Day: September 13, 2011

Defending Rick Perry Against The Tea Party Movement?

Ronald 1 Comment

Texas Governor Rick Perry is so wrong on so many issues, and would be a horrible choice for the Republican Party and the country for the office of President of the United States!

However, although he is wrong on most issues, last night’s debate actually demonstrated that he was correct on at least two matters for which he was booed by the heavily Tea Party Movement audience.

On the issue of allowing in state college tuition rates for the children of illegal immigrants, which is permitted in Texas, Perry justified it courageously and properly, rather than taking the short sighted, narrow minded, bigoted view of the Tea Party activists who are well known to be nativists, as well as in many cases, racists, when one looks at their behavior and actions!

Also, the debate over the HPV virus vaccination of 11-12 year old girls, who could get cervical cancer if they have sexual intercourse, while dropped in Texas after original enforcement with an opt out for parents, brought up an important issue of public health. Perry said he would always defend life, and was booed by the audience, which cheered Michele Bachmann for her denunciation of taking away the right from parents on this matter of vaccination.

While parents should certainly have a say on matters involving their children, it is a requirement that all children take certain vaccinations before they can attend school, as otherwise, they could spread serious diseases that have become insignificant because of the required vaccinations.

And, no matter what parents might feel, the public safety is more important their individual rights to make decisions that might affect other children’s health!

Many parents these days are far from paragons of virtue in using good judgment for their children’s welfare, and to believe that no girls at a young age will engage in sexual intercourse, when it is clear that many do, regrettably as that is, is living in a dream world! So to protect against the HPV virus is the responsible thing to do!

So at least on these two matters, Rick Perry took the proper stand, but it will likely hurt him with many Tea Party activists! Whether it will dampen his chances for the GOP Presidential nomination, we shall see!

Poverty And Health Care Denial: The Disgrace Of American Democracy!

Ronald 1 Comment

New statistics show that America, the ideal democracy in many people’s minds, has the horrific record of all time highs in number of people mired in poverty, and the number of people who lack health insurance coverage.

The Census Bureau reports that 15.1 percent, the highest since 1983, are in poverty, with a large percentage of these being children.

46.2 million, up 2.6 million since 2009, are in poverty, the number increasing because of the Great Recession.

Meanwhile, 49.9 million, an all time high, lack any health insurance coverage.

The concept that about one out of six Americans are in poverty and lack health care is a disgrace on American democracy!

How can we talk about American “exceptionalism” with such statistics?

How can the Republican Party act as if there is no crisis in America, and that instead they condemn those who are down and out to perpetual poverty, and yet they can sleep at night?

And how can a nation where so many talk about being “religious” can we see the hard hearted attitude of so many Right Wing Christians toward these poor people, and see cheers in the debate last night over the idea that a person without health insurance should NOT be given necessary health care, that it is not the responsibility of all of us to help those in need, and instead let that person die? And this from those who fight against abortion rights, and yet accept and cheer capital punishment!

The hypocrisy of so called “religious” people in the midst of poverty and deprivation is mind boggling!

The Debate Audience In Tampa: What Are We Becoming? Shame Over Their Behavior!

Ronald 2 Comments

In watching the CNN-Tea Party debate in Tampa, Florida, last night, beyond the points made by the potential GOP Presidential candidates, one characteristic stood out, a very ugly characteristic!

The audience at the debate demonstrated just how nasty, mean spirited, self centered, and lacking in humanity the Tea Party crowd have become!

It has become a disease in America, if one wants to believe that the Tea Party movement is spreading far and wide, which the author hopes is NOT the case!

Witness the following:

1. When Rick Perry brought up the idea of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke being treasonous, the crowd cheered wildly.
2. When the subject of a 30 year old male who chose not to have health insurance coverage and then is in the hospital for six months, the reaction of the audience is to applaud the idea that he should not be put into intensive care to save his life, that he should die, that there is no responsibility for others in medical crisis.
3. The hatred of the audience toward illegal immigration, and readiness to destroy Social Security and Medicare was obvious.
4. The refusal of the audience to consider that Ron Paul had some good points about our foreign policy causing a lot of our woes financially, and instead booing him, was disturbing.
5. There were many other moments of poor behavior by the crowd, too numerous to list here.

But beyond all this, the fact that the audience at the Reagan Library debate last week cheered and applauded the fact that Rick Perry had been responsible for the execution of more prisoners than any governor in history, was also very disconcerting, as if the death penalty is the answer, when it is well known that mistakes ARE made and have been made in Texas and elsewhere, with denial of new evidence, refusal to recognize that some testimony against some defendants is unreliable, and that the death penalty is unevenly utilized against minorities as compared to whites!

If this is the country we are becoming, the equivalent of the Tea Party mentality, this nation is in deep trouble, and we have lost our common decency and humanity!

But the thought is that this is a minority view, which demands full commitment to fight and defeat this poison, this cancer, in our society, before it becomes endemic!