Hawaii

Women Democratic Senate Nominees Could Boost Female Senate Total In 2013

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Five Democratic women are running for US Senate seats in 2012, and if they can win, it would boost the number of Democratic women in the Senate dramatically!

These candidates include:

Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, against Senator Scott Brown.

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, against former Governor Tommy Thompson.

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley in Nevada, against Senator Dean Heller.

Congesswoman Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, against former Governor Linda Lingle.

Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, against Congressman Rick Berg.

All five would add to the progressive bloc in the Senate, and would be strong supporters of women’s rights, labor rights, consumer rights, civil rights, and gay rights.

And Warren and Berkley victories would add two seats to the Democratic side, at a time when the Senate only has a six seat edge, 53-47, and is losing seven incumbent Democrats who are retiring, and facing five competitive races in which Democrats are in danger of losing their seats.

Mitt Romney And Donald Trump: A Mistaken Alliance!

Ronald 5 Comments

Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has decided to associate himself closely with Donald Trump, a massive mistake!

Trump is an arrogant, condescending jerk, and unfortunately, Mitt Romney already comes across as an arrogant, condescending individual, leaving out the word “jerk”!

Trump is now promoting the “Birther” idea anew, that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, and Romney spokesmen say that does not mean that Romney endorses what Trump is promoting.

But it is not that easy, as the old saying is that we are “judged by the company we keep.”

There is no way that allying with Trump helps Romney, and one wonders why he cannot see that.

All the connection does is promote the idea of one very rich man supporting another very rich man, with neither having a clue as to the struggles of everyday Americans in the midst of the recovery from the Great Recession!

Romney is casting his lot with a notorious publicity seeker, and will be held accountable for whatever Trump says as his surrogate during the next five months.

And one can be sure that IF Romney somehow wins, the “friendship” between Romney and Trump will deteriorate, and Romney will come to rue the day that he decided to associate so closely with the man who, for anyone who is sane, comes across as a clown!

The Unusual Nature Of The 2008 Election, In More Ways Than One!

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2008, the year of the economic collapse in America, unrivaled since the Great Depression of the 1930s, was a very unusual election year.

This was the first time we had an African American Presidential nominee, and he won the election, despite a majority of white men voting against him.

The country had both candidates for President born off the mainland of America–John McCain in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936, and Barack Obama born in Hawaii in 1961.

The country had the greatest gap in age between the two Presidential candidates in American history–a difference of 25 years between McCain and Obama.

The country had the first college professor (although part time) winning office since Woodrow Wilson 96 years earlier, in 1912.

Barack Obama was the first President from Illinois since Abraham Lincoln 148 years earlier, in 1860.

Barack Obama was the first Northern President elected since John F. Kennedy in 1960, and is the only Democrat to have at least 51 percent of the total vote since World War II, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

The year 2008 saw the first Republican woman nominee for Vice President, Sarah Palin.

John McCain became the second Arizona Senator to lose the Presidency, after Barry Goldwater 44 years earlier, in 1964.

So the 2008 election was a path breaking election in more ways than one!

The Clash Of The Future Now: Arizona As Ground Zero

Ronald 1 Comment

The state of Arizona is a perfect example of a right wing state clashing with the future, and it is now Ground Zero.

This is the state of Governor Jan Brewer, just about the most despicable woman politician, not an easy thing to say when one thinks of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, but she fits the bill with her words and actions, including her disrespect shown to the President Barack Obama by pointing her finger at him, and lying about it and many other things.

This is the state of Senator Jon Kyl, thankfully retiring at the end of this year, with his former respectable image destroyed by evidence of bias, prejudice, and loads of stupid statements in the past few years.

This is the state of Senator John McCain, once respectable and moderate, but now old and grouchy and ready to take America into another Middle Eastern war anytime.

This is the state of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, being investigated on charges of violating the rights of prisoners and mistreatment of Hispanics, whether legal or illegal, and not caring about image or violations and abuses, as he promotes a “tough guy” image embarrassing to his state.

This was the state of Russell Pearce, who thankfully was recalled by the voters of his state senate district, but was infamous for anti immigrant and pro gun legislation seen as very extreme.

This is the state of Paul Babeu, Pinal County Sheriff, another “tough guy” and hardline against illegal immigration, who is now shown to have had a sexual relationship with an Hispanic male, which has now become a scandal and will hamper his attempt to serve as a Republican in the next Congress.

This is the state which has a state senate which has banned ethnic studies courses for Hispanics as undermining their “Americanism”, and a state legislature which passed the infamous SB 1070 immigration bill now being challenged by the US government in court.

This is the state which has been judged by NATIONAL JOURNAL to have the second most conservative House of Representatives delegation, only behind, regrettably, my resident state of Florida. Notice that I say “resident”, as this author and blogger still identifies as a New Yorker, the state he lived in, went to school in, and worked in, until moving to Florida in 1989. The fact that New York’s House delegation is rated seventh most liberal, behind only Hawaii and five New England states makes this author proud!

Getting back to Arizona, the state, despite these disgraceful “public servants” and legislative record of discrimination and prejudice, is rapidly changing demographically, and can best be described as having two groups migrating to the state over time—older white retirees, and young Hispanics and Latinos, which guarantees continued clashes, but with young Hispanics and Latinos having the advantage for the future.

Thirty percent of Arizona is now Hispanic, compared to 58 percent white, and over the next decade, it is possible that whites will become less than the majority of Arizonans, and this will affect its politics dramatically.

Some think Arizona could go to Barack Obama, in the Presidential Election of 2012, although that still seems unlikely. But by 2020 and after, the Democrats will have a great advantage, as will be the case in Texas as well.

So the white population is facing a future in which it will NOT control the agenda, the state legislature, or the House delegation or the Senate seats. This is the clash of the future, already displaying itself now, as Arizona is becoming Ground Zero in the recognition of the transformation of America that will be national in the next generation!

Today Is A Shared Death Date Of Two Courageous Presidents, Often Criticized In Office Endlessly!

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Today, December 26, is a shared death date of two courageous Presidents, often criticized in office endlessly.

These two Presidents were Harry Truman who died in 1972, and Gerald Ford, who died in 2006.

Harry Truman was incessantly attacked on all sides, by Republicans who thought he would be easy to defeat in 1948, and were surprised by his upset victory over Thomas E. Dewey; and who later bitterly attacked his strategy on the Korean War. But also, liberal Democrats were disappointed in him, seeing him as a poor replacement for Franklin D. Roosevelt, who he succeeded in 1945. So he faced the opposition of former Vice President Henry A. Wallace and the Progressive Party of 1948. But he also faced the opposition of Southern Democrats, led by Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who ran for President in 1948 as a “Dixiecrat” on the States Rights Party line, because of Truman’s brave stand ending segregation in Washington, DC, and in the armed forces, by executive order.

Truman had twenty years in retirement, and grew in stature as the years went by.

Gerald Ford, not even elected Vice President, ended up succeeding Richard Nixon, when he resigned due to the Watergate scandal in 1974.

Ford gained criticism because of the pardon of Nixon one month later, and because of the economic recession that had already begun, and was the worst economic downturn since 1939.

Ford also had to battle for the GOP nomination against conservatives who backed former Governor Ronald Reagan, who nearly defeated Ford in the Republican National Convention of 1976, and this forced Ford to drop Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, and replace him with Kansas Senator Bob Dole. He came close to the defeat of Democratic nominee Governor Jimmy Carter, losing in Ohio and Hawaii by very small margins, enough to have defeated Carter if only he had gained a few thousand votes.

Ford came to be regarded with respect and admiration, even by Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who in 1999 said he had been wrong to attack Ford for the Nixon pardon 25 years earlier.

Ford lived on for 29 years after the Presidency, and is looked at kindly now, much like Truman.

These were two men who had in common that they came across to average Americans as being “one of us”! May they rest in peace!

President Obama’s Vacation Time Under Dispute: Give Me A Break!

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President Obama will be off to vacation in his home state of Hawaii after signing the Tax Cut legislation that the Republicans finally agreed to in the House by unanimous consent this morning.

Of course, whenever Obama takes ANY vacation time, it is a hot dispute to Fox News Channel and the GOP!

But the facts are that Obama has only taken 61 days vacation in nearly three years in office.

Compare that to George W. Bush who took 180 days up to this point of his Presidency, and Ronald Reagan who took MUCH more time off, enough to make one wonder if he was really on the job!

But, of course, really, no President is ever off the job, as the job goes with him.

So it is all petty stuff when a President is told he may not get away, particularly when Congress takes inordinate amounts of time away on vacation EVERY year!

70th Anniversary Of Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor!

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On this day in 1941, the world changed forever for the United States, when Japan attacked our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing about 2,400 military personnel and sinking eight battleships, and committing other major damage.

The attack took America out of its isolationist slumber, and brought us full scale into World War II. Looking at it then, it seemed close to impossible that the United States could defeat the forces of Fascism and Nazism represented by Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany.

America had to adjust its economy, build up a war footing very quickly, and adjust to the reality that the war would take young and middle aged American men to overseas battle, with about a quarter of a million killed in the conflict that roared on for the next, nearly four years.

The war was a challenge to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he faced tremendous pressure only matched, possibly, by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.

Today, the veterans of Pearl Harbor, and of the war itself, are diminishing rapidly, with the average living veteran being in his 90s, and the youngest probably 86 or 87, for those underage who looked mature and lied their way into the military services.

This was the GREATEST GENERATION as journalist Tom Brokaw has termed them, and we owe our freedom and liberty to their courage, their sacrifice, and their commitment to their country!

We can honor them by visiting the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, and other memorials all over the nation, including the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii.

The war showed what could be done if only the nation was united, as it most certainly was, after Japan attacked.

Only the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, can be regarded as an equal moment of shock, and as a turning point in our history, in the sense of changing our view of the world forever.

So on this day, we should all express thanks for what was done by the generation of our grandparents and great grandparents, allowing us to have the blessings of liberty and freedom in 2011!

The Birther Movement And The Republican Party

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The “Birther” movement is still alive and well, the idea that President Barack Obama is not a citizen of the United States, that he is foreign born in Kenya, and that he is a secret Muslim.

Hawaii has made available birth certificate evidence, and the newspapers in Hawaii published announcement of his birth in August 1961, but still that is not seen as acceptable by many who refuse to accept the truth and the evidence.

This is an insult to the President, and no other President has had to deal with it, but what is more shocking is that a Public Policy Polling questioning of so called Republican primary voters shows that 51 percent are believers in the “birther” conspiracy theory, while 21 percent are not sure what to believe, and only 28 percent believe for certain that Obama is a citizen and born in the United States.

This mythology is further promoted by the reluctance of Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to condemn it, while saying they take the President and the state of Hawaii at their word. Both refuse to say how ridiculous an idea it is, and as leaders, they are passing the buck, rather than take responsibility to nip the idea in the bud.

All of a sudden, these two GOP leaders are saying they cannot tell people what to think, even though it is clear that they are indeed trying to promote uniformity in their opposition to anything Barack Obama says or does.

They are, therefore, contributing to the perpetuation of the myth, and showing they have no ethics at all, and they should both be condemned and also be made to feel ashamed of their improper behavior! 🙁

And another idea comes across one’s mind: Do we really want anyone chosen by these Republican primary voters to become President of the United States in 2013? 🙁

The Future Presidential Library Of Barack Obama: Chicago Or Hawaii? A Solution!

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With only two years down in the Obama Presidency, the debate is beginning as to where the future Obama Presidential Library should be located.

The alternatives are Honolulu, Hawaii, where Obama was born and lived in his early childhood years, or Chicago, where he he has spent the majority of his adult life, met his wife, married, had his two daughters, taught for 12 years as a adjunct law professor at the University of Chicago, and pursued his political career, and still has a home.

It is clearcut which location should be the choice, and that is Chicago by a massive margin!

Chicago is also in the middle of the country, and would be a major boon to scholars and tourists who will wish, in the future, to honor and commemorate the 44th President of the United States.

Hawaii may be the choice of Obama for vacations with his children, and his boyhood home may be there, but it is so out of the way that very few tourists or scholars would prefer it as the primary location for an Obama Presidential Library.

But a compromise to please everyone could be adopted, which would be to have the major Presidential Library in Chicago, and to have an Obama Museum and Birthplace in Hawaii.

This would be the similar compromise reached for the Gerald Ford Presidency, with his Library being at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where attended college, and the Gerald Ford Museum being in Grand Rapids, where he lived most of his life and represented the area in the United States House of Representatives.

That way, tourists who travel to Hawaii could visit the Obama Museum, but many more tourists, as well as scholars, would have the opportunity to be educated by the Obama Library in the Chicago area!

No decision will be made until a few more years pass, but the discussion and debate over the issue has unofficially begun, and the proposed solution of the author seems to be the best solution!

Hawaii Settles The Issue Of Barack Obama’s Birth: He Was Born In Hawaii! :)

Ronald 1 Comment

The “Birther” movement has been very active and refusing to concede that President Barack Obama was, indeed, born in a hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii.

This craziness has continued despite contemporary newspaper reports of his birth to his parents. All kinds of people, including some members of the Republican Party, including Michele Bachmann, have been unwilling to drop this farce of an issue!

Orly Taitz, the California dentist and lawyer who has been the titular leader of the “Birther” movement, refuses to give up the fight to declare that Obama is not eligible to be President, because, according to her, he was born in Kenya!

But now, the Hawaii state government, led by Republican Governor Linda Lingle, has made a public statement of the facts of Obama’s birth information, and she has said she personally saw his live birth certificate in the archives, and that no more will the state government react to the nearly 50 requests a month for proof about Obama’s birth!

Realize that this is no Democrat or liberal saying this! It is the REPUBLICAN governor of the state, certainly NOT a liberal, who says this!

So Orly Taitz, Michele Bachmann, and all of the other crazies who continue to promote this issue–it is time to cease and desist, or be considered certifiable for admission to a mental hospital! 🙂