Tom Coburn

Rand Paul And Creationism: Refusal To Answer Question On Age Of The Earth! :(

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Rand Paul, the GOP and Tea Party Movement nominee for the Senate in Kentucky, is facing a new controversy! 🙁

He was asked how old the Earth is, and did he believe, as Creationists believe, that we are on a planet which is only 6,000 years old?

His refusal to answer indicates his awareness that this is a loaded question, considering the number of evangelical Christians who truly believe that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, and that mankind inhabited the earth alongside dinosaurs! 🙁

This creationist belief continues to dominate fundamentalist Christian belief, despite the preposterous nature of the idea, and defies all scientific evidence that refutes it! 🙁

There is even a Creationist Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, just seven miles west of the Cincinnati, Ohio airport! 🙁

Rand Paul is not the only Senate nominee or Senator or Congressman who clearly believes in Creationism! Many believe it, or claim to believe it when asked, including several of the GOP Presidential candidates in 2008! And Senators such as Oklahoma Senators James Inhofe and Tom Coburn have proudly proclaimed their beliefs in the concept! 🙁

The thought that intelligent people could totally defy the realities of scientific research is just as amazing as those who say that there is no climate change or global warming! 🙁

The old saying is that you can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink!

The fact that Rand Paul will not answer the question will, ironically, probably help him win support from the Religious Right, which furiously promotes Creationism! However, it is hoped that there are enough people in Kentucky who will use their brains, rather than their religiosity, when they vote for US Senator in November! 🙁

Four Moderate Republicans And Unemployment Compensation Extension Support!

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The Republican Party has been extremely negative on anything Barack Obama wants to do, and the multiple delays in extension of unemployment compensation, held up by the infamous Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, and now Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, is finally over!

We are in the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and these senators, and others, who had no problem funding the two wars we are in, and the Medicare prescription Part D plan of George W. Bush, without figuring out how to pay for it, have now been overcome by cooperation of four colleagues, all of whom should have backed the Health Care reform legislation, but failed to do that!

But at least now there are signs of cooperation by these four moderates–Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, and George Voinovich of Ohio.

The extension of unemployment benefits was won by a 60-34 vote, enough to stop any further attempt at a filibuster.

It is also encouraging to see Scott Brown, who accepted Tea Party support during his campaign to fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, now fail to find time to go to a Tea Party event in Boston starring Sarah Palin. It seems that Brown is trying to separate himself from any association with Palin, certainly a smart move if he hopes to win reelection in 2012 when he will likely have to face a Kennedy family member challenging him for a full Senate term.

The hope is that these four senators, and a few others in the Republican party, will now back the Obama Administration on climate change and financial reform legislation coming up for consideration soon.

The best way to get things done is to promote bipartisanship, so let us applaud these four moderates for finally acting statesmanlike, instead of just territorially staying loyal to their party when it makes no sense!

Tom Coburn Surprise: Tone Of Civility Toward Nancy Pelosi And Strong Criticism Of Fox News Channel! :)

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It is always nice when you can praise a politician for his civility and open mindedness! 🙂

So although I consider Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn one of the worst members of the Senate, there is always hope for improvement!

Coburn has proved to be both good and bad in the past few days. It is because of him that this week, with Congress out of session for the Easter break, unemployment compensation is being cut off because he put a “hold” on voting on the bill, due to concerns about the national debt. This is the same tactic used earlier this year by Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning. There is no way to look at this tactic of putting a “hold” on a vote by a single Senator as anything more than disgraceful behavior, and a sign of lack of care for those less fortunate! 🙁

However, it turns out that Senator Coburn, at a Town Hall meeting in his home state, defended Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as a “nice” lady, who should not be personally attacked and should be treated with civility, whether by individual citizens or by Fox News Channel!

He accused Fox News Channel of distorting the news about the Health Care reform legislation, which he himself opposed, but says we should not be promoting mistruths, such as a person will be thrown in jail if he does not buy health insurance.

Imagine, a conservative Republican actually attacking Fox News Channel! This is a well deserved criticism of a station that sets out to distort reality, and has willing accomplices from journalists who work for the channel and sell their soul for their employment! This is not good journalism, and should be condemned! Plaudits for once for Senator Tom Coburn for his civility and his frankness! 🙂

Senators Jim Bunning And Tom Coburn And Flood Insurance Extension

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Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, already among the most despicable members of the present Senate and of all time members of the upper body, have again, by their stupidity and vindictiveness, done great harm to millions of Americans!

Both of these men, utilizing the “hold” technique to stop temporarily the extension of unemployment compensation as a tactic against the Obama Administration, has now effectively reverberated in a new disgraceful manner!

Part of the legislation was to extend government sponsored flood insurance for millions of homeowners, and because of their shenanigans, there was a delay in that renewal! Between now and April 12, if any flooding occurs, such as has been happening in the Northeast, and earlier in the Midwest, any such flood damage will not be covered because of the gap in time of the legislation going into effect!

How can these men sleep at night, playing politics with people’s lives, whether for unemployment compensation or for flood insurance? 🙁

How can these men, who love to profess that they are “good Christians” and flaunt their religion, say that they are decent and religious people, when they show no compassion for their fellow human beings, many of them less fortunate who need whatever help government can give them? 🙁

If there is an afterlife, as these “religious” men would profess does exist, it is hard to imagine that they will end up where “good, decent” people, whether religious or not, will reside!

A Few Republicans Being Fair Minded On Harry Reid Controversy

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It is good to see at least a few Republicans being fair minded about the Harry Reid controversy, refusing to call for his resignation as Senate Majority Leader.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and fellow Nevadan John Ensign all are calling for their party to lay off the topic, as it is not their place to tell the Democrats or Nevada what to do.

The same cannot be said for Republican National Chairman Michael Steele and Texas Senator John Cornyn, who are ridiculously comparing what Reid said to what Trent Lott said about Strom Thurmond in 2002. As stated in an earlier entry, to compare the two situations is totally ridiculous!

But also, President George W. Bush did not back Lott in 2002, and helped assist his resignation, while Barack Obama has fully backed Reid and called for an end to the attention to the comments the Majority Leader made.

As Obama said, Reid has his heart and record in the right place, having a consistently strong civil rights record in his years in the Senate, while Trent Lott was just the opposite in so many ways.

So as Obama said, it is time to move on and focus on health care, the energy issue, and the economy–issues important to the American people.

Frustration With Senate And GOP Parliamentary Maneuvers

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The anger among progressives over the apparent failure to promote a public option or Medicare for those 55-64, due to Joe Lieberman’s opposition, is now compounded by GOP conservatives using every parliamentary maneuver one can imagine to prevent progress on what is left of the proposed legislation.

Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, himself a physician, utilized the parliamentary maneuver of calling for an out loud reading of the proposed amendment to the bill calling for a single payer system that had been set forth by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

If Sanders had not intervened and dropped his amendment being voted on, something assuredly to be rejected, it would have taken more than eight hours to read the amendment. That in itself is unbelievable, that the amendment was apparently some 767 pages in length! Why, oh why, does any legislation have to be so lengthy, and particularly just an amendment?

This reality, plus the ever present filibuster, where a minority of 41 senators can stop vote on a bill or a nomination, just adds to the total feeling of frustration with the US Senate, a body I much admire, but of course in theory a very anti-democratic institution where every state is equal, despite the vast differences in population of the fifty states.

But then again, the purpose of the Senate was to slow up legislation and give careful consideration to any move toward new laws. Over the long haul of history, the Senate has been very significant and has had many great members, but there is no doubt that it is a VERY frustrating body in so many ways! 🙁

Shame On Senator Tom Coburn On Disabled Vets Bill Delay!

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Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, an outrageous embarrassment for the Senate in general, now stands out as the ONLY senator preventing a vote on a bill to fund homecare providers for 6,800 disabled veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to commemorate our appreciation of our troops on Veterans Day!

Coburn’s reasoning is there is no budgeted money for the bill and that some other programs should be cut to cover the $4 billion expense before it goes through into law.

This concept that one senator can prevent a vote on a bill needs to be changed, as there is no justification to do this, and sends the wrong symbol to our cherished veterans who have sacrificed so much and then see a disgrace of a senator, a man who has shown he is loony and disgraceful in so many statements and actions, destroy a gesture that should be done NOW.

The senator should be censured for his actions, which will not happen, of course, but it should be a lesson to many people that indeed Tom Coburn, who is sponsoring a bill for term limits for Congress, should personally be term limited! 🙁

The Republicans And Health Care: Ask Your Neighbors Or Charity For Help

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Not only did Republican Minority Whip Eric Cantor suggest it recently, but also Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma as well: If you have a crisis health situation, and don’t have health insurance, turn to charity and your neighbors for help.

Are these and other Republicans living in the 21st century? Can we rely on our neighbors to help us when we are in trouble, at a time when millions of Americans are in desperate economic circumstances, and those who are fortunate don’t overall want to hear of other people’s problems, as they have been taught to only think of themselves and those they know, and not get involved with “strangers”?

The Republicans offer no alternatives for those unfortunate enough to lose a job, or not have health insurance, or have health insurance which decides not to cover a specific medical problem. All they are good at is to promote the idea that everyone must be self reliant and individualistic, as Herbert Hoover promoted during the Great Depression in the early 1930s.

The Republican party has no “heart” and no “empathy” for those who are less fortunate, and are actually impatient even to hear of the plight of those who don’t have lots of assets and money. How can a modern political party be so thoughtless and uncaring, and claim to be promoting the interests of the American people in the 21st century?

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said often, we are not ultimately judged for our character by how much we acquire and own, but by how much we sacrifice for others, and only government can do what needs to be done for those not as fortunate as we are. As even highly religious people should practice as they preach on the Sabbath, “there but for the grace of God go I”. It is the moral and ethical thing for our government, representing our population, to come to the rescue if there is no alternative!