Romney and The Supremes

 It's time to begin considering the ramifications of a Romney (R-Money) administration; the results of which will continue to stink up the joint long after many in my generation have shifted this mortal coil. The obvious dangers to the republic are manifest, they include many the many steps backwards that an emboldened Republican Party may initiate, steps that are apparent in the many states with Republican majorities and with Republican governors.

 One need only to look at what is happening in Arizona, Florida, etc to see that efforts to rollback safety net provisions are moving forward at breakneck speed. The attacks on labor unions are legion; Republican legislators in Florida have written eleven out of eleven amendments to the Florida constitution, all with an eye out for special interests, they are complicit, along with in state and out of state money in trying to replace three of the Florida Supreme Court justices who are nor sufficiently right wing for their taste, they are attempting to do in Florida what they were successful to do in Iowa.

Historically, the basic differences between Democratic and Republican administrations were mostly superficial and cosmetic; the interests of the country seemed to override any petty political differences, at least at  the federal level. I believe that the post-WWII mindset had much to do with that, most, if not all, politicians at the federal level were veterans of the war and experienced first hand the horror of nations bent on destroying their best and brightest people; and still reeling from the horrific memories of what man is capable of doing to their fellow human beings.

 Now, lest anyone think my view of the past is hindered by pink gauze covered glasses, it is not; I am fully aware of the idiocy perpetrated by some during period, it had not taken on the legitimacy that we see in the Republican Party of today. Let's not forget that Brown v Board of Ed occurred under a Republican President and that efforts at integrating schools in the South were also carried out out by the Republican President at the time, Dwight Eisenhower. it is also useful to understand that the loony bin contingent of the party was pretty much kept at bay by the more sane party elders. As a matter of fact, that entire loony segment of the party was defeated in the elections of 1960, although some would say not by much.

 That brings us forward to today, and while there are good people on both sides of the aisle,  I will not ascribe the rubric of false equivalences to both sides. It is the Republican Party who is leading the country in a head long race to the bottom. it is this congress that has wasted so much time and money on thirty-three separate attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a congress better known for its absence than its presence. It is the party whose leaders have dedicated itself to blocking and otherwise hindering any efforts at repairing the economy by not approving a jobs bill and getting on with the work of repairing the infrastructure pit in place by past Democratic and Republican administrations. It is this Republican Party at the federal, state, and local level who are dismantling an education system that has served the nation well for many years. This party seems to forget the greatest among us were educated in this system.

 This is the party that refuses to acknowledge that science and critical thinking have a very important place in the national dialogue. This is the party that wants to ascribe personhood to zygote while ignoring the needs of those past the incubation period. This is a party that views, in the words of it candidate, people who believe they are entitled to food, safety, and a general sense of well being as a drain on society. This is the party of freeloaders, willing to give the most to the richest and scraps to the rest.

 I realize I may have taken a bit of a circuitous route to get to the scariest of all ramifications in a Romney (rMoney) administrations, the Supreme Court. It is without saying, at least in my opinion, the most important of three branches of government. While it has often stepped on its' proverbial dick, it has also led this nation out of the darkness of its past. It may move at a glaciers pace, it has, historically done the right thing, ruling as it has on some of the most contentious issues facing this nation, sometimes creating even more controversy.

 Four of the nine Justices on the Supreme Court are in their mid-seventies, and while I'm not praying for their early demise, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that at some point some will die or retire. It will then allow the sitting president ability to name their replacements, and if past is prologue, you can me certain that some Scalia clone or two just may make the cut, especially true with a Republican president and a Republican Congress.

 It is a scary proposition, and one my progressive friends don't talk about much, it is likely that a Romney (rMoney) may only last four years, but a Supreme Court appointed by him will last many years. He has already stated his admiration for Scalia and a Scalia clone appointment to the Court is within the realm of possibilities. This does not necessarily mean that Obama won't make some boneheaded decision to appoint someone in order to achieve some idiotic concept of  'bipartisanship', but it is up to us to make him understand that that ship has sailed.


I leave you with Matthew 25: 40

Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me...

Lordy Lordy, The Sky Is Falling...!!

 I figure it's time for me to weigh in on the televised debate between the President and a candidate; one would think that the republic is lost because the President did not use his arsenal of snark snide remarks.

I have been wondering what debate everyone else was watching, but from where I sat it seemed to me that the President did well, maybe not as well as Romney who showed a complete lack of respect for the President as he spoke over his comments as well as speaking over the moderator. My solution, cut off the mike after the allotted time and move on to the next area of discussion.

We watch the debate on CSPAN in order to avoid being told what we just heard by the network and cable talking heads, I then read about the debate from different outlets, primarily those dealing with the veracity of claims made during the debate. I make it a point to stay out of the echo chamber of those who are busy clutching their pearls and swooning over the alleged outcome.

While Romney was busy preparing for this debate, and quite the point was made about his preparation by his campaign and his surrogates, the President was busy being President; doing the job we hired him to do, and for the most part doing it well.

Now, before anyone should accuse me of being mesmerized by the halo around the President, I'll let you know that I have some serious reservation about his first term in office. I believe that he gave up the fight for a one payer system entirely too early, he honestly believed that the Republican Party would rally around solutions that they themselves, at one point or another, supported. I firmly believe that we should be out Iraq and Afghanistan by now. I think that more should be done in identifying where our food comes from and whether is has been genetically modified. I believe he should have already lifted the embargo against Cuba and promoted an exchange of ideas and goals between our two countries. I would love to see Los Van Van playing at the White House.

The Republican Party committed to a course of obstruction the day after Barack Obama was inaugurated; Senate Minority Leader McConnell has made that position known since Day One; a workable solution that had Republican support in the Senate quickly died when Barack became President. Obstruction is the game the opposition has hitched its' wagon to. Just look at their reaction to the, in my opinion, less than stellar jobs numbers. It should better, and it can be better.

Billionaires and some millionaires are crying the blues because they are being asked to pay their fair share of taxes,  while Romney hides his money in the Cayman Islands. There is even talk among the so-called progressive movement to sit out this election because we have in Obama, an imperfect candidate.

At least two of the leading so-called progressive sites are already measuring the coffin for the demise of this Democratic Administration. TPM And HuffingtonPost use poll analyses that include Rasmussen and Gallup without a breakdown of their methodology, they both skew republican, but you wouldn't know it unless one has been tracking their pie in the sky numbers; remove those polls and one sees a much clearer picture of where the race stands today.

Don't get me wrong, this race is close, and people know it. That is why every effort should be made to get out the vote. This election will set the tone for the next twenty years. Scalia, Kennedy, and Ginsburg are up in years and this next President will be able to reshape the Court to reflect the 21st century and not be mired in the "Original Intent" of the writers of the constitution. Let us not forget that slavery and third class status for women were enshrined in "Original Intent". We fought hard and shed blood in order to gain the rights that should have already been recognized by the "Original Intenders".

Look across the field at Gettysburg, look back at Harlan County, the riots in New York in the nineteenth century during the War To Preserve the Union; look to Selma and Birmingham, and then imagine a country locked into "Original Intent".

Unable to meet the challenges of the 21st century, this country has been racing to the bottom for some time now, a country known for its' ability to shoot for the stars is now known for settling for mediocrity. Instead of teaching youngsters about science and the cosmos, we are debating whether the Earth is six or seven thousand years old. Instead of electing the best and the brightest, we settle for the panderer who says what we want to hear as opposed to finding solutions for the future.

There is talk about how the Chinese are overtaking us, I have news for you, it's not only the Chinese; other countries are pushing science and technology while we debate creationism. Many other countries don't have the strangle-hold that religious fundamentalists are attempting to foist on us, and those that do are the least developed ones where women can't drive, can't vote and have no voice in their growth as human beings.

Stop listening to the doomsayers and the faint of heart, there is a movement for the common good and we should be celebrating it. Call out the bullshit whenever you can; piss off the pessimists, point out the lies told by Romney and his crew, but most of all....VOTE!!!


Here is my message to all those who are busy fanning themselves and reaching for the smelling salts; Grow a Fucking Set Of Balls...!