Immigration

Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake Defend Mexican American Contributions, And Denounce Donald Trump’s Nativism!

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It is great news to see Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake criticizing Donald Trump before his visit to the state this weekend.

It is also great to see them point out the major contributions of Mexican Americans and other Hispanics-Latinos to their state’s development.

It is, at the same time, disturbing to see Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the master of “racial profiling”, who has been a holy terror against all Mexican Americans and other Hispanics-Latinos, harassing motorists, and using unconstitutional methods in his jails in the county, come to Trump’s support. The federal government is working hard to overcome the civil rights violations of Sheriff Arpaio, but Arpaio has been a friend of Donald Trump and will greet him this weekend. They share the belief in the “Birther” theory about Barack Obama being born outside the United States.

Also, former Governor Jan Brewer has come to the support of Trump, which only adds to the image of Brewer as one of the absolutely worst Governors in America in the past half dozen years.

Ironically, new Governor Doug Ducey, condemned by progressives for his hard line views on immigration, has decided to join McCain and Flake in refusing to meet up with Trump, but the state government of Arizona still remains troublesome in their approach to immigration.

A Rare Moment Of Courage And True Leadership: Rick Perry Vs. Donald Trump

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Former Texas Governor Rick Perry, the longest serving in state history, and one of the longest serving Governors in American history with 14 years in office, has had his critics and naysayers, and still does, as he pursues, for the second time, the Republican nomination for President.

Perry made a fool of himself in the 2011 Republican debate, where he could not remember the third agency he wanted to shut down, and he was ridiculed ever after for that, and despite his being the front runner for a short time in that 2012 Presidential race, he collapsed quickly, and it was thought he would never again seek the Presidency.

But then, Perry bought impressive spectacles, and he looks better, and he has chosen to run again, claiming health issues were a factor in his poor performance at that embarrassing debate event.

Perry still seems like a lightweight in many ways, and seems to have little chance to be the Republican nominee.

But in his defense, Perry defended in state tuition to DREAM kids, young people who, technically, are not eligible to be citizens, defending what he had done in challenge to the mean spirit of Mitt Romney, who talked about “self deportation”, which really hurt his cause in 2012.

Now, Perry has been very strong in his denunciation of Donald Trump, for his racist and nativist attacks on Mexico and Mexican American immigrants, and has, courageously, spoken about the great contributions that Mexican immigrants and others from Latin America have brought to the United States.

Perry has improved his reputation by doing so, and despite his shortcomings and the high likelihood that he is going nowhere in the Presidential race, this is a time to commend him, praise him, and say he comes across, at the least, as a more decent man, a man of character, than many others, including his own state’s Senator Ted Cruz; Mike Huckabee; Rick Santourm; Bobby Jindal; and many in the Republican Party in the House of Representatives!

Joe Biden Is The Right Person To Put Donald Trump In His Place: The “Average Joe” Vs. The Representative Of The “One Percent”!

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The nation is gripped by the sight of maniac and egotist Donald Trump running rampant, and displaying his racism and nativism, at the expense of civil discourse and destroying the Republican Party future.

A few Republicans have criticized Trump, most notably Rick Perry, Lindsey Graham, and George Pataki.

But it will take a man of courage; a man of principle; a man with a long public record of sincerity, authenticity, and accomplishments; a man who is not afraid to speak his mind on whatever controversy is arising, and has gained the admiration of millions of people, who see him as the “average Joe”, NOT a multimillionaire, someone who can truly relate to the lives of many Americans who come from a modest background and work hard every day to achieve the “American Dream”.

Most politicians are either born wealthy or become wealthy, and lose their connections with the middle class and the poor.

But one public figure, who has been in public life for 42 years now has NOT enriched himself; has NOT charged high fees to speak; has not become arrogant and cocky and uncaring about others. Rather, he remains the champion of the “average Joe”!

This is Joe Biden, who is being urged to announce for President, and the best thing Joe Biden could do is announce, and immediately condemn Donald Trump in the strongest terms for his nativism and his racism, and remind America that we are made a stronger and better nation because of us being a nation that has always welcomed immigrants to our shores, including some “illegals” who contributed to the nation’s advancement!

Joe Biden would demonstrate a true “Profile In Courage”, as John F. Kennedy wrote about in his book in 1956, and we can certainly use such a man as Joe Biden as our 45th President of the United States.

Joe IS the “99 percent” representative against the “one percent” representative, Donald Trump, and Joe needs to give “the Donald” a “punch to the jaw”, and make it clear the nation will NOT tolerate such a bully and loudmouth to endanger civil discourse in America!

In so doing, Joe Biden would catapult himself into the Presidential race, and would leave everyone else “in the dust”, as it would be clear he is the man of ethics, compassion, and principle needed to occupy the Oval Office in 2017!

Decline Of Religiosity In America A Sign Of The Future In America

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In the past few decades, we have seen the deleterious influence of the Christian Right in America, promoted in the 1970s and 1980s and beyond by the likes of the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.

They and other preachers have utilized their influence to attempt to dominate American politics, and promote a right wing agenda that promotes intolerance and hate.

This includes opposition to women’s rights to control their own bodies (misogyny); opposition to gay rights and gay marriage; the repudiation of science for the teachings of the Bible; the rewriting of American history to make it seem that the Founding Fathers wanted a national religion and a theocracy to govern us; advocacy of war overseas against Islamic civilization; promotion of nativism on the issue of immigration; belief that school prayer will somehow change America in their direction; and attempts to legislate morality limits through control of government.

Originally known as the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition, many of these preachers have become super rich and gained the following of millions who have stopped using their brains, and just accept the unethical, hypocritical utterances of charismatic figures.

Despite this, there is now evidence that more Americans, particularly the young and disaffected, have abandoned organized religion and its narrow minded tenets. The Pew Research Center describes this group as the “Nones”, and they are 22.8 percent of US adults, up from 16.7 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, those who identify as Christian have declined nationally from 78 to 71 percent, including not only evangelicals but also Catholics and mainline Protestants and Mormons. There has also been growing disillusionment with the Catholic Church, mainline Protestant sects, and the Mormon Church.

The “Nones” outnumber Catholics (20.8 percent) and mainline Protestants (14.7 percent), demonstrating a constant decline in adults who identify as being Christians. “Nones” include those who have no religious affiliation, as well as those who say they are Atheists and Agnostics.

Evangelical Protestants still are the largest group at 25.8 percent, but they have declined, and it is clear that the “Nones” will eventually surpass them in the adult population of America over the next couple of decades, as many of the Evangelicals are older and will die off over time, as young Americans reject their divisive ideology!

Hate Mongering Republican Presidential Candidates Who Would Disgrace The Office Of The Presidency!

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There are anywhere from 15 to nearly 20 potential Republican Presidential candidates, and one can find faults and shortcomings with most of them, but there are only a few who can be labeled, by their utterances, to be hate mongers, wishing to stir up fear and incite audiences with their rhetoric. One is held accountable for what one says and what he promotes, and therefore, disqualify themselves for the honor of residing in the White House!

Those who would qualify for this dubious “honor” include:

Dr. Benjamin Carson
Texas Senator Ted Cruz
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

All of these five have been reckless in their desire to divide the American people, and have advocated lawlessness and disobedience of the federal government, including the court system and the Supreme Court in particular.

They have promoted hate and fear of gays and lesbians; immigration; women’s rights; racial justice; and have shown no concern about the poor and the sick, particularly on the issue of health care.

Interestingly, all five constantly invoke Christianity in their political pitches, and specifically, hard line Christianity of the evangelical and right wing Catholic variety, a total repudiation of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and a defiance of the principle of separation of church and state under our political system! And they all criticize Pope Francis and his liberal, open minded view of the meaning of Jesus Christ and his teachings!

Any of these five would totally disgrace the office of the Presidency!

Fortunately, it is highly unlikely that any of these five will win the nomination of the Republican Party, but if so, the odds of such an individual winning the Presidency are very low!

Hillary Clinton Shifting Further Left Of Bill Clinton And Barack Obama, Closer To Elizabeth Warren And Bernie Sanders: Great Strategy!

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There are doubts that have arisen about Hillary Clinton, over the email controversy and the Clinton Foundation controversy, and certainly, she is far from an ideal choice for President, with her ties to Wall Street, and her hawkish foreign policy background.

Emotion and passion make one wish to see Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders or even Martin O’Malley, but the odds are heavy that Hillary will be the Democratic nominee, with hopes she will stay healthy and safe.

And she is pleasing many progressives with a growing movement to the left, past the policies and viewpoints of her husband, Bill Clinton, who, after all, was President 15-23 years ago, a full generation; AND past Barack Obama, dedicated to further commitment on immigration and expressed doubts about new trade deals that might undermine the environment, labor, and human rights.

Hillary is organizing to be close to Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, a smart move to insure she will be the next President of the United States.

The next President is NOT going to win by being nativist, racist, misogynistic, and homophobic, and the Republican nominee is likely to be all of these!

In a way, for this generation, Hillary Clinton is the leftist version of her husband, as Robert Kennedy was the leftist version of John F. Kennedy.

Let us hope and pray that Hillary Clinton does not face the kind of threats that Robert Kennedy did in 1968, which caused the loss of a potential generation of progressive change in the 1970s!

The Republican “Appeal” To Hispanics/Latinos Of Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz: Greatly Exaggerated!

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A lot of propaganda is going around stating that Republicans have a real chance to gain the backing of Hispanics/Latinos in the 2016 Presidential race! Really?

The Republican Party has done everything possible to alienate Hispanics/Latinos, including opposition to the DREAM Act; unwillingness to change immigration policy; insulting statements about Hispanics/Latinos from many Tea Party elements; and hostile policies toward issues that matter to Hispanics/Latinos in states, such as Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina.

So the argument goes that Jeb Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, can, somehow, win the vote of Hispanics/Latinos because, after all, George W. was able to do so, and also, Jeb’s wife is Mexican-American, and Jeb speaks good Spanish.

Also, it is said that Marco Rubio, who speaks fluent Spanish, can appeal to Hispanics/Latinos; and that Ted Cruz, who does not speak Spanish, can also do so, simply because they are both Hispanics, of Cuban ancestry.

This assumption is totally false, as more than 70 percent of Hispanics-Latinos voted for Barack Obama in 2012, and neither George W. Bush nor John McCain could gain more than 40 percent of their vote, and both George W. and McCain were supportive of, and sympathetic to Hispanic/Latino issues.

What has the GOP done since 2008 to appeal to Hispanics/Latinos? Absolutely nothing, and the assumption, somehow, that the Republicans can, somehow, transform reality, is based on the false assumption that Rubio and Cruz, being Cubans, can appeal to Mexican-Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, and to other Hispanic/Latino groups from other nations of Latin America.

Only Cubans, who are about 3.7 percent of all Hispanics/Latinos have consistently voted Republican, and even their percentage voting Republican has changed over the 55 years since Fidel Castro came to power, with younger Cuban-Americans starting to wander from the commitment to Republicans that their grandparents and parents have had.

Mexican Americans, numbering about 64 percent of all Hispanics/Latinos, have never cared about the Republican Party, and neither have Puerto Rican Americans, who number about 9.4 percent, nor 3.8 percent who are from El Salvador, or 3.1 percent who are from the Dominican Republic, or any of the other smaller numbers of people from other nations in Latin America.

Obama’s State Of The Union: A Liberated President Making The Democratic Values Case!

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Barack Obama is finally liberated as he began his seventh year in the Presidency on the sixth anniversary of his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States.

Obama made an appeal to the opposition Republicans to cooperate and work together, but he also made clear he was going to charge ahead on a list of goals that are a marker for the next Democratic Presidential nominee and the Presidential Election of 2016.

He called for infrastructure spending; free community college tuition; child care tax credits; paid leave for workers; immigration reform; effective regulation of gun purchases; tax cuts for the middle class; tax increases on the wealthy and large financial institutions; pointed out the greatest economic success and growth since 1999; threatened use of the veto when necessary; called for authorization of force against ISIL (ISIS); called for action on climate change; used the term transgender in his call for fair treatment of gays and lesbians; called for more support in dealing with improved relations with Cuba; emphasized the need to fight against anti semitism, but also try to come up with a nuclear agreement with Iran; and work to avoid more troops on the ground overseas.

Much of this agenda will not be accomplished, but sets a goal line for the future.

Meanwhile, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa surprised many observers by NOT totally falling on her face in her Republican response to the State of the Union address, but her speech was mainly platitudes and folksiness, not substantial alternatives to what Obama proposed, but rather a condemnation of what Obama has done, particularly ObamaCare. She also did not speak on such important issues as climate change, immigration, foreign policy, and helping working families, but then, the Republicans always stand in the way of progress on so many issues, so it is not surprising that her speech was lacking.

It Looks As If The Bush Dynasty Is Not Done: Hints That Jeb Bush Will Announce For President!

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It now seems clear that Jeb Bush, the former Florida Governor; and brother of the 43rd President, George W. Bush; and son of the 41st President, George H. W. Bush, will soon announce his candidacy for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination.

Jeb has not run for political office since 2002, and has not been in political office since 2006, but he is making the rounds of appropriate sites and venues, and speaking out on the issues as he sees them, many of them alienating the Tea Party Movement within the GOP, but soothing the mainstream, “Establishment” Republicans, who tend to control the party machinery when it comes to actual nomination battles, including those of Bob Dole in 1996, John McCain in 2008, and Mitt Romney in 2012.

If Jeb does run, he will run as a hawk in foreign policy, and sympathetic on immigration and “common core” educational standards in domestic policy, all of which will irritate many who are part of the right wing extremists in the party in 2014.

If he runs, it will also make the Bush family a true dynasty covering nearly 40 years of American politics, as his dad was considered as a possible Vice Presidential alternative, instead of Gerald Ford, when Spiro Agnew resigned at the time that Richard Nixon was under fire for Watergate.

Ford also thought of George H W Bush as a possible running mate in 1976, maybe not seriously, but under consideration, and then Bush became a Presidential candidate in 1980, ended up as the runner up, and agreed to join Ronald Reagan as Vice President for two terms. This was followed by one term in the White House, and then a bitter defeat to Bill Clinton in 1992.

But his two oldest sons then ran for the Governorships of Texas and Florida in 1994, and when Jeb lost in Florida by a very small margin, he set his sights on 1998, when he won in Florida, and then served as Florida Governor for two terms, while brother George W. went to the White House for two controversial terms.

Jeb running would create great controversy, but the Bush Family is not afraid of that, and it seems doubtful now that mother Barbara arguing against Jeb running will be listened to anymore.

Were he to win and serve two terms, Jeb would add to the fact that the Bush Dynasty would have lasted longer than any other, even more than the Adamses (John and John Quincy, and with THREE Presidents, not two. And the theoretical Kennedy dynasty would look quite insignificant, since only John F. Kennedy had the opportunity to serve as President, despite the desires of many that Robert and Ted Kennedy might do the same.

So although the Bush dynasty might not seem as glamorous as the Kennedy dynasty has often been seen, it is still making history!

Justices Scalia, Thomas, Alito MUST Go!

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Three members of the Supreme Court live in their own parallel world of the Founding Fathers and the Gilded Age and the 1920s, and refuse to consider modernization as a factor in their judicial judgments!

Antonin Scalia, appointed in 1986 by Ronald Reagan; Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991 by George H. W. Bush; and Samuel Alito, appointed in 2006 by George W. Bush are a team of three, which has worked against gender equality,racial equality, fair treatment to immigrants, and gay rights, among other modern controversies.

Often, Chief Justice John Roberts joins them, and sometimes, but less often than Roberts, Justice Anthony Kennedy also joins to make a right wing five on the Court.

But Roberts and Kennedy have also taken stands with the four liberal justices on the Court lately–Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.

It is time to demand that Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito adjust to modern times, or else leave the Court, and there is a dire need to have a constitutional amendment to limit the terms of all federal judges at all levels, to promote open mindedness and diversity, and allow for change after, at most 18-20 years!