Mississippi

The Obscenity Of “Religious Freedom” And Bullying Of Gays In Tennessee And Mississippi!

It is amazing how the most Right Wing religious groups argue for “religious freedom”, as if there is any denial of the rights of people to have their own religious beliefs!

For a nation where the vast majority are Christian of one sect or another, it is preposterous to argue there is an attack on religious freedom, when, if anything, it is Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and agnostics who are endangered in their right to religious freedom.

But devout right wingers in Tennessee have now managed to push through the state legislature a bill to allow bullying of gay boys and girls, a particular growing problem all over America, in schools, and that those who bully them cannot be prosecuted due to “religious” freedom!

The number of suicides of young gay boys and girls, and barely legal adult men and women, has grown by leaps and bounds, and it is essential to fight such bullying as a crime that is prosecutable!

No one should be allowed to use the veil of “religious freedom” to discriminate against anyone at any age, based on sexual orientation.

Hopefully, the law, if signed by the governor, Bill Haslam, will be appealed and lead to revocation of a hideous law! Even if Haslam vetoes, however, the bill is likely to become law with a Tennessee Senate vote of 32-0 and a House vote of 90-2!

It makes one wonder what has happened in Tennessee, a Southern state rapidly deteriorating into being similar to Mississippi, which has also passed an anti gay discrimination bill based on “religious freedom, and Governor Phil Bryant has signed it.

Federal challenge of these laws must move ahead expeditiously!

South Florida Wars On Homeless And Voters: Signs Of Heartless Attitude Toward Poor, And Minority Right To Vote

The Republican Party in the state of Florida has become as heartless and disgraceful in their treatment of the homeless, the poor, and minorities, as already demonstrated in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and elsewhere.

But now South Florida, where the author lives, has reached a new low!

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, center of Broward County, is now working to outlaw the homeless in their jurisdiction from having ANY personal items with them, including clothing, food, medicine, and personal items. These homeless are already degraded, but now they can have no personal possessions, an absolute outrage!

And Dade County is now setting up voting rules that will close all public restrooms on voting days, since many of them do not have adequate conditions for disabled people, so that means voters will have to wait on line for hours under restrictive rules for voting days and hours, and be unable to relieve themselves, thereby discouraging many voters from even getting on line.

What kind of community bars anyone from having personal posessions on their person or near them, and what kind of community cloes all restrooms as a method to cut voting numbers?

This is unconscionable, and the Department of Justice MUST intervene to stop both actions, and similar ones elsewhere in the nation!

How could anyone claim that the Department of Justice should not sue on these matters, as a violation of civil rights?

What kind of a nation are we becoming, when we take away all human dignity from the homeless, and have jurisdictions closing restrooms to prevent voting?

How can anyone justify this in the name of human decency and compassion and justice?

Mississippi: The Bottom Of The Pit In 1962, And Still In 2014!

The state of Mississippi was the bottom of the pit of American society in 1962, when the National Guard had to be federalized to insure that one black college student, James Meredith, could attend the University of Mississippi. It was also the state where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964, while attempting to register black voters.

One would think that after a half century, Mississippi would have improved its horrific status as number 50 out of 50, but sadly such is not the case!

Mississippi stands at the absolute bottom of the pile in poverty, with 34.7 percent of children being in poverty, and 19 percent in extreme poverty, a shocking set of statistics that is totally unconscionable, as children are the future!

61.9 percent of Mississippians are in dire financial straits, and the state only gives the poorest an average welfare benefit of $140 a month, by far the lowest family benefit in the nation!

And children face arrest and jailing for as little an infraction as being tardy to school, or going to the bathroom without permission.

This horrible situation demands federal intervention in the name of human rights! This disaster hurts the black population much more, but also the poor white population is also harmed greatly!

The Democratic Party was responsible for this horror in the 1960s, but now the Republican Party must be held responsible for perpetuating this mess!

Ironically, Mississippi is among the top states for church attendance, and for promotion of “Christian” values, whatever that means, since it is NOT applied in everyday life!

Paul Ryan Self Destructs Any Chance To Run For President!

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, who this blogger spent a lot of time working to undermine his Vice Presidential candidacy in 2012, and got blasted for it by right wing websites and bloggers, has again shown further evidence of what a terrible choice Mitt Romney made in his Presidential race, in selecting Ryan to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency!

Ryan, who knows nothing about budgets, except that the poor, the elderly, the disabled, veterans, and the young should see cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and other social programs; and there should be no extension of unemployment compensation for desperately unemployed people; and there should be no rise in the minimum wage, now has gone off the “deep end” with his assertion that those who live in the “inner cities” have no sense of the importance of work, and have not worked for generations!

This is a direct and racist assault on African Americans in particular, but also on Hispanics and Latinos, who are a majority of the poor in the urban areas of our nation.

But Ryan acts as if it is only minorities who are poor, and are unemployed, and in some cases, have not worked in a long time. From this statement, one would think that whites are not poor, that they all work, that they all have a heritage of understanding the point of work, and nothing could be further from the truth!

It is a fact, and always has been, that the vast majority of the poor do not live in cities, and are not minorities, although one would think so from a stereotype!

The fact is that there are millions of whites who live in the rural and suburban areas of the nation, and many are them do not work, have no hope of work, and live in depressed conditions often worse than urban slums. Many of these people are living in “Red” states, where Republicans vote to hurt their own constituents, while making it seem as if only minorities do not work, or have no work ethic. They live in Appalachia, the Great Plains, the Rockies, in comparatively sparsely populated areas, as compared to the urban areas on the East and West Coasts.

More whites receive food stamps, and the level of poverty percentage wise is higher in such places as Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska.

It is the lack of education; the tendency to have large families which are also dysfunctional; the reality of drugs and alcohol; the refusal of these state governments to give a damn about their white poor, along with minority poor; and the tendency to turn poor whites against poor minorities so that the GOP can keep power in the House and in the state legislatures, which is destroying generation after generation of deprived people of all races!

Only when there is a REAL war on poverty, instead of exploiting the issue based upon race, as Paul Ryan has now done, will we ever be able to guarantee a good future for millions of whites, as well as African Americans and Latinos!

And Paul Ryan, your potential Presidential candidacy is dead in the water, and while you might run, you have forfeited any realistic chance to be President of the United States, but that was clear, anyway, in 2012!

Ted Cruz’s War On Senate Establishment Republicans

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is a literal bull in a china shop, declaring war on the Republican establishment in the US Senate, and having no apologies for it.

Without a doubt, Cruz has become the most dangerous internal threat to the Republican Party since Joseph McCarthy six decades ago, ironically a villain that he resembles in appearance to the point of making one wonder if they are related, although McCarthy was Irish and Cruz is Cuban!

Cruz is working with Tea Party extremists who are attempting to defeat in primaries the following veteran Senators:

Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
John Cornyn of Texas
Pat Roberts of Kansas
Thad Cochran of Mississippi
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
Also to elect a Tea Party Congressman to replace retiring Senator Saxby Chambliss

This action by Cruz has rattled the GOP establishment, and could cause the defeat of many of these Senators in primaries, or so alienate voters as to elect Democrats.

But Ted Cruz is unconcerned, as he rampages for his own ambitions, including being the Republican nominee for President in 2016, which according to polls is highly unlikely, and if nominated, would lead to a landslide defeat against Hillary Clinton or any other Democratic nominee for the White House!

Cruz is encouraged along by his whacko extremist Christian pastor father, who makes his son seem moderate by comparison, but Ted Cruz is not interested in being moderate in any form. and is the greatest threat to civility in politics in many years!

Senate Republican Conservatives In Danger From Tea Party Right Wingers!

The Republican Party knows it must gain six seats in the Senate to gain a majority, but as things stand, they are in danger from Tea Party right wingers, who might defeat them in primaries this year, and then could lose safe seats to the Democrats!

This includes Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi; Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee; Senator John Cornyn of Texas; as well as open Republican Senate seats (due to retirements) in Georgia and Nebraska.

The wackiest candidates against these Senators are Matt Bevin in Kentucky; Lee Bright in South Carolina; and Steve Stockman in Texas. But also, three Georgia Senate competitors in Georgia are all wacky—Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, and Jack Kingston, all sitting Georgia House members, with the only good thing is that two will be eliminated from Congress by running in the Senate primary.

So in theory, instead of gaining six seats, the GOP could lose up to seven seats if the Tea Party succeeds in defeating solid conservative Republican Senators, or in the case of Nebraska and Georgia, solid conservatives who are retiring.

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

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 North Carolina Nightmare: Republican Dominance For First Time In A Century!

North Carolina has long had the image of being a modern, forward looking state, one of the most advanced in the old Confederacy, despite the fact that Jesse Helms was one of its Senators for three decades.

It actually had signs of having escaped the Confederate mentality, and had pride for its Research Triangle—Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham, and its top rated universities, including, but not only the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and Duke University.

But now North Carolina has been hijacked by a right wing Republican Party, and is being systematically destroyed as a state of change and positive images, looking more like Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina, all of which it had far surpassed in every way possible, but now all lost by the lack of understanding of its voters as to what they were doing in electing a Republican legislature and Governor.

So just in the year 2014, eight months so far, the North Carolina Republican government has done the following:

Massive tax cuts and cuts in business regulations, which will make the state poorer and more subject to corruption
Stricter regulation of abortion clinics
The end of teacher tenure
Refusal to expand Medicaid
Dramatic cut in unemployment benefits
Making the death penalty easier to apply
Allowing concealed guns in bar and restaurants
Strict Voter ID requirements, including prohibition of same day registration and cutting early voting

These are the results of the Republican Party gaining control of both houses of the state legislature for the first time in a century, along with electing a Republican governor, Pat McCrory.

So North Carolina goes to the Right, and those who are not upper class will suffer in the process, and North Carolina moves backward to the 19th century mentality of the Confederacy!

Sad Independence Day: Reality Of Assault On Rights Of Women, Gays, Immigrants, African Americans, And Those Less Fortunate

As we celebrate the 237th Independence Day, and appreciate what ir represents, there is an unprecedented attack going on in many states and among Republican members of Congress to take away the hard earned rights of various groups of vulnerable Americans, and to deny the freedom and liberty that the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights represents!

Women’s right to their reproductive lives and their fundamental health are being assaulted by Republican state legislatures and Governors in a rapid, non transparent way, and shutting off opposition in states including Texas, Ohio, North Carolina at present, and in other states in the recent past, including Virginia, North Dakota, Arkansas and Kansas!

The attempt to deny equality of rights and privileges to gay Americans is in full swing in many of the “Red” or Republican states, and the level of hate against these groups by political and religious spokesmen is unprecedented!

The fight against dealing with the presence of immigrants who would have to meet strict standards to move toward citizenship, and with increased border security and building of a wall between Mexico and the United States, is in full swing, including assault on the courageous Republicans trying to resolve this issue in a fair and just manner, including Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has been subjected to extremist Tea Party types who have declared war on him.

The move of many Southern states toward creating new barriers for people to vote, with the aim to cut the vote of minorities, the elderly, the disabled and college students, is in full swing forward since the Supreme Court ruled that there was no more racism or discrimination in voting in those states, when it is clear what the motivation of those states really is! The states of Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas are already, rapidly, working toward new restrictions, free to do so, in their minds, because of what the Republican Supreme Court majority did last week!

And, of course, 23 states, at least, are refusing to expand Medicaid for those less fortunate, who have no health care coverage as things stand, except in emergency situations in emergency rooms, at a much more costly fee, and not necessarily available to all!

So the battle for freedom, human and civil rights, justice, and equality continues, even as we can celebrate the great experiment of the United States, seen as a paragon around the world, but still needing a lot of work to bring about the “more perfect Union”!

50 Years Since Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers Was Killed In Mississippi

A sad anniversary was reached today, as 50 years ago, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was killed in Mississippi by gunfire, as he stepped out of his car at his home, just hours after Alabama Governor George Wallace had stood in the door of the Registrar’s Office at the University of Alabama, attempting to stop the registration of two black students at the university, which had led to President John F. Kennedy’s Civil Rights Speech that evening, one of the greatest Presidential speeches in American history!

It was just past midnight, when Evers, the Mississippi Field Secretary of the NAACP, was slaughtered, leaving three young children and a wife, Myrlie Evers-Williams, who survives him after 50 years, and later became the Chairwoman of the NAACP.

His assassin went free after a hung jury, but was later convicted on new evidence thirty years later, and served time in prison for the last seven years of his life.

A community college in New York City was created within a few years in his honor, and Evers has remained a leading part of the civil rights story.

His death also shaped the thoughts of a young generation of whites and blacks, and stained the reputation of both Mississippi and Alabama, as the two worst states on civil rights above all others, with Mississippi often compared in many ways to Nazi Germany in its treatment of its minority population, before the federal government intervened and enforced civil rights on all states by legislation in 1964, repudiating the arguments of states rights!