This sums it up; What a Liberal Does on the Fourth of July

I've posted this same article for a few years now, it's a blast from the past that unfortunately needs stated time and again. Conservatives and the right- wing don't have a monopoly on patriotism or pride in their country. And in this age of Trumpism it will be the liberals that just might save us from totalitarianism.


By Dan Bimrose,Founder, LiberalFix.com
Post @ Huffingtonpost.com
6/30/11

For certain elements of society the word liberal has become interchangeable with such words as communist, socialist and fascist.

While liberals such as myself choose to associate themselves with such historic figures as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, those same elements of society would suggest that each of us tree hugging "ne-er do wells" have a secret room with a secret wall painted red and devoted to displaying pictures of Hitler, Mussolini and Lenin.

On a day when we should all celebrate our nation and some of us recount historically accurate stories of our nation's birth, there are members of society who find it difficult to imagine that it would be possible for self-styled liberals, progressives and Democrats to find cause for celebration on the Fourth of July.

This all too common charge that those like us are unpatriotic and un-American is an allegation that I take great umbrage with.

By definition conservatives and liberals do not think alike and that is just fine. The idea, however, that liberals are unpatriotic is absurd. Those who say such things are guilty of one of two things, they are either ignorant or they are lying with the intent of influencing your opinion so that it more closely represents their opinion.

Liberals do find it difficult to stomach the assertion that our founding fathers believed that there is an inherit bias toward discrimination in the documents and actions produced by those very same founding fathers.

I will allow that the 3/5 compromise which allowed for slaves to be counted as 3/5 of a white man for the purpose of determining a states representation in Congress, and the lack of a provision guaranteeing women the right to vote were monumental fails in regards to discrimination. The need to compromise to achieve a bigger goal allowed for these fails to exist.

Time, acquired wisdom, and progress would eventually fix these wrongs. Liberals respect, honor and cherish the Constitution as an evolving document capable of being changed when we as a nation are ready for change.

We believe that the founders had it right when they said in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We believe this to be the very worthy intent of our founding fathers.

We acknowledge conservatives love the Constitution as well. Well, they love certain parts of the Constitution. Different conservative groups would love to repeal a variety of amendments including the 8th, the 14th, the 16th, the 17th, the 19th and possibly the 26th amendment.

Liberals do believe that children born in the inner city or poverty stricken rural areas deserve the same access to health care as blue bloods spending the holiday on Martha's Vineyard. We are not unpatriotic because we believe this. Perhaps you could call us compassionate, but not unpatriotic.

We understand that we pass on more to our children than just budgets and balance sheets. We also pass on the environment and the planet to our children and grandchildren. Regardless of whether or not we feel that global warming is real or a myth we still value clean water and clean air.

We may not appreciate the wars we are currently fighting in the Middle East, but we love and respect our soldiers. After all they are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands.

We believe that teachers, policeman and firefighters should be paid and paid well due to their value and service to our community.

We believe that all of our children deserve libraries, gym class, and the opportunity to star in their school play.

We believe our country is great because we are a melting pot, not in spite of it. We value diversity. This is the American Way. This was the American dream.

We pay our taxes, but think that the wealthiest amongst us and the most profitable industries can share in bearing a little extra burden to fix our government's mistakes.

We believe that our senior citizens are people who have served our countries and their families well. They deserve not just our respect, but the ability to retire with the reasonable assurance that their health needs and financial needs will be met.

No, we do not agree with everything and most of the time we do not agree with anything, but it is not necessary to call each other unpatriotic or un-American. Liberals do not think conservatives are evil, we just think they are wrong. Perhaps some of the name calling conservatives out there will learn that liberals are Americans too.

What will I be doing this 4th of July?

More than likely my children will wake me up early so that we can go to the local parade, but before we leave for the parade I will hang our flag outside.

I am assuming and hoping the day will be filled with at least two Italian sausages smothered in onions, one elephant ear, and multiple lemon shake-ups. At the parade I will shake hands with a few elected officials, but reserve my support and encouragement for those politicians that are Democrats. In my part of Indiana, they need all the help they can get.

I will conclude the day by watching the local fireworks display right before rushing home to put the kids in the tub so I can clean off the cotton candy that has become caked on their faces. With any luck I will not have to get out the tweezers to remove a roasted peanut from my youngest daughter's ear.

We will go straight from the tub to the bedroom where we will sing songs and the kids will say their prayers before being tucked in and given strict orders to "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite".

So what do liberals do on the 4th of July?

Pretty much the same thing everyone else does.

Happy 4th of July and God Bless America.

What a Liberal Does on the Fourth of July

A blast from the past that I think sums it up pretty well.

By Dan Bimrose,Founder, LiberalFix.com
Post @ Huffingtonpost.com
6/30/11

For certain elements of society the word liberal has become interchangeable with such words as communist, socialist and fascist.

While liberals such as myself choose to associate themselves with such historic figures as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, those same elements of society would suggest that each of us tree hugging "ne-er do wells" have a secret room with a secret wall painted red and devoted to displaying pictures of Hitler, Mussolini and Lenin.

On a day when we should all celebrate our nation and some of us recount historically accurate stories of our nation's birth, there are members of society who find it difficult to imagine that it would be possible for self-styled liberals, progressives and Democrats to find cause for celebration on the Fourth of July.

This all too common charge that those like us are unpatriotic and un-American is an allegation that I take great umbrage with.

By definition conservatives and liberals do not think alike and that is just fine. The idea, however, that liberals are unpatriotic is absurd. Those who say such things are guilty of one of two things, they are either ignorant or they are lying with the intent of influencing your opinion so that it more closely represents their opinion.

Liberals do find it difficult to stomach the assertion that our founding fathers believed that there is an inherit bias toward discrimination in the documents and actions produced by those very same founding fathers.

I will allow that the 3/5 compromise which allowed for slaves to be counted as 3/5 of a white man for the purpose of determining a states representation in Congress, and the lack of a provision guaranteeing women the right to vote were monumental fails in regards to discrimination. The need to compromise to achieve a bigger goal allowed for these fails to exist.

Time, acquired wisdom, and progress would eventually fix these wrongs. Liberals respect, honor and cherish the Constitution as an evolving document capable of being changed when we as a nation are ready for change.

We believe that the founders had it right when they said in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We believe this to be the very worthy intent of our founding fathers.

We acknowledge conservatives love the Constitution as well. Well, they love certain parts of the Constitution. Different conservative groups would love to repeal a variety of amendments including the 8th, the 14th, the 16th, the 17th, the 19th and possibly the 26th amendment.

Liberals do believe that children born in the inner city or poverty stricken rural areas deserve the same access to health care as blue bloods spending the holiday on Martha's Vineyard. We are not unpatriotic because we believe this. Perhaps you could call us compassionate, but not unpatriotic.

We understand that we pass on more to our children than just budgets and balance sheets. We also pass on the environment and the planet to our children and grandchildren. Regardless of whether or not we feel that global warming is real or a myth we still value clean water and clean air.

We may not appreciate the wars we are currently fighting in the Middle East, but we love and respect our soldiers. After all they are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands.

We believe that teachers, policeman and firefighters should be paid and paid well due to their value and service to our community.

We believe that all of our children deserve libraries, gym class, and the opportunity to star in their school play.

We believe our country is great because we are a melting pot, not in spite of it. We value diversity. This is the American Way. This was the American dream.

We pay our taxes, but think that the wealthiest amongst us and the most profitable industries can share in bearing a little extra burden to fix our government's mistakes.

We believe that our senior citizens are people who have served our countries and their families well. They deserve not just our respect, but the ability to retire with the reasonable assurance that their health needs and financial needs will be met.

No, we do not agree with everything and most of the time we do not agree with anything, but it is not necessary to call each other unpatriotic or un-American. Liberals do not think conservatives are evil, we just think they are wrong. Perhaps some of the name calling conservatives out there will learn that liberals are Americans too.

What will I be doing this 4th of July?

More than likely my children will wake me up early so that we can go to the local parade, but before we leave for the parade I will hang our flag outside.

I am assuming and hoping the day will be filled with at least two Italian sausages smothered in onions, one elephant ear, and multiple lemon shake-ups. At the parade I will shake hands with a few elected officials, but reserve my support and encouragement for those politicians that are Democrats. In my part of Indiana, they need all the help they can get.

I will conclude the day by watching the local fireworks display right before rushing home to put the kids in the tub so I can clean off the cotton candy that has become caked on their faces. With any luck I will not have to get out the tweezers to remove a roasted peanut from my youngest daughter's ear.

We will go straight from the tub to the bedroom where we will sing songs and the kids will say their prayers before being tucked in and given strict orders to "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite".

So what do liberals do on the 4th of July?

Pretty much the same thing everyone else does.

Happy 4th of July and God Bless America.

D'Amico: "Does the Tea Party Understand the Constitution?"

This past weekend former Monmouth County Freeholder John D'Amico, wrote an outstanding article for  Salon.com titled, "Does the Tea Party understand the Constitution?". It's a wonderfully reasoned column that draws from western traditions as prescribed by the likes of  Plato, the New Testament, founding fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.Constitution, to belittle members of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus and those from the far right of the Republican party, that urge their members and supporters to respect the "individual" and the "principals" outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.Constitution, without knowing the true meaning or history behind those documents and principals.

For those that don't know former Freeholder John D'Amico, is a graduate of Harvard College and Havard Law School, he is a retired Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, is a former State Senator and also served as the Chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board. D'Amico is a thoughtful and learned person who I respect

Here is a little of what Judge D'Amico had to say:

Last month, 20 House Republicans, along with staffers from nearly 40 congressional offices attended the first meeting of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus. The three premises behind the Caucus, according to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who emceed the event, are “we’re taxed enough, we spend less than we take in, and we follow the Constitution.” This purported devotion to the founding documents echoes the themes reverberated at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March, where Sarah Palin and former Rick Santorum declared that the Declaration of Independence has given America “a set of principles and values” — and Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) urged his party to respect the individual “by going forward to the classical and timeless ideas enshrined in our Constitution.”

Naturally, these pronouncements raise a fundamental question — namely, which governmental policies and programs are consistent with the core values and ideals of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Are they the ones proposed by the Tea Party and conservatives? The Declaration of Independence proclaims that: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights governments are instituted among men …” Slavery having been abolished and women enfranchised, Thomas Jefferson’s powerful words should be read to mean that all human beings are by nature equal as persons.

A student of classic Greek philosophy, Jefferson may have derived this insight from Plato: “All men are by nature equal, made all of the same earth by the same Workman, and however we deceive ourselves, as dear to God is the poor peasant as the mighty prince.” All people have rights inherent in their human nature including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We all have bodies and brains. Although some people are smarter, better looking or more physically fit than others, we all need food, water, clothing and shelter to survive. But the mere satisfaction of our physical needs is not our ultimate goal. Our founding fathers learned from Aristotle that “happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” It is a whole life well-lived and enriched by the cumulative possession of all the goods — health, sufficient wealth, knowledge, friendship and virtue — that a moral and ethical human being ought to desire.

Accordingly, John Adams believed “the happiness of society is the end of government.” Jefferson agreed, declaring that “the care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” The pursuit of happiness is dependent on, and calls for, governmental protection of our life and health. Viewed through the prism of the Declaration, then, universal background checks for gun purchases, health care reform legislation to cover the uninsured, child care, workplace safety, laws and regulations protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink, and measures to slow or reverse global warming that science tells us is threatening the health of our planet and its human inhabitants, are essential to protect our right to life and abet our pursuit of happiness....

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The Other 60 Percent

The following is from Congressman Rush Holt's newsletter:



Since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School brought renewed national attention to preventing gun violence, at least 2,200 people have died by gunfire in homicides and accidental deaths, according to an analysis by the Huffington Post. Yet even this horrific figure does not fully describe the toll of gun violence. At least as many people have died by their own hands: nearly 60 percent of all gun deaths are suicides.

Mostly, the people who die by gun suicide would not have died but for their access to firearms. In fact, the urge to die by suicide is often overwhelming but brief. According to one study of people who attempted suicide but survived, more than two-thirds took action within an hour of deciding to kill themselves.

Someone who has access to a gun within that hour-long window and who uses it is very likely to die: about 85 percent of suicide attempts by firearm result in death. Other attempts by other means are much less likely to be fatal. For example, attempted drug overdoses are fatal only 2 percent of the time.

If you have a gun in your house, I urge you to take careful responsibility for ensuring that it is locked away from anyone who might use it in a suicide. And if you or someone you know ever considers suicide, please call 1-800-SUICIDE for help.

Equal Protection Under the Law

As a member of Congress, I begin each term by swearing an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. I take this obligation very seriously and keep a copy of the Constitution in my pocket at nearly all times.

In order to uphold this oath, I recently joined more than 200 of my colleagues in urging the courts to overturn the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a matter that, today, had its moment before the Supreme Court.

DOMA, which was passed into law in 1996, prevents the federal government from recognizing even those same-sex marriages that were lawfully performed in one of the states. The law has fractured our legal system and led to bewildering complications for same-sex spouses.

Among the many problems: DOMA may prevent a legally married woman from fully inheriting her wife’s property upon death, an issue in today’s Supreme Court case. It may prevent a legally married man from applying for citizenship on behalf of his foreign-born husband, as happened to a Princeton couple recently. It may prevent the same-sex spouses of federal employees from gaining access to health insurance.

In short, DOMA forces the federal government to choose among legal marriages, treating some as worthy and some as unworthy. And it requires federal officials to treat loving, committed couples as though they are strangers in the eyes of the law. These hurtful consequences are all the result of DOMA’s insistence upon treating some citizens as less equal than others – a clear violation, it seems to me, of the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress

Fighting for NJ Jobs and Our Energy Future

From the E-Newsletter of Congressman Rush Holt: 

Congressman Rush Holt

It is very important that our country conduct research and development for sources of energy that are alternative to fossil fuels. The research is important for jobs today and jobs for the future. With our national economy for energy well over a trillion dollars a year, it is wise to invest at least a few percent of that amount in developing clean, abundant, environmentally attractive energy sources for the future.

Fusion energy research is showing as much promise and progress as ever. As a result, a number of other countries around the world are investing more and more in fusion, both in their own national research programs and in the multi-billion-dollar international research project ITER, under construction in Europe. They see this research as crucial for their energy future and also enormously valuable to their present overall research infrastructure. The U.S., once the clear international leader in the field and still the home to many of its best scientists and engineers, plays only a fractional role in ITER.

Earlier this year, the President, who often has advanced a wise vision for America’s energy policy, now faced with real budget constraints, made what I considered a misguided decision. In his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013, he proposed increasing US contributions to the ITER project (a good idea) at the expense of the domestic research program (a bad idea).

In effect, the President proposed underfunding U.S. fusion energy research by $48 million, which would result in closing the MIT fusion research project, curtailing other university and corporate research, and laying off more than 80 people – about one-fifth of the workforce – from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), the leading U.S. center for research in the field. These workers – some of the best in the world – come to work in suits, in lab coats, and in jeans and hardhats. They are, in other words, a broad cross-section of the kind of workers we want and need in New Jersey. If these cuts became law, they would debilitate the U.S. fusion program, jeopardizing America’s role as a leader in researching clean, sustainable sources of energy.

We should participate vigorously in the international research program, but if we allow our domestic program to atrophy, we can neither contribute much to the international program nor derive much benefit from it. We should be in a position to sell energy technology to other countries, not to have to buy it. It is a big energy market out there, and growing!

As the former assistant director of the PPPL, and as someone who cares deeply about scientific research, I brought together 48 bipartisan members of Congress to oppose the fusion energy cuts. Writing to New Jersey Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the US House Subcommittee on Appropriations for Energy and Water Development, we said, “Clean energy is an area in which our government can ill-afford to fall behind.”

When his committee wrote the Energy Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2013, he chose to restore nearly full fusion funding, which would preserve these jobs in New Jersey and would keep the research underway around the country. On Wednesday this week, I joined Rep. Frelinghuysen and leaders and workers at the PPPL to thank him for his leadership. More work still remains to be done; the Senate must pass an energy funding bill that retains this new funding.

Sharing the Constitution

The U.S. Constitution is, to my mind, the greatest invention of humans: an ingenious system of checks and balances that harnesses the power of individual initiative and enhanced community that has enabled America to grow into the most powerful and beneficial nation on earth.

For many decades now, members of Congress have shared the Constitution with students and citizens by distributing pocket-sized Constitution booklets, containing the entire text of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I like to tell students it is their copy of both our statement of purpose and the operating manual for the government they are called to run. I point out that the real ingenuity of the Constitution is that it is based, not just on fixed procedures, but on ever-dynamic mechanisms of self-correction and progress toward our ideals of liberty and equality.

Last week, I went to the House floor to point out the ironic fact these booklets are out of print (for reasons political, budgetary, and procedural, beyond what I can explain easily here). I proposed an appropriations amendment, accepted by the Republicans and Democrats, to print again these pocket Constitutions. I will let you know when printing is completed so that you can request a free pocket Constitution of your own; I carry one with me all the time.

Next Week: Telephone Town Hall on Tuesday, Senior Forum on Friday

Next week, I’ll be hosting two forums to share news from Congress and to hear directly from you.

On Tuesday evening at 7:45 p.m., I’ll hold a telephone town hall open to all residents of central New Jersey. Many of you will automatically receive calls on Tuesday evening inviting you to join; to ensure that you are called, please visit http://holt.house.gov/townhall or call 1-87-RUSH-HOLT.

Then, on Friday, I will host a Senior Forum in Monroe to discuss Social Security and Medicare – how they work, how they can work better, and how we can protect these crucial programs from deterioration or attack.

Senior Forum on Social Security and Medicare
Friday, June 22, 2012
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Monroe Township Public Library
4 Municipal Plaza
Monroe Township, New Jersey 08831

I’ll be joined by Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. I hope you will join us and share your questions and concerns!

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress

Move to Amend Citizens United

Mary Mahoney, former candidate for Middletown Township Committee, sent my this letter today for posting. It's message is timely and should be considered if the U.S. Supreme Court does not, in the future, reconsider its position on Citizens United. It is also the online featured letter today at the Asbury Park Press website.

Two years ago the Supreme court voted 5 to 4 in favor of Citizens United and allow what are now called Super Pacs to raise unlimited amounts of money to support candidates without full disclosure.

The Court also decided that in as much corporations are people too and therefore given the same rights as individuals including the right to freedom of speech.

Today we are seeing the ramifications and consequences of this unwise decision with the obscene amount of money financing political campaigns. This decision does not benefit the people but benefits only the wealthy and corporations by allowing them to control and influence the political process to further their own self serving agendas.

This decision has jeopardized the very core of our Democracy and makes a mockery of what our founding fathers wrote in the preamble to our constitution which states: “We the People of the United States”. It does not state We the Wealthy or We the Corporations.

Justice Stevens wrote in his dissent “ A democracy cannot function effectively when the constituent members believe laws are being bought and sold”. He also warned that the influences of money will corrupt the institution, and that is exactly what is happening now.

Our democracy has already been jeopardized by special interest groups and lobbyists and this decision further compounds that problem by destroying the rights of individual human beings. This should not be a partisan issue as it's detrimental to both political parties further corrupting the political process.

The group Move to Amend states:

We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

I urge You the People to fight for your rights and support Move to Amend. For further information go to: movetoamend.org

Mary Mahoney

Lincroft/Middletown 

80 Reasons Why It’s Time To Take These Republican/Tea Party ‘Sons Of Bitches’ Down

Here's another gem that I found on AddictingInfo.com today that I thought I would pass along titled "80 Reasons Why It’s Time To Take These Republican/Tea Party ‘Sons Of Bitches’ Down". I think it touches upon all the points as to why the Tea Party and its members are so wrong, on so many issues , I hope you agree and feel free to comment:



At a Labor Day event yesterday, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa gave a fiery speech about the tea party, telling the American people that “It’s time to take these sons of bitches out.” And each and every one of us should listen. For the last thirty years, the American people have been under assault from the right-wing and their corporate overlords. Everything that makes America strong is being weakened and the American people are suffering. So if you need a reason why we should end the Republican/Tea Party, here are 80 of them.

1. They want to take away your Social Security.
2. They want to end Medicare.
3. They want to wipe out labor unions.
4. They want to send every last American job overseas.
5. They want to pollute the air we breathe.
6. They want pollute the water we drink.
7. They want to persecute non-Christians.
8. They want declare a state religion.
9. They took America hostage during the debt ceiling debate.
10. They want to take America hostage in every debate from now on.
11. The want to make it legal for businesses to discriminate.
12. They want to segregate our schools.
13. They want to allow oil companies to rape America’s environmental treasures for any trace amount of oil.
14. They refuse to give aid to the American people who go through natural disasters.
15. They want to end funding for natural disaster warning systems.
16. They want to take away the right to vote.
17. They want to make abortion illegal, even in cases of rape.
18. They want to abolish the corporate income tax.
19. They want to raise YOUR taxes but not taxes on the wealthy.
20. They want to end workplace safety regulations.
21. They ARE racists.
22. They disrespect the President at every opportunity.
23. They don’t support health care for every American citizen.
24. They want to allow health insurance companies to drop people.
25. They want to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency.
26. They want to illegally spy on American citizens.
27. They want more wars.
28. They want to indoctrinate our kids.
29. They want to make laws requiring every person to own a gun whether you like guns or not.
30. They want kill Planned Parenthood and end critical health care services for women.
31. They want to ban contraceptives and condoms.
32. They want to kill homosexuals.
33. They want to end unemployment benefits.
34. They want our infrastructure to crumble.
35. They want to end the independent judiciary branch, and turn it into a strictly conservative branch.
36. They want to keep women from earning equal pay for equal work.
37. They want President Obama to fail at all costs.
38. They want to continue the same failed economic policies that put us into a recession.
39. They rewrite and distort history.
40. They want to end public education for all.
41. They want to repeal the Voting Rights Act.
42. They care more about Wall Street than they do about Main Street.
43. They have voted to end 1.9 million jobs and have created zero.
44. They want to make it legal to kill doctors who provide abortions.
45. They want to reinstate ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
46. They encourage gun violence.
47. They refuse to vote for cleaner, more efficient energy sources.
48. They want to deport hispanics, whether they were born here or not.
49. They support Israel’s President over our own.
50. They want to abolish minimum wage laws.
51. They think corporations are people.
52. They want to repeal portions of the Constitution.
53. They want to pull America out of the United Nations.
54. They support torture.
55. They want to teach creationism in schools.
56. They reject science.
57. They want to make cohabitation before marriage a crime.
58. They want to allow health insurance companies to not cover sick children.
59. They want to end food stamps.
60. They make government ineffective.
61. They want to take away your pensions.
62. They want to privatize prisons to put more people in jail.
63. They want to end your right to collectively bargain with your employer.
64. They want to ban the unemployed from being considered for employment.
65. They want end funding for legal services for the poor.
66. They want to end Miranda Rights.
67. They think all liberals are un-American.
68. They refuse to give any credit to President Obama for ordering the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
69. They refuse to acknowledge that 9/11 occurred during the Bush Administration.
70. They declared fiscal martial law in a Michigan town and fired the legally elected local government.
71. They called President Obama a liar during his State Of The Union Address.
72. They refuse to cut the Defense budget, which if cut in half would still be the largest defense budget in the world.
73. They apologize to foreign oil companies when they take heat for oil spills.
74. They take orders from the Koch brothers.
75. They sign pledges drawn up by conservative activists, and ignore their pledge to serve the constituents who voted for them.
76. They use conservative media to push the right wing agenda even if it means distorting the news or flat out lying.
77. They want to cut nutrition programs for children.
78. They want to cut housing and energy assistance programs that help poor people.
79. They want to slash job training programs that help the unemployed.
80. They think teachers are thugs.

What a Liberal Does on the Fourth of July

I think this sums it up pretty well

By Dan Bimrose,Founder, LiberalFix.com
Post @ Huffingtonpost.com
6/30/11

For certain elements of society the word liberal has become interchangeable with such words as communist, socialist and fascist.

While liberals such as myself choose to associate themselves with such historic figures as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, those same elements of society would suggest that each of us tree hugging "ne-er do wells" have a secret room with a secret wall painted red and devoted to displaying pictures of Hitler, Mussolini and Lenin.

On a day when we should all celebrate our nation and some of us recount historically accurate stories of our nation's birth, there are members of society who find it difficult to imagine that it would be possible for self-styled liberals, progressives and Democrats to find cause for celebration on the Fourth of July.

This all too common charge that those like us are unpatriotic and un-American is an allegation that I take great umbrage with.

By definition conservatives and liberals do not think alike and that is just fine. The idea, however, that liberals are unpatriotic is absurd. Those who say such things are guilty of one of two things, they are either ignorant or they are lying with the intent of influencing your opinion so that it more closely represents their opinion.

Liberals do find it difficult to stomach the assertion that our founding fathers believed that there is an inherit bias toward discrimination in the documents and actions produced by those very same founding fathers.

I will allow that the 3/5 compromise which allowed for slaves to be counted as 3/5 of a white man for the purpose of determining a states representation in Congress, and the lack of a provision guaranteeing women the right to vote were monumental fails in regards to discrimination. The need to compromise to achieve a bigger goal allowed for these fails to exist.

Time, acquired wisdom, and progress would eventually fix these wrongs. Liberals respect, honor and cherish the Constitution as an evolving document capable of being changed when we as a nation are ready for change.

We believe that the founders had it right when they said in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We believe this to be the very worthy intent of our founding fathers.

We acknowledge conservatives love the Constitution as well. Well, they love certain parts of the Constitution. Different conservative groups would love to repeal a variety of amendments including the 8th, the 14th, the 16th, the 17th, the 19th and possibly the 26th amendment.

Liberals do believe that children born in the inner city or poverty stricken rural areas deserve the same access to health care as blue bloods spending the holiday on Martha's Vineyard. We are not unpatriotic because we believe this. Perhaps you could call us compassionate, but not unpatriotic.

We understand that we pass on more to our children than just budgets and balance sheets. We also pass on the environment and the planet to our children and grandchildren. Regardless of whether or not we feel that global warming is real or a myth we still value clean water and clean air.

We may not appreciate the wars we are currently fighting in the Middle East, but we love and respect our soldiers. After all they are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands.

We believe that teachers, policeman and firefighters should be paid and paid well due to their value and service to our community.

We believe that all of our children deserve libraries, gym class, and the opportunity to star in their school play.

We believe our country is great because we are a melting pot, not in spite of it. We value diversity. This is the American Way. This was the American dream.

We pay our taxes, but think that the wealthiest amongst us and the most profitable industries can share in bearing a little extra burden to fix our government's mistakes.

We believe that our senior citizens are people who have served our countries and their families well. They deserve not just our respect, but the ability to retire with the reasonable assurance that their health needs and financial needs will be met.

No, we do not agree with everything and most of the time we do not agree with anything, but it is not necessary to call each other unpatriotic or un-American. Liberals do not think conservatives are evil, we just think they are wrong. Perhaps some of the name calling conservatives out there will learn that liberals are Americans too.

What will I be doing this 4th of July?

More than likely my children will wake me up early so that we can go to the local parade, but before we leave for the parade I will hang our flag outside.

I am assuming and hoping the day will be filled with at least two Italian sausages smothered in onions, one elephant ear, and multiple lemon shake-ups. At the parade I will shake hands with a few elected officials, but reserve my support and encouragement for those politicians that are Democrats. In my part of Indiana, they need all the help they can get.

I will conclude the day by watching the local fireworks display right before rushing home to put the kids in the tub so I can clean off the cotton candy that has become caked on their faces. With any luck I will not have to get out the tweezers to remove a roasted peanut from my youngest daughter's ear.

We will go straight from the tub to the bedroom where we will sing songs and the kids will say their prayers before being tucked in and given strict orders to "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite".

So what do liberals do on the 4th of July?

Pretty much the same thing everyone else does.

Happy 4th of July and God Bless America.

Congratulations Tea Party "Constitutionalists"

Does anyone today remember taking Civics, Social Studies or History classes while going to school? Evidently not.

If they had, they would know that the only way a law is enacted in this country is that it needs to receive approval from both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate before moving on to be signed by the President of the United States.

Somehow however, there are some in the House of Representatives that have forgotten this process and I am embarrassed to admit, that some of those that have forgotten their civics lessons are from New Jersey.

You and I learned that a bill becomes a law only after it passes the House of Representatives and the Senate. Frank LoBiondo, Jon Runyan, Scott Garrett, Chris Smith, and Leonard Lance have invented a new theory of government:

If the House has not received a message from the Senate before April 6, 2011, stating that it has passed a measure providing for the appropriations for the departments and agencies of the Government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, the provisions of H.R. 1, as passed by the House on February 19, 2011, are hereby enacted into law.

Yes, if the Senate fails to vote for a bill that means it becomes law! Congratulations Tea Party "Constitutionalists," you have hit the jackpot with your Representatives.

Hat tip goes to Hopeful over at Blue Jersey on this one!

Hillary Clinton Constitutionally Ineligible to Serve as Secretary of State??

According to Judical Watch's president Tom Fitton, Hilliary Clinton is constitutionally ineligible to serve as President elect Obama's Secretary of State.

In a blog posting on the Hill's Congressional Blog, Fitton  states:

 "...According to the “Emoluments” or “Eligibility” Clause of the United States Constitution, no member of Congress can be appointed to an office that has benefited from a salary increase during the time that Senator or Representative served in Congress. A January 2008 Executive Order signed by President Bush during Hillary Clinton’s current Senate term increased the salary for Secretary of State, thereby rendering Senator Clinton ineligible for the position.

(Specifically, Article I, section 6 of the U.S. Constitution provides “No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time.” The provision is seen by most as designed by our Founding Fathers to protect against corruption.)..."

Now wouldn't that be a kick in the teeth for the Clinton's. 

It doesn't seem right that no one involved in the decision to appoint Hillary as Secretary of State was aware of this provision in  the constitution, or maybe Obama's people knew all along about it and decided to appoint her anyway to see if anyone would pick up on it. If no said anything then great, Hillary was appeased for her support during the general election, but if this little secret was exposed then the Obama camp can say "Oh well, sorry Hillary" and be seen as not wanting Hillary Clinton involved in the Obama administration.

We'll have to keep an eye on this.