Gender

The Issue Of Punishing Neo Nazis, Ku Klux Klan, White Supremacists, Alt Right By Firing Them From Their Jobs: Why It Is Proper To Do It!

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The issue has arisen about, in the aftermath of the Charlottesville, Virginia White Supremacy tragedy, whether it is proper for employers to punish Neo Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, White Supremacists, and the Alt Right, by firing those who work for them. A number of participants have already been fired by their employers for participation in the despicable rally.

The argument is that they do not reflect the value systems of the companies they work for, and that their prejudiced views are worthy of dismissal.

Many of the young men at the Charlottesville rally were “outed” by social media, and became “victims” of the outrage of millions of Americans.

Certainly, anyone has a right to his or her own political, social, and economic views, but it is well known that employers have complete authority to hire and fire, and often do it on grounds that are unjust, including against women, gays and lesbians, Latinos, Muslims, African Americans and Asian Americans.

But these cases just listed are based on discrimination grounds, and should and are often fought in the courts under the civil rights laws.

So if one’s extremist views are the issue, it is not the same as one’s gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity.

Promoting hate, violence, and bloodshed is a very different issue, and IS justifiable grounds for dismissal from work.

Maybe these young men can reform themselves, when they see the visceral reaction of decent people, and the hope is that they will reform, and change, and repudiate their biased views, and then forgiveness can be considered.

Otherwise, they are on the road of criminality and federal and state prison, and a disgrace to their families, so this situation can be a learning experience.

The 4th Of July In The Trump Era: America Has Lost Its Way!

Ronald 8 Comments

Today is the 241st anniversary of Independence Day, declared in 1776.

America was a great experiment in being a republic, and over the nearly two and a half centuries since, America ended slavery; opened its arms to scores of immigrants from all over the world; expanded the right to vote to all citizens over time, no matter what race, religion, nationality, or gender they were; promoted a social safety net; and expanded public education to all.

The Constitution was expanded to face modern realities; and both major political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, contributed to the advancement of tolerance and justice and equal opportunity; and the Supreme Court became a body that dealt with expansion of civil liberties and civil rights.

There were many detours along the road to today, but overall, progress was made, and a sense of optimism reigned.

And then, September 11 occurred, and the nation’s politics veered from one viewpoint to another and then to what is now present, a dark view of our nation, its people, and the world.

We live in the Trump era, which is in process of delaying, deleting, and destroying so much progress that has been accomplished in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

We are seeing race, religion, ethnicity and gender being used in an abusive manner to take away basic civil liberties, civil rights, common decency, and a sense of civility.

We are seeing the wealthy becoming the most stratified group in American history, and the middle class, created in the 20th century, destroyed, and the poor being treated in a shabby fashion.

One political party, the Republicans, has become the party of negativism, hatred, prejudice, and pure nastiness, and we have seen the shift of the Supreme Court toward a hard right conservatism that brings back memories of the Gilded Age Supreme Court.

It is as if we are in a time warp, and have reverted to 140 years ago!

So while we celebrate our national holiday, we have a lot to mourn, and it MUST make all of us determined to fight and resist with all our abilities combined, to resolve this crisis in a constitutional manner, with the removal of Donald Trump from the Presidency, as a tyrant and authoritarian figure who has met his match with our Constitutional remedy!

Donald Trump Has No Concern For Human Rights Or Civil Rights On 49th Anniversary Of Martin Luther King Jr Assassination

Ronald 5 Comments

Donald Trump clearly has no concern for human rights overseas or civil rights at home.

He embraces all the authoritarian dictators in other nations, including Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, and of course, Russia, while showing disrespect for the leaders of Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.

He has nothing to say when his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, moves to undermine reform of police departments in many American cities, to prevent the victimization of racial minorities, and instead claims crime is at an all time high, when it has been rapidly declining for many years.

Trump’s clear racism and white supremacy views are helping to cause growing tension among racial and religious minorities in America.

Decades of civil rights advancements are being summarily revoked, as we move back to the era of America before the civil rights movement made such great progress in the past fifty years.

Instead of uniting Americans, Donald Trump is moving to divide Americans by race, ethnicity, religion, gender and even sexual orientation.

And ironically, today is the 49th anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and one can be assured, that were he alive today, he would be promoting mass marches by Americans to protest the massive reversal of human and civil rights.

Trump Cabinet Very White And Male, Much More Than Recent Presidents

Ronald 1 Comment

Analysis of the Trump Cabinet demonstrates that it is the most white and male of all Presidents since Ronald Reagan 35 years ago.

Only 5 of the cabinet and other appointees are women or minorities, while Barack Obama had 14; George W. Bush 9; Bill Clinton 12, George H W Bush the same number of 5; and Ronald Reagan only 2.

On the issue of women alone, Trump has 4; Obama had 7; George W. Bush 4; Clinton 6; George H W Bush 2; and Reagan only 1.

In regards to minorities, Trump has 3 (Ben Carson, Nikki Haley and Elaine Chao); Obama 10; George W. Bush 6; Clinton 8; George H W Bush 3, and Reagan only 1.

The largest minority group in America, Latinos (about one sixth of the nation), is not represented at all under Trump.

While one should not judge leaders simply by gender or ethnicity, this is still a poor performance by Donald Trump.

Historic Changes In American Currency A Great Movement Forward!

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It is very inspiring to see recognition of race and gender on American currency for the first time in modern American history!

It is appropriate that Harriet Tubman be on the front of the $20 bill, with Andrew Jackson moved to the back.

It is also great that Alexander Hamilton remains on the front of the $10 bill, with Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, and Sojourner Truth put on the back as a group, to mark their importance in the women suffrage movement.

And the back of the Abraham Lincoln $5 bill will have Marian Anderson, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King. Jr on it.

The only truly controversial part is Jackson being switched from front to back on the $20 bill, but realize that Jackson destroyed the National Bank; condemned abolitionists working against slavery and was a slave owner himself; and forced the removal of five native American tribes to Oklahoma, the infamous “Trail of Tears”, which caused the death of more than 10,000.

So he is not being removed, but instead being placed on the back, with Harriet Truman, the heroic former slave who saved hundreds of slaves, being given recognition that is proper.

It is important that we give tribute to more than just white males on our currency, and show our appreciation of the sacrifices of these heroes and heroines!

Expansion Of Executive Orders Of FDR, Ike, LBJ On Prevention Of Job Discrimination Under Federal Contracts Now Expanded To LGBT Community By President Obama!

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President Barack Obama has signed an executive order to do what Congress has failed to do, but needed doing!

In the tradition of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson, Obama is expanding the concept of Presidential action to prevent job discrimination under federal contracts with corporations, which originally covered race and ethnicity, then became one of gender, and now will cover workers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender!

This is the moral and ethical thing to do, as no one should be fired because of his or her sexual orientation, any more than for race, ethnicity, or gender!

It cannot apply to all workers under the executive order, as only Congress could do that, and that seems unlikely, but it can cover workers employed under federal contracts.

So this is another in the long line of contributions that Barack Obama has made to ending of discrimination by government against its own population.

Assuredly, it will infuriate the Right, and there will be further discussion of possible impeachment, but that will all go for naught, as impeachment, even if it occurs, and it might, will NOT lead to Obama being forced out of office.

And again, a reminder! If it were to happen, we get Joe Biden, and that would be a great alternative, and insure a Biden victory in 2016!

The 50th Anniversary Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Commemorated By Four Presidents!

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It has been a half century since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the greatest accomplishment of President Lyndon B. Johnson, in his five years in the Oval Office.

This week, four American Presidents are honoring this achievement at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, including Barack Obama, and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush (the former Presidents, ironically, all Southerners).

This half century old law is one of the massive and historic turning points in American history, and yet the challenge to civil rights, as the Reverend Al Sharpton has stated, is not over, as there continues to be discrimination in many southern and other states governed now by Republican legislatures and governors.

So the battle for civil rights continues for the protection of people based upon race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and sexual orientation, and we cannot sit on just praise of what has been done, but fight for more of the same in the present and the future!

Pope Francis An Inspiration, But Like Barack Obama, He Will Have Major Critics Who Fear Change And Reform

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Pope Francis is a true inspiration to anyone who believes in the true teachings of Jesus Christ, concern for the poor, compassion for the sick, condemnation of materialism, and the understanding that all people, of whatever race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation, deserve equality and justice!

In so many ways, Pope Francis can be compared to Barack Obama, and just like Obama, he will engender hate and condemnation because he fights against prejudice and the evils of wealth, and the selfishness and greed which has arisen yet once again, on the basis of laissez faire capitalism and Social Darwinism, prevalent in the Gilded Age (late 19th century), the age of Imperialism, and resisted by the forces of change and reform in many nations in the 20th century.

But now, those evil forces have reared their ugly head again, and so the battle for progressivism is engaged in a great fight to combat those forces, within the Catholic Church, within organized religion in general, within the capitalistic economy which, in America, has no apparent problem , with the mounting acquisition of wealth by the top one percent, as poverty and the collapse of the middle class continually occur, with no conscience or concern by those who have the stack decked in their favor.

So the right wing forces, that include those who wish death on Barack Obama, will now focus also on the Pope, just as has always happened for those who promote reform and change, including in America, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and also Senator Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We should give thanks for the courage and compassion of our President, and even if we are not Catholic, the Pope, and pray for both men, that they will not fall before any attempted assassination threats of which Obama faces dozens every day!

We live in an age of great hate, and so much of it coming from so called “religious” people, who have no clue as to the true teachings of their faith, and are only out to enrich themselves!

Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A True National Treasure!

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Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, appointed by President Bill Clinton 20 years ago, has suffered two serious bouts with cancer, and has lost her husband, but she continues to plug on at age 80, with no plans for retirement.

Since other Supreme Court Justices have stayed on in their 80s, it is not all that surprising that Ginsburg refuses to consider retirement.

Always very friendly and accessible, unusual in the history of the Supreme Court membership, Ginsburg has become more openly outspoken over the years, being the true champion of the progressive side of the Court, and critical in a gentle way of her conservative colleagues, while expressing respect for them as individuals.

And she set new ground by marrying two gay men in the past week, one of them being the President of the Kennedy Center, and the other a well known economist. And she also has spoken out now on the Constitution as the promoter of equal rights for all—race, gender, and sexual orientation—even though it might take a long time, many generations, for the promotion of equality to become the norm, in the story of American history!

Ginsburg is an inspiration to all who believe in equality, justice, decency, and fairness, and a great symbol to women, as to what they can attain, as she is the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, after Sandra Day O’Connor.

It is certainly clear that Ginsburg, O’Connor, and the only other two women appointed to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan have all contributed to the humanization of the Court, and advocated an open minded attitude, which will have a long range effect on Constitutional law!

Applause and commending of the role and significance of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is certainly in order!

America At Crossroads On Race, Gender, Ethnicity, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Class

Ronald 10 Comments

After recent events in Florida on racial profiling; in Texas and other states on abortion restrictions; in Arizona and other states on legislation regarding undocumented immigration; the push for theocracy by the Religious Right; the move in many states to allow discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment; and the growing chasm between workers and management regarding labor rights and conditions, it is clear that America is at a crossroads on issues of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and class!

African Americans, women, Latinos and Hispanics, those for separation of church and state, gays and lesbians, and the middle class and the poor face constant attack on their basic rights and their quality of life, as the Right is moving to curb advancements that have been made over the past 60 years since the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower onward by the Supreme Court, Congressional action on civil rights and civil liberties, and courageous Presidents of both parties who have seen the need to lower the barriers on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and class!

We are at a crossroads in the constant struggle for American democracy and fair play, as even when progress is made, there is aggressive action to reverse the progress, trying to wipe out what has been accomplished!

The country is changing, but we have negative elements who are trying to return America to what it was many generations ago, and the fight for continued progress and advancement to a “more perfect Union” is a never ending one, and no one can give up their participation in the struggle, as that only advances the movement toward negativism, regression, and reversal!