Freedom Of Speech

Closing Down Mosques, Requiring Muslim ID Badges, Closing Down Cafes And Diners And Wherever Muslims Meet: Meet American Fascism And The Republican Party Of 2015!

Ronald 30 Comments

The Republican Party of 2015 has gone so far to the Right that now it can be compared to Fascism in many ways!

Donald Trump asserts that all mosques in America should be shut down, which only incites anti Muslim hatred and endangers all Muslims in the United States.

What Trump forgets is the concept of the First Amendment and religious freedom!  Can one imagine if we had a politician say all Catholic Churches, all evangelical Christian churches, all mainline Establishment Protestant churches, or all Jewish synagogues should be shut down?  Would we ever allow or conceive of such action by any level of American government, which would make us no different than what Nazi Germany represented, as they shut down Jewish synagogues, and in fact, torched and desecrated them?  Have we gone mad as a nation, that we even have a Presidential candidate who can utter such bigotry and fascist tendencies, and sit by and ignore it?

Donald Trump also declares that we should require Muslim ID badges, reminding us of the branding of Jews with a yellow star in Nazi Germany, and are Americans ok with that, as if so, why not some day do that to other religious groups or ethnic minorities?  And he wants a database established to track all Muslims in America in their daily existence.

Marco Rubio wants us to close down cafes and diners and wherever Muslims meet, making him an American Fascist as much as Donald Trump!  Are we to arrest and imprison all Muslims in America as we did with Japanese Americans in World War II?

Are we to repeal the Bill of Rights and end freedom of assembly, along with freedom of religion, as well as freedom of speech?  Does anyone really think that shutting down public places where Muslims might congregate will prevent them from meeting underground?  Are we out to promote paranoia among Muslims in America, where the 99 percent who are NOT terrorist oriented will be motivated to defend themselves by joining groups that promote Al Qaeda or ISIL (ISIS)?

Are we going to allow those who advocate hate, such as Pam Geller, Franklin Graham, and others who promote Islamophobia, to undermine our nation and its basic values, and create a situation that will incite violence against anyone seen as Muslim?

Do we think such individuals would not be willing to defend themselves in a nation where there are so many firearms, many in the hands of mentally unstable individuals?  How do we gain a sense of peace and tranquility long term, when we are having demagogues advocating violence, warfare, and a native American Fascism?

All decent people MUST condemn Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and all other Republicans who advocate similar Fascist ideas, as well as Pam Geller and Franklin Graham and others of their ilk! They undermine any hope of coexistence, as all they do is accomplish what the evil terrorist groups want the most–the dissolution of America and its values!

The Confederate Flag MUST Come Down In South Carolina And Anywhere It Is Displayed On Public Property!

Ronald 59 Comments

The Confederate flag on South Carolina Capitol grounds in Columbia MUST come down and NOW! The Charleston Massacre at the African American Church is the last straw!

It is NOT a sign of the losses of white Southerners in the Civil War, 150 years ago, sorry!

It is a sign of racism and hatred, and NO public place anywhere in America should be allowed to display it!

Look at the Supreme Court stating in a decision the other day that Texas can ban use of the Confederate flag as a symbol on automobile license plates.

That should become the standard everywhere in America.

Of course, if a private person wishes to display the Confederate flag on his car or his private property, nothing can be done about it, but on public land and locations, it MUST be banned!

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina claims it is part of “tradition”! Well, sorry, Lindsey Graham, NO MORE!

The Civil War is over, so get over it!

The Confederate flag will still be in museums, but it should not be permitted anywhere else in public places, clear and simple!

No symbol of hate and prejudice and racism should be legally allowed in public places in America, as this is NOT freedom of speech!

The End Of A Hateful Man: The Reverend Fred Phelps Of The Westboro Baptist Church Is Dead!

Ronald 7 Comments

The world is a better place with the death of the Reverend Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas.

Phelps died at age 84, and left behind a legacy of total hatred, as he became controversial for his small group of followers, mostly family, picketing at funerals of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, approved by the Supreme Court in 2011 with some restrictions, as freedom of speech.

Phelps and his followers were not protesting the wars America engaged in, but rather the fact that gays and lesbians were permitted to exist, as he and his flock condemned homosexuality, and said gays and lesbians were doomed to hell.

Phelps failed to attract outside supporters, and even some of his own family repudiated him over the years, but he never gave up his fanatical hatred and poisonous rhetoric.

There is the temptation to say “goodbye and good riddance,'” but more than wishing that ill thought on anyone who has died, is the hope that we will never again see the likes of anyone who calls himself “religious”, abuse that term by wishing harm and promoting hate toward anyone, whether for their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The ultimate victory over Fred Phelps and his ilk is the fact that 18 states and Washington, DC back gay marriage rights, that eight other states have had federal judges move in that direction—Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma Tennessee, Kentucky, and Utah, and that five other states—Missouri, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, as of this writing, recognize civil unions, a step toward eventual acceptance of gay marriage. So soon, it is likely, after appeal, that 26 states will be allowing gay marriage, and five others are also moving in that direction.

And ultimately, it seems highly likely that cases on gay marriage in the federal courts will lead to a Supreme Court decision, with a likely minimum 5-4 vote, including Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion in the crucial gay rights case, Lawrence V. Texas, in 2003, and then no state will be able to deny anyone the right to marry a person of either gender, another great advancement in human rights!

Threats Of Violence Against Barack Obama Grows: A New, Expanded Mental Illness Very Worrisome!

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Here we are ending the fifth year of the Barack Obama Presidency, and the hatred and racism and threats of assassination have not abated one iota!

Instead, it has become a new, expanded mental illness, very worrisome, all over the internet, on Facebook and Twitter, and even on cable news networks, led by Fox News Channel!

It includes so called “religious” leaders, college professors, law enforcement officials, legislators in state governments, military personnel, students, people of different racial backgrounds, and goes as far as calling for a national holiday for lynching President Obama!

This is extremely alarming, as the media reports of threats have multiplied, but it is clear that this is just the “tip of the iceberg”, and that there are a multitude of more threats than we are learning about.

The Secret Service, considered undermanned by many observers, is dealing with an estimated 30 threats per day, over 10,000 threats a year, and probably we are low balling those numbers, so they have to deal with threats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all forms of ways, many of them not serious, but none able to be overlooked, as a mistake could be fatal.

The President must go about his daily business of getting around, both in the country and on overseas visits, but one has to be concerned about his safety, as one can be sure, that if something tragic was to occur, there would be celebration not seen widely when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, although there were some stories of applause in classrooms in Dallas after JFK was shot, a totally deplorable situation.

It is the responsibility of our media not to give undue attention to the perpetrators of this hate, so the decision of Lou Dobbs, who once was sane but has gone bonkers in recent years, to allow Professor Michael Scheuer of Georgetown University, to spew his hate and condemnation, and endorsement of assassination of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, on the Dobbs show, should lead to a boycott of Dobbs and all other right wing talk show hosts, who will stop at nothing in their exploitation of hate and racism, and advocacy of violence against our Commander in Chief!

Freedom of speech stops when it advocates violence, and Scheuer needs to be held accountable by Georgetown University, and advertisers need to stop support of Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage, Mark Levin, et al as an indication that such poison should not be supported on radio and television, as it is a disease that can promote tragedy and disaster!

Vladimir Putin, The New York Times, And Lecturing America

Ronald 6 Comments

It is literally shocking that the NY Times chose to publish a self serving, propagandistic statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Putin lectures the United States, and questions the “exceptionalism” that America is known for, and even discusses God in a society infamous for atheism during the Soviet Period, when Putin was a member of the Russian Secret Police of that era, the KGB!

Yes, the United States has many problems and faults, but still we are an “exceptional” nation that is a model for the world!

Meanwhile, the Russian Federation has arranged for the disappearance and death of dissidents, even in other countries; invaded the nation of Georgia; massacred hundreds of thousands of people in Chechnya; denies basic freedoms to its own citizens, including freedom of speech and press; and is now on a campaign to persecute and intimidate gays who live in Russia, as well as causing an Olympics crisis with its anti gay laws, which are likely to lead to arrest of foreigners in Russia during the upcoming Winter Olympics!

Putin is, clearly, a dictator and a totalitarian, and the NY Times should be ashamed of itself for allowing him a venue through their newspaper to lecture the US and its government and people!

Instead, what Putin needs to do is look in the mirror, and work on promoting human freedom and opportunity in Russia, on the model of the United States, which has plenty of work left to do, but has a lot to show that is good, to the rest of the world!

The Westboro Baptist Church And The Funerals Of 19 Arizona Firefighters

Ronald 4 Comments

The infamous Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, consisting of about 50 people, mostly family members, who have picketed funerals of Iraq and Afghanistan War soldiers, is now threatening to picket the funerals of the 19 courageous Arizona firefighters killed this week in the worst loss of firefighters since September 11, 2001.

That despicable church has used their sick, hateful tactic to protest the reality of homosexuality, arguing that war losses and deaths of firefighters is all due to God visiting his wrath on America for accepting the existence of gay men and women.

The Supreme Court a few years ago ruled that what the Westboro Baptist Church does is freedom of speech and assembly, but that such demonstrations must be far enough away so as not interfere with such somber events.

But this kind of conduct, while it might be legal, is reprehensible, and makes one say: “Enough is enough!”, and will hopefully lead to a strong counter demonstration that will shout down any awareness of the fact that these sick people are even present anywhere near the respect that is due to those courageous firefighters, as much as war veterans killed in combat!

Celebrities And International Affairs: Ignore Them!

Ronald 5 Comments

In the last few days, we have seen a number of “celebrities” become engaged in international affairs actions and commentaries, an embarrassment to themselves and America.

These include:

National Basketball Hall of Fame player Dennis Rodman
Actor Sean Penn
Director Oliver Stone
New York Congressman Jose Serrano

It is inadvisable for public celebrities in sports and the entertainment industry to speak up in support of anti American foreign dictators, as the first three have done, with Rodman trying to play the role of a “diplomat” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a man who has been developing nuclear weapons and threatening his neighbors; and Sean Penn and Oliver Stone publicly mourning the death of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, a person they call a “good friend”, despite his collaboration with Moammar Gaddafi, Fidel Castro, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other enemies of the United States.

It is also reckless and loony that Congressman Jose Serrano should act as if Chavez was good for his people, and to ignore Chavez’ s rants and raves against both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Of course, nothing can or should be done about these utterances and statements, as we all have freedom of speech, but any decent American should repudiate these people and their irresponsible and toxic behavior!

The Recklessness And Lack Of Responsibility Of Professor James Tracy Of Florida Atlantic University: How Should We React To It?

Ronald 9 Comments

Professor James Tracy of the Department of Communications at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, where this author has been an Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science since 1989, has become the center of a massive controversy in the past few days. Let me inform my readers that I do not know Professor Tracy, have never met him, and did not even know what he looked like until this controversy erupted!

Tracy has claimed that he believes that the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre of December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut, was a staged event conjured up by a conspiracy of the Obama Administration in cahoots with the news media and trained actors, and that since there is no released photographic evidence of the riddled bodies of 20 children and six teachers and administrators, therefore the event never happened!

This is obviously a lunatic theory, a conspiracy theory that believes that the government and the news media work together to lie to the American people, and to cause staged events to add to the power of the American government at all levels, in their aim to take away the civil liberties of the American population. It is never explained why the news media would collaborate in such a conspiracy, as criticism of government is a regular situation by the news media all across the country!

Tracy is intellectually dishonest, and in his heart of hearts, he knows that what he has done is horrific, irresponsible, reckless, unforgivable, and only feeds gun fanatics who wish to act in a manner similar to Alex Jones, who went on Piers Morgan’s show on CNN, and ranted and raved about plans to begin another “1776” event, through an armed uprising against government authorities.

Tracy is feeding paranoia, adding his title as a professor to promotion of conspiracy theories, and is undermining respect for our government leadership at all levels. He is acting as a demagogue, a man who incites crazies with his nutty utterances on his blog and in emails.

But the problem is that some would say this man should be fired by the university, which has taken the proper stand to separate themselves from his reckless, irresponsible statements, but point out that his viewpoints are not associated with the university, therefore upholding his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.

The best thing that could happen, but is unlikely to occur, is that Tracy, a tenured Associate Professor, choose to resign from Florida Atlantic University, but his notoriety makes it unlikely that he would be picked up by another university, and this is his livelihood. Freedom of expression and academic freedom cannot be violated nor abrogated!

So we must be willing to tolerate his outrageous statements in the name of civil liberties, and know that he will certainly be living a life of discomfort for his utterances, and his lack of concern for the harm he is doing to the families of the 20 children and six teachers and administrators who were tragic victims nearly a month ago!

But despite anger, no one should threaten his life, or write hateful emails to this professor, but instead ignore him as quickly as possible, as that is ultimately what Professor Tracy feeds on—attention, although of a negative variety—which makes one wonder about his own mental state, and the hope that he does not have ownership of any guns or other assault weapons!

The Dangers Of Islamophobia On American Life And The Future

Ronald 5 Comments

Islamophobia has multiplied due to irresponsible right wing talk shows hosts, politicians, and websites that are exploiting the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya.

Sadly, Mitt Romney is adding to this hysteria by refusing to make it clear that America cannot declare war on the Islamic world, with its more than one billion population. He needs to calm the hysteria, but instead is contributing to it!

It is right that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton denounce the anti Muslim video that has caused demonstrations in the Middle East, and led to massive riots. We as a nation are not responsible for the reckless, divisive, hateful actions of right wing nuts and Christian and Jewish zealots who preach undying antagonism toward the entire Islamic world.

The reality is that we MUST coexist in this world, as a modern day Crusade would destroy this planet that seven billion people occupy!

And if we are not careful, we will have massive violence in this nation against our Muslim population, and massive retaliation by people out to defend their faith and their culture. The Muslim population overwhelmingly has denounced what happened in Libya and Egypt, and are trying to go about their lives and be good American citizens.

Just because there are some radicals does not mean that all Muslims should be painted with the same brush. Leave it to the FBI and CIA to handle that problem, as they have done very well so far!

Indeed, we need to keep watch over our own religious extremists who are willing to be outrageous in their behavior in the name of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and do not care how they divide this nation, and put it under stress and danger, and undermine our national security!

Religious Tolerance Or Unending War: The Reality Of Modern Times

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The horrible events in both Libya and Egypt, provoked by a internet video ridiculing and besmirching the prophet Mohammed, are a sign of what the future is, if religious tolerance is not promoted, and it can bring unending war and internal turmoil in nations around the world, including the United States.

While nothing can be done in America, because of the right to freedom of speech, to stop such internet videos, or such crazy people as Pastor Terry Jones in Gainesville, Florida, who encouraged the production and dissemination of this video, and already has been controversial for burning copies of the Koran in 2010, our nation’s leaders must promote the concept that we all have to live in a multi religious world, do not have to agree with other religions and their beliefs, but must do everything we can as a government and as individuals, to promote religious tolerance, so as to avoid provocations that lead to bloodshed, violence, and death.

Those who hate one religion or another must understand that religion is, to a great extent, emotionally based, and there is no way that anyone is going to make any religious belief disappear from the public domain, so the answer is to accept, to work to understand, and learn to co-exist, or else our world will face violence and war that will make the Cold War period between the US and the Soviet Union look like minor events!