Day: January 29, 2014

Citizen of the world: a brief survey of the life and times of Thomas Paine (1737-1809) – World Socialist Web Site

We all have our ‘heroes’….those people that we would like to go to a pub and have a beer and talk with……mine, since I was 12 years old has always been Thomas Paine……

Today is the birth date of Thomas Paine….29 January…..a man that we Americans owe a great deal to and have NEVER repaid that debt.  A man who most Americans have forgotten.

The man who transformed the colonies from pussy whipped subjects of the crown into rebels that demanded and achieved independence from mother England.  The man that help America grow a spine and demand independence.

Citizen of the world: a brief survey of the life and times of Thomas Paine (1737-1809) – World Socialist Web Site.

GOP Course Change?

I recall after the last election….you know the one where Mitt got his pants beaten off…..the GOP and its chairman, Rancid Prius (sorry cannot remember his real name and too lazy to use Google) stated that the GOP was gonna take stock and try to reach out to those disenfranchised voters…you know like women, Latinos, working folk, etc……

An excellent idea and I for one was looking forward to some substance to their issues and not just “we hate Obama” rhetoric…..this was the perfect opportunity for them to be successful…….many Americans were getting weary of the Obama admin and their sluggish policy machine….the voters were there for them to reach out to and hopefully convert……but…….

So far NOTHING has changed…they are NOT reaching out to new voters……they remain with an aging white base….they allow the idiots of the party free and unhampered access to spout all sorts of insulting rhetoric and falsehoods…….and policies….where are the NEW ideas on policy prep?

At the winter meeting of the RNC the chairman made some amazing statements……

We’ve come a long way since we gathered in Charlotte and vowed to renew our party, to grow, and to win.

As you’ve seen these last few days, we’re making great progress. We’re meeting our goals. We’re ‘making it happen.’

On all these things, I could go into greater detail. But you’ve heard and seen most of the numbers by now. So I just want to underscore the big picture. What we’re doing together is unprecedented for the RNC, for any party committee. We already have more people in the field than we do in headquarters. That’s unheard of in an off year. In some cases, that’s unheard of in an election year.

And we’re accomplishing these things because we’re united.

There are also people who want to turn the healthy conversations we’re having into headlines. They want to make a family discussion look like division. But we’re not going to let that happen, either.

I think it’s a good thing that we can have honest discussions on policy. A robust party should take time to debate the right solutions, and the right tactics. But there shouldn’t be any question: We’re united on our principles…

…yes, our party has come up with multiple ways to protect Americans from the consequences of Obamacare. But does anyone doubt that we’re united in saying that America deserves better than the Unaffordable Care Act?

Enough!  I could go one with his comments but why?  His comments are those of a delusional prick.  I have seen NOTHING new or anything that could be clled a success….with the exception of ACA (Obamacare for those haters) and that had NOTHING to do with GOP policy but rather a failed roll-out of the program…..very fortuitous for the GOP.

The RNC is already investing in a strong ground game for the 2014 elections, having already recruited more than 8,000 precinct captains. The committee has one of the largest, most diverse staffs it has ever had, officials said last week, and it has restructured its operations so they are data-driven. The committee is investing in all 50 states while eyeing some states where they could invest more substantially ahead of the 2016 election cycle.

But what good is a ground game if you have nothing to offer perspective voters?

The one area that has the GOP most concerned is the so-called “war on women”….but they have a plan…well sort of…….

The RNC is also considering a tactical defense against the Democrats’ “war on women” attack that in 2012 brought down candidates like Missouri’s GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin. The committee will consider a new resolution that states the RNC will not support the “strategy of silence” when it comes to Republican candidates and the issue of “life,” urging candidates to defend their positions and fight back.

Let me help them with this one issue….if you do not want it to appear as though there is a war on women then put a muzzle on the morons…..every time they open their mouths they feed that perception…..they can defend their position without using stupid statements to make their point….you know like “legitimate rape” or “biblical authority” or (pick one…they are not hard to find)…….as long as your candidates go off script the harder it is to reel they comments back…..just a suggestion……

I am a political philosopher and believe me when I say that I would love to see a new and improved GOP……… would make for a much better political stage….but so far all they have is….well NOTHING!  They have the same mindless twaddle from mental midgets……the people with an intellect are move to the fringe and told that they are NO longer political pure….there can NEVER be a strong GOP as long as these types of thoughts are allowed to blossom and bear fruit…….it is just that simple.

What Do You Think Of Hayek And Von Mises?

I have heard a lot of people that think that these two men have all the answers to our situation we are experiencing in the US today………

This was a tweet I found the other day and felt I had to pass it along…….this is a bit troubling…at least for me……

 

“Hayek admired Pinochet’s Chile so much that he decided to hold a meeting of his Mont Pelerin Society in Viña del Mar, the seaside resort where the coup against Allende was planned. In 1978 he wrote to the London Timesthat he had “not been able to find a single person even in much maligned Chile who did not agree that personal freedom was much greater under Pinochet than it had been under Allende.”For instance, Hayek—writing to The Times in 1978 and explicitly invoking Pinochet by name—noted that under certain “historical circumstances,” an authoritarian government may prove especially conducive to the long-run preservation of liberty: There are “many instances of authoritarian governments under which personal liberty was safer than under many democracies.”As Hayek notes, “democracy needs ‘a good cleaning’ by strong governments.”The Pinochet junta “enacted a new constitution in September 1980. . . . The constitution was not only named after Hayek’s book The Constitution of Liberty, but also incorporated significant elements of Hayek’s thinking.””I prefer a liberal dictator to democratic government lacking in liberalism. “Interestingly enough, Hayek had sent Salazar a copy of Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty (1960) in 1962 and Hayek’s accompanying note to Salazar is particularly revealing: Hayek hopes that his book—this “preliminary sketch of new constitutional principles”—“may assist” Salazar “in his endeavour to design a constitution which is proof against the abuses of democracy.”Dictatorship, as he put it in his El Mercurio interview, was “a means of establishing a stable democracy and liberty, clean of impurities.”

What say you now?

So You Wanna Know Why?

I have had several conversations with people who claim they are on the Right and most are upset because the way that Repubs are pictured and represented by politicos…..I have always tried to point out that I have NO problem with Repubs or conservatives….that the party suffers when the more rabid among them are allowed to talk….their words do NOTHING to further the cause of the GOP…..

This is one such situation…….This from NY1 News……

Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm physically threatened NY1 political reporter Michael Scotto at the conclusion of an interview in the Capitol Rotunda following Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.

Grimm’s threats came at the end of a brief interview in which he discussed the president’s speech, calling the address “divisive.”

Scotto then tried to ask the congressman about the ongoing federal investigation into his 2010 campaign fundraising:

“And just finally before we let you go, we haven’t had a chance to talk about some of the…” Scotto began before Grimm cut him off.

“I’m not speaking to you off-topic, this is only about the president,” said Grimm, before walking off camera.

“So Congressman Michael Grimm does not want to talk about some of the allegations concerning his campaign finances,” Scotto said before tossing back to the station. But as the camera continued to roll, Grimm walked back up to Scotto and began speaking to him in a low voice.

“What?” Scotto responded. “I just wanted to ask you…”

Grimm: “Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I’ll throw you off this f—–g balcony.”

Scotto: “Why? I just wanted to ask you…”

[[cross talk]]

Grimm: “If you ever do that to me again…”

Scotto: “Why? Why? It’s a valid question.”

[[cross talk]]

Grimm: “No, no, you’re not man enough, you’re not man enough. I’ll break you in half. Like a boy.”

I am sure that the party will coerce this guy into an apology….but his words are out there for all to hear……it is people like this toad that are doing NOTHING constructive for their party……and these people are the ones I am speaking of…..in case there is any confusion.

Moderates In The Weeds

The day after the State of the Union speech……have you had enough?……….it was, as I anticipated, a yawn…..a petty bunch of pathetic individuals trying to bully the opposition….that needs to be the last SOTU if that is what it has come down to…….but as long as I am posting on politics let’s go crazy….shall we?

Personally I think the state of the union speech is worthless and a waste of time……all presidents promise and seldom deliver….why bother?

Since everyone will be focusing on some random speech…..I think I will have a hodge podge day…..I usually try to have a theme of the day and post relevant pieces to that theme…..but from time to time I like to break character and do something whimsical…..a hodge-podge day.

Awhile back a study said that many Americans were centrists…..then there was one that said that we were becoming more liberal….and now it is something about moderates….or some such……

If one follows politics then one would think that the ‘new’ Right, the radical Right, was the coming storm….that we would be in for many years of gridlock, fake scandals, meetings, and less congressional work than ever……but you know that is only in the media, at least as far as my experience goes …..I have found many on the Right are actually well versed in the politics of the day……some of the older GOP members are talking with more than half their brain….people like Steele, Shultz, Sullivan….I mean they still cling to some of the out-dated crap but for the most part they see what the party needs to do to win national elections.

I have also found that while I know many Tea Party advocates I still see them as reasonably well educated in their party…..when dealing with them one on one they speak coherently and to the point and even some have ideas……while I do not think they will work to get our country back on track….,.at least there is ideas and just mindless rambling on subjects long dead……

I bring this up because I read a piece written by David Brooks and I find him dead on…at least in my opinion……check it out for yourself…..

You wouldn’t know it to listen to Republican politicians, but there’s a new eminently reasonable brand of conservatism brewing, based on the principle of “skeptical reform,” writes David Brooks at the New York Times. Current Republicans have defined themselves as anti-government, leaving them “no governing agenda for people facing concrete needs.” This new breed of thinkers instead focuses on remedying specific social ills—even if that means using government as a tool. “Government is not the only solution, but it is not the only problem.” These thinkers acknowledge “that the world is too complicated to be centrally planned,” and hence strive to harness markets—instead of dictating them like ObamaCare. But unlike today’s often too-fervent Republicans, they’re skeptical of their own solutions as well, so they aim for gradual, mindful reform. Brooks thinks this school will catch on, because “the Republican style of recent years has produced a vacuum where concrete proposals should be.” When Republicans need policies of their own, they’ll “find there is no other game in town.” For examples of these kinds of policies, see the full column.

The only problem I foresee is that of desire…….does the Party truly desire a national win or will they succumb to the mind numbing crap of the rabid Right?