Anti Americans posing as citizens

I think I may jump off the St. John's I-4 bridge if I hear one more neo conservative say that Obama's adminitration is doing nothing and our country is worse for him being there. I get my news from a variety of sources: the radio, (usually NPR), the internet, the newspaper and more than one station on TV. Walter Cronkite said that to stay informed correctly one should get one's news information from more than one source. Why? Errors are made ie:Merideth Viera not knowing that the Fox that is a hero to Canada is Terry Fox, not Michael J., and news sources can be biased (Fox News- obviously no connection to the previous story).
So I consider myself to be as informed or in most cases, MORE informed than the average person. I can usually out argue most ignorant individuals. Therefore, when I hear what I previously stated about our current administration, I am outraged. Not because someone has another opinion, but that their opinion is based in complete ignorance. Most likely that ignorance is based on laziness or the inability to intellectually absorb reality.
When he took office he said he was not going to be able to fix the country's problems in a year. He hoped things would be better, but warned over and over again it will take time. Most people from the depression are gone, but those few who are around remind us it took 12 years! Thankfully, due to many smart decisions by our policymakers (who did not take up the partisan cause of always opposing the president), we have a lot of safety nets in place so people are not starving. Are we seening any emaciated people walking around? If you look at pictures from the 30's people were terribly thin and standing in soup lines. These people were starving! Today we have welfare, food stamps and unemployment compensation. These very government programs are keeping our children from starving and most from living in the streets. The neo cons who scream "government is too big! return it to the people!" are probably the same ones who cannot seem to find a dollar for the guy at the stop light. When our county decided to build a new high school in 2003, and got tax money to do it, it took them 7 years to build it. We needed it by the next year, but no one cried "foul", no one said "lets get rid of the crew building it or the people who approved it because it is not being done in our time!" Our new road was to take 2 years to finish, it took 2 1/2. Should we have fired everyone at the end of 2 because it wasn't done? No. What about the many who undergo chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Are they guaranteed that that treatment will work in the time frame their doctors gave them. I doubt it. Yet how do the doctors know how long or what to do? Perhaps it is because these cancers have been around a long time, many people have had them, there is lots of research and experience to base these decisions on. Hmmm, how many recessions have we had of this severity? Absolutely no one knows how long this recession will last, nor the exact steps to fix it.
Yet somehow, these neo-cons think they KNOW how long it should take to dig us out of this mess of an economy. Amazingly, they know even better than those who not only went to school and got PhD's, but they know better than those who have spent lifetimes watching and studying many countries economy. (My words to them are "shut the hell up!")
Every economic advisor, professor or economist, has stated that the stimulus has saved the economy from disaster. They will also state that there are indicators indicating that the economy is improving: increased GDP, the DOW over 10,000 (remember when it hit 4,000?), housing prices and home owner ship increasing, and unemployment slightly decreasing. In 2009, Obama agreed with all his economic advisors and told us that unemployment will be the last to respond to recovery. Why do these neo cons think they have the right to lie about things they know nothing about? Why do they have the right to falsely influence even more people to be anti-Obama and all he is trying to do? When will these people and all people for that matter realize that these dark, gloomy negative lies only serve to hurt? Why do you want to hurt fellow Americans? Don't you get it that when the economy improves, your neighbor, friend, relative, and YOU will only benefit? Has the idea of supporting those who are trying to improve things never occurred to them? The most important factor in restoring the economy is "consumer confidence". This is where you and I, the consumer, is confident to go out and spend money. Strange how saving money now, is actually hurting the economy. So, again, why don't the neo-cons realize how much harm they are actually doing?
Or do they all believe Obama is lying, that he has another agenda. First of all, he wrote about all these things 4 years ago before even declaring his run for president. He is literally doing what he wrote he would like done. Secondly, what the hell alternative agenda could he have? Uh, to overthrow a dictator, start a war and get his name in the history books while bankrupting the country? Been done. Wire tap ordinary citizens, stripping them of their civil rights, imprison anyone of Middle Eastern descent, and torture them for the purpose of finding the one responsible for the worst terrorist attack on the US? Been done. Maybe lower taxes for the rich to which group he does belong to, and shift the tax burden to the middle class? Been done.
WHAT OTHER AGENDA DOES HE HAVE EXCEPT TO IMPROVE AMERICA? Get educated on these matters, then your opinion counts.
We are all responsible for getting this economy started again. We need to get on the same team.
Thank you,
Judy

Lies and science

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck have all declared victory in the global warming debate because it is snowing in Washington DC. They are screaming "where are you now, Al Gore?" They claim this record snow proves that global warming is a liberal hoax. Rachel Maddow had Bill Nye the science guy on to rebutt this. He was as incensed as someone as calm as he is, could be. He reminded us that there is a difference between climate and weather. The former is over a long period of time, and the latter is on a smaller scale. Examples of this would be the fact that it occasionally does rain in the desert, and it occasionally stops raining in the rain forest. But scientists have recorded the first decade of this millenium as the warmest on record. 2009 was the 2nd warmest year on record. We have film footage of the iceburgs receding, penquins and polar bears dying. What is so interesting is that these people: journalists and politicians believe they have more facts concerning this science than the scientists! Do they realize what kind of education these people have had to have to conduct these studies and coming to these conclusions? Where do they get the audacity to claim they are right and the scientists are wrong? Bill Nye said that all of us like to be told what the 7 day forecast is, and basically do not question it. In other words, they believe the science. Yet if those same scientists extend those forecasts to say a few hundred years, suddenly they are not only wrong, but engaged in a left wing liberal conspiracy.
So we have this select group of right wingers who are again going after the ignorant and stupid, and convincing them that again those evil, baby killing, gay loving, anti-God liberals are now trying to tell them that if they do not give up their Hemi's, the world will be destroyed. They get their agenda believed by preying on the fears and religious beliefs of the uneducated.
Scary.
Thank you,
Judy

Lies, hypocrisy and denial

Recently Newt Gingrich, (remember him?), blasted the Obama administration for stating that over 300 terrorists have been convicted in US courts. He claims this number is made up and if how could there be so many without our knowing? Dana Perino (Bush's press secretary) said the same thing: that this number is ridiculous. This is in hyperbolic response to the handling of the Christmas Day underwear bomber. The claim is of course, the Obama administration mishandled the prosecuting of this guy by giving him Miranda rights. Gingrich claims the shoe bomber was appropriately given those rights because he was an American citizen, whereas the latter was not. This is not true. Neither are US citizens. And the Christmas Day bomber was given those rights hours after being interrogated, and after he insisted on a lawyer, which is according to US law. Getting back to the 300 number: Bush himself stated in a televised address that over 300 terrorists have been convicted in the US. So, it is OK when Bush says it, but it is a lie when Obama says it. This is devastatingly harmful to our country. The uneducated will believe this. They will elect those who are feeding them the lies thinking these are people who know what is best for them. In reality, these people have only one agenda: personal power. Staying informed and educated is the only defense. I heard today that over 90% of college faculty considers themselves politically liberal. Hmmmm, could free thinking have anything to do with education?
And what about all those Republican Congressmen and governors who voted against the stimulus bill, said they would not take the money, and now are lauding how fantastic it is. However, the senator from Oklahoma continues to say how terrible the stimulus bill was, how it did not help anyone, yet his own state' has recorded increased jobs and its ecomomy being stimulated due directly to the stimulus money. Not only that, the Tulsa paper even has this senator (name escapes me) being quoted as touting how great the stimulus money has been for Oklahoma. Rachel Maddow called him out on this hypocrisy, and he exhibits no shame.
I say, "shame is very appropriate". We must stay informed and educated.
Thank you,
Judy

Birthers... are you sure?

This has to be the most ridiculous continuing saga in my lifetime. I can see why the anti-Obamas wanted to question his birth certificate, but it is over! Let it go! The Hawaiian Office of Vital Statistics has released the verified certificate of his birth. What do these idiots need for proof? I do not think they really believe he is a foreigner. I think they are simply repeating this falsehood over and over so the uneducated will jump on board with them. In fact, if we took to the streets, (ala Jay Leno), and asked the average person what does the office of Vital Statistics do, we may hear some surprising answers! "Uh, I think they are involved in our budget" or "don't they have to do with education? you know, like a statistics class?" or "isn't he the president's chief of staff?". So our neo conservative politicians are gathering the uneducated, again, to support their cause. And to keep them happy, they also agree to align themselves with the rigid ideologies of right wing conservative Christianity. Things such as "heaven and hell", "abortion is murder, therefore killing an abortion doctor is justified by Jesus", "if gays are allowed to marry, it will threaten every marriage between a man and a woman." Pope John Paul II even said that hell is not a firey lake you go to after you die. It is actually here on earth. This man was extremely educated and less interested in power than many other popes and present day politicians.
In fact my premise for this column is that the more educated you are, the less religion will rule your thoughts, but the more one may use religion on the ignorant to gain the upper hand in politics. What is discouraging is that education usually helps erase racism. But this birther movement is about race. How many people knew McCain was born in Panama? And before Obama, has any president had his birth questioned? But again, maybe the neo-cons aren't really racist; they just realize there are so many uneducated people who are scared to death of black people, that they can use this to gain support. These are truly the ones to be afraid of. They will continue to vote down every issue related to education, so to keep society ignorant, and themselves in power. Scary.

February 1, 2010
The premise of this blog is to discuss how the three topics are so interrelated. I believe that many use religion (and the use of the word "religion" infers organized institutional religions, not personal spirituality), to literally get to heaven. So these religions tell people exactly what they must believe and do to achieve this happy immortality. This is the basis of the core of the religious right: you must be against any form or demonstration of homosexuality, and be against abortion. Often times these issues are used to manipulate the results of entire elections. This occurred in Ohio in 2004. As most know, Ohio went to Bush which resulted in the election being called for Bush. Most also know that Ohio had a big anti-gay amendment up for vote. So those religious right Republican fearing homosexuals made sure come hell or high water, they would show up to vote. And they might as well vote for their boy George while there. Sadly, those not afraid that their children would be molested or converted to homosexuality, did not feel compelled to come out to vote. Many of these would have voted Democratic.
Unfortuately, this society has proven to be more prone to show up on election day to cast a vote of fear, than to cast one of courage. This happened in California last November. More people afraid of homosexuals showed up to vote than those who believed banning gay marriage was wrong. Sadly, fear tends to make people act.
So what does this have to do with education? The more educated someone is the more likely they are to understand how prejudice and violation of human rights is counterproductive to the health of society. How does this explain all those highly educated religious right who are championing anti gay legislation and the repeal of Roe v. Wade?
I believe the answer lies with the fact that they are not interested in society functioning at its highest level. They are highly invested in personal power; or the illusion of it.
If those neo conservative right wingers can keep people scared of going to hell, and keep them from using logic and reason (learned through education), they keep the power.
Religious zealots actually tell their followers that asking too many questions is actually Satan infecting their minds, so instead they just need to accept what is told to them. Well the educated free thinking mind cannot do this. (A relative of mine when questioned about creationism says she does not have to explain dinosaur bones, she simply needs to believe).
We are constantly told how there is never enough money spent on education. Why is this? There IS enough money, why isn't it being used? Why in the Florida legislature every bill entered that had to do with increased spending on education was voted down by every Republican? Could it be that an ignorant society strenghens their base? Of course it does! How the hell did George Bush get elected? Because Democrat Bill Clinton could not keep his pants on: a moral issue, not one that affected any other American except Hillary and Monica Lewinsky. Yet the religious right convinced enough ignorant people that this indiscretion threatened the very core of America, and the ignorant of America bought it hook, line and sinker. That is how we ended up with George W. Bush.
Enough for now. I welcome your comments.

Thank you,

Judy