Day: April 20, 2012

Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Secret Service Protection, And American Taxpayers

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Ron Paul is still, technically, in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination, but has refused Secret Service protection, not wishing to bilk taxpayers for the cost of protection.

Newt Gingrich, technically, is still a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination, but like Paul, has absolutely no chance to be the nominee of the party.

But Gingrich insists on keeping Secret Service protection at taxpayers’ expense until the Tampa Republican National Convention in late August.

This protection costs the taxpayers close to $40,000 a day, the equivalent of the average American’s annual salary. So if Gingrich does indeed continue to have Secret Service protection for another four months, it will cost taxpayers almost $5 million, at a time when his party complains about any expense of the federal government.

Why is Gingrich insisting on protection? It is clear that it is because Newt Gingrich is an arrogant egotistical maniac, a person loves to talk about how brilliant and important he is, and has no concern about saving the government money.

Maybe also it is because Gingrich knows he has made enemies with his rhetoric and divisive behavior over the years. Well, that is HIS problem, because he refuses to ride into the “sunset”!

Also, maybe he feels a need to have Secret Service protection to prevent against another penguin assault on his finger! LOL

Seriously, there is NO reason for Gingrich to be protected anymore, and he should be denied security coverage! Let him hire his own protection, as President Richard Nixon did in his later years.

And this is a moment to applaud and hail Ron Paul for his totally different perspective, wishing to save the taxpayers money. Thanks so much, Ron Paul!

Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day: A Reminder Of The Threat Which Remains

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Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the commemoration of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis in World War II, is a somber day annually.

President Barack Obama marked the occasion this morning by calling for greater efforts against Holocaust denial and anti Semitism, and vigilance against current and future atrocities.

There was also commemoration at the Pentagon and at the US Capitol, and the President will visit the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC on Monday with Holocaust survivors.

It is not just Iran that is seen as a threat against the Jewish people. Worldwide, and in the United States, there are groups that celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday, which ironically is today, There are also right wing militia groups which promote hate and prejudice against Jews, as well as other minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans.

Particularly in Florida, the location of the third largest group of Jews and Holocaust survivors after New York and California, Anti Semitism is a major problem that is of concern every day.

But the commemoration reminds us of what happened 70 years ago, and it must not be allowed to be forgotten when the last Holocaust survivors pass away in the next ten to twenty years!

A Long Range Vision For The Future Of American Transportation: Bullet Trains

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As America continues to grow in population and become more congested on the coastlines, in Texas, and in the Midwest around Chicago, there needs to be a long range vision for the future of American transportation.

In the past, we had the transcontinental railroad system, promoted by Abraham Lincoln and others in the 1860s.

We also had the interstate highway system, originally promoted by Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s.

Now we need other Republicans, which Lincoln and Eisenhower were, to join hands with Democrats, and people of good will, to recognize the need to commit funding to the long range vision of bullet trains in key areas of the nation, highly congested areas, which are already being strangled by traffic jams, no matter how fast road building and expansion go on.

It is also an issue of the automobile never going down in cost, and the gasoline utilized going sky high in price, and unlikely to go down very much in the long term future.

More and more young people are seeing the cost of automobiles, and fewer are buying cars and using cars, preferring to use modern technology and live closer to urban areas, as the great suburban expansion is winding down.

Therefore, for the reason of costs of automobiles and oil, plus the desire to live closer to metropolitan areas, and the traffic congestion which is exasperating to millions, the future is in bullet trains that will travel between major cities all over America.

Florida Governor Rick Scott made a mistake in rejecting the idea of a bullet train between Tampa and Orlando, with connections down to Miami, and Florida will suffer for it in the long term future.

But there are other areas that really need to plan ahead for bullet trains, including:

The Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC.

The Midwest Corridor, centered around Chicago, but including Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland and St Louis at a minimum.

The Texas Corridor, connecting major cities in this gigantic state, including El Paso, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.

The California Corridor, connecting the state capital of Sacramento with San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

If we do not recognize the value of these bullet train projects, and the environmental and transportation advantages, we will pay for it in the long run. We cannot afford to be ostriches with our heads in the sand, but instead need a long range vision, as Lincoln and Eisenhower had!

Earth Day: A Time For Concern Of Control By Conservatives And Right Wing Christians Denying Reality!

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We will be celebrating Earth Day again on Sunday, first declared by President Richard Nixon in 1970, after promotion the previous year by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.

42 years later, instead of dealing with our environment on an emergency basis, instead we have the power of corporate interests, conservatives, and right wing Christians, who deny global warming, climate change, and even the concept of evolution.

This globe is in a growing crisis, but if you look at the Republican Party and conservative talk radio, you would not know it!

Instead of working toward solutions that will preserve the planet for the next century and beyond, we have people invoking God and putting their heads in the sand!

And behind all this is the goal of a small elite, including the Koch Brothers, enriching themselves at the expense of the rest of us.

So while we can celebrate Earth Day, we must realize that we are living in a time of denial and illusion!

What Is Wrong With Mitt Romney? The Bethel Bakery And Liberty University Commencement Speech Controversies

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What is it about Mitt Romney?

Romney has absolutely no sense of propriety, of what is right to do for his own candidacy!

Romney was in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area the other day, trying to relate to “ordinary people” at a gathering, sitting down at a table to have a snack of cookies, provided by a local bakery of reputation, the Bethel Bakery.

So what does he do? He questions whether the cookies are really made by a local bakery, thinking they are from the local 7 11, and thereby insulting the owner of Bethel Bakery, and making the incident yet another embarrassment, and slip up on the part of Romney, who has had so many, it is easy now to lose count! A basic rule of civility is to NEVER criticize food provided by a host!

Heads have to be shaking and eyes rolling over Romney’s ability to self destruct. YES, we are all human and make mistakes, but if Romney can make this many on silly, stupid things, imagine him making decisions on important matters!

Then, to top it off, it was announced that Romney will give the commencement address to the graduating class at Liberty University in Virginia, operated by the son and heir of the dead Christian TV evangelist, Jerry Falwell, the founder of the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition.

Liberty University, now run by Jerry Falwell, Jr, is infamous for condemning homosexuality, and banning any known gay students or faculty. It is also where Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia wrote a masters thesis, condemning “cohabitors, homosexuals, and fornicators”, and also attacked feminists, working women, and contraception by unmarried couples. He also condemned unwed mothers, no fault divorce, the New Deal, the Great Society, and he called for punishment for pornography, homosexuality and drug abuse by the state! This is the man who is Governor of Virginia, and a front runner for Vice Presidential nominee with Mitt Romney!

This is the university that Mitt Romney has agreed to speak before its graduating class! The question is WHY, as this only contributes to putting Romney “in bed” with the extreme right wing Christian conservative fanatics who promote hate and prejudice! Is this the way that Romney wishes to look to the average independent voter, to the average woman, to the average Hispanic or Latino, and YES, to gay men and women, a substantial number who are registered Republican? Is this his way to overcome his Mormon faith, which many right wing conservatives think of as a cult?

What is wrong with Mitt Romney’s head, his thinking pattern, his wife even (who could convince him of the stupidity of doing a commencement speech for the Jerry Falwell school)?

This is why Mitt Romney is going to be a total disaster for the Republican Party in 2012. He makes one long for John McCain in 2008, Bob Dole in 1996, and get this, even George W. Bush in 2000, with his vision of a “Compassionate Conservatism”, before the disaster of the Bush Presidency had a chance to emerge over the next eight years!