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Sunday, October 28, 2012

This is Different

When W. won the Presidency, I was disappointed but didn't go over the edge. The country and the Supreme Court decided, the process worked and I lived to fight another day for eight despicable years. When Nixon beat McGovern, I was sad but not outraged. Nixon got his and we moved on. When Reagan won with his message of a better America and smaller government, I didn't cry, I accepted his victory and watched for eight long years. This time, it is different. It is hard for me to express but if Romney becomes the President, my outrage and fear and total demoralization will set in in ways that they never have before. Romney is a liar. He has switched his position on absolutely every major social, foreign policy and economic issue and gets away with it every time. Obama should be kicking his ass, but he is not. This is because our nation is filled with tens of millions who tune in after the summer for the first time. They see a man who looks good and can speak articulately so they say, OK, lets give him a chance. We tried the Black Man, we proved we aren't racist so let's go back to our real roots. Mitt Romney can and will say anything with no conviction, belief or moral compass. This automaton is the scariest candidate in modern American Political history, not because he is dumb, or ill informed, but because you do not know which Mitt will show up. This, is why this is different. Where are you Americans for reason and truth? Be safe through the storm.

Friday, October 26, 2012

A Friend of Mine

I have a good friend. On most every aspect of conscience, we agree. This friend however, is voting for Mitt Romney. The response I get is that " I make my choice only on economic issues and don't concentrate on all the other noise ". I smile, walk away with disgust in my bones but with continued love for this person. I simply cannot continue to try and influence this position. I know in my heart that Mitt Romney does not understand or care about the middle class. I know in my heart that Mitt Romney believes in outsourcing and not much about US manufacturing. I know in my heart that Mitt Romney's positions on job creation are tied to failed policies but my friend does not listen. That's OK. What is not OK is that this support cannot be separated from the mean spirited racisim, extremist and hateful positions toward women and gays, the candidates that think rape is a message from G-d, the unwillingness to support equal rights, the march toward defense overspending and the sheer hate toward our President that represents the party of Mitt Romney...and my dear friend, all of these positions have direct, vital and certain economic implications. Please think, my dear dear friend. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

He Doesn't Understand?

Paul Ryan doesn't understand President Obama's bayonet remark? Maybe that is because he makes up the second half of the least experienced Foreign Policy ticket in recent memory. You do not judge the military based on numbers of ships, but capability. The rest of us got it. Read up Mr. Ryan....One day you may wish to run for President. Enjoy the next Congress. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Monday, October 22, 2012

The Last One.....Finally

As you watch this evening, remember this.....one man has led the nation as commander in chief and one has no experience at all. One man decided to give the order to kill Bin Laden. The other did not. One man ended the war in Iraq, the other thinks we should go back. One man led a coalition to rid the world of Muamar Quadaffi, the other uses the recent emabassy misfortune and tragedy to score cheap political points. One man has been desrcribed by Israeli leaders as responsible for giving Israel the best intelligence and military cooperation, the other tries to create a wedge between Jews and the Democratic party for some votes. One man thinks before he acts, the other speaks before he thinks and then changes his mind. One man is evaluating the Syrian situation and treading carefully not to start another war with another Middle East nation, the other threatens to act without specifics. One man has thwarted many terrorist plots, the other pretends to know more. This is what you should remember. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Ill Served Again

Debate number two in the books. Again, the American electorate was poorly served. The two men came out battling, gloves off, taking it to each other....these are the descriptions we are hearing. Who won, who lost? The American people lost. There are many pundits that see value in these fiascos, but I do not. There isn't sufficient time to provide depth to any answer. There is no direct questioning and challenging of each other, Lincoln Douglas style. There is little substance. The post debate analysts were aglow with all the topics addressed, but nothing was addressed. We still do not know how Mitt Romney would pay for his tax plan. We still do not know if the President supports more stimulus for more job growth. We still do not know how these men differ in energy policy? We do know that Mr. Romney holds the edge on generalizations and on playing havoc with facts. We still know that Mr. Romney has no keen sense or understanding of foreign policy and we still know that President Obama is a much better choice if you are in the middle class, or are a woman, or are an Hispanic or young voter. But, we knew all this before. So I say, cancel these entertainment shows or put them on as "Reality TV', just don't try and convince me that they are at all instructive. They are not. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Media Will Strike Again

Tomorrow we will see the "Thrilla in Hofstra" and again we will be instructed by the media on how we should see it. A great disservice continues to prevail in our nation as the media turns on every tie color, verbal gaffe, body language, sweat pores, eye contact and other irrelevancies at a time where the differences in content and policy couldn't be more stark. Already there is analysis about how this is a make or break night. This debate does not change one thing. It does not change the facts, figures or realities of the substance required to make an informed decision. Mitt Romney continues to nuance and lie to his heart's content and the media gives him a pass, regrettably, because his eye contact was better. Our President will now have to fall into this maelstrom of irrelevance to keep pace, and the media will be aglow with more nonsense than I can stand. So goes the debate...So goes our politics....and Where are you Americans for Reason and Truth?

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Two Against One

Two against one isn't a fair fight unless you are a superhero, but nevertheless we seem to have this in the upcoming Presidential election. On the ballot will be three candidates for President...Barack Obama, Mitt A and Mitt B. Two against one. The problem is that if you vote for Mitt A or Mitt B, the name of Mitt Romney will get the vote. If they were listed separate as they shoud be listed, then Obama gets 50% of the popular vote and the requireed 270 plus electors, Mitt A would get 25% and Mitt B 25% with the associated, if any, electoral votes. Mitt A believes that we should re-enter war with Iraq, that abortion should no longer be the right of a woman, that health care reform should be repealed, that PBS funding should stop, that defense should get an additional 2 trillion dollars, that taxes for the middle class should be disproportionately and unfairly collected, that regulations on banks should be reduced, that global warming may be a fake and that immigrant youth should be deported if their parents came here under false pretenses, that 47 percent of us are leeches and deserve less assistance from government, that we have eroded our support for Israel, that the Palestinians are not peace partners, that we should voucherize Social Security and that underperforming states should continue to underperform educationally because only the states know how to educate. Mitt B believes that the Massachusetts mandate for health insurance is a great idea, that the Federal government is an important source of funds for activities such as the Olympics, that we should withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014 (Obama Plan), that the Palestinicnas should have a state next to Israel (US policy for decades), that there is a role for the Federal Government in Public education, that the middle class and elderly need to be supported, that he really does care about the Middle class, that Social Security should not be cut and that women in this country should not have the government tell them what to do with their health. Now, you can argue intelligently for Mitt A or for Mitt B and you should cast your vote for one, if you believe him to be a better chioce than the other two guys. But....is it really fair to have both votes for A and B go to one man? Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Sunday, October 7, 2012

A Culture of Lies

At last week's debate, Mitt Romney lied about the level of the deficit, his tax plan, the percentage of gas exploration on public land, about pre existing conditions, about middle class wages and about medicare. I would say these are pretty big lies, but it didn't seem to bother us at all. Instead of moving away from a bald faced liar, the nation seemed to move a little toward him. Why? I guess it's because we live in a culture of lies. We are skeptical about government in general so we assume all politicians lie. When we are too tired to go to a baby shower, we lie about having other plans. If we are too tired to be intimate with our significant others, we lie about having a headache. When we are in school, we lie about our homework being eaten by a dog and when we look for a job, we put a few things on our resumes that may be a bit untrue. I grew up being told that lying is bad and I have told my share, but the national debt, care for the elderly and the future of our nation were never at stake. Right now, experts on both sides of the aisle have had to admit that the Romney candidacy is frought with more inaccuracy and more bold statements of falseness than that of any other major candidate in decades. We just don't seem to care and I just don't get it. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Saturday, October 6, 2012

The Bureau of Labor Statistics

Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced the monthly unemployment numbers. Because they were better, and came on the heels of the Romney debate victory lap, immediately the Republican bloviates like Jack Welch, Rick Santelli and Rush and the other kooks said the numbers were skewed, dishonest, cooked and conspiratorially played with to secure a second term for the President. Even Mitt Romney, seemingly knowledgeable about how this stuff works, didn't join the chorus of these irrational supporters. He kept lying and showed some frustration with good numbers trying to minimize their impact, but he didn't accuse the President of dishonesty. Those who did, ought to be ashamed. The BLS is an agency of government, bureaucratic to the core. It is made up of lifers, from both political parties, pure bureaucrats that do their jobs, care about what they do and work for an agency unchallenged by both sides of the world of common sense, as to its integrity. The last time any President attempted to curry political favor with the agency was Nixon, who said the Jewish money people were against him and he tried to sway the BLS to see it his way. He was rebuffed and other than that attempt, the BLS has been accepted as an honest purveyor of statistical information related to jobs. Why weren't the kooks accusatory when numbers were not so good? You figure it out. Lastly, to listen and observe leaders of this nation show sadness over good news, is another reason to awaken all you sleepy heads. The Republican party and its leaders care more about re-electability than they do about you or America. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Friday, October 5, 2012

You Get What You Deserve

It is clear, as in the past, that when a challenger has a good first debate performance against a sitting President, there is a new dynamic that develops. Certainly Mitt Romney had a good performance and is a practiced debater. Whereas the President was not at his best, he certainly upon re-review was not that bad, but you would't know it from the analysis. In fact, Mr. Romney is using the strategy that he was substantive and specific at the debate. First and foremost, he lied. He is a liar and has always been so. On every major political, social and economic policy, he has shifted. On foreign policy he bows to the neo cons and then tries to act knowledgeable and statesmanlike. Today the polls are showing some movement toward Mr. Romney on the strength of his renewed stump speeches and momentum from the debate. The President's supporters continue to berate his performace and pile on. Fact checkers have shown that the lies and distortions significantly tilted toward Mr. Romney. Having said this, there is no doubt that the debate has shifted the the political environment and added some pop to Mr. Romney's fault prone candidacy. I say this, if you want a liar in chief, a charlatan who cannot find a moral compass on anything, if you want a slick, untruthful person in the White House, vote for Mitt. You will get what you deserve. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Big Show

Tonight will be entertainment, a show, but not much else. If you don't know by now who to support then you are not one who really follows politics and have been quite distracted by other things. If you are tuning in to tonight's performance to get clarification on details, or full plans or to even see a debate, you won't. It will be about tie color, body language, zingers, barbs, jokes and one liners. The media will spin the event to favor candidates based on their biases and fact checkers will work overtime to produce facts that we all ignore anyway. So enjoy the big show. Watch it as you would watch reality TV and remember, there is nothing real about it. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?