Monday, July 02, 2018
The Guiding Principles Of The Texas Democratic Party
Principles of the Texas Democratic Party
Texas Democrats believe democratic government exists to achieve as a community, state, and nation what we cannot achieve as individuals; and that it must serve all its citizens.
We believe every Texan has inalienable rights that even a majority may not take away:
- the right to vote;
- the right to fair and open participation and representation in the democratic process;
- the right to health care; and
- the right to privacy.
We believe in freedom:
- from government interference in our private lives and personal decisions;
- from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or any other improper grounds;
- to exercise civil and human rights; and
- of religion and individual conscience.
We believe in responsibility:
- that religion and individual conscience can never serve to excuse hatred and discrimination;
- that people are responsible for their actions;
- that we, who have benefited so greatly from our state and country, have a responsibility to support and give back to all our communities and public institutions; and
- that corporations are not people and should not be used to shield individuals from the responsibilities of their actions.
We believe in equal rights:
- guaranteed in Section 3 of the Texas Bill of Rights;
- equality under the law guaranteed in Section 3a of the Texas Bill of Rights; and
- that no state may deny any person equal protection of the laws or due process under the law as guaranteed in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
We believe in equal opportunity:
- to receive a quality public education, from childhood through college;
- to find a good job with dignity;
- to buy or rent a good home in a safe community;
- to breathe clean air and drink clean water; and
- to have our voices heard and not be drowned out by the power of unlimited money to influence or buy elections and legislation.
We believe a growing economy should benefit all Texans:
- that the people who work in a business are as important as those who invest in it;
- that every worker should be paid a living wage of at least $15-an-hour;
- that good business offers a fair deal for customers;
- that regulation of unfair practices and rates is necessary;
- that the burden of taxes should be fairly distributed;
- that government policy should not favor corporations that seek offshore tax shelters, exploit workers, or pollute our environment; and all people, including those with disabilities.
We believe that our lives, homes, communities and country are made secure:
- by appropriately staffed, trained and equipped military, law enforcement and emergency services;
- by retirement and pension security;
- by responsible gun ownership;
- by encouraging job security where it is possible and providing appropriate assistance and re- training when it is not;
- by the preservation of our precious natural resources and quality of life;
- by ensuring that families have easy access to good food with clear understanding of the food quality and source, so they may make informed decisions on their family’s health and well-being;
- by compassionate policy that offers a safety net for those most vulnerable and in need; and
- by family values that are promoted through policies that value all our families.
We believe in America:
- made stronger by the men and women who put their lives on the line when it is necessary to engage our military to secure our nation; and
- made more secure by competent diplomatic leadership that uses the moral, ethical, and economic assets of a powerful, free nation to avoid unnecessary military conflict.
We believe in Texas:
- made stronger by the individual strengths of our diverse population;
- blessed with opportunities provided by agriculture, “old” and “new” energy sources, renowned medical and research institutions and high tech industries;
- and we believe in the need for an honest, ethical state government that serves the public interest, not the special financial interests of those who “pay to play.”
Sunday, July 01, 2018
Confidence In Religion Has Fallen Dramatically
The chart above is from a recent Gallup Poll -- done between June 1st and 13th of a national sample of 1,520 adults, with a 3 point margin of error.
In the mid-seventies, about 68% of the American public said they had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church or organized religion. That's a very respectable number. But that is no longer true. In 2018, only 38% say that -- a huge drop of 30 points.
I believe this is because the evangelicals are giving religion a bad reputation. Their attempts over the last few decades to throw the country back to the 1950's (when women, minorities, immigrants, and the LGBT community had few rights) have turned off many people. And it has caused a bigger percentage of each generation to leave religion because they simply cannot go along with those hate-filled policies.
Now it looks like the evangelicals' favorite president, Donald Trump, will get to pick another Supreme Court justice. He has promised those evangelicals that he would pick a justice that would overturn Roe vs. Wade (even though about 67% of Americans oppose that). If he does, it's going to damage the reputation of organized religion even further.
Public Opposes GOP Policy Of Separating Children/Parents
Hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets on Saturday across the nation to oppose the heinous Trump/GOP policy of separating immigrant/asylum-seeking children from their parents on our southern border. They wanted to make it clear that policy was un-American and unacceptable -- and to demand the families be re-united.
The people who marched and demonstrated were representing the views of a significant majority of Americans. Only 26% support Trump's horrendous policy, while 57% oppose it.
Those results are to be found in the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between June 24th and 26th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a 3.1 point margin of error.
More Bad Numbers For GOP Congressional Candidates
These charts show the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between June 24th and 26th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a 3.1 point margin of error.
These results do not paint a good picture for Republicans in the coming election. The Democrats lead by 5 points on the generic ballot, and probably even worse for Republicans is the women's vote. While men prefer Republicans by 4 points, women prefer Democrats by 13 points -- and women vote in larger numbers than men do.
Trump has been trying to blame Democrats for the dysfunction of the current Congress, but the public is not buying it. They know the GOP controls both houses of Congress, and they blame them for the Congress achieving nothing (but damaging Obamacare and causing insurance premiums to rise, and giving the rich a massive tax break) by a huge 30 points.
Then we come to the final chart, which may be the most important in the coming election. By a 16 point gap, they want their congressional candidates to be less like Trump instead of more like him. Bad news for the Republicans who had to embrace Trump to get through a GOP primary.
Hypocritical Thoughts And Prayers
"Six New Steel Plants" Is Just Another Of Trump's LIES
Donald Trump recently bragged to a rally of his supporters that his new tariffs have resulted in the opening of six new steel plants in the United States. There's a problem with his claim though -- it is not true. It is just another lie he feeds to his supporters (who seem ready to believe any claim he makes -- no matter how outrageous or untrue).
Here is the truth as reported by CBS News:
By President Donald Trump's telling, the nation's second-largest steel producer is embarking on a major expansion, with plans in the works to open six new facilities. That would be news to U.S. Steel, which points to a restart of a blast furnace in Granite City, Illinois, as its latest operational announcement.
Mr. Trump has referenced U.S. Steel at least twice in the last week or so, telling a roundtable with workers in Duluth, Minnesota, he'd received a call from the head of U.S. Steel, who relayed that the company would be, according to the president, "opening up six major facilities and expanding facilities that have never been expanded. They haven't been opened in many, many years."
The president doubled down on that notion six days later, saying Tuesday at the White House: "U.S. Steel just announced they're expanding or building six new facilities."
As a publicly traded company, U.S. Steel (X) is obliged to disclose materially significant information. To that end, the company has said it would restart two blast furnaces and steelmaking facilities at its Granite City Works integrated plant in Illinois, one in March and the second in October. U.S. Steel announced the first reopening in March, saying it would lead to 500 jobs, and the next in June, bringing on another 300 workers. The plant had been out of operation since 2015.
"We post all of our major operational announcements to our website and report them on earnings calls. Our most recent one pertained to our Granite City "A" blast furnace restart," emailed a U.S. Steel spokesperson, who declined to elaborate further.
One Wall Street analyst who tracks U.S. Steel and its industry did not mince words when asked about the presidential take. "There is no expansion," offered Charles Bradford of Bradford Research. In fact, he added of U.S. Steel's future: "it's likely to shrink.". . .
Manufacturers and end users make up a much larger portion of the economy. That means tariffs on raw materials, combined with retaliation from angry trading partners, may end up causing more harm than good. An estimate from consulting firm Trade Partnership forecast about 400,000 U.S. jobs lost versus 26,000 created as a result of the metal tariffs.
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