Month: October 2021

Voting Rights Extension 2006: 98-0 In Senate! Voting Rights Extension 2021–Rejected By Republicans!

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Today is the 10th Anniversary of the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington DC.

It is very clear what Martin Luther King Jr. would say if he was alive today–total anger at what the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, has done–to work to destroy the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under Lyndon B. Johnson, and reaffirmed as recently as 2006, under President George W. Bush, when the US Senate voted 98-0 to renew it, with full backing of the Republican President and his party unanimously.

But now, in the age of Donald Trump and a Republican Party morphing into the old segregationist Southern Democratic Party from Reconstruction times to the 1960s, we are stunned to see not one Republican Senator—not even Mitt Romney, nor Ben Sasse, nor Lisa Murkowski, nor Susan Collins—willing to vote to overcome the filibuster tactic. This vote was just to consider and discuss and debate a Voting Rights Act to restore the damage done by the US Supreme Court in 2013 in Shelby County V Holder, and by many Southern and Western states legislatures since then, to restrict the right to vote, the bedrock of a democracy!

The Republican Party has lost its credibility completely as a serious alternative conservative party, and now is just a bunch of power seeking, phony so called “religious’ people, who are out to promote white supremacy, nativism and misogyny! They are out to promote election subversion and voter suppression and deny the right to vote to millions of Americans!

The party will not recover long term if it does not abandon Donald Trump now, and there is no sign of that occurring!

Nine Months Of President Joe Biden: Realism Sets In With Major Challenges Domestic And Foreign

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Today marks nine months of the Joe Biden Presidency.

This is a crucial time for Biden and the nation, as his public opinion ratings have declined, due to the constant controversy over the COVID 19 Pandemic mandates on masks and vaccinations, bitterly opposed by the right wing channels, including Fox News Channel, One America News Network (OANN), and Newsmax TV, as well as the vast number of Republican governors and members of Congress.

But also, the economic outlook is uncertain, as inflation rages, and many people are staying out of the work force, as we are seeing a massive change in the outlook of Americans toward the kind of work they have done, and wish to do in the future.

The constant debate over the social infrastructure bill is also a burden for Biden, as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and a few House Democrats are forcing a major cut in the proposed spending from $3.5 trillion to about half that amount, causing a scale back in the proposed legislation on education, health care, and most particularly on climate change actions.

Foreign policy also presents major challenges in many areas, and is always unpredictable, but the growing threat of China, international terrorism and natural disasters omnipresent, Russia, North Korea, and many other issues are always on the front burner in the White House!

At this point, an objective observer would likely give Biden a B Minus, but with hope that it may rise to B Plus or A Minus grade by the end of the year, but sadly, if the major goals are not accomplished, and if voting rights legislation and criminal justice reform are not attainable, it could go down to the C range in judgment by experts and general public opinion!

Virginia Gubernatorial Election Crucial For Joe Biden And Democrats!

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The Virginia Gubernatorial election is the most crucial for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in November, as Terry McAuliffe, who was a successful Governor from 2014-2018, is being challenged by Republican Glenn Youngkin, a businessman with no government experience, but supported wholeheartedly by former President Donald Trump.

Virginia has become very “Blue” in recent elections, and has set a standard for good state government, and it is important for a Trump lackey to be defeated, so as to undermine Donald Trump’s influence and opportunity to consider running again for President.

If McAuliffe wins soundly, it will be seen as a rebuke to Donald Trump, and might encourage some Republicans to stop bowing down to him, as if he is automatically entitled to be the Presidential nominee in 2024.

Courageous Republicans who want to save the party need for Trump and his lackeys to face defeat in Virginia and in 2022!

Bill Clinton Illness And Colin Powell Death Reminders Of Fragility Of Life

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The past few days reminds us, even if we try to forget, of the fragility of life.

First, Bill Clinton, age 75, had a dangerous urological and blood infection, that required six days in the hospital, and will require a few weeks of further recovery at home.

And this morning, we have the shocking news that former Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor Colin Powell has died of COVID 19 complications at age 84, despite having been fully vaccinated, although he was suffering from cancer.

Powell was a truly great American, a man much admired. But his defense of the claim of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) before the United Nations, which justified the Iraq War under George W. Bush at the time, was proven to be a lie, undermining somewhat his reputation.

Still, as a mainstream Republican, Powell supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020, and was an especially leading critic of the danger represented by Donald Trump.

So we are thankful that Bill Clinton is recovering from his illness, and greatly saddened by the death of Colin Powell!

The Evil Hypocrisy Of So Called “Devout” Evangelical People, Who Accept Donald Trump As Speaking For God!

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It is absolutely outrageous that many so called “devout” evangelical people accept Donald Trump as speaking for God!

Donald Trump is the complete opposite of what is considered basic teachings of Jesus, including compassion, empathy, tolerance, and promoting the best behavior by people.

Trump is supported by racists, nativists, misogynists, homophobes, Islamophobes, and antisemites, and has lied and deceived his entire life, including more than 30,000 times during his Presidency!

Trump is far from being a devout Christian as imaginable, as he only worships his own ego!

Trump provoked the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection, and continues to promote the “Big Lie”, that he won the 2020 Presidential Election!

Trump was impeached twice, and lost the popular vote both in 2016, when Russian collusion helped to put him into office, and in 2020, and both times by massive margins–2.85 million in 2016 and 7 million in 2020!

Trump’s whole purpose is to regain power and establish an authoritarian Fascist government!

For any “religious” person to see Donald Trump as speaking for God demonstrates how evil and hypocritical such individuals are, and the concept that America should become a theocracy defies the teachings of the Founding Fathers, who promoted separation of church and state!

Medicare Expansion Crucial Part Of Social Infrastructure Legislation, Needs To Be Promoted By Democrats!

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The Democratic Party leadership needs to do a real promotion of Medicare expansion, which would encourage older people to vote Democratic in the 2022 Midterm Elections.

If left to Republicans, there would be the end of Medicare, passed under Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, and the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care), passed under Barack Obama in 2010.

It is time to lower the Medicare eligible age to 60, and to provide senior citizens with dental care, vision care, and hearing coverage!

There are aspects of the Social Infrastructure proposal that may not be possible to accomplish, but this portion of the expansion under consideration is essential, and would be politically a winner!

Fox News Channel: 25 Years Of Promoting Hatred, Bigotry, Lies, Fear, And Evil!

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Fox News Channel, the purveyor of hatred, bigotry, lies, fear, and evil, is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, being created in 1996.

It has poisoned the media environment, and allowed demagogues to prosper, including, most notably, Donald Trump.

Their evening news anchors, past and present, have done great harm to the concept of truth and the need for cooperation and unity to deal with the problems the nation has faced in the past quarter century.

Such horrendous individuals, including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Judge Jeanine Pirro, along with many others past and present, have misled Americans by promoting the “Big Lie” that Donald Trump won the Presidential Election of 2020; promoted white supremacy, racism and nativism; encouraged Americans to resist COVID 19 vaccinations and mask mandates; and so much else!

But the evil and lies are not just about the present, but undermining American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law in all of the events and controversies since the late 1990s, including the contentious Presidential Election of 2000; the September 11 attacks and the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars; the Barack Obama years; and the Donald Trump Presidency.

Texas Government Becomes Authoritarian And Fascist Under Governor Greg Abbott

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The state government of Texas has become the closest to a Fascist government that we have seen in America.

The Republican Party is totally corrupt in Texas, with all of its executive branch officials, led by Governor Greg Abbott, outdoing each other to take obscene actions that take away basic human rights and safety.

So we have the abortion legislation that oppresses women’s rights to control their own bodies.

So we have the lack of any gun regulations, and allowing anyone to carry a firearm in public, with no check on mental stability of gun owners.

So we have the ban on teaching of the truth of American history, with the attack on so called critical race theory.

So we have the restrictions on voting rights that will make it impossible for many people of color, young voters, senior citizens, and poor people of all backgrounds to be able to protect their basic rights guaranteed under several constitutional amendments.

So we have the banning of mask mandates in a time when 68,000 Texans have died from the COVID 19 Pandemic, and this includes not only government agencies, but also private businesses, making the state government basically a Fascist dictatorship!

Texas And Florida Governors Are Promoting Mass Death By Reckless Policy On Vaccine Mandates!

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The second and third largest states in population, with about 50 million people, are Texas and Florida.

Their Republican governors, Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, have demonstrated they are totally reckless in their attack on vaccine mandates, including dictating not only to school boards, but also all private businesses.

Both governors are promoting mass death, with 68,000 deaths and counting in Texas, and 56,000 deaths and counting in Florida.

So about one out of every six deaths is in those two states alone, as the COVID 19 Pandemic has killed about 700,000 Americans and counting.

And people of color are even more often the victims, and both governors have no concern, as they both work to be potential Republican Presidential candidates in 2024.

Both Abbott and DeSantis will go down in history as two of the absolutely worse governors in American history, and not just on vaccine mandates, but on so many other issues, including racism, women’s rights including abortion, and refusal to have serious attempts to promote gun regulations.

Additionally, both states are trying to deny people of color, poor people, young people, and the elderly the right to vote!

Former Republicans Who Are Conservatives Will Support Democrats As Only Way To Stop Fascism

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Christine Todd Whitman—Miles Taylor—Max Boot.

Former New Jersey Governor–Security expert in the George W. Bush and Donald Trump Administrations–Conservative Writer and Historian.

The first two in the NY Times, and the last one in the Washington Post, made clear their intentions for the future.

These are three Republicans who would define themselves as conservatives, along with many others, who have come to the smart conclusion that the Donald Trump dominated Republican Party in Congress and the states MUST be defeated soundly in 2022 as part of a plan to expunge the Fascist, authoritarian nature of a major political party.

So they and others have dedicated themselves to voting Democratic in the upcoming elections, not because they necessarily agree on all matters with Democrats, but simply because it is the only alternative to excise the cancer of Donald Trump and his minions.

This is not a laughing matter, as American democracy and the rule of law is at stake, and only a sound defeat of the evil and dangerous Trump control of the GOP can save the day.

As this author and blogger has stated in the past five years, the Republican Party may need to be put in the dustbin of history, and a new, responsible, and reasonable conservative alternative to the Democrats needs to be created from scratch, a little like the birth of the Republican party in the death throes of the Whig Party in the 1850s.