Month: October 2013

America The Leader Of The World? On Health Care Access, NO WAY!

Ronald 2 Comments

Americans love to brag that we are the leaders of the free world, and the model for other nations, and that we are exceptional, better than any other nation.

And then we look at the issue of access to health care, and discover, how backward we have been, and yet we have Republicans and conservatives doing everything possible to insure that access to health care is denied to tens of millions of less fortunate Americans! They are fighting ObamaCare as if it is the greatest evil possible!

And while many say they believe in a right to life, that does not, apparently, include the right to a decent life, with good health care options, that insure a long life, now does it?

The hypocrisy is so apparent, and yet, there are no apologies or alternatives offered by Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, or really ANY Republicans in Washington, DC, who offer no alternative and could not care less about people with pre-existing conditions, or poor, or disabled, or senior, or single mothers with children, who are being forced to go bankrupt and lose their homes over medical costs, because they have no health care coverage, or inadequate coverage

And these hypocrites have the gall to call themselves religious, claiming that their belief in Christianity or Judaism does not include concern about those less fortunate. Their only concern is how to avoid spending an extra penny or dollar that might help others obtain what they have always had, decent health care coverage!

When one examines what nations have universal health care, they include almost all nations in Europe, plus major nations in Latin America and Asia and Canada and Australia, and even a few in the Middle East! And yet, we are still fighting over this basic right that all people should have–access to decent health care!

113th Congress Far Worse Than Least Productive Congress In American History, 112th Congress!

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The 112th Congress of 2011-2012 produced the fewest laws in modern history, a total of 283. It was thought that was a low that could not be surpassed.

But the present 113th Congress is reaching a new low that is hard to conceptualize, as it has passed only 36 laws, and the public opinion rating of Congress is at an all time low, about 10 percent, with a poll showing that a majority of Americans believe that a random group of people chosen to replace the present Congress could do a better job!

Both parties are suffering in public opinion, but the Republican Party brand is in free fall, as a result of shutting down the government for 16 days and threatening rejection of the raising of the debt ceiling. The GOP is involved in a civil war between the establishment and the libertarians and Tea Party Movement, and Wall Street is working to support establishment, mainstream conservatives over the Tea Party brand in Congressional races for 2014, with the distinct possibility that the Democrats have a chance to gain control of the House of Representatives, and keep control of the US Senate.

The gerrymandering of House districts, however, makes taking over the House a major problem for Democrats for the remainder of the decade, but since only 17 seats are needed to gain the majority, the potential is there, if the public opinion ratings of the Republicans continue their collapse that is going on at the moment.

The problem is that a year is a long time in American politics, and anything can happen, as people have short memories!

Lies, Deception, Fear, Hypocrisy Being Utilized By Right Wing To Destroy ObamaCare

Ronald 14 Comments

There have been so many lies, deceptions, fears, and hypocrisy stoked by the right wing in America to destroy ObamaCare before it goes into effect.

The argument that ObamaCare has caused massive loss of full time employment is a total lie, as that has been going on since the Great Recession of 2008.

The argument that the individual mandate will force people to pay a fine, without any way to avoid it, is a lie, as no one will be prosecuted if they do not pay it, with the only purpose being to convince Americans of the importance of being insured for their health.

The argument that prices for health insurance will double and triple is a lie, as government subsidies will be provided for people up to four times the poverty income for a family of four.

Many ignorant, prejudiced people, many of whom are racists, will not associate with anything connected to Barack Obama, even with proof that it would save them money. It has already been shown to be true that people tied to an ideological commitment, are willing to lie openly on television about their situations in an interview arranged by Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel, who has no trouble lying through his teeth, exploiting any situation to fulfill his need to enrich himself, and can look straight in the camera as he knows that he, and people who he knows are lying and deceiving, go right ahead and do so on his television show. And this is common all the time on radio talk shows of the right wing, and on Fox News Channel, by people determined to make sure that tens of millions of Americans have no ability to have coverage for their children to age 26; make sure that pre-existing conditions not be covered for millions of children and adults; and make sure that the closing of the “donut hole” for senior citizens on their prescription medications not be covered.

This is class warfare, trying to turn the 85 percent who have health care against the concept that the other 15 percent should have the same right to health care at reasonable cost.

This is the right wing Heritage Foundation, headed by extremist right winger Jim DeMint, formerly Senator from South Carolina, hiding the fact that it was that group which proposed what is now ObamaCare in 1993, as an alternative to HillaryCare, the Clinton health care plan, which was more extreme in its approach to health care, than the plan now law, which is also so much like RomneyCare in Massachusetts. So a Republican plan adopted by Barack Obama is suddenly “socialism”, which it is not in any sense.

How can one look at this, except to call it the BIG LIE technique, utilized in dictatorships, by such luminaries as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and others as the method to expand their power at the detriment of the population?

The Worst Possible Scenario: A Republican House And Democratic Senate!

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History has taught us that the worst possible scenario in Congress is a Republican House of Representatives and Democratic Senate.

Since 2011, we have had this scenario, and it has been a total disaster as the GOP has made it impossible to deal with the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The last time we had such a scenario is a century and a half earlier in 1859-1861, when James Buchanan was President, and the GOP was a new party, and anarchy and chaos reigned in the nation’s capital.

When we have had a Democratic House and Republican Senate as under William Howard Taft (1911-1913), Herbert Hoover (1931-1933), and Ronald Reagan (1981-1987), all Republican Presidents, some progress and cooperation has been possible.

Notice that when Buchanan was in office, and Obama now, it was Democratic Presidents facing an impossible situation with a party dedicated to no cooperation at all on anything!

While the Republican Party of the 1850s was more to be admired for principles, the fact is that Republican control of the lower House has led to stalemate and gridlock.

One could argue that even if the GOP won the Senate, it would not change things much, as the requirement for a 60 vote majority to invoke cloture and overcome a filibuster makes the Senate always a problem in any situation, but the power of the purse in the House makes that chamber MORE important to control.

So for Obama’s last two years, control of the House, which brought about more productivity in 2009-2010 than any modern Congress, and was under Democratic control, is more urgent than control of the US Senate.

And when the opposition party has controlled both houses of Congress, as has occurred a lot in recent history, much more gets done than in a split Congress.

These are the facts of Congressional history, like it or not!

State Run Health Exchanges Working Better Than Federal Health Site: Republican Run States Are Helping To Damage ObamaCare By Refusal To Cooperate

Ronald 7 Comments

It is an interesting development that those states which have decided to cooperate on ObamaCare by working on promoting the plan through state websites are having success in people being able to access information, and knowing their state governments are trying to help them succeed in their quest for health insurance.

Meanwhile, however, the vast majority of states, mostly run by Republican Governors, have put barriers in the way of cooperation, forcing the federal government to take care of millions of insurance seekers without any desire of the state governments involved to promote health care for their citizens who do not have it.

This is unconscionable, and demonstrates how the GOP is working to undermine any chance of success by their refusal to cooperate for the betterment of their less fortunate populations, much of it poor people, single mothers and children, minorities, and low paid workers of all races.

If the ObamaCare program fails, it will NOT be because of the glitches involved, but the immoral and unethical refusal of Republicans to care about their own populations that they govern, and it may just succeed in many states, as politics, and refusal to allow a success of the signature program of Barack Obama, is the priority over human lives and health, sad to say!

Gay Marriage Acceptance Building, As New Jersey Becomes 14th State To Adopt It

Ronald 1 Comment

New Jersey became today the 14th state to allow gay marriage, making the entire Northeast ten of the 14 states that permit it.

All of the New England states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island), along with the Mid Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, now have same sex marriage.

Additionally, Iowa and Minnesota in the Midwest have it, as well as Washington State and California on the Pacific Coast.

Waiting in the wings are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois in the Midwest (in different stages of the struggle for acceptance), and Colorado, Oregon and Hawaii in the West, making a likelihood of 21 states within the next year or two, which will have allowed such marriages.

This will mean about 155 million Americans will be living in states that permit same sex marriage by the end of 2014 or early 2015, nearly half the population of the nation, including also Washington, DC and New York City as municipalities which allow it.

There will still be vehement opposition to the concept of same sex marriage, but the reality is that it is here to stay for good, and will continue to spread nationwide over time.

The Kansas Nebraska Act (1854) Compared To ObamaCare? George Will And Michael Barone Lose ALL Credibility!

Ronald 3 Comments

Conservative columnists are starting to lose their sanity, and two of those are George Will and Michael Barone.

Will has always been seen as an “intelligent” conservative, who used to be on ABC News, but is now on Fox News Channel, which may explain his loss of intellect recently!, Michael Barone has published, on an even year basis for the past 42 years, the great research work, THE ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS, of which this author owns all 22 volumes proudly. But Barone, also on Fox News Channel often, is also writing ridiculously lately on many issues.

Both of these gentlemen, who should know better, are comparing ObamaCare to the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, calling ObamaCare the biggest disaster since that infamous law which allowed the expansion of slavery into the territories. The Kansas Nebraska Act destroyed the Whig Party, created the Republican Party, and helped to provoke civil war in Kansas, which eventually led to the Civil War.

How could anyone, supposedly intelligent, compare a law which promoted expansion of slavery to one providing basic health care to tens of millions of Americans who have not had access to health care which has caused the death of millions over decades unnecessarily?

It is obscene that anyone could make such comparisons, but this is the silly, reckless season of total demagoguery.

And this includes the esteemed African American surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Carson, who is now seeking political ambitions, and has the gall to compare ObamaCare to slavery! How can he expect to be taken seriously, and in so doing, he is condemning millions of poor people, white and minority, to the continuation of inferior health care access, or none at all!

These three gentlemen need to realize they lose all creditability when they state ridiculous, asinine statements such as the above, and need to apologize, but will they? The answer is NO, as they all benefit economically by their demagogic statements! What a disgrace!

The One Virtue Of The Government Shutdown: John Boehner And Mitch McConnell Will NOT Support Another Such Shutdown!

Ronald 5 Comments

The one virtue that comes out of the federal government shutdown, which cost the Gross Domestic Product $1.5 billion a day, a total of $24 billion for 16 days, is that it has convinced GOP leaders that the tactic will not work,

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that he will NOT allow another government shutdown, as he is well aware how it has hurt the Republican brand, with nothing gained by the action. He will face a Tea Party opponent in the Kentucky Senate primary, including the opposition of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Cruz, but this should make a good case for opposition to those Tea Party lunatics who have no concern about the effect on the American economy of what they supported.

Speaker John Boehner has not stated quite the same sentiments, but it is clear that he will not support such a looney concept the next time, as he ended up backing away at the brink of the crisis.

Yes, McConnell and Boehner are both to be condemned for their handling of the situation, but at the end, both were ultimately responsible when push came to shove, and they and the Establishment Republicans have learned a hard lesson,

With the help of Wall Street, the Tea Party lunatics will face challenges in the primaries from mainstream Republican conservatives, and hopefully, some will lose their seats either to these establishment types, or the seats will swing over to the Democrats, with the chance of a Democratic takeover growing, and the likelihood of a Republican takeover of the US Senate a less likely scenario, as a result of the government shutdown and debt ceiling debacle.

As Barack Obama declared, it is time for serious action on immigration, tax reform, and the farm bill, instead of wasting time on what is ultimately a lost cause, the destruction of ObamaCare by repeal, which is NOT going to happen.

Anyone who seriously thinks the Tea Party Movement will triumph in 2014 and elect Ted Cruz President in 2016, with a Republican House and Senate, is certainly using hallucinatory drugs, and needs to be hospitalized for mental observation!

Cory Booker Becomes Fourth Elected African American Senator In US History!

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Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker has become the fourth elected African American Senator in US history, as a result of a special election to fill the unexpired time in the term of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg.

Booker will have to run for a full term in November 2014, but would be heavily favored, since he won the seat at an odd time for an election by the margin of about ten points.

So Booker follows Edward Brooke (R) of Massachusetts (1967-1985); Carol Moseley Braun (D) of Illinois (1993-1999); and Barack Obama (D) of Illinois (2005-2009) in being elected.

Senator Tim Scott (R) of South Carolina, appointed to fill the vacancy left by resigning Senator Jim DeMint in January of this year, will face election in 2014, and is considered likely to retain his seat in the US Senate.

Two others were temporary appointments—Roland Burris (D) of Illinois (2009-2010), who replaced Obama; and Mo Cowan (D) of Massachusetts ( four and a half months in 2013), who replaced John Kerry.

And Mississippi had two Republican Senators during Reconstruction who were African American, and were selected by the state legislature—Hiram Revels (1870-1871) for about one year; and Blanche Bruce (1875-1881) for a full six year term.

Booker would be seen as likely to have a long, productive career in the US Senate, and be a potential Presidential candidate in the near and far future!

The Tea Party Threat To Conservative Republican Senators In 2014

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The Tea Party Movement is now threatening conservative Republican Senators coming up for re-election in 2014, who they regard as not conservative enough, including

Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
Pat Roberts of Kansas
Thad Cochran of Mississippi

It is not as if any of these five Senators are flaming liberals, or even know what the word “moderate” is, but to the Tea Party Movement, they are RINOS (Republican In Name Only).

The effect of the right wing attack on these Senators is that some, or all of them, may be replaced by more extremist candidates, and in some cases, Democrats might win the seats.

And it makes the idea of cooperation and “crossing the aisle” in the future even more unlikely, and makes stalemate and gridlock the long term future in the Senate, as well as it already is in the House of Representatives.

Imagine having to root for these Senators to keep their seats, or their possible replacement by Democrats, by far the better scenario!

Such is the craziness of the Tea Party Movement, and its disastrous effect on American politics! It needs to be rooted out as a cancer that must be eradicated as undermining the American future, and bringing us back to the 19th century!