tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27065871057854103892024-02-19T11:31:15.478-05:00An Old LeftyMusings all over the mapOldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-65996660028547907742019-07-03T23:34:00.000-04:002019-07-03T23:36:31.528-04:00Watching History Rhyme. <br />
I've seen Donald Trump compared to Richard Nixon. Don't. Just don't. His crimes were bush league compared to what we've seen with Trump.<br />
Nixon won a close election in 1968 without the aid of a hostile foreign power working on his behalf. I know enough about Dick to know that if you couldn't swing a cat without hitting someone who had ties to a foreign power he would have cleaned house.That's if they made it into the West Wing to start with.<br />
Dick Nixon had a plethora of faults but he didn't act like he was in the pocket of an adversary.<br />
Where was I going with this?<br />
Right, Trump. It's always Trump anymore.<br />
Everyday there's a new outrage, revelation, more disregard of the rule of law, global embarrassment or simply deranged behavior. Outrage fatigue is real. You simply can't maintain the level needed without melting down into a pile of bubbling protoplasm eventually.<br />
The list of actions are long and sordid. Did I mention long? How about sordid? Every new action compounds the desecration of the office of American President.Which is why you see the word impeachment used more and more often.<br />
At first it was a band out on the fringe who wanted him impeached a day or so after he took office. Let's forget about them as they're batshit crazy. As Trump did more and more outrageous things a pattern emerged which has forced discussion of impeachment into the mainstream.<br />
He nominated completely unqualified people, tied to the industries they were to regulate. Obviously that's an open invitation to corruption. Trump ignored concerns from the intelligence community and appointed a compromised NSA. He regularly ignored red flags as he filled posts. His son-in-law after being appointed a Counselor to the president, had to amend his paperwork for a clearance nearly a hundred times. Seriously, you can't do that. At least in a normal world. While that clearance was pending Jared had access to the highest levels of intel there is. The Daily Brief and any other Read Only documents he wanted. Eventually Kushner's clearance was kicked down to Secret. Better late than never I guess. I'm not even sure what clearance Ivanka, daughter and Counselor, even has.<br />
The Trump finances are so convoluted it would give a self respecting forensic accountant nightmares. Rather than put things in a blind trust as everyone else does he put the boys in charge.<br />
Hell, Jimmy Carter had to put his peanut farm and warehouse in a blind trust.<br />
There's too much. To list everything we'd be getting into"War And Peace" length territory.<br />
A brief list off the top of my head would be,<br />
Detention of asylum seekers in conditions that at best, could be considered barbarous.<br />
A ready, fire, aim foreign policy which in the space of two and a half years has severely weakened the alliances that have fended off WWIII for 75 years.<br />
None of the people in this Administration are even trying to hide criminality and corruption anymore.<br />
There is a total disregard about how government works.<br />
With insane legal arguments being made,you have to wonder if the legal staff was recruited from bus bench ads.<br />
Adulation of despots as he tries to muzzle a free press like they have.<br />
We have his profiteering of his office. How deep is he in the financial shenanigans of his inner circle. How compromised is he because of the financial circus?<br />
Unless you've been in a coma you know the surface has been only barely scratched.<br />
I understand the calls for impeachment this year.<br />
Yes bills of impeachment would likely pass the House. They would be defeated in the Senate without question.<br />
Without conviction in the Senate Trump would bleat constantly about his vindication in a witch hunt louder than he ever did over the Mueller Report. It would only bolster his reelection bid.<br />
Impeachment is, and always has been, a political action. High Crimes and Misdemeanors mean whatever the Congress in power wants it to.<br />
I've been vocal that in the current crisis impeachment isn't much more than political theater. The calls for doing it as a moral statement is a toothless action. Accomplishing nothing but creating blowback.<br />
I've advocated for the Watergate template.<br />
Hearings. Bury them in subpoenas. Patiently build a paper trail of attempts to settle the question of appearances before the Committees. Then charge with contempt of Congress. Do to them what was done before enforcement was ceded to DOJ. Have US Marshalls haul them to a Federal lock up till they cooperate.<br />
On claims of Executive Privilege create the same paper trail of negotiation then go to court. Press for expedited hearings. Keep court proceedings open to the public.<br />
All the evidence would need laid out, building a case against the President. The fight then would be in the court of public opinion. The dial has to be turned in favor for impeachment hearings to start. To do that constituents need to light up their Representatives. During Watergate Nixon's numbers were great then tumbled causing his support in Congress to evaporate.<br />
The next step is open impeachment hearings. The Senate Select Committee sat in session for a year before impeachment hearings opened against Nixon began.<br />
The problem is it's not 1973. The issue is cutting through the cacophony of today's 24 hour media. There will need to be a media blitz with concentration on local news sources. Swing the editorial boards. Local station news managers seeing the need to open every newscast with the hearings.<br />
We need to do this now so we can proceed to actually opening impeachment hearings.<br />
I'm finally in favor of impeachment.<br />
With the White House claiming Executive Immunity, which is unheard of, ordering their people to ignore subpoenas is pushing authoritarian over reach as a norm. Claiming where Hope Hicks sat is privileged is ludicrous. Claiming privilege over things that are public knowledge is absurd. This is all beyond the bounds of what Nixon thought he could get away with in his battles with Congress and the Special Counsel.<br />
Then add the hijacking of the July 4th celebration as a pulpit for Trump to glorify himself as his remarks descend into a campaign rally. There has never been a roped off VIP area for party faithful, donors, lackeys and hangers on. Invoking the holiday as cover, he'll continue his attacks on any and everything that stands in the way of adoration. He'll call for arrest of those who have angered or thwarted him. The presence of military hardware on the mall and extensive flyovers isn't to impress the world. It's to show us who's in charge. Pure Banana Republic hubris.<br />
Add to this his deciding to ignore the SCOTUS decision on the Census. With extremely few cases where a President has ignored SCOTUS, the established precedent is the Executive Branch will enforce laws in a manner consistent with the findings. It will also comply on matters concerning it's actions. Trump has decided to declare the law doesn't apply if it is contrary to his wishes.<br />
As an accumulation of egregious actions and behavior the President seems bent on remaking our republic to his whim. We have no choice any more. We need impeachment hearings but using the Watergate template.<br />
To repeat, impeachment is a political action. Being such it must be treated that way. Political skill and power needs used to present a bullet proof case.<br />
This president must be removed. The only way to do that is with impeachment and conviction by the Senate. Political theater in the cause of moral outrage is admirable but wasted political capital.<br />
We need open, public hearings in every relevant Committee. On all grounds. It's our only off ramp on the road to perdition.<br />
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OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-76170207419124996772016-03-02T12:18:00.004-05:002016-03-07T13:53:07.754-05:00The Republican Road To Dystopia As Trump Storms The Gates. Donald Trump, a joke in June is solidifying his coup on the Republican Party.<br />
Since Iowa Trump has won every contest except four to Senator Ted Cruz, possibly the most hated man in the Senate.<br />
The question of the day is, What. The. Actual. Fuck.<br />
The Donald since June has hammered away at the Republican Establishment, the rest of the GOP Primary field, the media. President Obama, undocumented immigrants, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Muslims, the Mexican Government, anti- Trump protestors, American foreign policy and the Iran nuke deal. Did I leave anything out? Well, Y'all get the idea.<br />
How has a reality star, shady real estate mogul and carnival barker accomplished this? Good old fashioned demagoguery.<br />
He blames everyone for the destructive policies of the last thirty-five years, punching home that he is the only one smart enough, skilled enough and determined enough to change the course of the Ship of State bending the arc of history through his will alone as he controls time and space. He's a rogue Time Lord from Doctor Who armed with Bluster. He does this without a sonic screwdriver or TARDIS<br />
The rise of Trump lies in the failure of the GOP for not taking Trump seriously until recently. The Tea Party radicalized the party with attacks from the right, forcing the GOP into bat country. The nihilist nut jobs of talk radio and Fox News, the propaganda arm of the right wing alternate reality like him. Sometimes.<br />
These twisted sources built the environment that spawned this mad salmon. He is demonizing the "other". This reactionary in the mold of Father Coughlin has called for closing immigration from the Muslim Mideast. He wants them in a database since tattoos, as used the last time around, are passe.<br />
He wants to modify the 1st Amendment to make suing for libel and slander easier by including public figures. Trump likes to use frivolous suits as a cudgel.<br />
Trump rails on Twitter with snide, snarky and at time vicious tweets.<br />
His rallies are blends of circus, intolerance and mass hysteria.The long lived dismissal of Trump appealing to the fringe of American Politics has been catastrophic. This looks to be a fatal error for the Republicans.<br />
Look at the make up of his crowds. Blue collar and white collar. Millennials. Boomers and Gen X.<br />
Then there's the fringe, birthers, white supremacists and flat out racists, This disparate coalition has united to propel Trump to the fore. Trump then riles and roils the crowd to unbridled anger at times erupting into violence as he reinforces the crowds propensities to despise those that dares dissent.<br />
This has become a cult of personality not too unlike 1932 Germany.<br />
Donald said he could fire a gun down new New York's fifth Avenue and not lose any votes. This seems sadly true. Trump has been vicious, outrageous and that reality only seems to increase his support. This sadly seems to point to the rise of the dark underbelly of American Politics. A metastatic cancer on the body politic. The hate and racism bubbling just under the surface of American attitudes is now free to wreak havoc on the better angels of America. <br />
An as is my wont, I place the blame at the feet of that venal, vituperous, vicious rat fucker Nixon. This is a direct result of what Nixon set into motion with his calculated invitation to the Jim Crow Southern population and extremely conservative Evangelicals into the GOP. Those vultures have come home to roost as they do annually at Hinckley, Ohio. Their coup, which started with the election of the first Black President is now complete.<br />
After Super Tuesday the GOP is in full, public panic mode. Only recently has the primary field unleashed attacks on Trump hoping to gut shoot the intruder. This an unprecedented case of the GOP failing to take control of and shape the messaging ahead of the curve. A classic example of too little too late. They are attempting to put out the Chicago fire with one fire extinguisher as the city's conflagration reduces it to a smoking ruin.<br />
Now we hear the party floating scenarios in which they can deny the nomination to Trump at the Convention in June. Should that happen I can only see his cult burning Cleveland to the ground. Metaphorically, I hope.<br />
The desperate disarray in the GOP is, at this time, futile. Trump is now unstoppable on his march to the nomination. On 3/15 he solidifies his hostile take over of the GOP by winning Ohio and Florida, two winner take all primaries.<br />
The GOP should resign itself as they see the fracture of their party. The Far Right is ascendant in Congress and a busker will be their nominee. Their only hope will be attempting to survive. I think that ship has sailed. God help us.<br />
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OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-35960664372625090782014-11-22T09:26:00.001-05:002014-11-22T09:26:59.489-05:00An Old Lefty: The day America lost its way. 11/22/63<a href="http://oldleftyme.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-day-america-lost-its-way-112263.html?spref=bl">An Old Lefty: The day America lost its way. 11/22/63</a>: It was my eleventh birthday. A Friday. I had conned my Mother into letting me stay home from school. I had pulled a con on he...OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-80678566786518350182014-10-12T14:11:00.002-04:002014-10-12T16:57:49.943-04:00Do we move to save America? America is at a crossroad. Do we continue with the US House able to hold the nation hostage to their Radical Republican/Tea Party views. Do we hand them the Senate as a reward for six years of obstruction, calls for insurrection and secession and continual assault on POTUS?? Do we permit the march towards the past as they deny science, rewrite history and extol the virtues of inequality?<br />
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Should we acquiesce to the sale of America to the highest bidder and the return of the Gilded Age? We seem to be at the point where bags of cash are being dumped on Congressional desks again to coddle the wealthy and protect the trusts. Teddy Roosevelt would be appalled.<br />
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Do we let corporate America to gut environmental regulations in pursuit of more profit?<br />
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Should Wall Street remain an unregulated casino?<br />
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Do we stand by and let voter suppression become the new normal? Do we allow police to execute people in the street with no consequence?<br />
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Are women to be reduced to brood mares with no say in reproductive choices that profoundly affect their lives?<br />
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Or do we get off our collective asses and exercise the weapon that terrifies the elite. WE VOTE!<br />
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They've spent the years since the Black Guy was elected President trying to insure that never happens again. Voting rights have been in their cross-hairs as they fight to maintain power.<br />
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Democrats outnumber Republicans in voter registration in most states. If we vote, we win. It's that simple. We can't have a replay of 2010 when the Unicorn Wing of the Democratic Party stayed<br />
home and sat on their hands.<br />
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Turn out is the key to hold the Senate. A GOP Senate will, in concert with a GOP House, shred the social safety net. Social Security and Medicare will be gutted. The poor must make sacrifices to protect the status of the wealthy.<br />
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The reality of an American Theocratic State will move even closer to reality. President Obama won't be able to have appointees confirmed. Think SCOTUS.<br />
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POTUS will likely be impeached and removed from office.<br />
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To preserve the Union from the perverse interpretations the Right make on the Constitution we need to stop their expansion of power at the ballot box.<br />
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Vote!<br />
The future depends on it.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-11077805960577806182014-09-29T20:25:00.000-04:002014-09-29T20:28:29.676-04:00Ohio fights to suppress the vote. Today the Roberts Court sided without comment with the Secretary of State and Attorney General of Ohio to stay a decision form a lower court to restore the egregious cutting of early voting in Ohio. As usual it was a 5-4 decision with the liberal justices in the minority.<br />
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Following the debacle of Ken Blackwell's vicious mismanagement of Ohio's 2014 election, in 2006 Democrat Jennifer Brunner took the reins as the new Secretary of State. Under her direction and election law revision by the Democrat controlled Legislature the 2008 election was a smoothly run exercise in civics.<br />
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Following the Tea Party wave in 2010 when the Tea Party/Republican Party took control of all the statewide offices, thus Jon Husted took over as the new Secretary of State.<br />
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So with the prospect of a successful re-election bid by President Obama Ohio moved to severely curtail early voting. Husted further cut hours and days through issuance of rules to the 88 County Boards of Elections in Ohio.<br />
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Following these attempts to make Ohio more Mitt Romney friendly Husted was hit with suits in Federal Court to undo these actions. He lost each suit and narrowly avoided a contempt citation for directing the Election Boards to disregard the ruling after he backed down.<br />
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Following the re-election of the President Ohio reacted by passing new laws gutting early voting again. Because Ohio sealed the POTUS re-election, (delightfully causing an on air melt down by Karl Rove) and of course Freedom. After all, the wrong kind of people gave Ohio to that Commie, Socialist,Fascist, Dictatorial, Monarchist Kenyan.<br />
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Several churches, the NAACP and ACLU filed suit. Federal Judge Economus fount Ohio was in violation of Section 2 of the Voter's Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.<br />
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As always Ohio appealed. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati refused to stay or overturn the ruling. Ohio appealed to the three Judge panel and was again rebuffed. So, pending a hearing by the full Circuit, Ohio sought an emergency stay from SCOTUS.<br />
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Today, the day before voting was to begin, The Roberts Court rode to the rescue of the repressive policies deemed important by the Republican administration of John Kasich. As usual it was a 5/4 split. And they did so without comment.<br />
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Ohio's argument was Ohio had plenty of ways to vote and more than many states. The coincidence is that these cuts affected the African American community disproportionately and others who may vote not Republican.<br />
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Secretary of State Husted fell back on the old canard that States should set voting rules (State's Rights). It was remedying a vast over reach of judicial power. (Activist Judges). At times he seemed to be channeling Governor George Wallace.<br />
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This is what is needed to maintain power when the ruling power is unable to win on policies or issues. If you can't win the vote, tailor the voting pool to your needs.<br />
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So voting now starts in a week. we are back to square one with the circumcised voting procedures. The stay by SCOTUS voids the use of the ballot Ohioan's have enjoyed during the last three election cycles.<br />
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The only counter to this subversion of the process is turnout. When those who believe in a better life vote, the powers that be are cowed and take notice. Unchecked by the electorate they are emboldened to continue their attack on women, minorities, union workers and the middle class.<br />
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they will kowtow to the extremists on the right as they try to make Ohio a theocratic State hoping to join the new Confederacy.<br />
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Turn out. Across the country. Ohio is a testing ground for extremist ideas. If we don't stop the radical right the freedoms we take for granted will be eviscerated. America will become a oppressive, Conservative Christian Kingdom rivaling the theocracies we see across the globe.<br />
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Vote as if your life depends on it. It does.<br />
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Vote as if your future depends on it. It does.<br />
<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-68917783186764535852014-09-07T12:01:00.001-04:002014-09-07T12:02:24.447-04:00The Cold War mentality returns I have had to take some time to deal with things cascading through my life. I am back.<br />
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The world has been throwing chaos, terror and confrontations about, swirling with seemingly a new atrocity daily.<br />
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Russia, under ex-KGB member Vladimir Putin is flexing it's muscles trying to rebuild the Soviet Empire.<br />
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With the Russian led and financed separatist movement in the Ukraine resulting in the acquisition of Crimea the specter of a renewed Cold War has made the Russian Bear cast a shadow across Europe and Washington D.C. I am actually surprised it has taken Putin this long. Russia has a long history on the Crimean peninsula.<br />
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The Brits, France and the Ottomans allied to oppose the Russians as they waged a war in Crimea during the 1850's.<br />
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Russia was moving onto the world stage as they collided with France over privileges of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in the Holy Land. This followed a confrontation with the Ottoman Empire over Russia protecting the members of Orthodox faith in the Ottoman Empire.<br />
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The Russians invaded what is now Romania.<br />
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The British fleet deployed to Constantinople(Modern Istanbul). Following the Russian fleet defeating the Turks in the Black Sea saw the British and French Navies deploy to protect Turkish shipping there. A few months later both Britain and France declared war on the Russian Empire.<br />
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To placate and prevent the Austrian Empire from entering the fight, the Russians withdrew from Romania. The Austrians promptly occupied those principalities, preventing the Ottomans from moving back in.<br />
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Battles were fought in Crimea with the engagement at Balaklava inspiring Tennyson's "Charge Of The Light Brigade".<br />
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With Austria threatening to enter the conflict on the Allied side Russia came to the table and signed Treaty of Paris.<br />
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Russia has historically been fixated on having a warm water port to project naval power across the globe. The Black Sea has always been a focus of that policy.<br />
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One effect of the Crimean War was to convince the Russian Czar, Alexander II of the need to modernize Russia to compete on the European stage.<br />
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Florence Nightingale helped revolutionize battlefield medicine during the conflict.<br />
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The war also led to Austria becoming more dependent on British and French support. This indirectly led to the unification of Italy, and more importantly to Europe's future, the unification of Germany.<br />
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Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, NATO expanded, welcoming former Soviet satellites into NATO to fill the vacuum. since 1990 Russia has watched themselves be surrounded by NATO. The result is a resurgence of an expansionist mindset in Moscow.<br />
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Putin has pushed Russia into an attempt to rebuild there influence. They are active in former client states such as Syria and Iran. They are again wielding influence on the world stage to counter what they feel is a policy of containment by the West. Knowing there is zero likelihood of military action by NATO Russia has fought an ongoing war against Chechnya separatists even as they moved on Georgia and now Ukraine.<br />
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The response from Washington has covered the spectrum from thoughtful to the absurd.<br />
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We hear Republicans rattling sabers, longing for a renewed Cold War. They condemn President for a lack of action for relying on sanctions. It's not as if there is a choice.<br />
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What the Republican's seem to forget, either through ignorance or willful omission, is that Russia still has a massive nuclear capability. They also have the second largest Air Force and an impressive Army. We managed to survive the Cold War with only two direct military standoffs with the USSR. The Berlin Airlift and the Cuban Missile Crisis. We fought proxy wars, developed spheres of influence, and had counterbalancing alliances.<br />
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The post Soviet era saw the diminishing of Russian power and influence. Putin has made the reestablishment of Russia as a world power and counter to America as the dominant global influence. And there is little we can do about it.<br />
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We have only sanctions and application of global opinion to deter Russia from too many adventures in shifting the global balance of power. We survived the post WWII era without destroying the planet in a nuclear Holocaust.<br />
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One can only hope sanity prevails, our luck holds and the hawks don't force us into their apocalyptic, second coming end of the world fantasies.<br />
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It may be time to dig new fall out shelters. Teach duck and cover again. Or we can painfully relearn the lessons of the 50 year Cold War.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-69800932458010485132014-06-26T12:26:00.000-04:002014-06-26T17:05:57.203-04:00The Coup Franklin Roosevelt won the Presidency in 1932. He embarked on sweeping social and economic reforms of American society to end the Depression that threatened the very survival of The United States as a thriving representative democracy.<br />
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Widespread, devastating unemployment. Vacant, idle factories. The dustbowl. Foreclosures. WWI veterans marched on DC demanding early payment of their bonus.This horrible period hit the not obscenely rich hard. Companies were meeting union organizing with armies of thugs. Ford mercenaries opened fire on strikers with machine guns during the River Rouge strike.<br />
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On the left we saw the growth in popularity of socialism and communism. It was mostly a flirtation by labor, the intelligentsia and writers. On the right we saw the rise of fascism. Groups sympathetic to Hitler and Italy sprung up. These too were mostly flirtations. Flirtations with a lot of money.<br />
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FDR was vilified by the uber wealthy elite. He was decried as a class traitor and socialist. Conservative opposition sprang up in response to the New Deal. Some of this opposition went deep into "Seven Days In May" territory.<br />
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In FDR's first hundred days he struck terror into the hearts and minds of the oligarchic Titans of Industry. They saw a threat to their privilege. A threat to their power. A tool of the Jewish Conspiracy. These men saw Roosevelt as a clear and present danger to their way of life. They were not amused.<br />
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Marine General Smedley Butler was a man very popular with his men. An one who came up through the ranks he built offensives to minimize casualties. He twice was awarded the Medal Of Honor so his heroism was well known.<br />
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He wrote a book called "War Is A Racket". He described his Marine career as being a bagman and enforcer for corporate America. He supported the bonus marchers even as Colonel Douglas MacArthur dispersed them with troops.<br />
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Butler was perhaps the most admired military man among veterans in America. There were also over a half million jobless veterans unhappy with America. So, he was approached by an American Legion leader and Wall Street guy with a curious offer.<br />
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Gerald MacGuire was a bond trader. Bill Doyle, the Commander of the Massachusetts American Legion. They offered to pay Butler to give a speech at the legion National Convention to return the US to the Gold Standard. The hope was Butler's popularity with veterans would put pressure on FDR to do so.<br />
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Butler later met with Robert Sterling Clark who had served with him during the Boxer Rebellion. Clark was an heir to the Singer fortune.<br />
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Finally Butler was implored to lead an uprising utilizing the dispossessed veterans as troops to march on Washington DC in preparation to institute a successful fascist coup. Butler had been assured money was no object and $300,000,000 was ultimately available. There was also a weapons cache ready for use. These arms were to be allegedly supplied by Remington Arms and the DuPont family.<br />
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These men wanted Butler to convince FDR to pretend he was too ill to continue as President or be forced out by Butler and the rag tag army.<br />
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Butler responded by testifying in front of the McCormick-Dickstein House Committee(forerunner of the House Un American Activities Committee). He named names. It was a who's who of the rich and powerful.<br />
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The leaders of GM, U.S.Steel, Standard Oil, Chase and Goodyear.<br />
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Also implicated:<br />
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Irene DuPont. Yes, those DuPonts. (The American Liberty League)<br />
Grayson Murphy. (Goodyear, Bethlehem Steel and J.P.Morgan)<br />
Al Smith(Former Dem. NY Governor, American Liberty League)<br />
Prescott Bush. Yes, those Bush's. Prescott was the Wall Street front man for the Nazi's. His Union Banking corporation had their assets seized under the Trading With The Enemy Act. UBC had through the use of a complicated financial maze supported Hitler and Nazi run corporations until 1942.<br />
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With the light of publicity on them the coup evaporated. It was made light of and suppressed by the major news organizations of the day. Due to his standing general Butler could not be brushed aside as a crank. The House Committee found there was a plot and did nothing.<br />
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Years later Speaker McCormick said, <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">"General Smedley Butler was one of the outstanding Americans in our history. I cannot emphasize too strongly the very important part he played in exposing the Fascist plot in the early 1930s backed by and planned by persons possessing tremendous wealth."</span><br />
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If you look at the rhetoric of the right under FDR and today's laments about President Obama eerie similarities surface. Communists. Socialists. Tyrants. Anti-business. Monarchs. There has been calls for a coup during the Obama Administration. It has gone mainstream with impeachment threats. The Governor of Louisiana calling for a hostile takeover of Washington. A retired General has volunteered to lead a coup. The far right has called on the Military to oust the government. Elected officials have called for Second Amendment options to remove the President.<br />
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We need to follow the lessons of the past and follow the money. The buck stops where? Treason and sedition is constantly left alone as free speech. Maybe a prosecution or two may restore reason. Or fear of the existing laws. Right. Never mind.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-31434427081773290282014-06-19T19:38:00.002-04:002014-06-19T19:38:39.919-04:00The Attention whores are back with : Iraq! The sequel!<br />
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<br />
Here we go. Central Ohio is seeing July/August humidity matches or exceeds the temperature weather a tad early. I was relaxing with a cold Summer Shandy as I read more and more on the reaction to Iraq. I switched to Scotch.<br />
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First off why is ANY news organization asking the crowd of incompetent, war mongering, lizard fucking toads anything about Iraq. The only question they should be asked is if the violence and potential collapse of the government is due to them fucking up everything beyond any possible repair in 2003.<br />
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Paul Wolfowitz of all people was on Sunday blaming the President for the neo-con insanity his gang of ineffectual, imitation intellectuals imposed on the US and the world in the early 20th Century.<br />
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One thing you can always count on the American public, politicians and media is a complete lack of understanding historical context.<br />
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Had any member of the Bush regime asked a history professor or even cracked a survey course college level textbook, the collapse of Iraq into sectarian fighting and a factionalized civil war would not have been a total fucking surprise! However, facts were rare as a Rockefeller Republican in the run up in 2003.<br />
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From the day Bush and Cheney took the reigns of power, Saddam was a target of escalating rhetoric. Since Clinton warned of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda the Bushies decided to ignore them. Instead any premise to hammer Iraq was being explored. After all, what do Dems know? And Clinton beat Daddy.<br />
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Even though Saddam was contained his very existence was a thorn in the side of the nuke the desert into glass wing of the GOP. After all, Bush the Elder betrayed them by not taking Baghdad in '91.<br />
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Then came the terrible, tragic and avoidable attack on 9/11/2001.<br />
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Seeing no one was talking about ignoring the Presidential Daily Briefing warning of imminent attack, realizing the nation's unity and the World on our side, the Bush Administration realized they'd been given a blank check. They intended to cash it on the road to Baghdad. Lie followed lie. Exaggeration compounded falsehoods and misleading statements. America was in the fast lane to an optional war of "pre-emption".<br />
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All through the history of the US we never fought a pre-emptive war. WE did not strike first. When Hawks were trying to talk JFK into hitting Cuba to prevent them from launching missiles at us, Bobby Kennedy reminded everyone that America did not do that. Well, that was then. This is now. The so-called Bush doctrine said we could hit anyone whom we thought were going to strike at us. It did not matter that they had not done anything. It was a scathing indictment of how these neo-con scum saw our place in the world. Being the last superpower meant we could do anything we want.<br />
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They reallocated resources from Afghanistan, repeating our mistake under Reagan. By stepping out leaving a vacuum, we invited chaos. Rather rebuilding the economy and infrastructure we turned it into a collection of factions.<br />
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Having convinced our citizens and legislature, over the objections of most of the world's intelligence services,of the imminent danger, we struck Iraq.<br />
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The Iraqi Army followed tradition and folded like an empty wallet. WE rolled into Baghdad, overthrew the power structure and were amazed, since we didn't have a sufficient force to provide security, that Iraq collapsed into civil war. Yeah, we broke it.<br />
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The conniving weasels surrounding Bush had promised a short, easy, justified war. It would be paid for by oil revenue. We were greeted as liberators until society collapsed. The lies were exposed as we became mired in house to house fighting.<br />
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AS opinion turned, those that voiced concern or opposition to this misguided adventure, Defense Secretary Von Rumsfeld called us appeasers. Criticizing ol' W was unpatriotic.<br />
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Our troops were poorly supplied. A body armor shortage. Unarmored Humvees. An Army not large enough to carry on two wars without constantly redeploying the troops over and over.<br />
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Bush left office and disappeared from GOP history. Barack Obama, the new President, now got all the blame for what happened. Condemned and second guessed as we got out of Iraq. We had prepared them as well as we could. They had to want a democracy.<br />
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Iraq continued to have problems.<br />
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Recently a militant group called ISIS has hit hard in Iraq. They have taken cities. The Iraqi Army melted away as is there want.<br />
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Now on the news shows and other media outlets, the people who formulated this disaster are bitching at President Obama for losing Iraq. They want a reset where we invade once more. They draw parallels with the fall of Viet Nam.(Which happened under a Republican President,Gerald Ford. This was after Nixon, another GOP stalwart negotiated the treaty).<br />
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I was around when Nam fell. I do not recall one voice in Congress calling for us to go back in.<br />
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That's all we hear now from the War Party. These lying,mindless toadies can't wait to send the best of America into harm's way once more.<br />
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The press needs to ignore them. They need to shut the fuck up and crawl back under their rocks and prey only on grubs. They are like a monkey fucking a football as they jockey for screen time.<br />
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We can only do so much to fix the mess they left. now, they want to fuck it up beyond repair.<br />
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These attention whores are the worst of us. Let them fade into the mists of time where they can get ass fucked by the countless dead whose blood is on their hands.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-50131112557238078702014-05-18T13:28:00.002-04:002014-05-18T13:42:17.195-04:00I am finally at the age where I bury more friends than I make. Sometimes you meet a person that changes your life. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes, not. That's the crapshoot of friendship. If you are asked why you are friends with someone you likely spout platitudes as you grope for an answer. Friendship, like love is something that happens in spite of our best intentions.<br />
<br />
Dan(Jeremiah) Freeman was a friend.<br />
<br />
We met around thirty years ago. We both did cable TV. We both loved music. We both shared a best friend.<br />
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Jeremiah had spent years in the music business. He started playing professionally at thirteen. The man had a rough, raspy speaking voice but sang clear as a bell. He could take a sad country song and reduce you to a puddle of tears in a honky tonk. And he seemed to know them all.<br />
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He played bass guitar primarily. Though he was also an accomplished lead player when he wanted to be. But as a singer is where he made his greatest impact.<br />
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Danny was an old school country singer. He took the old classics and infused them with life. You felt the pain and joy in the lyrics. Love lost or found. Drinking to forget or remember. Riding the rails or your thumb across rural America or the factories of the North. And he could do all this loaded.<br />
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All the people who knew him have a plethora of "Jeremiah" stories. After a person's passing there is a tendency to gloss over flaws. Well, no matter how hard you try you'll never be able to paint Jeremiah Freeman as a saint. Hell, no one could do that with a straight face.<br />
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Danny was the kind of guy who drew strong reactions from people. If you knew him, you either loved or hated him. Sometimes both in the same hour. He could be kind and caring, then a real bastard. Sometimes, but not always, it depended on the Budweiser consumption, as to which Jeremiah you were dealing with.<br />
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He could give you the shirt off his back as he stabbed you in yours. He could be funny, sweet and charming. or he could be vicious as he told you how to fix your life, even if there was nothing wrong with it.<br />
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The bastard would have a handful of new jokes every day. They were never politically correct. He had a sharp wit. I once said to him"No one phrases like Willie Nelson." His reply? "Who'd want to?"<br />
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Oh, he drank. He would order two beers at the bar at a time. I once saw him so drunk he forgot the words to "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey". A friend of mine once observed that if he and I drank as much as people thought we did, we'd be dead. We simply couldn't drink that much and function. Jeremiah did drink as much as people thought he did. Sometimes more. He would then sing you down a country road, or across a forlorn stretch of highway.<br />
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In the last year we didn't see each other as much. I was too blind with cataracts and too broke to go see him. He was legally blind and no longer drove. But, we'd go see an act at the house of a friend of his. He managed to get me lost going there. He also sang with Linda Ronstadt at one after show jam.<br />
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Sleepy LaBeef had him sitting in with the band whenever he played Columbus. Sleepy offered Danny a gig in the band. Jeremiah asked if he took it would I help him move to Northwestern Arkansas. I said, sure. Danny was getting sick then, I think and passed on it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDCfqQ9V_tm7ijV_B-x0R5sdfQqqVPaPdRwLcO6HwRLfjCGWOltDM-YuhFOM04SjSswMhKayrI_zLDmIrgkcTwM0Bb7C_51Gie5YfzFk4UE2LVQRreJVU5iRhvd4xyoqVGPekwdw-PMfz/s1600/20130807_205710_Android.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDCfqQ9V_tm7ijV_B-x0R5sdfQqqVPaPdRwLcO6HwRLfjCGWOltDM-YuhFOM04SjSswMhKayrI_zLDmIrgkcTwM0Bb7C_51Gie5YfzFk4UE2LVQRreJVU5iRhvd4xyoqVGPekwdw-PMfz/s1600/20130807_205710_Android.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danny playing bass for Sleepy LaBeef Aug. 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We had a rocky relationship. There were days we hated each other. There were days when we we as close as two friends could be. And everything in between.<br />
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The city of Columbus is a little duller now. Even more boring. Dan was one of a kind. Thank God. I know my life will be duller, less chaotic and fun from now on.<br />
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Good-bye, Jumbo.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxiNHoDIkol8vS8e9JQ3L_9Hhld7kcm4F-UvFjVh6kqsMqXAhS453zXhnIemiIb_d0gAG-xrws2X4Ly8pWab3uL6hDaYlEu31835q7afOACjrdHAbB2hRoKSUP5UYFXwyfcoHiwD4QKYm/s1600/20130807_210702_Android.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxiNHoDIkol8vS8e9JQ3L_9Hhld7kcm4F-UvFjVh6kqsMqXAhS453zXhnIemiIb_d0gAG-xrws2X4Ly8pWab3uL6hDaYlEu31835q7afOACjrdHAbB2hRoKSUP5UYFXwyfcoHiwD4QKYm/s1600/20130807_210702_Android.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Sleepy LaBeef at The Hey Hey gig in Aug.2013<br />
(Photos copyright 2013 Thomas Givens all rights reserved)</td></tr>
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-90873061071080582452014-05-07T21:37:00.004-04:002014-05-07T21:37:56.168-04:00The GOP House Gets Desperate. Speaker of the House John Boehner's district is about fifty miles west of where I live in Columbus Ohio.It has a reputation as perhaps the most conservative District in the Ohio Congressional Delegation. Southwestern Ohio is about as red as red can be and not be a flaming bastion of Klansmen and Neo-Confederates.<br />
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The Speaker has never been considered a brilliant political strategist. He may be best known for handing out checks from the tobacco lobby on the floor of the House. Basically a bag man.<br />
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Speaker Boehner's weak grip on his caucus has been evident since the Tea Party Wave of 2010 ushered in a group of Freshman Republicans who don't play well with the Party establishment. This has been evident since the Debt Ceiling negotiations in 2011. Boehner repeatedly thought he had a deal he could get passed in the House. He repeatedly had the plans thrown back at him by the Tea Party members.<br />
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He's allowed 50 + votes to repeal the ACA to placate the House Tea Party Caucus. He has put Members who call science "lies from the pits of Hell" on the Science and Technology Committee. He put Michelle Bachman Bachman on the Intelligence Committee. And so on and so on. These moves were made to placate the crazy Right Wing Members he has to contend with. Akin to herding cats.<br />
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The Speaker lost control of his caucus when the Tea Party adherents forced a Government Shutdown over the ACA. He was the victim of a Tea PArty Mutiny. He has been forced to move important legislation using Democratic votes to pass the House.<br />
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Boehner has been attacked by the Right for not being a "true conservative". There have been unsuccessful calls to replace him as Speaker.<br />
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He's allowed Darrell Issa (R-CA) to run witch hunts on the non existent scandals of the Obama Administration. Fast and Furious (Started under Bush). Te IRS. And of course, Benghazi, the Republican Beetlejuice.<br />
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The GOP in Washington has been focused on Benghazi since 2012 like a cat chasing a laser dot. It is the go to scandal to hype when events threaten to boost the president and other Dems. It is rolled out at every opportunity as a distraction and attempt to show just how lawless the Tyrant Obama truly is. It is also a way, they hope, to mortally wound a Hillary Clinton Candidacy.<br />
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The investigations of the faux scandals have been a bust for the rabid Obama haters posing as Members of Congress. So, there is only one logical option. A House Select Committee to interrupt and impede the current investigations. After A Select Committee is the only way to ensure partisan political gain is the objective and get the media exposure for their fantasies.<br />
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When he announced the formation of the committee, Speaker Boehner assured America this was not an exercise in political theater. Pursuit of information was the goal. He then went on to pronounce the Administration guilty. So much for an unbiased look at the issues.<br />
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This Special Committee has been welcomed by the tea Party Caucus.They obviously see this as a way to generate sound bites for their reelection campaigns at home. A public way to show how much they are serious about opposing POTUS.<br />
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Lurking in the background, since a lot of House Republicans have stated the President should be Impeached one must wonder just what the actual agenda is. Impeachment is the obvious answer.As weak as he is the Speaker will be unable to rein in the extremists in his caucus.<br />
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These Republicans are obviously hoping to gain the Senate and remove the Usurper from office. That has been Republican policy since president Clinton. A total rejection of any popularly elected Democratic President.<br />
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The Select Committee is a dangerous move in this coup attempt.<br />
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As they strut before the cameras, spouting their racist and conspiracy fueled views, normal Americans will react with contempt and vote for sanity. These RWNJ's on parade will make the US ,once again, the laughing stock of the world, damage our standing and cripple our diplomatic ability.<br />
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The Democrats can not boycott the committee. There has to be a voice of sanity to oppose the madness that has gripped DC.<br />
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God save the United States.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-30481967084073270362014-04-20T10:59:00.001-04:002014-04-20T10:59:58.997-04:00Ohio quietly becomes part of the South. Texas, Arkansas and other parts of the Old Confederacy get the press for repressive abortion laws and voter suppression. However, Ohio is beacon of inspiration for those who wish to end access to safe legal abortions. Laws passed in Ohio are used as templates in places like Texas and Mississippi.<br />
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Here in Ohio the legislature has taken upon itself to rewrite medical definitions. pregnancy, in Ohio, now is defined as beginning at conception rather than implantation as it defined by the medical community.This puts the use of some contraceptives at odds with the law as they may prevent implantation. This would make an IUD an abortion causing medical device. Thus, a woman needing one will be required to have the forced ultra sound, the lecture that blames breast cancer on abortion (even if there is no evidence of causality).<br />
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Ohio requires abortion providers to have a transfer agreement with a local hospital to remain open. These agreements are to ensure prompt treatment of any complications. Other medical out patient clinics are not required to have such agreements. These are popular anti-choice techniques used to limit access. Ohio goes one step further by forbidding public hospitals( e.g Ohio State University Hospital) from entering into such agreements. Now, since many of Ohio's private Hospitals have religious affiliation this can force clinic closure due to an inability to secure a transfer agreement with private hospitals.<br />
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A provider in Toledo is trying to arrange an agreement with a Michigan hospital just across the border. The State Health Department, which regulates abortion providers seems ready and willing to argue a Michigan hospital, no matter how close, is not a local healthcare provider and therefor unacceptable.<br />
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I mentioned a lecture earlier. In Ohio, a doctor must read from a State approved script which is rife with unfounded and debunked medical information. This accompanies the waiting period required before a procedure is performed. By the way, no other procedure is required to have a waiting period and lecture designed to have the effect of trying to have a patient to decline by changing their mind.<br />
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Ohio has also went with the regulation to require abortion providers to upgrade their facilities to those of an ambulatory surgical center. This is an expensive and unnecessary remodel. It is opposed by Ohio Doctors but was imposed by the Republican legislature in their superior wisdom.<br />
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The goal is closing all abortion providers in the State of Ohio. Mike Gonadakis, head of Ohio Right To Life reminds us that women can go out of State. There is no law about mileage or travel time in the definition of access.<br />
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Ohio is leading the charge to end safe and legal abortion. It is weaving a web of regulation and restriction to stifle access in the State. It is doing so by pushing gray areas and moving up to the edge of Roe v Wade without flagrant violation.<br />
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The laws passed in Ohio are being copied in Texas and across the old Confederacy. Even laws that haven't passed here are copied. The Heartbeat bill is one. It prohibits abortion after detection of a fetal heartbeat. This often happens before a woman even realizes they're pregnant.<br />
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Governor Kasich and the Tea Party /fundie legislature are up for reelection in 2014. Women's rights have been under assault here since 2011. It's time to remove the threat at te ballot box.It is time to restore Ohio's reputation as a moderate. sane political state.<br />
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Political disagreement and debate is a needed part of a representative Democracy. It does however require being based on facts. Codification of conservative Christian cults ideology is wrong and the antihisis of what our founders envisioned.<br />
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So, it is time to take back Ohio from the deranged right wing and return to sanity in our discourse. All politics are local. So, the beast way to say no is to vote a straight Democratic ballot. Donate. Volunteer and VOTE!OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-56459886521448856292014-03-26T17:53:00.003-04:002014-03-26T18:17:25.650-04:00SCOTUS looks into a religious abyss. The abyss stares back at us all. Corporations are an artificial legal construct designed to shield shareholders from liability. That's my understanding but not being an attorney, I may be wrong. Won't be the first time. And as usual it won't stop me from wading in and tossing out my two cents worth.<br />
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In this Hobby Lobby case there are so many issues swirling around it's hard to find a starting place or decide where to start to construct a coherent look. So, I'll just wade in.<br />
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As I mentioned above a corporation is a legal construct. It is by design separate from those who own, control and manage it. The shareholders are not responsible for its debts and the Corporation doesn't dissolve upon the deaths of shareholders. It is a shield for the owners.<br />
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Since it is designed to be separate from the owners how can Hobby Lobby and the others claim the owners religious beliefs are being infringed.? To do so will require a new definition so owners can be shielded on one hand and claim their religious beliefs are one and the same with their Corporation on the other. Is this SCOTUS willing to do this? Well they have discarded centuries of precedent and engaged in convoluted legal reasoning before.<br />
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Let's look back at the rise of the idea modern American Government is anti-christian and how it became such a loud voice full of sound and fury signifying little in the political landscape.<br />
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The unholy alliance of conservative Christians and the Republican Party dates back to Nixon's Southern Strategy. Unfortunately Nixon thought they could control the results.<br />
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In 1968 Nixon created the myth of the silent majority. The venal, manipulative psychopath played on the racial and social fears of blue collar whites as they were shell shocked watching their children reject everything they'd worked so hard for.<br />
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They saw Vietnam being fought for a draw and as WWII vets they were confused and dismayed. They saw the touchstones of their life being upset. Overt racism was being vilified. African Americans were demanding their rights. Truman had integrated the Military. Ike had sent troops into Arkansas to enforce school integration. They nodded in agreement as George Wallace barred the entrance of The University Of Alabama and shouted,"Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow and segregation forever!" These people cheered as Governor Reagan attempted to crush the rebellion of the counter culture and anti war movement.<br />
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Between the civil rights violence, the reaction by the entrenched White Southern power structure, the counter culture, music, the celebration of drugs and violent rejection of the war in Southeast Asia many were were confused and angry. And ripe for being taken in by a skilled huckster like Nixon.<br />
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The Presidential campaign of George Wallace was more overtly racist than Nixon's. Dick was more skilled at subtly leading the crowd to what he wanted while causing them to believe they arrived at their decision on their own.<br />
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Part and parcel of these disaffected were Conservative Christians who felt America was turning it's back on God. Canny snake oil salesman that he was, Nixon invited Televangelists into the tent. He invited such leading scholars like Jimmy Swaggert, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Unfortunately Nixon did not realize he was sowing the seed of the eventual destruction of the modern Republican Party.<br />
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Reagan solidified the influence of the Religious Right as he embraced their narrow world view giving lip service to their cause. All the while using them as he seldom attended church himself and exploited them for campaign cash and foot soldiers. The vicious Machiavellian political mastermind Lee Atwater guided these maneuvers leading those Christians into the Coliseum.<br />
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Something to remember is until the late Eighties, these reactionary Christians were marginalized and derided. Holy Rollers they were called. Outside of the Bible Belt their power and influence was marginalized. It was dismissed as an amusing aberration.<br />
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Eventually these Christian foot soldiers became resentful of being used and abused. Following the election of Barack Obama they mobilized. Carrying the Cross they wrapped themselves in the flag and took up the mantle of the Patriots of the Revolution. Unfortunately they had little understanding of the reasons the Colonists took up arms against the Crown.<br />
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Aided and abetted by the Right Wing media, the idea of a war on Christianity grew into a given. It seemed everything was an attack. Science in school was seen as a liberal, secular attack on the word of God. It did not matter that in a publicly funded school, Genesis has no place as a text.<br />
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Pseudo Historians tried to rework history as a false major propaganda piece to deny America was created as a Christian Theocracy.<br />
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Science is derided as lies from the pits of Hell by a member of the House Science and Technology Committee.<br />
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We now have a atmosphere where ignorance is worn as a badge of honor. Where intolerance is seen as the sacred word of God and the path to the salvation of America. It is in this arena of thought where any idea is given credence,as long as it is wrapped in scripture, that Hobby Lobby feels aggrieved.<br />
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What I find disturbing is it seems only conservative Christian thought seems to be defended constantly as being under attack. Mainstream faiths are actually derided at times as not really Christian.<br />
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Now, Hobby Lobby's objection to the contraception is that they consider IUD's and some other methods as abortion. So, not only do they claim their beliefs are under attack, their belief is in denial of science. However, the idea seems to be their ignorance is equal to and as valid as others knowledge. It is disbelief in the face of scientific proof.<br />
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The very idea that a Corporation has religious beliefs is not a new legal idea. It is however one that SCOTUS has rejected before. A Southern restaurant chain claimed that they felt it was their religious right to deny service to African Americans. That defense was rejected by The Supreme Court.<br />
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Now we have religious freedom as a defense to control what medical care can be offered to a woman. It it an employer's right to decide for the woman.<br />
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Now, as the women Justices did, one wonders what this idea will eventually encompass.<br />
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If one's religion rejects vaccines or blood transfusions, can the employer deny coverage for this? Christian Scientists reject medicine all together so can they refuse any coverage? Does an employer have the right to impose their religious views on the employee even if the employee doesn't share those beliefs?<br />
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Let's look further into this can of worms.<br />
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First off it appears that conservative Evangelical Christianity is becoming a preferred strain of a religion rife with various denominations. These range from the Unitarians on the left to the Westboro Baptist Church and their intolerant ilk on the right.<br />
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Not surprisingly the conservative media lines up in defense of the Evangelicals as they complain of persecution. Although it is hard to see how a dominant religion in a society(Christianity) can possibly claim persecution.<br />
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There is a constant barrage of examples of so-called attacks put forth on American airwaves. Right Wing radio calls this court case a lethal blow to religious liberty if sanity is allowed to win.<br />
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What is ignored is a person's religious freedom ends where my rights to believe or not begin. These sects have warped the ill informed public's view of separation of church and state as a myth. the belief we are actually a theocracy that has lost our way is a dangerous idea. It opens the door to a myriad of beliefs not subject to the rule of law simply by cloaking them in the Gospel.<br />
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Religion was once used as a justification for slavery. We have actually heard Republican office holders say slavery wasn't that bad due to it being in the Bible. It was used as a basis for racial purity laws and statutes to prevent mixed marriages. Religion in the hands of a zealot can be a terrible weapon.<br />
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If an employer believes, due to their firmly held religious beliefs, that unmarried women should not have access to birth control since they should be chaste, would that be acceptable? Perhaps, scriptural hatred of LBGT(which seems to be rampant) is an excuse for not hiring them or to refuse HIV/Aids treatment? And would such treatment be allowed to straight employees?<br />
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Perhaps since men are the head of the household in the Scriptures women should not receive any health coverage since their husband should supply it? Could a company refuse to hire women because they should be at home tending the hearth according to their beliefs?<br />
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If your interpretation of the Word says that blacks are inferior and the races should be kept separate could you refuse to hire or serve African Americans? Could you refuse to deal with LBGT customers or customers living together without benefit of marriage?<br />
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The use of faith to exempt secular, for profit Corporations from the rule of law is an invitation to chaos. It would put the courts and legislatures in the business of deciding what is a reasonable religious belief. Which in itself is unconstitutional.So we would see a hands off approach, which is the GOP/Tea party stance today anyway. They accept any claim of religious discrimination, no matter how far fetched as legitimate.<br />
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The legal idea of incorporation cannot allow the shareholders to reach out to claim a religious corporate identity and remain separate from the corporation for liability.<br />
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This case is more than contraception. It is,can a corporation push it's beliefs on it's employees and flout laws others in the business world must adhere to. Can religion be used to ignore law across the board. Religious objection can be raised and claimed on nearly any law by simple contorted interpenetration of scripture. And there are many churches out there adept at the linguistic, intellectual and logical contortions needed.<br />
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SCOTUS has to uphold the traditional legal definition of a corporation. Religious exemption from almost any law opens a road to hell paved with bad intentions. It will be a road to perdition paved with gleeful flouting of the rule of law and substituting religious dogma of all stripes as the law of the land. That can not happen. It is spitting in the face of those who labored to create a nation free of religious domination they saw in Europe.<br />
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It would embolden the right and ease the push to theocracy and overturning American traditions of religious diversity. A coup by any other name....<br />
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God help us all and save us from the man who is sure he is righteous.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-90926920298141427272014-03-16T14:04:00.001-04:002014-03-16T18:17:49.051-04:00Cosmos. Knowledge vilified. Cosmos. I watched and marveled at it's first incarnation led by Carl Sagan. He examined and explained the Universe in ways the average could grasp. He brought his inherent sense of awe to the viewers. A generation of scientists were inspired by Cosmos. The show became an icon of PBS and science programming in general.<br />
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I was glad to see it's return hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, today's Sagan. He is a witty, erudite spokesman for the role of science in modern life. Tyson, like Sagan, makes science approachable and relevant. He shares his awe and wonder at the scope and beauty of the Universe and loves explaining it in a way that can spread that wonder. Neil is also an outspoken critic of forcing religion into science education. This makes him a reliable target for the wrath of Extreme Christians and science deniers.<br />
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The anti-intellectual strain of thought that has been evident in America since the beginning is at historic levels today. Theirs is a uniquely American view that their ignorance is equal to and as valid as other's knowledge Science itself is seen as having a Liberal and anti-Christian bias. It is attacked as an assault on religion. As Neil deGrasse Tyson has said, facts don't care if you believe in them .<br />
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So, I was dismayed but not surprised by the level of vitriolic attacks on Cosmos by the Religious Right. It was right on cue.<br />
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This is seen as central to the fights concerning Creationism as a legitimate part of science education anyone who actually supports facts as truth is demeaned as persecuting Christians and denying religious freedom.<br />
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Following the broadcast of Cosmos the social media universe lit up with attacks on Tyson, the show, the science and decrying it as an organized persecution and attack on Christianity. My response was, What the actual fuck?<br />
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The mainstream denominations have no problem with science. Many scientists are people of faith. They do not react in outrage when Neil deGrasse Tyson says the Bible is not a scientific text. Mainstream religion does not use Genesis as the basis for how the Universe works. They treat it as allegorical not literal. To believe in science is not an attack on faith. Ask a Catholic. Or a Vatican spokesman on the papal stance on science.<br />
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You can get a good science education at a Catholic school like Notre Dame or any other Catholic University. There is a tradition of Catholic priest/scientists making discoveries that expanded modern scientific knowledge. So, I would postulate science and religion is not automatically exclusive of each other.<br />
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However today in America we have an atmosphere that seems to elevate willful ignorance to a badge of honor to be worn proudly.<br />
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Climate change is denied. When it is accepted by the right they claim God will save us from catastrophic events. Or, it's punishment. Evolution is rejected as an attack on religious freedom. How dare we expect factual scientific teaching in PUBLIC schools? How dare Fox air such a blatant attack on Christianity?<br />
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When the original cosmos aired there were no massive complaints that it was a violation of freedom of religion. It was not derided as a liberal, secular, atheistic war on the basic tenants of the Christian faith. People of reason saw it as an excellent example of compelling science programming. It made science accessible. Amazing the difference a couple decades makes.<br />
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Perhaps I am a cynic. It does seem that this new war on Christianity is being used by assorted conservative groups and Evangelicals as a fundraising tool. Do they believe this is a war or simply a way to dupe the faithful into opening their wallet? They use radio, television and the internet to demonize science as lies from the pits of Hell. These very platforms prove science works as predicted. It proves the scientific method works and is a correct look at the universe.<br />
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I have a suggestion to those who attack Cosmos as a planned attack on your your faith. Don't fucking watch it. Do not organize boycotts or other attempts to deny more the joy of watching a well done science program on American, commercial television. That happening is in itself a miracle.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-25814872396631094662014-02-15T22:13:00.001-05:002014-02-16T19:50:23.757-05:00Equal means equal. And All means all. If you listen in the quiet chill air of a frigid February you may hear the explosions of intolerant heads across the country.<br />
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The United States District Court of the Eastern District OF Virginia overturned the Virginia Constitutional Amendment forbidding same sex marriage and forbidding the recognition the same from other States. The usual right wing vitriol spewed forth on cue. As additional fodder the fact that Virginia's newly elected Attorney General, seeing the case as a loser decided to not fight the suit.<br />
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One thing to remember Attorney's General, like City, County and District Attorneys across America can decide not to prosecute a case. That is an executive decision on allocation of resources and the case's merits. No responsible prosecutor wants to try a weak case of dubious constitutional standing.<br />
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Naturally AG Mark Herring (a newly elected Democratic AG) took flack as being lawless like the President did over DOMA by not sinking money and personnel into defending theVirginia Amendment which likely would not withstand constitutional scrutiny.<br />
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Tony Perkins of The Family Research Council was furious at Herring. He declared the AG had not carried out his duty to vigorously defend the indefensible. According to Perkins, Herring was required to uphold the laws and Constitution of Virginia. Perkins makes sure he mentions the Amendment garnered 57% of the vote in 2006 when it was passed.<br />
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This is always brought up wherever these Amendments are under siege. If being popular majority views were grounds to stop challenges, then there would still be slavery in the old South. The things about rights are they are rights,.They are not something subject to the whim of a vote. Perkins also says that this was not just a law,it was a Constitutional amendment.<br />
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Where to start, Tony? Sure it was an amendment to a STATE constitution. The Federal Constitution and law is supreme when in conflict with State or local law. Also, when a State joins the Union, the Constitution of that State is examined to ensure it is in accordance with the Federal Constitution.<br />
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Perkins also attacks Judge Arena L. Wright Allen who handed down the decision. Since the decision is something he disagrees with, Perkins hammered her as "Arrogant" and an "activist Judge". The usual tirade when the right loses a big one. SCOTUS' decision re; Citizens United, which scrapped more than a Century of precedent was just fine.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Roboto Condensed', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; word-spacing: -1px;">It appears that we have yet another example of an arrogant judge substituting her personal preferences for the judgment of the General Assembly and 57 percent of Virginia voters. Our nation’s judicial system has been infected by activist judges, which threaten the stability of our nation and the rule of law." * from Politicus*</span></blockquote>
Once more. Where to start?<br />
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A judge who rules against your views in not necessarily substituting personal views or ideas for law. Once more being passed by a legislature and having a majority vote does not exclude a law from being found lacking as to it's constitutionality.If anything judicial review enhances stability and rule of law. <br />
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Contrary to what Perkins believes Judge Wright Allen used what appears to be solid reasoning based on accepted views of the portions of the US Constitution she cites. Perkins continues to act as if the tyranny of the Majority is a good thing and somehow enshrined in American law.<br />
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James Madison one of the authors of The Federalist papers (written to explain why a strong Federal Government was better than what existed) and the Constitution was concerned by the issues presented by simple majority. To avoid the tyranny of the masses Madison and company created checks and balances to the simple whim of the majority which could undo what had been fought for. He knew in a Republic that balancing the rule of a majority against the rights of a minority was a dangerous tightrope that needed navigated carefully.<br />
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As usual Perkins rewrites history to his view so as to make it easy to use as a cudgel.<br />
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When the framers of the Constitution wanted to be vague, they would be. When they wanted precision they were precise. Perkins seems to see ALL as a simple rhetorical flourish that really meant conservative white fundamentalist Christians. Everybody else were the dregs of humanity and not worthy of the same rights accorded to others.<br />
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Perkins and his allies suggest Judge Allen Wright got to be an attorney and judge without understanding the Constitution. They contend by striking down discrimination based on sexual orientation the country will lose and be overtaken by inequality. Huh?<br />
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He continues by sliding further off the rails. It seems that same sex marriage sends the message that children are worse off in a same sex family. It will result in contempt for law and the courts. It undermines States right to discriminate. It also ignores The Constitution is based on the Old Testament.<br />
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Of course this decision is also called a social experiment conjuring images of the Commies and Nazis. Also the fact this Judge was appointed by President validates decision this as social engineering and validates all conspiracy theories.<br />
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This case was rightly decided on the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal Protection and Due Process. If, Virginia recognizes marriages performed in other States and Countries as valid, they must also recognize legal same sex marriages. The State can not show an overwhelming need not to and may not pick and choose what to recognize.. Equal is equal.<br />
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Judge Wright Allen imposed a stay pending appeals which of course are going to happen. Flog that dead horse.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-91957774882575670332014-02-15T02:21:00.001-05:002014-02-15T13:21:40.259-05:00The Right is spiraling out of control. Bouncing around on Facebook today I noticed more stories of Right Wing asshattery today than normal. They ran a gamut from insane to the absurd. Interspersed was sheer arrogance and pure disdain for others humanity.<br />
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The State of Kansas voted to legalize discrimination based on sexual orientation. All in the name of Religious rights. It basically boils down to if you being LBGT offends my tender faith based sensibilities, I can discriminate.<br />
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My restaurant does not have to serve you. I don't have to cut your hair or allow you in my theater. As an MD I don't have to treat you. As a business I don't have to hire you. As an EMT I can let you die on the street. Dental work. Eww. I don't know where that mouth has been. Don't even ask me to bake a cake.<br />
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The best thing is, I can't be sued for discriminating. Because this is all for my Christian belief systems. Good to see the old Confederate traditions updated for the 21st Century. Jim Crow is back. In the North this time.<br />
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A Missouri Lawmaker introduced a bill forcing schools to notify parents if evolution is going to be taught. He ten gives the parents an opt out. No. Really.<br />
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State Rep, Rick Brattin(R) went on to say the teaching of evolution violates peoples belief systems. Proving he has absolutely zero grasp of how science is done. he reinforced that by claiming the Theory of Evolution was simply pulled out of thin air. Simply to annoy Christian's, I bet.<br />
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As Bill Nye has said we can't afford to have a generation of scientifically illiterate children. It will mean no further scientific innovation here. Allowing science to be taught a la carte is tantamount to child abuse. Facts don't care if they violate your belief system. Facts are facts. Beliefs are subjective.<br />
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On a related subject a National Science poll found 26% of Americans think the Sun revolves around the Earth. 39% went with The Big Bang. 48% believe in Evolution. About half know antibiotics don't work on a virus.<br />
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As usual a bitter, brutal, storm laden winter disproves Climate Change because...snow. They don't seem to care weather is not climate.<br />
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Senator Ted Cruz (R-Klingon Empire) filibustered the bill to raise the Debt Limit passed by the House. he forced minority Leader Mitch McConnell and others to vote yes for cloture. This denied them the political cover they need at home by casting a yes vote to be able to cast a no vote on the bill itself.<br />
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Cruz said he did this to expose McConnell as a closet liberal. So, Cruz purposely did this to give ammo to those challenging from the right in primaries. I guess he wants to burn down the party and rebuild some appalling travesty on the ruins.<br />
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There was a time this behavior would be ridiculed and cost a politician his job and dignity. Now ignorance and intolerance is worn as a badge of honor. The more outrageous the belief or position the more likely it is said in front of mics and cameras.<br />
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What ever happened to the GOP that helped pass the Civil Rights Act and helped fund Mercury, Gemini and Apollo? What happened to sanity" The reign of raising our children to be fundamentalist science deniers will result in the demise of The US as a scientific leader. It's all done because they feel the have a right to ignorance as they burn us down. They set the fire, let the air out of the Fire truck's tires and say it's the government's fault. They stand ready to build a Christian version of the Taliban's world. OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-64615961090519221422014-02-10T06:42:00.002-05:002014-02-10T15:01:56.205-05:00I'm not Anti-Christian. Honest Those of you who have read my rants here or on Twitter and Facebook know I have some hot button issues that send me careening off on a rant.The teaching of creationism in PUBLIC schools is one. The attempts to ignore the prohibition of enacting Christian dogma as law is another. Some have asked if I am a person who hates the church. No. I am not. More on that later. <br />
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The attempted reshaping of America as a Conservative Christian theocracy sends me right off the rails. It simply denies the founders vision of a republic free of the co-mingling of church and state. They had lived under a British Crown that had a State religion. The Church of England. These men had seen first hand how the church in Europe had abused its power and position by inserting itself into national affairs and policy decisions.<br />
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Madison and the other framers of the Constitution were clear about making laws establishing a state religion. It was clearly and strictly forbidden. They also forbade any religious test or requirement to hold office in this Nation. The language is not oblique or unclear on this issue.<br />
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These were the well educated elite of this fledgling Country.Products of the Enlightenment and the age of reason. There was a belief in the inherent goodness of humanity. The use of reason, rather than blind, dogmatic faith to preserve the basic freedoms gained with blood and treasure.<br />
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When the young United States was a fairly homologous population of European Christians there was a shared reality. The oppression of Christianity was a battle of assorted denominations. The mainstream Protestant faiths marginalized Catholics and the newer evangelical sects. The Baptists. The Pentecostals and others. The dominate Protestant faiths and the Mormons waged actual running armed skirmishes for decades as the Latter Day Saints were pushed west. The Church of England became the Episcopalian Church to distance themselves from the Mother Church of England.<br />
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On the whole we escaped the bloody, widespread religious conflicts that plagued Europe for the Centuries following the Reformation. We avoided that trap by not having an official religion.<br />
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In the last century we saw fundamentalist, very conservative Christian Churches spring up across America. They were usually rural as was most of America. When the migrations from farm to city happened, these evangelical faiths came along, following the flock.<br />
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In the last half of the 20th Century and first decade of the 21st these fundamentalist faiths learned how to take control of cultural discourse in the public arena. They quickly became adept at using the new communication technologies. First travelling preachers used newspaper advertising to bring in the flock to the tent revivals. Then they used radio, effectively raising their profile and raising money to support new national ministries. Then TV expanded the reach of their message.<br />
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These preachers were no longer locked into a small rural church and flock. The reach of their message was national and then global.<br />
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This growth was not lost on the Republican Party. Richard Nixon forged the first alliance of political party and conservative faith. It gave the GOP a solid base that could be counted on to staff campaigns with volunteers and the give the life blood of politics, money.<br />
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Following the fall of Nixon the party paid lip service to the important cultural issues that drove the Christian right's anger.<br />
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It took Lee Atwater and Ronald Reagan to forge the unholy alliance with the Falwell's, the Robertson's and their ilk to reshape the Republican party into a de facto political arm of fundamentalist Christianity.The pairing took aim at the progressive advances made since FDR and the New Deal. It was a merger of a political party, corporations and those who saw their idea of American values being rejected and attacked.<br />
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Reagan and his disciples adroitly fashioned the fears of these conservative Christians into wedge issues to drive turnout in elections. The politics of fear and division had gone mainstream.<br />
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This alliance spent the two Reagan terms waging a slash and burn agenda against the average American. They demonized the word liberal and secular. They invented a war on religion as a plot by secularists to destroy American ideals. The religious right supported the gutting of the social contract. The welfare queen was invented. The mentally ill were marginalized and thrown out onto the streets without treatment. Those who needed help were derided as lazy and shiftless.<br />
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The Unions were portrayed as thugs getting money for nothing and crippling commerce. Distrust of the educational system was promoted by claiming it was rife with liberal indoctrination. The seeds of today's rejection of science and history were sown with reckless abandon.<br />
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Since 1980 we have seen America morph into a nation where the rich and corporations are richer than ever. The working American is working harder and longer for wages that have stagnated. Pensions have been decimated in the name of the bottom line. The shift has been to IRA's and windfall profits for Wall Street.<br />
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The regulations that kept our environment, medicine, the work place and the food supply safe have been decimated in the name of profit. During this demise of the American dream the alliance held.<br />
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With the election of George W. Bush this began to change.<br />
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The Christian Right realized they had been taken for granted. Their issues were paid lip service during campaigns to ensure boots on the ground and money for the GOP. After the election they were pretty much ignored. Their social agenda was on the back burner.<br />
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So, having learned how to run a campaign the religious right mutinied.<br />
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They staged a coup by winning primaries with their candidates, pushing aside the established GOP office holders. They knew the path to victory ran from local elections up. The took school boards. County governments.State legislatures and then national offices.<br />
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They were zealots. Compromise was an obscenity.Unleashed from the moderating influence of old guard Republicans they pursued their agenda with a passion.<br />
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They went after abortion. They tried to establish creationism as a viable subject to be taught in schools. They pushed for Charter schools to fund religious schools.The political push is to attempt to force religious views as basis for law.<br />
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The religious views the right want codified are always the most conservative, fundamentalist ideals. You never see mainstream Christian dogma pushed as a model for legislation.<br />
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We see people in power that claim to be Christian. They wear the term as a badge of honor. They see themselves as soldiers in a war against modernity. This clique is Christian in name only.They always champion scripture from the Old Testament. They warn of a vengeful God sitting in judgement of America.<br />
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They decry independent women as a cause of America's decline. Office holders actually say women should be obedient to their husband. The result is tornados as punishment. The very fact LBGT rights are existent is punished by drought or other natural disasters. The intolerance these people spew as Gospel is not Christianity. They turn their back on the poor and downtrodden as they exult the wealthy. Faux Christianity is used as cover to say the most hateful rhetoric and implement policies that crush the neediest among us.<br />
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They have hijacked Christianity and shaped it into something the martyrs and saints would never recognize.<br />
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This is why I go off the rails. The New Testament describes a God of love and mercy. Jesus overturned the money changer's tables in the temple. He didn't hold them up as paragons of virtue. Christ fed the hungry and healed the sick and infirm. HE did not demonize them as lazy moochers. HE preached peace not endless war. According to these Christians in name only Jesus would be a socialist.<br />
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I understand true faith.A person's religion gives peace and a structure to live by. It gives comfort in times of loss or strife. Belief is a powerful thing. There is beauty in those parables. There is hope. All wonderful things. Worship as you will. All religions should be granted the same freedom to believe. Not just the chosen.<br />
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Where I draw the line is wanting the state to force a certain religious view on me against my will .Do not push me to the Cross using the power of the State. I tend to react badly. That is not how you correct the ills you perceive. Often pushing an unforgiving point of view is very counter productive.<br />
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I have dear friends who live their faith. We may debate but we treat each other with respect. That's all we should ask. Mutual respect and tolerance.<br />
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The bumper sticker sermons ask what would Jesus do? He would look at what many do in his name and weep.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-4709337873692492892014-01-28T08:31:00.001-05:002014-01-28T08:31:30.103-05:00Isn't Sedition a crime? Since the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, we have seen numerous calls for impeachment, arrest, assassination and armed insurrection from so-called "Patriots" on the far right.<br />
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These people cry tyranny as they attempt to inflict their warped value system on the rest of us. They simply can't accept that President Obama has been elected twice by convincing margins. They view him as a usurper. After all he couldn't have been elected without massive fraud and assorted shenanigans.<br />
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The radical right has rejected the American electoral process simply because they don't approve of the results.<br />
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It seems the hateful, racist rhetoric is not enough. Now we have a Retired Army Major General volunteering to reluctantly lead a military coup. It is as if over night the USA has morphed into a third rate Banana Republic. The cacophony from the right is beyond amazing.<br />
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Retired Major General Paul Vallely has repeatedly spoken of a purge of Military general staff that feel POTUS is a tyrant. He has repeatedly called for his arrest. It seems General Vallely has forgotten the US Military is subservient to civilian authority.<br />
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Removing the President is not enough according to General Vallely. The Vice President and Congressional leaders of both parties must be forced to resign. Vallely calls for massive protests believing it will force resignations as it did with Nixon. He, like so many in the Tea Party fueled dwellers of an alternate reality sees creeping "progressive socialism" running rampant.<br />
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General Vallely declines to call for impeachment like so many of his compatriots because it can't be done politically. Thus, he rejects the will of the American people as shown in our last two national elections. He believes a new George Washington must come forth from the Military and lead America back to what he sees as better times. It doesn't matter the America he wants to restore never existed.<br />
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Vallely says we are in "a battle for America" and cites Senator Ted Cruz as saying the same. The General is calling for a groundswell of protests to force the President and congressional leaders to resign. I am amazed he feels the GOP leaders of the House and Senate are complicit in helping "progressive socialism" destroy America.<br />
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He cites all the imaginary scandals, Fast and Furious, Benghazi and the ACA. According to Vallely the administration is forcing political correctness on our Armed Forces, weakening us as a Superpower.<br />
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Now, as a true patriot, he told a Tea Party group in Surprise Arizona, he would reluctantly lead a coup, if called upon. He advocates surrounding the White House and the Capital building with 250,000 armed Marines to force mass resignations. He claims he has been offered this armed force by some in power who believe like him.<br />
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The question is, is Sedition still a crime? Vallely and others constantly call for overthrow of the duly elected Government of thee United States. He wants to reluctantly lead a military coup. Enough is enough. The First Amendment has limits and inciting treason is actionable. It is way past time to get these people's attention with arrest and indictments, followed by a trial.<br />
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Disagree with the Government? Fine, speak out. To call for rebellion because you don't like the Nation's course goes past any rational line of protected political speech. Major General Vallely is rejecting over 200 hundred years of American tradition by calling for a military coup. We have to show this type of demagoguery is unacceptable in a Republic. It is time to arrest these traitors.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-89354809057554769222014-01-17T17:28:00.001-05:002014-01-17T22:10:09.856-05:00I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. Sometimes I wonder what has happened to America. This is not the country where I grew up and came of age. Not the country that shaped my worldview, that forged the ideals I hold dear.<br />
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We were the good guys. We did the American dream as it was intended.<br />
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Maybe the 80's were the turning point.<br />
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The post war period was the America I came of age in. The America that was coming to grips with the dismantling of our shameful apartheid. We were struggling in learning to treat women as people.The fight for equality for LBGT Americans was in its infancy, nascent but growing as an idea whose time was near.<br />
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Unions had not been decimated. A minimum wage job was a starting place but you could live on it. Higher education was still affordable for any who wanted it. Class was something that could be overcome in our society. We were a shining city on a hill, a beacon of hope, freedom and equality..<br />
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Of course there were fits and starts. Nixon comes to mind. His prime legacy was a deep abiding mistrust of our government and those in it. Even so, he was talking of national healthcare but got distracted by a burglary in '72. The EPA was created on his watch. He opened China to the world and helped us pull back from decades of cold war brinkmanship with the Soviet Union. Nixon's rampant paranoia was the venal bastard's undoing.<br />
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We wandered through the 70's in a daze, a hangover from the 60's tumult and anarchy. And Vietnam. Many of us boomers changed course and became what we once despised. And in far too many ways we were far worse. The quest for money and status as success was for many an obsession.<br />
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Many of privileged avoided serving using the very draft deferments they condemned for those opposed to that tragedy in Southeast Asia. They honed their contempt for those not like them. Others that dodged the war they supported for the masses were developing a worldview diametrically opposed to American tradition.<br />
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We saw the Cheneys and the Rumsfelds move into mid level positions in Republican Administrations. As we staggered through the 70's they moved upward as they developed and pushed their ideals. It was eventually called Neo-Con for New Conservative. They were actively rejecting the conservatism of William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater. These Neo-Cons aligned themselves with the worst of the American ideologues. They took Nixon's Southern Strategy of playing to fear and racism and made it a driving force towards winning. They saw division, distrust and racism as a winning recipe for power. For reshaping America to embrace their views. They wanted to drive a stake through the heart of The New Deal and Great Society.<br />
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These men went after unions as a major threat. They demonized those that disagreed. Any who opposed them were liberal. That was a term they took ownership of, making it obscene. The equivalent of Commie. Of Socialist. Of America haters. In disarray, the Democratic Party fled from many of their ideals to avoid being tarred with that liberal brush. The clear differences between the parties started to blur in the 80's.<br />
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Ronald Reagan became the face of the new Republican Party. He parleyed two terms as Governor of California into becoming President. Eighty was close. Eighty-four was a landslide.<br />
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Ronnie slashed taxes for the wealthy. Reagan pushed the idea that government was the problem. He demonized moderate Dems as liberals. He pushed the drive to decimate the Union movement. Reagan was intent on unleashing unfettered capitalism by trying to do away with "job killing regulations". The very regulations that protected Americans from harm. He followed the playbook written by a truly evil genius, Lee Atwater. Lee's descendants are active today, driving GOP policy and election strategy.<br />
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Reagan changed us from a lender to a debtor nation. He raised taxes as the deficit exploded. Too little. Too late. He took advantage of geo political trends and helped push the USSR into oblivion. His present disciples see him as doing it singlehandedly. It was the result of forty plus years of concerted pressure from the United States and Europe.<br />
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The world did rejoice as the Berlin Wall was demolished, the Warsaw Pact disintegrated and the Soviet Union collapsed. We had no plan for the aftermath. The Neo-Cons stepped into the void.<br />
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The Reagan years set the stage for our modern political landscape. The standard bearers for these culture wars came to maturity under Saint Ronnie. In was then the us versus them mentality took root, dividing the nation as we struggled for identity following the end of the cold war. Being the last remaining Superpower was enticing to those who saw an opportunity to expand American power and influence abroad. They envisioned an imperial America and the dawn of Empire. Of course it was never phrased that way.<br />
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Our attention shifted from Moscow as we let it collapse into anarchy. We stood by as the Soviet nuclear arsenal was held by assorted break away states. We were more concerned with regaining our influence in the oil fields of the middle east. We saw a concerted policy to reestablish American policy and power that had diminished following the fall of the Shah of Iran.<br />
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We increased ties with the Saudis. We supported Iraq as they fought Iran to a stalemate. That support included chemical and conventional weapons.<br />
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As Iraq moved to occupy the power vacuum left in the region by the Soviet collapse we pulled our support and treated our former proxy as a rogue power.<br />
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Then came the first Gulf War. We established a presence in the Arab monarchies that continues to this day. We supported the opposition in Afghanistan to the Soviet occupation then abandoned them following the pull out. The result was the Taliban.<br />
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As we kept a military presence in the region we saw the rise of groups like Al Qaeda. .<br />
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We blasted through the nineties oblivious to what we had wrought. We were too busy making money to see what was coming. Dissident voices were ignored. America was engaged in the first battles of the culture war that is currently crushing the gains of the last one hundred and twenty years.<br />
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A two term President was hounded and vilified by the GOP. Clinton was eventually impeached by a Republican House who knew it would never clear the Senate. Political theater as policy was now a tool of the burgeoning right. A Texas Governor was poised for a run at the office held by his father.<br />
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In the background we saw the religious right seize the primary process of the GOP. They allied with those who were the products of twenty years of the Southern Strategy. These "conservatives" establishment conservationism replacing it with discredited strong States and weak Federal government point of view. In essence they rejected views and lessons learned since the Civil War. Any who disagreed were cast aside as secularists. As Un American. As haters waging war on Christianity. These new Republicans pushed the party to the right. They were unforgiving. They viewed compromise, the lifeblood of a republican form of government as surrender.<br />
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Under George W.Bush we saw a surplus squandered. Tax cuts for the wealthy. The acceptance of the myth of the job creators. We saw a Republican controlled House and Senate rubber stamp prolifigate spending. Vice President Chaney famously said, deficits don't matter.<br />
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We saw the Neo-Cons, now in power make their move to establish American dominance at the end of a gun.<br />
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During the Cuban Missile Crisis as cold warriors were calling for a first strike against Cuba, Robert Kennedy remarked that America doesn't strike first. That's not who we are.<br />
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In the first Administration of the twenty-first Century we saw that ideal crushed and swept aside.<br />
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September 11, 2001 we saw the attack on America, live on TV. We saw the Pentagon smoking. We saw the wreckage of an airliner smoldering in a Pennsylvania field. We watched, live, the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.<br />
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The world was with us. NATO invoked Article 5 of the charter for the first time. That states an attack on one is an attack on all. the terrorist strike was identified as being planned and directed from Afghanistan. We attacked with NATO support and pushed the Taliban out of power.<br />
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Then the Bush Administration began banging the drums of war turning to Iraq.<br />
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Iraq was bottled up. Yet it was portrayed, falsely, as collaborating on the September 11 attacks. The Bush Administration knew this wasn't true. They portrayed Iraq as on the verge of having a nuke to use on us or Israel. They also knew this wasn't true.<br />
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The new Bush doctrine was The United States would strike first if we felt endangered. This abandoned two centuries of US policy that war should be a last resort. It diminished the role of diplomacy in favor of expanded military options.<br />
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When George H.W. Bush decided to invade Kuwait in response to Iraqi aggression he did so with the backing of the United Nations and the Arab League. There was a coalition of States from the region to push Iraq out of Kuwait.<br />
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When his son decided to launch an unprovoked attack on Iraq there were few who joined in the ensuing war. The partners were few and the contribution small when compared to the size of American deployment.<br />
We also struck first.<br />
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The war did not divide the nation like Vietnam did a generation earlier. You can than a excellent public relations push through the media by the Bush Administration. The public had been convinced by the selected use of leaks and released intelligence to paint a threat where there was none.<br />
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The right wing rallied around the war wrapped in the flag. Any not on board were demonized as soft on terrorism. Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld called those opposed appeasers. He went there recalling the specter of a Hitler unleashed on Europe. This was the first time since Vietnam my loyalty and patriotism had been questioned for not falling in line.<br />
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I was enraged by that.<br />
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Those of us that saw through the charade that was presented as fact were vilified as cowards and anti American. I heard the same flawed arguments directed at us from Vietnam. We were undermining the war effort. We were not patriotic. We were a de facto fifth column giving comfort and hope to the enemy.We hated America and the troops.<br />
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Well, I decided I put up with the love it or leave it shit once before. Not this time.<br />
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Almost immediately we saw just how unprepared we were for this fight. We saw how badly the plan unraveled.<br />
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We went in with far too few troops for the mission. We did not have the troops to maintain security after we eliminated what police forces that were there. We allowed the welcome to turn into resentment and hatred. Sectarian violence exploded as there was nothing in place to do the basic operations a citizenry expects from the government. Food. Water. Power. Safety.<br />
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Our troops were poorly equipped. There was a shortage of body armor. The Humvees were unarmored and quickly became targets. We were enmeshed in a struggle for power between factions that had simmered for decades under Saddam.<br />
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We reallocated resources from Afghanistan to Iraq.<br />
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America squandered the world's goodwill, sympathy and support.<br />
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Here at home there was growing opposition to the war. People like me who had been quiet since the Sixties became reanimated.<br />
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In 2004, Bush nearly lost to John Kerry showing how unpopular his policies had become. Bush misread the election results and saw a mandate where none existed. With his radical Republican allies he sought to dismantle Social Security. He had his ass handed to him. His domestic policies were met with stiff opposition. In the 2006 midterms the GOP lost the House and Senate.<br />
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During this America saw our troops returning to a underfunded and unprepared VA. Troops were sent on multiple deployments due to there not being a military large enough to carry out the assigned missions. Under Bush we saw how the military is treated by the GOP. Fights over proper funding of the VA. Ignoring the plight of our troops as they tried to reenter society.<br />
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All during this the far right wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross attacked those Americans not in lockstep with the agenda as Un American. Michelle Bachman suggested members of Congress be investigated as to whether they were true Americans.<br />
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The Bush Administration carried the wars off the books as we saw record spending. For the first time in our nation's history we cut taxes as we went to war. Wall Street was unwatched as it turned the economy into a casino.<br />
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The economy crashed. Bush put together a package to bail out banks and investment firms. An aid package was put together to save the last of our major manufacturing base,the auto industry. These moves came at the end of his two terms.<br />
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The day Barack Obama took office he was blamed for all the debt accrued in the previous eight years.<br />
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Since the election of the first black President we have seen America sink into a vicious, far right conspiracy fueled quagmire.<br />
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We see Republican members of the House and Senate reject science. We see them declare law must be based on Christian principles. The President has been assailed by blatantly racist theories. His policies have been obstructed. It is a clear case of politics over the well being of the nation.<br />
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They are attacking the old, the poor, women and students. The nation is forced to turn it's back on those in need. The nation is depicted as split between takers and makers. No job? Lazy. Women are too stupid to make decisions regarding their health and futures so the state must do it for them. Christianity is under attack. Science is a liberal plot. Education indoctrinates a hatred of God. People go state to state looking for the best welfare. Ensuring healthcare is tyranny. Gays and independent women have destroyed America.<br />
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I can not remember a time when sanity was under attack from so many sides.<br />
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Like I said I will not be called a traitor for my beliefs.<br />
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To top everything off, I am bi polar. With this disease comes anger. At times it is overwhelming. Part of the way I am surviving, with no healthcare, is directing it into something constructive. I oppose the destruction of this nations ideals by a vocal, uninformed, delusional minority.<br />
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So I have become active. I feel the anger and passion I had as I opposed the status quo in the sixties. We ended a war and brought down a presidency. We pushed America towards it's promise lit by the 18th century revolution.<br />
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Hell yes I'm angry. It's a burning white hot anger fueled by injustice and nurtured by my disease. An anger I am cursed with that I use to stand and say no. No farther. My hyper periods give me energy to fight. My depressive periods gives me the quiet to eventually gather my thoughts. I may be a voice in the wilderness but, I am empowered by the belief that someone wants to know where we are. And where we are going.<br />
A sense of purpose. Watch out. I'm not going away.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-29434008061488361922014-01-16T19:58:00.000-05:002014-01-16T19:58:10.725-05:00Principle over people? The GOP in action. The Senate Republicans are doing a filibuster in the drive kill the Unemployment Insurance Extension. These Senators are claiming this is a principled stand to prevent sloth and dependency from claiming the jobless in it's cold socialist grasp.<br />
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Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) said if you continue to pay people who aren't working, they won't look like a job. He is continuing the idea that the unemployed are on an extended vacation and partying their asses off on that $250.00 check. I mean paying rent, utilities, buying food and fuel for the car leaves a lot of discretionary spending.money. Some feel drug tests are needed. Hell, you can't buy a bag for $250 let alone what's left after life preservation.<br />
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The Senate Republicans are stressing this is a matter of principle. We can't afford it without offsetting cuts. As usual these cuts will be made to other parts of the safety net. Never do any of the perks for the wealthy come under the Republican budget ax.<br />
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The GOP mindset is UI causes dependency on the dole and discourages finding work. They actually feel the small amount of money one receives is barely enough to keep body and soul together. After all those who aren't wealthy will become addicted to getting money for nothing. It doesn't matter to collect one has to be looking for work.<br />
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This extension was signed into law under G.W.Bush when unemployment was 5.6%. Under Bush it was renewed with no problems. Killing this program when unemployment is still over 7% is unprecedented. It is devastating to those long term unemployed. It's not as if they have savings left. It's not like they're lounging around the house.<br />
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When Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) was talking about why he was opposed to the current bill he spoke of better matching jobs with those in need of jobs. He mentioned there were a 100,000 open jobs in Ohio and 4000,000 unemployed. He accidentally highlighted there are four people for every job.<br />
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When the GOP talks of principle we know they are ready to slam the needy again. Never are programs that benefit the wealthy ever put at risk. The Senate Republicans defend all tax loopholes for the rich as they vilify the poor. The bloated Defense budget is sacrosanct.<br />
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This is an election year. if the unemployed haven't starved and lost everything they need to push these heartless lizard brained bastards out into the cold, cruel world. Send them packing and show their billionaire backers America is not for sale. We reject the serfdom being forced on us.<br />
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The ballot box is the key. Vote!<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-53030068819010961702014-01-13T14:37:00.002-05:002014-01-13T19:14:58.740-05:00Suing to save the right to lie in political ads. The urban, industrialized areas of Ohio are blue islands in a sea of red. Ohio has gerrymandered the districts to the point they look like they were drawn by a madman using LSD as a muse.The result is an overwhelming majority held by Radical Republicans in the US House and State Legislature.<br />
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Republicans talk here how Ohio is a conservative state. I think Ohio electing Barack Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown twice belies that. In the midterms coming up Ohio Dems are in a good position this early in the cycle to retake the statewide offices. Governor Kasich is in a tight race with the Democratic challenger Ed Fitzgerald.<br />
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These Ohio Legislators in 2013 slid horrendous abortion regulation into the State budget. The regulations are considered among the worst in the nation, right up there with Arkansas, North Dakota and of course, Texas. The Head of Ohio Right to Life sits on the State Medical Board which oversees healthcare professionals in Ohio. Ohio redefined when pregnancy begins in that budget. The so called "Heartbeat" bill is meandering through the legislative maze currently. This bill effectively bans abortion and is designed to attempt to force the overturning of Roe v Wade.<br />
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Suffice it to say the "pro Life" cadre swings a lot of weight in the politics of Ohio. With the Bible in one hand and the flag in another they claim the moral high ground as they try to turn back the clock on women's issues. That claim of superior morality now seems suspect. Two Cincinnati groups are taking a fight to SCOTUS to save their right to lie in political discourse.<br />
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During the 2010 midterms, Steve Driehaus (D-OH) was running for reelection against Steve Chabot<br />
(R-OH) in Ohio's first Congressional District. That district has portions of Cincy and a couple of rural counties that border KY and IN.<br />
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We all remember 2010 as the emergence of the Tea Party as a reactionary and loud voice in American politics. They targeted Republicans for failing purity tests and demonized Democrats. In this climate the Susan B. Anthony List decided to go after the incumbent Dem, Driehaus. The plan was to buy billboard space claiming Driehaus voted for Federally funded abortions by voting for the Affordable Care Act. This was a blatant lie. Anyone familiar with the politics of abortion knows that the use of Federal funds has been banned for years. The ACA does not change that. And the Susan B. Anthony List was aware of this. however they decided not to let the truth stand in the way of a good billboard ad campaign.<br />
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Imagine, lies being told in political campaigns. Shocking, I know.<br />
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Now the real shocker is Ohio has a law against knowingly telling lies in political campaigns.The process is cumbersome but the Ohio Elections Commission has the power to block untruthful ads and recommend prosecution.It has been used in the past to stop blatant lies, usually ruling after the election when it's moot. Usually the offending ad is scrapped prior to being run or is pulled if running. Offhand I don't recall any major fines being levied but there may have been.Also in politics, lies are in the eyes of the beholder.<br />
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Representative Driehaus went to the Commission over the billboards. The Election Commission concurred the ad's premise was false and blocked them.<br />
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Driehaus lost to Steve Chabot in the resultant Tea Party wave. Case closed. The seat was now held by a Republican, which was the goal.<br />
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Not so fast.<br />
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In 2011 the Susan B. Anthony List filed suit in Federal Court contending Ohio's False Statement statute violated the First Amendment by chilling free speech. A Cincinnati Tea Party group, the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes also filed and the suits were joined. The court decided the plaintiffs had no standing to sue since they were not prosecuted under the law and dismissed the suit. The 6th District Court also dismissed the suit on appeal for the same reason.<br />
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The groups appealed to SCOTUS saying the very existence of the law has a chilling effect on free speech and is prior restraint. The Supreme Court has decided to hear the case to determine if the groups have standing to file suit. The hearing will be in April with a decision expected towards the end of the term.<br />
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In defending Ohio, the Attorney General, defeated Senator Mike DeWine, has also filed an amicus brief acknowledging constitutional issues with the statute. This happens when a state's attorney or US attorney feels the law is iffy.So, we know where a Republican Attorney General stands on the right to lie being protected speech.<br />
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When SCOTUS decided to hear arguments the plaintiffs were ecstatic.<br />
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According to The Huffington Post, Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of The Susan B.Anthony List said, "We are thrilled at the opportunity to have our arguments heard. The Ohio Election Commission statute demonstrates complete disregard for the Constitutional rights of citizens to criticize their elected officials."<br />
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So this group equates lying with legitimate criticism. They seem to be missing the point of political discourse and the vigorous debate of issues. Your goal is supposed to defend your chosen position with facts to sway public opinion. If lying is a necessary strategy the legitimacy of your argument and strength of your position is suspect. As well it should be.<br />
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I'm not a naif. Lies are common currency in politics. Usually they are half truths, exaggerated for maximum effect. Reality is twisted to fit the narrative, However no one comes out and admits to lying. Thus you have fact checking rating the degree of "truthiness" in a statement. If lies were rare there wouldn't be a pants on fire rating.<br />
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Now an organization, in a movement in Ohio, who constantly claims moral indignation and a basic mission from God is fighting for the right to lie, without being called out, to further their political agenda. You would think this would damage their perceived moral superiority and righteous claims to a moral agenda. We'll see.<br />
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I am conflicted. Should I be glad that lying is now an admitted part of their agenda? Or should I be disappointed in having my cynicism reaffirmed?<br />
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Also, remember this is the Supreme Court that gave us Citizens United.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-80153442119322345342014-01-09T20:04:00.004-05:002014-01-09T20:04:50.037-05:00A New Year and Same old stuff. As Congress came back to DC in this frigid new year The Senate saw the lapse of long term unemployment benefits as a major and pressing issue. The Democratic majority and a few semi-sane Republicans forced cloture and went about the business of crafting a bill that can pass, restoring unemployment coverage to the long term jobless.<br />
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The GOP controlled House saw the priorities differently.<br />
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H.R.7 is in committee. The seven indicates this is the seventh bill introduced this session. And it is an abortion bill. Here we go again.<br />
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The bill has an Orwellian title, "The No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act". Really. it doesn't matter that no Federal tax money is used for abortions now or in the past. It's all about insurance.<br />
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First off it forbids abortion coverage in the ACA State run insurance market places. Though, Tea Party controlled States like Ohio have already done that. So again a hammer to close a door that's not open. Like voter fraud.<br />
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This bill goes off the cliff when it comes to sanity. It totally destroys what little credibility these "small government" anarchists have.<br />
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Here we go through the looking glass.<br />
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This bill wants to restrict what Private insurance plans may offer and how they're paid for. A business that offers health insurance to their employees( encouraged under the ACA with tax breaks)that offers abortion coverage will be subject to new taxes. It also eliminates any health expenses deductions for abortion except for RAPE, INCEST or to PROTECT the Mother's life.<br />
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This change to the tax code means the IRS will be able to determine if those conditions are met to their satisfaction before allowing the deduction. That's right, a rape audit. Because having an IRS agent grill a women about whether she was raped, or about to die is a good and proper thing. After all slut shaming is a proper function of government.<br />
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Abortion is routinely covered as general health care in private policies. Under this bill the insurance policy would only be able to cover abortion in those narrow parameters. Many carriers would opt to not cover at all. So women would be forced to buy rape insurance or pay out of pocket. Since most people can't afford to pay out of pocket for any medical procedure( hence the need for insurance) abortion will be only affordable to the wealthy.<br />
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There is only one reason to introduce a bill like this. A De facto abortion ban. Rationing by class and income. Since there is no real ban, this could likely get by the current SCOTUS.<br />
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It is good to see the House knows what America needs even if it doesn't want it. Women need to know that they can't use abortion as birth control. After all, they are too hormone addled to be rational about this issue.<br />
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So a House committee made up entirely of men will help you gals through this. Remember how to thank the GOP for this in November. Just say NO.OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-52533948480129889522014-01-01T13:09:00.001-05:002014-01-02T14:44:18.487-05:00A new year. The annual journey out of the dark. 2014.<br />
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The New Year falls a week after Christmas. The old pagan ritual that celebrated the the dark and the path back to the warmth, light and rebirth of spring. A festival of hope. The darkest days are behind and the future is bright.<br />
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In our modern world there are remnants of that Holiday buried under layers of crass commercialism, cynical trappings of joy and peace.But if you look deep and just feel you find the flickering flame of hope still illuminating the dark winter landscape. It's as if it's still coded in our cultural DNA or RNA. A memory, fleeting yet compelling, forcing us to believe that as the days grow longer we can keep the darkness and cold at bay.<br />
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There are tidings of comfort and joy. We wish each other peace and happiness. Resolutions are made to improve one as a person. We look back at the losses of the previous year, thinking of those no longer with us.<br />
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The resolutions are seldom kept. The Holiday wishes are rote, the meanings lost in a sea of swirling cynicism and pious platitudes.Gift giving has become a contact sport, We keep score. The human herd tramples one another for a great deal. We assault each other for the big screen TV. We jostle and jockey for the must have toy of the year. For some reason production never ramps up to meet demand to ease any shortages.<br />
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The parties become an excuse for excess. We eat too much. We drink too much. All under the guise of celebration of a religious birth and the end of a year.<br />
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Still the facade of hope at times brings forth the best of us even as we wear our worst behavior as armor. Someone anonymously pays the lay away balances for some who struggle to provide a bit of joy for their children.In an economy that's hammering the poor we still dig deep to fund the charities that help the needy among us in this wealthy nation.<br />
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Somehow we still hope. We reach out toward the light even as we struggle in the dark with our cultural demons.In this season we see both the best of us and the worst. Perhaps one yule we may be able to strike a balance. Not this year. Likely not next year either. But someday.<br />
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If humanity stops trying to emulate the divine what's the point? We improve the way we treat our fellows or we sink into a morass of apathy and despair. Maybe we can do it one smile at a time. Reach out with a hand, to help, not to slap.<br />
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Maybe one day we can actually behave as if we believe in this season of hope and joy. Act as if we care enough that it is no longer an act.<br />
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That would be a gift, indeed.<br />
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Happy New Year.OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-9502855904539362772013-12-29T12:37:00.000-05:002013-12-29T12:37:19.147-05:00Looking forward. Is 2014 the year the GOP goes off the rails? Since the election of President Obama in 2008 the right wing blogisphere and the oppose at any cost caucus in the US House have screamed about the sky is falling.<br />
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They have voted to repeal the ACA forty or so times. They did this knowing there was no chance it would pass the Senate or be signed into law by the President. They have whined that there the ACA was passed with no Republican votes, a sign of tyranny by the majority. Excuse me there is no Constitutional requirement for bipartisanship. Guys, sometimes the minority loses. Why? Because they're a minority.<br />
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In October the Tea Party aligned members of the House took us to the brink of default over defunding the ACA. They once again did this knowing full well it had no prayer of passing the Senate or being signed into law. Pure political theater for the "freedom" base. Those who view any compromise as a betrayal and surrender. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) called those opposed to hostage taking as "The Surrender Caucus" of the Republican Party.<br />
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Rep.Darryl Issa (R-CA) has used his position as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee to wage assorted witch hunts in an attempt to cripple the President and justify any and all overreaches by the House.<br />
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Issa and others tried to use Benghazi, the new GOP Bettlejuice, as an issue to demonize the President in the run up to the 2012 reelection and damage potential 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton. Issa, McCain and others claimed a vast conspiracy to cover up what "really" happened. It was said to be worse that Watergate. Well, as someone who remembers Watergate I can only say, what? Are you crazy? The sane Americans rejected that argument reelecting President Obama.<br />
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We have seen the rise of a right wing in this nation who decries any sort of help, as in the social safety net, as socialism and tyranny Someone should remind them that if President Obama.was the tyrant they say he is they would be dead or in jail.<br />
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There has been a spike in gun ownership dating back to 2008 as people buy weapons to stockpile because the black guy is coming for their guns. These people see any restriction on ownership of firearms as unconstitutional. They view the Second Amendment as absolute. The others are either suggestions or evil and need to be repealed.<br />
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During the 2012 election cycle we saw the Republican hopefuls try to out Jesus each other as to who is the most Christian as they condemned the very existence of the social net as horrendous. Like many evangelicals they concentrate on the Old Testament rather than the book that actually has Jesus in it.<br />
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So, since the election of president Obama we have seen a perfect storm of a growth industry committed to any and all absurdest conspiracy theories, pushing them mainstream.<br />
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Recent history shows the Republican Party refuses to accept any Democratic President as legitimate. They can't believe a Democrat can win the White House without stealing the election and rejecting the GOP vision of America. The Republican Party spent the entire Clinton Presidency trying to bring him down. After spending millions of dollars on investigations they finally Impeached him. The Senate declined to convict. President Clinton, on the day he was Impeached, had a 60% approval rating.<br />
<br />
Since the day Barack Obama took office there has been a constant drumbeat to impeach. It began in the way out there crazy ass nut jobs wing of the Republican party. As time went by we saw actual office holders say this tyrant has committed impeachable offenses. It has become kind of acceptable to mention impeachment as a viable option.<br />
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Since the August recess we have seen Republican office holders mention the I word.<br />
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Michelle Bachman (R-Klingon Empire) has said in her mind the President has committed impeachable offenses. I am afraid of what may actually be in her mind. Rep Louis Gohmert (R-Romulus) Thinks the President should be impeached. Senator Tom Coburn (R-18th Century) has said POTUS is dangerously close to impeachment. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Mordor) has said president Obama could be impeached but the Senate wouldn't vote for conviction. Rep ken Bentivolio (R-Wraith) has said impeachment would be a dream come true. This political theater is now mainstream.<br />
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The question is do these people have the clout in the House to force a committee to bring a bill of impeachment to the floor? They believe if that happens the House will vote to impeach.<br />
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The reasons for a true bill is as varied as the clowns calling for it. Benghazi. The ACA. The Birth Certificate. The list is long and nu.ts. Any actual scholar knows no impeachable acts have occurred. They know that an impeachment is simply a play to the rabid base with absolutely no prospect of the Senate concurring..<br />
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Will we see the House pushed by the far right into an impeachment action in 2014 the backlash would be amazing to watch. The American public seems to be tired of the House going off on it's Quixotic quests to undo the election of the President. I am hoping the sane Members would quash any Bill of Impeachment. If not? Well, the 2014 election cycle would be interesting.OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-9565342118445389572013-12-19T13:35:00.001-05:002013-12-19T19:59:53.890-05:00Ohio's image just needs the Victoria's Secret touch.Enter Les Wexner. In an end of the year talk to The Ohio Chamber of Commerce Governor John Kasich(R-OH) focused on accomplishments of 2013 <br />
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According to Governor John Kasich Ohio has an image problem. He's sure people from say, California, won't move here because we lack an ocean and beaches. We don't have the"cool" factor.<br />
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As usual Kasich pounded the supply side talking points that passes as economic planning in the GOP. He touted bond sales backed by future Turnpike revenue to fund capital projects across the State. He passed on mentioning those projects would be a drop in the bucket when dealing with Ohio's crumbling roads and bridges.<br />
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He stressed we need to make Ohio more attractive by cutting the Income Tax. His eventual goal is to eliminate it. He mentions Texas as inspiration. He cited low taxes, low regulations and job growth as an admirable goal for Ohio to aspire to emulate.<br />
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Sorry. I don't think Texas is a State Ohio should emulate. Low wage, no benefit jobs. High poverty and teen pregnancy rate. A high number of uninsured people. A State school board more worried about teaching creationism than science.<br />
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If Kasich wants a more GM than Walmart job expansion, stay away from Texas style ideas.<br />
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So, Kasich feels the solution to Ohio's image problem is to get people to come check out Ohio. Once they see the lower cost of living here and how neat we are they'll come in droves.<br />
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I grew up in and spent most of my life in Columbus Ohio .I admit I do my share of whining, moaning and bitching about living here. OK, maybe more than my share.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnUZqaOb-duLg7fEFL2UN0gE_kanF0qxpEXuTccfj_VJqqjt4QHUIfOH6ugGKIQtQtB6dUl8qondvWa7M8n10TR2CLmsVZ_YJFlq0sUjMJWqbB4ZhGpKPm4mxmr9Xdh8cVnXY7-IwsLlh/s1600/Skyline28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnUZqaOb-duLg7fEFL2UN0gE_kanF0qxpEXuTccfj_VJqqjt4QHUIfOH6ugGKIQtQtB6dUl8qondvWa7M8n10TR2CLmsVZ_YJFlq0sUjMJWqbB4ZhGpKPm4mxmr9Xdh8cVnXY7-IwsLlh/s1600/Skyline28.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Columbus Ohio skyline at night </td></tr>
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Even when Ohio was booming in the '90's Ohio had a reasonable cost of living. Much cheaper than SoCal, Chicagoland or the Big Apple.<br />
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I'll talk about Columbus since I know it better.<br />
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First off, we're not Chicago. That said we have a vibrant arts scene, a strong jazz tradition, excellent museums, theatre and cultural events. We have one of the largest Universities in the Nation dropped smack in the middle of town. The Ohio State University. It is a massive driver of arts, theatre, music and research. We also have a lot of small respected Liberal Arts Colleges close. The Columbus Metropolitan Library System is one of the Nation's best. The small, old suburb, Grandview Heights has the best small Library in the US.<br />
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The Central Ohio Metro Area has over a million people. However you can usually get from anywhere to anywhere else in a half an hour or so. Forty minutes at drive time. The worst traffic seems to be on Fall Saturdays near Ohio Stadium when The Buckeyes play at home. Ohio Stadium holds over 100,000 people. That's more than live in, say, Fayetteville Arkansas, home of the Razorbacks. Yeah, we put a small city in a stadium.<br />
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Columbus is also an island of progressive, diverse tolerant life in an ocean of red. Actually Columbus makes the top ten lists repeatedly for the most Gay friendly Cities.<br />
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All in all, a nice place to live for the Midwest. We do have a bit of an inferiority complex though. After all, when Leno wants a cheap laugh all he needs to say is Cleveland.<br />
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So, we now have Governor Kasich's plan to make Ohio a cool place to be.<br />
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With Ohio's economy trailing most of the Nation, with above national average unemployment the magic bullet to solve what ails Ohio is..a new marketing plan. We need to make Ohio a cool, sexy place to live. So, enter Les Wexner.<br />
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For you that live outside of Ohio Les Wexner owns The Limited, Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. He has owned and spun off Abercrombie & Fitch, Tween, Lane Bryant and other iconic brands over the years. He's also the richest guy in Ohio. The OSU Medical Center is now The Wexner Medical Center. The premier theatre and arts center at Ohio State is The Wexner Center. Les recently made a 100 million dollar donation to OSU. I will say Les gives a lot of money here in town.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Les Wexner's yacht </td></tr>
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Now, Kasich has invited Wexner to re-brand Ohio. In fact he cited Victoria's Secret style campaign as fun. That'll play well in Boehner's District. Right. We have Fundies here that make Pentecostals look like Unitarians.<br />
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I think Les will be challenged. Let's look what he needs to overcome.<br />
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Ohio forbids same sex marriage and will not recognize legal marriages from other States. However a repeal and replace to legalize marriage equality is moving towards the ballot.<br />
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We have some of the most restrictive abortion regulation in the Nation and are ready to go farther in our quest to be Texas.<br />
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A couple times a year we relax our firearm regulation.<br />
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There is a push for Right To Work to crush Public and private Sector Unions.<br />
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We have pro life activists on the State Medical Board overseeing healthcare professionals in the State.<br />
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We have Tea Party creationists and charter school lobbyists on the State Board Of Education.<br />
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The State Budget throws money at failing charter schools by transferring it from public school funding.<br />
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Income tax was cut as the sales tax was raised and expanded.<br />
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We have a Public/Private unholy union to promote job growth here. It seems to be an unaccountable slush fund rife with conflicts of interest. Can't tell for sure because we're not allowed to look.<br />
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I think these problems are at the root of Ohio being uncool. You won't attract real growth as long as we are a Tea Party, repressive place for people to live. Without embracing equality and diversity we'll continue to see the best and brightest go elsewhere.<br />
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Wexner is a smart guy. Good luck with what you have to work with Les.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short North, the funky arts, dining and drinking district</td></tr>
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2706587105785410389.post-40026316877175007292013-12-15T11:38:00.000-05:002013-12-15T17:00:11.592-05:00Kasich gets a challenge from the Right. Well John Kasich has a talent for annoyance. You only have to look back at his career in the House or his tenure at FOX to see examples.<br />
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Since leaving the House in 2000 he has consistently claimed HE balanced the Federal Budget, ignoring it was a bi-partisan effort, signed by a Democratic President. Since then, Newt Gingrich has claimed credit during his 2012 run for the GOP Presidential Nomination. As has Bill Clinton. So, John's claim to fame gets a bit crowded. Paraphrasing the old canard, Failure is an orphan, success, not so much. During his campaign for Ohio Governor politi-fact rated his claims half true.That is pretty amazing for a politician.<br />
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During Kasich's run on FOX he hosted his own show, "From The Heartland" where he espoused his pseudo populist views and opinions. John was also the go-to guest host for Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly.On Hannity's show, Candidate Kasich was tossed softballs and Hannity stressed how important it was we take Ohio's top elected office. Rupert Murdoch kicked in a million dollars to Kasich's campaign.<br />
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Kasich squeaked into office with a two point victory in the WAVE election of 2010. Kasich won by 77,000 votes with Libertarian and Green challengers on the ballot. This was one of the closest elections for Governor in Ohio history.<br />
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Kasich blamed the collapse of Ohio's manufacturing based economy on high taxes,too much regulation and failed Democratic policies. The meltdown of the world's economy had absolutely nothing to do with it.<br />
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Kasich's vicious campaign touched on all the Tea Party political orgasm buttons.<br />
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So, like President Bush in 2004, he treated a tiny victory as a sweeping mandate. The Education portions of the Budget were slashed . Local monetary aid was gutted. The social safety net was shredded. Taxes were cut, favoring the wealthy. Draconian abortion bills were introduced to varying success.<br />
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Then they went after the Public Sector Unions and had their asses handed to them by Ohio voters.<br />
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Ohio once again was convincingly won by President Obama. This presented a quandary to the Ohio Tea Party controlled Republican Party. Due to massive gerrymandering and extremely creative redistricting the GOP effectively had a stranglehold on the Legislature. So, do they recognize that the Conservative attacks on social issues was rejected? No. Like most on the Right , they went with had the Candidate been a true conservative they'd have won denial.<br />
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So Ohio doubled down. They loosened gun laws. They enacted some of the most restrictive abortion regulation in the nation. They rivaled Arkansas, North Dakota and Texas for taking a shot over the bow of Roe v Wade. The Legislature also ignored the Governor's call to expand Medicaid per the provisions of the hated ACA. Kasich pushed on his own party, the Majority in the Legislature, to act to provide low income Ohioans help with healthcare. They refused. It also fueled with anger with the let 'em die wing of the party.<br />
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So, citing his faith, Kasich used his line item veto on a provision forbidding expansion in Ohio. This immediately lit up the far right.They screamed betrayal. Kasich had turned his back on those who got him elected, they whined. There were calls for a challenge from the right. His action was immediately challenged in court.<br />
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So, Kasich responded by having his remaining allies push through what has been called "The John Kasich Reelection Protection Act". This is a change to how Third parties get ballot access. It is likely not going to survive judicial review. See, the law keeps the minor parties off the ballot for not polling 3% of the vote in 2012. OK. The problem is that was not a requirement to remain a party with ballot access in 2012. Changing the law after the fact is a no-no. It's called ex post facto. Most first year law students will tell you that's unconstitutional. That's not an interpretation. The Constitution actually bans the practice.<br />
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So, the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party and The Green Party have been legislated out of existence. They have to have a primary which they can't get on the ballot for. This law is so close to the primary filing deadline any court action may be too late to address the action. Thus Kasich is safe from having a candidate from the right siphoning off votes.<br />
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The Republican Legislature is also moving on voter suppression. I know, Ohio was the Northern Poster Child for it in 2012 until the courts (IncludingSCOTUS) smacked Secretary of State Jon Husted down. So, the legislature, undeterred, shortened early voting. They're going after acceptable ID. All to thwart non existent in person voter fraud. So they are either solving a problem that doesn't exist or trying to kneecap the opposition party and protect the Governor. These laws also reduce the minimum number of voting machines per precinct. Remember the videos of the lines in 2004? Let's do that again.<br />
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There were Right to Work bills introduced in the Legislature. Now, the last thing Kasich wants is another fight with labor energizing voter turnout as he seeks reelection. The sponsors of these bills were told to back off until AFTER the Gov is reelected.<br />
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John Kasich wants to be President. Please, stop laughing.<br />
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In 2000, fresh off singlehandedly balancing the Federal Budget, Kasich ran for the GOP Presidential Nomination. He had fundraising problems and repeatedly polled at 0% which is tough to do. His campaign collapsed under massive voter indifference. So, John withdrew and endorsed W. He went to work for FOX and Lehman Brothers.(Yeah, THAT Lehman Brothers)<br />
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FOX threw their support behind his campaign for Governor. Almost the day after President Obama's decisive reelection Kasich was being mentioned as a viable GOP hopeful for the 2016 nomination. Surprisingly these statements came from FOX talking heads. Since then in his appearances on the network Kasich has been handled with kid gloves. It seem Rupert and Ailes like him. Aww.<br />
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So, a cynic, such as myself, would say Kasich's actions on the 2012-13 budget are politically motivated.<br />
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The horrendous abortion regulations that were sneaked through in a budget, for example. Politically active friends of mine felt Kasich would use his line item veto to strike these regs. Kasich had been making small moves towards the center. He had called for expansion of Medicaid over howls from the right.<br />
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I saw Kasich use every media appearance to remind every one he was "pro-life" and always has been. He made sure to wave that banner in front of every news outlet. I was not surprised when he let those anti woman regulations stand, unscathed. He was touting his "pro-life" creds for the national base. He did this to attempt to offset anger over his veto of a Medicare expansion prohibition.<br />
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He's running.<br />
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It will be interesting. John tends to go off script. His handlers cringe when he opens his mouth. Right after he took office, he was given a traffic ticket. So, Kasich then spent time calling the officer an idiot. Yeah, it wound up on YouTube. Surprise. This as his party was trying to crush Public Sector Unions.<br />
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John also has anger issues. So there is always a possibility he could melt down in front of the National media. I think Hillary could make him go off.<br />
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His Presidential ambitions rest on him winning decisively in 2014. Thus pushing the Minor parties under the campaign bus. Thus keeping voters that don't support you from using their right to the ballot.<br />
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So, this weekend the President of The Ohio Liberty Coalition and a founder of the Clearmont County Tea Party Ted Stevenot took the first formal step to challenge Kasich in the 2014 Republican Primary. His running mate is said to be Brenda Mack, former president of The Ohio Black Republicans association.<br />
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We've seen from the earlier actions on voting and Minor Parties That the State GOP wants a clear path for Kasich. It seems that the Tea Party disagrees. No one really thinks Stevenot, should he run, actually has a prayer of upsetting Kasich. However, a Tea Party challenge tends to push a GOP candidate to the right. Kasich would tend to have a problem finding his way back to the center. John tends to go all pit bull as he campaigns not letting issues go.<br />
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Now, with a favorable court ruling letting the libertarian Party back on the ballot will cause problems for John if the race is tight. A year out the Democrat is in a virtual tie.<br />
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So, if the Minor party law is tossed in the courts, of which there is a decent chance, a Libertarian Candidate could siphon enough protest votes from disaffected Tea Party supporters to make a real difference in the results.<br />
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To run for President Kasich has to win big. A close election is nearly as damaging as a loss. I doubt after a loss he could emulate Rick Santorum. Santorum ran close in 2012 in spite of a crushing Senate loss in 2006.<br />
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So expect John to run his usual vicious campaign both in a primary challenge, which could farther erode his standing with the Tea Party, and the general election. Kasich thinks he can beat Hillary or anyone the Dems run. But, to do so he has to crush any opposition. He also has to bring his Tea Party infused Legislature in line.<br />
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It's gonna be fun to watch.<br />
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<br />OldLeftyMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18355604442123927411noreply@blogger.com0