Hillary Clinton has a chance to make history as the first woman to be elected to the office of the United States President. It would be poetic justice for her to defeat her opponent, Donald Trump, who has in the past boasted about his womanizing. Women all across the country should of course make the effort to get out and vote not only to vote for Clinton, but to come out in force to show the influence and power that they really wield in America.
Yet, there are some diehard Republican women who think that a notoriously narcissistic, less than reputable businessman is still the only clear choice in this election. They think that Trump's portrayal of Clinton as part of a broken political system that only an outsider like Trump can repair, is an accurate description of our current situation. I think that electing a woman president is a better option for helping to change politics in America, although it does look like overall Clinton will pretty much maintain the political status quo. While I think change may be good, the kind of changes that Trump has proposed will spell nothing but trouble for the United States. I also do not think that Trump has the political wherewithal to make all the the changes he claims he wants to make.
If Clinton is not elected president, the United States will not have have the opportunity to make history, but it will become history. Women really need to show their support by getting out to vote for Clinton and show the world how much American women really matter.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Friday, May 27, 2016
Republican Party's acceptance of Donald Trump and why this is a bad thing.
I can't believe all the changes that have taken place in past month since I have posted here. Donald Trump managed to get the votes necessary to win the Republican nomination for President. Now, the Republican party looks like it has a truce with Trump.
This should be a warning sign to voters that Trump has no intention of keeping any of his campaign promises, and he will likely fall into to the mode of the regular right-wing conservative once elected. There will be no wall between the United States and Mexico and there will be renegotiated deals with mainland China. He has already stated that he has no plans to raise taxes on the rich, he is going to drop taxes on everybody and then gradually raise them on the rich, but they will be paying much less taxes than they currently pay.
It looks like it will be Republican business as usual if Trump is elected. I think Trump has figured that it is OK to lie to the American people, because most politicians lie anyway.
There is still an outside chance that Trump is shill for Hilary Clinton and when it comes time for the Presidential campaigning he will try to completely alienate himself from voters. There will be an audio recording of him leaked out saying how he really plans to totally screw over the American worker and help out his new wealthy cronies of the Republican far right. Or some other purposely leaked information to make sure that Clinton wins the race for President. This of course, is probably just wishful thinking on my part.
Whatever happens, it has been a wild ride so far. Jimmy Kimmel live had a sketch featuring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick doing a parody of their Broadway show, "The Producers." They play their characters as campaign managers looking to make Trump a false candidate so he can loose the nomination and they can keep all the campaign money. Of course their plan backfires like in the play and they loose everything. This just like how the American people will loose everything if Trump is elected.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
The Controversy over the $15 minimum wage, what rich people are really afraid of.
California and New York now both have $15 an hour minimum wage bills signed into law. This is great, but I think in most of the urban areas of those states you need at $25 dollars an hour just to get by, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
Already there are company CEOs, such as Andy Puzder, of Carl Jr. Burger, saying that he now wants to eliminate jobs with automation as a counter against the minimum wage.
The real thing that the wealthy do not like about the minimum wage, other than taking money out of their own personal profits, is the impact it will have on inflation. For many business, especially, I would imagine, fast food, the biggest expense is labor cost. Labor cost increases mean that businesses would have to charge more for goods and services in order to see the same level of profit. Also workers will have more money to spend making more of a demand for other goods and services and their prices will go up. This will start a rise in inflation, and if you like to gamble on the stock market like many wealthy people do, you will have a harder time borrowing money because inflation will ultimately make interest payments go up. The stock market won't get the infusion cash it needs and stock prices will ultimately go down, making it very hard to make easy money with stock investments. This why stock markets tend to drop in value when investors hear that the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates.
Andy Puzder is a long way off from Henry Ford, who wanted to make sure his employees made a fair wage in order for them to afford the cars that they were building in his factory. A well paid employee is actually good for business and good for making the economy grow. Poor and middle income people who have money are more likely to spend the money they earn because in many cases they have no other choice, while wealthy people can horde their money in offshore banks that will do no good to anyone other than the bank and themselves. Henry Ford understood Keynesian economics, and I think the wealthy business owners understand Keynes as well they just choose to ignore him for an economic policy that says that they get to keep all of the money.
I just cannot believe how callous wealthy people can be to the common man. The minimum wage increase helps make their lives more comfortable, but this is unacceptable to the wealthy just so they can make greater profits and fatten their own wallets.
Already there are company CEOs, such as Andy Puzder, of Carl Jr. Burger, saying that he now wants to eliminate jobs with automation as a counter against the minimum wage.
The real thing that the wealthy do not like about the minimum wage, other than taking money out of their own personal profits, is the impact it will have on inflation. For many business, especially, I would imagine, fast food, the biggest expense is labor cost. Labor cost increases mean that businesses would have to charge more for goods and services in order to see the same level of profit. Also workers will have more money to spend making more of a demand for other goods and services and their prices will go up. This will start a rise in inflation, and if you like to gamble on the stock market like many wealthy people do, you will have a harder time borrowing money because inflation will ultimately make interest payments go up. The stock market won't get the infusion cash it needs and stock prices will ultimately go down, making it very hard to make easy money with stock investments. This why stock markets tend to drop in value when investors hear that the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates.
Andy Puzder is a long way off from Henry Ford, who wanted to make sure his employees made a fair wage in order for them to afford the cars that they were building in his factory. A well paid employee is actually good for business and good for making the economy grow. Poor and middle income people who have money are more likely to spend the money they earn because in many cases they have no other choice, while wealthy people can horde their money in offshore banks that will do no good to anyone other than the bank and themselves. Henry Ford understood Keynesian economics, and I think the wealthy business owners understand Keynes as well they just choose to ignore him for an economic policy that says that they get to keep all of the money.
I just cannot believe how callous wealthy people can be to the common man. The minimum wage increase helps make their lives more comfortable, but this is unacceptable to the wealthy just so they can make greater profits and fatten their own wallets.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
The media's negative spin on Bernie Sanders.
The mainstream media is really downplaying Bernie Sanders's state primary and caucus wins and greatly touting Hillary Clinton's victories. Could it be that corporate controlled media is afraid of a Sanders presidential candidate nomination? Clinton is really the Republican-light candidate and would fit in with business-as-usual politics, therefore I am not surprised that the media is spinning a certain Clinton victory. But I am thinking that things are not so certain.
The Republican party is so hell-bent on getting rid of Trump, but I think that Trump will disappear if Sanders gets the nomination. This is because I still believe that Trump is a shill for Hillary. I think if Republican party wants Trump to go away they should make sure that Sanders wins in all of the remaining states and gets the presidential nomination.
I do hope that Sanders gets the nomination because I do believe he is the only hope for saving the American middle class.
The Republican party is so hell-bent on getting rid of Trump, but I think that Trump will disappear if Sanders gets the nomination. This is because I still believe that Trump is a shill for Hillary. I think if Republican party wants Trump to go away they should make sure that Sanders wins in all of the remaining states and gets the presidential nomination.
I do hope that Sanders gets the nomination because I do believe he is the only hope for saving the American middle class.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Bernie Sanders really needs to win on Super Tuesday.
I really hope that Bernie Sanders comes through on Super Tuesday. After not the greatest showings in Nevada and South Carolina, I am concerned for his campaign.
I think Massachusetts and Vermont will come through for Sanders, but a lot of the states voting on Super Tuesday are southern states, and because the Clintons are from the South, Hillary may have the advantage there.
I was surprised that a lot of Sanders's supporters are twenty-somethings. They are probably recent college graduates who see very little employment opportunities using the skill-set that they learned in college. They are probably unemployed or underemployed and they are the first generation to get the full brunt of country destroying policies of Nixon, Reagan, and two Bushes. They see a not very bright future ahead for this country as I do, and Bernie Sanders is the only candidate really promising to do something about it.
If Hillary Clinton gets the nomination I will vote for her , but her husband has done some lasting damage to this country as well. NAFTA and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act under his administration has also weakened this country's economy, therefore I worry that Hillary is also a wolf in sheep's clothing.
I know Barack Obama ran on a platform of change and didn't deliver, but it doesn't mean that Sanders will be the same way. I think he will at least make the effort. If Clinton gets into office the Republicans will hem and haw about her, but I think ultimately she will do there bidding and not make any more change than Obama did in his two terms.
It is very important for Sanders supporters to participate on Super Tuesday if is campaign is going to continue to have momentum, so please get out to vote on March 1.
I think Massachusetts and Vermont will come through for Sanders, but a lot of the states voting on Super Tuesday are southern states, and because the Clintons are from the South, Hillary may have the advantage there.
I was surprised that a lot of Sanders's supporters are twenty-somethings. They are probably recent college graduates who see very little employment opportunities using the skill-set that they learned in college. They are probably unemployed or underemployed and they are the first generation to get the full brunt of country destroying policies of Nixon, Reagan, and two Bushes. They see a not very bright future ahead for this country as I do, and Bernie Sanders is the only candidate really promising to do something about it.
If Hillary Clinton gets the nomination I will vote for her , but her husband has done some lasting damage to this country as well. NAFTA and the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act under his administration has also weakened this country's economy, therefore I worry that Hillary is also a wolf in sheep's clothing.
I know Barack Obama ran on a platform of change and didn't deliver, but it doesn't mean that Sanders will be the same way. I think he will at least make the effort. If Clinton gets into office the Republicans will hem and haw about her, but I think ultimately she will do there bidding and not make any more change than Obama did in his two terms.
It is very important for Sanders supporters to participate on Super Tuesday if is campaign is going to continue to have momentum, so please get out to vote on March 1.
Friedrichs vs. California Teachers' Union and the death of the middle class. Or mandatory union dues do not limit free speech and here is why.
Destroying organized labor, in the form of labor unions, has always been one of the ultimate goals of rich Americans and the radical right-wingers that dominate today's Republican party. To achieve this goal, they have moved almost all manufacturing overseas (when practical) and are in the process of off -shoring as many service jobs as possible, and, of course, with each passing year new technologies are designed to take away more and more jobs.
Pesky labor unions are still around for many state's civil service employees because those jobs are harder to offshore. But the wealthy right-wingers have been slowly working on taking away the collective bargaining rights of workers. The ironically named "right-to-work" legislation passed in several states takes away the ability for unions to charge dues and some states to not allow civil service employees to unionize at all (which in my opinion should also be unconstitutional.) It should be called "right-to-work for low wages and in poor conditions"
The Friedrichs vs. California Teachers' Union case which was heard before the United States Supreme Court in January would take away all unions' rights to charge mandatory dues to all employees regardless of whether or not they want to participate in the union. This would weaken any remaining unions in the United States. Fortunately before the decision could be written up, right-wing Justice Antonin Scalia died, This leaves the case in limbo, and I am not certain if a decision will ever be official. The lower court had ruled in favor of the Teacher's Union which would maintain unions for now, if the Justices hold the ruling to only the surviving members of the Supreme Court. However if this attack fails, I am sure there are other lawsuits either in progress or ready to launch trying to do the same thing.
The argument against the California Teachers' Union's right to charge dues to all members, states that mandatory dues take away the right to free speech. I would agree with that however, unionized employers are now few and far between, therefore workers have a right not to choose to work for a unionized business or organization or not. Their free speech is protected by them not working for a unionized school district. I am sure there are union free school districts in California as well as non-union private schools, Ms. Friedrichs could have utilized her free speech by choosing to work for one of those districts or schools. I think free speech should only come into question if all employers in the United States had unions and the worker had no choice as to whether or not to work for a unionized employer.
As the right-wingers constantly push their agenda through, you have progressives like Elizabeth Warren trying to get legislation passed that will force employers to give worker sufficient notice about shift changes and working overtime. She sponsored the "Schedules that Work Act" which basically regulates how employers can change schedules. This is something that unions would normally do, but since unions are being eliminated you know have to have laws modify labor practices nationwide.
If the unions are completely wiped-out the American middle-class will eventually be wiped-out as well. I do not know who Rachel Friedrichs is but if you Google her, you get a picture of someone who has wry smile on her face, a look that says, "I am getting a big payday for doing this, and you stupid unionized workers are all going all be out of jobs or working for minimum wage very soon, heh, heh, heh," I am not sure if this was the intention, but that's what the photo looks like to me.
Whether you worked for a unionized employer or not, it is important to support labor unions, if we want to continue to have a middle class, but if the wealthy right-wingers get their way labor unions will quickly become a thing of the past.
Pesky labor unions are still around for many state's civil service employees because those jobs are harder to offshore. But the wealthy right-wingers have been slowly working on taking away the collective bargaining rights of workers. The ironically named "right-to-work" legislation passed in several states takes away the ability for unions to charge dues and some states to not allow civil service employees to unionize at all (which in my opinion should also be unconstitutional.) It should be called "right-to-work for low wages and in poor conditions"
The Friedrichs vs. California Teachers' Union case which was heard before the United States Supreme Court in January would take away all unions' rights to charge mandatory dues to all employees regardless of whether or not they want to participate in the union. This would weaken any remaining unions in the United States. Fortunately before the decision could be written up, right-wing Justice Antonin Scalia died, This leaves the case in limbo, and I am not certain if a decision will ever be official. The lower court had ruled in favor of the Teacher's Union which would maintain unions for now, if the Justices hold the ruling to only the surviving members of the Supreme Court. However if this attack fails, I am sure there are other lawsuits either in progress or ready to launch trying to do the same thing.
The argument against the California Teachers' Union's right to charge dues to all members, states that mandatory dues take away the right to free speech. I would agree with that however, unionized employers are now few and far between, therefore workers have a right not to choose to work for a unionized business or organization or not. Their free speech is protected by them not working for a unionized school district. I am sure there are union free school districts in California as well as non-union private schools, Ms. Friedrichs could have utilized her free speech by choosing to work for one of those districts or schools. I think free speech should only come into question if all employers in the United States had unions and the worker had no choice as to whether or not to work for a unionized employer.
As the right-wingers constantly push their agenda through, you have progressives like Elizabeth Warren trying to get legislation passed that will force employers to give worker sufficient notice about shift changes and working overtime. She sponsored the "Schedules that Work Act" which basically regulates how employers can change schedules. This is something that unions would normally do, but since unions are being eliminated you know have to have laws modify labor practices nationwide.
If the unions are completely wiped-out the American middle-class will eventually be wiped-out as well. I do not know who Rachel Friedrichs is but if you Google her, you get a picture of someone who has wry smile on her face, a look that says, "I am getting a big payday for doing this, and you stupid unionized workers are all going all be out of jobs or working for minimum wage very soon, heh, heh, heh," I am not sure if this was the intention, but that's what the photo looks like to me.
Whether you worked for a unionized employer or not, it is important to support labor unions, if we want to continue to have a middle class, but if the wealthy right-wingers get their way labor unions will quickly become a thing of the past.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Donald Trump's road to the Republican presidential candidate nomination is going as I predicted.
Instead of the ultra-conservative right-wingers trying capitalize on Donald Trump's appeal, they are, of course, flat-out denouncing him as a viable candidate for President. A recent issue of the conservative magazine "The National Review" has the front cover dedicated to a multi-author feature entitled "Conservatives Against Trump." The feature's authors go down a laundry list of how Trump is not aligned with conservative movement and therefore not a viable Republican candidate.
Trump is of course winning most of his primaries and caucuses and most likely will continue to do so, because what he says, no matter how nastily he says it, is more in line with what Americans want to hear.
The conservative movement is really for the top 1 percent of earners and magazines like "The National Review," "The Weekly Standard" and news organizations like Fox are out to market it to the masses. They refuse to see that Trump's success shows that their message is no longer getting through to the American people. They cannot keep saying that, "white is black" (or in an economic sense "red is black") and get away with it.
I still think that the top 1 percenters and the Tea Partiers are going to continue to denounce Trump every chance they get, and when the time comes for the Republican convention, they will push delegates into voting for the number two candidate instead of Trump. Whether or not this actually happens, at some point Trump will get disgusted and run as a third-party independent candidate.
I do not think Trump is a serious candidate for United States and he may only be there to help ensure Clinton gets voted into the White House. I can't imagine he says the things he says in such a tactless manner and expects to be taken seriously. I am willing to bet if Sanders gets the Democratic nomination Trump will drop out of the race altogether. We can just wait and see what happens.
And to make things worse, billionaire and former NYC Mayor, is also considering running for President as an independent. I think his candidacy will be more about the hot button issue of gun control, and upset conservatives even further by ensuring a Republican loss. Whatever happens it is going to be a very interesting election year.
Trump is of course winning most of his primaries and caucuses and most likely will continue to do so, because what he says, no matter how nastily he says it, is more in line with what Americans want to hear.
The conservative movement is really for the top 1 percent of earners and magazines like "The National Review," "The Weekly Standard" and news organizations like Fox are out to market it to the masses. They refuse to see that Trump's success shows that their message is no longer getting through to the American people. They cannot keep saying that, "white is black" (or in an economic sense "red is black") and get away with it.
I still think that the top 1 percenters and the Tea Partiers are going to continue to denounce Trump every chance they get, and when the time comes for the Republican convention, they will push delegates into voting for the number two candidate instead of Trump. Whether or not this actually happens, at some point Trump will get disgusted and run as a third-party independent candidate.
I do not think Trump is a serious candidate for United States and he may only be there to help ensure Clinton gets voted into the White House. I can't imagine he says the things he says in such a tactless manner and expects to be taken seriously. I am willing to bet if Sanders gets the Democratic nomination Trump will drop out of the race altogether. We can just wait and see what happens.
And to make things worse, billionaire and former NYC Mayor, is also considering running for President as an independent. I think his candidacy will be more about the hot button issue of gun control, and upset conservatives even further by ensuring a Republican loss. Whatever happens it is going to be a very interesting election year.
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Ted Cruz is Canadian. And he scares me.
Ted Cruz is in my opinion Canadian. At one point he had dual citizenship. He has renounced his Canadian citizenship, but this means nothing. Americans are not allowed to have dual citizenship, period. Go try to become a citizen of another country and try to remain United States citizen, just try to do it and see what happens This means that Cruz is Canadian and he should not be allowed to run for United States President. Yet he seems to have quite a great deal of financial backing to skirt the law.
It is just like the rich elite to want show off how the law does not apply to them. They are special and they want to get a Canadian in as President just to show how powerful they really are.
Another thing that bothers me about Ted Cruz aside from this ultra-right-wing agenda is that he is very disturbing to look at. He is very uncharismatic in my opinion. While running for President is not a beauty contest, a Presidential candidate should have a certain commanding yet comforting presence. Cruz just gives me the heebie jeebies. I cannot see how right-wing supporters can look at him and say, oh this is the guy I want running this country, but I guess he is telling them what they want to here in order to get their financial support. The appeal is there for them, but I just don't see it.
There are lawsuits against Cruz trying to stop him from running because of his past Canadian citizenship, he should not have the right to. I am just amazed that this would not scare financial backers away, because he may not be a viable candidate. Trump has the right to sue him, but hasn't done it yet. Perhaps he is afraid it will backfire and make Cruz some sore of right-wing martyr.
Ironically, if Cruz becomes President, I think a lot of Americans are going to want move to Canada, but I doubt the Canadians will want to let us in. I hope someone will stop Ted Cruz, because I think that even if Trump wins the Republican party will not let the delegates vote for him at the Republican convention. And if my theory is correct, Trump will only run as an independent if Hilary wins the Democratic nomination.
I hope in the end the lawsuits challenging Cruz's right to run for President will eventually do him in as a viable candidate.
It is just like the rich elite to want show off how the law does not apply to them. They are special and they want to get a Canadian in as President just to show how powerful they really are.
Another thing that bothers me about Ted Cruz aside from this ultra-right-wing agenda is that he is very disturbing to look at. He is very uncharismatic in my opinion. While running for President is not a beauty contest, a Presidential candidate should have a certain commanding yet comforting presence. Cruz just gives me the heebie jeebies. I cannot see how right-wing supporters can look at him and say, oh this is the guy I want running this country, but I guess he is telling them what they want to here in order to get their financial support. The appeal is there for them, but I just don't see it.
There are lawsuits against Cruz trying to stop him from running because of his past Canadian citizenship, he should not have the right to. I am just amazed that this would not scare financial backers away, because he may not be a viable candidate. Trump has the right to sue him, but hasn't done it yet. Perhaps he is afraid it will backfire and make Cruz some sore of right-wing martyr.
Ironically, if Cruz becomes President, I think a lot of Americans are going to want move to Canada, but I doubt the Canadians will want to let us in. I hope someone will stop Ted Cruz, because I think that even if Trump wins the Republican party will not let the delegates vote for him at the Republican convention. And if my theory is correct, Trump will only run as an independent if Hilary wins the Democratic nomination.
I hope in the end the lawsuits challenging Cruz's right to run for President will eventually do him in as a viable candidate.
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