Month: June 2010

Black Politicians: Failure To Reach Higher Office A Reality :(

Ronald Leave a comment

With the election of Barack Obama in 2008, it seemed as if America was ready for a Renaissance on race, that black politicians could expect to reach the Governorships and the Senate in noticeable numbers!

When it comes to the House of Representatives and the mayoralty of cities, African Americans have been able to make a substantial record of success! With 42 members in the House of Representatives, and many African Americans who have served and are serving as Mayors of their cities, there is much to be proud of!

But when it comes to Governorships and Senate seats, the record is paltry! 🙁

There have historically been only three Black Governors and six Black Senators. Douglas Wilder was Governor of Virginia in the 1980s, and Deval Patrick is presently the Governor of Massachusetts. David Paterson succeeded Eliot Spitzer as Governor of New York when Spitzer resigned in 2008.

Hiram Revels served one year in the Senate from Mississippi during the Reconstruction period, as did Blanche Bruce for a full term from the same state in the same era. They were, of course, not elected, as the 17th Amendment, providing for direct popular election of the Senate, did not become part of the Constitution until 1913.

Since then, Edward W. Brooke served two terms as a Massachusetts Senator from 1967-1979. Carol Moseley Braun served one term from 1993-1999 as Senator from Illinois, so far the only Black woman in the Senate. Barack Obama, of course served four years from 2005-2009 from Illinois, and finally, Roland Burris was appointed to fill out the term of Obama in 2009-2010.

Meanwhile, the news recently has not been encouraging on the issue of Blacks at the top level of government, state and national! Roland Burris has been under suspicion since his appointment by disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich and is not running for a full term. David Paterson is also under attack and is not running for a full term as NY Governor. Deval Patrick has been running behind for reelection in Massachusetts, but seems now to be recovering.

Unfortunately, Artur Davis, Congressman from Alabama, gave up his Congressional seat to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor, and was expected to win, but in a tremendous upset, his opponent won overwhelmingly in the primary, by 62-38 percent!

And Kendrick Meek, Congressman from South Florida, was thought to be the Democratic nominee for the US Senate by default, until billionaire Jeff Greene suddenly entered the race on April 30, and has pulled even with Meek.

Even more problematical for Meek is that he runs a poor third against Republican Marco Rubio and Independent nominee Charlie Crist, the Governor of Florida. Crist is appealing for Democratic backing in the race, and is a threat to Meek in gaining backing of a majority of his own party in the Fall campaign, even if Meek defeats Greene in the primary in August!

So there is a good chance that there will be no Blacks in the Senate, and at most, maybe just Governor Deval Patrick winning a second term in Massachusetts!

This is not exactly what many African Americans hoped for just a short time ago! 🙁

Are We Returning To The Years 1937-1938? :(

Ronald Leave a comment

When Franklin D. Roosevelt became President in 1933, he started to promote deficit spending to create jobs and provide aid to the millions of poor, unemployed and homeless!

Throughout the first term of the New Deal, FDR continued to promote economic stimulus, and although the Great Depression did not end, life was a lot better by 1936!

But under harsh criticism by conservatives and ideologues, in 1937, FDR cut federal spending and public works programs. This, unfortunately, led to a big drop in the economy, and the creation of the 1937-38 Recession within the Depression, making life much worse! This is looked upon as a tremendous mistake that prolonged the Great Depression! 🙁

In 2009, Barack Obama came in and promoted an Economic Stimulus bill to deal with the worst economic mess since the Great Depression! Aid to state and local governments, extension of unemployment compensation, and the inception of public works projects were all part of the mix!

The effects of this economic stimulus are just starting to “kick in”, and already we are hearing from many quarters that we must not continue to extend aid to states and localities and not continue unemployment compensation to the long term unemployed! Instead, we must cut spending and worry more about accounting figures, rather than those people within our midst who are victims of this Great Recession! 🙁

Therefore, the Senate has rejected extended economic stimulus, at least for the moment, but the Republican party is unlikely to allow any progress in this regard, and gaining 60 votes to overcome a filibuster is highly unlikely! 🙁

So hundreds of thousands of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants will be dismissed, and many people who have met the limits of unemployment compensation and are in danger of losing their homes as well, will be thrown to the wayside in the battle to cut spending and forget human suffering! 🙁

The result will be what the GOP wants: a downturn of the economy, a “double dip” recession, which they will then attempt to blame on the Obama Administration! 🙁

What a disgraceful state of affairs, not the way we should deal with the worst economic conditions in eight decades! 🙁 But more than ever, it looks like 2010 and 2011 and maybe 2012 will be a reprisal of 1937-1938! 🙁

Obama Administration To Challenge New Arizona Immigration Law In Court!

Ronald Leave a comment

The Obama Administration has decided, rightfully, to challenge the new Arizona Immigration law in the federal courts as a violation of federal authority to deal with immigration, and as an example of discrimination against the largest minority group in America, the Latinos or Hispanics! 🙁

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “let the cat out of the bag” when she revealed this on June 8 while visiting Ecuador, when she was asked about this controversial piece of legislation!

Apparently, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona is furious over this, and the answer is let her be furious! 🙁

This law is reverberating on Arizona economically and in public relations, and if they were willing to face reality, that this makes the state look like the “Mississippi of the 1960s”, then they should withdraw the law before it goes into effect on July 29!

But as it is, the law will not go into effect on that date as the US government will do what needs to be done to have the law considered in the federal courts, where, hopefully, it will be declared unconstitutional!

However, it is essential that the US government start to deal seriously with the issue of illegal immigration, so that no other states will move in the direction that Arizona has taken!

Endless Speculation About Hillary Clinton’s Future: Secretary Of Defense Or Vice President?

Ronald 2 Comments

Lately, there has been speculation about the future of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Acknowledged by most observers as doing an exceptional job as Secretary of State, and reported to have a very close relationship with President Obama, one would think that Clinton would simply stay on as Secretary of State, until her plans at some point in the future to retire, self declared by her recently.

But instead, there are rumors that she will replace Secretary of Defense Robert Gates when he leaves at some point in the future, and returns to Texas!

There is also the suggestion by Sally Quinn of the Washington Post that Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden should switch positions, with Hillary becoming Vice President under the 25th Amendment, after Joe Biden resigns and becomes Secretary of State, having the opportunity to shape foreign policy, his greatest love and passion!

The argument is that Biden has no intention of seeking the Presidency, as he would be 74 at the end of a second Obama term.

But supposedly, Hillary Clinton might still be interested in seeking the Presidency at the age of 69 in 2016, younger than Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, and John McCain, when they finally were nominated for President!

The argument is that Hillary Clinton could help President Obama win a second term, and with her experience and gender, could negate the effect of Sarah Palin or any other woman in the Republican party, and would have exceptional credentials to replace Obama if, for some reason, he left before the end of the second term. In any case, she would have a tremendous edge on the 2016 nomination and election from the Vice Presidency!

Of course, all this is speculation and rumor, but it certainly is interesting and fascinating to discuss and think about such scenarios as Secretary of Defense and Vice President for Hillary Clinton! 🙂

Interesting List Of Books That Have Impacted Congressional Action In Past Century!

Ronald Leave a comment

An interesting article by a reporter for Congressional Quarterly, Elham Khatami, for the website Congress.org, lists the most influential books that have been published in the past century and had impact on Congressional action!

All five books are of historic importance for sure! 🙂

The first chronologically is Upton Sinclair’s novel, THE JUNGLE, published in 1906. It was read by President Theodore Roosevelt, and it led to quick action on federal legislation on meat, food and drug inspection and protection. It was the beginning of government on the national level taking responsibility for the health and welfare of its citizens!

Next published was THE GRAPES OF WRATH, a famous novel by John Steinbeck, which portrayed the problem of poverty during the Great Depression, specifically in relation to farm workers. It led to covering farm workers under labor laws for the first time, during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt!

Next was Michael Harrington’s nonfiction work, THE OTHER AMERICA, published in 1962, describing the wide extent of poverty in America, and not only of minorities, but also of rural whites! It spurred the movement toward the War On Poverty thought of by John F. Kennedy, and passed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson!

The fourth book was also nonfiction and also published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s SILENT SPRING, which dealt with the dangers of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which were shown to pollute the soil, water and air. It led to the beginning of action under John F. Kennedy, continued under Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon, and led to the passage of environmental laws and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970!

The final book, also nonfiction, was Ralph Nader’s UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED, published in 1965. Dealing with automobile safety, it helped to lead to mandatory safety measures, and the creation of the Department of Transportation under Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission!

All of these significant books, and the reaction by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon, occurred during “progressive” periods of American history, and are a further repudiation of those, such as Glenn Beck, who constantly attack “progressivism”, despite its many contributions to the creation of a better, more humane America!

Revelation: George W. Bush’s Daughter, Barbara Bush, Backs Obama Health Care Law!

Ronald 1 Comment

An interesting piece of news is that Barbara Bush, one of the twin daughters of President George W. Bush, has made public her support of the recently passed Obama Health Care legislation!

Despite the fact that the GOP resisted and fought against the Health Care law, Barbara Bush indicated her belief that it was good that the legislation passed, and that people who have lower income should have the same access to health care that rich people have!

Hooray for Barbara Bush, who is the leader of the Global Health Corps, a group that promotes global health equity! She is proving that she is a young woman of decency and good principles, and makes many in the Republican party look very hard hearted and selfish in their opposition to everyone being entitled to health care!

Exaggeration And Fabrication: The Cases Of Richard Blumenthal And Mark Kirk

Ronald Leave a comment

What is it with politicians that they cannot run for office based on truth and honesty, on their real record of accomplishments or talents? 🙁

We have the cases of Democrat Richard Blumenthal, running for the Senate in Connecticut, and Republican Mark Kirk, running for the Senate in Illinois!

Blumenthal has been the distinguished Attorney General of Connecticut for 22 years, and is attempting to succeed Democrat Christopher Dodd in the Senate. He is heavily favored, but the NY TIMES has uncovered the fact that he has lied about military service in Vietnam in the late 1960s, when he never did such service!

Mark Kirk has been a GOP Congressman for ten years, and is considered a moderate Republican with a good chance of defeating his Democratic opponent, in a race to succeed the appointed Democrat to Barack Obama’s Senate seat, Roland Burris. But he has fabricated his teaching experience, which was very minimal to none, for no reason that makes any sense!

It seems to me that Blumenthal claiming military experience in Vietnam is much more egregious an offense than Kirk claiming teaching experience, but the question is WHY it is necessary to fabricate, exaggerate and lie about one’s background! 🙁

How could either candidate really believe that they would get away with lying over time, if not immediately caught in the story making? It boggles the mind why such behavior seems more commonly used, therefore causing further disillusionment toward politicians by the American people! 🙁

BP And “The Little People”: Insulting And Condescending! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

The Chairman of the Board of BP yesterday, after meeting with President Obama, and agreeing to a $20 billion escrow account for victims of the Oil Spill Crisis, spoke to the media outside the White House, and managed to show total lack of sensitivity about the ordinary Americans hurt by the crisis!

He said that BP wanted to demonstrate that it cared about “the little people”! 🙁

Is there anything more insulting than to call other human beings “the little people?” 🙁

That is an indication of what wealthy people tend to consider those who serve them, or those who just work for a living, rather than having obscene salaries and wealth! 🙁

It is totally outrageous and condescending to use such language, and has rightfully angered many people living on the Gulf Coast who are victims of the BP Oil Spill! 🙁

Unfortunately, people who have major assets tend generally to act this way, and it is a disgusting practice that needs to be condemned to the extreme, and BP should apologize for such poor use of language! 🙁

Congressman Joe Barton: Favoring BP Over Victims! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

Republican Congressman Joe Barton of Texas, at the beginning of the committee hearings today with BP Chairman Tony Hayward, was highly critical of the Obama Administration for gaining a $20 billion “slush fund” and “shakedown” from BP yesterday in the Oval Office! 🙁

What an outrage, for Congressman Barton to be more concerned about a corporation which has caused so much economic and environmental damage in the Gulf Coast, destroying the livelihoods of fishermen, small businesses of all kinds, and the shorelines of four states dependent for a lot of their state income from tourism! 🙁

The Obama Administration has already issued a denunciation of Barton, well deserved repudiation of his greater concern with big business, rather than the average American harmed by the BP recklessness! 🙁

Barton is following a trend begun by Michele Bachmann, and rapidly being voiced by conservative talk show hosts and other Republicans and Tea Party activists! 🙁

This is good news for the Democrats and President Obama! Let conservatives and Republicans and Tea Party people continue to denounce what President Obama has accomplished, as that can only help sustain the Democrats as the party of the people, concerned about average Americans and ready and willing to make corporations be held accountable!

It is hard to imagine in November that being critical of the government and for BP is going to be a winning campaign for Tea Party favorites and Republicans! So, go right ahead and dig your own demise, is what progressives and Democrats should be encouraging right now!

As sad as this crisis is, it is an opportunity to show the true colors of the GOP and their allies! 🙁

Analysis Of Barack Obama’s Speech: Was It Too Complex For His Audience?

Ronald Leave a comment

A language expert has done a full analysis of President Obama’s Tuesday night speech, which was criticized by pundits on the Left and the Right, but upon later developments on Wednesday–including the agreement of British Petroleum Corporation to set up an escrow account of $20 billion without a cap–second thoughts on the effectiveness of the speech have emerged!

It is disturbing, however, that the language expert believes that the President’s speech was “too professorial for his audience!”

What is too professorial? Apparently, speaking at a 9.8 grade level is such, which is quite a commentary on the educational level of the American people! That is the end of the freshman year of high school, nearing the sophomore year!

Also, having four sentences on the average per paragraph, with about 19.8 words per sentence, is too complex for those listening! Apparently, the way Obama spoke was “aloof” and “out of touch” with his audience!

This speech prevented an emotional connection to the American people, according to the language expert!

Obama’s “best” speech, apparently, was his 2008 “Yes We Can!” victory speech, which comes in at a level of 7.4, early part of the seventh grade reading level!

If after all of the educational opportunities that have been offered in recent years, the best we can get is early high school as the level required to communicate with an audience, then we are indeed in sad shape educationally in this country!

But then again, is there anything new about that assertion? 🙁