Category: government

takeaways from the American election …

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, GOP USA, government, things getting worse1 Comment

After this, I’ll try to shut up.

• President Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase — Separation of church and state

Republicans need embrace the concept.

• U.S. Republicans can learn from Canada’s Conservatives

Neither American party is fiscally conservative. I truly believe Romney would have run up an even bigger debt than will Obama.

• Donald Trump is an ass

• Michael Moore‘s heart is in the right place, but he’s as dangerous a left wing zealot as right wing extremists like Trump. I disagree with more than half of what he says.

• Romney’s a good guy. But was forced to associate with Evangelic extremists, bigots, billionaires, bankers and other unsavory characters. Pray for his sold soul.

Mitt’s quite the chameleon. Has any other politician flip-flopped so many times and almost gotten away with it?

I’ll be entertained by the many books with titles like: Why Romney Lost

His math-illiterate, vague platform was an insult to any thinking voter. The only possible reason to vote for him was … ABO (anybody but Obama)

• “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” was not the title of the editorial he wrote for the NY Times. Whomever penned that catchy headline — Obama owes him a drink

• the worst decision of the Supreme Court in a long, long time was Citizens United. Corporations are not people. Campaign spending should be limited, difficult as that is to do.

• men talking about rape is a very, very bad idea

In fact, a good rule of thumb for men — DON”T talk about women’s bodies on the campaign trail.

• I loved how Chris Christie blew off partisan politics when his own people were in crisis. He’ll never be the Republican candidate.

• the trend is towards approve Gay marriage. Get used to it.

• the trend is to a more diverse population. Politicians anti-immigrant, racist and those surrounded by white advisers will lose. Expect Asian and Hispanic Americans to get more vocal.

• John McCain’s daughter, Meghan, calls for the GOP to #evolve

More than a few dinosaurs need go extinct

• most Tea Party and Occupy proponents simply protest — they don’t have much to offer as politicians. I hope both movements fizzle over the next 4yrs. The Tea Party has done more damage than good.

• young people are most influenced politically by two TV programs on the Comedy Network: Daily Show & Colbert. Both are left wing. (Colbert is my favourite show, so I must be young at heart.)

Republicans need a candidate who can handle youth culture and social media —  McCain and Romney? … Not so good.

• voters watching Fox News and MSNBC know less about government than those who watched any other news source. Or none. Folks who watch NPR and the Daily Show know most.

The right wing pundits at FOX really seem to believe their talking points. That’s surprising. O’Reilly is not a fool.

• Read my lips: Republicans need stop signing Grover Norquist’s NO TAX Pledge. It hamstrings.

• the trend is towards legalized marijuana. Colorado & Washington have legalized recreational use. It’s inevitable that ganja will be as restricted as alcohol.

Personally, I think the USA is doomed. I can’t see any way out for their polarized government. The debt and deficit will continue to balloon.

The trillions in debt will grow. I can’t see any way they can repay with both parties refusing to raise revenue.

Where are new trillion dollar industries going to come from?

Potential for American growth is limited to small business.

America could do better than Barack Obama; sadly, Mitt Romney does not fit the bill

future

• there’s some chance Obama will end the expensive, ineffective war on drugs

• accelerate troop withdrawals. QUIT putting boots on the ground in other nations. Bring the troops home and have them work on infrastructure.

• some day, hopefully within my lifetime, women will take over politics. And I trust women more than I trust men. In 2012 Americans elected a record 19% women to the Senate.

19% !! — WOW … That’s something to celebrate 😦

Tammy Baldwin made history when she became Wisconsin’s first female senator and America’s first openly gay senator. (VIDEO) … Homophobe Paul Ryan’s neighbour.

Next President?

Best would be a bilingual (Spanish & English) woman. Fiscal conservative. Advocating a very minimum social safety net. Requiring individuals who live or work in the USA to pay taxes. Requiring corporations earning money in the USA to pay taxes. Advocating a major reduction in the military. Focused on improving the American infrastructure: roads, rapid transit, sewage, etc.

Increasing regulations of banks.

… In the meantime, this guy’s got problems.

I wish him well.

Sincere thanks to everyone who engaged in the issues of the American election. I learned a lot.

Thanks also to the gluttons for punishment who decided not to HIDE me on Facebook.

Note the very, very few in 2012 who are willing to voice political support online for either Democrats or Republicans. It’s very divisive.

There truly are two Americas. If you could wave a magic wand, something like this wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Folks would have to MOVE. Like they moved between Pakistans and India when that nation broke up.

biggest winner last night – Nate Silver

On By Rick McIn blogs, ethics, government, product endorsements, things getting betterLeave a comment

… Silver runs a blog called FiveThirtyEight, which is licensed by the Times. In 2008 he called the presidential election with incredible accuracy, getting 49 out of 50 states right.

But this year he rolled a perfect score, 50 out of 50, even nailing the margins in many cases. His uncanny accuracy on this year’s election represents what Rowinski calls a victory of “logic over punditry.”

… What does it mean when some punk kid baseball nerd can just wade into politics and start kicking butt on all these long-time “experts” who have spent their entire lives covering politics?

It means something big is happening.

… The age of voodoo is over. The era of talking about something as a “dark art” is done. In a world with big computers and big data, there are no dark arts. …

Read Write Web – Why Nate Silver Won, And Why It Matters

The fact check sites have helped. But what we really need are the facts.

It’s time to take down bloviating pundits in the USA, Dick Morris often being listed as WORST.

It’s Moneyball time. 🙂

Economist magazine endorses Obama

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, government1 Comment

I concur exactly with the fiscally conservative news magazine out of the U.K.

America could do better than Barack Obama; sadly, Mitt Romney does not fit the bill

… A man who once personified hope and centrism set a new low by unleashing attacks on Mitt Romney even before the first Republican primary. Yet elections are about choosing somebody to run a country. And this choice turns on two questions: how good a president has Mr Obama been, especially on the main issues of the economy and foreign policy? And can America really trust the ever-changing Mitt Romney to do a better job? On that basis, the Democrat narrowly deserves to be re-elected.

… The other qualified achievement is health reform. Even to a newspaper with no love for big government, the fact that over 40m people had no health coverage in a country as rich as America was a scandal. “Obamacare” will correct that, but Mr Obama did very little to deal with the system’s other flaw—its huge and unaffordable costs.

Above all, Mr Obama has shown no readiness to tackle the main domestic issue confronting the next president: America cannot continue to tax like a small government but spend like a big one. …

… far from being the voice of fiscal prudence, Mr Romney wants to start with huge tax cuts (which will disproportionately favour the wealthy), while dramatically increasing defence spending. Together those measures would add $7 trillion to the ten-year deficit. He would balance the books through eliminating loopholes (a good idea, but he will not specify which ones) and through savage cuts to programmes that help America’s poor (a bad idea, which will increase inequality still further). …

… the extremism of his party is Mr Romney’s greatest handicap …

The devil we know

We very much hope that whichever of these men wins office will prove our pessimism wrong. …

Many of The Economist’s readers, especially those who run businesses in America, may well conclude that nothing could be worse than another four years of Mr Obama. We beg to differ. …

Our American endorsement
Which one?

It’s well worth reading every word of that article. They nailed it.

It may not matter which is President. The next 4yrs will be far worse than the last 4yrs.

Both parties are unwilling to raise revenue, very reluctant to reduce spending. The children of this generation are the ones left in the rubble.

U.S. elections are too expensive

On By Rick McIn economics, governmentLeave a comment

U.S. elections are too expensive — $928,638,361 on campaign money alone — and too lengthy. Everyone interested has had MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME to consider the issues. 😦

How could that be improved?

GigaOm suggests it’s time to take the election online. That could both reduce costs and increase the number of voters.

If Banks can prevent electronic fraud, it’s certainly possible to do so for electronic voting.

I’d give the “password” details for voting to everyone who submits an income tax form.

polarized American electorate

On By Rick McIn governmentLeave a comment

It’s amazing to me how many Americans are violently anti-Republican. Or violently anti-Democrat.

https://twitter.com/jennysgay/statuses/260550772402552832

In the end, only swing States matter.

And maybe only Ohio matters.

I'm not sure anything can be fixed in a nation where folks hate the other 50% of the population.

Harry Truman on Republicans

On By Rick McIn governmentLeave a comment

Sounds like 2012.

President Harry S. Truman
October 13, 1948

Well, I have been studying the Republican Party for over 12 years at close hand in the Capital of the United States. And by this time, I have discovered where the Republicans stand on most of the major issues.

Since they won’t tell you themselves, I am going to tell you.

They approve of the American farmer-but they are willing to help him go broke.

They stand four-square for the American home–but not for housing.

They are strong for labor–but they are stronger for restricting labor’s rights.

They favor a minimum wage–the smaller the minimum the better.

They indorse educational opportunity for all–but they won’t spend money for teachers or for schools.

They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine–for people who can afford them.

…

They think the American standard of living is a fine thing–so long as it doesn’t spread to all the people.

And they admire the Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it.

Now, my friends, that is the Wall Street Republican way of life. But there is another way–there is another way–the Democratic way, the way of the Democratic Party.

Of course, the Democratic Party is not perfect. Nobody ever said it was. …

full speech

(via Snopes)

bringing manufacturing back …

On By Rick McIn Apple, education, government, product endorsements, robotsLeave a comment

Apple once manufactured in the USA.

Almost everything, in 2012, is now made overseas.

Steve Jobs famously told Obama, “Those jobs aren’t coming back.”

Even at that time, I thought Steve was wrong. Sooner or later the difference in wages will diminish enough to start bringing manufacturing plants back to the richest nations.

Trade embargoes could speed that up. But better would be using technology like Baxter …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… Affordably priced ($22,000), versatile and safe enough to work shoulder-to-shoulder with people, Baxter robots redefine how small, mid-size and large domestic manufacturers use automation to compete with manufacturers in low-cost regions of the world.

Baxter can’t build an iPhone yet, but it won’t be long.

(via Mashable)

The American people are ANGRY

On By Rick McIn government1 Comment

Senator Bernard Sanders, a left leaning Democrat, makes more sense than any other American politician I’ve heard during this campaign. The man is passionate.

Will he run for President next time?

Click PLAY or watch him on YouTube. (June 27th, 2012)

Bernard “Bernie” Sanders (born September 8, 1941) is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. …

Polling conducted in August 2011 by Public Policy Polling found that Sanders’ approval rating was 67% and his disapproval rating 28%, making him the third most popular Senator in the country. …

I can see why.

Committee member on U.S. Science, Space and Technology says Earth Is 9,000 Years Old

On By Rick McIn education, GOP USA, government, things getting worseLeave a comment

The earth is about 9,000 years old, according to U.S. House Representative Paul Broun, who is also a physician and member of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology of the House of Representatives.

“There are a lot of scientific data that I’ve found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young earth, ” Broun said in a videotape of the Sportsmen’s Banquet held on September 27 at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell, Georgia. “I don’t believe that the earth is but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them.”

via Scientific American

Paul Collins Broun, Jr. (born May 14, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 10th congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party Caucus. …

Broun has been married four times. He has a son with his fourth wife, Nikki, and two daughters from previous marriages …

Seems to me a guy married 4 times is doomed to the “Pit of Hell”.

Young Earth creationism (YEC) is the religious belief that the Universe, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago. Its primary adherents are those Christians and Jews who believe that God created the Earth in six 24-hour days, using a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative as a basis.

The scientific consensus, supported by a 2006 statement by 68 national and international science academies, is that it is evidence-based fact derived from observations and experiments in multiple scientific disciplines that the universe has existed for around 13 billion years, that the Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago with life first appearing at least 2.5 billion years ago. …

I stand with the vast majority of scientists. It makes no sense to me that an eternal God would have created the world with millions of years of fossil records.

You can see evolution with your own eyes at the Burgess Shale in the Rockies.

Of course, Scientific American magazine considers Young Earth creationism nonsense.

That’s the same magazine that reports uncomfortable truths like this: Free Birth Control Access Can Reduce Abortion Rate By More than Half

I respect Paul Broun’s right to his own opinion. But how did he get on Science, Space and Technology?

Who’s fault was that?