Politics

(10/3/2017) The most dangerous disease to ever sweep across this country is "conservative brain."  Symptoms are:

1. FOX News addiction
2. Agreeing with hate radio
3. Diminished intellectual skills
4. Anger
5. Guns

(3/3/2016) You have not completed your transition to adulthood until you register and vote.

(1/3/2016) The U.S. Republican Party, The Catholic Church, The Muslim Religion and other groups treat women like second class citizens.  However, women can vote in the United States of America.  PLEASE DO!

(5/20/2013) Global Climate Change is a self-correcting problem.  When mankind has been marginalized or eliminated, Earth will heal itself.

(4/13/2013) What is a Republican?  I have many friends who are Republicans.  I just do not understand how they can continue to support the principles of their national organization.  Consider the following issues in the national debate (listed alphabetically).

Campaign Finance Reform - Republicans want no restrictions on their ability to solicit funds for political contests.  They want contributor names to be confidential.  They seem to be unconcerned about the possibility that individuals or small groups could effectively buy government representatives.

Education - Republicans do not want government to pay for public education.  They do not believe that all citizens are entitled to a primary education regardless of ability to pay.  They certainly do not want government to support secondary education in any way.

Gay Rights - Republicans do not want same-sex couples to have the same marital rights as opposite-sex couples.  They also do not believe that self-identified gay individuals should be able to serve in the military and work in other sensitive occupations.

Guns/Weapons/Ammunition - Republicans do not want government to restrict the type or amount of weaponry that they can own and stockpile.  They claim that the Second Amendment, that refers to a "well-regulated militia", supports their right to have unlimited arms and ammunition.

Immigration - Republicans want to restrict the type and numbers of people who can immigrate into the country.  They also want to deport anyone who came into this country improperly including those who were infants or small children carried over the border by parents.  Republicans also do not want to grant citizenship to individuals born in this country with parents who were not citizens.

Infrastructure - Republicans do not support the creation of government jobs to repair the country's roads, bridges, public schools, electrical grid, etc. 

Job Security - Republicans do not support the system of unemployment compensation for individuals who have lost their jobs.  They also do not believe that there should be any restrictions regarding an employer's right to discharge any employee for any reason.  In addition, they are opposed to wage controls of any kind.

Medical Insurance - Republicans do not believe that all individuals should be able to have access to medical insurance.  They also believe that the country's availability of medical care and drugs should be uncontrolled and maintained as a private, for-profit industry.

Post Office - Republicans believe that the non-profit United States Post Office should be discontinued and replaced by for-profit businesses.

Regulations - Republicans oppose government regulation of most industries including banks, investment groups, transportation and energy-related companies.  They seemed to be unconcerned about the possibility of polluted air & water and the poisoning of the food & drug supply.

Reproductive Rights - Republicans do not want women to have the right to decide whether a pregnancy should be continued no matter the nature of the pregnancy.  They are also opposed to the availability of contraceptives in many situations.

Senior Safety Net - Republicans want to reduce the benefits of Social Security, Medicare and other programs that provide a safety net for seniors.  Historically, Republicans have opposed the very existence of any of these government programs.

Revenue/Taxation - Republicans oppose all tax increases and favor tax cuts to reduce government spending.  They do not approve of any program to increase government revenues to resolve economic recessions or to finance military conflicts.

Small Government/Large Defense - Republicans want a much smaller government but a much larger military group to protect them.  Although they claim to favor small government, they want government to regulate civil rights such as reproduction, sexual identity and marriage. 

It seems that Republicans hold minority positions on these subjects.  In my opinion, they hold the "wrong" positions on every one of these issues.  If you are a Republican, did I describe you correctly?  Is this really who you are?  Can you read this post without concluding that Republicans are really just selfish individuals who are controlled by wealthy people who really only want their government to protect their wealth?  Do you really only care about your security and care little about others?  If this is you, I am sorry for your fears.  If this is not you, please tell me what I have written that is incorrect.  (madandson1@aol.com)

(10/21/2011) Our democracy is being threatened by the massive amount of fund-raising required for an individual to run for national office.  This requirement eliminates from consideration many otherwise qualified candidates.  This situation was exasperated by the 2010 decision of the five ultra-conservative Supreme Court justices in "Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission."  We, the people of the United States of America must take action to change the system that rewards public office to those who collect the most money.  I am in favor of an amendment to the Constitution to mandate the direct taxpayer-financing of political campaigns for national offices.  From this day forward, I will not vote for any candidate who opposes such an amendment.

(9/10/2011) The death penalty is barbaric.  People who support it are subhuman.

(5/10/2011) Osama Bin Laden Exterminated - When did we become a country that solves its problems by state-sponsored torture and political assassinations?  I remain opposed to capital punishment whether the accused is O.J. Simpson or Adolf Hitler.  I know that I am in the extreme minority here but I still feel that I am morally correct.  This act was barbaric and inhumane.  We can no longer claim the high ground.  Some editorialists agree with me.

["We put those who do evil things on trial not so much for them ... but we do it for ourselves.  We do it because we are civilized, we are a free people, we believe that everyone has a right to their day in court, even worst persons.  We believe in the rule of law even if they don't.  That makes us strong, stronger than them, and we will defeat their evil through our open and just society. If we behave like them, we will eventually become them ..."  Michael Moore 5/6/2011]

["Is no one else disturbed by the fact that our president essentially ordered a man murdered in a sovereign country not our own?  Are we not a country of laws in which any accused, no matter how apparently heinous, is considered innocent until proven guilty?  I have to recoil from this harshening of the American spirit, if not an out-and-out violation of international law, personified by President Obama's action and cheered by the majority of Americans.  Open, state-sanctioned murder does not represent the country I grew up in."  Dave Strickler Los Angeles Times 5/8/2011]

["If Israel could capture, try and punish Adolf Eichmann for his heinous crimes rather than assassinate him, why couldn't the United States do the same with Bin Laden?"  Stephen May Los Angeles Times 5/8/2011]

["... to suggest that 'justice has been done,' as President Obama did on Sunday night, seems perverse.  This was not justice; it was an extra-judicial execution.  If you shoot a man twice in the head, you do not find him guilty.  You find him dead.  This was revenge.  And it was served very cold indeed."  Gary Younge British Guardian and Los Angeles Times 5/8/2011]

["The Americans said they were compelled to do so (burial at sea) because there was no country willing to receive his body.  This is a pretext as there is no evidence that Washington had contacted all the countries in the world ... everything was done in accordance with the American way that is characterized with blunders and stupidity." Fatih Abdulsalam Azzaman (Iraq) and Los Angeles Times 5/8/2011]

["Off with her head!  Sentence first -- trial afterwards." (Red Queen) Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]

(2/24/2011) An open letter to the voters of the state of Wisconsin: Dear Wisconsin voters: This is what you get for voting for Republicans.  Think twice next time!

(11/3/2010) California voters have once again shown that they are at least one cycle ahead of the rest of the country.  They returned the dedicated public-servant, Jerry Brown to the governor's office and reelected the outspoken, liberal super-patriot, Barbara Boxer to the Senate.  California voters were not fooled by electoral-neophyte billionaires trying to buy their ways into public office without paying their dues.  Meg Whitman used $150 million of her executive bonus money for campaign ads but would not give her part-time, Latina housekeeper the gas money to ferry her children to school and back.  She could have used that money to create jobs and provide living wages for 3,000 out-of-work Californians and to prevent 3,000 more home foreclosures at the same time.  Carly Fiorina thought she could win by portraying her opponent as an old woman with an out-of-date hairdo.  Although the Republicans won the House of Representatives nationwide, California will return 30+ Democrats to the House including the wonderful Sanchez sisters.  California voters realize that the Obama administration and Democratic Congress have worked to reverse the recession caused by the disastrous policies of the Bush administration but need more time to complete the job.  After two more years of obstructionism by the Boehner Congress, I believe that the rest of the country will join California in 2012 to reelect President Barack Obama and give him more progressive voices in Congress to reemploy workers and rebuild the country's infrastructure.

(7/19/2010) To Glenn Beck:  One thing that is bad for the "common good" is air time for Glenn Beck.

(7/19/2010) To Sarah Palin:  Please go back to school and pay attention this time.  Illiterate people are not allowed to make up words.

(4/17/2010) Tea Party Republicans are those people in high school who voted for the gym teacher to be prom queen.

(7/7/2009) Al Franken was sworn in as the 100th senator today after the Minnesota Supreme Court declared him the winner of the 2008 election by 312 votes on June 30, 2009.  Al is an honest, intelligent patriot who will become one of the most respected public servants to ever serve in the U.S. Senate.

(5/1/2009) A great man announced his retirement today.  David Hackett Souter was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States of America in 1990.  The right-wing media likes to call him a "liberal" but he is much more than that.  He is an honest, intelligent man (and a lifelong Republican).  His minority opinion for the 2000 Bush v. Gore case was absolutely correct.  The nation suffered greatly because of the contrived decision of five dishonest jurists (William Rehnquist [1924-2005], Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy and especially Sandra Day O'Connor).

(4/21/2009) Dick Cheney is afraid.  He is afraid that all of his evil acts will be exposed.  We know that he tortured prisoners, wire-tapped citizens and revealed the identity of an undercover CIA agent.  He thought that since the Republicans controlled all three branches of government, his evil deeds would never be exposed.  He was wrong.  He underestimated the intelligence of the U.S. electorate.

(2/24/2009) Al Franken has performed a great service to the people of Minnesota by removing Norm Coleman from the Senate.  In a very close election, Franken won the recount and is defending the result in court.  Franken will be one of the smartest, most ethical and hardest working members ever to serve in the United States Senate.

(2/15/2009) I am a left-wing, liberal moonbat.  I am also a registered Democrat in the tradition of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) and Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968).  Current political heroes are Barack Obama, Russ Feingold, Barbara Boxer, Al Franken, Henry Waxman, Patrick Leahy, John Conyers and Bernie Sanders.  Current media heroes are Keith Olbermann, Thom Hartmann, Stefanie Miller, Rachel Maddow, Bill Moyers, Michael Moore and Ed Schultz.

(2001 to 2008) Following is a list of the worst crimes committed by the George W. Bush administration.

1.  Illegal War (Iraq)
2.  Prisoner Torture (Gitmo, Iraq, Rendition)
3.  Treason (Identified Valerie Plame as NOC)
4.  Warrantless Wiretaps
5.  Embezzlement/Money Laundering (Secret Port Deal, Iraq)
6.  Fraud (Elections, Lobbyists, Stock Market)
7.  Criminal Negligence (Hurricane Katrina/New Orleans)
8.  Fake News/Fake Intelligence
9.  Nepotism/Conflict of Interest
10. Perjury (Numerous Lies)