Month: March 2013

Gay Marriage Acceptable To Majority In New Washington Post-ABC News Poll

Ronald 22 Comments

It is now clear that the American people recognize that homosexuality is not a choice, but is the way some people are born,

58 percent of those polled thought gay marriage should be legalized, as compared to 36 percent who disagreed with the concept.. The numbers have almost exactly switched in the past ten years.

Among young people, support is at an all time high of 81 percent, with 50 percent of the elderly against it. And a small majority of Republicans and Independents under the age of 50 support gay marriage, although 70 percent of Republicans over the age of 65 oppose it, down from 80 percent.

Overall, 72 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Independents, and 59 percent of Republicans support gay marriage.

Overall, 62 percent of all polled feel that the Supreme Court should decide the issue of gay marriage on a national level and based on the US Constitution, not allowing state by state, much like the Loving V. Virginia case on interracial marriage decided the issue nationally in 1967.

This week, what could be the most dynamic case of the Court in many years will be argued on the constitutionality of the Defense Of Marriage Act of 1996, and Proposition 8 of the state of California. The decision could transform American society in a dramatic way!

Barack Obama, The Successful Diplomat In The Middle East!

Ronald 3 Comments

President Barack Obama is finishing a triumphant trip to the Middle East, having visited Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan, and making clear the following:

America will continue to be backing Israel in any threat from any source, including Iran.

The only way to ultimate peace and tranquility is for there to be a Palestinian state alongside Israel, with both accepting the reality of a moderate government that respects the rights of both nations, and gives opportunity to young Palestinians and young Israelis for a future secure and prosperous existence.

Obama was able to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to apologize to Turkey for an unfortunate naval incident in 2010, therefore helping to restore good relations between the two nations, an important development for Middle East stability.

It is clear that a large portion of the Israeli people, particularly the young, admire Obama, based on the reception he received in his most important speech, one of the greatest of the Obama Presidency. The government of Netanyahu is, clearly, more hawkish than the general Israeli population, but Ohama is working on him to promote hopes for a peaceful resolution, ultimately, of the Middle East conflict!

Barack Obama knows that Netanyahu must deal with him, and Obama now has the upper hand, but with the assurance that America will act, if need be, against an Iranian nuclear threat!

ObamaCare At Three Years: A Significant Moment In American History!

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It has now been three years since ObamaCare became law, and the full extent of the law will take effect in 2014, but already millions of Americans have benefited from the provisions, including children covered to age 26, lower drug costs for seniors, and pre-existing conditions no longer a reason to deny a child or adult’s ability to gain health insurance coverage.

The health insurance companies have raised rates in a desperate attempt to harm ObamaCare, and the Republican House of Representatives has voted 36 times to repeal the health care legislation, but it has all been for show, and there is no way that ObamaCare will be repealed, even if the Republicans gained the Senate in 2014, as the President would be able to veto a repeal, and the GOP could never gain a two thirds override to overcome the Presidential veto.

And any attempt to repeal, were it possible to achieve, would so disrupt the health care being made available to up to 50 million or more people, that it would be a crime to take away what has been gained by those who did not have health care coverage before!

Health care has been transformed forever, thanks to the support of Chief Justice John Roberts, who had the decisive vote last June, and he will go down in history in a positive light, and it is hoped that his views on constitutional matters will become more moderate, and that he will back gay marriage, support continuation of the Voting Rights Act, and take an enlightened position on other issues.

But even if he does not, Roberts has changed the course of history, with the assistance of the four Democratic appointments to the Supreme Court!

Last Four Originally Elected Democratic Presidents Were Underdogs: Will That Happen Again In 2016?

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In the past half century, four Democratic nominees for President, all considered “underdogs”, were elected President.

John F. Kennedy was an underdog in 1960, being a Roman Catholic nominee, thought unlikely to be nominated or elected, but defeating Vice President Richard Nixon, who was far better known.

Jimmy Carter was an underdog in 1976, the first Southern nominee for President since Zachary Taylor in 1848, and really considered the longest of long shots to be the Democratic nominee, and yet won the Presidency over President Gerald Ford.

Bill Clinton was an underdog in 1992, considered part of the “second tier” of possible Democratic nominees for President, and thought to be “dead in the water”, due to the Gennifer Flowers sex scandal, but managing to be the “Comeback Kid”, and win the nomination and the election against President George H. W. Bush.

And Barack Obama was certainly considered an underdog to Hillary Clinton in 2008, and being African American, seemed a particularly “long shot” to go all the way to the Presidency, defeating Senator John McCain of Arizona.

All four Democratic winners all had youth–Kennedy at 43, Carter at 52, Clinton at 46, and Obama at 47 years of age. And get this–these four men were elected exactly SIXTEEN years apart–1960, 1976, 1992, and 2008!

Could this happen again?

Hillary Clinton is seen as the clear front runner, and Joe Biden is the second established “veteran” in the potential race for President in 2016.

But could it be that Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland, or Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, or Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, or Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, or Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, or a future Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, or Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts would end up as a sudden surprise during the primaries and caucuses in 2016, and emerge the nominee and the winner of the Presidency?

Who can say, but the past COULD be an indicator of the future!

Quinnipiac Poll: Hillary Clinton Would Defeat Jeb Bush And Marco Rubio In Florida In 2016 Presidential Poll

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Bad news for the Republican Party: Two of their more viable candidates, both from the significant “swing” state of Florida, former Governor Jeb Bush, and Senator Marco Rubio, would lose big time to Hillary Clinton in their home state, an absolutely amazing result.

Clinton would defeat Bush by 51-40 and Rubio by 52-41, and former Governor Charlie Crist, who switched from Republican to Independent to Democrat, and is considering challenging Florida Governor Rick Scott for reelection in 2014, leads Scott by the massive margin of 50-34 percent.

This is far ahead, but portends bad news for Florida’s Governor next year, and for the GOP in 2016, if they cannot win Florida with candidates from Florida!

And since illegal immigration is a hot issue, and neither Bush nor Rubio nor Rand Paul nor really anyone else considering running, is unwilling to consider a pathway to citizenship for eleven million people, there is no way that, with the increasing Hispanic and Latino vote, that ANY Republican can win the White House anytime soon, not just in 2016 but beyond!

Hillary Clinton’s Endorsement Of Gay Marriage: What It Portends

Ronald 3 Comments

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has finally endorsed gay marriage in a strong public statement, mirroring her husband’s statement that the Defense of Marriage Act, passed during his Presidency in 1996, was a mistake, and that it was time for it to be repealed.

Hillary Clinton has always been a strong supporter of gay rights, but avoided gay marriage until now.

The question is why, and there are three answers:

The Supreme Court is about to hear a case that could transform this nation on the subject of marriage, unlike anything since Loving V Virginia in 1967, which finally declared interracial marriage to be constitutional. Extra pressure on the Court at a time like this cannot help but possibly influence Justice Anthony Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts, either or both who could be the decisive votes on the case.

Many Democrats have endorse gay marriage, including President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and potential Democratic nominees for President, including Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland, so if Hillary Clinton is soon to decide to run for President in 2016 she would, obviously, need to get into line on the issue.

Also, Hillary could be taking this step out of pure principle, and belief that the time is right for this significant social advancement.

No matter what the motivation, and it is probably all three, it is proper to salute Hillary Clinton for speaking up, once again, for human rights and human dignity!

CNN And The Steubenville, Ohio Rape Coverage: Disgraceful!

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CNN has been declining in quality rapidly, and is losing its reputation as, supposedly, the most “balanced” cable news channel!

To watch Anchor Candy Crowley and correspondent Poppy Harlow talk ad infinitum about the loss of potential in two young football players in Steubenville, Ohio, who were convicted of raping a 16 year girl at a party, taping it, spreading it through social media, and bragging over their conquest, was enough to make one want to vomit!

What is the matter with these women, particularly the fact that they are WOMEN, that they express no concern or empathy for the female victim of the rape?

Who cares about whether these two young men are now to be listed as sex offenders, and that they will have a police record that will haunt them for the rest of their lives? Who cares that they will be incarcerated for their horrific crime?

This is a sign of what has happened in our society, the lack of respect for women and their basic human rights!

And when you have Christian pastors and Republican politicians who make clear their contempt for the rights of women, and can even justify rape as possibly having its virtues, including requiring that a child conceived in rape should be taken to birth, it makes one understand that with all of the great advancements for women in the past fifty years, there is still a long road to true respect and equality for women, in relation to men who seem to think, whether they are high school football players, clergymen, or politicians, that they should, somehow, be able to control women and their every action, including their pregnancies, their manner of dress, and their overall behavior, as, after all, men should, somehow, not be held accountable for their own actions, statements, and behavior!

It is also way past time for the news media at all levels, including social media, to stop degrading women in all kinds of ways, and for women reporters and anchors to do so, makes it even worse, so SHAME ON YOU to CNN, and a profuse apology is required!

Ten Years Since Onset Of Iraq War: Worst Foreign Policy Disaster In American History

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It has been ten years since George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and others took America into a war on false pretenses, a war in Iraq that turned out to be the worst foreign policy disaster in American history.

It was a war of choice, based on faulty intelligence, but backed by many major newspapers and by Democratic political leaders, as well as Republicans.

The Iraq War prevented America from winning the Afghanistan War, as it diverted our attention from the war against Al Qaeda..

It led to about 4,500 dead American soldiers and about 32,500 wounded. And the involvement was the longest war in American history, except for the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

The question is whether the United States has learned anything, and will not allow itself to be fooled and misled about intelligence in the future, as we face possible threats of war with Iran, ironically the more dangerous nation than Iraq, and emboldened by our war there to build up its nuclear potential.

Republican National Committee Report: “Too Old, Too White, Too Insular”, But Is Change Of Tone Enough?

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The Republican National Committee has come up with a 100 page report, making clear that the party is in deep trouble because it is seen by the general population as “too old, too white, too insular”, and that a change of “tone” is needed!

Actually, the report does not go far enough, as the party is also seen as a party that is against women, against Hispanics and Latinos, against African Americans, against Asian Americans, against the younger generation, against gays and lesbians, against the poor, against the working class, against the middle class, against the environment, against labor unions, against science, against the environment—while being pro the top two percent, pro corporation, pro foreign policy interventions overseas, pro extreme right wing evangelical Christianity, pro gun rights, and condemning of the news media, the universities, and the entertainment industry!

The GOP has a need to change a great deal, but based on the Conservative Political Action Conference display of its motivations and statements, and the embarrassment of many of the speakers, including Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann among many others, their road back to majority status is a very long one, and possibly will never occur!

50th Anniversary Of Civil Liberties Victory: Gideon V. Wainwright!

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Fifty years ago today, the United States Supreme Court made one of its most important civil liberties decisions in American history, and in the history of the Warren Court.

Chief Justice Earl Warren, appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 to lead the Supreme Court, and doing so for sixteen years until his retirement in 1969, led a Court that greatly expanded civil liberties in so many ways, and had an impact beyond the retirement of Warren himself.

Gideon V. Wainwright would guarantee that all criminal suspects were entitled to a court appointed lawyer in court if they were indigent, as to do otherwise would deny equal justice under the law.

It meant that lack of financial assets, or a state of poverty, would not prevent someone accused of a crime from having representation in court.

Many might not think this could apply to them in some future scenario, but this was an important victory for civil liberties and human rights, and would have the effect of equalizing the balance between prosecutors and defense in a criminal court case, and that is a good thing for the image of equal justice under the law!