Science

The Republican “Youth Brigade”: Unqualified For The Presidency!

Ronald 15 Comments

The Republican Party, which has usually gone to its “veterans” to find its Presidential nominee (George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney)—the only recent exception being George W. Bush (a clear cut mistake)— is now putting forward its “youth brigade” of four political leaders born in the early 1970s, meaning they would all be between 45 and 47 when running for President in 2016.

This “youth brigade” may be appealing in appearance, and in the ability to speak well, but none of them have the vision nor the understanding of where America is moving in the second decade of the 21st century!

The four in order of birth are:

Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida
Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana

Ryan had his exposure as the Vice Presidential running mate of Mitt Romney, and came up wanting in many respects, plus his destructive plan to destroy Medicare and Medicaid.

Ted Cruz has only been in the Senate for little more than a month, and already, heads are shaking and eyes rolling at his total inability to impress anyone that he has any understanding of what is happening in America.

Marco Rubio, himself the grandson of an “undocumented” immigrant, who was allowed to stay because he was Cuban, the only Hispanic group given special treatment by the US government in the 1960s and beyond, has shown that he is not aware of science, has a closed mind on many social matters involving women, is unwilling to challenge the far right of his party in any serious way, and is gaining a growing ego about his abilities, based on the attention he is receiving, including Time Magazine having a cover this week, calling him the savior of the GOP, this right before he gives the response to the State of the Union Address of Barack Obama next Tuesday evening. The burden on him to be impressive next week is now extremely heavy.

And Bobby Jindal had the chance to prove his ability, when he responded to the Obama State of the Union Address four years ago, and came across as a total failure and embarrassment.. And his lack of compassion about the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged in his state, one of the most backward of all of the 50 states, does him no favor. Additionally, he has said the Republican Party has to stop being the “stupid” party, and then goes ahead and does “stupid ” things in his state, that make him look less than intelligent and able to handle the Presidency, and understand the life of real people, other than the wealthy!

Three of these four members of the “Youth Brigade” are “minorities”—Cruz and Rubio, both Cuban Americans, and Jindal being the son of parents from India. But to say that their ethnicity “qualifies” them to be President is preposterous—as Cuban Americans represent about THREE percent of Hispanics and Latinos, and Cubans have a heritage of totally different views and voting patterns than others who are from Latin America; and even Asian Americans, whether from India or other parts of South Asia, or those from East Asia and the Far East, also voted an even higher percentage for the Democrats than Hispanics and Latinos—73 percent, compared to 71 percent!

If the “Youth Brigade” is thought to be the hope of the GOP to turn things around for the party, the leadership will learn over the next four years that they are sadly, and tragically, misguided!

125th Anniversary Of The National Geographic Society, Promoting Study Not Only Of Geography, But Also Nature And Science

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On this day in 1888, 125 years ago, the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC.

It became over time the standard periodical that would publish stunning photography and articles on our natural and scientific world.

It sponsored expeditions and research that have expanded the understanding of the world we live in, and overcome lack of knowledge of science.

It has become a guardian of our natural resources and the globe on which all of us live, and has succeeded in broadening the scientific horizons of millions of people, in its mission to educate and inform us of the natural world, and the need to respect it.

It is in the forefront of fighting ignorance, often promoted by big business interests who have no concern about the environment, and also of religious elements which fight against scientific knowledge in favor of Biblical theories. It is part of the constant struggle of science versus Know Nothings, who undermine our future in America and worldwide.

Happy Anniversary, National Geographic Society, and may you prosper long into the future!

As Second Term Of Obama Commences, An Eisenhower Second Term Is Needed!

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As the second term of Barack Obama begins, and with the record of mostly troubled second terms of Presidents, one can hope for an Eisenhower second term performance.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over a second term which included:

Avoidance of war, including a summit meeting at Camp David with the Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev, something no one would have believed possible.

Promotion of human rights and social justice, with the intervention of the National Guard at Little Rock, Arkansas, advancing the Civil Rights Movement.

Advocacy of the advancement of science and education as a response to the Soviet Union orbiting Sputnik I in space.

Advancement of infrastructure by promotion of the interstate highway system, the greatest transportation advancement since the transcontinental railroad under Abraham Lincoln.

If these kinds of accomplishments are possible under Dwight D. Eisenhower, with an opposition Democratic Congress in both houses, it should be possible under Barack Obama, with a split Congress, a Republican House of Representatives and a Democratic Senate, working together for the public good!

Marco Rubio Revives His Future, Admitting Earth Is 4.5 Billion Years Old

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Florida Senator Marco Rubio has successfully revived his political career by correcting himself on his ridiculous comment last week about the age of the earth.

Rubio, trying not to antagonize the Christian Evangelical Right, which often contends the earth is 6000-9000 years old, stated that he was not a scientist, and did not know the age of the earth.

Yesterday, in an interview, he admitted that he accepted the earth as being 4.5 billion years old, while stating that theology experts disagree on the matter, but that he acknowledges the age of the earthy as being accurate.

This was a rapid recovery from what had made people look at Rubio as a moron, and his political skills have shown themselves to be brilliant, as everyone is entitled to a mistake, as long as a person does not double down on such moronic viewpoints, so Marco Rubio has a future, as long as he can control his tongue in the future, and avoid future flubs and gaffes that make him look like Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania Senator, who makes himself look dumber and more idiotic every time he opens up his mouth, and yet thinks of himself as a serious Presidential candidate in 2016, because he was the “runner up” to Mitt Romney in the primary battles of 2012!

Jon Huntsman: Still A RARE Sane Voice In The Republican Party, And A “Might Have Been” President In 2013!

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Former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, seen rightfully by the Obama campaign as a real potential threat to a second term, is still, in the aftermath of the Republican defeat, coming across as a rare sane voice in the Republican Party!

Huntsman accepts that taxes must go up on the wealthy: that we need immigration reform: that science must win out over religion regarding global warming and climate change; that neoconservatives wishing to invade everywhere must be ignored; and that gay rights and other social issues should not be the center of party debate.

This is all very reasonable and rational, and if the GOP is to have a future, they must turn to intelligent, knowledgeable leaders such as Jon Huntsman.

But don’t bet on it, as more likely, it will be KNOW NOTHINGS such as Rick Santorum; ideologues such as Paul Ryan; loony libertarians such as Rand Paul; or other right wing extremists, who will most likely continue to dominate the party leadership, to their detriment!

Advice To Senator Marco Rubio: Separate Yourself From Christian Right Wing “Know Nothings”, Or Your Presidential Future Is Over!

Ronald 6 Comments

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is an attractive, intelligent, 41 year old Senator with a theoretically bright future, who will make an impact on American politics with a long career in the Senate.

But since he has Presidential ambitions, and has already visited Iowa, the first caucus state and earliest Presidential vote in 2016, he will be watched with a microscope and fine tooth comb, and he is, sadly, on the way to self destruction in his quest for the Presidency.

At this point, it is not an issue of whether one believes in all of the viewpoints of Marco Rubio.

Rather, it is a question of his basic acceptance of the validity of Science, and one does have to be, personally, a scientist, to reject the craziness and looniness of evangelical Christians who believe in what they call Creationism!

Marco Rubio told GQ Magazine in an interview that he was not a scientist, and that there is debate among scientists over the age of the Earth!

Come on, Marco, there is NO such debate at all, and scientists agree that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and the study of our earth by geologists and astronomers and others, all brilliant men and women, is that the age of the Earth is extremely accurate.

Sure, it is hard to conceptualize 4.5 billion years, but that does not mean that, therefore, it is not accurate.

But instead, the religious right wing says that the Earth is 6,000 years old, and that dinosaurs walked the Earth alongside mankind!

What a stupid, inane idea that is, but it is portrayed as such in a museum in Kentucky, backed by public funds, not far from the Cincinnati, Ohio airport!

We KNOW that Dinosaurs were exterminated some 65 million years ago by an event called The Big Bang, and there is no debate about that!

Study of dinosaur bones and other fossils confirm their age as way earlier than 6,000 years ago!

History, written records, begin about 6,000 years ago, and mankind had evolved to the form of organized societies by the time when “History” began.

We know that different breeds of man developed from earlier cave man times, and this is all connected to evolution and Charles Darwin, but of course, the religious right denies all of this!

The Christian Right is also refusing to believe that Global Warming and Climate Change exist, a detriment to our future on this Earth.

It comes down to the reality that Religion is based on Faith, but with no factual basis, while Science is based on Observation, Research, and Fact, and the two should not be mixed.

So, Senator Rubio, if you continue to deny that the Earth is older than 6,000 years old; if you continue to deny Global Warming and Climate Change; if you continue to deny Evolution; if you continue to question Science and favor evangelical Christianity over Science; if you continue to come across as ignorant, stupid, and a “Know Nothing”, you may continue your career in the Senate, and might even be a leading figure in the Senate, but you will NOT be a future President of the United States, as the vast majority of intelligent, knowledgeable people in this country will repudiate you, and your decision to permit Christian extremists to attempt to propagandize their desire to advocate mind control over the educated Americans.

Educated and intelligent Americans will not allow the narrow mindedness of Christian extremists to stop the advancement of Science!

Conservatives, Republicans, And Basic Knowledge: Science, Mathematics, History, Economics, Spelling And Grammar, World Diplomacy

Ronald 1 Comment

Many Republicans and conservatives, whether in Congress, the news media, think tanks, or just ordinary citizens, have a real and fundamental problem with basic knowledge. It makes one wonder where they were when they were young, and supposedly being educated, and the indications that they have learned nothing new as adults.

Consider the field of Science, with many of the Republicans and conservatives believing in creationism, the BIble theory of creation, that claims the earth is maybe 10,000 years old at the most, and that dinosaurs walked with man, with a Creationist Museum open to the public in Kentucky, near the border with Cincinnati, Ohio. There is complete denial of Charles Darwin, to the point of total craziness.

Also, there is the failure of these people to accept that there is global warming and climate change, despite so much evidence that there is a problem, and refusal to plan for the future on the basis that we are facing a long range threat, with Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma being the political leader of the “deniers”.

But also, many Republicans and conservatives seem to have their own version of the process of pregnancy and what is a rape, as for instance, defeated Senate nominees Todd Akin and Richard Mouroick.

But let’s move on from Science to Mathematics, and we are talking here about basic math, arithmetic, not geometry, trigonometry, or calculus. Many members of the GOP, including Paul Ryan, claim a magical system of numbers to come up with their budget plans, but as Joe Biden said to Paul Ryan in the Vice Presidential debate, it does not add up!

Then we move on to history, and the image that America is the greatest nation in history, and has never made a mistake, never needs to apologize, has no faults or shortcomings that anyone needs to learn about. And our exceptionalism is enough to wave in the faces of all nations around the world. Why should we teach or learn about slavery, mass murder of native Americans, discrimination against Jews and Catholics and other immigrants, the exploitation of labor by corporations, the destruction of our environment, the corruption of many politicians over our history, the war crimes committed by our troops in many wars, and so on? NO, that is unpatriotic, and instead we must sanitize all historical learning!

And the field of economics is another area of believing that the best system is NO regulation, and the promotion of Adam Smith’s Laissez Faire economics, expressed in the Wealth Of Nations, and if there is poverty or other human suffering, that is the way it was intended by God, so the promotion of Social Darwinism, the one time Darwin is utilized by these KNOW NOTHINGS!

Spelling and grammar do not matter, as many Tea Party radicals who hold rallies show their total ignorance of all subject matter, and cannot express themselves appropriately, and in a respectable manner! They march with signs that are misspelled, as with the Secession signs now being brandished by many of these characters, who are upset with the Obama victory last week!

World Diplomacy, the whole idea of trying to relate to other countries in a respectful manner, is also insignificant to many, who believe the answer is to BOMB everyone you do not agree with, throw our weight around, and not give a damn about how the world perceives us!

This ignorance and stupidity is totally unacceptable, and the Republican Party and the conservative movement needs to purge itself, or go into the dustbin of history!

Teabaggers: Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out To Canada Or Australia!

Ronald 2 Comments

The moronic Tea Party Movement has suffered a major defeat in the Presidential and Congressional Elections of 2012, and many are planning a move out of America to other English speaking nations, specifically Canada and Australia.

They do not wish to go to Great Britain, where the Conservative Party is in charge of the government, because their brand of conservatism is not conservative enough, and they actually have national health care and believe in global warming and climate change, so horrors to the idea of living in such a nation!

Now Canada sounds good to them, and has a conservative Prime Minister, but these Teabaggers seem not to be aware that they also have national health care and other socially advanced programs, more so than the United States.

Now, Australia sounds good, but they have a “radical” government led by a woman who is an atheist, so damn it, that is no good either!

In fact, all three nations believe in science, have advanced health care, and none of them allow religion to have such a foothold over their politics as we tend to do, or did until this recent election, when the religious zealots, who want a theocracy, lost out, along with the Teabaggers!

Where are these ignorant, moronic Teabaggers to go? Well . . . ..

I have an idea! Get a rocket ready at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and do not charge the Teabaggers for the cost of the trip!

And you ask: Where would they be going in the rocket?

How about a one way trip to the moon, no possibility of return to earth?

Now that is a NICE thought! Have a good evening!

The Ignorance And Arrogance Of Mitt Romney In So Many Areas Of Significance!

Ronald 1 Comment

Mitt Romney is politicizing the tragic death of the US Ambassador to Libya in a disgraceful manner, which totally disqualifies him for the office of President of the United States!

Mitt Romney has not only now proved his ignorance and arrogance on this matter, but also on other areas of foreign policy. If somehow he was elected, the neoconservatives would take over, and we would be engaged in warfare against the Islamic world—Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt—and continuation of the war in Afghanistan, and maybe going back into Iraq—as if we have the manpower, the capability financially, and the national commitment to continuous war! And the Russian Government has also indicated its distrust of America growing if Romney is elected President, so get ready for a new Cold War with that nation!

But this situation only proves further that Mitt Romney is not only ignorant and arrogant about foreign policy.

He has also demonstrated his willingness to be manipulated by the far right wing of the Republican Party, when it comes to the fields of science, economics, mathematics and history. Facts and reality do not matter to the ideological extreme, and falsehoods and lies are the menu instead!

It is clear that Mitt Romney would be a total disaster for America, and would make George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon look good by comparison!

The Republican Party Totally Changed From Its Founding: More Southernized Than Ever Before!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Republican Party started as a party of anti slavery and anti slavery expansion, and became anathema in the South, fighting the Confederacy during the Civil War, and imposing military Reconstruction on the South after the Civil War.

For a century, the South was solidly Democratic in reaction, and the South subjugated African Americans in segregation and discrimination, while the GOP abandoned African Americans after 1877.

In the 1960s, moderate and liberal Republicans supported the passage of the civil rights laws, but southern Democrats started to veer to the Republican Party in reaction to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s advocacy and promotion of civil rights, with Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina leading the march to the GOP.

Richard Nixon pursued a Southern strategy, and after Ronald Reagan became President, the trend to “Southernization” continued, and now it has reached full development, even though we have two Northerners–Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin–on the Presidential ticket.

The Republican Party of 2012, based on its platform and its rhetoric, has hostility toward minorities, promotion of racism against Barack Obama, hatred of national government, belief in exploitation of low wage workers, and promotes religion over science, all reflective of the backward traditions of the Old South, which remains the poorest part of the nation economically, and yet is willing to support the Republican Party out of fear of change and modernization.

But, ironically, this is the last gasp of this trend, as the country is changing to a multi ethnic society, and the white population that is so anti change is rapidly becoming a smaller portion of the nation, and will be so, in a very obvious way, by the time of the Census of 2020 and after, when the Hispanic and Latino population of Texas and Arizona and Florida will likely turn those states “blue”,. from their momentary “red” status.

So the Republican Party is in the death throes of its Southernization, as even Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia are being changed demographically, rapidly before our eyes!