Red State/Blue State

  Not so fast Bernie: Hillary watchers take note. The big wins for Bernie in Caucus states, Hawaii, Washington State and Alaska, seemed to account for around 60,000 or so voters (Alaska had a whopping 500 people caucusing for Dems!). True, Bernie won big, but as for raw vote tabulation, the numbers don’t add up. Hillary still has an insurmountable lead in vote totals where large populations live. In the long run, Hillary leads “bigly” as Trump would say, in New York and California, which make up the bulk of the remaining vote count that will put her over the top to become the nominee. It’s slightly disingenuous, which Bernie’s folks love to say about Hillary, to claim that the momentum from these wins will lead to the nomination. Sanders would have to pull off some amazing sleight of hand to win the nomination of the Democratic Party. That’s without the Super-Delegates.   The Super-Delegates seem to be the coolant that the GOP lacks. Republica...

  In honor of the newest voting block seen in these United States, it stands to reason that they should create their very own Manifesto:   We hereby state, as the intentionally low-information voting block:   A)     We do not believe that Barack Obama is the legitimate President of the United States. He is a secret Muslim, working on an agenda that only he knows. B)     Donald Trump , although flawed as a candidate, is someone worthy of the highest office. He is a secret Man of the People. C)     We believe  Justice Anthony Scalia was somehow mysteriously murdered. D)     We don’t believe in Polling Data E)      We don’t believe in Scientific Data. F)      We don’t believe in Data, analysis, or statistics of any kind. Except that which Fox News or Bill O’Reilly happens to mention on any given night. G)  ...

    In Greek Mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam of Troy. When the God Apollo tried to seduce her, she refused him, and to punish her, she received the gift of prophecy, but also the curse of never being believed.   In modern times, Hillary Clinton draws some comparisons with the Cassandra of myth and Greek tragedy. When Bernie speaks of the Revolution which will enable all Americans to have health care, while at the same time exacting revenge on Wall Street for their many transgressions, he is truly believed.   When Donald Trump speaks of the mythical wall that will miraculously be built and paid for by Mexico, he is believed. So the myth continues. The one who is seen as   “honest and trustworthy” tells his supporters things that cannot possible come true. And the one who vows to only promise that which is within her power to enact is considered the liar. So it goes.

    Here’s a partial synopsis from the Ugly American with Marlon Brando, released in 1963. Brando’s character, MacWhite, has only the most rudimentary knowledge and simplistic understanding of the political situation in a Southeast Asian country that is on the brink of civil war. Because of MacWhite’s intervention and his arrogant ignorance, it becomes too late to help the fictional nation. The book and film underscore the fact that the purpose of the original diplomatic delegation sent to intervene in Asia began as a peacekeeping mission.   One of the original authors of the book, William Lederer, had been in the navy and served as special assistant to the Pacific Fleet commander in the fifties. Co-authors Lederer and Burdock had based the character of the “ Ugly American ” on a loose composite of many different people they had met along the way. Now, in the 21 st Century election for President of the United States, the Ugly American rears its ugly head. ...

·           Can this Marriage be Saved? There seems to be a disturbance in the force with the Tea Party activists and the rare seldom sighted moderate Republicans all coming out of the woodwork to ask what happened. There seems to be no way to reunite the odd, feuding factions that have erupted into deep schisms in the Republican Party. All one can do is to grab popcorn and stay tuned for what The Donald will do or say next… ·          Can he be Stopped? If you plaster his face at the post office, with the caption below Donald Trump’s picture reading, Can Someone stop this man?, would anyone be able to act? The GOP seems to be in a panic suddenly, as they realize that this man is soon to become the new face of the Grand Old Party.   ·      Old adages do apply: “ Nice Guys Finish Last ” We’ve learned over the course of the last few weeks that those tired old ...

    After sitting and watching C-Span for a few minutes, I decided to take notes on what's playing for one week on their channels. What I found was a wide swath of interesting topics that will inform voters and citizens about the state of our current Political System as well as giving viewers a rudimentary understanding of American History.        All this tells me that on any given day on C-Span, one can learn more about the American Constitution; the history of the United States and our future by simply sitting and watching and taking notes the way we did when we were in class. We can learn about the alleviation of hunger globally. This is not “pie in the sky” but something that the United Nations says is achievable in our lifetime. There is a plan, where the major industrial nations pledge a certain amount of money to make this an entirely achievable goal. In connection with global hunger is a book about life in one of Ken...

      The fight is on! Little did we know it was going to be between younger vs older women. Words like bring out the vote, suffrage, the Voting Rights Act, Equal pay for equal work, Women’s Lib, Women’s Equality, the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act…all of these resonate with women “of a certain age.” But not with college women. They are with Bernie.       And then there’s Barney Frank. Speaking of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, Frank had mused once, “ Where were these young people when we were trying to pass Dodd-Frank?”   The next musing is from me: “Do they know how laws are passed? And do they really want a Revolution?” Because the candidate of Hope & Change that did cause quite a bit of political upheaval was Barack Obama. His hard-fought contest with Hillary ended with his election, and a contentious battle over Health Care (Obamacare), and the passage of Wall Street reform that became the Dodd-Frank Bill. ...