Anger works both ways

The Republicans are angry over everything the Democrats do, especially President Obama, but with little to add re. what should be done. It’s an impasse that includes Tea Party members, and the ultra-conservative right, except maybe with more venom. It started the first day of the Obama administration and hasn’t let up since. Have to give these fanatics an A for effort.

But Politico says that the Hispanic community has been taking lessons on anger, which could turn this into votes in November. For Democrats. Pew Research says the Latinos are less motivated, but Arturo Vargas, who heads the National Assn. of Latino Elected Officials in Los Angeles doesn’t agree. He says he has seen Hispanics “deeply engaged,” closely monitoring what’s going on. Only three weeks to E-Day.

Read more from Politico here.

Don’t want no more stinkin’ political telephone calls?

This is yet another case where the politicians fixed the law to allow them opportunities not allowed to others, as in the FTC’s Do-Not-Call Registry. Political calls are legal, and they are much more annoying than the junk phone calls received from junk mailers in the past. The Dunning Letter did a post on last September 8, “Tired of political robocalls?” that announced the site, StopPoliticalCalls.org.

I didn’t subscribe, as I am also not on traditional junk mail opt-out sites, so that I can monitor what these lunatics are doing and report it to you. Like the current parade of politicians that start out by saying, “This is (name),” at which point most of us hang up. What makes it even more distasteful is that it is a robocall with no live person on the other end.

My advice is to hang in there until you get the name, write it down, never vote for any one on this list, then make your selection from those who don’t call but do measure up to your expectations. Goodbye robocalls.  Or...you can subscribe to StopPoliticalCalls.org.

Donald Trump for President? Let’s look at the track record

He hinted in Scotland, where he went recently for a much contested honorary degree that he may run for President in 2012 against Barack Obama. That’s Donald Trump, and the baggage he carries isn’t just his luggage for the trip. David Kennedy, former head of the university in Ireland that bestowed the degree says that Trump is not an honorable businessman.

There is also a checkered past in real estate ventures. In 2007, he had at least 20 U.S. projects and several more overseas. Since then many have been delayed, cancelled, or turned over to the bank. In March his Trump Tower in Atlanta was in foreclosure, and in the early 90s he bordered on bankruptcy. In 2009, Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Yup, that’s just the guy we need to get us out of this economical mess.

Read more here and here.

Good news, bad news on jobs

The good news is that jobless claims have fallen to the lowest level in three months. The bad news is that 95,000 jobs were lost in September and unemployment is still at 9.6 percent. A lot of temporary census jobs ended and state and local governments in financial trouble are laying off workers. The question is, are jobs available, and, if so, why aren’t they being filled?

A new study suggests that, with the number of job vacancies out there, and if those were being filled, the unemployment rate would drop to 6.6 percent. Some may be due to benefits available to workers who are being more selective, but a new paper says employers are also responsible because they aren’t trying hard enough to fill the vacancies. You can’t force companies to hire, but if affordable, it would certainly be in America’s best interest now to make the move.

Read more here.

BLS Report here.

Study here.

Just how bad is racism?

Predatory lending directed at minority neighborhoods has been blamed for the onslaught of foreclosures that are at least partially responsible for the current housing crisis. In August, more than three-quarters of a billion dollars had not been disbursed for Katrina victims, many of them in black neighborhoods. In July someone in Utah released a list of 1,300 alleged illegal immigrants with their personal information, including Social Security numbers. And one Phoenix cop calls the new Arizona Immigration Law “racist.”

The racism issue has not been solved. It is still seething within the best neighborhoods, and at the highest levels of education and in the work force. If ever a grassroots effort was needed, it is here.

Read more here, here, here and here.

Gun laws must be changed now to protect the innocent

It is out of hand! You can’t watch the news anymore without hearing of another shooting, and in many cases multiple deaths. The loophole where these crazy freaks are getting these handguns must be closed, whatever it is. If it steps on the toes of the NRA and gun groupies, so be it. Someone must stand up to this amalgamation of unreasonable bubbas and quit accepting their sophomoric saying, “Guns don’t kill, people do.” I Googled “2010 shooting deaths” and got 52.2 million hits.

Here are links to some of them, all after May 1, 2010:

May 21

July 3

August 30

Sept. 26

Sept. 27

Sept. 30

Sept. 30

Oct. 4

Oct. 4

Oct. 4

Google: “2010 shooting deaths”

We have to get guns off the street, even if it makes it inconvenient to obtain them for those who do it legally.

Tragic comment on "The Dunning Letter" demands attention

There was a comment posted on October 5, to this blog’s post, “Angry over politics? No matter…you’re only 23 percent of the electorate,” which was beyond angry. It begins by stating the writer has not voted and won’t vote in November. “It doesn’t matter,” he or she said. It goes on to define all presidents as “ineffective slobs” that are there to line their pockets. The person does relieve President Obama of the responsibility of the economy, and lay it on corporations who refuse to hire people or pay decent wages.

There is more about Congress, which is compared to presidents in its effectiveness, and which exports our jobs out of the country. The commenter’s solution is to line all the politicians up and have them shot for treason against the people of the USA. There is even an added comment, “I could handle that.”

Washington…we have a problem!

You can read the full comment here.

Chilean trapped miners due out after 2 ½ months - BP took 5 months to close well

British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig, one mile underwater in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded on April 20, 2010. It was capped on July 15, but not permanently sealed until September 18. A period of 5 months.

The roof of Chile’s San Jose gold mine collapsed on August 5, 2010, trapping 33 miners 2,300 feet underground. Chilean officials expect to have all 33 miners rescued by October 20. A period of 2 ½ months.

Agreed, there is a difference in the environments of the two disasters—one underwater, one on land—but one would think that between the U.S. and Great Britain, the best technology in the world would be available here. The Chilean efforts also show the incompetence of U.S. officials in regulating mines in this country.

Read more here.

You’re going to put your kid on Facebook with all their privacy problems?

They may not be able to walk, but they have an email address and will probably end up with a Facebook page. According to antivirus maker AVG, 7 percent of children as young as six months have an email address, and by the time they reach two they have a digital footprint. And therein lays the problem. Identity thieves steal the Social Security numbers of newborns and use them for illegal purposes. The child, or his or her family, knows nothing about it until they try to use the SS card, which could be years.

This kind of theft is heavily used by illegal immigrants; in Arizona alone it has been estimated that 1 million children are victims of identity theft. Call me an alarmist, but I predict with the right amount of information given on a social network (name and address is sufficient, but many will provide a birth date), there will be an increase in infant identity theft in the future.

Read more here and here.

Early voting: Lifestyle trend or convenience necessity?

Ten states will have started early balloting by the end of this week. There are 36 in all plus D.C. that allow it some form. It’s easy. You sign up for early voting by mail, and sit around the kitchen table and discuss the political situation and who you want to vote for. There is a distinct advantage here. When you go to the polls, there is sometimes a last minute tendency to make a decision you may regret later. At home, with the mail-in ballot in hand, you have several days to think about it.

We have the junk mail industry to thank for this. Early balloting by mail takes its lead from junk mailers who sell direct to the consumer, and with the convenience of being able to shop in their home.

Read more here, also whether and when it is available in your state.

More proof we need universal health care?

The Obama administration is already giving in to large corporations and insurance companies threatening to cancel or deny health coverage to employees and the public in general. McDonald’s even implied that the new laws could force the company to eliminate existing coverage for their workers. Large insurers like WellPoint, Aetna and Cigna object to the fact that they must cover seriously ill children. In the transition period, more insurers and employers are likely to seek waivers that will delay or weaken the new health law.

In a 2009 New York Times/CBS News poll, 72 percent of Americans favored a form of universal health care similar to Medicare for those under age 65, with 40 percent willing to pay $500 per year more in taxes. Here is a list of countries worldwide with some form of universal healthcare: United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Greece, Ireland and there are more.

The question arises, is it the consumer who doesn’t want universal healthcare coverage, or is it the large insurance carriers? Just who is this administration listening to?

Read more here and here.

Rutgers gay incident should be the last straw

The lawyer for 18-year-old freshman Dharun Ravi says his client is innocent of a bias crime. Ravi, who, with another freshman, Molly Wei, allegedly taped gay student Tyler Clemente having sex with a man and secretly streamed it online for the world to see. Later Clemente committed suicide. If that isn’t gay bashing, what is? Did the two perps ever tape the guy playing his violin, and stream that online? Adults and the legal system are entirely too lenient on despicable young people like this.

Ravi and Wei should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and if it doesn’t put them away for at least 25 years, the law should be changed. As a form of bullying this behavior is unacceptable on any level.

Read more here and here.

Arizona cities want injunction against state’s new immigration law upheld

Two major Arizona cities, Tucson and Flagstaff, have filed legal briefs for the feds to uphold the injunction against the state’s new immigration law, SB1070. The law was the brainchild of State Senator Russell Pearce, an accused racist, and signed by Governor Jan Brewer, who recently displayed her aptitude in a debate with November opponent, Democrat Terry Goddard. Tucson and Flagstaff are joined by three smaller cities, San Luis, Tolleson and Somerton.

This all comes amid official government reports that the immigration problem has been improving for ten years, and an investigation into Brewer’s staff for financial connections with the private prison system that will house arrested illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, the rage over SB1070 has taken the country by storm, as if we have been overrun by aliens, forgetting the fact of their seasonal need to harvest many crops.

Read more here.

Read more on immigration from The Dunning Letter here.

What happened to the Democrats and labor?

William Jennings Bryan, a Democrat, was endorsed by the AFL in his bid for President in 1908, but he still lost. Four years later he helped Woodrow Wilson, another Dem, capture the White House, who pushed a progressive agenda through Congress, and cinched labor’s support. As Captain Renault (Claude Rains) said in “Casablanca”, this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. So what happened?

The answer is clear. The Democrats have shed their progressive agenda, and the working stiffs are looking elsewhere. A recent Associated Press/GfK poll shows 58 percent of whites with no 4-year college degree favoring Republicans, 36 percent for Democrats. Given, they are in worse shape than white college graduates, but, come on, the GOP is going to do better for you? This has been going on for several years so it shouldn’t be a big surprise in November.

Read more of the poll here.

Are Independent voters interested in change…no matter what direction?

The Democrats have made limited improvement in their midterm ratings according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll. They have significant support for helping the middle class, experienced a surge in which candidates voters support in November, with additional gains on the economy and health care. So where are the Independent voters? Solidly behind Democrats in 2008, they have changed their tune to backing Republicans 53 percent in November, compared to 33 percent Democrats.

It is almost like Independents are using their power (37% of voters) to change the landscape of politics, purely on whim, with no real political compass. The time has arrived for someone to come forward and define the Independent doctrine.

Read more here.

Poor babies…Hispanics are disillusioned

Aren’t we all disillusioned with the way things are going? Some of us need jobs, many have lost their homes to foreclosure, and others have ended up in bankruptcy over economic conditions. Human rights in general are at the bottom of the priority list, and that doesn’t include just minorities or ethnic groups.

So what are we supposed to do, just take our ball and go play with the Republicans? Because they are the ones who will win in November if the Hispanics don’t quit whining and vote for the party that has traditionally been their friend.  The Democrats. Yes, you didn’t get what you wanted in Obama’s first two years, but now is not the time to give up. You can’t possibly think the GOP is in your corner.

Get out and vote!

Read more here.

Why not elect a witch?

Christine O’Donnell says, “I’m not a witch.” But what if she is, and has supernatural powers that could transform the Congress into a body of competent individuals that would do the work of the people they represent? Or charm them into being honest representatives that don’t go to Washington just for their own self benefit. Or enchant congressional members into making decisions that are best for the country, not just their state and their reelection. Or maybe her spells could drive them to do just anything at all.

Perhaps the candidate shouldn’t be so quick to deny this ability since the country is obviously looking for a miracle in November.

How’s your sex life?

A new study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine says that everything is normal. It looks at how often we have sex and with whom, and how we respond. Participants in the survey ranged in age from 14 to 94. When I was 14 you had better not admit to anyone you had sex, must less enjoyed it. The new study updates one done in 1994 called the “National Health and Social Life Survey.” Major differences now include the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the kind of sex education kids get today, same-sex marriage and socializing on the Internet.

You might not want to know, but your kids consider condoms to be a standard item to have on hand. If you do, talk to them about their sexual habits.

Oh, by the way, guys say their partners have orgasm 85 percent of the time, while the females say it is only 64 percent. Now who do you think is fibbing?

Read more here.

Angry over politics? No matter…you’re only 23 percent of the electorate

That’s right, and the likely-to-vote segment is even smaller. A Newsweek poll also found that of the 23 percent, only 14 percent are Democrats; 52 percent Republicans and 29 percent Independents. Those numbers could be both bad and good for the Democrats. Another interesting finding was that anger alone won’t be the determining factor in November. The angry tend to be white and over 30.

President Obama’s approval rating is still at 48 percent, and the Newsweek poll re-confirmed from an earlier poll that voters who think the country is off course have more of a tendency to blame it on Bush than Obama.

Angry or not, Democrat or Independent or Republican, you need to vote.

Read more here.

Democrats tighten mid-term contest

It’s the “loyalists” stupid. Many of us have been saying all along that a certain demographic within the Democratic base will emerge in November, realizing that they have to defeat the Republicans. A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll reports that African Americans have increased their enthusiasm for voting by 6 points, Hispanics by 11.

When asked which outcome from the election would be most acceptable, 76 percent of likely voters said reducing influence of special interests. Most unacceptable was that Democrat Nancy Pelosi continues as House Speaker, by 57 percent of likely voters. Even if they win, some Democrats lose.

Read more here.

Who is to blame for bad economy?

A majority of the country believes President Obama is not responsible, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. However, that percentage is declining where in January 65 percent felt Obama inherited this economy, now it is only 56 percent. With 70 percent believing we are still in a recession, there is reason to believe the President’s figures will become even less favorable.

What never seems to be considered are the thousands of jobs lost to new technology, some of which will never return. Also, the Republican philosophy of moving jobs out of the country to benefit the bottom line of big business.

Immigration myth debunked

As we approach the mid-term elections, after which the President and Congress might consider doing something about immigration reform, here is a major concern about the issue that has been recently deflated. Immigrants are not taking jobs away from American citizens. If they do even apply for the harvesting jobs, they usually don’t stay. Many farmers say most Americans just aren’t up to this kind of work.

Sort of flies in the face of Arizona’s Immigration Law SB1070.

Read more here.

Put the blame on ???

Republicans blame the economy on Democrats, particularly President Obama. Democrats say we wouldn’t be where we are today without George W. Bush and conservative Republicans. If you give them back the power everything will just get worse, as it would have been had the GOP been able to block financial and auto bailouts, as well as the stimulus. Experts have said recently that all three have contributed to the current recovery.

Voters may be anti-incumbent, but the progressive Left is telling them if they want their jobs back, vote for Democrats.

Read more here.

Progressives’ “One Nation” Rally drew ??? – No matter, it was successful

They beat the Beck Rally”…”Not a Chance”…”Beck’s Rally was probably bigger”…”The actual numbers are elusive.” War cries from both sides and the middle with numbers that speak of a competition that is expected to make the November mid-terms the most challenging election ever. Beck’s “Whitestock” was supposed to have 500,000 attendees, but NPR said it was more like 175,000. Satellite estimates for “One Nation” were said to be 175,000 to 200,000 at noon.

Regardless of the numbers, a win-win situation for progressives based on media reports that have been saying there is no enthusiasm from the Left.

Read more here.

“Chris Matthews Show” questions “new media”

Yesterday I watched “The Chris Matthews Show” question just how viable we bloggers are in relation to our opinions and points of view, particularly on politics. His guests were Katty Kay, BBC News correspondent, Gloria Borger, CNN senior political analyst, Dan Rather, former CBS-TV news anchor, and John Harris, Politico editor-in-chief. At least Harris should have been on our side.

The consensus was that without the “expertise” of the professional editor, the news reported by this new media might not be substantive. Gloria Borger even called these writers, “…reporter quasi journalist.” She went on to say that is “another story.” Since Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky story while Newsweek was sitting on it, sounds like sour grapes to The Dunning Letter.

See more here.