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Daily Archives: December 6th, 2014


Again the media blurbs that do no more than appease constituents instead of doing the right thing. Will  this will be the beginning of doing nothing of importance for the next several years? We as voters never hold these idiots accountable for their poor performance

WASHINGTON – Emboldened House Republicans issued a stern but symbolic rebuke to President Barack Obama over immigration Thursday, passing a bill declaring his executive actions to curb deportations “null and void and without legal effect.”

Outraged Democrats, immigrant advocates and the White House said the GOP was voting to tear families apart and eject parents.

“Rather than deport students and separate families and make it harder for law enforcement to do its job, I just want the Congress to work with us to pass a common-sense law to fix that broken immigration system,” Obama said before the vote.

Even supporters acknowledged that the bill by Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., which says Obama was acting “without any constitutional or statutory basis,” was mostly meant to send a message. It stands no chance in the Senate, which remains under Democratic control until January.

The real fight may lie ahead as conservatives push to use must-pass spending legislation to block Obama.

For now, Republicans insisted they must go on record denouncing what they described on the House floor as an outrageous power grab by Obama.

“The president’s decision to defy the Constitution by using executive actions to change immigration law cannot go unopposed,” said Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who voted for the bill. “The legislation passed today is a proactive response to this gross abuse of power It clarifies that the president’s use of executive authority does not extend to exempting millions from legal action at once. This is a needed step in any legal challenge to the president’s abuse of power.”

New Mexico’s other two representatives, Democrats Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham, voted against the bill.

“The president thinks he can just sit in the Oval Office and make up his own laws. That’s not the way our system of government works,” said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La. “This legislation says you can’t do that, Mr. President. There is a rule of law.”

The vote was 219-197, with three Democratic “yes” votes and seven Republican “no” votes. Three Republicans voted “present.”

Obama’s executive actions last month will extend deportation relief and work permits to an estimated 4 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, mostly those who have been in the country more than five years and have children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

He also reordered law enforcement priorities and expanded an existing deportation deferral program for immigrants brought illegally as kids.

Compounding the GOP’s anger, Obama’s executive action came barely two weeks after Republicans trounced Democrats in the midterm elections, winning control of the Senate and increasing their majorities in the House.

Even as emotions ran high in debate on the bill, many involved acknowledged it was mostly a sideshow as Republicans struggled to find some way to undo what Obama has done – not just register their disapproval. Party leaders acknowledged their options were limited.

The Yoho bill was part of a two-part strategy by House GOP leadership to appease conservative immigration hard-liners without risking a government shutdown. Their hope was that after approving it, Republicans would move on next week to vote on legislation to keep most of the government running for a year, with a shorter time frame for the Homeland Security Department, which oversees immigration.

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Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente

It’s Time to Revolutionize Race Relations

You would think my experience as a top executive would be different from a black man who is working in a retail or food service job to support his family. Yet, he and I both understand the commonality of the black male experience that remains consistent no matter what the economic status or job title.

This post is not to complain about what is, but instead offer hope that we can harness the positive energy from the demonstrations for change and start a new chapter in America based on better understanding of race relations.

As Americans, we must deal with behavior that is unacceptable in today’s global world. The first step in changing negative behavior is to understand the underlying imagery of the black male, which doesn’t represent reality. Whether it’s Michael Brown in Ferguson, Trayvon Martin with his Skittles®, Eric Garner who died after a chokehold, or the 12-year old killed because he was waving a toy gun, when you see a black man killed, the imagery is more complicated than one might think. For example, words used by the white police officer to describe Michael Brown included adjectives such as hulking and demonic — words that bring up images going back to the days of slavery.

If you’re not black, it’s hard to relate to situations as a black man might. So you know I’m speaking from a realistic rather than theoretical standpoint, here are a few personal examples I’ve experienced in the past couple of months:

  • Recently I was shopping in an upscale store and I was being watched and also followed by an overly anxious person. This was not someone trying to be helpful, but someone who was assessing why I was there. Other shoppers did not have “help” following them throughout the store.
  • I have gone to dinner at fine restaurants and had the food server explain the tipping program, since apparently black men don’t understand this concept.
  • Sometimes I observe two or three white customers ahead of me and after me pay by credit card — and I am the only one singled out to provide proof of who I am before I can make my purchase.
  • Most CEOs don’t leave their corporate offices, change clothes, and have car doors locked as they walk by or women move to the other side of the street hugging their purses as they see me out exercising. Even as a CEO, the black male experience is my reality.

Years ago, my father taught me explicitly how to behave myself if ever confronted by a police officer and I experienced being disrespected in my early twenties by someone who was supposed to protect my rights. I hold to this day that the biggest battle within me was the rage at how I was being treated while having to do what my father told me and respond appropriately. If I acted out how I was feeling at the time, I might not be here today.

So where do we go from here? In the Ferguson situation, we need to disregard the small percentage of criminals who are getting publicity for their destruction of property and instead pay attention to the sincere marchers and protestors who are voicing their demands for change. This is our opportunity to focus on improving race relations for the future, especially for young black men and also for those picked up to be deported based on their race. A few ideas have great potential to revolutionize race relations:

  • I endorse the idea that every police officer videotapes interactions as the first major step to protect both individuals and the police officers.
  • We must engage community activists to sit down with police, the government and local businesses to work together in different ways. Over time we will see the current environment of police officers going to white neighborhoods to “protect and resolve issues” and going into black neighborhoods to “combat and control” change to become a culture of police officers being in all neighborhoods to protect and participate.
  • We must collectively support local school and church leaders as they reach out to youth and adults to start a more positive dialogue to make all our neighborhoods safer.
  • We can ask businesses in our communities for their support as we build a greater sense of community, both locally and nationally.

The pursuit of life, liberty and happiness can become a reality for everyone if we eliminate issues standing in the way of improved race relations. I love this country and we’ve made so much progress, but we’re not there yet. With deeper understanding and thoughtful and positive participation, America — and Americans — can live up to our full potential in a country built on diversity of thought, spirit, race and experience.

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Congress has moved the fastest against the Presidents Immigration effort than they have on any other measures including their normal work. It is apparent that our non functioning Congress will not improve under the Dupublicans. We as voters need to understand that “we” are the term limits for elected officials and we need to use that to limit the amount of time a Congressman or woman can serve. It should not take more than 2 terms for work to be done. The election cycle is offset to insure the opportunity  for “other” candidates to campaign for office. We have become so complacent that we have allowed ourselves to be “conned” by the long term office holders. Mitch McConnell has had one aspiration and that is to be the top guy in the Senate, he has flip flopped all his career to get where he needed to be and therefore has no loyalty to anyone but himself. If it served his agenda, he would gladly throw Mr. Boehner under the bus as would I suspect Mr. Boehner would do to him. The current rulers of the Congress are not friends but rivals for power and media attention while doing nothing for the country as a whole let alone their “constituency”. They both are fond of quoting what “the  American people ” want while doing what they will for themselves and their own. The current political makeup of Congress is one of the most dangerous and possibly inept groups in history. We the voters need to be very afraid and wary of what they do and say. No one is exempt from the havoc they may bring down on us over the next several years and beyond. The Dupublicans  have some serious issues within their party with the younger members being a bit more radical and vocal. This will all play out over the next few election cycles and we as voters need to remember “anyone who spend millions to gain a position that pays so little in comparison should be suspect”.

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My friend Martin again makes a point that many of  us gat and Congress doesn’t.

Repeal hurts those we know who need healthcare

Abel Oldsworth, my reticent friend, cannot understand the repeated call for repeal of the Affordable Health Care Act.  He says most of us know someone who is out of work, works part time, is a college student, or has disabilities who now can afford a visit to a doctor or a clinic. They do not have to use costlier emergency rooms for their primary care or wait until they have multiple problems before seeking care.  Look at how Medicare and Medicaid coverages have aided the elderly and those going through disastrous accidents and illnesses.  In contrast, many objecting lawmakers have enrolled in premium plans under the Act while shouting their opposition.

Many lawmakers contend that affordable Health Care coverage is regretful

Although saving people’s money and lives might be beneficial.

But it’s those uninsured folks’ defects

Which outweigh the spending effects,

And thus warrant the repeal as providential.

Martin Egelston

Battle Creek Enquirer

November 26, 2014

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