to run against a man (Barack Obama), who is highly educated, understands science, respects the scientific method, and speaks for knowledge and education!

One would think that the obvious battle for President should be between Huntsman and Obama, an intelligent competition!

Instead, it seems pretty certain that one of the others will be the nominee of the party for the leadership of our country, and responsibility for world affairs. This is due to polls (Public Policy Polling), which indicate that only 21 percent of Republican voters in Iowa believe in global warning, and only 35 percent believe in evolution!

The anti intellectualism of Republicans is absolutely mind boggling and troubling for the future of America in the 21st century!

The Frightening Conflict Between Science And Religion In The Republican Party: The Threat To America’s Future!

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As the Presidential campaign of 2012 evolves, a frightening conflict between science and religion is developing in the Republican competition for President, as it has already in the party in Congress.

On the issue of global warming and climate change, only Jon Huntsman consistently, and Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in a wavering way, endorse there is a problem. Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Herman Cain totally deny it, even with the oncoming Hurricane Irene, on top of drought, floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters worldwide at a rapidly increasing rate, and the warmest temperatures continuing to set records, along with extremes of winter weather which also indicate the earth is changing rapidly.

Only Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney accept evolution over creationism, another example of the refusal of Republicans to accept the knowledge offered by scientific evidence. Instead, they accept that the earth is not old, and that mankind walked with dinosaurs only a few thousand years ago, a totally preposterous concept!

The Republican Party is becoming more beholden to evangelical Christianity and its anti science mentality!

We discover now that Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are connected to a “Dominionism” movement, which claims there are demons affecting the arts and entertainment, business, the family, government, media, religion, and education.

The recent Perry religious rally was led by ministers who believe the above. The aims of these activists is to promote anti gay rights, anti abortion, anti Islamic policies, along with opposition to social safety nets, which take away the domain of Christianity. Also, part of their agenda is to convert Jews as part of the process of the “end times” when Jesus will return to the earth. The same group has been involved in anti gay activism and retribution against gays in Uganda in East Africa!

Face the facts! Christian Dominionism wishes to replace American law with the strictures of the Old Testament, including support for the death penalty for homosexuality, abortion and being a non believer!

It is no different in its extremism than other religious fundamentalist movements, such as Shiite Muslims in Iran or Sunni Wahabis in the Arab world!

The Christian Dominionists have also promoted a justification of slavery in the South, and have distorted history through a Confederate view of the Civil War and race relations!

Under the name New Apostolic Reformation, the movement is on to elect Perry or Bachmann to promote a theocratic state!

This attack on science and promotion of an extreme strain of Christian fundamentalism is an assault on all of the tenets of the Bill of Rights and the meaning of the Constitution. Instead of separation of church and state, instead, we could be facing a future of a theocratic fanaticism led by a reckless, dangerous leader such as Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann!

And don’t think for a minute that Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, or Newt Gingrich are any better choices, as they also are promoters of theocracy in different ways!

It is ironic that only the two Mormons in the race–Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney–considered not to be Christians by these theocratic zealots, actually believe in science and separation of church and state!

What a crazy, whacko situation this nation faces in this clash between science and religion for the hearts and minds of the American people, in the midst of an economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression!