But I'm a Privileged White Guy?

From the outset of this campaign, Mitt Romney and the Republicans have quietly and not so quietly tried to paint President Obama as not "one of us". From birthers challenging his birthplace, from comments about Kenyan tribalism, to comments about his affiliations, the Republicans want to let the white folk in our country vote against Obama in huge numbers out of fear and out of a sense that this is a country defined by the whiteness of our original immigrants. As our country has continued to become the great mosaic of diversity that it is, we see our demographics changing. It is true that often minority voting patterns are smaller than caucasian participation so the strategy has worked somewhat in the past but not anymore. While Romney is losing every single major constituency group except white men, he desperately clings to the strategem of white privilege so as not to lose his base. I can hear him at home saying to himself: "I am a privileged white guy? How am I losing to this guy". He is losing because President Obama represents and understands the real American story. It isn't a story of privilege, it is a story of opportunity, and sharing and compassion. If the President holds on to win a second term, it won't be because of a slow recovery that tries our patience, but because Mitt Romney and his party are losing touch with America and its true greatness as a nation. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Debate Romney Style

Acccording to the pundits, Mitt Romney's chances may hinge on his debate performances being so superior to the President's whose must be a calamitous failure in order to move big blocks of voters toward the Republican. I wish to express my own thoughts. As you watch these debates one thing is one hundred percent sure, whatever Mr. Romney says, it will be the opposite of what he has said on the issue sometime in his recent political past. If he speaks moderately about health care in Massachusetts, remember he vows to attempt a repeal with a friendly Congress of the Affordable Care Act. If he expresses outrage at abortion, remember he was a moderate pro choice republican not too long ago. If he talks about creating jobs, remember he has supported outsourcing as a means to great profitability for himself and his clients. If he talks about small government, remember as the Olympic chair, he begged for and received Federal funds. If he talks about sabre rattling and war in Iraq and Afghanistan as Obama failures, remember he has zero foreign policy experience and has expressed repeatedly in the past that the US should not be in the business of nation building. If he talks about compassion for the poor, remember that he selected a running mate who supports dessimating programs that aid the poor. If he talks about public education successes in Mass. and states' rights, remember he wants to eliminate the role of the Dept. of Education and let Mississipi continue to fail and some states succeed. If he talks about college education support, remember he also said you should borrow money from your parents to do it. If he talks about taxes, remember he promised not to raise middle class taxes but his plan on his own website does this. If he promises a better life for working Americans, remember he was against the car bailout. If he talks about deregulation, remember that he loves regulations on the books that allow him to shield his income from taxes and that provide subsidies for big oil. If he talks about women as partners and leaders in our country, remember he supports canidates and a budget that will strip women of their ability to get important heath care from important agencies. If he rips Obama about how bad things are, remember he told Laura Ingraham on conservative talk radio that things are improving. If he bashes Obama on his economic policies, remember he used to support them as a moderate but now wants to go back to the policies that failed us 8 years ago. I can go on and on, but I won't. Whatever you hear, cannot be taken as truth. You cannot trust Mitt Romney to say what he thinks because he just doesn't think. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

ER

No, not the television program. This ER is the Mitt Romney plan for universal health care. We have it he says, you can leave your apartment when you are having a heart attack and go to the emergency room for treatment. That's it. Universal health care Romney style. Oh, wait, yesterday while bashing Obamacare he touted his Massachusetts Romneycare plan for universal coverage. Each day it becomes more and more scary that this man, with virtually no plan, no conviction or foundation based on principle or good judgement, is just 40 days away from possibly becoming President. If this doesn't scare you, then you need the ER. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

True Colors

Today, amazingly, the Speaker of the House conceded that President Obama may win re-election. By raising that possibility it may show that the reality of a Romney Presidency may not be as near as once thought. Having made this comment, the Speaker then doubled down and promised further obstruction, already saying no to a President still campaigning for re-election. The true colors of his party continue to spread like a peaocock's feathers. I think the Speaker may need to check the polls and realize that he himself may no longer be making those calls after January 1st. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

"Those people"

Mitt Romney says it isnt his job to worry about those who rely on their government for help. We better tell the returning war veteran not to get his prosthetic limb from the VA. or tell the poor kid not to use that college Pell grant.. Let us not forget to alert the senior citizen with Alzheimers disease that he cannot use Medicare for his pills and let us surely remind the unemployed white, blue collar worker not to try and get that community college job training grant. We can't help "Those people" Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

The Disgraceful Acts of a Desperate Man

Never before in recent memory, has a challenger so blatantly, unprofessionally and inaccurately attacked a sitting President while he engages in a response to violence abroad against our embassies. Calling the President a liar, challenging him on his response, all while our President grieves with the families of the fallen, without any intelligence information of his own, so inappropriately criticizing our efforts to diffuse the situation over a racist documentary that he doesn't even criticize, is the mark of a bad, unprepared and desperate candidate. Americans must look at Mitt Romney for what he is....an ill prepared, lying, directionless poor excuse for a Presidential candidate. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

9-11

May those lost rest in peace. May the families and friends remember those lost with fondness and may we never forget.

Vote Republican

If you believe that votes of your fellow citizens should be suppressed over a non existent issue of fraud, then vote republican. (This is racism by the way) If you believe that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned, vote republican. If you believe that programs for women's health care should be defunded, vote republican. If you believe that the Affordab;e Health Care Act eliminating pre existing condition waivers, extended care for college grads. and health care cost equality between genders should be eliminated, vote republican. If you want the current jobs bill that would add one million jobs immediately should be obstructed further, vote republican. If you want to increase tax spending on military equipment that the Pentagon has not asked for, vote republican. If you want to extend the war in Afghanistan and open more fronts of violence in Syria, Russia and Iran, vote republican. If you sincerely believe that trickle down economics works, then vote republican. If you want tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class, vote republican. If you want to ignore 4.6 million newly created private sector jobs, vote republican. If you want to deny the fact that the stimulus bill saved conservatively, 2.5 million jobs, vote republican. If you are against saving the car industry, vote republican. If you are not satisfied with the killing of Osama and the dismantling of Al Qeda, vote republican. If you want to suppress freedoms for gay people and treat them as unequal, then vote republican. If you want to deny that natural gas production is up, prices are down, and the percentage of oil imports are lowest in the last 40 years, vote republican. If you think global warming is a joke, laugh at green energy initiatives and want more guns on the street, vote republican. If you want less money for college grants, vote republicans. If you want to see programs reduced for the poor, vote republican. If you believe giving a voucher to your grandmother for health care is better than Medicare, vote republican. These are not the ramblings of a supporter of the President but simply the platform items, ads, stated viewpoints of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and the story they told. I have a choice and will make it, but if you like what they said, vote republican. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Proud and Still Inspired

When I listen to my President speak about education and the future, about green jobs and investment in the Middle class, about shared sacrifice and fairness, I feel proud to be a supporter of Barack Obama. Anyone who supports the other guy is not opening their eyes to some basic realities that were highlighted at the conventions. The notion of an entitlement President is disturbingly dishonest. The notion of government choosing for women is nauseating, the suggestion that we return to failed policies is just plain stupid. Sorry my Republican friends. You are represented by people who have been praying for bad economic news, who care little for this country, who promote ignorance and have picked two people that have neither a conscience nor an ability to tell the truth. Progress is always slow, and currently this is the case, but progress is better than moving back and truth is better than lies. We are better off today than four years ago and to deny it is to bury your heads in the sand. Two visions, one good, the other not. You will decide for yourself but I am inspired and hopeful. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Day Two

Nuff said.

10 Years Old

In 1980, Paul Ryan was ten years old but today, as the pre convention attack dog, he claims to know how to compare President Obama with Jimmy Carter. Mr. Ryan is a petulant little ass, with an extremely high opinion of himself. He loves to take liberties with the truth, from his marathon run to his blame game against others, while he took similar views and awful votes. I think at the end of the election, the Republicans will regret having selected Mr. Ryan who still acts like a ten year old. To disrespect a former President who he only knows from his handlers is another example of his mean spiritedness and inexperience. Jimmy Carter gave us peace between Israel and Egypt, warned us against our profligate consumption of oil and insured every hostage came home alive. The circumstances of his Presidency and the malaise in the nation at that time was captured successfully by Reagan who then went on to lead our country on a path toward economic insolvency, the results of today tied to his economic philosophy. Anyhow, while Mitt Romney prepares for the debates, trying to figure out how to backtrack and avoid falling into the trap of being caught with his many lies and shifting positions, Paul Ryan is out there shouting like a ten year old. I implore him not to shut up, but to keep behaving like the child he is. If he has half the life's accomplishments of Mr. Carter, he will be lucky. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Not Smaller...Just Different

If you want to simplify the rhetoric in our politics, then the Republicans want small government and low taxes with no regulation, and the Democrats want big government, higher taxes and regulation. This is easy to understand and 80 percent of us are unwavering in our beliefs that this is where the two parties differ. If you care to exercise your brain just a little, and think, and recognize the truth, these two easy to understand views are simply not based in reality. When George Bush left office, he had swollen the deficit and the size of government by almost 11 trillion dollars with every one of his spending bills endorsed for six years by the small government Republican Congress. It isnt that Republicans want smaller government, they want different government. They want the government to find you a job....if not, they wouldnt be complaining about anemic job growth under this President. They certainly did not care about jobs while they presided over the loss of nine million of them. They want government to decide what a woman can do with her own body, just not allow her to go to a government funded clinic for preventive care. They want defense to remain at 26 percent of the Federal budget but want to shrink the Education department and other programs. They want to raise the deficit through tax breaks for the wealthiest, they just don't want the deficit to rise through spending on unemployment insurance, Pell grants or food stamps. They want to give big oil tax exemptions, they just don't want to fund alternate energy initiatives. They want farmer drought insurance to be paid by the Federal government, they just don't want to spend on mass transit or bridge building. So it isnt about smaller government, it is about different government and unless one brave Republican says this and is honest about the difference, we will continue to go nowhere. Small government my ass. I hope the President says this, but I guess he cannot be so vulgar. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

If You Don't Watch

If you aren't going to watch the convention in Charlotte, then at least think about this. During Reagan's election against Jimmy Carter, he asked a simple question: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?". What a great question, and the answer is what lost it for President Carter. Republicans are trying this approach again, but this time, it won't work. It is the wrong question. The question, if you are a Republican should be "Is the country recovering fast enough or not?" They win on that, but this isn't what they are asking, because if they did, they would be admitting to a recovery. I want to answer their question and I think you should too. Are we as a nation better off today than four years ago? YES We were losing jobs, now we are creating them. We were fighting two wars, now only one. We were contracting as an economy, now we are growing. We had a dying domestic auto business, now it is thriving. Banks were on the brink of bankruptcy, now they have mostly recovered and repaid their Tarp loans. The Dow was at 6,000, now it's at 13,000. Corporate coffers were depressed, now there is record cash on the books. Real Estate lost one trillion in value, now it is stabilizing. Inventories were swollen, now they are depleted with better manufacturing prospects. Everyone's taxes were higher than they are now. Natural gas prices are low and have offset the costs of rising gas prices. Our level of reliance on foreign oil is lowest in 40 years and improved since 08. Mortgage rates were higher in 08 than in 12. Osama Bin Laden and Muamar Qaddaffi were alive, now they are dead. This is just in three and a half years. I can list many aspects of our economy that continue to struggle and in fact, the recovery is slower than anyone wants. Deficit spending continues, and Congressional gridlock and games continues, but, the question as to whether we are better off as a nation is easy to answer. This is what the President will be discussing this week in Charlotte. You can focus on the bad, or you can answer the question honestly....then vote. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

It's Our Turn

The moment has passed. Mitt Romney gave a speech letting us know he loves his family. Very sweet. We also saw a conversation with a chair. This is appropriate in crazyland I guess. We heard Mitt Romney repeat the CBO estimate that normal economic growth will produce 12 million jobs in four years irrespective of who is President, so his number isn't anything to boast about. We also heard him say he wants to take care of your family while mocking global warming and ignoring his party's willingness to cut those programs your family needs most, like Health care? We heard him tell you he is willing to take us to War and lie about Obama's performance with Israel. I'm a Jew, Mitt, not you. So is Ehud Barak, Defense Minister of Israel who spoke of historic support from our President. We also heard him say he wants to care for the poor, but supports cutting their benefits and we heard not one word of thanks or appreciation for our troops in Afghanistan or any reference to the war there. We heard him mention college students, but he supports cutting Pell grants and represents a party that mocks intellectualism. We also heard another vague racist reference to needing an American to run our country. Red meat for his audience in the room. We also heard from Lyin Ryan, and that has already been pretty much vetted but the people in that room didn't care much about the truth anyway. We heard from his wife, but she ignored the realities of her husband's affiliation with the most extreme platform in recent history. We saw a parade of women in an effort to reduce the gender gap and Hispanic gap and we heard from young Rubio whose biography was manufactured to make him look like an escapee from Castro's regime. Most disturbing, we heard from Condaleeza Rice, a member of the cabal that couldnt find Bin Laden, brought us into war under false pretenses, declared victory when there was none and actually tried to take credit for Bin Laden's death as a Bush victory. Lastly, she spoke of civil rights, lunch counters in Alabama, poor schools for black kids and her own personal story while she accepts a party that is engaging in the most historic voter suppression since 1965, wishes to cut education funding, accepts Texas rewrites of text books denying the truth during the Civil War and accepting the unspoken draconian cuts to all non defense programs that would help the plight of the unfortunate in our land. Condi Rice's speech for all its eloquence was the most hypocritical and disturbing of all from my viewpoint. The balloons have dropped. It' over. Now it is our turn. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

From Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryans-speech-in-three-words/

What She Didn't Say

Last night Ann Romney came to the defense of her husband. As a good wife, she attempted to humanize the man who many view as an unemotional automoton. To the extent that someone watching will change their mind or now support this man on the strength of his wife's speech, this blog is not for you. If you make decisons like that, then I cannot reason with you. What angered me the most about this speech is when she tried to convince us that their lives were filled with tough times and that it hasn't always been easy due to the illness that Mrs. Romney has, MS, thanfully in remission. I open my heart to anyone who struggles with illness and suffering. What Mrs. Romney didn't remind us, is that even though she struggles with this terrible disease, she doesn't have to worry about medical care or insurance or paying the bills for expensive care. Why? Because she is financially privileged. Her husband, who she asks us to support, will however on his first day in office ask Congress to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, and anyone on Main Street with a pre existing condition of MS will not get insured, probably not be able to afford the care and will likely experience pain and suffering that Mrs. Romney is financially able to avoid. He also wants more tax breaks for himself at the expense of Middle Class America. This is what her husband will do as President. This is what you did not hear. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

The Bully Pulpit

This evening, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, my governor, will take the stage at the Republican convention and deliver the keynote address. The narrative about him is one of the biggest canards in recent political history. He was literally begged by Ann Coulter to run for President. The neo cons love him for his directness and small government pro business pretend bona fides and he has become a contender for future Presidential opportunities. The truth, as is often the case with this party, is different however. The governor is brash, is direct and is loud and obnoxious, good qualities if you are a prison warden, but his approach to his job has been hurtful to our state which is not performing according to the story Mr. Christie likes to tell. He demonizes teachers and their pensions as the root cause of the state's fiscal difficulties. He has promised property tax relief which has not materialized and instead has played funny math with pension contributions and projected revenues which have not materialized. He rails against the wealthiest New Jerseyans from paying a little more in tax, and has reduced funds to schools, only to restore them due to the State Supreme Court's judgement that he violated the Constitution with his draconian methods. He destroyed an infrastructure project, a needed tunnel, with job opportunities galore by lying about the level of cost to tour state. Under his leadership, New Jersey has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the nation, and this is NOT a result of Obama policies. The real story about Chris Christie is different than what his handlers tell, and despite his popularity in some quarters, he remains a bully, an arrogant and overly rambunctious and obnoxious, self serving man. This is who the Republicans are using to represent them and to deliver the red meat consumed by the party faithful. I for one will not be able to watch. I have a much more important task this evening.....to take out the trash. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

The Republicans

There was a time when moderate Republicans roamed the Earth. They believed in small government and low taxes, but they also believed that diversity is our greatest strength. They believed that those who are unfortunate need a protected safety net. They believed that compromise and accepting opposition points of view were essential qualities for doing the peoples' work and they governed. Republicans opened up barriers to trade, ended unpopular wars and believed that building bridges and roads and airports were good things to do. These Republicans deserved consideration during elections and were welcomed and most definitely the bulk of the party. Today, these moderates cannot co-exist with the extremist direction that the Republican party has taken. This intense move to the right, will cost them the election at a time when the incumbent is vulnerable. Today, I am embarrassed that this party has become so extreme and so unwavering in its obsession with the wrong things that I cannot in good conscience give them a second look as a voter. I have pledged to no longer try and convince some of my friends who are otherwise capable and reasonable people, that their denial of the extremist views of their party, makes them culpable for its heinous beliefs. The litany of those items that are frankly so extreme as to be borderline un American are too numerous to list, but as Mitt Romney tries to re cast himself as the beacon of future prosperity for all, as he tries to become a man of Main street and as he embraces the callous disregard for the unfortunate in our land, or the hard working young immigrants looking for a better life but deserving of no help or to solidify behind extremist views on abortion, health care, fairness, climate change and wealth, I only hope that those watching realize there is much more that we need to demand from our President. Republicans have become scary, uncompromising and hurtful to our nation. I am sad to say. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?

Vacation

Taking a needed rest from the lies and the bull. See you soon.

Recovery

Albeit a slow recovery for reasons explained in my past post, there is a statistic worth noting, one which was included in today's Bloomberg employment report. Bloomberg is not the most friendly media organization to our President but here is the statistic nevertheless: We have recovered 50% of the 8.8 million jobs lost during the recession during Obama's term in office. Is the glass half full or half empty? Guess it depends how much you love or hate our President. I thank him for his efforts. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?