Month: July 2011

213th Anniversary Of Infamous Sedition Act Of 1798: First Violation Of Civil Liberties In American History!

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On this day in 1798, the Congress passed and President John Adams signed the Sedition Act, curtailing freedom of speech under the First Amendment, leading to prosecution of journalists and political critics, including a sitting member of Congress.

Repealed under Thomas Jefferson, this Sedition Act remains a black mark on American history as the first violation by the US government against the First Amendment, unfortunately followed by other such violations, including the Sedition Act of 1918 under President Woodrow Wilson, and the USA Patriot Act under President George W. Bush in 2001.

This does not include other violations of civil liberties under numerous Presidents, including Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Second World War, and Harry Truman in the Cold War era, among others.

This anniversary is a reminder that the battle for the First Amendment remains one that must be continually fought!

222nd Anniversary Of French Revolution: What America Can Learn From This Landmark Event Of Modern World History!

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On this day in 1789, France saw the storming of the Bastille, an infamous prison in Paris that represented the oppressiveness of the French government under King Louis XVI! It was the beginning of the French Revolution by the masses of people in France, who were being victimized by a small elite of wealthy aristocracy and a corrupt Catholic Church, as well as the royal family dynasty of the Bourbons.

Some reading this might say, interesting, but how does it affect the United States? Of course, even saying that shows tremendous ignorance and the unfortunate anti foreign feeling so prevalent in this country, that feels we can learn nothing from anyone or any nation, because we are “exceptional”!

But indeed, we CAN learn from the French Revolution, the most important turning point in modern world history before the 20th century, as it had an effect not only on France, and Europe, but also the United States!

The concept of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” which came out of the French Revolution would have a long range effect on America, as we SLOWLY moved toward greater liberty, equality and fraternity regarding the role of government in our lives.

This nation has become so much more democratized and promoters of human rights as compared to the original American Republic of 1776, 1787 and after, and it is due to the ideals that the French Revolution represented!

We often hear that we should ignore and dismiss the French experience and people and government as irrelevant to our past and future, but in actual fact, we have benefited from the French experience, owe a lot to them for having become the advanced nation we are today, and should not allow any right wing movement to move us backward on the road to true and complete democracy and equality, which is a continuing battle!

So on this day, we should salute the French Revolution for the good effects that it has had on the promotion of human freedom, human rights, and human equality!

The Knives Are Out For John Boehner And Mitch McConnell: Extreme Right Wing Coup Likely In Republican Party In Congress!

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Republican leaders John Boehner, Speaker of the House, and Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, are in deep trouble within their own party, having angered Tea Party radicals and right wingers in their own chambers, and it is clear that the knives are out to take away their leadership, if not immediately, which would be difficult to achieve, but certainly in 2013 when the new Congress convenes!

Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip, is very obviously angling to seize the leadership from Boehner, and is likely to be backed by the “Young Guns”, such as Kevin McCarthy of California, the Majority Whip, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin! Also, don’t be surprised if there will be a challenge to Boehner in his Ohio district in the Cincinnati area by a Tea Party radical in the primaries next year!

McConnell has a safe seat to his next election in 2014, but is likely to face opposition then in the primaries by Tea Party radicals, and Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and his own fellow Kentuckian, Rand Paul, who he has very little in common with, are certainly no friends of his, much like Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, who also flirt with Tea Party types and are young and very ambitious! One of these individuals will try to take away the Senate leadership from him in 2013!

It is a sad scene that the GOP leaders cannot control their own membership, but it demonstrates how extremist the Republican Party has become, and the danger it represents to the American future, even more so with the possible Presidential candidacy of Michele Bachmann, herself one of the original Tea Party favorites and organizers!

This nation needs help to avoid the disaster that the Tea Party represents, not only to the GOP, but to the country at large!

Quinnipiac Polls Shows Dangers To Mitt Romney In Republican Presidential Race

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Mitt Romney seems to many to be the only hope for “moderate” Establishment Republicans, as at least for now, Jon Huntsman and Tim Pawlenty are both floundering in the polls.

But Romney actually faces great dangers, as Michele Bachmann is surging, as shown in the most recent Quinnipiac poll, having 14 percent to Romney’s 25 percent. Also, two non-candidates, Sarah Palin and Rick Perry follow, with Palin having 12 percent and Perry 10 percent, both considered far Right as Bachmann is!

Also, Barack Obama polls ahead of all GOP opponents for the Presidency, with a lead of 6 points over Romney, 12 points over Bachmann, 19 points over Palin, and 13 percent over Perry!

Obama’s greatest support is among women, leading Romney by 11 points, and Bachmann by 17 points! Among men, Romney only leads Obama by ONE point, and Obama leads Bachmann among men by EIGHT percent! And among independents, Romney leads Obama by two points, but Obama is ahead against all others, by 10 over Perry, three over Bachmann, and by 17 over Palin.

It is clear that the only real hope, as things stand, for the Republican Party, is to nominate Mitt Romney and hope for the best, but even Romney seems weak, and has a major challenge overcoming the Tea Party radicals led by Michele Bachmann, and possibly also Sarah Palin and Rick Perry!

So these are indeed difficult times for the Republican Party, not that they don’t deserve it!

The URGENT Need For Public Works Projects And Infrastructure Improvements!

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With more than 14 million people out of work, and a 9.2 percent unemployment rate officially, and probably a REAL unemployment rate of 14 percent or more, it is an URGENT need for President Obama to call upon Congress for public works projects and infrastructure improvements!

One may ask what are the odds that such a program would make it through the House of Representatives with a Republican majority, and a Senate where the Republicans could filibuster such legislation!

That is not really the point, as this is a MORAL cause, not just for the workers who would benefit and pay taxes and improve the country, but for all of us, who would benefit from improvements in our roads, bridges, canals, rivers, lakes, tunnels, national parks, parks, schools, hospitals and all other public places!

We need what Franklin D. Roosevelt promoted in the 1930s as part of his New Deal–the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Projects Administration, the Public Works Administration, the National Youth Administration–to give opportunity and hope to our citizenry and make this country a better place!

And if such promotion of public works fails to pass, President Obama can use it as a campaign issue agaInst the Republicans, and how can anyone imagine losing votes on the concept of job opportunity for those out of work?

So this is a winning issue, both for its morality and righteousness, and politically as well, because, assuredly, the Republican Party will fight it tooth and nail to the bitter end, since they have NO interest in creating jobs, and have done nothing to promote it in the seven months they have controlled the House of Representatives!

So Barack Obama should pursue this, and tell the Republicans to “Bring It On”, the fight that will ensue over it!

The Coming Implosion Of The Republican Party: Congress And The Presidential Race!

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Just as Barack Obama shows evidence of great fund raising, an all time high, and the Republicans show weakness in fund raising, the Republican Party is facing an implosion on both the Congressional and Presidential campaign level!

The Debt Ceiling Crisis has shown chinks in the armor of the Congressional Republicans, as the leadership of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell has split the Republicans on Capitol Hill, into the predictable split between Establishment Republicans and the Tea Party Movement freshmen in the House and a few in the US Senate!

Boehner has been pressured by his deputy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who is obviously trying to overrule Boehner and push him out, as everyone in the know is aware of Cantor’s personal ambitions to be Speaker of the House!

McConnell, convinced that no deal on the debt ceiling extension can be reached, has come up with a plan he thinks will help the Republicans win control of Congress and the White House in 2012, declaring he cannot work with Obama. His plan is to allow three votes of disapproval on extensions of the debt limit–one now, one in the Fall and one in the Summer of 2012, assuring an extension of the debt but with only Democrats voting for it, giving Republicans a campaign issue to be used in the upcoming election, and avoiding the financial uncertainties of NOT raising the debt ceiling.

Tea Party freshmen are furious at McConnell, and Boehner who has backed him, so a rebellion within the party is in evidence, with Eric Cantor leading it in the House and Jim DeMint and Rand Paul in the Senate!

The thought that the Republicans will somehow be able to use this debt issue as a way to win control of the executive and legislative branches in 2012 is a real long shot, as it is not as if the Republicans did not raise the debt ceiling SEVEN times under George W. Bush! It is much more likely to reverberate against them, and with a split party in Congress, actually cause them to lose seats in both chambers and likely lose control of the House of Representatives, where a switch of 25 seats gives Democrats control, not all that hard to attain!

And with Michele Bachmann surging as the real threat to Establishment Republicans and Mitt Romney, we could see Bachmann become the nominee, and end up as the Barry Goldwater of 2012, as to imagine her winning the White House and helping her party to win control of both houses of Congress requires hallucination on a major scale!

To top it off, IF Sarah Palin or Rick Perry, or both, end up running for the Presidency, still hard to imagine or conceive, it will only complicate the situation even further, and undermine GOP hopes for control, so it is now more likely that they will go back to minority status, through their own ineptness and incompetence, and failure to recognize the needs of the American people in the midst of the aftermath of the Great Recession!

Obama And Democratic Fund Raising Far Outpaces Republicans In Presidential Race!

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President Obama’s 2012 campaign raised $86 million in the second quarter of 2011, far outpacing the Republicans who raised only about $35 million, less than the $38 million of the Democratic National Committee portion of Obama’s $86 million!

Mitt Romney gained about half of the $35 million, a total of $18 million, with everyone else in the GOP far behind, although Michele Bachmann has not yet released her totals for the second quarter.

The pace of fund raising far outdoes what George W. Bush did in 2004 and Obama himself in 2008, and it proves that it is likely that Obama will raise $1 billion for his campaign by the time it is over!

With such a large Democratic advantage in fund raising, it will be harder for Republicans to run a substantive campaign against Obama, so with all of the problems that Obama has to face, and the challenges he has daily, this is wonderful news!

Fascinating “Presidential Freshness” Test: The 14 Year “Window”

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National Journal writer Jonathan Rauch has brought up an interesting point about American history and the Presidency.

What he calls the “Presidential Freshness” Test demonstrates that for someone to be elected President, that person must NOT have been in high public office more than 14 years when he or she runs for the White House.

High public office means the office of Governor or Senator, and under the Presidential Freshness concept, only three announced candidates fit within it–Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman, and Mitt Romney, although Sarah Palin and Rick Perry, both unannounced and unlikely to run, also fit within the limits.

Being a member of the House is no help, as none have ever been elected President, with the exception of James Garfield in 1880, and he was assassinated after only six months in office in 1881.

So therefore, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul are not considered to have any chance under this test, and Newt Gingrich has a double whammy, being a House member and Speaker in the past, and also having much more than 14 years since his first election.

So every President of the past century has met the maximum of 14 years experience, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson who succeeded upon the death of John F. Kennedy, and then was elected for a full four year term.

What it comes down to is that a Presidential candidate can wear out his welcome and be seen as “stale” if he has been on the scene more than 14 years when running for President, so too much experience in years is NOT a plus!

It will be interesting to see if the Presidential Freshness test works in this upcoming election contest!

Here We Go Again: Sarah Palin, Feeling Neglected, Drops Hint She Will Run! Don’t Bet On It!

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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is feeling neglected lately, so in an interview with Newsweek Magazine, she is dropping hints she will run for President.

It is very obvious that Palin is upset that Michele Bachmann seems to be sucking up all of the oxygen in the Republican Presidential race, and there is nothing like a woman who feels slighted by another woman! It brings out the aggressiveness that two ambitious women have in politics–to work to undermine their enemy who took away the attention they felt they deserved!

In this respect, Michele Bachmann is a lady, as she has made it clear that she has no desire to get involved in a wrestling match with Palin, but that does not mean that Palin, younger, less accomplished, and frankly more ignorant on all of the issues, is not resentful, behind the scenes, of Bachmann.

If Palin were to enter the race, one can be sure she would get nasty with Bachmann, and that would force Bachmann to become more so, and that would be something to watch, to say the least!

But it would also, sadly, undermine women in politics, as both Bachmann and Palin are poorly qualified to be President, and their ignorance is so total that they are both an embarrassment to their gender!

Oh, where oh where, are qualified women in the party, such as Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Kay Bailey Hutchison?

Oh, and how Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill and other Democratic women are looked at longingly, on the 27th anniversary today of the nomination of Geraldine Ferraro as the first female Vice Presidential candidate in 1984!

Keith Olbermann: Brilliant Statement About Progressivism And Meaning Of Life!

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Keith Olbermann, in his closing commentary last evening on his CURRENT channel show, truly expressed the argument for progressivism, and the true meaning of why we are here on earth.

Troubled by reports that President Obama seemed ready to sacrifice the social safety net of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for a deal on the Debt Ceiling controversy that is raging right now in Washington, DC, Olbermann made it perfectly clear that such an eventuality would be a deal breaker for him and many progressives.

As Olbermann stated, the point of life, since we all die and eventually are only remembered by those who have been affected by our life on this earth, is to have concern about others, not just those we personally know.

Is life designed only to acquire wealth, fame, power and publicity, or is life meant to have an effect on other people’s lives?

Olbermann said that our impact on other people matters much more than the acquisition of wealth and power for its own sake, as it is what we do for others that will make us memorable after we are gone from this earth.

Therefore, to help the needy, the poor, the disadvantaged, is being the best we are capable of. To concern ourselves with our fellow human beings, not just our own selfish selves, is the point of life. To help eradicate poverty, suffering, and disease is the purpose of our existence.

Our common humanity is what should drive us in our daily lives, not just how we can become wealthier and more powerful, and to gain more publicity and a heightened ego.

What Olbermann stated is the true meaning of what it is to be a progressive or a liberal, and as the author listened to him, he had tears in his eyes as it really hit home that true evil is the concern only about oneself, and demonstrating selfishness, greed, and lack of concern of others. It is exactly what Christianity condemns, and yet there are so many “good Christians” who claim these as virtues, the height of hypocrisy!

Thank you, Keith Olbermann, for reminding us why we are progressives, and the pride I feel about my strongly held value system and beliefs!