I am sorely conflicted about Texas.
Some things I love about Tejas.
Friendly people abound.Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, ZZ Top and the music in general. South By Southwest is on my bucket list. Food, You know, texmex and BBQ. Mmmm. Their love of imbibing. Is Pearl still around? Texans also know how to party. The great State of Texas is also known to have a lot of stunningly beautiful women.
I've been to Texas and enjoyed myself immensely.
Now the flip side of the coin.
The politicians who garner national attention by saying stunningly stupid shit. Their extremist views on women, minorities and America in general. This isn't a recent development. Unfortunately, at the time, many in America thought if John Kennedy were to be assassinated, it would be in Texas.
For decades Texas was an extreme outlier in American politics. (has LBJ been disowned by Texas yet?) There were a lot of right wing wackos with money railing about commies under the bed, civil rights and not nuking the Ruskies or Chinese. Or both. The Hunts come to mind.
So Texas since Nixon unleashed the covertly racist, reactionary Republican "Southern Strategy"is not a surprise.
That election strategy has unleashed the worst of racial fears and attitudes, not just across the South, but throughout The United States as well.
Where Texas was once a political outlier they are now a leader of extremism. States like Ohio are in a competition to see who can out Texas, Texas.
Rick Perry embarrassed Texas throughout his 2012 run at the White House. As Governor he has drawn amazed disbelief of sane people for his policies. The man's explanations of said policies are confusing at best. He has raised a lot of money for Democrats nationally.
I could list the extreme Texan policies and politicians but I don't have days to devote to it. So, as an example, let's talk about Senator Ted Cruz.
Oh dear God, where to start?
Birthers seem to be OK with Ted Cruz. A white man, born in Canada. Sure, his mother was an American citizen. His father? A Cuban who fought with Castro. A Cuban who didn't bother to become an American citizen until less than a decade ago. Senator Cruz discovered recently he may have dual citizenship. Ooops. He renounced it this week. Just in case anyone thought he may be a Canadian Manchurian Candidate. He needed to reassure Texans he wasn't going to impose Hockey, Curling, Canadian Football, Gay Marriage and universal health care on them.
Obviously this man is eligible to run for President, unlike Our current President. That mixed race man, born in Hawaii to a mother who was an American citizen is blatantly ineligible.
After winning an expensive, even by Texas standards, primary runoff, Cruz has been anointed the intellectual leader of the Tea Party. I would say that is a dubious distinction. Somehow intellectual and Tea Party seems a contradiction in terms. Just sayin'. Though by all accounts he is said to be a very intelligent man. Princeton . Harvard Law. Like the President. Oops, again.
As a well educated attorney he seems to hold Constitutional beliefs not supported by precedent or Judicial cannon. Another case of a conservative saying I am right though everybody else and American history is wrong. I wonder about his feelings on Marbury v. Madison?
As a matter of policy Senator Cruz(R-TX)has decided not to play nice with the Senate Republican Caucus.The Freshman Senator has broken ranks with the party repeatedly. He has declined to endorse Minority leader McConnell in his Primary in Kentucky. This could cause Senator Cruz problems should McConnell be reelected to the Senate and as Minority Leader in the next Senate. Or, God Forbid, Majority Leader.
Ted has staked out a position that defunding the ACA should be the Republican Party's stand in upcoming Continuing Funding Resolution talks. He says fund everything except the ACA. Pick a fight over this with the Democrats and the President. Republican leadership in both Houses see this as a loser. Shutting down the Federal Government didn't workout so well the last time.
Cruz has been ripped by other Republicans for pushing a shutdown to build his mailing lists and support for a 2016 run at the Presidency. His response? Calling the Senate Republicans the Surrender Caucus. A good idea to alienate people whose support you may need if you do run for POTUS.
Senator Cruz opposes abortion rights. He voted no on The Violence Against Women Act. He has said unemployment Compensation creates unemployment. Marriage Equality will end free speech. Funding birth control is an assault on our liberties.Ted felt the Newtown families were props as he opposed background checks.
A Harvard Law educated Attorney said that the only reason the President hasn't been impeached is a Democratic controlled Senate. Shh. Ignore there is no impeachable offense. He truly thinks that the public will give the Republicans a pass on shutting down the government over the ACA if Dems don't cave.
All in all, even for Tejas, this man is a special kind of crazy. He masks it well. He tries to appear reasonable as he says something beyond the pale.
With Cruz, Paul and the usual suspects lining up for a '16 run, they will make the '12 field look reasonable and thoughtful. It seems the GOP has bought the myth that had they run someone far right the would have beat a left/center Democrat.
Good luck with that idea. Go for it.
Showing posts with label historical ignorance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical ignorance. Show all posts
Friday, August 23, 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Baffled, bothered and bewildered: The rejection of the 21st Century
I guess I read too much. In modern America there seems to be a price to pay for being informed. For me it's Spontaneous Head Explosion Syndrome. I read or hear statements made by Conservatives in power and my head explodes.The right seems to suffer from a disturbing dissonant disconnect to recognized reality.
I came of age in the Sixties. Science and the pursuit of knowledge was seen as a by product of a free open American society. A vindication of the American experiment. The post WWII explosion in science and technology was unprecedented in human history. In sixty-six years we went from the Wright biplane, to supersonic aircraft, to landing on the moon. In 1969 there were a lot of people who saw this happen in their lifetime.
The Government and industry took a long view of R&D. Pure research was funded because it was recognized that any discovery could lead to serendipitous and unforeseen results. For example the vacuum tube was replaced by the transistor which in turn was replaced by the chip.
Through private and public funding not one, but two, polio vaccines were developed. I remember the Sabin on Sunday drive where millions lined up at churches and schools to receive the oral vaccine. And it was free. It was public policy to eradicate polio and smallpox.
A segment of the population, rather vilified now and perhaps rightly so, older white men were the driving force behind this era of scientific discovery. Admittedly it was because they dominated society. Their near universal view that progress was a good thing in and of itself lead to amazing scientific and social progress.
Under consecutive Republican and Democratic Administrations we built the Interstate highway system. We had an active, push the envelope aerospace program. Long range R&D produced incredible discoveries. Hormonal birth control was introduced. This had the effect of freeing women to pursue their potential by giving them control of their reproductive options. Better living through chemistry wasn't simply a corporate ad slogan. Progress is our most important product was a statement of corporate philosophy.
Our educational system was the envy of the world. Unfettered thought attracted the planet's best and brightest to our Universities to learn and do research. Ignorance was something that was seen as a national duty to eradicate.
So what happened? We now seem to be bombarded by WTF moments. Willful ignorance is now seen a desirable badge of honor.
In the sixties conservatives embraced science and knowledge as a plus for the nation. An educated workforce enabled new manufacturing techniques to be embraced. R&D was something seen as a potential profit center. A means to introduce new technologies and products. Progress was a way to enhance a brand. A modern infrastructure was seen as necessary to efficient movement of goods and services. A right and proper use of government.
In the seventies, to counter Democratic power, the Republican Party reached out to and wooed the so-called Moral Majority. The leadership of this segment of the population was dominated by fringe, reactionary religious leaders. They were derided as holy rollers and as a product of a socially stunted backwards South. The pundits ignored the fact the Bible belt runs through the center of the country.
The GOP did not foresee the result of legitimizing the fringe. At the time they were fringe for a reason. Actual science, history, great literature and critical thinking was the foundation of American education. A liberal Arts education was the norm. It was an extension of the old classical education given the elite. There was a need seen for universal education to eliminate ignorance.
The Twentieth Century will be remembered for many things, good and ill.
Devastating wars followed by the collapse of Colonial Empires.
In the United States the Corporate Oligarchy was reined in as an era of egalitarianism was unleashed. Jim Crow was finally dismantled in the Old Confederacy. The covert racism in the North is fading. Women have more options now than ever before. The curve of liberty was and for the most part still is, upward.
Unfortunately there has always been a love/hate relationship with education in American history. On the frontier, in an agrarian society, the three R's were seen as all that was needed. Reading, riting and rithmatic. As the nation became more industrialized and urban the need for higher education was grudgingly accepted and became the norm. The high school diploma became the standard for The American workforce. As society evolved universal education for women and minorities slowly also became the norm.
Still there is a segment of the population that is threatened by change. They see it as destructive to their worldview. They have been embraced by the Republican Party as a way to stay in power. The true believer is a person who takes every opportunity to expand their influence ans enforce their belief system.
The embrace of the fringe by the GOP sowed the seeds for the cultural wars being fought today. These reactionaries were used as shock troops to register voters, knock on doors, get out the vote for the Republicans, and act as an ATM for campaigns. After the elections they received only lip service to their issues. Needless to say they felt used and abused by the Republicans. So, they acted.
Using the political lessons learned they hit GOP officeholders with Primary challenges from the right. Since they were the majority of Primary voters they won. A lot. Office holders that survived moved right to save their political skin.
These people were not skilled pols, they were zealots. They were driven, focused on single issues or imbued with a perceived moral and cultural superiority. The ideal was to return America to an imagined golden era when Christian values were law. A time when tradition was revered. It was time to turn back the clock.
In the nineties they took Congress. They went after science and arts funding. There was enough pushback by Democrats and remaining Republican moderates to limit the damage. They did manage to Impeach President Clinton in a frenzy of moral outrage led by a House Speaker who, himself was a serial adulterer. But, after a disastrous Government shut down their power was curbed by outrage from the American public.
During the Bush years the hubris returned. Two wars were started. The misguided adventure in Iraq was built on lies, misrepresentations and half truths. Taxes were cut, the wealthy coddled and worshiped as job creators. A balanced budget and surplus became a historical artifact as unprecedented deficit spending became the norm. Attacks on rights were attempted only to be slapped down by the courts.This did nothing to dampen a belief that in spite of voting patterns Americans were conservative.The elections were obviously being stolen.
In 2008 we saw a field of GOP Presidential candidates that would not unequivocally, when asked if they believed in evolution, say yes. They mouthed soft platitudes about a balanced education.(A nod to creationism) Only Mike Huckabee said he did not believe in evolution. He also was the candidate that challenged McCain hardest and longest for the nomination.
McCain in a move to placate the base chose an obscure, untested Governor as his running mate. Sarah Palin. She purposely played to the proponents of ignorance in the base. This was the direct result of Spiro Agnew's attacks on the educated. He called them pointy headed intellectuals. Nattering nabobs of negativity. The George Wallace campaign echoed that as they went after the racist vote in '68 and '72. This strain of anti-intellectualism had spread like a virus in the political lifeblood of the party during the ensuing years.
When a bi-racial moderate Democrat was elected the very idea of fringe views seemed to evaporate. No idea was too absurd to be reported. No proponent was too crazy to get airtime and be treated as a serious historian or political philosopher.
The tea party was born to harness this rejection of modern America as the Moral Majority was once used. But these upstarts refused to be used. They beat party endorsed candidates. They coined the term RINO. Republican in name only for those who actually thought their job was to reach a consensus and govern. Compromise was evil. The idea was to throttle the government's move towards progressive ideals and move society backwards.
The moves against Unions were intensified as they were the only groups working for the protection of working Americans.
Regulation was decried as job killing interference. The idea that banks and corporations could be forced by the market to self police was pushed by those who hated government. And surprisingly, banks and corporations.
After all one could count on them to do the right thing voluntarily in spite of a long history of disaster.
These policies went hand in hand with an extreme pushback on social issues.
Progressives were fighting battles in wars that we thought we had won. Religious extremism had gone mainstream.
Following their rise to power these Christian zealots felt they had a divinely ordained mission to make America a christian theocracy. They started with abortion. It became the norm to equate abortion with murder. Harassment of women at clinics was an accepted strategy. As they won office this tactic spread to legislative harassment.
At one time they were held in check by moderates in the GOP. So, to further their mission these voices were driven out of the party. Where they gained a majority they went after women. This was done on moral, traditional and religious grounds. After all women were the main reason of the decline of the Traditional family. They had abandoned their traditional role as subservient help mate to go forth into the world. This upset God's ordained natural order. Women were systematically stripped of the right to decide her reproductive options. The goal seemed to be a return to her status as a life support system for a fetus.
History was being attacked as secular propaganda. People with no credentials in history (Disclaimer:I have no degree in History. I did major in it however and still remember it)and an agenda to do a rewrite saying the American Revolution was a Conservative religious movement. A movement that resulted in the establishment of a Christian Theocracy.
To push this the extremists took over school boards. They fought to have text books changed to reflect their desire to replace history with religious indoctrination. They have had a modicum of success. Texas comes to mind.
This religious zealotry has resulted in the push to have biblical ideas taught as science. The theory of evolution is under attack as it was in the Scopes trial in the Twenties. These Christian extremists feel creationism should be taught as a viable alternative. They push a controversy where none exists. This is also a rejection of most settled science. Biology. Archeology. Medicine. Physics. Science is reviled as satanic lies. And this is done on computers, the internet, television and radio. Huh? A major disconnect from reality.
Vaccines are reviled and parents fight to keep their children from being inoculated. Thus we are seeing the comeback of diseases we had beaten into submission.
Unbridled corporatism and coddling of the rich is resulting an income inequality and a lack of opportunity not seen since the Gilded Age.
The problem is the sane among us have sat back and allowed this to happen. We treat school boards as unimportant offices. We assume sane thinking people will serve. So, we hand it to the extremists. We let the them take power through complacency and apathy. We wing our hands as we see Modern America under attack.
This can not continue. We have to reassert America is a secular, diverse nation of law not enforced theological dogma.
Equal means equal. Religion and tradition was used to justify slavery and subjugation of women. There is a movement to reassert that idea.
Knowledge is not to be a la carte.
Facts are stubborn things. They don't care if you believe in them or not.
We need to fight this ideological coup being carried out. Birth control is being attacked as immoral. The safety net is shredded to coddle the wealthy. Women are evil, harlots and the cause of our societal ills.WTF?
Christianity, the dominate religion is being persecuted. WTF?
Fight back against the establishment of a wilfully ignorant, repressive reactionary theocracy.
Stand together or burn at the stake alone after an actual witch hunt. The revival of the inquisition is not impossible.
Stand.
Raise your voice.
Organize.
Fight.
Now.
I came of age in the Sixties. Science and the pursuit of knowledge was seen as a by product of a free open American society. A vindication of the American experiment. The post WWII explosion in science and technology was unprecedented in human history. In sixty-six years we went from the Wright biplane, to supersonic aircraft, to landing on the moon. In 1969 there were a lot of people who saw this happen in their lifetime.
The Government and industry took a long view of R&D. Pure research was funded because it was recognized that any discovery could lead to serendipitous and unforeseen results. For example the vacuum tube was replaced by the transistor which in turn was replaced by the chip.
Through private and public funding not one, but two, polio vaccines were developed. I remember the Sabin on Sunday drive where millions lined up at churches and schools to receive the oral vaccine. And it was free. It was public policy to eradicate polio and smallpox.
A segment of the population, rather vilified now and perhaps rightly so, older white men were the driving force behind this era of scientific discovery. Admittedly it was because they dominated society. Their near universal view that progress was a good thing in and of itself lead to amazing scientific and social progress.
Under consecutive Republican and Democratic Administrations we built the Interstate highway system. We had an active, push the envelope aerospace program. Long range R&D produced incredible discoveries. Hormonal birth control was introduced. This had the effect of freeing women to pursue their potential by giving them control of their reproductive options. Better living through chemistry wasn't simply a corporate ad slogan. Progress is our most important product was a statement of corporate philosophy.
Our educational system was the envy of the world. Unfettered thought attracted the planet's best and brightest to our Universities to learn and do research. Ignorance was something that was seen as a national duty to eradicate.
So what happened? We now seem to be bombarded by WTF moments. Willful ignorance is now seen a desirable badge of honor.
In the sixties conservatives embraced science and knowledge as a plus for the nation. An educated workforce enabled new manufacturing techniques to be embraced. R&D was something seen as a potential profit center. A means to introduce new technologies and products. Progress was a way to enhance a brand. A modern infrastructure was seen as necessary to efficient movement of goods and services. A right and proper use of government.
In the seventies, to counter Democratic power, the Republican Party reached out to and wooed the so-called Moral Majority. The leadership of this segment of the population was dominated by fringe, reactionary religious leaders. They were derided as holy rollers and as a product of a socially stunted backwards South. The pundits ignored the fact the Bible belt runs through the center of the country.
The GOP did not foresee the result of legitimizing the fringe. At the time they were fringe for a reason. Actual science, history, great literature and critical thinking was the foundation of American education. A liberal Arts education was the norm. It was an extension of the old classical education given the elite. There was a need seen for universal education to eliminate ignorance.
The Twentieth Century will be remembered for many things, good and ill.
Devastating wars followed by the collapse of Colonial Empires.
In the United States the Corporate Oligarchy was reined in as an era of egalitarianism was unleashed. Jim Crow was finally dismantled in the Old Confederacy. The covert racism in the North is fading. Women have more options now than ever before. The curve of liberty was and for the most part still is, upward.
Unfortunately there has always been a love/hate relationship with education in American history. On the frontier, in an agrarian society, the three R's were seen as all that was needed. Reading, riting and rithmatic. As the nation became more industrialized and urban the need for higher education was grudgingly accepted and became the norm. The high school diploma became the standard for The American workforce. As society evolved universal education for women and minorities slowly also became the norm.
Still there is a segment of the population that is threatened by change. They see it as destructive to their worldview. They have been embraced by the Republican Party as a way to stay in power. The true believer is a person who takes every opportunity to expand their influence ans enforce their belief system.
The embrace of the fringe by the GOP sowed the seeds for the cultural wars being fought today. These reactionaries were used as shock troops to register voters, knock on doors, get out the vote for the Republicans, and act as an ATM for campaigns. After the elections they received only lip service to their issues. Needless to say they felt used and abused by the Republicans. So, they acted.
Using the political lessons learned they hit GOP officeholders with Primary challenges from the right. Since they were the majority of Primary voters they won. A lot. Office holders that survived moved right to save their political skin.
These people were not skilled pols, they were zealots. They were driven, focused on single issues or imbued with a perceived moral and cultural superiority. The ideal was to return America to an imagined golden era when Christian values were law. A time when tradition was revered. It was time to turn back the clock.
In the nineties they took Congress. They went after science and arts funding. There was enough pushback by Democrats and remaining Republican moderates to limit the damage. They did manage to Impeach President Clinton in a frenzy of moral outrage led by a House Speaker who, himself was a serial adulterer. But, after a disastrous Government shut down their power was curbed by outrage from the American public.
During the Bush years the hubris returned. Two wars were started. The misguided adventure in Iraq was built on lies, misrepresentations and half truths. Taxes were cut, the wealthy coddled and worshiped as job creators. A balanced budget and surplus became a historical artifact as unprecedented deficit spending became the norm. Attacks on rights were attempted only to be slapped down by the courts.This did nothing to dampen a belief that in spite of voting patterns Americans were conservative.The elections were obviously being stolen.
In 2008 we saw a field of GOP Presidential candidates that would not unequivocally, when asked if they believed in evolution, say yes. They mouthed soft platitudes about a balanced education.(A nod to creationism) Only Mike Huckabee said he did not believe in evolution. He also was the candidate that challenged McCain hardest and longest for the nomination.
McCain in a move to placate the base chose an obscure, untested Governor as his running mate. Sarah Palin. She purposely played to the proponents of ignorance in the base. This was the direct result of Spiro Agnew's attacks on the educated. He called them pointy headed intellectuals. Nattering nabobs of negativity. The George Wallace campaign echoed that as they went after the racist vote in '68 and '72. This strain of anti-intellectualism had spread like a virus in the political lifeblood of the party during the ensuing years.
When a bi-racial moderate Democrat was elected the very idea of fringe views seemed to evaporate. No idea was too absurd to be reported. No proponent was too crazy to get airtime and be treated as a serious historian or political philosopher.
The tea party was born to harness this rejection of modern America as the Moral Majority was once used. But these upstarts refused to be used. They beat party endorsed candidates. They coined the term RINO. Republican in name only for those who actually thought their job was to reach a consensus and govern. Compromise was evil. The idea was to throttle the government's move towards progressive ideals and move society backwards.
The moves against Unions were intensified as they were the only groups working for the protection of working Americans.
Regulation was decried as job killing interference. The idea that banks and corporations could be forced by the market to self police was pushed by those who hated government. And surprisingly, banks and corporations.
After all one could count on them to do the right thing voluntarily in spite of a long history of disaster.
These policies went hand in hand with an extreme pushback on social issues.
Progressives were fighting battles in wars that we thought we had won. Religious extremism had gone mainstream.
Following their rise to power these Christian zealots felt they had a divinely ordained mission to make America a christian theocracy. They started with abortion. It became the norm to equate abortion with murder. Harassment of women at clinics was an accepted strategy. As they won office this tactic spread to legislative harassment.
At one time they were held in check by moderates in the GOP. So, to further their mission these voices were driven out of the party. Where they gained a majority they went after women. This was done on moral, traditional and religious grounds. After all women were the main reason of the decline of the Traditional family. They had abandoned their traditional role as subservient help mate to go forth into the world. This upset God's ordained natural order. Women were systematically stripped of the right to decide her reproductive options. The goal seemed to be a return to her status as a life support system for a fetus.
History was being attacked as secular propaganda. People with no credentials in history (Disclaimer:I have no degree in History. I did major in it however and still remember it)and an agenda to do a rewrite saying the American Revolution was a Conservative religious movement. A movement that resulted in the establishment of a Christian Theocracy.
To push this the extremists took over school boards. They fought to have text books changed to reflect their desire to replace history with religious indoctrination. They have had a modicum of success. Texas comes to mind.
This religious zealotry has resulted in the push to have biblical ideas taught as science. The theory of evolution is under attack as it was in the Scopes trial in the Twenties. These Christian extremists feel creationism should be taught as a viable alternative. They push a controversy where none exists. This is also a rejection of most settled science. Biology. Archeology. Medicine. Physics. Science is reviled as satanic lies. And this is done on computers, the internet, television and radio. Huh? A major disconnect from reality.
Vaccines are reviled and parents fight to keep their children from being inoculated. Thus we are seeing the comeback of diseases we had beaten into submission.
Unbridled corporatism and coddling of the rich is resulting an income inequality and a lack of opportunity not seen since the Gilded Age.
The problem is the sane among us have sat back and allowed this to happen. We treat school boards as unimportant offices. We assume sane thinking people will serve. So, we hand it to the extremists. We let the them take power through complacency and apathy. We wing our hands as we see Modern America under attack.
This can not continue. We have to reassert America is a secular, diverse nation of law not enforced theological dogma.
Equal means equal. Religion and tradition was used to justify slavery and subjugation of women. There is a movement to reassert that idea.
Knowledge is not to be a la carte.
Facts are stubborn things. They don't care if you believe in them or not.
We need to fight this ideological coup being carried out. Birth control is being attacked as immoral. The safety net is shredded to coddle the wealthy. Women are evil, harlots and the cause of our societal ills.WTF?
Christianity, the dominate religion is being persecuted. WTF?
Fight back against the establishment of a wilfully ignorant, repressive reactionary theocracy.
Stand together or burn at the stake alone after an actual witch hunt. The revival of the inquisition is not impossible.
Stand.
Raise your voice.
Organize.
Fight.
Now.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Move along.. Nothing to see here.. Ohio. Still.
November 2, 2004. A cold grey, wet rainy day in a pivotal battleground State. In predominately white Republican precincts voting was a smooth, quick experience. In Democratic precincts voters waited in lines for up to twelve hours in bone chilling rain. Polling places were open well after closing time to allow those in line to cast a ballot.. There were too few machines to accommodate voters in many precincts. Machines broke down at others causing more delay. Machines counted votes for John Kerry as votes For George Bush. Voters were sent to vote at the wrong polling places which would prevent their ballot from being counted. Voters found they weren't listed as being registered. In the mother of all coincidences these anomalies benefited the incumbent Republican President.
Since we are talking of massive minority vote suppression we must be dealing with a Southern State. Florida or Virginia, maybe? North Carolina, Arkansas or Tennessee?
No. Ohio.
J. Kenneth Blackwell, Republican Secretary Of State,was the State official who oversaw elections in Ohio. An African American Republican and an extremely conservative Republican at that, he had a reputation as a very partisan SecState. He also had close ties to the Re-election committee of President George Bush. Campaigning for Bush he made a statement open to interpretation. He guaranteed the President would carry Ohio. A brave statement indeed considering how close the polls were.
Dissatisfaction with Bush was so high the President nearly lost the endorsement of The Columbus Dispatch. This daily paper in Columbus, Ohio's Capitol, had not endorsed a Democrat since Woodrow Wilson. The rumors were the Publisher, a mover and shaker in Ohio Republican politics, forced a Bush endorsement over the objections of the editorial board.
During the 2004 election cycle the Secretary of State's office was embroiled in controversy. Blackwell seemed to relish it.
Following massive Democratic registration drives he decreed only registrations on a certain size and weight paper would be accepted. Public outrage and ridicule, along threats of legal action forced him to back off that idea. There were reports of Democratic new registrations being shredded.
He mandated thr use of Diebold touch screen voting machines instead of preferred optical scanner machines. Coincidentally there would be no paper trail with the touch screen devices.There were also warnings floating around on the web that the Diebold software was easily hacked.
Blackwell sent out a directive that any voter showing up in a wrong polling place, if the poll worker was not convinced of residence could refuse to even issue a provisional ballot. This included voters directed to that wrong location by poll officials. As he appealed the ruling preventing this Ken said he would go to jail before he would comply. The appeal court rendered a split decision. Blackwell's enabling poll workers to arbitrarily refuse to issue provisional ballots was overturned. However voters who voted in wrong precinct would have their ballots disallowed. Ken stayed out of jail by complying.
Amazinly all decisions made by Blackwell in 2004 benefited George Bush. After mysterious disparity between exit polls, recounts and lawsuits Bush carried Ohio and was reelected. There are those who still suspect Ohio was stolen. You decide. An excellent book on this is Ohio What Happened and Why by Bob Fitrakis.
In 2006 the GOP lost every Statewide office. The new Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, oversaw an election in 2008 that set records for ballots cast. There was early voting through the weekend preceding the election. Clear and consistent voting rules were implemented. The result? A smooth example of representative government in action.
In 2010 as the Unicorn Wing of the Democratic Party stayed home sitting on their hands in a pique, the Tea Party fueled reactionary Republicans took over the State of Ohio. Their slash and burn style of governing resembled Reconstruction. They seemed to view the people of Ohio as a vanquished opponent to be repressed and subjected. Since elections ran smoothly and fairly under the Democrats, election reform became a priority right behind abortion.
A move to suppress traditional Democratic voting blocks was hidden behind the rallying cry of Voter Fraud prevention. It seems any vote not for these reactionaries was potentially fraudulent. Never mind fraud wasn't an issue. A solution in search of a problem.
Restrictive identification requirements were instituted. Early voting was severely curtailed. Provisional ballot requirements were tightened. A voter who was directed to the wrong poling place by poll officials was out of luck. There different early voting standards in Republican Counties and Democratic counties.
Secretary of State Husted was besieged by litigation. Every loss was appealed. This included appeals to the SCOTUS. Husted consistently had his ass handed to him. So timely court challenges stopped Ohio from replaying 2004. This was not from a lack of effort by SecState Husted. He became the poster child for the implementation of rampant Republican voter suppression policies. These attempts were the most egregious in Northern States not subject to DOJ oversight under the Voting Rights Act. Thus affirming this is not a regional, Old Confederacy problem but official, if unspoken, Republican policy and strategy.
The only response and recourse left to fair minded Ohioans is the removal of Republicans that control Statewide offices. From Governor Kasich on down. Removing the Tea Party Legislators will be more difficult due to blatant Gerrymandering.
Husted is being challenged by State Senator Nina Turner a Dem who doesn't run from being called a liberal. She is a fighter and Husted is in for battle. But, he]ll be overseeing the election. Again we here in Ohio will have to be ready to stop suppression efforts as soon as they surface. Ohio should never be the but of political jokes and derision. It is time to prove we are't crazy following the abortion laws recently passed.
Defeating Kasich will derail his plans to run for President in 2016. Defeating Husted will derail any future plans he has to be Governor.
The only way to prevail in this fight for our future here in Ohio is to vote. Straight Dem from Governor down ballot. Vote. Organize. Fight back. VOTE!!
Since we are talking of massive minority vote suppression we must be dealing with a Southern State. Florida or Virginia, maybe? North Carolina, Arkansas or Tennessee?
No. Ohio.
J. Kenneth Blackwell, Republican Secretary Of State,was the State official who oversaw elections in Ohio. An African American Republican and an extremely conservative Republican at that, he had a reputation as a very partisan SecState. He also had close ties to the Re-election committee of President George Bush. Campaigning for Bush he made a statement open to interpretation. He guaranteed the President would carry Ohio. A brave statement indeed considering how close the polls were.
Dissatisfaction with Bush was so high the President nearly lost the endorsement of The Columbus Dispatch. This daily paper in Columbus, Ohio's Capitol, had not endorsed a Democrat since Woodrow Wilson. The rumors were the Publisher, a mover and shaker in Ohio Republican politics, forced a Bush endorsement over the objections of the editorial board.
During the 2004 election cycle the Secretary of State's office was embroiled in controversy. Blackwell seemed to relish it.
Following massive Democratic registration drives he decreed only registrations on a certain size and weight paper would be accepted. Public outrage and ridicule, along threats of legal action forced him to back off that idea. There were reports of Democratic new registrations being shredded.
He mandated thr use of Diebold touch screen voting machines instead of preferred optical scanner machines. Coincidentally there would be no paper trail with the touch screen devices.There were also warnings floating around on the web that the Diebold software was easily hacked.
Blackwell sent out a directive that any voter showing up in a wrong polling place, if the poll worker was not convinced of residence could refuse to even issue a provisional ballot. This included voters directed to that wrong location by poll officials. As he appealed the ruling preventing this Ken said he would go to jail before he would comply. The appeal court rendered a split decision. Blackwell's enabling poll workers to arbitrarily refuse to issue provisional ballots was overturned. However voters who voted in wrong precinct would have their ballots disallowed. Ken stayed out of jail by complying.
Amazinly all decisions made by Blackwell in 2004 benefited George Bush. After mysterious disparity between exit polls, recounts and lawsuits Bush carried Ohio and was reelected. There are those who still suspect Ohio was stolen. You decide. An excellent book on this is Ohio What Happened and Why by Bob Fitrakis.
In 2006 the GOP lost every Statewide office. The new Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, oversaw an election in 2008 that set records for ballots cast. There was early voting through the weekend preceding the election. Clear and consistent voting rules were implemented. The result? A smooth example of representative government in action.
In 2010 as the Unicorn Wing of the Democratic Party stayed home sitting on their hands in a pique, the Tea Party fueled reactionary Republicans took over the State of Ohio. Their slash and burn style of governing resembled Reconstruction. They seemed to view the people of Ohio as a vanquished opponent to be repressed and subjected. Since elections ran smoothly and fairly under the Democrats, election reform became a priority right behind abortion.
A move to suppress traditional Democratic voting blocks was hidden behind the rallying cry of Voter Fraud prevention. It seems any vote not for these reactionaries was potentially fraudulent. Never mind fraud wasn't an issue. A solution in search of a problem.
Restrictive identification requirements were instituted. Early voting was severely curtailed. Provisional ballot requirements were tightened. A voter who was directed to the wrong poling place by poll officials was out of luck. There different early voting standards in Republican Counties and Democratic counties.
Secretary of State Husted was besieged by litigation. Every loss was appealed. This included appeals to the SCOTUS. Husted consistently had his ass handed to him. So timely court challenges stopped Ohio from replaying 2004. This was not from a lack of effort by SecState Husted. He became the poster child for the implementation of rampant Republican voter suppression policies. These attempts were the most egregious in Northern States not subject to DOJ oversight under the Voting Rights Act. Thus affirming this is not a regional, Old Confederacy problem but official, if unspoken, Republican policy and strategy.
The only response and recourse left to fair minded Ohioans is the removal of Republicans that control Statewide offices. From Governor Kasich on down. Removing the Tea Party Legislators will be more difficult due to blatant Gerrymandering.
Husted is being challenged by State Senator Nina Turner a Dem who doesn't run from being called a liberal. She is a fighter and Husted is in for battle. But, he]ll be overseeing the election. Again we here in Ohio will have to be ready to stop suppression efforts as soon as they surface. Ohio should never be the but of political jokes and derision. It is time to prove we are't crazy following the abortion laws recently passed.
Defeating Kasich will derail his plans to run for President in 2016. Defeating Husted will derail any future plans he has to be Governor.
The only way to prevail in this fight for our future here in Ohio is to vote. Straight Dem from Governor down ballot. Vote. Organize. Fight back. VOTE!!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Shiny Key Syndrome
All regulations and laws to stop abortion are introduced and passed only for a few reasons. Forcing women to carry pregnancies to term. Slut shaming and humiliating a woman for daring to have an abortion. Codifying the result of women not living up to the vision God had for their place in family and society. So why are they always dressed up as being for the health, safety and education of women? Is it because the actual intent being stated would doom these predominantly male politicians to the dustbin of history?
The repressive reasoning used to demonize abortion is rife with misstatements,shoddy science and outright lies legitimized as law.
And it's every sane citizen's fault we are where we are.
When the Berger Court handed down Roe v. Wade it barely registered as a blip in the National Media. It coincided with a truce in Vietnam. It may have been the subject was still something not to be discussed in polite society. It may have been most of America just didn't care. That's how I recall it. But it has been forty years. There were small protests and rallies spread across the country, pro and con .It wasn't the polarizing issue it would later become.
This also coincided with the rise of the televangelist as a nascent political force. Billy Graham was a fixture at the White House. Oral Roberts,Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell were decrying the fall of God Fearing America and the rise of evil secularism. They had TV, radio and had started their own Colleges. They also had a group of devoted followers and tons of CASH.
The addition of cash. ideology and a determined squad of true believers never bodes well for American Politics. There is always a political party ready to exploit those acolytes for shaping public opinion and swaying elections. Volunteers, logistics and money are the lifeblood of elections.
These so called Christian Leaders organized and delivered pulse pounding fire and brimstone sermons. They took the the issue, twisted it into a good verses evil narrative and ran with it.
We stood by and allowed it.
Their numbers were small.The rhetoric was outside the mainstream. Religion in The United States was still dominated by the large traditional Denominations. The very conservative sects were small but vocal. These were derided as "Holy Rollers"and pretty much ignored. Until the Republican Party realized what they could be used for.
This all converged as Lee Atwater was redefining Liberal as a dirty word. Making politics here as the Republicans saving America from Liberals. Libs were the ones who had destroyed American values. Paving the way for Reagan's "Shining City On The Hill". A perfect storm. Liberal became a label Democrats have been running from for a generation.
All the while these ideas were written off as rantings of religious nut jobs and extreme out of touch politicians.
We saw the rise of groups that had started picketing clinics. Pro Life was presented as right and moral. Pro Choice was demonised as baby killers.
Through the eighties the anti abortion movement grew becoming louder and more radical. More Americans than ever identified themselves as "Born Again" than ever. Republican politics and religion were merging.
The picketing evolved into trying to prevent access by blocking entrances. Women, preparing for a never easy, life altering, action were vilified. Patient names were spread. The Doctors were condemned as murderers. The leaders of these organizations were more strident. They pushed any action against these baby killers was just and sanctioned by God. The groups pushed back in court challenging laws keeping them from interfering with access to the clinics. Civil disobedience resulting in martyrdom via righteous arrest. When you fell God approves things get ugly, very fast.
We started seeing Doctors stalked and murdered without any outrage expressed by the allied politicians.
All the while the Republicans were reaping the benefit of support from the zealots, they ran on pro life platforms then compromised with the spawn of Satan, the Democrats. There came anger as they felt The GOP was using them. Since they were committed they tended to be staunch primary voters.
Having learned how the process worked the Religious Right started putting up challengers to those they felt betrayed them by not being conservative enough. This started a panic driven lurch to the right. Some incumbents were defeated and replaced by neophyte office holders obsessed with a few poorly thought out and naive stances. We started seeing extreme comments fueled by a theocratic view of how they thought American Government worked.
This spread through out the States as people felt sanity would prevail. Dems were out worked , out organized, out spent and out voted.
Once in power an agenda emerged. Front and center the abolition of abortion. They decided to put into practice what they had been advocating for four decades. These laws are designed to strip women of full citizenship and roll back the gains made since the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.These people aren't stupid. They hope the coming court challenges will result in the current Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
In the meantime they get to shame and humiliate women. Treating them as if they are too stupid to make life altering decisions regarding their future. This is a chance to relegate them to ambulatory incubators. They see an opportunity to push their repressive "Christian" values on everyone to save America from those they feel hate God.
And we stood by and let them do it.
We stayed home during elections handing them the keys. We didn't challenge as we let them set the message. We didn't stand up push back and say no.
Those days are over.
I have seen women of every political stripe angered and appalled at the current situation. Thousands are telling the Texas Legislature NO!
John Kasich and Scott Walker have due to their raw political ambition have decided to sign extremist laws as a blatant play to the base. Both harbor Presidential ambitions and feel what they have done will propel them to the White House on the backs of women. The disdain is evident in that they feel women are not a threat They shrug off the fact they are the top targets. They have not learned a simple fact. Women are a force of nature. When they are motivated by righteous anger they are fierce and unyielding in their fight for justice.
We men can stand with women in this battle or be wrong again. The time to push back is now. The time to stand is now. Together. United in saying No! This will not stand!
Now.
No.
The repressive reasoning used to demonize abortion is rife with misstatements,shoddy science and outright lies legitimized as law.
And it's every sane citizen's fault we are where we are.
When the Berger Court handed down Roe v. Wade it barely registered as a blip in the National Media. It coincided with a truce in Vietnam. It may have been the subject was still something not to be discussed in polite society. It may have been most of America just didn't care. That's how I recall it. But it has been forty years. There were small protests and rallies spread across the country, pro and con .It wasn't the polarizing issue it would later become.
This also coincided with the rise of the televangelist as a nascent political force. Billy Graham was a fixture at the White House. Oral Roberts,Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell were decrying the fall of God Fearing America and the rise of evil secularism. They had TV, radio and had started their own Colleges. They also had a group of devoted followers and tons of CASH.
The addition of cash. ideology and a determined squad of true believers never bodes well for American Politics. There is always a political party ready to exploit those acolytes for shaping public opinion and swaying elections. Volunteers, logistics and money are the lifeblood of elections.
These so called Christian Leaders organized and delivered pulse pounding fire and brimstone sermons. They took the the issue, twisted it into a good verses evil narrative and ran with it.
We stood by and allowed it.
Their numbers were small.The rhetoric was outside the mainstream. Religion in The United States was still dominated by the large traditional Denominations. The very conservative sects were small but vocal. These were derided as "Holy Rollers"and pretty much ignored. Until the Republican Party realized what they could be used for.
This all converged as Lee Atwater was redefining Liberal as a dirty word. Making politics here as the Republicans saving America from Liberals. Libs were the ones who had destroyed American values. Paving the way for Reagan's "Shining City On The Hill". A perfect storm. Liberal became a label Democrats have been running from for a generation.
All the while these ideas were written off as rantings of religious nut jobs and extreme out of touch politicians.
We saw the rise of groups that had started picketing clinics. Pro Life was presented as right and moral. Pro Choice was demonised as baby killers.
Through the eighties the anti abortion movement grew becoming louder and more radical. More Americans than ever identified themselves as "Born Again" than ever. Republican politics and religion were merging.
The picketing evolved into trying to prevent access by blocking entrances. Women, preparing for a never easy, life altering, action were vilified. Patient names were spread. The Doctors were condemned as murderers. The leaders of these organizations were more strident. They pushed any action against these baby killers was just and sanctioned by God. The groups pushed back in court challenging laws keeping them from interfering with access to the clinics. Civil disobedience resulting in martyrdom via righteous arrest. When you fell God approves things get ugly, very fast.
We started seeing Doctors stalked and murdered without any outrage expressed by the allied politicians.
All the while the Republicans were reaping the benefit of support from the zealots, they ran on pro life platforms then compromised with the spawn of Satan, the Democrats. There came anger as they felt The GOP was using them. Since they were committed they tended to be staunch primary voters.
Having learned how the process worked the Religious Right started putting up challengers to those they felt betrayed them by not being conservative enough. This started a panic driven lurch to the right. Some incumbents were defeated and replaced by neophyte office holders obsessed with a few poorly thought out and naive stances. We started seeing extreme comments fueled by a theocratic view of how they thought American Government worked.
This spread through out the States as people felt sanity would prevail. Dems were out worked , out organized, out spent and out voted.
Once in power an agenda emerged. Front and center the abolition of abortion. They decided to put into practice what they had been advocating for four decades. These laws are designed to strip women of full citizenship and roll back the gains made since the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.These people aren't stupid. They hope the coming court challenges will result in the current Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
In the meantime they get to shame and humiliate women. Treating them as if they are too stupid to make life altering decisions regarding their future. This is a chance to relegate them to ambulatory incubators. They see an opportunity to push their repressive "Christian" values on everyone to save America from those they feel hate God.
And we stood by and let them do it.
We stayed home during elections handing them the keys. We didn't challenge as we let them set the message. We didn't stand up push back and say no.
Those days are over.
I have seen women of every political stripe angered and appalled at the current situation. Thousands are telling the Texas Legislature NO!
John Kasich and Scott Walker have due to their raw political ambition have decided to sign extremist laws as a blatant play to the base. Both harbor Presidential ambitions and feel what they have done will propel them to the White House on the backs of women. The disdain is evident in that they feel women are not a threat They shrug off the fact they are the top targets. They have not learned a simple fact. Women are a force of nature. When they are motivated by righteous anger they are fierce and unyielding in their fight for justice.
We men can stand with women in this battle or be wrong again. The time to push back is now. The time to stand is now. Together. United in saying No! This will not stand!
Now.
No.
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