Politicians

Freedom Of Speech And Racism, Antisemitism, Nativism, Misogyny: Public Rebuke Of Public Figures Required As Punishment, As With Roseanne!

Ronald Leave a comment

The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Anyone can say whatever they wish to say, and if they use social media, they can express their thoughts in print.

But that does not mean that the right to speak should protect racists, antisemites, nativists, and misogynists from public condemnation, or that it should protect public figures from public rebuke, including potential loss of their employment, and any other public punishment short of imprisonment.

The case of Roseanne Barr is such a case.

Roseanne Barr can certainly have her own thoughts and opinions, but that does not protect her from public denunciation, and actions to punish her, and take away her career.

For any public figure to express such biases as Roseanne Barr has done for many years is simply disgusting, and beyond the pale.

And it should be the same for every politician, whether local, state or national, to face repudiation and to be forced out of office as unAmerican.

And for a President to use his office to spew hate and disdain for so many groups of Americans should, just by itself, be justification for impeachment and removal from office.

Remember that impeachment has nothing to do with legalities, and any President, Vice President, Federal Court Judge or Justice, and any Cabinet officer can be brought up on impeachment charges on any grounds that a majority of the House agree are reasons for impeachment.

Donald Trump’s verbal behavior on Twitter and in the public square, as well as his actions, are a better case for impeachment than was faced by Andrew Johnson in 1868 and by Bill Clinton in 1998-1999.

And it seems clear more than ever that the case against Donald Trump for impeachment far surpasses even the impeachment route pursued against Richard Nixon in 1974 before he resigned in disgrace!

News Media And American Political Parties And Presidential Candidates: Meant To Put Candidates’ “Feet To The Fire!”

Ronald 27 Comments

The job of the news media–radio, television and cable, print, internet—is to expose the hypocrisy and shortcomings of our political parties and leaders, and particularly their Presidential candidates!

It is NOT the job of news media and journalism to “cozy up” to any public figure, but rather to hold their “feet to the fire!”

Only in a dictatorship are news media the lackeys of the government and its leaders!

So if a politician at any level or a Presidential candidate cannot handle being exposed and shown for what he or she really is, tough on them, and if unable to handle it, then the answer is to withdraw from competition to be our leaders.

So there is no sympathy or empathy that should be visited toward Donald Trump, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders or any of the multitude of other Presidential candidates.

And anyone who, somehow, believes, that Barack Obama has not faced the same scrutiny is a liar and a propagandist!

So, in summary, if one “cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!”

Fear, Panic, Hysteria, And The Media: Reflection On The Real Dangers Amidst Us!

Ronald 2 Comments

It is shocking and reprehensible how the reaction to the Ebola issue is fear, panic, and hysteria, all fueled by irresponsible, reckless media of all kinds and opportunistic politicians!

Yes, Ebola is something to be concerned about, and knowledge and education is essential, but not the crazy reaction of media, and the demagoguery being promoted by politicians, who do not know or appreciate medicine and science, but are too ready to make Ebola a political issue, and promote, in the process, their own careers by scaring people, and undermining cooperation to resolve this matter in an organized, sensible manner.

IF we really want to overcome dangers, threats, and concerns about what we face, consider the following:

Ebola, as terrible as it is, has killed about 5,000 people, mostly in West Africa, and only one person in America. Even if that death toll rises, it is NOT going to reach the total of about 50,000 annually dying from Flu and Pneumonia in America, and even with that reality, many Americans do not get annual Flu shots or Pneumonia shots as a precaution, because of unfounded fears that any shots or vaccinations, even for children, is dangerous!

Auto accidents cause the death of 40,000 per year on the average, but what do we do about texting while driving; drinking while driving; reckless speeders; and those on illegal drugs who drive and often are high?

Gun deaths average at least about 11,000 per year, but we cannot get any gun legislation through Congress, due to the National Rifle Association.

Smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction causes hundreds of thousands of deaths per year combined, but no panic and hysteria about that.

Child abuse and assaults on women cause innumerable deaths per year, but no sense of trying to do something about it has occurred, just shaking heads and rolling eyes!

When there was limited media, we had real epidemics of Typhoid Fever, Tuberculosis, Flu, Leprosy, and other diseases, yet no panic on the scale we see now.

We have the continued problem of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and AIDS has caused more deaths than Ebola ever will, without all that much concern by most people, who just figured that since a majority of people who have this disease have been gay or lesbian, at least in America, why worry about “them”, but also there are many heterosexual victims as well, and no great attention paid to it by most Americans.

The point being made is that it is the reckless news media and the political opportunists who are trying to blame Ebola on Barack Obama, and make it seem as if he wants this epidemic to occur in America, and they have a stupid, ignorant portion of the American people who accept every allegation and sensationalistic statement as total truth, when they are bald faced lies!

Fox News Channel: A Political Machine That Employs Journalists!

Ronald 6 Comments

Fox News Channel and its chief executive, Roger Ailes, are a political machine for the conservative movement and the Republican Party which employs journalists who give up their principles for a big financial reward. It also employs former politicians who are in the make, to earn as much money as they can, and to hell with convictions or beliefs they had once held!

Ailes began his career in advocacy journalism under Richard Nixon, helped promote Ronald Reagan, and learned the power of advocacy journalism to promote one’s ideological agenda. And journalists and politicians have seen the money involved!

So we have such examples as:

Bill Hemmer, John Roberts, Ed Henry, Greta Van Susteren, Howard Kurtz–all formerly at CNN

Juan Williams, formerly of NPR

Former Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana; former Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich

And this is just the “tip of the iceberg”, as many former journalists for NBC, ABC, and CBS have also moved to Fox, and tried to make its distorted view of the news and of the world become standard and believed!

A new book by Gabriel Sherman is making the case that Roger Ailes is the most important journalistic giant of the past half century, a figure on the scale of William Randolph Hearst.

So Fox News Channel is a massive challenge to its cable competitors, CNN and MSNBC, and already attracts more viewers than both of them combined.

So an important thing to remember is that when one is out to promote the truth about America and the world, being ignorant or unaware of Roger Ailes and Fox News Channel’s impact is to the detriment of their rivals!

Hatred, Resentment, Indifference Toward The Poor: The Sickness In America

Ronald Leave a comment

There is a sickness in America, which is growing by leaps and bounds.

That illness is hatred, resentment, and indifference towards the poor!

The ability of most Americans to have compassion and concern for those less fortunate is lacking.

We are a religious nation, with so many claiming to be believers in God, but yet we look down upon the poor, and blame them for their own plight.

It is as if people love to be poor, and are unwilling to do anything to get out of poverty, when it is clear that those born in poverty have an inability to pull themselves out of poverty without assistance from others, as the majority of people in poverty are children.

We have politicians who make a career condemning the poor, and we have radio and cable talk show hosts who live to denounce the poor, and we have religious leaders who claim to be following Jesus Christ, but are not doing so.

We have seen the Social Darwinist theory about poverty arise again in the 21st century, when it was supposed to have died a natural death at the end of the 19th century.

Until we are willing to accept that it is our responsibility as human beings to help lift the poor, we are nothing but religious hypocrites.

Until we stop denouncing the poor for their plight, we are not the shining nation on the hill, offering America as a model for the world.

Our heads should be held in shame until we accept our role to care about and help the poor!

We had wealthy Presidents before who showed concern about the poor, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Now we have Mitt Romney, who does not give a damn about the poor! This crisis for America cries out for a change of attitude society wide!

Mitt Romney The 3,140th Wealthiest Person In America: Does He Understand Average Americans?

Ronald Leave a comment

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney turns out to be the 3,140th wealthiest person in America, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Unlike his dad, former Michigan Governor George Romney, who was born poor, Mitt Romney was born into a family of great wealth, and never had to struggle for anything.

His public postures have shown that he does not understand what it is to be poor or middle class, and he seems awkward when dealing with ordinary citizens, and very uptight about his wealth.

Face the facts: Just about all American politicians have wealth, whether gained in one’s lifetime or inherited. It is NOT an issue of how much wealth one has, but his or her attitude toward the 99 plus percent who are not as fortunate as he or she is!

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Senator Ted Kennedy were very rich people, as examples, but they truly CARED about the average American, and pursued goals and legislation to make life better for the common man and woman.

On the other hand, MOST Republicans who are wealthy, including Mitt Romney but not exclusively him, do not give a damn about average Americans and pursue goals and legislation to protect their own privileged class, without any regard for the plight of the poor and the middle class.

This is the ultimate test of CHARACTER and MORALS, and Mitt Romney, no matter how religious he is, no matter how good a family man he is, no matter how pleasant a person he may seem to be, is NOT interested in helping anyone other than his own aristocratic class, and therefore, does not deserve to be elected our President in 2012!

The Increasing Lack Of Respect And Appreciation Of America’s Public Servants! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

It is extremely disturbing that there is a growing lack of respect and appreciation for America’s public servants!

Whether national, state or local, public servants serve the American people in all kinds of ways, but are taken for granted, and now face a sustained attack on the importance of their jobs, their salaries, their benefits, and even their pensions! 🙁

One would think that public servants are paid high salaries, which is the farthest from the truth, but demagogic politicians, with the vast majority being Republicans, have declared war on public servants as a way to have a scapegoat, and pit these public servants against the general population! 🙁

If these public servants, derogatorily called “bureaucrats”, are suddenly cut in numbers, the American people will quickly discover that government services will become far less accessible and rapid in accomplishment!

And realize public servants include teachers at all levels, police officers, firefighters, nurses, librarians, sanitation workers, prison guards and numerous others we tend to assume don’t matter!

Do we really want to discourage people from entering these different public service jobs? Can we not give them respect and decent salaries and benefits and pensions, since they do NOT make as high salaries as many people in the private sector?

If we allow politicians to destroy public servants’ security and dignity, we may very soon have shortages of such dedicated people, and regret our failure to defend them as what they are: heroes who sacrifice, and in many cases, face danger and difficult conditions as they keep their commitment to all of the American people!

Sexual Bullying: The Responsibility of Parents, Churches And Politicians!

Ronald Leave a comment

Lately, there has been a noticeable increase in sexual bullying, with five young men ages 11-18 committing suicide in various ways after being harassed for being gay.

Of course, bullying also goes on at the middle and high school level for those who are short, fat, handicapped, black, hispanic, jewish, muslim and other factors.

All of it is regrettable and is avoidable, but the gay bullying is the worst right now, an epidemic!

This is a very serious matter, and must be addressed by parents who must cease their prejudices and fears, as it is passed on to their children!

But it is also the responsibility of churches, where pastors preach against gays, and politicians who exploit the issue for their own benefit, to stop and realize that they are responsible morally for the hate that they peddle! 🙁

It is time for people of religion to stop peddling hate, and for politicians to work to UNITE the American people, instead of dividing them!