Saturday, February 28, 2015
35% Of The Public Says Our President Doesn't Love America
Last week the former mayor of New York City and wannabe teabagger, Rudy Giuliani, publicly stated that he didn't believe President Obama loved America. It was a racist and idiotic statement, and Giuliani immediately tried to back justify it. The most ridiculous of his justifications was that he couldn't be a racist since President Obama's mother was white.
It's fairly easy for me to write off the statement by Giuliani, because he's always shot off his mouth before thinking about what he saying and he's been trying to win over the GOP teabaggers for a while now (possibly for a future presidential run?). But the results of this poll are not so easy to dismiss. It seems that about a third of all Americans (and almost two-thirds of Republicans) agree with Giuliani.
That's rather shocking. It's one thing to disagree with the president (or any other politician) about policy issues -- but it's quite another to accuse anyone of not loving their country (the country they were born and raised in).
This kind of accusation hasn't been made against any other president, no matter how unpopular the president or his policies and actions. The right-wing hated President Clinton, and even tried to impeach him, but they didn't accuse him of not loving his country. And those of us on the left had no love for President George W. Bush and his failed policies, but it never occurred to us to accuse him of not loving his country. An accusation like that is just beyond the pale.
So why would such an accusation be hurled at President Obama? What makes him different than all our past presidents (many of whom were unpopular during their term)? Could it be race? That's the only reason I can think of -- because his actions and policies certainly have not been that extreme. In truth, he's pretty moderate (and has been a disappointment both to the right and left because of that).
That 35% of Americans should be ashamed of themselves for even considering such a heinous belief. They need to check themselves, and make sure there isn't some racism lingering in their dark hearts.
The chart was made from a recent Rasmussen Poll -- done on February 22nd and 23rd of a random national sample of 800 likely voters, with a margin of error of 3.5 points.
History - Europe Colonized Nearly The Entire World
The map above is from Vox.com. Most people understand that in centuries past the nations of Europe colonized many other countries -- but when it is put on a map like this, it is sort of shocking. It turns out that there were far more than just a portion of the world colonized -- Europe colonized almost the entire world. It turns out that only four countries were able to avoid being colonized (for different reasons). Here's how Vox explains that:
There are only four countries that escaped European colonialism completely. Japan and Korea successfully staved off European domination, in part due to their strength and diplomacy, their isolationist policies, and perhaps their distance. Thailand was spared when the British and French Empires decided to let it remained independent as a buffer between British-controlled Burma and French Indochina. Japan, however, colonized both Korea and Thailand itself during its early-20th-century imperial period.
The Corporate View Of Net Neutrality
Bill O'Reilly Is Being Called Out For His Lies (Finally)
It has been interesting to see the mainstream media going crazy over a mistruth by NBC's Brian Williams on a talk show. Especially since Williams has not been accused on telling untruths on his news program -- while the talking heads over at Fox News lie repeatedly on their own "news" programs.
And perhaps the most egregious of the Fox liars is Bill O'Reilly -- a narcissist who doesn't hesitate to stretch the truth to make himself look good, or to embarrass a guest he doesn't like. But if there is one thing good about the Williams mini-scandal, it is that others are now being looked at for what they have said on the air -- and the first to have his feet held to the fire is Bill O'Reilly.
Bill had claimed that he knew what it was like to be under fire in a combat situation, since he had been in the Falkland Islands during the war there between Argentina and Great Britain. That was a lie. The closest O'Reilly got to the fighting was Buenos Aires -- about 1200 miles from the fighting.
And that wasn't his only lie. He also claimed to have been outside the home of a friend of Lee Harvey Oswald, and to have heard the shot when the man committed suicide. It turns out that he was not even in the same city when that happened.
Now a third lie has been exposed. O'Reilly said he saw nuns being shot in the back of the head in El Salvador. It turns out he couldn't have been there, and there was no video of that happening. The most he could have done is see still photos of the dead nuns which were shown by many media outlets.
Fox News has been very vocal in demonizing Brian Williams (and I don't defend him for his silly remark), saying he should be terminated. What then are they going to do about Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly's comments weren't an off-hand remark on an entertainment talk show, but were told on his own "news" show -- and that makes them even worse. I doubt that Fox News will fire O'Reilly (or even punish him in any way), but they should.
Now it's time for the major media to examine some of the claims made by other Fox News personalities.
Democrats & Republicans Don't Trust The Same Media
In light of the Brian Williams mini-scandal, Public Policy Polling did a survey on the media. They found the public split on what should happen with Mr. Williams -- with 39% saying he should be able to return to his job, 36% saying he should be fired, and 25% saying they are not sure what should happen.
But an even more interesting aspect of this survey was the major broadcast media that is trusted by different groups in our society. It is easy to see why the Republicans and Democrats remain so far apart on the issues. A majority of Democrats trust a wide range of media to get their news, but Republicans trust only Fox News as their source for news (an organization that is far more interested in propagating right-wing politics than reporting the news fairly). Independents don't have a majority trusting any broadcast media (but come the closest to trusting PBS with 43%, while no other media even gets to 33%).
There are also differences in what media to trust between genders and races/ethnicities -- and the charts concerning those are shown below.
The Public Policy Polling survey was conducted between February 20th and 22nd of a random national sample of 691 registered voters, with a margin of error of 3.7 points.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Democrats Need To Formulate A Unified Plan For 2016
The Democratic Party did very poorly in the 2014 mid-term elections. Part of this was due to too many people staying home on election day (people who would have pulled the lever for Democrats, if they had bothered to vote). But there was another factor that had an effect -- the lack of a coherent and unified plan that could easily be understood by the voting public.
In 2014, Democrats were turned loose to campaign on their own personal issues. The thinking was that they could tailor those issues to their local or state priorities. That turned out to be disastrous. It just left voters unsure of where the Democratic Party stood on the issues important to them, and it's very hard to turn out voters when those voters aren't sure of where the candidates stand.
The sad part of this is that there is a range of issues supported by Democrats, and also supported by a large majority of the public. The Democrats need to combine some of these issues into a "Plan for Prosperity", and make that plan the centerpiece of their 2016 campaign -- with every Democrat, from the presidential candidate to congressional candidates campaigning on that plan. This will make it clear that Democrats support the issues that ordinary Americans want, and give those ordinary Americans a reason to go to the polls and vote for Democrats.
Toward that end, I submit the following plan for consideration. Polls have shown that every part of it is supported by most Americans.
PLAN FOR PROSPERITY
1. Raise the minimum wage to at least $10.10 an hour.
2. Protect Social Security and Medicare (and oppose cuts to either program)
3. Eliminate the special "capital gains tax" for the rich, and tax all income as earned income.
4. Eliminate the tax breaks that reward corporations for exporting American jobs.
5. Eliminate the subsidies that allow profitable corporations to pay no taxes.
6. Rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.
7. Create a small tax on stock trades (0.05% to 0.10%).
8. Eliminate the budget deficit.
9. Maintain a strong national defense.
10. Support equal rights for all Americans.
There are probably some other things that many would like (including many other things I would like to see), but I think the plan needs to be short so it can easily be understood and campaigned on. I think a substantial majority of Americans can get behind all of the 10 points listed above. What do you think?
Clinton, Cruz, And Walker Top New Texas Poll
A new University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll has been released. The survey was done between February 6th and 15th, and has a margin of error of 2.83 points (with only Republicans having a margin of error of 4.19 points and only Democrats having a margin of error of 4.89 points). They questioned 1200 Texas adults (including 547 Republicans and 401 Democrats).
The survey didn't have any surprise when Democrats were queried on their current choice for a presidential candidate. Like Democrats in all other states, Texas Democrats are firmly supporting the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. She is the choice of 62%, while Elizabeth Warren (who has repeatedly said she won't run) is 50 points behind at 12%. Joe Biden is third with 6%, and Independent Bernie Sanders draws 5% support.
The two Republicans getting the most support (although far from a majority) are Ted Cruz (20%) and Scott Walker (19%). Cruz's showing is not a surprise, since Texas has a lot of teabaggers in the GOP base. But the support for Walker is somewhat surprising, and it shows he is becoming a real player in the GOP race for the nomination. Also somewhat surprising is the very poor showing of Jeb Bush (9%), in a state where his family has been very popular.
In a different part of that same survey, it seems that Texans may not be as far from supporting marijuana legalization as some think. Note in the chart below that a plurality of Texans (42%) would support, in at least small amounts, the legalization of marijuana use by adults, and another 34% say it should be legal for medical use. Only 24% of Texans think marijuana should remain illegal completely.
But while the views on marijuana are becoming more lenient, the view of Texans on the death penalty is not (see the charts below). A whopping 75% think the state should retain the death penalty, while only 19% oppose it (and 6% are unsure about it).
And the really scary thing is that 59% of Texans believe innocent people are executed by the state at least occasionally (and another 29% says it happens, but only rarely). That's 88% of Texans who accept the fact that the state executes innocent people at times -- and yet they want to keep on doing that.
We Texans are obviously a bloodthirsty lot -- willing to kill innocent people to satisfy our lust for killing. Frankly, I am appalled and ashamed at the lack of caring my fellow Texans display about the execution of the innocent.
Senator Warren Challenges The GOP To "Put Up Or Shut Up"
Recently, some of the GOP hopefuls considering a run for the presidency have recognized the growing concern of a majority of Americans about the wealth/income gap in this country, and have stated this is a problem that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, they have not offered any solution -- and like their GOP brothers, they continue to support more tax breaks for the rich and oppose raising the minimum wage. Here is what Senator Elizabeth Warren has to say about that:
So far in this new Congress, Republicans have spent weeks debating a pipeline that will mostly benefit a giant foreign oil company – and weeks more threatening a government shutdown of the Homeland Security Department. Meanwhile, millions of people who work hard and play by the rules are still getting squeezed to the breaking point.
The Republicans prove once again how Washington works just fine for giant corporations, but not so much for working people.
It’s time to make different choices – to stand up to the armies of lobbyists and lawyers to begin to make the government work for the middle class once again. That's why this week, Rep. Elijah Cummings and I have launched the new Middle Class Prosperity Project: to push this new Congress to take action to help working people.
Recently, Republicans seem to have discovered the struggles of America’s middle class. Out of nowhere, they’re talking about this problem.
That’s great, but talk is cheap. And when it comes to action, these Republicans seem to have amnesia about what they have actually done to hard-working Americans.
Republican trickle-down policies created tax breaks and loopholes for the wealthy while leaving working families to pick up the pieces. I’ll believe Republicans care about what’s happening to America’s middle class when they stop blocking legislation that would require billionaires to pay taxes at the same rate as teachers and firefighters.
Republican trickle-down economics blocked increases in the minimum wage that would have lifted 14 million people out of poverty. I’ll believe Republicans care about what’s happening to America’s working families when they stop blocking minimum wage increases and agree that no should work full time and still live in poverty.
Republican trickle-down economics squeezed billions of dollars of profit out of people who had to borrow money to go to college. I’ll believe Republicans care about what’s happening to America’s future when they agree to refinance student loans.
I could go on, but the point is the same: talk is cheap.
We know how to build a strong middle class. We’ve done it. And we know that the policies we put together here in Washington can make a big difference. That’s what our new Middle Class Prosperity Project is all about: bringing together leaders in Washington, economists and policy experts, and millions of voices of people across the country to get to work.
It’s time for action that will strengthen middle class families and build a strong future. It’s time to put up or shut up.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Clinton Still Dominant (For Primary And General Elections)
It shouldn't come as any surprise, but Hillary Clinton still holds a dominant position in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. In this latest national survey, she holds a majority of 54% of Democratic votes -- 38 points better than second-place finisher Joe Biden, and 42 points better than Elizabeth Warren.
These numbers have to be discouraging for those organizations (Move On and Democracy for America) who have diligently been trying to drum up support for trying to get Warren to change her mind and run. Her number is only about 12% (and has been in the 12% to 16% range for several months now). It seems that most Democrats have taken her at her word, and don';t believe she wants to be a candidate.
But the more important numbers are in the chart below -- where voters were asked to choose between Hillary Clinton and the current leading Republican hopefuls. Clinton tops all of them by between 7 and 10 points -- a significant margin. There's still a long way to go until the next presidential election, but these numbers are very encouraging -- especially when you consider Clinton is likely to coast to the Democratic nomination, while there will be a political war for the Republican nomination (a war that could further weaken the GOP candidate).
Both of these charts were made from a new Public Policy Polling survey -- done between February 20th and 22nd of 691 registered voters nationwide (with a margin of error of 3.7 points). The margin of error for Democrats only is about 5.6 points.
Walker Is Gaining Support Among Iowa Republicans
It is now about 11 months until the Iowa voters meet in their caucuses to determine who should represent them as their party's presidential nominee. That makes it interesting to see where those voters stand on the nominees right now. The Quinnipiac University Poll surveyed Iowa Republicans between February 16th and 23rd. They questioned 623 likely caucus participants, and their poll has a margin of error of 3.9 points.
The survey shows that Scott Walker has made significant progress in the state, and currently has the support of about 25% of the GOP caucus voters. That's 12 points better than Rand Paul, 14 points better than Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee, and 15 points better than Jeb Bush. I hesitate to proclaim Walker as the GOP leader, because 25% is still a long way from a majority -- but it is now clear that he could be a serious player in the race for the nomination.
The survey may also signal some troubles for Jeb Bush. A few weeks ago, pundits were anointing him as the favorite -- but he seems to be having a problem in exciting the party's base voters. I wouldn't count him out yet though. He is the favorite of Wall Street (probably because he is one of them) and is the candidate who has raised the most money -- and we all know how big a help that money can be in these races.
Frankly, this survey should scare union members (and other workers). While all of these candidates are anti-union, none is more so than Scott Walker.
Colorado Citizens Still Support Marijuana Legalization
In the 2012 election, the voters in Colorado legalized the recreational use (and taxation) of marijuana by adults. The measure won by a pretty significant margin (55% to 45%). The tax benefits have been very good -- exceeding the expectations of the state government. But what do the Colorado citizens think about legalization now that it has been in effect for a while?
A new poll shows they like what they did. In fact, support for legalization may have even grown since the election. A new Quinnipiac University Poll surveyed 1,049 Colorado voters between February 5th and 15th (with a margin of error of 3 points). That poll showed that currently 58% of those surveyed still support marijuana legalization. Even if you subtract the margin of error, it shows that the support has not declined since the election (and may have increased). The opposition has declined though -- from 45% to 38% (a decline of 7 points).
Colorado citizens now know what people in other states are just learning -- that marijuana is NOT a dangerous drug. In fact, it is much safer than other legal drugs. This has now been verified by yet another scientific study -- a study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports. The study verified what many of us already knew -- that marijuana is the safest of all drugs, and far safer than alcohol (see the chart below).
It is time to stop demonizing this gentle herb, and legalize its recreational use in all 50 states.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
All States Have A Decline In Uninsured Due To Obamacare
We learned last week that now 11.4 million Americans have private insurance due to Obamacare -- mostly people who couldn't afford health insurance before the Affordable Care Act was passed. And millions more have insurance through Medicaid now. The Republicans are loathe to admit it, but Obamacare has been even more successful than predicted.
And now there's more good news -- every single state in this country has experienced a drop in the number of their uninsured citizens due to Obamacare, in spite of Republican efforts to sink the program on both the state and federal level. That doesn't mean those GOP efforts haven't had an effect. They have kept millions from getting health insurance -- condemning them to do with important preventive care (and sometimes any care at all, causing about 17,000 a year to die unnecessarily).
Those states that have cooperated with health care reform (by creating a state exchange and expanding Medicaid) have experienced an average decline in the uninsured between 2013 and 2014 of about 4.8 points. But those states (mainly GOP-controlled states) that have not created a state exchange or have not expanded Medicaid, or both, have had a decline of only about 2.7 points. It is ridiculous of the Republicans to intentionally deny health care to millions of citizens -- just so they can show their displeasure at having an African-American president, but that is what they have done.
The numbers above are from a recently released Gallup Poll -- done between January 2nd and December 30th of 2014 of a random national sample of 178,072. The margin of error for each state is between 2 and 4 points.
Some Good News For Democrats
2010 was the year that Republicans took the House, and several Senate seats. Sadly, too many Democrats and Independents stayed home in that off-year election, while unhappy Republicans flocked to the polls. But 2016 will be different. It's a presidential election year, and we can expect Democrats and Independents to turn out in much larger numbers -- especially if Hillary Clinton is at the top of the ticket.
Feingold is currently employed as a State Department Special Envoy to central Africa, but he is expected to resign that position soon. Both Democratic and Republican consultants in Wisconsin are expecting Feingold to run in 2016. One Republican strategist said, "If he didn't run, there would be greater surprise than if he did."
I hope he does run. He could then take his place beside Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders as the best senators in Washington.
A Troubling Poll About Republican Beliefs
If the results of this survey is close to right, and I believe it is, then the Republican base has a lot of very scary people in it. The survey is from Public Policy Polling, and was done between February 20th and 22nd of a random national sample of 316 Republican primary voters. It has a margin of error of 5.5 points.
It seems that science denial is rampant among Republicans. About 66% say they don't believe in global warming, and 49% say they don't believe in evolution -- even though more than 95% of scientists say both are true. It bothers me that these people think they can pick the parts of science they are willing to believe, and toss out the parts that don't necessarily agree with their religion.
But it is that third chart that bothers me most of all. A significant majority of Republicans (57%) are willing to toss out part of the First Amendment to our Constitution -- the part that guarantees religious freedom. They would like for our federal government to establish christianity as the official state religion -- which of course, would mean the government (and everyone else) would be free to discriminate against anyone who is not a christian. That is scary!
The poll also asked those Republicans who their presidential preference was, and the results are shown in the chart below. It shows that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has risen in the polls in the last few weeks. I hesitate to call him the leader though, since 3 out of 4 Republicans either want someone else or are unsure who they would want.
Most Terrorists In The West Are NOT Islamic Jihadists
The chart above was made from a series of Rasmussen Polls, done between February of 2012 and February of 2015. The latest was done on February 20th and 21st of a random national sample of 800 likely voters. All of the surveys were done with between 800 and 1,000 adults, and had margins of error of between 3 and 3.5 points.
The survey shows a remarkable drop in the percentage of Americans who believe we are winning the "war on terror" -- from 51% a couple of years ago to about 19% this month (a whopping 32 point drop). Obviously the media coverage of ISIS, al-Queda, and other islamic groups, combined with the fear mongering by many of our politicians is having a big effect on the public.
Unfortunately, this is a gross misrepresentation of the truth. While the media and the politicians are trying to whip up fear of muslims (and their extremists), the fact is that people in the West (North America and Europe) face far less danger from islamic extremists (jihadists) than they do from their own home-grown non-islamic terrorists.
Take for example an article written for The Daily Beast by Dean Obeidallah. Here is part of that article, revealing the truth about terrorism in the West:
Obviously, there are people who sincerely view themselves as Muslims who have committed horrible acts in the name of Islam. We Muslims can make the case that their actions are not based on any part of the faith but on their own political agenda. But they are Muslims, no denying that.
However, and this will probably shock many, so you might want to take a breath: Overwhelmingly, those who have committed terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe aren’t Muslims. Let’s give that a moment to sink in.
Now, it’s not your fault if you aren’t aware of that fact. You can blame the media. (Yes, Sarah Palin and I actually agree on one thing: The mainstream media sucks.)
So here are some statistics for those interested. Let’s start with Europe. Want to guess what percent of the terrorist attacks there were committed by Muslims over the past five years? Wrong. That is, unless you said less than 2 percent.
As Europol, the European Union’s law-enforcement agency, noted in its report released last year, the vast majority of terror attacks in Europe were perpetrated by separatist groups. For example, in 2013, there were 152 terror attacks in Europe. Only two of them were “religiously motivated,” while 84 were predicated upon ethno-nationalist or separatist beliefs. . .
Back in the United States, the percentage of terror attacks committed by Muslims is almost as miniscule as in Europe. An FBI study looking at terrorism committed on U.S. soil between 1980 and 2005 found that 94 percent of the terror attacks were committed by non-Muslims. . .
In fact in 2013, it was actually more likely Americans would be killed by a toddler than a terrorist. In that year, three Americans were killed in the Boston Marathon bombing. How many people did toddlers kill in 2013? Five, all by accidentally shooting a gun.
But our media simply do not cover the non-Muslim terror attacks with same gusto. Why? It’s a business decision. Stories about scary “others” play better. It’s a story that can simply be framed as good versus evil with Americans being the good guy and the brown Muslim as the bad.
Honestly, when is the last time we heard the media refer to those who attack abortion clinics as “Christian terrorists,” even though these attacks occur at one of every five reproductive health-care facilities? That doesn’t sell as well. After all we are a so-called Christian nation, so that would require us to look at the enemy within our country, and that makes many uncomfortable. Or worse, it makes them change the channel.
That’s the same reason we don’t see many stories about how to reduce the 30 Americans killed each day by gun violence or the three women per day killed by domestic violence. But the media will have on expert after expert discussing how can we stop these scary brown Muslims from killing any more Americans despite the fact you actually have a better chance of being killed by a refrigerator falling on you.
And then we have this unsettling bit of truth from the Southern Poverty Law Center:
Currently, there are 939 known hate groups operating across the country, including neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, black separatists, border vigilantes and others.
Since 2000, the number of hate groups has increased by 56 percent. This surge has been fueled by anger and fear over the nation’s ailing economy, an influx of non-white immigrants, and the diminishing white majority, as symbolized by the election of the nation’s first African-American president.
These factors also are feeding a powerful resurgence of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement, which in the 1990s led to a string of domestic terrorist plots, including the Oklahoma City bombing. The number of Patriot groups, including armed militias, skyrocketed following the election of President Obama in 2008 – rising 813 percent, from 149 groups in 2008 to an all-time high of 1,360 in 2012. The number fell to 1,096 in 2013.
This growth in extremism has been aided by mainstream media figures and politicians who have used their platforms to legitimize false propaganda about immigrants and other minorities and spread the kind of paranoid conspiracy theories on which militia groups thrive.
The truth is that Americans face very little danger from terrorism. An American is far more likely to be hit by lightening than killed by any kind of terrorist -- and far more likely to be killed by a home-grown non-islamic terrorist than by an islamic extremist. The politicians, especially the Republicans, won't tell you this because that would anger many on the right who support them. These people want to believe that all terrorism comes from a different religion and a different country -- and have no desire to look at their own bigotry in the mirror.
And it's nearly as bad with the media. They only cover stories that people want to hear -- stories that will increase their readership or viewership. Looking too hard at home-grown terrorists or other violence in this country just brings criticism, and sadly, they are more in the business of selling advertisements than in telling the uncomfortable truth.
If you doubt what I am saying, just look at this long and rather frightening list of terrorism in the U.S. by the radical right since the Oklahoma City bombing. It was composed by the SPLC.
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