Rand Paul Should Avoid Use Of Race In His Speeches; Liberals Should Give Him "NO Quarter."

Be aware of the Chameleon. You know Rand Paul! Do not allow false messages to tip your psyche into allowing him in the Gate.”

Rand Paul continues to traipse around the country campaigning for the 2016 GOP nomination for president. Paul is a seriously misguided man, despite comment from certain pundits on the right that his message “reverberates,” (Michael Steele, former RNC Chair).  

His message may “reverberate” among fringe liberals who may very well subscribe to libertarian ideology. He may also attract attention among liberals who abhor NSA meta-data gathering. The quirky Senator from Kentucky may be the current front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2016, but he fails to seep into the psyche of people who know Paul for what he is. He is an angle player who has spoken publicly as against Civil Rights legislation, against freedom of access for some Americans based on property rights), and he has visual history that informed liberals will not forget.

Jack Hunter, a former staffer for Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) who was outed as conservative mascot “The Southern Avenger” ….

Back to Paul for a moment. Since Paul is opposed to the government legislating on who business owners rights to deny service.  Am I to believe that Paul was in favor of the Arizona “deny LGBT service” vetoed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer? How about by implication Paul’s tacit approval of reinstating rights of companies to develop and maintain “Men Only” health club? How about moving back to the Masters denying Tiger Woods the right to tee-off?

Thus, Paul would have a lesser problem with what you are about to see and hear than many in the nation.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/.…

My point in the previous comments relate to Paul’s gall and temerity, as he rolls-out criticism of President Obama as a tool for his political ambitions. Even more Gaulish, are those who know Paul’s history, and still will join him in applause as he goes about his phony political appearances.  Paul should restrict issues related to race to his well documented past. He should do so while recognizing he may fool some fringe progressives and fringe conservatives, but he lives on a small island of Paleozoic Era bigotry.

The Daily Kos published a piece that address the Paul visit to Berkeley and his comments about the nations 44th President far better than can I.  I will admit one point.

Paul is definitively interjecting race into his politicking. His choices are clear and do not surprise as he and his father have deep and documented roots in issues of race. As Paul interjects race, he should keep-in-mind J. Edgar Hoover even spied on Richard Nixon and just about anyone from the Oval Office to any 1960s activist. Yet, he chooses to wave the race flag as a tool against President Obama. The criticism you are about to read and digest could have been accomplished well shy of foraying into issue of race. An issue he of all politicians should avoid.

Paul’s remarks as he tested the waters of pointing a finger at Obama and lacing the finger-pointing with racial messages. “The nation’s First African-American President should be conscious….”  

Does Paul not realize his words clearly denote exercise of “white privilege?” Did his supposedly highly educated audience, not recognize the use of “privilege” when it need not have been exercised?

Huffington Post March 19th, 2014

During an interview with The New York Times, Paul brought up the government’s response to dissent in the 1960s, when leading civil rights advocates, including Martin Luther King Jr. 

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“The first African-American president ought to be a little more conscious of the fact of what has happened with the abuses of domestic spying,” Paul told Times reporter Jeremy Peters. “Martin Luther King was spied upon, civil rights leaders were spied upon, Muhammad Ali was spied upon, antiwar protesters were spied upon.” 

“The possibility for abuse in this is incredible,” the senator added. “So I don’t care if there’s never been any evidence of abuse with the NSA. They should not be collecting the data.”

Read more after the break below

Since the little Libertarian bigot went there and received no major backlash, he took his criticism a bit farther. I am only slightly reticent about use of the word racist today. I do firmly believe Paul is a racist and fine cut from an apple that fell directly below the Ron Paul tree. 

Last weeks visit to the highly liberal campus of UC- Berkeley.

The Daily Kos

 “I find it ironic that the first African-American president has without compunction allowed this vast exercise of raw power by the N.S.A. … Certainly J. Edgar Hoover’s illegal spying on Martin Luther King and others in the civil rights movement should give us all pause.”

The Daily Kos (Re-blog via Cretive Commons Licensure)  SUN MAR 23, 2014 AT 08:00 AM PDT

Did Rand Paul just accuse Barack Obama of being ‘not black enough?’

byIan ReifowitzFollowforDaily Kos

 

  

Rand Paul, expert on being black.

Yep, you read that right. Rand Paul went there. Here’s how he did it: “I find it ironic that the first African-American president has without compunction allowed this vast exercise of raw power by the N.S.A. … Certainly J. Edgar Hoover’s illegal spying on Martin Luther King and others in the civil rights movement should give us all pause.” In an interview prior to giving this speech on privacy, Sen. Paul was even more direct in telling the president what he, as a black man, ought to be doing:

“The first African-American president ought to be a little more conscious of the fact of what has happened with the abuses of domestic spying…Martin Luther King was spied upon, civil rights leaders were spied upon, Muhammad Ali was spied upon.”

Overall, Paul’s remarks at Berkeley represented a strong and thoughtful criticism of the NSA’s domestic surveillance operations, which are unquestionably out of control. Furthermore, the Obama administration specifically deserves to be not only criticized but held accountable for what has gone on under its watch. I have no problem with Sen. Paul or anyone else doing so. Having said that, Rand Paul crossed a line.

Look at what Paul did here. Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, and other civil rights leaders were real black men. They fought the system, ’cause that’s what real black men do. They weredangerous, dangerous enough that The Man himself—in the form of J. Edgar Hoover—had to break the law to spy on them (imagine the theme from Shaft playing as you read this). Clearly, Paul is saying that Hoover’s spying was wrong, he’s identifying with King and Ali, not Hoover. But what Paul’s also saying is that President Barack Obama, well, he’s Hoover. He’s certainly more Hoover than he is King or Ali. A real black man—Paul clearly says even if he didn’t use those exact words—should have known better, or, in the words Paul did use, a real black man should have been “a little more conscious.” Because Rand Paul knows what it means to be a real, “conscious” black man.

Almost as soon as he emerged on the national stage in 2004 with his message of cross-racial American unity, some have questioned whether Barack Obama is actually “black enough.” Most of the time, the people asking that question have been black. But Rand Paul fancies himself a truth-teller, someone who can talk about race and talk to black people in a way that less brave white politicians aren’t willing to do. He’s scoring points with the media (the headline of a CNN.com news article—not an opinion piece—about the NSA speech characterized Paul as a “rising star”) as someone who will go before audiences most conservatives avoid, and will say things others won’t say. In reality, however, he’s just another whitesplainer.

Please follow me beyond the fold for more.

“Whitesplaining” is a term of relatively recent origin. It can too easily be overused, employed by some to discourage white people from talking about certain topics rather than actually engaging with the content of what they are saying. No one, simply by dint of their race, should feel that they have nothing of value to say on a topic of such importance as racism in America. However, whitesplaining is supposed to be used to call out a white person for telling black people how they should feel or act, or how they should see a certain situation (i.e., “is it racist or not”), or condescendingly lecturing black people about black life in America. Rand Paul has here engaged in a textbook definition of whitesplaining. And it’s not even the first time, as the students at Howard University (and anyone who heard his remarks there) can attest.

Now, Barack Obama has spoken on countless occasions about the special responsibility he feels as a black president to address issues that disproportionately affect African-Americans. He’s also repeatedly said that he is the president of all Americans, and he takes his positions based on what he believes is best for the country as a whole. On the matter of the NSA, I’m not convinced that the black community today (as opposed to, say, during the years of Martin Luther King or the Black Panthers) is affected more by dangerously excessive domestic surveillance than any other community, but Rand Paul isn’t seriously making that argument. He’s just using Obama’s blackness for his own political gain.

Let’s turn Paul’s thinking around on him. Born in Pennsylvania, Rand moved to Texas at age five and stayed there through college (at Baylor), and since then has continued to live exclusively in the South (North Carolina for medical school and residency at Duke, and Kentucky for his medical practice). If Barack Obama—due his being of the same race as those black people persecuted for centuries—should feel a special responsibility, then I would suggest that Rand Paul, as a Southern white male who shares the racial and regional background of the worst of those doing the persecution, should also feel some special responsibilities to protect the civil rights of the persecuted.

Yet, Rand Paul has a long history of criticizing and even opposing major elements of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Now, to Paul’s credit, he has also done some very good things more recently, like join the push to allow ex-felons to regain the right to vote. Rand Paul is not Rush Limbaugh, to be sure. But, to use one of my favorite phrases, that’s an awfully low bar to clear.

If Rand Paul wants to criticize President Obama on the NSA and domestic surveillance, he should have at it. There’s plenty to criticize, and Paul isn’t alone. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. Martin Luther King, Barack Obama and Muhammad Ali are all black men who fought and struggled to make this country a better place. Do any of you think that Rand Paul, were he an adult in 1964, would have been standing with Martin Luther King instead of with Barry Goldwater, who ran for president in that year on a platform that opposed the Civil Rights Act? Rand Paul’s contemporary arguments against that law parrot those of Goldwater, so we know exactly where and with whom Paul would have stood.

Barack Obama has a lot to answer for when it comes to the NSA. However, the president certainly does not have to answer to Rand Paul when it comes to whether he is black enough.

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO DAILY KOS ON SUN MAR 23, 2014 AT 08:00 AM PDT.

SNAP (Food Stamp) More Prevalent In Red States! OH, And You Are Not "Lazy!"

47.5 million Food Stamp recipients

If you are a regular reader of the TPI, you may have seen the following images before.  It is, however, important to let some less regular readers know the GOP continues to scalpel away at programs that provide benefit for its “Red State” (geographic) base.

The graphics clearly show where Food Stamp use in most prevalent. The second graphic is interactive and allows for close scrutiny of a state-by-state basis.  Checkout your state. 

We assume you are not a food stamp (or SNAP) recipients. If by chance our assumption is incorrect, and you live in a state with high levels of usage, think about the how the GOP serves its constituents.

ChartsBin (Feel free to use this informantion in any form)

via chartsbin.com

The Atlantic

The GOP implies you are lazy if you are receiving any form of government aid.

Yet, you , your neighbor, and probably your family head to the voting booths with each election and pull a level or push a button base on a social paradigm. A social paradigm the GOP manipulates oh so well.

MH370: US Media And The Silliness Has To Come To An End!

What follows is truly pathetic and denotes exactly why media contributes to the “dumbing-down” of the nation. A CNN segment in which Don Lemon actually moved to a form of reality TV for sake on entertaining the  inquisitive and added to a level of disrespect for the tragic losses of MH-370 on possible via cable network news.

My reaction to what follows is comparable to what it has to be like to sit and watch shows like Duck Dynasty and other inane mind-drowning TV shows. Shows that certainly offer a few chuckles, but in aggregate contributes to terrible television, and grubby looking facial hair where you would least expect to find it.  Some reality shows seem to actually entertain to the point of inseminating and birthing clone-like behavior that can be described only as gossipy, voyeuristic and the out-right ridiculous.

What follows is an example of the out-right ridiculous.

CNN’s Don Lemon: Is Black Hole Theory For Missing Jet ‘Preposterous?’

Before we move to an example of one television talk show host who seems to have  tired of the droning on and on speculation for sake of entertainment, allow me to reach back to my analogies above and admit to my victimization. 

Why do I, from time to time, sit and watch “Findings Bigfoot?”  I know damned well, the show will never produce an actual video of the legendary and fabled creature.  In fact, and to be precise I also know that sounds the investigators claim to hear, that I never hear, in no way denotes what they call “Sasquatch.”   Better yet, I think the more common vernacular on the show is “Squatch.”

Read more after the break below

So, I surely know the attraction of entertainment for entertainment sake. I draw the line, however, when it comes to acquiring information and delving into serious topic exploration or some lack-luster alternative. The alternative directly contributes so what I call “LIVs” or “LIPS” (Low-information Voters or Low Information People). People who will spend little to no time on self -education or seeking information while preferring ‘false’ news (e.g., Fox News) developed to influence the minds of the  gullible influence (able).

After re-watching the CNN spectacle and silliness, it was refreshing to see this 1:00 minute video from MSNBC.

Allow me to reach back to my analogies above and admit to my victimization, before we move to an example of a television talk show host who seems to have tired of the droning on and on speculation for sake of entertainment, . 

Why do I sit and watch “Findings Bigfoot?”  I know damned well, the show will never produce an actual video of the legendary and maybe fabled creature.  In fact, and to be precise I also know that sounds they claim to hear, that I never hear, in no way denotes what they call “Sasquatch.” For sake of being precise allow me use the vernacular the show investigators use for the fabled creature: ” Squatch.”


http://youtu.be/tgMxZ29k02E

I often criticize Mika for cowering to Scarborough. Today was a bit different, but I will wager conversation ensued after the show was off the air. When, the conservative name sake want to move to ‘low-hanging’ reality TV, he is accustomed to having his way.

Women’s Suffrage: A Time In US History

  

There are times when I run across FaceBook postings that are worthy of posting in the TPI. Do you recall Women’s Suffrage? If you are a bit young and do not recall from your schooling,  the words relate to the fact women in the United States were not allowed to vote until passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

A stark reality, but a reality that we should never forget. Yes, there are conservatives in the nation who would deprive certain minorities the right to vote. Those same men, could be convinced that your vote is also not worth the time expended in vote tabulations.

Jezebel Dot Com

Janis Lane, the lady leader of theCentral Mississippi Tea Partythinks that women shouldn’t be allowed to cast a ballot this (or any) election.   You have to know by now, GOP officials do not speak out-of-pocket or extemporaneously. If this tea party leader spoke such words, we can rest assured she has been privy to similar for people in higher level position. Maybe, not from the persepective of a planned strategy, but certainly intimated in one of their many “playbook” strategy sessions.  Now, for the short screed I ran across on Facebook. Note the vintage booklet for days of old Days that remind of current GOP voter suppression.

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A Mighty Girl
March 21 · Edited

The fight for women’s suffrage in the US lasted 72 years from the first women’s right conference in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 to the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in 1920. The text of the amendment is simple, straightforward, and to modern Americans, absolutely obvious, but at the turn of the twentieth century, it was an unpopular point of view among many.

The pamphlet pictured here was created by an organization founded in 1911 to actively oppose state and national suffrage efforts, the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. In it, they listed several reasons for opposing women’s suffrage including: “Because it is unwise to risk the good we already have for the evil which may occur.” The group disbanded in 1920 after the passage of the 19th Amendment.

This year will mark the 94th anniversary of women’s right to vote and, for Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating a few of the original Mighty Girls — the suffragists! The suffragists were activists who worked tirelessly to secure that right for themselves, their daughters, and future generations of American women. Women are still grateful for the work of their suffragist sisters; since the 1980s, women have been turning out to vote in significantly higher numbers than men.

To introduce children and teens to the amazing women of the US suffrage movement, check out our blog post on “How Women Won the Vote: Teaching Kids About the U.S. Suffrage Movement” for numerous reading recommendations: http://www.amightygirl.com/blog/?p=2346

A Mighty Girl also features special collections on two of the most famous early American suffragists: Susan B. Anthony (http://bit.ly/1mlifMW) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (http://bit.ly/1oGAhIj).

For many stories for children and teens about the women’s suffrage movement in the US, UK, and Canada, visit our Women’s History section at http://www.amightygirl.com/books/mighty-girls-women/women-s-history?cat=286

To learn more about the contributions of suffragists, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, and their important legacy in securing women’s right to vote, the film “Iron Jawed Angels” is highly recommended for viewers 13 and up (http://www.amightygirl.com/iron-jawed-angels)

The excellent “One Woman, One Vote” documentary also tells Paul’s story, along with that of the Suffrage Movement’s other key leaders such as Anthony and Stanton — for viewers 10 and up (http://www.amightygirl.com/one-woman-one-vote)

The ObamaCare "Death Spilral?"

You are about to view a quick video of Right-wing hope  laden reporting of of the ACA failure. Before, you either get your “hopes up” or “grow anger” based on the last sentence, I remind the sentence includes words such s “right-wing hopes and reporting.” That simply means, you have right-wing media (Fox News) and highly compensated right-wing pundits railing about the demise of ObamaCare, and you can read “HOPE” into their aura and their words.

The following is a prime example; you will see more with the MSNBC segment embed below.

Sharyl Attkisson – CBS News A CBS Executive we expect  to see on Fox News real soon.  She left CBS and has commented  about CBS’s lack of interest in  pursuing Benghazi, the alleged  IRS Scandal and other Obama  Administration”derangement.”

http://youtu.be/RLbKEUo545E

Ms. Attkinson calls CBS a bunch of cowards. Now, that depicts a serious disregard of the commonly accepted “Do not bash a former employer” at the very highest level. Obama Derangement Syndrome is, for some chronic. 

____________________________

We are going to cut to the chase with this piece. As we move closer to the Affordable Care Act 2014 deadline, the political Right, especially right-wing media is boiling over with “poo-poo” comments and rhetoric about how the ACA is failing. 

It appears Right-wing media has been given new “lockstep” mantra for salting the minds of those who either wish the ACA to go away, or for those who are still on the fence regarding its worthiness. The new mantra is: “death spiral.”  

So, the ACA is on a death spiral. We have embed an MSNBC ALL IN piece (below) with a well-developed intro of right-wing talking heads using the new mantra like air spewing air gushing from a balloon pricked with a safety pin. 

First, let’s do what high-information people do; we look at information or data for a true representation of facts. Facts tend to relegate rhetoric and mantra to the level of inane noise. 

Charles Gaba (as he refers to himself) has published and maintains a detailed tracking of the ACA since its October 2013 “flawed” rollout. Gaba’s work is detailed and in spots exhaustive, but for sake or information and facts, his work is exemplary and very appreciated.

Gaga acasignups.net

AT-A-GLANCEGlossary

• QHP (Qualified health Plans)
• Sub26ers (Enrollments under age 26 on family plans)
• Medicaid/Chip (Meciaid Expansion and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Exchanges (state-based system of health insurance exchanges) 

Private QHPs (4.92M – 6.30M)  Medicaid/CHIP (4.47M – 6.17M)  Sub26ers (2.50M – 3.10M) Grand Total as of March 22, 2014: (11.9 M – 15.6 M) Enrollment Period Elapsed: 94.5%  Est. % of CBO QHP Projection: 78.1% (or 91.1%) _____________________________________________ Current 3/31 Exch. QHP Projection (raw numbers): March: 1.96M / Total: 6.20M Current Exch. QHPs as of 3/22: March: 1.24M / Total: 5.46M Exchange-based QHPs should hit 5.5 Million sometime Sunday, March 23

The Graph as of 3/19/2014

I do not see a “sprial.”  I see major increases in enrollment as time passes. While unwritten in Gaba’s work, I also see the fact that Republican State govenrors are denying medicaid expansion thus depriving millions of people (constituents)  medical coverage. I also see the denial of ACA Exchanges in many GOP States, again hampering or denying enrollment and coverage to millions.

A closer look at the “spiral. I labored to find an opportunity to edit the following video after the first few minutes: I was not successful. The host and guest discussion after the detail laden intro is typical point-counter-point dialog that we see each and every day.  

March 18, 2014, Chris Hayes, ALL IN, and the “anti-death spiral” hope from the Right. 

http://on.msnbc.com/1gyZYU9

While the Right seethes and falsely predicts, the ACA moves towards serving the needs of people and towards the betterment of a nation. Remember, conservatives also fought FDR and Social Security and Medicare. We must also never forget the pundits in the video are all highly compensated, and you can rest assured have medical coverage.

Source Information:

Charles Gaba’s blog: http://acasignups.net/