Day: November 7, 2012

What Barack Obama’s Election To A Second Term As President Means

Ronald 3 Comments

The second term victory of Barack Obama has many meanings, including:

ObamaCare is here to stay, although there will be tinkering and fine tuning of the program. Who would have thought that Chief Justice John Roberts would save it, and that the ability of the Republican Party to smash it would be a total failure?

The Supreme Court is safe from a right wing tilt, as it is now Barack Obama and a stronger Democratic Senate who will have control over future Court appointments, and lower court nominees as well, and therefore, Obama’s effect on constitutional law will be massive.

The advance of gay rights and gay marriage is now guaranteed, and expect that the Supreme Court will rule on it soon, very likely favorably, and that never again will any state or any religious group be able to deny a basic human right to anyone, the right to marry a person you love.

The environment will be advanced greatly, and likely, often by executive order. Expect that Barack Obama will accomplish enough reform, that he will rank with Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter as an environmentalist.

The labor movement, in deep trouble for a long time, will now have a champion who will help to revive it, and gain the respect of the American people for the importance of unions.

There will be attempts to deal with the problem of poverty, and expect that Obama will attempt to do what Al Gore planned, had he been inaugurated as President in 2001— a War on Poverty.

Wall Street knows it will have a President who intends to fight them on the subject of regulation, as the voters made clear they wanted government oversight of the financial industry in the public interest.

The right of women to control their reproductive lives, and to have equal pay and respect, will be championed by Barack Obama. No more disrespect for women will become part of the agenda.

The ability to help Latinos and Hispanics achieve advancement in America will be promoted, as they made a dramatic difference in this election, and a plan for immigration reform will move forward, as even sane people in the Republican Party, such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, know it is essential for political survival, as well as being what is moral and ethical.

Taxes will go up to make up for past irresponsibility on paying for two wars, and is essential to make budget cuts less onerous, and the rich will go back to paying the rates they paid under Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and they will simply have to understand we are all going to have to sacrifice for the good of the nation and its future.

The possibility of engagement in foreign wars, including against Iran, will be lessened dramatically, although there can never be a certainty that America can avoid foreign conflict, but at least we have a President who will make every effort to avert it.

America will have a President who does not dismiss any percentage of the population, but instead a President who is sincere, genuine, caring, decent, and will work as hard as he can for our advancement. And if he makes mistakes, he will be accountable for them, and will always come across as someone who dedicates every waking moment to our success as a nation.

Barack Obama will have our back, and we will come to appreciate him in the long run of history!

The Tremendous Dedication Of American Voters In Face Of Republican Attempts To Cut Voting Numbers!

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It is well known that Republican Governors and state legislatures did everything possible to cut down voting days and hours, created photo ID barriers, and to intimidate voters though the organization True-The Vote.

Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and other GOP governed states were outrageous in their misbehavior, and in Florida, 24 hours after the polls officially closed, the vote count goes on, and there is still no declaration of whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney has won the state’s electoral votes, although Obama is ahead in popular votes.

Some people in Florida and elsewhere waited up to seven hours, and as late as 1 AM, determined to cast their vote, and it turned out, the anger of voters showed in the results nationwide, heavily against the Republican Party, and those denying a basic democratic right, the right to vote!

Governor Rick Scott of Florida should be kicked out of office for cutting the number of days for early voting from 14 to 8, and refusing to extend voting, with long lines occurring, for the final Sunday and Monday before Election Day.

Hopefully, the anger of voters will continue to reverberate, and the “Bully Governors” and their party members in the legislatures will be summarily kicked out of office in 2014, as a disgrace to the offices they hold!

2012 Presidential Campaign Proved That Billionaires Could NOT Control Result!

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The Koch Brothers, Sheldon Adelson, and other billionaires spent tens of millions of dollars in 2012 to make our country a plutocracy, and failed.

Linda McMahon spent $100 million to “buy” a Senate seat in Connecticut and failed.

Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman spent $100 million each to “buy” the Senate seat and Governor’s chair in California in 2010 and failed.

So the Citizens United Case in 2010 failed to change our system as much as we feared, and the Court looks horrible, and it is time for them to accept a case and reverse themselves IMMEDIATELY!

Theodore Roosevelt was right 100 years ago—the powerful plutocracy should NOT control our political system!

Mitt Romney’s Concession Speech: Classy, But Too Much Delayed! Now “Family Time” !

Ronald 2 Comments

Mitt Romney gave a classy concession speech early this morning, calling for unity and support for joint action on the nation’s problems.

It took him much too long to come out, making him, briefly, look like a sore loser, but he then redeemed himself.

If only his campaign had been as redeeming, and he had shown some character and principle, rather than lying constantly, and proving to be a complete chameleon and phony!

But now, it is time for him to take his wife, Ann, who suffers terribly from Multiple Sclerosis, home, and do what he should have been doing all along—NOT running for President, demonstrating family values, enjoying his wife and sons and their families, continuing to make money on money, and staying out of the political system, so that the Republican Party can reform itself as a true alternative to the Democratic Party, as it used to be in the past.

American NEEDS a responsible, legitimate two party system that does not victimize anyone, but instead brings us together!

Time To Plan Obama US MINT Presidential Medals And Obama Presidential Library

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Now that Barack Obama is safely a resident of the White House for a second term as President, it is time for the US MINT to issue a first term Presidential medal, and start planning for a second term Presidential medal, as they do for every President of the United States.

It is likely that they already have the first term medal ready for production, but we all, anxiously, await it, as there are millions of Americans, including this author, who are avid coin and medal collectors from the US MINT.

But also, more serious discussion of a Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum should move forward now, with the likelihood of the library in Chicago, maybe on the campus of the University of Chicago, where Obama was an adjunct Professor of Law for many years; and the museum being in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Obama was born and spent many years of his youth.

Since Gerald Ford has separate locations for his library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and his museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, there should be no issue to having two locations to commemorate the 44th President of the United States!

So let’s get moving !

Tea Party Nasty, Mean Spirited Conservatism Lost Big: The Republican Party MUST Change Or Be Replaced!

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The Tea Party Movement of 2010 has lost BIG in 2012, and the nasty, mean spirited conservatism it represents must be overcome by the Republican Party, which MUST change or be replaced!

Congressman Allen West of Florida, Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois, Senate nominee Todd Akin of Missouri, and Senate nominee Richard Mourdock of Indiana headline those who lost.

Never again can the Republican Party try to dictate to women about their reproductive lives; never can the GOP attack Hispanics and Latinos in a nasty, mean spirited way and expect to gain their support; never can the party of 2012 allow itself to let religious extremists to control its destiny and dictate religious doctrine to the nation at large; never can they promote foreign wars and aggression as the neoconservatives did under George W. Bush; never can they promote lack of concern for the middle class and the poor, as Mitt Romney made clear in his “47 percent” speech; never can they allow themselves to become the captive of billionaires such as Sheldon Adelson and the Koch Brothers; never can they allow Donald Trump and other jerks like him to take control of their public message: never can they allow racists and talk show hosts, such as Rush Limbaugh, and other extremists and hate mongers to dictate to them—and in many other ways, they must liberate themselves from their demons, or become part of the dustbin of history!

They must become more like the Conservative Party of Great Britain, which is far to the left of the present Republican Party, but still to the right of the Labour Party of Great Britain!

It is up to them, and purging and house cleaning must begin in earnest!

Social Advancements: Gay Marriage And Recreational Use Of Marijuana!

Ronald 2 Comments

Amazing social advancements occurred in yesterday’s election, and it will never be reversed, and will, instead spread rapidly nationwide!

Gay Marriage was approved by VOTERS in Maine and Maryland, and probably in Washington State, and Minnesota, while not allowing it , defeated a state constitutional amendment to ban it forever.

Also, Washington State and Colorado approved recreational use of marijuana in small amounts, if used at home, not in public places.

These are trends of the future, whether one likes it or not, as the point is that many people feel it is NONE of the government’s business to interfere with private life decisions!

One does not have to like the concept of gay marriage, but then many whites, particularly older ones, have a problem with racial intermarriage and integration, but the answer is “TOUGH”, as your dislike of change should not govern the lives of others! If you do not like interracial marriage or gay marriage, fine, don’t engage in it, but DO NOT use the argument of religion to interfere with others’ lives! This is a personal decision, not subject to religious viewpoints, and certainly, if churches or synagogues do not wish to engage in gay marriage ceremonies, that is their right!

As far as marijuana use for recreational purposes is concerned, this author has never smoked marijuana, but also has never smoked cigarettes nor has he ever been drunk from alcohol.

That is my personal choice, but since cigarettes and alcohol have been proved dangerous to one’s health a lot more than marijuana but are legal, there is no reason to arrest and imprison people for use of marijuana!

What liberals and progressives want is ECONOMIC regulation, not SOCIAL regulation, so kudos on the issues of gay marriage and recreational use of marijuana, and may it spread far and wide, and make the American people what they wish to be–free and in control of their own happiness!

Barack Obama Joins A Unique “Fraternity”: Presidents Who Have Won A Second Term In The White House!

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Barack Obama last night joined a unique “fraternity”—Presidents who have won a second term in the White House.

The following Presidents won a second term:

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
Abraham Lincoln
Ulysses Grant
Grover Cleveland (with one term in between where he won popular vote, but lost the electoral vote in 1888)
William McKinley
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin D. Roosevelt (who won 4 terms before 22nd Amendment was added to the Constitution)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Barack Obama

So 17 Presidents, out of 43 who have held the office, have had a second term.

Of course, Lincoln, McKinley and Nixon failed to finish their second term, with the first two assassinated, and Nixon resigning.

This is a select group, a little more than 40 percent of our Presidents, but what it offers is the likelihood that Obama will end up in the top ten of our Presidents if he has any major success in his second term!