“Your Child Is Dead”

“Your child is dead.” Imagine that those words are said to you. Those are the most chilling words parents can hear and after going into shock they want to what happened. If the answer to that question is they were shot while they were at the mall, grocery store, restaurant, movie theater, church, college, high school or in their elementary school classroom by a disturbed individual with a lethal arsenal of guns, there is no understanding and it is unacceptable.  How many parents have to hear those chilling words before we become fed up enough to do something about it?

Newtown, Connecticut marked a new low in what someone will do to inflict pain on others to draw attention to whatever demons or issues he was dealing with. First he took the life of the person that brought him into the world and then extinguished the futures of 20 children just venturing into the outside world and scarred others across the nation with his actions. Six educators gave their lives during his rampage. How could a man walk into a room full of small children and do what this person did? This so-called man with premeditation put on body armor, loaded multiple weapons with ammunition and decided that on December 14, 2012 he would enter history as America’s greatest modern child killer.

If this does not throw cold water into the faces of those in positions of power to take action to put some kind of parameters on our out of control culture of gun worship, then we will just slide into the abyss. These little children had no chance in this situation. Some that will always say that there should be no restrictions on personal gun ownership are already trotting out the tired old response that the teachers should have been armed and they could have ended this earlier are just lost causes. When these determined human killing machines come on the scene suited up with body armor and military levels of firepower it is not a contest, because they have the element of surprise in an unexpected venue.

If we can’t grow enough of a spine now to stand up to the gun lobby, National Rifle Association and the money it threatens politicians with then nothing will ever change. The answer is not for everyone to walk around armed to the teeth. I don’t want to feel I need a machine gun in my home and on my person to feel safe. Hunters don’t need battlefield level weapons to hunt game. There is no need for what is going on in the name of a constitutional amendment written over 200 years ago by men that could not even conceive of modern weapons that would allow one man to kill so many so quickly.

Please, don’t tell me how many people are killed in car accidents annually and ask if we should we outlaw cars because that is a false comparison because cars are not specifically designed to kill. Car accidents are due to a number of factors, but usually mass murder intentions are not one of them. Spare me the guns don’t kill people, people kill people statement. People with guns kill people and people with assault weapons kill a lot of people quickly.

Everyday someone is getting a call informing them that their child, husband, wife or other loved one is dead at the hands of someone in possession of some mass killing machine that should never be wielded in civilian society. This horror should be enough for action and if it isn’t then there never will be enough. Pray for the families that lost their children and other loved ones during this horrific event.

Wasting Your Vote Is Wasting Their Blood

How many have died in wars, protests and random acts of suppressive violence in order to protect or enable your right to vote as you see fit. You may have blood from someone that paid the ultimate price for your right to choose elected representatives of your free will flowing through your veins, that’s why wasting you vote is wasting their blood.

The right to vote is exercised today like one is cheering on their favorite sports team against their long term rival. Rooting interests and emotions tend to override real introspection and projection about what certain policies actually mean over time. When it comes to national elections the atmosphere has morphed into a bizarre group think and the thoughts of the day are canned, approved and rolled out via electronic messaging technology. News figures, politicians and like-minded citizens all repeat the same talking points on cue when certain issues present themselves.



The American Revolution, Civil War, World Wars and Civil Rights movement did not take place to enable a kind of fantasy political league environment that we live in today. Many Americans of a certain generation view war through the prism of video games where the combatants rise from the field of battle with the push of a reset button, but fallen soldiers on the battlefield do not rise again because there is no reset button.

Those that have fought and died over the years to protect and enable our right to live in a democracy deserve for the current benefactors of their sacrifice to take their voting privilege seriously, because for them it was worth dying for and we just have to stand in a line.

Are Whites Voting For Mitt Romney Because He’s White

Does it sound like a crazy question to ask if whites are voting for Mitt Romney because he is white? Why does that question sound more outlandish than the often spouted supposition that blacks are voting for President Obama because he is black? John Sununu, one of Mitt Romney’s top surrogates, recently said that Colin Powell was endorsing President Obama because they are of the same race.

Until 2008 the issue of why any voter was voting for any candidate for President due to a racial preference never came up because al of the candidates had all been of the same race.  Now in 2012 it appears that the same question from 2008 is back again. In 2008 96 percent of black voters voted for Barack Obama. In 2000 Al Gore got 91% of the black vote. It’s is not like African Americans just began to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats for President.



Could the problem lie in the signals towards the black community emanating from the Republican Party that drives up the voting percentages for their opponents? The list is long concerning various acts and statements over the last 4 years that would cause one to ponder if certain groups were viewed as equally deserving to have their hands on the reigns of government power as others. The first sitting President in history that felt compelled to release his birth certificate to quell a circus of distraction just happened to be the first President from a minority group in the United States.

It never crossed anyone’s mind to ask if whites voted for Presidents Reagan, Clinton or G. W. Bush because of their race because the Republicans still only pulled a small percentage African American support. It does not seem to be race, but policies that are driving certain voting blocks away from the Republican Party. If blacks were not voting in large numbers for Republicans before Obama ran for President, then why is the fact that they still are not voting for Republicans suddenly due to the race of the Democratic candidate for President. Not only have the Republicans alienated the black voting community, they seem to be working hard to do the same thing with the Latino community.

The charge that many that support President Barack Obama are doing so because he is black is an easy way for supporters of Mitt Romney to pave over the lack of substance, position changes and other issues with their candidates campaign. By placing the opposition to their candidate on something as basic as race gives many an easy out to avoid any real scrutiny of the effect that the policies endorsed by Romney would have if they actually went into effect.

Obama’s Rope A Dope On Romney

President Obama must have taken his debate strategy from Muhammad Ali’s 1974 fight against George Foreman in Africa. Ali leaned against the ropes in the early rounds and allowed Fore to used his entire arsenal before coming back to knock Foreman out. Obama laid against the ropes during the first debate and Romney unloaded the kitchen sink. The second debate feature a different President Obama and he pummeled Romney.

I would have been almost impossible for President Obama to be as bad as he was during the first debate without trying. With Vice President Joe Biden taking the undercard fight against Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan the week before, Obama took on Romney and connected with shot after shot. Romney exposed his entire flip-flop and deny debate fight plan during the first debate. Every time Romney tried to slip away from a previous position President Obama would nail him with the facts of his prior position compared to his stated current position.

 

Romney was staggered several times during the debate. Romney may have coined a new phrase during this debate with his description of a “binder of women” when referring to his efforts to find women to work in his administration when he was Governor of Massachusetts. Romney took a George Foreman like haymaker swing at President Obama with his comments that the President did not call the attack on the American Consulate in Libya a terrorist attack when he made his statement the next day in the rose garden. Romney thought he had connected, but the referee told him he only hit a glove as the transcript showed that the President did label it a terrorist attack the first time.

The final punch may have been the best as the debate ended. As the final round was coming to a close President Obama hit Romney with a reminder to the nation about Mitt Romney’s comments about 47% of the country see themselves as victims. Romney bounced back against the ropes and was dazed. Romney wanted to take an swing, but bell rang and this round was over. The only thing President Obama didn’t do was drop the microphone on the floor and walk away in triumph.

Mitt Romney – The Sham Wow Candidate!

There are several definitions of the word sham. Two definitions are:

· A trick that deludes

· An imitation or counterfeit claiming to be real

During the first Presidential debate Mitt Romney Romney instantly changed and denied so many prior positions that he became the first sham wow Presidential candidate. The sham was perpetrated on the American public and he thinks he got away with it.

Is it enough to be willing to change your positions to suit every particular audience if that seems to play the best for that moment in time? Has the concept of voting for someone because of their core beliefs lost it meaning? If Mitt Romney becomes President while constantly shifting positions in full view of the public it will mark the beginning of a brave new frontier in election politics.

A Romney win will usher in the age of situational position policies that most will consider unlikely to be the way the candidate would govern if elected to office. Consider Romney’s tactics during the primary season when he considered himself a severe conservative in order to defeat his opponents. Romney saw an opportunity to use the leverage of a 60 million plus viewing audience to break the hold the conservative elements of Republican voters had on him. After the debate Romney went back and forth on issues like abortion from saying he would not seek legislation to restrict abortion to stating he is proudly pro-life within a 24-hour time span.

If Romney becomes President by using a shifting sands strategy he will throw the world of American politics into an era of say anything, do anything to win where substance and facts matter much less than presentation. A world where facts don’t matter would be a frightening place to live.

Honey Boo Boo or Kardashians – Which Is Worse For America

Think about the antics taking place on the show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and put it next to the shallowness displayed on The Real Housewives of any city you want to plug in or Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Which is worse for America? It’s about time we have something like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo to balance the wretched excesses of The Real Housewives, Kardashians and Basketball Wives.

Instead of seeing some woman with hundreds of designer shoes in her closet we can watch a real family living in a home that looks like thousands of houses across America. Instead of someone going into a designer shop to spend more than most Americans earn in a month we see June doing extreme couponing in the Piggly Wiggly grocery store. Instead of someone flipping a table in a fancy restaurant or tossing a drink in their enemy’s face we can watch bobbing for pig’s feet on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.



Everyone is always glamorous, stylish and fabulous on the Real Housewives and Kardashians, but in the real world more people look like June or Sugar Bear than Kim Kardashian, just walk down any street and see for yourself. Could it be that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo exposes the divide in America where some want to pretend that we all live in some fantasy land where everything and everyone is fabulous? Most of us know a family or may be a family like the one on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo to one degree or another. In general we are far more likely to rub elbows, shop and visit with folks much closer to the family on Honey Boo Boo than those living or pretending to live the rich and fabulous lifestyles of Housewives, Kardashians or Basketball Wives.

No one is saying that everything portrayed on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is laudable or something to be emulated, but it is probably closer to being real than what is usually placed before the public as reality television and maybe that is why some seem be having problems dealing with the show. The family on Here Comes Honey Boo Boo isn’t trying to impress everyone with glitter, wealth or flash like most other shows we have shoved before our eyes. If someone is not trying to impress you it’s hard for outside criticism to mean anything. I have a feeling that June is a lot sharper than most people think. June might not be the mom manager that Kris Jenner is to her daughters, but watch what she does as time passes.

TLC may have provided a great service to America by broadcasting Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is a reality show reality check that reminds us that the biggest retailer in the world is Walmart based in Bentonville, Arkansas and not The House of Gucci out of Florence, Italy.

News Media’s Lust For Debate Ratings Over Facts Fail America

 The first Presidential debate of 2012 confirmed that the news media has vacated it role as the fourth estate. The press was once respected and feared as an entity that would delve into missteps, misstatements and deceits on the part of those leading or seeking to lead the nation, but that has changed in 2012.

On October 3, 2012 a Presidential candidate from one of the major political parties was spontaneously reinventing himself for public consumption by changing or refuting every policy position he held before the event began. Mitt Romney must have felt safe that he would not be held to account for his sudden metamorphous by the news media because of the heightened interest his performance would create for follow on debates.

Romney made the right determination because after the debate ended news media outlets gushed about the energy, tone and style of Mitt Romney’s debate performance and did little to hold him accountable for the sudden policy changes that were often the opposite of long held positions. The news media had become another spectator and acted as a hype machine instead of truth filter.



The Sunday morning news programs after the debate featured dueling opinions from advocates of Mitt Romney and President Obama, but the media figures themselves have become dwarfs compared to the giants of the past. Would something on the scales of Watergate every come to pass again with the current crop of soft news personality types staffing newsrooms nationwide? Could it be that the diminished state of print media combined with broadcast news divisions finding themselves burdened with ratings expectations and some combined with the entertainment wing of networks have combined to gut the journalistic integrity of the business?

Can it be that an overtaxed, overworked and harried public is left with no one that will call out the blatant nature of deception being thrust upon the American public because they fear being shutout from interviews and access more than outing falsehoods that could harm us all in the end? At its worst the behavior of the current media borders on cowardice and is flirting with being unpatriotic.

Romney Counting on Honey Boo Boo To Win

“If you can’t blind them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit,” was a quote used by actor W.C. Fields and Mitt Romney used that as his strategy for the first debate against President Barack Obama.  In August a Romney pollster said, “We're Not Going to Let Our Campaign Be Dictated by Fact-Checkers.” Romney gave fact checkers whiplash and finger cramps as he twisted and contorted away from positions he had held for months.

President Obama seemed unprepared and rightly so if he had expected that his opponent would stand on positions he had been campaigning on during his entire run for President, but a different Mitt Romney showed up. The Mitt Romney that denied his economic plan, tax plan and just about everything else he said he had believed previously was counting on public distraction and media laziness.



Mitt Romney knew there would be a huge viewing audience for the first Presidential debate and figure most of the viewers had not been paying close attention to the Presidential race up until that point. Romney has some reason to believe the public is too distracted to care if what he said was true given the Republican National Convention drew fewer viewers than an episode of the reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. As for the news media serving as a source of fact checking, that ended when the fight for ratings became more of a priority for broadcast news divisions than journalistic purity.

Romney decided to introduce himself to over 60 million of the American electorate as a completely different politician than he had been during his prior months of campaigning. The next day when the focus was off his staff and spokespeople started to correct some of the policy shifts feeling that the information would not filter out to the voters that would not tune back in until the next debate. Welcome to the big top of reality television politics where style may rule over substance. Come on Honey Boo Boo, Mitt is counting on you.

Don’t Make President Obama The Republican’s Garbage Man

The Presidential election is coming up in November. In October the jobless rate, the lowest in 44 months,  is back where it was when President Obama took the oath office. That means President Obama has cleaned up much of the prior damage done by Republicans, now they want to move back into the White House and tear things up again with the same behavior that destroyed everything the last time around. Don’t allow President Obama to be the Republican’s garbage man.

It is a tried and tested practice in business and politics for one group to destroy something and then get out of the way and hire someone else to clean it up while they point fingers from the sidelines. Once the turnaround artist has finished getting things back in order the old guard wants to take over again and claim credit for the good results that were created by the just disposed of fixit man.



What is taking place with Mitt Romney is not a new game, but event timing is not always in the control of those trying to replay this old scam. In 2008 the economy collapsed so quickly that it was not able to be pushed until Obama won the election and took office. It is a matter of record that the financial meltdown occurred under the Republican administration of President George W. Bush. Now it is also a matter of record that the unemployment rate is now back where it was when Bush left office under President Barack Obama.

Romney’s big claim is that things should be improving faster and that is a bold assertion from someone that wanted to allow the American automobile industry to go bankrupt. The Republicans knew that their brand was bankrupt and that is why we don’t see Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and the like at the top of the ticket. Romney was a functional selection and his primary opposition was near laughable. The one shot Republicans had was to embark on a four year campaign of obstruction, demonization and rooting for American economic failure to have a chance to win the Presidency in 2012.

It’s time for the shell game to end. One of the statements Romney made during his secretly recorded fundraiser speech was that the economy would improve when he became President without him having to do anything. Romney knows that President Obama has already set the United States economy on the right track and he just wants to be able to convince the voting public to put him in office so the looting of America can happen all over again.

This should be a new day when the person that did all of the heavy lifting to clean up years of damage to America is rewarded for his hard work instead of once again watching someone else accepting accolades for something he didn’t do. Unless we vote for substance we will allow President Obama to become the Republican’s garbage man.

Romney Targets Big Bird but Obama Got Bin Laden – You Decide

In 2008 candidate Barack Obama stated that he would go after Osama bin Laden even if he was found in Pakistan. Mitt Romney, among others said that they did not think it was a good idea to go into Pakistan to get bin Laden. In 2011 Mitt Romney has stated multiple times that he would go after Bid Bird and cut his funding. It seems that Big Bird needs to relocate to Pakistan if Romney becomes President. What a contrast.

Maybe Romney thinks that singling out a beloved children’s character like Big Bird is an example of how he can make tough choices even if it sounds harsh. Romney’s calculation is based upon this notion that government support for effort like children’s television programming, education or the arts is a waste of money because there is no profit in it for his supporters. Obama targeted Osama bin Laden because he was the head of an organization that carried out the largest terrorist attack ever in the United States.



Defunding PBS would just be a blip in the national budget and would be mostly a move to pleas certain elements on the right. Expending government funds on children’s and art programming does not generate billions business in government contracts for defense contractors even if some of the weapons are not wanted by the military.

You see there is something more fundamental at work in the Big Bird versus bin Laden point of view and that is the degree of seriousness that each candidate is taking in relation to the job at hand. Fast talk, showmanship and throwing out red meat to a political base makes for great theater, but the rubber meets the road on what each man considers to be the most important issues for the country. Saving the automobile industry or allowing it to go bankrupt when there was no private equity to be found is another distinction

The bottom line is that Osama bin Laden was in trouble when Barack Obama became President, but now Big Bird had better watch his back if Mitt Romney moves into the oval office.

Obama’s October Surprise - 7.8 % Jobless – Conservatives Angry About Good News

Choosing substance over performance is a novel thing in a world fixated on drama, flash and shiny objects. Mitt Romney unleashed a tsunami of animated policy reversals during the first Presidential debate. On Friday October 5, 2012 President Obama answered loudly when the September unemployment rate came in at 7.8%, the lowest in 44 months.

As soon as the lower unemployment rate was made public some conservatives lost their minds and accused the Obama administration of cooking the books to make the President look good right before the election. Some highly respected business leaders, politicians and journalists went berserk with conspiracy theories. One even said that Obama supporters were misrepresenting their employment status to lower the jobless rate.



Now the picture is crystal clear. President Obama has been trying to bring the economy back from the brink of depression with an opposition party that is admitting it was in their best interest to keep unemployment high until after the 2012 election. Will a political party be held accountable for not doing everything it could to help get Americans back to work? It seems that the tantrums being thrown because it appears that more Americans have found work is a testament that many have placed politics above the needs of the people.

Some need to take a hard look into the mirror and consider their vote. Why would you cast your vote for someone rooting for a higher level of suffering among your fellow citizens because it served their political ambitions? Some may say they would have made things better after they took office, but when you hold public office it should be the American people that come first, not your political party. Delaying any efforts that would have put more people back to work as quickly as possible meant more lost homes, hungry children and despair. There should be a price to pay if anything was intentionally done or not done in order to delay the speediest economic recovery possible.

Obama’s Debate Uppercut To Romney’s Glass Jaw



On October 3, 2012 the first debate between President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney took place and most pundits declared Mitt Romney the winner due to his animated retreat from prior policy positions. There was little talk of President Obama’s punch to Romney’s glass jaw when he got Romney to own changing Medicare. If the election is decided by Ohio and Florida then President Obama landed a devastating blow.



There was much made of the difference in styles between President Obama and Mitt Romney during the first debate. Many saw President Obama explaining issues with backup information from various sources and Mitt Romney making assertions without any credible or specific facts to support them. On the issue of Medicare the President got Romney to admit he supported Paul Ryan’s premium support/voucher plan. Romney then said that anyone currently on Medicare would not be affected, then President Obama looked directly into the camera and addressed the American people and said, “If you are 54 or 55 you might want to listen.” That was the segment of the debate where President Obama did damage to Mitt Romney with senior citizens and those within 10 to 11 years of Medicare eligibility. Romney now owns Paul Ryan’s Medicare voucher plan and took possession of it in front of millions of American voters.

America has become a reality obsessed television drama culture, but this debate was about swaying a small percentage of voters that are not already in one camp or another. Romney has to count on those on Medicare having an attitude that they would throw their children under the bus as it relates to voting someone into office that would change the program to a voucher system for their offspring that are in 50’s. That older and reliable voting block in Ohio, Florida and Arizona was paying attention to the substance and not theater. If you noticed, it was during the Medicare discussion that showed the President at his most attentive state during the entire night and he got the uppercut to Romney’s glass jaw that he was looking for all night.

Mitt Romney Paul Ryan – The Boss And The Axman

Mitt Romney has selected Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan as for Vice Presidential running mate and it makes perfect sense. Romney has clearly signaled his desire to protect and increase benefits for the wealthy and Ryan already has the plan written to make that happen with the Ryan budget plan. Watch out grandma, your Medicare voucher is in the mail.

Of course Romney will say that there will be no changes for those currently on Medicare or Social Security, but just throw your children under the bus. There is no doubt about what is at stake in the next election. There is a choice between moving towards a two-tier society or one that is aimed at restoring the great middle class that once powered this great nation.

There are both long and short term implications to Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan. Romney needed to change the subject because he was being revealed as an out of touch plutocrat that feels he does not have to play by the rules everyone else does. After a disastrous trip abroad that saw Mitt Romney or his tea insult one group or another at every stop he needed to shift the focus.

Mitt Romney has selected Paul Ryan as his running mate as a shock to the system, but the fact remains that it is Mitt Romney running for President. Romney has been even accused of not paying any income taxes for several years by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and yet he won’t release more tax returns to clear up the issue. Mitt Romney you can’t hide behind Paul Ryan because you are the one running for President.

Will Mitt Romney Do A Leveraged Buyout Of America

Mitt Romney touts his business experience as a basis for his ability to turn around the United States economy. That’s a frightening proposition given that given that Romney’s experience as a venture capitalist involves leveraged buyouts. Wow, imagine the feeding frenzy of a LBO of the United States, what a business windfall.

If someone is using their business background as a basis for becoming President of the United States then you have to examine that business experience and determine how it would be used to reach their goals. Someone like Mitt Romney was involved in making profits from investments in start-ups and struggling companies. Mitt Romney’s firm was not interested in profiting from long term operating profits from the organizations it invested in, but in extracting the largest payout it could within a certain time frame. How would that apply in a government setting?

Don’t think that what would amount to a LBO of the United States is far fetched. Some of the most valued assets we have are being sold off or lease right now. One of the most precious assets the country possesses is its infrastructure.  Many public roads across the nation are being converted to toll roads under long term lease deals. A study  by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund details this growing trend.

Private/public partnerships and small government are the new code words for moving government services over to private for profit generating activities. The federal government is filled with opportunities for profit making transitions if the skids are greased with the President and Congress being of like mind. A nation with the riches of the United States is ripe with opportunities with obvious choices being the transition of Medicare and Social Security into the private account investment market. National parks could be opened for drilling and almost any agency you can think of could be outsourced on a consultant basis.

Some may ask why the scenario above would be a problem since we are running deficits as a country. The problem comes in because the government is based upon a service model and not a for-profit model. Government is here to serve it citizens and not profit off them as customers. When profit comes into the picture someone is not going to be able to afford the price and go wanting.

Mitt Romney is a businessman who is great at making money for himself and his investors, the question is can he deliver services to the citizens of the United States. There may have been a ray of hope given that he delivered a healthcare plan to the citizens of Massachusetts when he was Governor, but he avoids that subject like the plague in order to please his current supporters that are sitting at the table with their forks and knives hoping that a great feast is at hand.

Why New Voter ID Laws Should Frighten Women, Minorities and Poor

Some view this new wave of stricter voter identification laws as a tactic to dampen voter turnout of groups more prone to cast ballots in favor of Democratic candidates. There may a short term goal of suppressing a certain voting block for the 2012 election, but this restrictive voter ID law trend reaches back into an ugly past where women, African American and the poor were not allowed to vote.

There was a time in this great country when only those that owned a certain amount of property could vote in most states. At the time of ratification of the Constitution property ownership requirements disqualified over half the white men of voting age, by some estimates, from voting. Property rights requirements also disqualified most freed slaves from voting in states where it was legal for them to vote. Property rights requirement were eventually dropped as voting requirements for white men, but remained in place for blacks. In 1869 the 15^th Amendment was passed that guaranteed black men the right to vote, but women of all races were not allowed to vote. Many states immediately passed voting laws to discourage blacks and poor whites from voting such as poll taxes and literacy tests. Other tactics were used like hidden polling places and something the State of Florida is using today called felony disenfranchisement. The last poll tax law was struck down in 1966.  

 

Women were not allowed to vote in national elections at all until ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Women were granted the right to vote in time to participate in the 1920 Presidential election. So you may ask why women and poor people of all races should be alarmed by the more severe voting laws.

The old advisory of those not knowing their history will be doomed to repeat it applies to what is going on with these new voter identification requirements. These new voter requirements will hurt women, the poor and minorities the most. Economics is the reason women, minorities and the poor are hurt be these new voter identification laws because those groups will least be able to afford the required documents and/or travel to locations to obtain the required voter ID cards. Poverty among women is at an all time high and sparing dollars to obtain birth certificate copies etc is not logical.

The main reason these groups should be outraged is because of the struggles they undertook to gain the right to vote to begin with. Now some in these groups think these new voting restrictions don’t apply to them and are protecting them from a massive voter fraud problem that does not exist. In reality the same bus that some are trying to exclude others from riding may toss them off along with the rest in the process. The main reason these groups should be outrage is the attempted march backwards to a time when voting was for the privileged instead of being a privilege.  

Has Mitt Romney Revived The “Ugly American”

 

The Meriam-Webster dictionary defines the term Ugly American as: an American in a foreign country whose behavior is offensive to the people of that country. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney traveled to London and on the day before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics he managed to offend the entire United Kingdom.

Romney managed to win a gold medal for multiple foot-in-mouth insertions by first answering a question posed to him by Brian Williams of NBC News regarding how he felt about the prospects of success for the Olympic Games in London. Romney rattled off a list of concerns about various items from security to whether the people would come together and rally around the games. Romney’s response set off a firestorm and he was rebuked by British Prime Minister David Cameron, the Mayor of London and the British Press. London Mayor Boris Johnson said before a crowd of 60,000 in Hyde Park. "There is a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know if we are ready. Yes, we are!” That was just the beginning.

Romney later met with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, but forgot his name when speaking to the press and referred to Miliband as Mr. Leader. Romney also referenced that he had met with the head of MI6, the U.K. Secret Intelligence Service, which is so secretive that it was not verified that it existed until 1994 by the British government. Mitt Romney managed to turn what should have been a series of positive foreign credential photo opportunities into a political nightmare that dominated headlines around the world. Some compared Romney to President George W Bush and one even said he was worse than Sarah Palin.

Mitt Romney has his money spread around the world, but he does not seem to travel so well.

How Did President Obama Screw Up The Great Economy He Inherited?

I only have one question as I listen to Republicans talk about how badly President Obama has screwed up the economy and that is how did he mess up the great hand he was dealt? You know with the 24 hour news cycle we have today and short attention spans it’s hard to remember how things were when President Obama assumed office January 20, 2009. I decided to rent a time machine from the local Home Depot and find out how great it was.

In order for me to make a proper assessment I decided to go back a few months before the election and see how prosperous the economic picture was in order to get a feel for the economic momentum that was taking place. I plugged in the time machine and had to hurry because it was rented for just half a day. I decided to travel back to September 2008. When I arrived, I was shocked by the chaos. All hell was breaking loose and on September 15, 2008 the largest bankruptcy in United States history took place when the investment bank Lehman Brothers sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. I started to think that things were not going so well back then.

I decided to cruise through September 2008 and saw banks merging, credit markets freezing and a near collapse of the entire financial system. I also saw President George W Bush standing in front of a microphone addressing the nation on how dire the economic situation had become. When I got to October 2008, there was a $700 billion taxpayer bailout of financial companies that brought the economy crashing down. In October 2008, 240,000 Americans lost their jobs and the unemployment rate hit a 14-year high.

As I continued forward through 2008 towards 2009 the economic carnage continued as job losses for November 2008 were 533,000 and 632,000 jobs were lost in December 2008. I could only guess that a miracle took place in January 2009 before President Obama was inaugurated and the economy took off into the stratosphere, but I was mistaken. In January 2009 the economy lost another 598,000 jobs. The U S Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that payroll employment had declined by 3.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007; about one-half of this decline occurred in the 2 months before President Obama was sworn in and January 2009 the month he took office.

So wait a minute, so the economy was not in great shape when President Obama took office. What are these people talking about? The U S automobile industry almost failed and President Obama intervened to save it or we could have lost another 1 million jobs. By most accounts the economy has added around 4 million jobs since President Obama took office.

I’m confused about how President Obama screwed up so badly. It seems like he actually saved a failing economy. It must be the short attention spans we have today. Oops, I’ve got to get this time machine back before they charge me for another 4 hours.

Why Are Voters Controlled More Than Guns

Nothing clears your head like calling out hypocrisy and shameful pandering to a powerful interest group. These are the times when you know who is really running the government and it’s not regular citizens. One glaring example is the reactions to the real issues of actual gun deaths versus almost nonexistent real voter fraud.

Multiple states are engaged in passing more restrictive voter identification laws for the 2012 election although an article by Hamed Aleaziz, Dave Gilson, and Jaeah Lee in Mother July/August 2012 issues found 13 credible cases of voter impersonation from the years 2000 to 2010 out of 649 million votes cast. What was the reaction to this almost immeasurable .000000000002% voter impersonation problem, stricter voter identification laws? Excuse me, but this does not sound like an election swaying problem that deserves the type of restrictive voter legislation that is coming from multiple states, unless there are other motives.

Gun violence is once again on everyone’s minds as a deranged man killed 12 people in a crowed movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado and wounded 58 others. In the year 2010 there were 10,000 deaths by guns in the United States according to an article by Jonathan Mann posted on the CNN website. What has been the reaction to the number of annual gun deaths and this latest mass killing tragedy, fear of doing anything at all. In fact laws have been relaxed in some instances to make gun ownership even easier over the years. No one is trying to end gun ownership, but why does any recreational gun owner or hunter need an assault rifle with a 100-round drum magazine.

Now if these two issues of voter fraud versus gun deaths were judged by the types of restrictions being implemented at the state level one would think that the impact of voter fraud was much higher than gun deaths, but it is just the opposite. So will it take 10,000 coffins lined up end to end through Washington D.C. Will it take a caravan of 10,000 hearses driving across the country to spur some action on extreme guns in the hands of civilians? This is not about the 2^nd amendment because James Madison wrote it in 1789 when it took longer to load a gun with black powder and prepare it for firing one shot as it takes for an AR-15 assault rifle to empty a 100-round drum magazine clip. Compared to what was available in 1789, a regular citizen can purchase a gun at their local sporting goods store that would have been considered a weapon of mass destruction in 1789.

Why don’t they apply the voter impersonation standard of 13 over 10 years to gun deaths? Money, fear and politics keep politicians from opposing groups like the National Rifle Association. We may vote our government representatives into office and pay their salaries, but they are wholly owned subsidiaries of special interest groups.

Aurora Colorado Shootings – Where Are These Monsters Coming From

 How Many people thought that going to the movie theater would be the last act they did on this earth. How many family members thought that when their loved ones left home to do something as mundane as see a movie that they would never see them alive again. An unknown man named James Holmes altered the lives of many in an instant of fear and chaos.

What was in the mind of this man that carried out such an act? He didn’t care who was in front of his gun when he pulled the trigger be they young or old. There was no thought for the potential he was snuffing out in a few seconds. It seems that the act only took a few minutes, but he ruined many lives forever.

It seems that he bought a ticket and sat there among his victims before coldly leaving to put on his suit of death and arm himself for maximum destruction. Then he came back and proceeded to unleash carnage on a group of unsuspecting people. This monster didn’t plan to go down in flames as he was wearing body armor from head to toe and quickly gave up when the police arrived.

 

Sadly we seem to be having more of these episodes of lone wolf mass killers and something is broken that is acting as a incubation vessel for these ordinary looking monsters. Something is going on in our society that is creating these stealth characters that seem to be invisible and then they suddenly explode and wreak havoc upon the rest of us.

These episodes have occurred at workplaces, schools, grocery stores, universities and now a movie theater. It makes you wonder who is sitting, driving, living or working next to you. We all move about in the world with the assumed belief that everyone around us is rational. We can’t lose our sense of assumed security as we move about in our daily lives or we have lost our freedom at a level too deep to comprehend because fear is the worst prison of all.

It's Never Too Late To Be A Father - Even On Father's Day

 D T Pollard - Father

Father's Day comes around every year and there are some children that curse at the sound of their father's name because they feel he has fallen down on the job. Some mother's would rather spit on their children's father instead of embrace him because of the bad blood and animosity between them. Let's not pretend that all dads are great fathers, but it's not too late to start.

Some fathers have always stepped up and did what was expected of them and they are to be commended, because sometimes it can become difficult to hold it together for yourself during tough times and still be the kind of dad you should be to your children.The last few years have but some men under the pressure of unemployment and not being able to provide the standard of living their family was accustomed to in the past, but a real dad will remember what the essential things are that need to be provided to his family. The things that matter are love, security and togetherness. Stepping outside of your own comfort zone, putting your pride aside and doing what it takes to take care of your responsibilities as a father is the key to it all.

My father and mother went to the great beyond together 27 years ago in a tragic automobile accident, but he was made of something I saw often when I was young. With little education and few of the advantages we have now he raised 9 children, owned his home and did what it took to provide.  It was a different world where marriage, commitment and keeping your word meant everything and those that took those things lightly were not looked upon in a favorable light, but times have changed. Today we often glorify irresponsibility in the name of fame, fortune and pleasure. Some of our biggest stars are known for little more that their outrageous frivolity while the real heroes do what's required in anonymity.

Those out there that feel they have fallen short or suffer broken and damaged relationships with your children, this is Father's Day and it may be the best time to make the next Father's Day a better one.

We Have All Been Trayvon Martin

Author D T Pollard

Imagine you are visiting someone and staying with them for a few days at their home. You decide to walk to the store around the corner and buy some snacks to enjoy while watching a sporting event that was coming on television later that night. It happens to be a rainy day and you pull the hood of the top you are wearing over your head to stay dry and then you notice someone you didn’t know is following you.

You quicken your pace to try and get to the house you are living at for the time you are visiting. This stranger that is following you is closing in and you turn to find out what he wants. Somewhere after this moment a teenager named Trayvon Martin was gunned down by a man named George Zimmerman, who was a “self-appointed” neighborhood watch captain. Zimmerman had no official police authority. Zimmerman was told by the 911 operator not to follow Trayvon and he did so anyway. Zimmerman’s neighborhood watch group was not registered with a national neighborhood watch group. George Zimmerman was really a strange adult male who weighed over 200 pounds chasing after a teenager.

What would you do if faced with a stranger chasing you down and you finally turn to see what this person wants? Are you compelled to answer any question from this strange man? What give this guy the right to stop, detain or interrogate you, who is he and what does he want. Zimmerman claimed self defense as the reason he shot Trayvon with his 9 mm pistol. Hold on a minute, is Zimmerman the only one with the right to defend himself, what about the person that was confronted by a total stranger pursuing him?

Florida and other states have a Stand Your Ground law. It seems that this law is like the wild west in that the person with the quicker draw and most lethal weapon has the ability to go out and start a fight and use deadly force if he is losing, claim self defense and walk away free.

For those of you splitting hairs on why Zimmerman was not arrested, here is the reality. We are and have all been Trayvon Martin. Every time you have left you home and gone somewhere else, you could have been confronted by someone like George Zimmerman, defended yourself and ended up dead because “he” was defending himself under a statute like Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

Do you know everyone that visits every home in your neighborhood? Suppose someone goes for a walk or a run, do you have the right to follow them and ask them to justify why they are there? Do they have to answer you? Do you have the right to shoot them because you don’t know who they are? Now I see, clarity is setting in here. Trayvon Martin was a person visiting with someone for a few days and staying at the home of one of George Zimmerman’s neighbors and he ended up dead because Zimmerman did not know who he was. Guess what, George Zimmerman didn’t have a right to know who Trayvon Martin was and Trayvon Martin should not have been killed because he was visiting some else’s home for a few days. In that sense we have all been Trayvon Martin.

Singer Whitney Houston Dead at 48

How many times will we have to hear the shocking announcement of someone with great talent being taken from among us too soon. At this point it is very early at few details are available regarding what took place. It was no secret that Whitney struggled with demons that were as big as her talent. On the eve of the Grammy Awards, one of the greatest modern singers is no more. It seems that the pitfalls that come with the kind of fame that few people will ever know are so great that the ability to simply survive to a ripe old age is an accomplishment in itself. Whitney Houston was at one point arguably the biggest singing star in the world and sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. How do we reconcile that many of our brightest talents such as Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and now Whitney Houston never made it to that elder performer status and were suddenly gone. The loss of Whitney Houston will be felt the most by her family and especially by her daughter. The rest of us will think about why and how this happened, but we will go on with our lives. The questions will linger around why so many that were blessed so much talent seem to leave so soon.

Mitt Romney – Vampire Capitalist, Vulture Capitalist or Big Boss Man

The Republican establishment is pushing Mitt Romney as their selection to run for President of the United States and defeat President Barack Obama. Who is Mitt Romney? Is he a Vampire Capitalist, Vulture Capitalist or is he just the big boss man.

Mitt Romney has been very successful in terms of his personal and business financial ventures. In fact Romney was so successful that he is bringing in more per day on his investments than the annual gross income in the United States. That means that Romney is financially coasting faster daily that the average American can do working all year.

Rick Perry called Mitt Romney a vulture capitalist, but was he really a vulture capitalist? Vultures come in after their target is already dead by other means. It seemed that in those cases where Romney invested in a company that ultimately went out of business when he was heading Bain Capital, Romney was a very active hunter and in more of a vampire capitalist mode. Vampires attack and drain their victims and continue to attack them over time eventuality leaving them for the vulture capitalists to dispose of any remnant wealth. In a sense Rick Perry’s description of Mitt Romney was a bit off target.

 

In any respect Romney is having difficulty selling his case to many Republican voters. You see, Romney is the big boss man that comes to town every so often to visit the local company site. You have all experienced this at one time or another. You are told to tidy up your work area because the “big man” is coming to town. While it is fine to have a sense of respect and even a tinge of fear when the “big man” comes to town, do you want to vote for him to be President of the United States. You know what the “big man” does in the board room with the string of a pen. One signature from the “big man” could close your work site, lay you off or cut your pay. This “big boss man” Mitt Romney is not a member of the 1%, he is a member of the .006%. Does he feel your pain?

There are visions of Mitt Romney running roughshod over President Obama in a debate that smacks of fantasy. Remember, the government is not a company where the CEO gives orders and everyone else falls in line. Also those supporting Mitt Romney should remember his business experience was ruled by making profits. Governments function is not to make a profit be to serve the people. If serving the people takes a back seat to making profits, then look out for the vampire and vulture capitalists because their guy is trying to get in on the inside.