John F. Kennedy

Eighth Anniversary Of The Iraq War’s Beginning, And Now Libya!

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It is quite ironic that on the 8th anniversary of America’s involvement in the Iraq War, which killed over 4,000 and wounded over 30,000, many very seriously, that suddenly we are engaged in war against Libya and its leader, Moammar Gaddafi!

The first missile strikes against Libya were by the French, but soon were joined by the United States and Great Britain, with the war effort being endorsed by the Arab League.

President Obama has said there will be no combat troops on the ground, that the purpose of the conflict is to prevent mass murder in Benghazi and other locations in eastern Libya, and to allow the rebels against the central government forces of Gaddafi to have a chance to succeed in defending themselves and to overthrow the 42 years long Libyan dictatorship, which has been condemned by UN Resolution 1973.

So we are now engaged in THREE wars at the same time, although Iraq is not considered to be hostile territory anymore, and American forces are scheduled to leave at the end of 2011. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is a war we are now engaged in for the 10th year.

The question is whether we can be certain that our involvement will be just missiles and air attacks, or whether it will deteriorate and lead to combat forces, no matter what Obama is saying now.

The thought of three wars at once, and the economic costs involved is enough to make one sick, and will probably mean further cuts down the road in domestic spending!

And there is concern that the Arab world and Muslim nations, while no friends of Gaddafi, might yet someday turn against the West, led by the US, France and Great Britain, and accuse them of a holy war against Islam.

There is also concern that Obama has not involved the Congress in the war planning, although that fits Presidential actions under Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and the two Bushes, and other Presidents have intervened in a non war situation without Congressional approval. The War Powers Act of 1973 is again proved a “paper tiger”, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich is leading the attack on Obama asserting too much authority without approval of Congress.

So this Libyan intervention has just begun, and is bound to be longer lasting and creating more headaches, both domestic and foreign, than one wants to imagine today!

But at least, we will not be able to say that we ignored a potential mass holocaust, as Jimmy Carter did in Cambodia, and Bill Clinton did in Rwanda!

Rick Santorum Joins Michele Bachmann And Sarah Palin: Ignorant And Stupid On The Constitution And American History!

Ronald 2 Comments

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has joined the school of ignorant and stupid Presidential possibilities for the Republican Party!

Santorum criticized President John F. Kennedy for his speech in Houston during the 1960 Presidential campaign, where Kennedy declared his belief in the total separation of church and state, in order to allay fears of having a Catholic President. He made it clear that he might be a Catholic, but he would not allow the Catholic Church to dictate what he said or did in office. Indeed, he followed through on that completely!

But Santorum, himself Catholic, said Kennedy was wrong in so stating that belief, and that Kennedy was radical in promoting that view.

Santorum finished by declaring that Thomas Jefferson is “spinning in his grave” over this idea of separation of church and state.

And in so stating this, Santorum comes across as totally ignorant and stupid, and lacking in knowledge of the Founding Fathers, who definitely promoted separation of church and state, particularly Jefferson, who rejected traditional Christianity and became a Deist, which did not believe in organized religion!

More than ever, the GOP has troubles with candidates who have no clue as to our Constitution or history of the nation! This is, to say the least, a major embarrassment! First Sarah Palin, then Michele Bachmann, now Rick Santorum!

Correction! Arizona In 2011 Is Both Mississippi And South Carolina!

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The author has already labeled Arizona, with its anti immigration legislation targeted at Latinos and Hispanics, as the equivalent of Mississippi in its treatment of African Americans in the 1960s.

Now, Arizona must also be compared to South Carolina, with its threat of nullification of federal laws and the Constitution, which went on from the 1830s with John C. Calhoun, all the way up to Fort Sumter and the Civil War in 1861!

It is extremely ironic that just as we are about to commemorate the tragedy of the Civil War’s beginning on April 12, we now have the Arizona State Senate passing legislation declaring the power to nullify federal laws and the US Constitution if they do not like what is being done!

This idea of defiance was supposed to be settled by the Civil War prosecution by Abraham Lincoln, and also supposed to be resolved by US National Guard intervention in Arkansas in 1957 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and in Mississippi and Alabama in 1962 and 1963 by President John F. Kennedy!

Now, however, State Senator Russell Pearce of the Arizona legislature is promoting defiance of the federal government, not only on immigration matters and the health care law, but also on anything else that he and his followers believe is unconstitutional!

Apparently, they have learned nothing from history, and the reality that only the Supreme Court can declare actions of the executive and legislative branches unconstitutional!

To advocate anything else is TREASON, subject to prosecution by the federal government if action is actually taken, and if need be, Presidential control of the state National Guard to enforce federal laws and federal court decisions, just as in the South in the 1950s and 1960s!

Anyone living in Arizona should be ashamed of what their government leaders are advocating, a path that would lead to chaos and lawlessness and abuse of power by state outlaws, and it might be necessary at some point to enforce federal law by intervention by Federal authorities!

Hopefully, before we get into that kind of crisis, cooler heads will prevail, as states may not defy the US Constitution and be allowed to get away with it!

This is a warning to Governor Jan Brewer, State Senator Russell Pearce, and other radical right wingers: Shape up or else suffer the consequences of disobedience of constitutional law!

Defense Secretary Robert Gates And Future Land Wars In The Middle East, Africa And Asia

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A few days ago, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking at West Point, made a very interesting observation regarding land wars and the American future.

He stated that if any future Secretary of Defense was to suggest to a future President that the United States engage in a massive land war invasion in the Middle East, Africa or Asia, that he should have his head examined!

This is a very outspoken statement for a person who is highly regarded, and has served in the CIA and other delicate national security and defense positions, and has been an outstanding Secretary of Defense during the last two and a half years of the Bush Administration and the first two plus years of the Obama Administration.

Gates has been a refreshing and inspirational leader, as he has also made clear that there is waste and fraud in the Defense Department that needs to be cleaned up to save money in the national budget. After having witnessed the tragedy of Robert McNamara during the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson Administrations and Donald Rumsfeld in the second Bush Administration, committing us to what turned out to be long, drawn out, disastrous wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, it is indeed time for this nation to realize that it is our engagement in foreign wars, trying to impose our values on alien societies, that has led to mass loss of life on all sides and come close to bankrupting us!

The answer for the future is not committing our young men and women to impossible causes in the interests of the defense industries and those who wish to spread Christian doctrines around the world. Rather, it is to work to promote our own internal security from terrorism and to advocate advancement of our society from within!

So Robert Gates should be saluted for his courageous statement, and it makes one wonder: What is Barack Obama’s plan for the future? Isn’t there enough evidence already that it is time to withdraw ground forces from Afghanistan and get out of Iraq and work on the economic problems of this country, which would be so much better if we cut our defense budget from what has become a total tragedy economically, our constant warfare on the battlefields of Asia and the Middle East?

Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Obama, And Nutritional Standards

Ronald 1 Comment

Rush Limbaugh, the much overweight and pill popping radio talk show host, has been on a rampage lately in criticizing First Lady Michelle Obama for advocating good nutritional habits. He has also criticized her figure, comparing her to a beauty contest contestant who would be at least 20 years younger!

He and other conservatives have stated that her advocacy is interfering with family control over their children, and pushing for government intervention through “food police”!

They also contend that Michelle Obama is a hypocrite, as hamburgers and fries were served at the White House Super Bowl Party, and ribs were consumed by her and her daughters on a skiing vacation in Vail, Colorado.

Why is it that if someone wishes to promote good habits among children, who in larger numbers than ever before are overweight and liable to have diabetes someday, is seen as engaged in a conspiracy? Why is it bad to advocate proper eating when so many parents do not realize the importance of that factor in the bringing up of their children? And why is it that an occasional straying from ideal food habits is not seen as perfectly normal, as long as it is occasional in nature?

It is preposterous that conservatives have to attack something like this, when a half century ago, John F. Kennedy could advocate physical fitness, and no one protested that it was interference by government.

Every First Lady takes on a cause, and this one for nutritional eating is something that in the long run will be applauded, no matter what Rush Limbaugh does to criticize it at this time in history! What pettiness and demagoguery on the part of someone who has no limit to his own hypocrisy! And yes, Rush, you NEED to lose weight, eat better, and stay away from your addiction to prescription medicine!

The Conservative Attack On Michelle Obama’s Anti Obesity And Breast Feeding Campaign: The Accusation Of A “Nanny State”! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

Fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy promoted Physical Fitness as a national goal, and no one complained that it was inappropriate intervention in the life of American families to do so.

Now, however, the Tea Party Movement and conservative “family” groups are condemning First Lady Michelle Obama for promoting good eating habits and encouraging breast feeding for new mothers as ways to promote good health in children. She is being accused of promoting a “nanny” state, having the government tell citizens what to do with their bodies, and what to ingest. To suggest vegetables, and to avoid sugar and fatty food, is seen as interfering with the rights of parents to bring up their children in the way they see fit.

Interesting, the word “fit” being used here, when one considers that a large percentage of American children are likely to have diabetes and other diseases, and are right now overweight in larger percentages than ever before. If children are not encouraged to eat well, and exercise, the health care bill in the future will be astronomical because of poor parenting, as it is parents who should be held responsible for insuring that their children are fed well and get exercise.

What it comes down to is whatever the President or the First Lady advocate, they will be attacked, and a lot of it has to do, sadly, with the refusal of many to accept that we have an intelligent, educated, attractive First Couple, who happen to be African American! 🙁

It is hilarious to think that a pill drug addict and overweight (tremendously) talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, and an alcoholic and drug addicted talk show host, Glenn Beck, are the leading critics of the First Lady promoting good health habits! 🙁

But even Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, both of whom are mothers, would rather ridicule and criticize on this matter, than join in promoting good eating and exercise habits! 🙁

What a sad commentary on the political scene in 2011! 🙁

The Assault On Organized Labor And The Working Class

Ronald 1 Comment

The year 2011 is seeing a frontal assault on the hard earned rights of organized labor and the working class, gained over the past century with the aid of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, George H W Bush, and Bill Clinton.

Collective bargaining is about to disappear in many states controlled by Republican Governors, and the Supreme Court has been actively restricting labor rights and promoting the rights and privileges of corporations.

We are rapidly descending back into the Gilded Age and 1920s mentality, including the possibility of National Guard actions against workers in Wisconsin, and who know where else eventually! 🙁

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate threatens to create a permanent underclass, and employers are making things only worse.

The white population has an unemployment rate of about 8 percent; the African American population rate is 16 percent; the Hispanic rate is 12 percent; and the Asian American rate is about 7 percent. Add to this the growing number of disabled and handicapped workers as well, and then add to the mix the news that employers more than ever are refusing to consider anyone for employment who is at this point without a job.

If this strategy continues, which would seem to be against the civil rights laws on race, ethnicity and the disabled and handicapped, then we are on the way to a permanent underclass of people who will be unable to find work, and will be denied or thrown off unemployment compensation (which is only temporary in any case)!

This sets up a situation of social dynamite, which could lead to bloodshed and violence, including use of the National Guard against the American population, by bully governors who decide to use force against people marching and demonstrating and demanding a change in attitude and policy to give this underclass hope and confidence that there is a future for them.

This whole evolving situation is extremely scary and troubling! 🙁

What The Republican Party Refuses To Recognize! :(

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The Republican Party refuses to understand that even if ALL discretionary non defense spending is eliminated, it does not come anywhere near the problem of resolving the deficit.

The only way is to RAISE taxes on the wealthy and corporations, back to the level under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower during the 1950s, a level over 70 percent, rather than the 36.5 percent that the wealthy now pay. Plus corporations must not be allowed to have an effective tax rate of 10 percent after all the loopholes and accounting tricks that cut most of their tax responsibility!

What kind of country cuts educational opportunity, allows poor people to freeze in the winter, makes lawlessness easier in urban neighborhoods by cutting police forces down, lets states destroy labor rights hard earned over 80 and more years, shows no concern for the welfare of children, cuts back on promotion of clean water and air, etc? 🙁

We are trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poorest in our society, and making the middle class slip into poverty, all because of the greed and selfishness of the wealthy and multinational corporations who do not give a damn about anyone but themselves! 🙁

But the national debt and deficit will never be resolved until the upper class follow John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural statement: “Ask not what your country can for you, ask what you can do for your country!”

If the elite rich and corporations do not wake up, they will face the threat of social and economic turmoil which could lead to violence and bloodshed, a horrible thought!

We are all in this together, and it is time that the elite paid their fair share of the burden of making this country work, and return to a stable economy!

Religion And The American Presidency: No Religious Test!

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The United States has come a long way in the past fifty years, electing our first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy; witnessing our first Greek Orthodox Presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis; having a second Catholic nominee for President, John Kerry; nominating three other Catholics for Vice President–Edmund Muskie, Sargent Shriver, and Geraldine Ferraro; electing the first Greek Othodox Vice President, Spiro Agnew; electing the first Catholc Vice President, Joe Biden; and nominating the first Jewish Vice Presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman.

So therefore, it is time to see evangelical Christians stop declaring their opposition to the nomination and possible election of a Mormon President!

The Republican Party has the real opportunity to nominate a possibly winning candidate in 2012, and has the blessing of two excellent, well qualified nominees, arguably the two best candidates in the field.

One, Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, was the runner up to John McCain in the 2008 Presidential nomination battle, and has proved to have great business experience, and strong leadership in his term as Governor of Massachusetts. He has already, in 2008, tried to overcome the religious issue with a speech making clear that, like John F. Kennedy stated about his religion, he would be a President who happened to be Mormon, not a Mormon President!

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who is resigning as Ambassador to China, has excellent credentials in foreign policy and had a successful time as the Governor of the Mormon state, and showed open mindedness, and is seen by many observers as an exceptional person who could be a great candidate, and his Mormon faith should not be a factor in his running for President.

It is time for evangelicals and others to stop using religion as a reason to deny someone who is talented and capable the opportunity to run for President!

Sure, both Romney and Huntsman have their shortcomings, but in so many ways, they are the best candidates available, and religion should not be a consideration in the upcoming Presidential race!

The Centennial Of Ronald Reagan: Myth And Reality

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Today is the centennial of President Ronald Reagan’s birth, and it begins a year of commemorative events relating to our 40th President.

Ronald Reagan was a very charismatic leader, handsome even at an older age than any other President, and very charming and personable. It was hard not to like Reagan as a human being, and he could be very funny, and played the ceremonial role of the President as if he was the Queen of England!

But many myths have been built up around Ronald Reagan in the years since he left the Presidency, and particularly in the years since his death at age 93 in June 2004.

The myths have sustained the Tea Party Movement of the past two years, and have motivated the ignorant, poorly educated Sarah Palin, who was the absolutely wrong person to speak at commemorative events this weekend in southern California! It is a travesty to assert, as some do, that Sarah Palin is the heir to Ronald Reagan, as she has no clue as to his accomplishments, shortcomings, and motivations. Reagan would be shocked that Sarah Palin is speaking in his honor, a point well made by son Ron Reagan, Jr.!

Ronald Reagan restored our defenses which helped to lead to the breakdown of the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan restored a sense of patriotism and honor after the difficult years following the Vietnam War’s sad ending. And Ronald Reagan was an inspirational leader in his rhetoric, stimulating the American people like no one since John F. Kennedy.

But Ronald Reagan had many shortcomings and failures, which are conveniently forgotten by his supporters in the Republican Party and Tea Party Movement, or better still, many are totally unaware of the reality of his record in office!

This is a man who tripled the national debt, beginning the long downhill trend in responsible economic policy which has led to the present massive national debt problem that is the leading economic crisis since the Great Depression!

This is a man who set back civil rights, labor rights, the environment, and worsened the plight of the poor, while promoting the rich getting richer, and the middle class becoming poorer, via giving major tax cuts to the rich, but adding to the tax burden of the middle class!

This is a man who ignored human rights in many countries, and allied with Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, who both turned against the United States after we armed both of them so readily!

This is a man who reacted to a terrorist attack on our troops in Beirut, Lebanon, by withdrawing from the Middle East, something his supporters try to make believe did not happen!

This is a man who talked about the social issues of the Moral Majority led by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, and yet never followed through on them more than rhetoric, and hardly ever went to church or associated with his children, preferring to spend his personal time with his wife Nancy without their children!

This was a man who was tough with the Soviet Union, but negotiated significant arms agreements with Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s, and had a vision of banning nuclear weapons worldwide over the long haul!

This was a man who talked about smaller government, but actually increased the size of the government, and created a new cabinet agency of Veterans Affairs and backed off on a campaign pledge to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy, which many Republicans today would love to destroy!

And the myth that is probably most believed is that Ronald Reagan was supremely popular throughout his time in the Presidency, which is the furthest thing from the truth, as he was more popular AFTER his Presidency, particularly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 1994. Much of the time during his eight years in office, his public opinion ratings floundered. John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and George H W Bush were all more generally popular in the polls than Ronald Reagan, as hard as that is to believe!

Ronald Reagan may be the patron saint of the far right today, but in many ways, it is clear that he would not approve of the inflexibility of his party in Congress, and the loony, nutty behavior of many of its top leaders, as well as the right wing talk show hosts on radio and Fox News Channel!

Historians will be writing about Ronald Reagan for all time, and he will continue to be one of the most fascinating and significant Presidents we have had, but the concept that he was an ideal President who mostly succeeded in making the country a better place will continue to be contested by those who wish to look at reality, rather than promote a myth!

But then, mythology around Presidents is a popular activity, and it makes the job of historians only the more important, to separate truth from propaganda. So the work of demythologizing Ronald Reagan continues in earnest!