Saturday, July 5, 2014

Republican-Democrat Historical Legislations

Something to think about on this July 4th weekend

Here are a few of the historically significant accomplishments by both parties followed by commentary.

Republicans
* The Emancipation Proclamation

* Women's right to vote- First introduced by Rep. Senator Aaron A. Sargent of Calif. in 1872. Ratified in 1920 under Woodrow Wilson (Dem)

* Take over construction of the Panama Canal under Teddy Roosevelt

* First women elected to U.S. House- Jeanette Rankin from Montana

* Calvin Coolidge- Construction of the Hoover Dam

* The interstate highway system was borne under Dwight Eisenhower

* First Asian American elected to the U.S. Senate- Hiram Fong from Hawaii

* Republicans in the senate crafted the 'Civil Rights Act' in 1960. President Eisenhower signed it into law despite opposition from the Democrats' failed attempts at filibustering it. In the end Democrats finally got on board and voted in favor of the measure. Democrats also supported the 'Civil Rights Act of 1964' introduced by President John F. Kennedy and later signed into law by Lyndon Johnson after Kennedy's assassination.


Democrats
* 'The New Deal' under Franklin Roosevelt helped this country back from depression

* Draft for Social Security legislation was begun under Roosevelt's administration. According to Politifact, "It passed in the House 372-33, with 81 Republicans voting in support. The next day, the bill was passed in the Senate 77-6, with 16 Republicans supporting the legislation."

* Medicare- According to the following chart from the SSA...


* Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).



What The Hell Happened Since!
As you can see none of these (maybe except for Obamacare) would never have happened without both parties working together for the good of the nation. This is especially significant given the fact Democrats controlled the U.S. House for 62 years from 1930 to 1992 (Except for 1946 and 1952). And yet things still got done. When did this divide begin?

Some say it began back around 1965. Up until that time southern states were largely made up of Democrats. After Democrats enacted the 'Civil Rights Act of 1964' more then a few of the southern white middle class felt betrayed after new political voices emerged. Opponents of the Democratic party exploited the a less-educated, blue-collar whites planting seeds that now their jobs and way of life will be taken away by the blacks.

No doubt about it, making the most of playing to one's fears when it comes to income or threatening someone's way of life by anyone not of their ancestry can be quite successful. History has clearly demonstrated this. Given that it has, it should come as no surprise today's Democratic opposition members are playing this very same fiddle tune.

Not only conservatives are playing on peoples fears and weaknesses. It works just as well for both sides. When it comes to so-called outside threats from terrorists, immigration, government regulation or anything else the both have become bullshit virtuosos using this ploy trying to get what they seek.


Gone Are The Days
Once you couldn't pick out a Democrat from a Republican in a lineup. 'Southern Democrats' once acted more like Northern Republicans in their day. Also gone are so-called 'Rockefeller Republicans' from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Today either of these would be labeled and ostracized as 'RINOS' or 'DINOS' and tossed by either of their respective parties.


In Summary
In today's political climate both sides are so far away and radicalized that we'd have none of those past legislations I've listed. There'd be no Social Security, Medicare, women or black rights and so forth. Over the last few years Congress has produced little to no legislation regarding immigration reform, campaign reform and hell they can't even produce one full budget other then one small sliver at a time. Why?

Because they're too busy conducting dozens of committee hearings trying to roast any and anyone who actually tries to do something. In doing so I feel they are attempting to mask their own failures to enact legislation on important issues. Congress doesn't like the way IRS does business? GO WRITE A LAW. Congress doesn't like Obama's executive actions on immigration, regulation, education or foreign policies. GO WRITE A LAW! Don't like the way states are doing their elections? GO WRITE A LAW.

Here's a extensive list of defunct congressional committees. Most which served for investigate purposes. Can there be any wonder why so many actual legislative bills are drawn up by lobbyists or special interests groups? They're too damn busy holding hearings and committee meetings investigating everything and anything (including themselves) to get much else done.

“I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a disgrace,
that two become a lawfirm,
and that three or more become a congress.”

~ John Adams ~



Congress Hardly At Work
Actual U.S. House judiciary hearing on agricultural workers

Hey, it makes more sense then some :-)

Friday, July 4, 2014

July 4th Videos

The History of the drafting & signing of the Declaration of Independence
Video Courtesy Of "Stanley Klos"
Stanley Klos- LinkedIn



"God Bless America"- Celine Dion (With Lyrics & History)
Video Courtesy Of "ClaudiaMontana8"



"God Bless America"- Kate Smith
"This Is The Army" 1943Video Courtesy Of "Nome De Plume"


Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Voter ID And The Good Old Days

There's a lot of squawking going on about getting back to the early days of this country. A time many think our country's principles have drifted away from. Let's talk about one of these... who can and cannot vote.In 1790 only white males who owned property could vote.
It wasn't until 1810 the last religious prerequisite for voting was eliminated.
By 1850 the property ownership requirement was dropped (but still only white men could vote),
In 1870 black men were then allowed to vote.
Up until 1913 Senate members were elected by state legislators.
Finally in 1920 women were allowed to vote.
Some states required a poll tax be paid in federal elections up until 1964.
Some states required a literacy test. By 1965 this was eliminated by federal law.
Amazingly there are a handful of conservatives today who have spoken of getting back to requiring literacy tests. Some conservatives even spoke of going back to property ownership. Both democrats and republicans think gerrymandering voting areas is a swell idea. Democrats in particular on the other hand would prefer a free-for-all. In several states voters can cross party lines in the primaries to vote for jerks hoping their own party's candidate can then win against them in fall elections.

As you can see there is little uniformity from state to state. Thus voter laws can vary greatly from state to state. Is this anyway to run a national election for president? I think not.

As we look back upon history there's no good reason to go back to the "good old days". They weren't that great. Voter ID is yet another attempt to manipulate election outcomes. So is the lack of having one.

What I Suggest (It'll never happen)
(1) Everyone be issued a voter ID card by the United States government (not by each individual state).
(2) Each state agrees to the same rules. (Example: No one can cross party lines in the primaries).
(3) Gerrymandering be eliminated strictly determined by population shifts via the census bureau.
(4) Everyone votes on the same day and hours. Same goes for absentee ballots & early voting.

There's simply too much gaming the system from state to state when it comes to national elections. There's those who'd have us go back to the bad old days in certain states who refuse to compromise on uniformity. Liberals are way too loose when it comes to voting. Why not a national voter database instead of a state by state? Conservatives on the other hand are accusing liberals of voting multiple times or are ineligible.

A single national database easily linked by computer lookups solves all of these. No duplicate votes. No ineligible voters. Every voter is treated exactly the same no matter which state they are voting in.

Of course states that consider themselves rogue nations apart from Washington, D.C. will never agree to this. Mostly those states fall into the camp of conservatives. In states liberals exist they resist anything that even smells of voter suppression even if it means there's a few who slip by the portals at the voting booths.

We now have the technology to do this. What we don't have is either side's willingness to do this. Each want to game the system to their own advantage. Today is not the time to go backwards in history. Rather it's time to move forward as a nation of each individual deserving one vote as was intended. We have the technology, what we don't have is a consensus. That has been a problem for as long as this country has existed. Isn't it about time we set our differences aside and unite ourselves for once... and for all?



SCOTUS Companies Can Have Religious Beliefs

A whole bunch of FOX News hosts and their guests are taking victory laps over the latest Supreme Court decision. Not so fast. File this one under careful what you wish for.

It was only a short time ago the gang at FOX News went off the rails opposing the building of a mosque near ground zero. What if this same group decides to buy up a couple of businesses now knowing that certain companies can express their religious preferences? Will these same FOX News bloviators be crowing the same tune?

Yeah this kind of stuff is all fine and dandy when Christians got possession of the ball. But when the opposing team gets possession not so much, eh?

This is the stuff that happens when religion starts getting mixed into politics and business. All this is quite clear to me. No good can come from government sticking it's nose into religious ideologies anymore then the other way around.

I don't want a hear a damn thing from the good folks at FOX bellyaching when investors who are followers of Sharia open a few store fronts either. Another group they've been shrieking about as a threat for years.

All of this is a result of what happens when companies and government blur the lines between personal religious beliefs. Once that door opens it's nearly impossible to shut it again. This country simply can't have it both ways. It can't chose one religion then exclude the other. The framers of the country were wise enough to know that. Somehow along they way we've become stupid.

Well actually not all of us. It's my hope the majority of people have more common sense. It's likely these rebel rousers in the media are doing this kind of bullshit for their own gain. They know where their bread is buttered. By preying on the gullible they are going after the low hanging fruit who walk amongst us.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Blue Mountain Bike Park

'Discover Lehigh Valley' posted on 'Blue Mountain Ski Area's' new bike park. According to the ski slope's website a bike park season pass is $250.

Oh freaking WOW!

Several years ago I took my bike up there in the summer. The place was 100% totally abandoned for the summer. I rode my bike alone down their ski slopes and trails at the top never giving a second thought that one day they'd charge $250 for it. I never saw a single person that day other then myself. Not a single employee or otherwise. Frankly I didn't find it all that great and didn't go back taking the wife with me. Does that make me a trespasser? If so I wasn't aware of that at the time.



I remain simply amazed how things can become monetized with the right kind of hype. I guess that's why I remain poor. Hey, whatever floats your boat :-)

All my best and more power to em'.

Space: Will The U.S. Be Left Behind?

"India’s domestically-produced Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) blasted off Monday morning from the southern spaceport of Sriharikota, carrying satellites from France, Germany, Canada and Singapore."
My Comments About The Article Above
This is yet one more example of how the United States is slowly falling behind. The scientific world holds no allegiance to the USA. If we can't do it cheaper or at least better they will go elsewhere. Our shuttle program offered what no other program could. Since we retired them, it's no longer the case.

It's all fine and dandy to say when it came to space we once were in first place. So were the Yankees baseball team at one time.

Once we were the envy of the world when it came to innovative technology and science. These days when it comes to space, green energy, manufacturing efficiency, medical advances and the major exporters of these we no longer hold a monopoly. So the question going forward is what are we going to do about that? How will we react? Will we react?

Advances will take place with or without us. I for one tend to think we are focusing way too much time, effort and money on nation building in foreign countries and feuding politically among ourselves. It's past time we wake up and realize most other countries focus far less on these. Thus they are able to attain the technological and economical advantages in the areas we are not concentrating our efforts on.

The short and long of this is... snooze, you lose. The world waits for no one... not even us.

Congressional Junkets

June 30, 2014-- "It's going to be a little more difficult to ferret out which members of Congress are lavished with all-expenses-paid trips around the world after the House has quietly stripped away the requirement that such privately sponsored travel be included on lawmakers' annual financial-disclosure forms.

The move, made behind closed doors and without a public announcement by the House Ethics Committee, reverses more than three decades of precedent. Gifts of free travel to lawmakers have appeared on the yearly financial form dating back its creation in the late 1970s, after the Watergate scandal. National Journal uncovered the deleted disclosure requirement when analyzing the most recent batch of yearly filings."


My Comments About The Article Above
Who said congress isn't doing anything!

They may not have found time for reforms in immigration, education, campaign finance, the federal budget and so forth, but hey there's always time available for congress to powder it's own behind.

When the Supremes decided companies have the same rights as individuals along with their religious beliefs it's only befitting members of congress assume it's none of the public's beeswax if they want to party with them.

Ever get the feeling year after year no matter who gets voted out of office or which party get elected the results are pretty much the same?
     Well, you're not alone!