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Before I get started I would like to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. Since this is officially Thanksgiving Day and a national holiday as declared by the US congress in 1941 I feel that it is appropriate for me to day a post on Thanksgiving and it’s origins. This will not be an intensely political post, but more of an FYI kind of post. Are you all ready to get started? Okay then lets begin.
The people who celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day feast were called separatists, but we call them pilgrims. They originally fled England for Holland to escape religious persecution and a volatile political environment in the east Midlands of England. In the Netherlands they achieved the freedom to practice their religion without fear from the Church of England or its government. However due to what many of them considered an immoral environment in the Netherlands and idea of losing their cultural identity the group arranged to establish a new colony in North America.
The colonist faced many obstacles in order to start their new colony. They faced problems from Bureaucracy and the investors themselves. They were also challenged by things like sabotage, storms, and sickness. They also had no relationships with the native peoples of the region they were to colonize and worried about the possibility of hostilities. In 1620 they landed at Plymouth Rock and established the second successful English colony in North America. Both the Plymouth and Jamestown colonies became the cornerstone of what is now The United States Of America.
The first winter for the colony was very severe. The colony suffered 47 percent fatalities that winter. Their first harvest in the fall of 1621 was very successful though thanks in large part to the aid and comfort of the indigenous people they had encountered. They chose to celebrate their bountiful harvest with the Indians who had helped them and the feast lasted for three days.
If it were not for the hardships and successes that these people experienced it is very likely that our nation would not exist. Their heirs went on to fight against the French, and later the English to avoid taxation without representation and to throw off the caste system being imposed upon them by the royal family and the ruling class. It seems that our forefathers had developed a streak of independence in the new world.
Now a days Thanksgiving doesn’t mean much more to us than a paid holiday if you work for Uncle Sam or a bank. You can sit around all day watching Macy's Thanksgiving day parade and football on TV. You can also stuff your face with all kinds of good food and then pass out from the exhaustion that occurs from such unhindered consumption. You get to renew old friendships and relearn all the idiosyncrasies of your family members. With any luck you might even get to hear the Arlo Guthrie classic Alice’s Restaurant. Many radio stations will still play it on Thanksgiving.
Whatever you do on Thanksgiving though it is good to remember its history, where those people came from, and why. The sacrifices they made and the hardships that they endured to reach the new world are what makes this day and our nation so special and precious. Thanks to their need to have the freedom to practice their religion without persecution all of this came into being.
So thank god for their strength when you give thanks for all that you have and enjoy today. Have a little tolerance for those who wish to practice their religion and allow me the freedom to practice mine, because freedom of religion is really the core belief behind this great nation we call The United States Of America.
I will not be posting anything before next week, but I will be back on Monday with another one. I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful weekend. It’s time for me to go get ready for my family and friends, watch some football, and prepare myself for my day of excess, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Well my friends the subject of Presidential pardons has recently come up. The reason for this sudden interest in the Presidential pardon is due to the fact the President George W, Bush has used this absolute power to pardon fourteen people and to commute prison sentences for two others so far.
The fear by the Democrats is that President Bush will use this power to pardon someone like Scooter Libby, or someone else they might consider controversial. I do believe that he should pardon the two Border Patrol agents Compean and Ramos. Those were the two who were convicted for shooting a drug smuggler in his butt as he was attempting to escape back into Mexico from the US.
Their other big fear is that he may even issue pardons to people who have not been charged with anything yet, such as cabinet members or even VP Dick Cheney. Believe me they have wanted to get Dick Cheney for years. If President Bush were to do these types of pardons they could not be overturned and the Democrats would lose their shot at some Republican red meat.
The constitution was written to make sure that Presidential pardons were absolute and could not be overturned. Let us not forget that previous Presidents have used the Presidential pardon controversially since we became a country. Let’s take a look at some of these great leaders who have used the pardon to their advantage.
Some of the Clinton pardons were notorious. Perhaps the one most everyone remembers is the pardon of Marc Rich the billionaire fugitive. It was rumored that he received his pardon due to some aggressive lobbying by his surrogates, and the fact that his estranged wife was a major Clinton contributor. Bill Clinton actually granted three hundred and ninety five pardons. However a total of one hundred and forty were issued on the last day of his Presidency including the Rich pardon. Similar charges regarding other final day pardons prompted calls for congressional hearings and action by federal prosecutors.
A couple of other Presidents who have had controversial pardons are Jimmy Carter and George H W Bush. Jimmy Carter pardoned all those who had evaded service during the Vietnam War. George H W Bush pardoned six Reagan administration officials including Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger who were involved in the Iran-Contra affair. Below is a brief description of the pardon power.
The Pardon Power:
Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives the president "Power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment." A reprieve reduces the severity of a punishment without removing the guilt of the person reprieved. A pardon removes both punishment and guilt.
As judicially interpreted, the president's power to grant reprieves and pardons is absolute. Individual reprieves and pardons cannot be blocked by Congress or the courts. The Framers of the Constitution envisioned the pardon power has having a narrow purpose in times of war and rebellion. The president might offer pardons to rebellious factions as an inducement for a laying down of arms and national reconciliation. Alexander Hamilton argued in the Federalist Papers (No. 74) that "in seasons of insurrection or rebellion, there are often critical moments, when a well-timed offer of pardon to the insurgents or rebels may restore the tranquility of the common wealth; and which, if suffered to pass unimproved, it may never be possible afterward to recall."
So you can see that it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about who a President pardons, because once he does a pardon that’s that. I personally hope that President Bush does do blanket pardons for himself and his cabinet including Dick Cheney. They should not have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives for defending our country and fighting two wars. We are luck that President Bush didn’t institute the War Powers Act, or suspend Posse Commitatus. Then there might not have even been an election in 2004 or 2008.
That is all I have for today, but I will have a special one for Thanksgiving Day. I t won’t be very political but it will be true. Have a wonderful Wednesday CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Well it seems that President elect Barack Obama is in a hurry to get his cabinet members selected, appointed, and confirmed. Hillary is apparently his first cabinet pick and his choice for Secretary of State. I don’t really think he will have a problem getting Mrs. Clinton confirmed, but it might be a different story for some of his other picks.
Three of these people stand out as possible problems with regard to the confirmation process, Governor Bill Richardson, Governor Janet Napolitano, and Eric Holder. All three of these individuals are familiar players on the national political stage. They will also come to the confirmation process with their own baggage, as each has made some politically disastrous decisions.
Bill Richardson has been a very good Governor for the state of New Mexico; however he has two potential problems that may plague him. One of these problems is his involvement in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. It seems that he had offered Miss Lewinsky a position at the UN in an effort to guarantee her silence for then President Bill Clinton.
The other problem he may have is for failing to safeguard nuclear secrets after departing the UN to become Energy Secretary. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia declared he would never again receive Senate support for any office he sought. This would appear to be very problematic since Senate confirmation would be required for him to become Commerce Secretary.
The apparent appointee for Director of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is another appointee who may have trouble with the Senate confirmation process. In addition to being a lousy Governor for the state I live in, which is Arizona. She was also directly involved in the Anita Hill sexual harassment case against then US Supreme Court Justice nominee Clarence Thomas. Her part in that failed attempt to smear the reputation of an honorable man was as part of the legal team representing Anita Hill when she was a private attorney. It was said that she may have coached a witness for Hill into changing testimony.
The only real obstacle that Attorney General Appointee Eric Holder will have to confront was his choice to pardon Marc Rich when he was Deputy Attorney General under the Clinton administration. Marc Rich was the billionaire on the run who was given a pardon by Bill Clinton on his last day in office. He may have received his pardon because of his estranged wife’s activities as a high paying Clinton donor.
I don’t really believe that if Barack Obama appoints these people to his cabinet that they would fail to get through the confirmation hearings, but I do think that they might get held up there. However Obama’s two picks for Secretary of the Treasury in Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director in Lawrence Summers appear on the surface to be strong picks, but I guess time will tell.
Have a terrific Tuesday my friends CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Today we are going to talk about President Elect Obama’s potential pick of the Democratic Senator from New York Hillary Rodham Clinton, for Secretary of State. This pick has the ability to be extremely advantageous for the incoming administration for a variety of reasons, but could be a hindrance also. This could be true for Senator Clinton as well.
One of the benefits for the incoming administration is the celebrity that Mrs. Clinton will bring to the post. Included in that benefit, is Bill Clintons star status on the world stage. Both of the Clintons are very well received around the world by most governments. Hillary also has established some personal relationships with world leaders as a former first lady that would give her a stable platform from which to negotiate with other nations.
Another benefit for the incoming Obama administration is that by having Hillary Clinton in the cabinet is that it may thwart Hillary’s potential run for the White House in 2012. It would be very hard for Hillary to mount a campaign, because you usually start one about two years prior to the election. It would require Hillary to resign her post after only two years, run against the incumbent President from her own party, as a former member of his own cabinet. That would probably not be a wise move for Hillary.
Yet another benefit will be the fact that the Democratic Party would not lose the Hillary’s senate seat to the Republican Party. In all likelihood the seat would go to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. This means that the Democrats and Obama would maintain the same majority in the upper house of congress that they won on November 4th.
A hindrance for the Obama administration is the fact that Hillary really has very little foreign policy experience. Although Hillary hit Obama pretty hard on foreign policy during her campaign her experience is not much more than that of her potential boss. This would be offset by the fact that the White House would control all major foreign policy decisions and VP elect Joe Biden is a foreign policy heavyweight. The downside for Hillary is that she will not be dictating foreign policy.
Another potential hindrance for the incoming administration could be whether or not Bill Clinton can be reined in by Hillary and Obama. Bill Clinton does a lot of his work overseas and makes a large amount of his money from this. Bill Clinton’s foreign policy may not be in sync with the Obama administration and this may lead Hillary to question where her loyalties lie. It would be a first for a Secretary of State to be married to a former US President. However I personally do not think she would be disloyal to the people or government of the United States.
I personally think there are more pluses than minuses for Obama to have Hillary as Secretary of State. I think in time she might grow into the position and be quite good at the job. I believe that if Hillary is planning a run for the party Presidential nomination for the 2012 election she should not accept the appointment to the post. She might be more of a positive party player in the senate until then also.
Have a great day my friends CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Since I haven’t discussed the subject of gay marriage on its own I thought I might do so today. The idea of gay marriage sparks a lot of emotion on both sides of the issue especially on the left coast in California with the passing of Prop 8. Similar measures were also passed this Nov 4th in other states such as Arizona and Florida. Gay marriage is legal in a couple of states such as Connecticut and Massachusetts.
In California Gay marriage was initially banned by voters up until about six months ago. At that time the California State Supreme Court decided to legislate from the bench, which some other State Supreme Courts have done in the past, and they overturned the wishes of the majority of voters in California and legalized gay marriage. On November 4th, 2008 of this year the amendment to the California constitution to ban gay marriage passed by an overwhelming majority of voters in that state.
The catalyst for passing of this amendment was a large influx of money, the Black American, and Evangelical vote. For the record the majority of Black Americans who voted for Obama voted for the passage of Prop 8 as well. On the evangelical side the Mormons and Catholics mounted a massive campaign in support of the proposition also.
Opponents of Prop 8 freaked out when the amendment passed. They had initially believed that they would face no or at least little opposition in their efforts to stop Prop 8 dead in its tracks. When they lost their battle they became no better than mad dogs in the streets in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. There were riots in those cities as well as violent protests and confrontations with supporters of Prop 8.
Now it appears that the California State Supreme Court is about to rejoin the battle of same sex marriage again. The court has granted requests by both sides of Prop 8 to review lawsuits challenging the November 4th passage of the initiative. The court did however refuse to allow same sex marriages to resume while it considers the constitutionality of Prop 8.
Personally I don’t believe in same sex marriage but I do believe in civil unions for same sex couples. However in this case the people have spoken and usually the majority vote rules. That is what I was taught to believe and I still do. If the State Supreme Court of California should overturn Prop 8 and legalize same sex marriage again I think the United States Supreme Court should step in and reinstate Prop 8 as the law of the state of California. I am really interested to hear all of your thoughts on this subject so please feel free to comment.
Have a wonderful weekend CIAO$NOW!!!!!
Well I got some good news today. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens as officially lost his reelection bid for his seat in his home state. This man who has been in the senate since 1968 and has a reputation for getting earmarked federal funds for his state and his conviction on seven felony conspiracy counts gave his last speech on the senate floor today.
In his speech he spoke much about his time in Washington DC. He acknowledged leaving the senate a wounded man, but said he did not have a rear view mirror and was looking ahead. He stated that he believed that god still had something for him to do. After the speech he was spoken fondly of by several notable senators such as Harry Reid, Robert Byrd who turned 91 today, Daniel Inouye, and Larry Craig who recounted his story of how he started referring to Ted Stevens as Uncle Ted.
His motto which is "to hell with politics, just do what is right for Alaska" slipped up and did what he thought was right for himself instead. His conviction in federal court on seven counts of felony conspiracy helped to mark the end of his long running career in the senate. Whether he will or will not be missed in the senate is up to the individual his violation of the trust of his constituents in Alaska should not go unpunished. I hope that this result serves as a notice to all those other corrupt politicians in DC who are committing or are thinking of committing a crime against the American people by violating our trust.
Have an excellent day my friends CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Today I want to talk about a few things going on in the political arena like unresolved races and some potential cabinet appointments for Barack Obama’s cabinet. I don’t really want to write about the auto industry bailout I’ve written about that enough already.
I do have one thing to say about it though. How can they say they are burning through money like crazy and need help when the CEO’s of the big three each fly to Washington to testify before congress in their own private corporate jets, which cost an average of 36 million dollars a piece and 30 thousand dollars to fuel. No wonder they are going through cash so fast haven’t they heard of flying commercial? Even a first class seat would be cheaper. It’s really just basic economics in case you didn’t know. Now on to other things.
I want to talk about the Minnesota senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken first. The reason is that while I don’t really want the democrats to have a super majority filibuster proof control of the senate I would expect a Democrat to win this race. Unfortunately that Democrat might be Al Franken, and Al Franken is such a weenie to. This idiot is a former comedian who was never really funny and a former radio personality for the liberal talk radio company known as Air America.
A broadcast company that failed I might add because of people like him and Garafalo who spouted far left hate filled rhetoric and radical nonsense. The only reason it survived as long as it did was because Billionaire George Souros poured millions of dollars into the doomed enterprise. Now Al Franken is looking for a platform in the US Senate to spout more of his ignorant views. If the Democrats are going to have a super majority in the senate they should at least have people in control who know how to take care of business. What a waste of the people of Minnesota’s votes.
Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens is still holding on by a hair there against Democrat Mark Begich the Mayor of Anchorage Alaska. I really hope that Stevens loses this race because he is corrupt as well as a federally convicted felon as of a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think there should be people like Uncle Ted in our government. Fortunately I am very confident that when all the votes are counted he will be gone and congratulations Mark Begich.
The Georgia senate race is also very important. I really hope that Republican Senator Saxby Chandliss defeats the Democrat challenger Jim Martin in the run off election down there. I know the left is really hoping that he gets defeated. They say he is a lazy bigoted coward and that why he deserves to lose. If that were true then why would they support someone like WV Senator Robert Byrd? That guy is a former klingon or what ever you call them of the Knights of Klu Klux Klan. If he isn’t a bigoted coward I don’t know who is. He did all of his hate and bigotry behind a mask.
A potential cabinet appointment for Obama I want to talk about is Hillary Clinton as a possible Secretary of State. I personally believe that she would be a great choice for the position. I have to wonder if she can work for Barack though considering what she said about is foreign policy experience during her campaign as well as his remarks about hers during his campaign.
I would also have to wonder how her husbands own brand of foreign policy will affect her appointment. The man does a lot of business over seas with some people and governments that we might find unseemly. His financial disclosure may reveal this during the vetting process. So I wonder if Hillary can rein him in so that is policies don’t clash with the administrations.
Well that is about all I want to talk about for today. I hope you all have an excellent hump day and I will see you all again soon, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
