Mitt Romney Cannot Learn

It is no surprise to my followers that I hate Mitt Romney as a candidate for President. I think he would be awful at the job and although I have looked for it, he has not been able to make any case for replacing President Obama. In fact, he is making the case against it, more and more each day. He simply cannot learn. He cannot read an audience. He cannot make a decision that isnt manufactured for him and again, he cannot learn. His gaffe at the Olympics may be fodder for the British press and of no consequence on our shores, but his transparent attempt at getting some Jewish votes by his ludicruous bluster and lack of information about our history with Israel is just plain frightening. I am an aggressive supporter of Israel, but I also know that Israel is a democracy, with free speech and an aggressive press. I have seen Israeli officials publicly argue for settlement building in opposition to American foreign policy. I have seen Bibi Netanyahu embarrass our President by meeting with a Congress that has not been helpful to Mr. Obama. The danger in Mitt Romnney is that yesterday he announced that he would never support speaking out against Israeli policy. He exhibited a dangerous and naive understanding of foreign policy and that kind of amateurishness would threaten our national interests. The moderates in Israel as well as the Palestinians, other nations and our own electorate are watching Mitt Romney. He is simply looking for every way possible to suck up to the neo cons, the tea partiers and the moderates all at the same time while dangerously proposing and spewing inaccuracy and frightening ignorance. This won't work. Americans need to wake up to this transparent man, with no conviction, no real vision and no idea what the hell he is doing. Yes, he is banking on economic failure but he is also risking his own chances by his obvious inability to learn. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

A Failing Grade

The European Financial crisis was not of America's doing. Even Mitt Romney would agree to that. With so much of our manufacturing capacity going for European consumption, obviously our growth would be affected and it is. But, in this country, in every state and almost every community, there are bridges, tunnels, airport runways, schools, hospitals and vacant properties just waiting for construction and improvement. These many well worth it projects would ensure a brighter future for our country. This infrastructure initiative as proposed regularly by the President has stalled in the Republican dominated House and filibuster prone Senate. There is just no way these buffoons can allow the President any success. The nation be damned. As I see it, while the economies of many other places confront serious recession, the U.S. continues slow growth which is evidence of our strength and power as an economic engine. The politics of this great land however are getting in the way of all that is good and hopeful and needed. A failing grade....depressing, deliberate and unnecessary. I call for a Constitutional amendment for a one term six year Presidency. Only then will these bastards in Congress do the people's work. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Mitt's Real Problem

It isn't a coincidence that Mr. Romney will not release at this moment, further tax returns. Even thought past campaigns have also had such a distraction as a momentary focus of the media, the difference is that we have not had such a rich man's man leading his party to the nomination. Mitt Romney is rich beyond belief. Where Obama watches basketball, Romney cruises Lake Winnepasaukee on his boat. Nothing wrong with this other than a man who claims to be for the middle class and Main Street, cannot seem to get out of his own way. I have often railed against those Americans who are too ill informed to vote for their own interests and would rather support a party that has abandoned equity and opportunity for all but successfully hides beyond the large government rhetoric. There is one thing that is sure, most of us regardless of party do support the wealthy giving more and do support the elimination of special advantages for the rich. Mitt Romney has taken advantage of these advantages as his tax records would show and with Obama ready to pounce on this hypocrisy, Mitt has figured this to be a fatal wound. He is right, but he is wrong that we will get off his back about it. Tough being scrutinized huh Mitt? Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Corn

Yesterday I called an orchard in New Jersey to hear the picking schedule for some local fruits and vegetables. A friend of mine gave me a heads up that it was time to pick some peaches. On the recorded announcement the message given alerted me that there would be no corn to pick. I didn't think much about it until I got into my car to drive somewhere and lo and behold, Bloomberg news was doing a report about corn. I was so taken by it that I decided to blog about it today. I had no idea the extent that the corn crop in this country can impact so many different issues and I will save the best ones for last because of the politics involved. The corn producing states east of the Mississippi have been experiencing an epic drought and temperatures in the hundreds over the last two weeks. As such, corn plants are not being properly or adequately pollinated. This is reducing the corn yield by billions of bushels. Less corn means that a major food source will be limited thus raising prices of it and related items. Beyond that however, corn syrup, high fructose sugar, cattle feed, ethanol proudction, tortillas in Mexico, soy beans as a substitute for corn thus limiting our supply globally, gas prices due to the ethanol component and the economic reality of the farmer facing such a crisis are only some of the issues being affected along with my inability to buy it locally. Incredible just how much corn impacts us all and the world. Farmers, generally are one of the more conservative and republican party oriented constituents. Many are beginning to admit that global warming may indeed be impacting the current situtation thus flying in the face of many in their party, elected officials in many cases, who deny the reality of climate change. Additionally, 70 percent of crop insurance policies are from the Federal government and the payouts will be extraordinary thus adding further burden to the taxpayers and the debt. How many of these farmers, from red states, wish to forfeit their policies in order to reign in government spending? How many red state senators from states affected, are willing to stand against the farmers and continue to deny global warming? What would Mitt Romney say? Where are you Americans for reason and truth? Sorry about the corn.

June Jobs

The summer is always a down period for politics. People are interested in other things. Pundits take vacation, investors invest less, and Americans worry about some rest, time off and outside activities. Only the cable operators and political spin machines are busy. Today's jobs report will be dissected and argued over by both candidates for President but all this noise is meaningless. The difference today, on an economy with 165 million jobs, between gloom and hope is 25,000 jobs. This amount is almost a statistical irrelevancy but those watching will be treated to extreme analysis on both sides of the philosophical aisle. Here is my analysis. The job creators have record wealth, but are tepid in their hiring. Not because of an overregulatory government but because of a world economy that is still struggling. In our country, 4 million jobs have been created in 3 years versus 8 million lost during the recession. 84,000 people found jobs last month and this fills a football stadium. The prior month was revised upward by 7000. For those working, they were given more hours, thus more disposable income and gas prices continued to decline. Our economy is growing, not receding, and a slow and steady pace still beats a recession any day. So if you want gloom, you can find it. If you want hope, it is clearly there. The Dow is almost 13000 and it was 6000 a few years ago. I will happily take the progress. If a ship is sinking and about to capsize but then brought upright, I will take that Captain any day. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Inappropriate Conclusion

Mitt Romney has stated after days of his advisors explaining things to him that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was wrong. Romney said Roberts did not come to an "appropriate conclusion". What training or legal background or Constitutional experience does he have that gives him credibility with his analysis? NONE. Typical Romney. A man with no vision, no ideas and no understanding of the nations' needs. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

The Big Tax

Licking their wounds, the Republicans are seizing upon Mitt Romney and the Cato Institutes' idea of an individual mandate being acceptable by the Court as a TAX. So, if you want to avoid paying the tax, follow the law. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Neither Purse Nor Sword

In approximately one hour from now, our Supreme Court will rule on Health Care. Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 78 that due to [having neither purse nor sword]the high court will in essence be the weakest and least feared branch of our government. As I teach the Federalist Papers to my AP students, I always challenge them to explore this notion. I for one, believe it to be the strongest and most powerful branch having stolen its powers through an assumed role of judicial review which we have come to respect and accept. The Founding Fathers recognized the need for a small group of able minded men to make decisions for the rest of us in a three branch organization that checks and balances each other. They correctly believed that our inability as a total electorate to make the important decisions for the land was limted by our lack of exposure to information, education and time. Our Founders, however, were not the government of today. Today if you have an obnoxious personality, a loud voice and a stupid audience, you can easily get elected to Congress. We listen to lies because it is easier. We oppose things without understanding them and we answer poll questions without the foggiest notion of what we are saying. For instance, most Americans are opposed to the mandate, but most Americans have insurance so this view is meaningless. If the mandate prevails, their costs will actually go down. This is just one example of our incapability. Whereas when our nation was founded our government in general was made up of educated, experienced and well heeled men, today our elected officials are made up of those who are intellectually challenged, prone to slick and managed statements and personally attracted to money, power and fame. It isn't, regrettably, populated by the best amongst us. For the rest of us, with limited time, great apathy about the great issues of the day and lazy minds, we vote for people who are not capable of running our land. Due to this reality, the Court has lead the way. For example, were it not for the judgement that "Separate but Equal" is inherently unequal, there would be no Civil Rights Act. The court paves the way, and the rest of the government follows suit with legislation that follows their lead. Courts will tilt one way philosophically and then shift back, but it is made up of people with the sharpest and most intellectually curious minds we have produced. So, when they make their judgement in an hour, pundits from both sides will claim victory and defeat, politicians will continue to lie and distort, and campaigning will continue. The worst of our system will prevail in the short term, but the long term will be protected. Until we think for ourselves, judge in our best interests and smarten up, this process will co-exist with our ignorance. I must say, that President Obama has been a shining example of intellect and since many of us condemn the smart as elite and un American, he is in a tight race....evermore making my point. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

For the Record

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will rule on the Affordable Health Care Act. For the record, this is a law passed by Congress and signed by the President who did not initially support an individual mandate, but rather a single payer system. In essence, this law was not the first choice of President Obama so Obamacare has been a misnomer from the outset. For the record, the individual mandate was a Republican idea raised by President Nixon and most leaders of the Republican party as they obsessively railed against a single payer system. For the record, Mitt Romney signed into law signature legislation as Mass. Governor that required the purchase of health care, a mandate that he now denies as important while he hides behind states rights. For the record, the Supreme Court has beoome overly politicized to our great misfortune as a nation. When Earl Warren lead the court, he realized that the nation would never accept a split vote on the matter of Brown vs. Board of Education so he worked to insure unanimity through some arm twisting and much compromise but in the end the decision was accepted, grudgingly by some, but its impact was given credibility due to a unanimous court. Chief Justice Roberts for the record, is ruling a deeply split and divided court and these differences are manifestly apparent with each major vote. Bush v. Gore, 5 to 4. Citizens United, split and the public just as it has grown tired of Congress, is now giving the court its least popular rating in decades. These facts, for the record, will put tomorrow's decision in perspective if the mandate is struck down. I hope the justices took the nations' collective disgrace in protecting the health of its citizens more seriously than they took their personal politics. It is just too important. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

He Simply Cannot Sell It.

With a recent spate of economic news that is less than stellar, the President still retains a lead over Mitt Romney.....close, but the real fight hasn't yet begun and the incumbent has some serious bullets yet to be fired. Why you might ask is the President ahead? Because Mitt Romney cannot sell what he is selling because we don't even know what that is. He has nothing to offer except negativity and blame while six out of ten Americans still hold Bush responsible for the economic downturn. The most recent sales pitch is that the word outsourcing is not offshoring and Mitt only destroyed jobs that he replaced within the country with computers and mergers not with jobs in India. What a great argument to make while running for President. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Issa's Folly

Ask Americans who Daryl Issa is and they wouldnt know. Yet this Chairman of the House Oversight committee is in the news. His politically motivated attempt to embarrass a decent man and further attempt to hurt our President is disgusting. But watch out Mr. Chairman....your folly is about to blow up in your face. We just dont care. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Morally Bankrupt

With focus on the economy, often times the word bankrupt is used, but I would like to change its context for today's post and use it to describe Mitt Romney. He is morally bankrupt because he offers no view on anything, that is his own. His only consistency is in evoking the opposite of whatever the President says and does and then calls it politically motivated, like there's a shocker. Seriously, however, this man is a danger because on any given day and in any given moment, he will change his alleged convictions, spin them as if there was never any record, say the opposite and then take credit for something he never said. On today's Sunday roundup of news, Mr. Romney was simply unable to give a declarative answer on Obama's Immigration announcement. Why, because he was too busy weighing what the tea party and other influences would think, he was spinning, he was waffling and putting politics aside, he simply doesn't have a moral compass to guide him. He is rich, smart, but soulless and Americans, when they tune in, will run from him like a chicken running from the fox. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Dedication

Today I dedicate my post to the eleven remarkable students that have just completed their Advanced Placement, Government and Politics course. It has been my utmost pleasure to teach them, encourage them and guide them throughout the myriad challenges that are faced in understanding our Government and our Politics as a nation. My goal for them, during the course has only been to help them find accurate information on the most important issues of our time so that they can make intelligent and reasoned decisions as voters and citizens. I am confident that they will do just that. Great job kids. Thanks and always remember that We are the People. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Hold your Horses

Let's not make such a big deal over Scott Walker's win last night. It was expected. Union membership across the country is declining. The public has always during economic downturns resented unions and has responded to political demonization of them. Wisconsin is a highly divided state on cultural and rural/urban grounds. Tom Barrett was the same candidate who lost the last time and isn't accepted statewide. Lastly, those who voted yesterday would have given President Obama the edge over Mitt Romney by six points. Republicans will chirp that this is a national signal, entrench further in their opposition to growing the economy and run ads nationally about this win, but it is meaningless on the national stage, no matter which experts say it ain't so. Just hold your horses and wait till November. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas...Hopefully

On the evening that Mitt Romney officially garners the delegatges required, he continues not to disavow the birther comments from the bloviate Trump. I am sorry, but this diminishes whatever other potential characteristics his canididacy may have for some. Mitt Romney through his silence, by his parading at a fund raiser with the low life, multi bankruptcy filing reality TV idiot Donald Trump, he distances himself from the mainstream normalcy that happily makes up the American electorate. For Romney to think his affiliation with the Donald works for him, is another indication of how totally underqualified and how awful a man, Mitt Romney really is. He should have stayed in Vegas. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Class Size

Mitt Romney says class size matters little in the ability for students to achieve. When was the last time he taught a class of 35 students at once? This man, born to wealth, educated in prep schools, thinking it cool to bully others, is speaking as if he has credibility on the issue? With each passing day, Mitt Romney shows his inadequacy and unpreparedness for higher office. As a teacher, I am insulted that he speaks to me, a voter, with such an obvious lack of understanding or conviction on every major issue. Back to School for you Mr. Romney, or else you'll find yourself the richest Presidential election loser in history.....and I hope so. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Mr. Education

Mitt Romney is attempting to develop bonafides for every issue that he has zero experience with. First, foreign policy and his statements have been reckless at best. Next, he touts his job creation performance and we know what the real numbers say. Now he is trying to distinguish himself as an education expert...there is a role to play for the Fed. and lets keep local control. Standard BS. Oh, and by the way, he blames the teacher unions for blocking progress. More demonization from the phoniest fake of a candidate in my lifetime. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Mr. Tweet

If you follow Twitter as a political geek, you would notice that Mayor Cory Booker from Newark is a gold medal twitterer. Whether it be at a fire, or a restaurant, or shoveling snow, he uses this form of instant media activity with much vigor. Mr. Booker is considered a rising star in Democratic circles and a supporter of the President. The kerfuffle over his criticisms of negative advertising as nauseating are being used by the conventional media to drive a wedge between him and the President. It is the topic of the next few days for sure. Romney will use this in his ads to suggest the negative influences in media by Obama while ignoring the constant vitriol and bull coming from their ads and there it goes. What is most striking however, is the way Booker's comments are being portrayed. He condemned the negativity on both sides , not just the Dems. and it is being suggested that he is critical of Obama and therefore this could be a great media wedge issue as they battle for network superiority. No big deal. Political advertising is nauseating and so are the five justices that let this all happen. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Republican Anti Regulation Attitudes

A two billion dollar loss at JP Morgan Chase may not be much for the behemoth bank, but its leader has been considered one of the geniuses of the industry. In front of his nose, the loss happened. What about other banks? Just as we turn a corner from severe financial distress and a deregulatory atmosphere toward at least rhetoric for change, another scam, yes scam occurs, jolting our confidence in the financial sector. The President has been calling for tighter reigns on the industry and the public seems to endorse this, but no matter what happens, short of a repeat of 1929, Republicans will fight tooth and nail, anything that regulates or controls banks. Even Dodd/Frank, ridiculed by Republicans, is giving us a watered down approach to regulatory needs. Many Democrats in fact avoided support for the tougher controls that we need. The problem is that we as citizens think of banks as safe havens for our money, for our mortgages, for small business loans and for our basic money needs. What has happened, is that they have become purveyors of financial scams that we simply do not understand. Ask the average citizen about synthetic derivatives as hedges against loss and they would think you are speaking Klingon. As such, we have become slaves to an industry that develops portfolios and risky financial ventures that go unchecked and unexplained. Why the Republicans continue to shy away from needed reform and why Mitt Romney endorses such recklessness is reason enough to condemn this approach and stay the course with the President. Good Luck to my AP Government students who are about to take their test. They worked hard and my thoughts are with them. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

The President's Role

As my Advanced Placement Government students finish their preparation for next week's test, I cannot depart from the fact that President Obama's declaration in favor of same sex marriage is an issue appropriate for our final discussions. It is being complicated due to the diverse moral and religious opinions and interpretations that exist but it is really simple. Let us suppose, today, a woman and a man who cannot bear children decide to marry and a State Government decides to disallow the infertile from marrying. Would those who view marriage as a union for the purpose of propagation be offended? Maybe so. and if not,they are hypocrites. Suppose a black man were to go to the polls to vote and immediately as in days past was excluded based on race, would segregationist bigots have a problem with this? Probably not. These two extreme views that exist within a minority of our people today, would have been mainstream opinions during periods of our history. Yet, today, laws to protect the rights and liberties of individuals have been passed to insure the American mosaic is protected as part of our diversity. To treat one individual or group differently because of a characteristic, is anathema to most of us and our nation continues to march slowly toward acceptance, tolerance and a higher sense of right and wrong. A President is in the job to execute the laws and the laws of this great nation are designed to protect our rights and liberties, not to make decisions based on religious fundamentals. I do not quarrel with or object to anyone whose faith and conscience does not have room for same sex partnerships but I do quarrel with those who use these ideas to deny others the freedom to be who they are and to have the rights they are equally entitled to. The President is just doing his job. Thankfully so. Mitt Romney has no understanding of the role he feels entitled to have. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?