Month: November 2011

The Recall Effort Against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Begins

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After success in a recall effort against two Republican state senators in Wisconsin earlier, the move is on to recall Governor Scott Walker, who has seen his public opinion ratings collapse, and his national image rapidly decline.

The labor movement and progressives in the state of Robert La Follette Sr., the state of progressivism, has begun the gathering of signatures to put the question on the ballot. A total of 540, 208 signatures are necessary by mid January to set up a special election at the end of February.

There have been death threats against some people collecting signatures, and one can be sure that Walker’s patrons, the Koch brothers, will use all the money they have to attempt to prevent the gathering of enough signatures, and/or the success of the recall process at a special election.

IF this movement succeeds, it would be a great victory and lead to attempts at similar action against other “Bully Governors” who have taken a stand against organized labor and the progressive movement.

Let us hope for its success as a true example of democracy in America!

What Progressives Have To Be Thankful For On Thanksgiving Day 2011

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On this Thanksgiving Day, progressives have a lot to be thankful for, including:

1. We are witnessing the return home of our soldiers from Iraq after eight and a half years in combat, and the sad loss of about 4,500 brave men and women in a war that was unnecessary and helped to strengthen the more dangerous nation, Iran.

2. We have witnessed the development of the weakest Republican Presidential field in history, more an embarrassment than a legitimate field of candidates for the Oval Office, trying to outdo each other in their flubs and lack of concern for the average American.

3. We are fortunate to have as our President a man who, despite obvious shortcomings in some areas, has a record of accomplishment in national security and foreign policy that no Republican candidate can match.

4. We have a President who has gone the extra mile in trying to promote the interests of the middle class economically, instead of Wall Street, the corporations and the top two percent, all of which are obviously being supported by the Republican Party without any apologies. When the history of the Great Recession, the worst economic times since the Great Depression are written, the opposition party will NOT look good, any more than they did in the 1930s.

5. Finally, we can be thankful that by the Republican stubbornness on the budget and their greater loyalty to Grover Norquist than to the American people, the end result will be the automatic cutting of trillions of dollars by LACK OF ACTION by January 1, 2013, AND the END of the Bush Tax Cuts, and therefore a rise in taxation on those who have benefited for the past ten years on the backs of the American people. Tax rates will go back to the Clinton era rates, when we had the greatest economic conditions ever in our history, and fairness in taxation will return, while rational, reasonable budget cuts will also take place.

The Republican Party, by their obstructionism, will have slain themselves, so we must thank John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell for giving a campaign issue to the Democrats and Barack Obama.

This is a great moment for progressives, as Barack Obama has made clear that he will veto any attempt to keep the Bush tax cuts! Hallelujah, and now, let’s go and celebrate Thanksgiving!

Newt Gingrich: The Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Of American Politics

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Newt Gingrich displayed intelligence, thought, and some good ideas in last night’s Republican National Security Debate on CNN, and over the years, he has been judged as being an “ideas” man who made some major contributions to our intellectual and political discourse. He showed real common sense and compassion about illegal immigrants who have been here for many years and contributed positively to America, a view which will anger many Tea Party conservatives, and probably kill his chances for the GOP Presidential nomination.

But just the few days before the debate, Gingrich displayed the mean, nasty, ugly, divisive side of his personality–suggesting child labor return, and telling Americans involved in the “Occupy Wall Street” Movement to take a bath and get a job, rather than protest the unfairness of our economic and political system.

Gingrich has also been particularly nasty and disrespectful toward President Obama, adopting the “Birther” ideas for a long time, and generally, saying wild, reckless things about many issues surrounding the President.

And of course, his ethics in government when Speaker of the House of Representatives, and his scandalous private life, with three marriages and two divorces, and multiple examples of adultery, also make him look positively evil to many observers.

What seems apparent is that Newt Gingrich has multiple sides to his personality, which makes it easy to compare him to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The question is IF somehow Gingrich became President, what kind of behavior and personality traits would show up on a daily basis. The fear is that he would be dangerous in office, because his behavior would be so unpredictable!

An Embarrassment How Low Congress Is Rated!

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The United States Congress has become highly unpopular this year, with its inability to get ANYTHING done, including the Debt Ceiling debacle, and now the failure of the Super Committee of Twelve to bring about a budget deal by today.

A poll issued this week demonstrates the embarrassment that the 112th Congress faces, often considered now the worst Congress in American history!

This comes after the 111th Congress was the most productive since the 89th Congress of 1965-1966.

Congress rates at 9 percent popularity, but more than that figure is the reality of what else is unpopular in the poll, and the numbers involved.

The Internal Revenue Service has a popularity rating of 40 percent; the Airline Industry is at 29 percent; Lawyers also at 29 percent; Richard Nixon during Watergate at 24 percent; Banks at 23 percent; the OIl and Gas Industry at 20 percent; British Petroleum during the Oil Spill last year at 16 percent; Paris Hilton at 15 percent; if the United States were to go Communist at 11 percent; Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez at the same 9 percent as Congress; and Fidel Castro at 5 percent!

This is bound to have some effect on the Congressional elections in 2012, and since the House of Representatives majority are Republicans, and the entire chamber faces election, it seems likely that the GOP will lose seats, and probably, control of the majority, while the US Senate only has one third of its seats up in 2012, and so the Democrats might actually keep control of their thin majority in that chamber, and maybe even gain a few seats.

Jon Huntsman And Ron Paul Shine At CNN National Security Debate, And Newt Gingrich And Rick Santorum Have Some Sensible Thoughts!

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CNN held a National Security debate in Constitution Hall in Washington, DC this evening, and it is clear that two laggards in the public opinion polls, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and Texas Congressman Ron Paul, shone brightly in the Republican debate.

Both Huntsman and Paul came out against the Patriot Act as a denial of civil liberties, with both warning that losing liberty for security is a bad bargain!

Also, both came out for withdrawing from Afghanistan as soon as possible, and focusing on America’s needs, with Huntsman saying intelligence gathering, special forces, and the use of drones could resolve the problems in Afghanistan, and that having large numbers of troops in a foreign country in the modern world was counterproductive. Paul, of course, came out for American withdrawal from the world, an isolationist nation, which as great as it might sound to many, is totally impractical! Huntsman did not go that far in his comments.

Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum also had moments of good thoughts, with Gingrich arguing that we cannot deport illegal immigrants who have been here for a long time and been lawful, and that children of illegal immigrants who wish to serve in the military should be given the chance to become citizens, in effect supporting the DREAM Act. Meanwhile,Rick Santorum backed foreign aid as important to continue, while Ron Paul called for an end to all foreign aid, not a great position making any sense in the modern world, particularly when foreign aid is only less than one percent of the national budget.

By comparison, Mitt Romney did not do as well as he has in the past, coming across as very hawkish, and hardline on illegal immigration, both views probably part of his plan to attract more support from right wing Republicans and conservative talk show hosts.

Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Michele Bachmann continued their downward spiral, none of them making any impressive statements during the debate.

So, if all things are equal, we might see the rise of Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul in the public opinion polls, as they both stood out dramatically from the other six candidates!

The Dangers Of Political Extremism: Assassination Of Political Leaders

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Today is a day to dwell on the dangers of political extremism, the kind of rhetoric that we have been witnessing more than ever since the Great Recession occurred in 2008 and after. The election of the first African American President in 2008 has added to the cauldron.

The chasm between the political parties is wider than ever, and the hot rhetoric displayed on much of talk radio and Fox News Channel is more intense than ever, and will, unfortunately, get worse as the heat of the Presidential campaign intensifies.

Political extremism of the past led to political assassination in American history, as witness:

Abraham Lincoln, murdered at the end of the Civil War, April 14, 1865, by a Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth.

William McKinley, murdered by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, on September 14, 1901.

John F. Kennedy, murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, a supporter of Fidel Castro and Cuba, 48 years ago on this date, and being commemorated today.

Martin Luther King, Jr,, murdered by a racist, James Earl Ray, on April 4, 1968.

Robert Kennedy, murdered by an Arab sympathizer, Sirhan Sirhan, on June 5, 1968.

These five assassinations, along with the assassination by mentally ill people of James Garfield and Huey Long; and the attempted assassinations of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan are constant warnings of the dangers of violence once passions are aroused to a dangerous level.

When one considers that an individual was recently arrested for having shot at the White House, and perceived as a danger to President Barack Obama, it makes one feel a chill go through his spine, this on top of a similar incident under Bill Clinton.

Our nation’s leaders are under constant threat, and we need to tone down our rhetoric in memory of the death of John F. Kennedy nearly a half century ago, as we do not want to go through the horror and pain of such an event ever again!

Police Brutality at University Of California-Davis Against Peaceful “Occupy” Demonstrators: Must Be Condemned And Prevented From Happening Again ANYWHERE!

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The shocking action of police at the University of California-Davis against peaceful, nonviolent “Occupy” demonstrators, utilizing pepper spray into their faces, debilitating them, and sending eleven to the hospital, must be condemned by all decent citizens, and prevented from happening ever again ANYWHERE in America!

The police involved must be fired and prosecuted, and the Chancellor who allowed these actions needs to resign!

The right wing is spreading the myth that the “Occupy” demonstrators at Wall Street and in hundreds of other demonstrations all over America are a bunch of bums, drifters, drug addicts, and petty criminals, and that there are widespread crimes, property damage, and sexual activity taking place. Also, it is being claimed that these are just people who want a handout, and don’t want to work.

This is an outrage to attack Americans who have become victims of the Great Recession, and that is most of us in some form, who wish to use their First Amendment rights to call for action against the one percent who control the economy and dominate the national income, with greater stratification than at any time in American history.

If the police and law enforcement authorities are going to react like the Southern states acted toward civil rights demonstrators in the 1950s and 1960s, then there is the danger of a much more violent action, which would be highly regrettable, and is no solution to the issue.

The “Occupy” demonstrators all over the country include students who see no future with their skyrocketing education costs and lack of job opportunities; senior citizens who have seen their pensions and 401 Ks decimated; middle class homeowners who have been foreclosed on, after losing their employment; veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have few opportunities after sacrificing for their country; and every day average Americans who insist on a sense of fairness and equal opportunity for all, not just the wealthy and corporations!

If mayors and college administrators decide to use police in a forceful way against peaceful demonstrators, they should be forced out as working against American traditions of the right of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition for the redress of grievances!

And those conservative talk show hosts who condemn these demonstrators and condone police violence against them need to be boycotted by all decent Americans, who are tired of their backing of the wealthy and the corporations!

Newt Gingrich: Flip Flopper Par Excellence!

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Many political observers have pointed out that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor, is a “Flip Flopper” on almost every issue, which he most certainly is!

But his new major rival, Newt Gingrich, who is surging in the polls, has also proved to be a major “Flip Flopper” par excellence.

He has changed his views on:

1. Climate Change
2. Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicare
3. Mandates for Health Care legislation
4. Libya Policy
5. Education Reform
6. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
7. His religious beliefs
8. His Views on Lobbying and Earmarks
9. His opposition to torture
10.His views on the environment

Gingrich has proved that there is no issue that he will not change his views if it will advance his lust for power and influence and public attention. He is a man without principle except his own advancement!

Alarming Rise In White Supremacist Groups Since 2009

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The issue of white supremacist groups has always been worrisome in America, but the growth of such movements has multiplied since the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009.

In less than three years, the number of white supremacist groups has gone up more than five hundred percent, from 149 to a new total of 824.

This is a very disturbing, but truthfully, not surprising trend, but it demonstrates how long a road we have to go to overcome hate and prejudice in this country.

Of course, this growth is not just about African Americans, but also Hispanics, Latinos, immigrants in general, with the general mood in politics being one of promoting fear and hatred, particularly in the heartland of the nation, as well as in the Republican Party!

Newt Gingrich, The Hypocrite: The Nerve To Condemn “Occupy Wall Street” As People Who “Need To Bathe And Get A Job”

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Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, and front runner for the GOP nomination in many polls, has often said he regrets actions and statements he has made in his past.

Well known for his lack of ethics and no morals at all, Gingrich claimed by becoming a Catholic that he had reformed, and that has turned out to be a lie!

Gingrich, now that he is surging in the polls, is showing his ugly, hypocritical side again and again, reminding us that a “leopard does not change its spots!”

He says liberals, progressives and the left have lost their “moral compass”, an ironic thing for a man to say who has been an adulterer multiple times, and has been shown to have been involved in ethical violations in the House of Representatives leadership, and to have lied incessantly!

He also, as stated earlier in another entry, suggests that young children who are poor should clean their schools, in place of janitors, advocating a return to child labor.

And he has the nerve to state that the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrators in New York City and elsewhere “need a bath and to get a job”, as if these people are not facing the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, and the fact that there are not anywhere near enough jobs with millions of layoffs since 2008!

This man sounds like Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL, but even more hardhearted and nasty and mean and vindictive!

The nerve of Newt Gingrich who has lived off the public dole as a government employee for so long, and then as a lobbyist and propagandist ever since, to condemn principled people who are being labeled as “losers” by the privileged and those fortunate enough not to face the horrors of long term unemployment!

Even if one is NOT religious, one should never forget the saying” “There but for the grace of God go I!”