George H W Bush

50th Anniversary Of Berlin Wall: The Ultimate Symbol Of Oppression Remembered!

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Today, a half century ago, the East German government in lockstep with the Soviet Union, its master, started construction of the infamous Berlin Wall, which became the ultimate symbol of oppression, the true image of what Soviet Communism was all about!

For the next 28 years, until the evening of November 9 and day of November 10, 1989, the Berlin Wall became the center of the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, evoking the worst images of the Cold War.

Many people died trying to ram through the checkpoints with their cars; or attempting to climb over the wall with its barbed wire top, or jumping over the wall from nearby buildings at the location of the wall, or digging tunnels under the wall in a multitude of locations.

President John F. Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan were remembered for their condemnations of the Berlin Wall and what it represented.

When the wall came down suddenly in November 1989 during the Presidency of George H. W. Bush, it was a sign of the end of the Cold War, and the ultimate collapse of the Soviet system of government in 1991, after all of Eastern Europe was liberated from the yoke of communism in 1989.

It was a great moment of rejoicing, still in many ways hard to conceptualize, that the wall had actually come down, with East German border guards assisting in the destruction themselves.

It made many think that there would be peace in the world, and that the United States would be the only super power, with no realization that we were entering a new era, in many ways more dangerous, the era of Islamic Terrorism with those engaged in that terrorism having absolutely no limits, including suicide, in their fight against the Western world and Christianity and Judaism!

So today is a day to celebrate, but with great sense of the challenge that we still face in the future, and at a time when America has so many domestic complexities and lack of cooperation by the two major political parties, endangering, therefore, America’s future!

Rush Limbaugh And The Ultimate Right Wing Agenda: Reverse The Social And Economic Progress Since World War II!

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Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is on a roll with the Debt Ceiling Crisis and the Stock Market Crisis of the past few weeks, and he has declared war on all social and economic progress for the past 65 years, since World War II! Other right wing radio talk show hosts also promote what he does!

Actually, showing his total ignorance, Limbaugh probably means the past 80 years, since the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s!

By declaring, in any case, that it is time to reverse the past 65 years, that means the following:

1. The Harry Truman improvements on the New Deal programs of FDR.
2. Reversal of Truman’s executive order to enforce racial integration in the military.
3. Reversal of racial integration as ordered by the Supreme Court and enforced by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.
4. Reversal of Eisenhower’s acceptance of the New Deal and institutionalizing it.
5. Wiping out of the programs of the New Frontier of JFK and the Great Society of LBJ–including Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Aid to Education, Consumer Protection Laws, Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act, programs to fight poverty, Environmental laws, National Public Radio, Public
Broadcasting, and other programs.
6.Ending of Richard Nixon’s domestic reforms–including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Products Safety Commission, Affirmative Action programs, and others.
7.Ending of programs to aid the disabled and handicapped, begun under George H W Bush.
8. Other reforms passed under Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and now Barack Obama.

This is totally insane, and the progressive movement MUST fight tooth and nail to prevent such total destruction of everything which has made America a better nation, a more tolerant nation, a more compassionate nation!

We cannot afford to go back to the 1920s, and there is no way that this agenda of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk can be allowed to triumph!

Twenty One Years Ago Today, The World Changed For The Worst!

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On August 2, 1990, Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein attacked and occupied the oil nation of Kuwait, presenting a threat to Saudi Arabia and all of the Middle East, and to the world’s petroleum supply.

President George H. W. Bush created an international coalition centered around the United Nations to demand that Iraq withdraw, but when that failed, in January 1991, the Persian Gulf War ensued, with it being won in six weeks, successfully removing Iraq from Kuwait, but failing to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Saudi Arabia agreed to allow US forces into their nation, angering Muslim nationalists throughout the Middle East, who hated the thought of Christian troops in the holy land of Mecca and Medina, and Islamic terrorism now became a major threat to the United States and the Western world, with the development of various groups, including Al Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden.

This intervention led long term to September 11, to the invasion of Afghanistan to overcome Al Qaeda, and the later intervention in Iraq, overthrowing Saddam Hussein, but leading to a long bloody civil war engulfing American forces, and taking attention off Afghanistan.

Here we are today, with American troops in Iraq, although not in combat, and war continuing in Afghanistan, our two longest wars in American history, and effectively bankrupting our economy, causing massive expenditures in fighting terrorism and defending US interests in the Middle East, and promoting the loss of civil liberties through the Patriot Act, and the inability to deal with the many domestic problems our country faces.

So on this 21st anniversary of Iraq going into Kuwait, one can see the long range deleterious effects of this short lived war, with damaging impact that threatens the supremacy of the United States domestically and in foreign affairs in 2011!

The Republican Party Again Doing What They Are Best At: Self Destruction!

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The Republican Party has suicidal tendencies since the years of the Great Depression.

When the Great Depression began in 1929, the party in Congress refused to abandon laissez faire economics, and some even fought President Herbert Hoover’s attempt to provide some public works projects and federal aid through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

During the New Deal years of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the party stood in the way of reform and change and continued to decline.

As World War II came on, most Republicans were isolationists who failed to see the threat of Fascism and Nazism.

As World War II ended, Republicans set out to to weaken labor unions and set back the New Deal, and after two brief years in control of Congress in 1947-1948, they lost control and saw Harry Truman stage an upset victory in the Presidential campaign.

The party pursued the Joseph McCarthy anti communist agenda in the late 1940s and early 1950s, undermining America’s effort in the Korean War, but with a popular World War II general, Dwight D. Eisenhower, they were given another chance in 1952, and won back control of Congress, but with their conservative agenda, lost control again after two years.

From that point on, the party failed to gain control of Congress for 40 years in the House, and 26 in the Senate, and after six years of a divided Congress under Ronald Reagan, lost the Senate again in 1986 and for the next eight years.

Despite Eisenhower’s personal popularity, it did not transform into party control after two years, and while Richard Nixon won over a divided Democratic Party in 1968, he could not translate his victory into a Republican majority, and Watergate damaged any hope again of a soon to occur change in party loyalties and success.

Ronald Reagan managed a divided Congress with Republican control of the Senate for six years, but again it did not change party loyalties and success in the long run, and the party was bitterly divided during the administration of George H. W. Bush, with Pat Buchanan helping to divide the party and lead to the defeat of Bush in 1992.

Then in 1994, the Republicans gained control of Congress for the next twelve years, but Bill Clinton, despite personal problems leading to impeachment, was able to control much of the political agenda.

After the Republicans won the battle over Florida’s electoral votes with George W. Bush in 2000, it seemed as if finally they had become the majority party, but September 11, two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economic collapse of 2008, took away any gains it seemed that the party had made.

While they won the House of Representatives in 2010, the emergence of the Tea Party Movement has now destroyed any chance of Republican success, as again they are seen as obstructionist in so many ways, and public opinion polls still see the party as to blame much more for the economic recession we are suffering through, rather than to hold Barack Obama accountable.

With an image of negativism, concern only for the rich and powerful special interests, isolationism, corruption, and obstructionism, the Republican Party is again in the process of committing political suicide, and relegating itself to minority status in American politics!

Iowa: Rapidly Becoming Insignificant In The Presidential Nominating Contest!

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The state of Iowa has the first vote in the Presidential contest of 2012, as it is the host of the first caucuses on February 6, 2012. Tons of publicity and media coverage are being given to that state, but it is hard to believe that what happens in Iowa will have any real impact long term on the Election of 2012.

Since the caucuses began in 1972, only two Presidential winners running in a non-incumbent year have won Iowa–George W. Bush in 2000 and Barack Obama in 2008. Ronald Reagan ended up second in 1980 and George H. W. Bush was third in 1988. Jimmy Carter ended up second in 1976 and Bil Clinton fourth in 1992.

The problem with all caucuses, which about one third of the states use instead of primaries, is that only activists are involved, rather than the masses of the population, and they tend to be more extreme–with the Republicans being more to the RIght of center, and the Democrats to the Left of center.

So when it seems that Michele Bachmann is in the lead in Iowa, but that Rick Perry, if he enters, would compete for the evangelical Christian vote, and that Tim Pawlenty will be left “in the dust”, and Herman Cain has some support because of his statements about Muslims and Mormons, and that Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are not seen as serious candidates–all this should tell us that once Iowa has done its part in the nominating process, we are very likely to look back and say Iowa AGAIN had little impact on the ultimate nominee of the Republican Party in the Presidential Election of 2012!

Lingering Debate About Obama Being A Muslim, And Yet US Is Fighting Al Qaeda and Taliban In Six Muslim Nations!!

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There remains even now an underlying belief of some Americans that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, out to undermine Christian values and American democracy and freedom.

This comes despite the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the addition of troops to Afghanistan by President Obama in December 2009.

This comes despite his constant sending of drones and CIA operatives into SIX Muslim nations, and his cooperation with NATO in fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

This comes despite the killing of more high level Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership than under George W. Bush.

Realize that we are involved in some form militarily in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and now, as revealed this morning, in Somalia with armed drones!

How in the world can critics still claim that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, when he is condemned by Al Qaeda, as well as many Muslim leaders? If anything, he has engaged the United States against Muslim nations and radicals MORE than George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan combined!

And yet the poison and lies continue, and it is not just by right wing extremists, but by so called “responsible” and “sensible” Americans who should hang their heads in shame!

Mormon Vs. Mormon: The Real Battle For The Republican Presidential Nomination of 2012!

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This morning, at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, at the foot of the Statue of Liberty, former Utah Governor and former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman announced his candidacy for President, and made it clear he wanted to mount a high level campaign without personal attacks, but just arguing that he can do a better job than his former boss, President Barack Obama. He plans to focus on New Hampshire and Florida as the way to gain an early lead in the race against Mitt Romney, his major rival.

Huntsman begins his campaign with many assets: good looks, good speaker, nice family, outstanding record and popularity in Utah when he was Governor of the state, knowledgeable in Mandarin Chinese, great experience in foreign policy in Asia in his role as Ambassador to China and Singapore as well as being a missionary in Taiwan, business background in his billionaire father’s chemical business, and image of being a moderate in a field of extremely conservative opponents except for Mitt Romney, a fellow Mormon.

Huntsman’s negatives are that in a right wing party he is a moderate by comparison; is also seen as very much a clone of Mitt Romney, but with less public exposure; he is, like Romney, a Mormon; and he worked for President Obama, and now wants to criticize him in a gentlemanly manner after having raved about his leadership, and the fact that he worked for Obama is seen by many as a reason to reject him.

It seems to the author with Huntsman recently repudiating the Obama Health Care reform, the Economic Stimulus of 2009, stating his opposition to abortion, and asserting he supports the privatization of Medicare proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan, all points that upset the author and led to his statement a few weeks ago denouncing Huntsman’s changes of heart, that he has lost credibility.

And yet, Huntsman could very well bend on these statements, as all politicians do, and is still saying he believes in climate change and global warming, and supports civil unions for gays.

In other words, Huntsman is not preferable to Barack Obama, but among all Republican candidates, he offers the best hope for someone who will be, if elected, acceptable within the mainstream, but with a critical eye on his evolving views.

It is said that Barack Obama is most concerned about Huntsman, and it is clear that Mitt Romney is also very concerned about Huntsman.

Face the facts: Huntsman has the backing of “Establishment” Republicans led by the Bush family, and by implication, Senator John McCain, and Romney is seen as unacceptable to them.

So Huntsman has some major advantages, including in addition, being almost a generation younger then Romney (13 years) and being “newer” as compared to Romney who ran and lost the nomination in 2008, and gained the enmity of both John McCain and Mike Huckabee, his major rivals.

So, the contest may well be Mormon Vs. Mormon, unless the evangelical Christians are able to stop both dead in their tracks, to the detriment of the Republican Party!

The Assault On Mitt Romney In His Own Party

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney may be ahead in all of the polls for the Republican Presidential nomination, but that is not necessarily good news.

By being the front runner so early, Romney becomes the target for all the discontented groups in the party, who would prefer someone else.

All elements of the party are assaulting him, which may have the effect of weakening a person who could be the strongest nominee for the party.

Social conservatives are suspicious of him because he was once pro choice and for gay rights.

The Tea Party conservatives don’t like the “RomneyCare” health care plan put into law in Massachusetts under his Governorship.

The religious conservatives don’t like that he is a Mormon, which evangelical Christians feel is not truly Christian.

The foreign policy conservatives, led by John McCain and Lindsey Graham, are angry that Romney has suggested a path out of Afghanistan, which they regard as reckless and dangerous to the national security. And McCain has NEVER like Romney on a personal level, and this weekend, accused him of being an “isolationist” in his views on foreign policy and troop commitment.

And the “Establishment” Republicans, led by the Bush family and its followers, and particularly President George H. W. Bush, are favoring former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who is about to enter the Presidential battle, and is a major threat to Romney’s support.

So Romney must, right now, be feeling battle scarred, as it becomes evident that IF he is to win the nomination of the party and have a chance at the Presidency itself, it will only be through much “blood, sweat, and tears”!

Any chance that the GOP could win the Presidency and make major gains in Congress could go down the tubes because of the internal struggle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party!

Prediction: Texas Governor Rick Perry Will NOT Run For President In 2012!

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Texas Governor Rick Perry is basking in the publicity he is gaining as he considers running for the Republican nomination for President, but he has been hesitant to announce his candidacy. Why is this?

1. His economic record in Texas is NOT good, as most jobs created are minimum wage jobs, education funding is among the lowest nationally, spending on the environment is atrociously minor, and the budget deficit is one of the highest in the nation!

2. Perry promotes social conservatism, which is guaranteed to be a losing proposition for the Republicans, as a majority of Americans are socially liberal while economically conservative.

3. Perry procrastinated all along, not having it in his makeup to want to run for President, and time is running out to wage a successful campaign, and yet his decision is weeks away, so it demonstrates poor planning and a lack of “fire in the belly”!

4. Perry may have been Governor longer than anyone else at this time in history, but remember the Texas Governorship is an extremely weak office, so his being Governor is NOT that great a testimonial to his executive leadership. It is true that George W. Bush overcame this, but realize he was a son of a President, and a family which has a lot of impact on politics, and the Bushes have never been keen about Rick Perry!

5. Rick Perry does not have the intelligence or vision or knowledge needed to compete with an intellectual President such as Barack Obama. Only Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney have that potential!

So a prediction here: Rick Perry will continue to flirt with running, milk it for all it is worth, be just like Donald Trump and Sarah Palin, and then NOT run for President, just wasting our time in the process!

And the same for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, as well!

Ron Paul Wins Straw Poll At Republican Leadership Conference In New Orleans, But Guess Who Placed Second?

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Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a favorite of the libertarians in the Republican Party, scored a major triumph at the weekend Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, by winning the straw poll conducted by the group.

Of course, that does not translate into realistic support for the nomination of his party, which overwhelmingly disagrees with much of what he advocates.

But more interesting is the fact that former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, recently Barack Obama’s Ambassador to China, who did not attend the conference and is an unannounced candidate for President until early in this upcoming week, ended up a solid second in the polling!

Huntsman seems to be the favorite of the so called “establishment” wing of the party, and had a recent meeting with President George H. W. Bush, who seems to be impressed with Huntsman.

So although still not well known, it becomes more apparent that Huntsman is seen now as the major competitor to front runner Mitt Romney for the Presidential nomination, a thought that has been expressed by the author numerous times!