Kipuka

Safety net needed

Safety net article from the New York Times.

Here was one excerpt I noticed:

Support for Republican candidates, who generally promise to cut government spending, has increased since 1980 in states where the federal government spends more than it collects. The greater the dependence, the greater the support for Republican candidates.

Conversely, states that pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits tend to support Democratic candidates

Perry strange

Wow, Rick Perry is bizarre. Apparently he had not been drinking. But he sure is awkwardly giddy.

Obama vs Romney...inevitable

The only question at this point is will the voters in swing states such as Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania [and maybe Colorado] choose Obama or Romney in the general election? Seriously, all the debating about who will win the GOP nomination should just come to an end. Sure, nomination protocol should be followed, but we really don't need to listen to pundits again until next summer.

Democrats lose NY-09

The fact that the Democrats refused to put a half-way serious candidate up for this seat is disheartening. It shows a lack of focus and a lack of passion not to mention a bit of arrogance. If Democrats expect to retain the Senate and the White House they better step it up a few notches.

Reagan was a RINO...

The real Ronald Reagan would be considered a RINO today. He would not get the nomination of today's GOP. The LA Times explains.

Birthers = crazy

I see an authenticated birth certificate is still not enough for the crazy birthers of the right wing. If any other president [or maybe even politician] presented what the state of Hawaii offers there would be no question that the document was legit and the case would be closed.

But these nuts want to see a film version of the birth that shows an atomic clock and a magnetic nautical chart in the delivery room.

Obama speaks truth

Obama tells it like it is.

"Eliminating the health care bill would cost us $1 trillion dollars," the president said. "It would add $1 trillion to the deficit. So when Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, he's just being America's accountant and trying to you know be responsible, this is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for. So it's not on the level. And we’ve got to keep on you know, keep on shining a light on that.”

9/11 Health bill blocked by GOP

Republicans want to add $700 billion to the deficit [over 10 years] to make sure millionaires get a tax break. But they say no to $7 billion [over 10 years] that would provide medical care for 9/11 workers and residents who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke from ground zero.

But wait. It gets more offensive. The reason they don't want this bill is because the money for it would come from international corporation tax havens.

The $7.4 billion cost of the legislation over 10 years would be paid for by a provision that would prevent foreign multinational corporations from using tax havens to avoid taxes on U.S. income.

So there you have it: Punish corporations – no. Punish people for cleaning up a tragedy – yes. Republicans have their priorities I guess….

Palin's ignorance of Kennedy's brilliance

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend has a very well thought-out response to Sarah Palin's misguided criticisms of John F Kennedy's speech he gave in 1960 to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. In it, Kathleen writes:

[Kennedy] challenged the ministers - and the country - to judge him, a Catholic presidential candidate, by his views rather than his faith. "Contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president," Kennedy said. "I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic."

She goes on to tell us why Kennedy believed [rightly] that there should be a seperation between church and state. And concludes:

The United States is one of the most vibrant religious countries on Earth precisely because of its religious freedom. When power and faith are entwined, faith loses. Power tends to obfuscate, corrupt and focus on temporal rather than eternal purposes.

What Kennedy doesn't mention - and it is worth pointing out - is that Palin's history is also lacking. When Kennedy gave that speech he was still on the campaign trail and there were real concerns among many Christians [in this case Democrats in the south] who were wary of a Catholic becoming President. Some felt he might put his Catholic beliefs ahead of his beliefs in the Constitution. Or worse that he would consult the Pope about political matters.

At the time Catholocism was viewed in much more negative terms than it is today. And so John F Kennedy wanted to reassure these Christians [and every voter in America] that his religious beliefs were not going to drive his governance of the country.

But note he was not attempting - as Palin suggests - to run away from his faith. Instead he was trying to put his faith in the context of exactly where it had always been in American politics; seperated from the state. He said in the speech that he wanted to be judged as a politican and an American rather than as a Catholic who might succumb to some of the controversial views that the church had had in the past. And in this respect he was absolutely right to reassure voters of exactly where he stood as someone running for the highest office in the land.

It's a brilliant speech that hits one common sense point after another. Criticising is odd at best and, in the case of Palin's views, sheer ignorance of what Kennedy was actually saying.

The speech can be read and seen here.

Tax cuts not working

The Bush tax cuts have not created jobs and they have not helped the economy. So why does the GOP want to extend them?