New York Times : Statistics of Diversity in the Classroom : Ranking the States according to Diversity and Percentages of Children of Many Races in Schools - 1 Nevada, 2 Florida, 3 California, 4 New York, 5 Texas

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I am playing and organizing Children Statistics ( according to Race ) for some states and ranking them.


The data is old from year 2006 - We are waiting for the new information of the Census 2010, so that the tables are changed probably with more Racially Diverse Children.


The New York Times is classifying the states according to a Complex Statistic


According to percentage of Latinos the order is different : California, Texas, Nevada, etc ...


Arizona and New Mexico would probably have a higher percentage of Latino Children than Florida with 25% or New York with 21%, but I do not have the numbers for Arizona and New Mexico.




The New York Times
Immigration and Enrollment in the Classroom
December 30, 2010

Diversity in the Classroom



The USA :

Students, in 2006 48,504,876
White 27,394,435 56%
Black 8,288,264 17%
Hispanic 9,950,245 21%
Asian 2,282,149 5%
Native American 589,783 1%


Nevada :

Students, in 2006 423,184
White 187,761 44%
Black 46,777 11%
Hispanic 149,722 35%
Asian 32,146 8%
Native American 6,778 2%

Florida :

Students, in 2006 2,583,329
White 1,249,588 48%
Black 617,175 24%
Hispanic 646,826 25%
Asian 61,809 2%
Native American 7,931 0%

California :

Students, in 2006 6,116,143
White 1,848,588 30%
Black 477,597 8%
Hispanic 3,027,217 49%
Asian 714,432 12%
Native American 48,309 1%

New York :

Students, in 2006 2,781,785
White 1,448,931 52%
Black 546,918 20%
Hispanic 572,430 21%
Asian 199,592 7%
Native American 13,914 1%

Texas :

Students, in 2006 4,599,509
White 1,639,808 36%
Black 664,249 14%
Hispanic 2,129,393 46%
Asian 150,222 3%
Native American 15,837 0%
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VIDEO, Rachel Maddow with Paul Krugman, "We need Government Spending to get out of this Recession" ... "We can not afford indefinite extension of Tax Cuts forever".

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The Nobel Prize Winning Economist tells us about the need of Government Spending and Future Stimulus for the Economy.

SchittReport | December 29, 2010


Professor Krugman on The Rachel Maddow Show before Christmas, explaining stimulus and required government policies to the "masses".

Paul Krugman On Stimulus Moving Forward Into 2011

VIDEO : Rags to Riches : Twins Mary and Janet Murguia - Mary has been approved by U. S. Senate as judge of the Ninth Circuit of Appeals in San Francisco, Janet is President of La Raza

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They were extremely poor with N0 TELEPHONE !
Growing in Kansas, being Latinas, Belief in God and the American Dream
Our Mom did not understand English !
The Twins were Tomboys playing Football and Baseball with boys !
Speaking Spanish is a terrific asset today ! 

From Poverty and Modesty to Stardom, Great Twins and Winners !



Congratulations !




KU | March 26, 2010 | 1 likes, 1 dislikes


University of Kansas alumnae and twin sisters Janet and Mary Murguía delivered the 2010 Emily Taylor and Marilyn Stokstad Womens Leadership Lecture, administered by the Hall Center for the Humanities.


Janet Murguía is president and chief executive officer of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Mary Murguía is the first Latina to serve on the U.S. District Court of Arizona.

Janet and Mary Murguía - Emily Taylor and Marilyn Stokstad Womens Leadership Lecture:

My Obama Math : I kneel everyday at 5 A. M. and pray to God that one day Arizona and Texas become Blue ( Democratic Party ). Or that the coming gerrymandering in Texas fails, backfires and blowbacks covering the Republicans in RIDICULE

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I feel very safe, secure, happy, contented, being assured and knowing that President Obama will be reelected and that Republicans will be frustrated in their Evil and Wickedness.


I congratulate all of you ( Texans ) for your new four seats in the U. S. House of Representatives and I kneel everyday at 5 A. M. and pray to God that one day Arizona and Texas become Blue ( Democratic Party ). Or that the coming gerrymandering in Texas fails, backfires and blowbacks covering the Republicans in RIDICULE.


If one of those two mentioned states fails the Republicans in 2012 then GOP is condemned to 4 four more years weeping in the desert crying NO NO NO.


If the SouthEast ( Atlantic ) States vote for President Obama ( Florida, Already an Obamist  state, Georgia, South Carolina ) then Republicans will have more "wailing and gnashing of teeth"


Even if Obama keeps Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, then Republicans do not have an easy climb to the magic number to elect a President.


I am an optimist, but first a Realist, I know how difficult is to turn Arizona and Texas into blue states.


But my other paths to Obama Second Term are not so impossible or absurd.


For now dear Democrats register as many new Latinos as possible, and go and spend your Electoral Money where the new voters are, such as Latinos in Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia. Do not forget other Minorities to register as new voters ....And do not forget Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, even if these three last states seem somewhat safe for Obama.


This is the time to be investing Big Electoral Money in Youth and New Voters for Obama 2012.


Vicente Duque

Huffington Post : Did Arizona Shoot Itself in the Foot? : Michael P. McDonald, Professor George Mason University - People were undercounted in Arizona or left the state before the Census was in operation - AZ loses Federal Money

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Huffington Post
Did Arizona Shoot Itself in the Foot?
December 27, 2010

By Michael P. McDonald
Dr. Michael P. McDonald is Associate Professor of Government and Politics in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Did Arizona Shoot Itself in the Foot?



Some excerpts :

Note that I say "people" not "citizens." This is where Arizona may have lost as much as three-quarters of a billion dollars annually in federal funding. The Arizona state government could have easily put this money to good use, as according to the New York Times, the state faced a $2.6 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2011.

I come to this conclusion by comparing what the Census Bureau expected Arizona's population to be and what it really was -- or at least who was counted. Throughout the decade, the Census Bureau demographers estimate each state's population. The most recent estimates give a sense of what the Census Bureau thought the April 1, 2010, population of Arizona would be.

So, the Census Bureau demographers projected Arizona's population to be 6,668,079 but the actual number was 6,392,017 or 276,062 fewer people than what the Census Bureau expected to find. This was the largest shortfall of any state in absolute numbers. Since Arizona is a mid-sized state, as a percentage of the population this shortfall was nearly twice that of the next nearest state, Georgia.

So why was the Census Bureau wrong? Or were they wrong? It is not unreasonable to surmise one of two things were contributing factors: Either Arizona's undocumented population did not want to stick around in the state or they did not think it was wise to fill out a government form -- even if their confidentiality is strictly guarded by the U.S. Census Bureau. If the shortfall was due to the latter, then at $2,708 a person, Arizona lost out on $775 million in federal grants per year.

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TucsonCitizen.com : It Is Time to Free Arizona : Salomón F. Baldenegro - For most of the Democratic candidates in the 2010 election, it was the official party line not to engage in this battle - and they lost the Elections miserably

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The Cowardice of the Democratic Party in Arizona was of no use in the 2010 Elections - Failing to take a stand because of cowardice did not save them from a Big Defeat. Cowardice is always despicable !

TucsonCitizen.com
It Is Time to Free Arizona
Salomón F. Baldenegro
December 14, 2010

It Is Time to Free Arizona


Some excerpts :

Arizona has been in the news, this year, more than any time I can remember, maybe more so than any time in history. To what do we owe this honor? Is it our beautiful weather? Is it our big skies, our stunning and diverse scenery, the deeply-rooted Mexican and Native people and culture that are woven into the very fabric of the state? Well, the answer to the latter is maybe, but we all know that the real reason for our infamy is Jan Brewer, Russell Pearce, Sheriff Arpaio, SB1070, HB2281, and the concerted and intense racist attack on Latinos that has come to define our state in the eyes of the country and the rest of the world. Whether we like it or not, we have the attention of the entire world, and for all the wrong reasons.

Despite this, however, many people refuse to even acknowledge the existence of this attack and the racist climate that has infected our state. Arizona has been condemned for it by the rest of the country and world, yet many people, including a great number of self-described “liberals” and “progressives”, continue to treat it as a pink elephant in the room.

This includes many of our elected officials, and most of the Democratic candidates in the 2010 election, for whom it was the official party line not to engage in this battle. The official policy was not to speak about SB1070, HB2281, etc., essentially throwing the Latino community right under the bus, at a time when we are under full-scale attack. By way of their silence and inaction, they were absolutely complicit in the demonizing and scapegoating of Latinos for political gain.

Ironically, though, it was this lack of courage and leadership that resulted in the drubbing and embarrassment for Democrats in the past election. The more they pandered to the racist agenda, the weaker they looked, and the less and less inspiring they became. How can any person of conscience, especially Latinos, be inspired to get out and vote for people who will not take a stand to defend them at this most critical time? The bottom line is that if they want the highly-prized and coveted “Latino vote”, then they are going to have to earn it.

I’ve heard some of the Democratic Party leadership respond to this criticism by condescendingly saying that “we cannot focus on one single issue.” The youth are strong, intelligent, and capable, and those who fail to recognize our ability to deal with a wide variety of issues do so at their own peril. However, condescension and arrogance aside, guess what? There is “one single issue” that defines the state of Arizona in the eyes of the country and the world, and it is the racist attack that we are currently experiencing. Whether we like it or not, this is what currently defines Arizona, and once the Democrats choose to proactively represent their ideals, and make strong, cogent arguments to inspire their base and confront the far right agenda that is destroying the working and middle class, black, white, and brown, they will find that the same wave that took Obama to the White House in 2008 will rematerialize to carry them in 2012.

However, for whatever reason, so many people refuse to acknowledge what has defined the state of Arizona, in the eyes of the world. It could be that the issue of race has become a touchy subject for many. It could be that they think that all of this will somehow magically disappear. For whatever reason, they simply pretend that none of this exists.

To this day, the fight against racism continues in Arizona.

Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets, in anger. Students have walked out of school, in protest of laws that seek to delegitimize their culture and co-opt their education by removing Mexican-American, African-American, Native American, and Pan-Asian history courses from the schools. The state of Arizona is the target of a worldwide boycott due to this racist attack, yet these people still will not acknowledge it and take a stand.

For those of us who have been involved in the resistance to this attack, the silence of so many is absolutely infuriating. What is particularly infuriating is that many of these same people speak glowingly about the noble efforts of the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s and 70s, yet they refuse to acknowledge the civil rights movement that is happening, RIGHT NOW, in 2010.

Despite the frustration and anger that Latinos feel, I am writing this column to appeal to the broader community to fight against this injustice, and to explain why this attack is dividing and destroying our state, no matter what race, background, or political party you are from.

The first reason is that it is destroying our state’s economy, plain and simple. In response to SB1070, the rest of the country and world has launched a full boycott of our state. It is SPECIFICALLY because of this law that people are now refusing to come here, spend money here, or do business with companies based in Arizona.
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POLITICO.COM : Beyond Mariachi and Piñata Politics - Norm Coleman ( Fmr MN Sen ) and Jeb Bush ( Fmr FL Gov ) are making calls and working hard for a more inclusive Republican Party and are organizing Latinos - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will speak at conference

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POLITICO.COM
GOP spells Latino outreach J-E-B
By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN
December 2, 2010


GOP spells Latino outreach J-E-B



Some excerpts :

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has teamed up with former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who served in former President George W. Bush’s Cabinet, and former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), a one-time supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, to restore the Republican Party’s standing with this fastest-growing segment of the electorate.

...................

“When Norm called me to tell me he was doing this, I almost broke into song, I was so happy,” said Ana Navarro, co-chair of McCain’s National Hispanic Advisory Council. “We all know it’s been a problem, but nobody has been leading any real concerted effort to address the problem.”

................

Outgoing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty confirmed his attendance at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla., and “the interest level is high” among the rest of the field, said Rob Collins, a spokesman for the group.

....................

Rubio and New Mexico Gov.-elect Susana Martinez advocated a border-security- first, no-amnesty position on immigration during the campaign, similar to most Republicans, “but there is a different tone,” Coleman said.

.................

Coleman, the chief executive officer of the American Action Network, has been consulting with a roster of key Hispanic Republicans: Ana Navarro, former Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, and Alfonso Aguilar, president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles.

..............

“This is a response to a realization that we need the support of Latino voters if we are to prevail in 2012, if we want to win back the White House,” Aguilar said. “We have to move away from piñata politics.”

The involvement of Jeb Bush signaled to Navarro and Aguilar that the effort was a serious one, installing the Republican Party’s most trusted emissary to the Latino community and a credible conservative voice in the role of co-chairman.

................

One session will take stock of the relationship between Republicans and Latino community, and how the tone of the debate affects their perception of the party. Immigration will be another top-tier discussion.

“It is an issue, it has to be addressed,” Coleman said.

But he was reluctant to prescribe a solution ahead of the conference.

“Do I believe there is a path out there that Republicans can follow that will allow us to continue to grow support in the Hispanic community? Yes,” Coleman said. “The point of the forum is to address many issues and immigration is one of them. I’m a believer that ultimately people of goodwill can come together. We’re not going to be afraid to have that discussion.”

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HuffPost : Newt Gingrich ( possible presidential ) : "When 22 percent of the electorate is Latino, candidates can't win without a vigorous presence in the Hispanic community and a message that is understandable and involves respect"

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Newt's last stances on Immigration have been more moderate than those of Republican Congress Leaders.


Huffington Post
Congress To Take Harder Line On Illegal Immigration
SUZANNE GAMBOA, AP
December 26, 2010

Congress To Take Harder Line On Illegal Immigration


Some excerpts :

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a possible 2012 candidate, cited Meg Whitman's failed gubernatorial bid in California despite her high spending. When 22 percent of the electorate is Latino, candidates can't win without a vigorous presence in the Hispanic community and a "message that is understandable and involves respect," Gingrich said. Even so, Gingrich was unwilling to call on his fellow Republican senators to drop their opposition to the Dream Act, saying the legislation should not have been considered without giving lawmakers a chance to amend it.

The next Congress will be populated with many newcomers elected on a platform of tougher immigration enforcement. They'll have ready ears in Republican Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Steve King of Iowa, who is expected to chair the committee's immigration subcommittee.

That's a recipe for more measures aimed at immigration enforcement, including requiring businesses to use E-Verify rather than eyeballing paper documents to check workers' citizenship and legal residency status.

"I've already told the business community it's going to happen," said Beto Cardenas, executive counsel to Americans for Immigration Reform, a coalition of business leaders who support overhauling immigration laws. Changes to immigration law contained in appropriations and authorization bills, where immigration enforcement hawks are likely to tuck some measures, would also be tough to reject.

But more controversial measures such as attempts to deny citizenship to children of people who are in the U.S. without permission could be tempered by GOP leaders aware of the need to curry more favor with Hispanic voters.

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POLITICO.COM : The Arena : Professors of Political Science and Famous Authors judge the performance of President Obama and his relation to Congress - Obama's "Victory Lap" and comparison to History.

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I select the best comments and estimations, the more intelligent and wise. Those valuations that are the best judgement.

POLITICO.COM
The Arena
Are Lame Duck Sessions the "New Normal" ?
December 23, 2010

Are Lame Duck Sessions the "New Normal" ?


Some excerpts :

**************************

Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais are fellows with NDN and the New Policy Institute. They are the co-authors of the book "Millennial Makeover" :

Morley Winograd Fellow, NDN and New Policy Institute :

Obama's successes in the lame-duck session capped the most productive first two years of a presidency, in terms of legislative victories, since LBJ -- arguably surpassing FDR's track record in his first two years. One analysis by Eleanor Clift suggested he won more than 95 percent of the votes in Congress where he staked out a clear position. The lame-duck session's track record only confirmed the president's complete mastery of the 111th Congress and his superior legislative skills.

Of course the problem he faces is that he was elected president, not legislator-in-chief, so his overall popularity won't improve, no matter how well he deals with Congress, until he masters the art of executive leadership as well. But the skillful way he brought both new START and "don't ask, don't tell" back from the brink of defeat to triumphant, bipartisan victories in the lame-duck session suggests his on-the-job learning curve will make him a formidable executive during the next two years that both Republicans and Democrats will have to learn how to deal with.

As we enter the new year, thanks to the outcome of the lame-duck session, the learning curve has moved to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

**************************

Barry Burden Professor of political science, University of Wisconsin :

The lame-duck marathon was huge for Obama. When combined with legislation passed before the election, the production of the 111th Congress is downright impressive. Moreover, the bills passed in the last couple of weeks have drawn significant support from Republicans. Even if little else happens over the next two years, Obama will have a record of legislative achievement to run on in 2012.

**************************

Dewey Clayton Professor of Political Science, University of Louisville :

I think that the lame duck session was a huge win for Obama. Just a few weeks ago, Obama was being written off by the media. They were even saying that Obama would be a lame-duck president for the remainder of his term. Obama has proved his political mettle by winning bipartisan support for a series of initiatives that many didn't think had a possibility of passing because of Republican stonewalling. Obama exercised political leadership and did so in the spirit of bipartisanship.

I don't think that the Democrats did too much, too late. I think that they realized that come Jan. 3, 2010, the dynamics will change greatly and the legislative majorities they now have will have ended. I don't know if future lame duck sessions will attempt such an ambitious agenda.

**************************

Doug Roscoe Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth :

Not only has it been the most productive post-election period in decades, it's been one of the most productive pre-election periods in decades. Despite the appearance of ineptitude suggested by the heavy midterm losses, Obama was able to score major legislative victories during his first two years.

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HuffPost : Joe Peyronnin : "The Persistent President" : President Obama has accomplished an amazing amount during his first two years in office - He has positioned himself as more bipartisan than the Republicans

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Here is a man with Great Experience of the Media and Politics that acknowledges Obama's achievements.

Huffington Post
The Persistent President
December 23, 2010

By Joe Peyronnin
NYU Journalism Professor

Joe Peyronnin is currently a senior adviser and investor in several new media companies, as well as an adjunct journalism professor at New York University. In 1999 he founded Telemundo network news and was its Executive Vice President until 2006. He served as President of Fox News in 1995-1996. From 1989 to 1995 he was Vice President and Assistant to the President CBS News where he oversaw newsgathering and news programming, including 60 MINUTES and the CBS EVENING NEWS. He was CBS News Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief from 1987 and 1988. From 1979 to 1986 he worked at CBS News as a producer and senior producer based Washington where he covered the White House, Congress, politics and he traveled extensively overseas on a variety of major assignments.

The Persistent President


Some excerpts :

For a man who said he suffered a "shellacking" at the polls and an elbow to the lower lip in a basketball game, President Barack was standing tall yesterday. The "lame duck" session of the 111th Congress will go down as one of the most productive sessions in history, but this just may be the calm before the storm.

The president's legislative accomplishments this past month are truly remarkable. Many initiatives thought to be beyond reach passed in a legislative flurry. The START Treaty, repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell", which the president signed today in an emotional ceremony at the White House, a continuing resolution to extend government financing to March 4, the extension of unemployment benefits, and compensation for the 9/11 survivors were among the measures pushed through Congress at the end of their term. Many members of Congress deserve credit, but the brightest light shines on President Obama.

President Obama has accomplished an amazing amount during his first two years in office. The "Recovery Act" saved more than 3 million jobs from being lost. The auto industry bailout has helped the U.S. auto industry regain its footing. Banking reform will make it harder for financial institutions to lead this country to the precipice of economic failure. Historic health care reform will expand coverage to millions of Americans, preventing those with a pre-existing condition or those who lose their jobs from being dropped by insurance companies. It will also help control health care costs and allow parents to keep children up to 25 years of age on their policy. Also among his achievements, the appointment of Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

In a few short weeks the president has positioned himself as more bipartisan than the Republicans. A new CNN poll shows voters approve by a margin of 56 to 42 percent the president's handling of this congressional session. Only 42 per cent approved the Republicans' handling of the session. The poll also overwhelmingly found that the president did enough to compromise with Republicans, a 59 to 37 per cent margin.

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POLITICO.COM : Many important Republican 2012 hopefuls to skip Hispanic forum - But these Republicas will attend the Forum : Former Gov. Jeb Bush, Gormer Sen. Norm Coleman, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty

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Ignoring the fastest growing demography of the U. S. Electorate - The Nativists and Racists are a shrinking slice of the Voters.



POLITICO.COM
2012 hopefuls to skip Hispanic forum
By CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN
December 23, 2010

Republican 2012 hopefuls to skip Hispanic forum


Some excerpts :

It was billed, in part, as a forum for the 2012 Republican presidential field to speak directly to Hispanics — a replica of the vaunted Conservative Political Action Conference, but tailored to the fastest-growing slice of the electorate.

Yet, when former Gov. Jeb Bush, former Sen. Norm Coleman and former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez open the first Hispanic Leadership Network conference next month in Miami, the only potential presidential candidate confirmed to attend — so far — is Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney declined the invite. So did South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Texas Gov Rick Perry.

Newt Gingrich is “amenable” to attending but hasn’t committed yet, his spokesman said.

And others in the group, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, didn’t respond to inquiries from POLITICO.

A poor showing could raise doubts about the commitment of Republicans to court Hispanics, one of the open-ended questions of the 2012 presidential cycle.

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HuffPost : Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on the lame duck congress and December 2010 : "When it's all going to be said and done, Harry Reid has eaten our lunch." - Barack Obama took his victory lap today

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Against what was expected in November, this month of December has been fortunate for President Obama - He is happy of his Congress Victories.

Huffington Post
111th Congress Ends With Bang, Not Whimper
December 22, 2010


By Chris Weigant
As “Tom Paine” Chris wrote the book How Democrats Can Take Back Congress in 2006, which (while obviously dated now) still has a lot of good advice for Democratic candidates today.

111th Congress Ends With Bang, Not Whimper


Some excerpts :

Barack Obama took his victory lap today. He didn't hesitate to laud Democratic achievements, to articulate the overall Democratic narrative, and to admit that there are still some big things left to do. But the real victory here was performed by the 111th Congress. This Congress ended much as it began -- by passing a flurry of long-awaited Democratic agenda items, together with one large bill that many argued had too much Republican influence. 

Democrats decried the original stimulus package as having too many tax cut giveaways to the Republicans, and they did the same thing on the Obama/GOP tax cut bill they just passed. But they managed to pass both of them -- as well as all the other Democratic agenda items in tandem. Of course, between these two periods of frenetic activity on Capitol Hill, there was an excruciating period of extended debate on two or three enormous issues (healthcare reform, Wall Street reform, possibly a few others). But Democrats achieved all of these as well, flawed though these legislative victories may have been.

It didn't have to be this way, of course. Every single one of the bills the Democratic 111th Congress passed could have been better. But every single one of them could have been a lot worse, too -- or they could never have been passed at all. In fact, the 111th Congress only had a few really weighty defeats, on things like passing an energy policy, achieving comprehensive immigration reform, and a whole raft of labor issues.

Politics, the old saw goes, is the art of the possible. Measured by what was possible versus what was achieved, the 111th Congress was overwhelmingly successful and productive. The lame duck was no different. The last few weeks of Congress has had some big defeats for Democrats, but also some rather large victories. On balance, the lame duck was outstandingly productive and successful as well. No matter what your opinion of the current Congress at this point, it is almost certain that you'll look back on it more favorably as the 112th Congress takes control.

This was a bang-up week for Democrats, for Obama, and for the end of the 111th Congress. Don't believe me? Here is Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on what just happened: "When it's all going to be said and done, Harry Reid has eaten our lunch." But rather than going out with a bang, the lame duck could just have easily wound up with a last whimper -- and I, for one, am glad it didn't turn out that way.

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The New York Times : Paul Revere’s Ride Against Slavery - HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW published his best-known poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” 150 years ago tomorrow — the same day that South Carolina seceded from the United States

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The New York Times
Paul Revere’s Ride Against Slavery
By JILL LEPORE
December 18, 2010


Paul Revere’s Ride Against Slavery


Some excerpts :

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW published his best-known poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” 150 years ago tomorrow — the same day that South Carolina seceded from the United States.

“Listen, my children, and you shall hear/ Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” Before Longfellow published those lines, Revere was never known for his ride, and Longfellow got almost every detail of what happened in 1775 wrong. But Longfellow didn’t care: he was writing as much about the coming war as about the one that had come before. “Paul Revere’s Ride” is less a poem about the Revolutionary War than about the impending Civil War — and about the conflict over slavery that caused it. That meaning, though, has been almost entirely forgotten.

Longfellow, a passionately private man, was, just as passionately and privately, an abolitionist. His best friend was Charles Sumner, for whom he wrote, in 1842, a slim volume called “Poems on Slavery.” Sumner, a brash and aggressive politician, delivered stirring speeches attacking slave owners; Longfellow, a gentler soul, wrote verses mourning the plight of slaves, poems “so mild,” he wrote, “that even a slaveholder might read them without losing his appetite for breakfast.”

Still, publishing those poems cost Longfellow something: a piece of his privacy, with pressure from fellow abolitionists to enter politics. “I should be found but a weak and unworthy champion in public debate,” he demurred. Asked to write once more about slavery, he refused: “I think no one who cares about the matter will be at any loss to discover my opinion on that subject.”

Yet Longfellow’s abolitionist zeal didn’t abate. He secretly spent money he earned from his best-selling poems, like “The Song of Hiawatha,” to buy slaves their freedom. In 1856, when Sumner gave his famous “Crime Against Kansas” speech in the Senate, Longfellow congratulated him: “At last the spirit of the North is aroused.” That speech nearly cost Sumner his life — it so incensed a South Carolina representative, Preston Brooks, that he beat Sumner with a cane on the Senate floor.

The next year, Longfellow wrote to Sumner calling the Dred Scott decision heart-breaking, and wishing he could find a way to write about it: “I long to say some vibrant word, that should have vitality in it, and force. Be sure if it comes to me I will not be slow in uttering it.” On Dec. 2, 1859, the day John Brown was hanged, Longfellow wrote in his diary, “This will be a great day in our history, the date of a new Revolution quite as much needed as the old one.”

Pondering that new Revolution, Longfellow got to thinking about the old one. In April 1860, he began writing “Paul Revere’s Ride.” While he worked on the poem, he worried about the fate of the nation. Around the same time he went to see Frederick Douglass speak and read Sumner’s latest speech, which predicted that “the sacred animosity between Freedom and Slavery can end only with the triumph of Freedom.” In November, weeks after finishing “Paul Revere’s Ride,” Longfellow rejoiced in his diary that Lincoln had won the presidency; echoing Sumner, he wrote: “Freedom is triumphant.”

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New York Times : Gone With the Myths : Sesquicentennial of the Secession and the American Civil War - By EDWARD BALL - Myth : "This had nothing to do with Slavery !"

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New York Times
Gone With the Myths
By EDWARD BALL
December 18, 2010

Gone With the Myths


Some excerpts :

ON Dec. 20, 1860, 169 men — politicians and people of property — met in the ballroom of St. Andrew’s Hall in Charleston, S.C. After hours of debate, they issued the 158-word “Ordinance of Secession,” which repealed the consent of South Carolina to the Constitution and declared the state to be an independent country. Four days later, the same group drafted a seven-page “Declaration of the Immediate Causes,” explaining why they had decided to split the Union.

The authors of these papers flattered themselves that they’d conjured up a second American Revolution. Instead, the Secession Convention was the beginning of the Civil War, which killed some 620,000 Americans; an equivalent war today would send home more than six million body bags.

The next five years will include an all-you-can-eat special of national remembrance. Yet even after 150 years full of grief and pride and anger, we greet the sesquicentennial wondering, why did the South secede?

I can testify about the South under oath. I was born and raised there, and 12 men in my family fought for the Confederacy; two of them were killed. And since I was a boy, the answer I’ve heard to this question, from Virginia to Louisiana (from whites, never from blacks), is this: “The War Between the States was about states’ rights. It was not about slavery.”

I’ve heard it from women and from men, from sober people and from people liquored up on anti-Washington talk. The North wouldn’t let us govern ourselves, they say, and Congress laid on tariffs that hurt the South. So we rebelled. Secession and the Civil War, in other words, were about small government, limited federal powers and states’ rights.

But a look through the declaration of causes written by South Carolina and four of the 10 states that followed it out of the Union — which, taken together, paint a kind of self-portrait of the Confederacy — reveals a different story. From Georgia to Texas, each state said the reason it was getting out was that the awful Northern states were threatening to do away with slavery.

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Texas gains four new seats in the U.S. House, Florida gets 2, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington gain 1, New York and Ohio lose 2 , 8 states lose 1 seat : Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania

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This according to the New Census Bureau Data.


So it is easy to see that the West of the USA and the SouthWest are gaining population and seats, also the South with Texas. The SouthEast gains seats but the NorthEast loses them.




Washington Examiner
Population shifts further complicate Obama's reelection plans
By Brian Hughes, Examiner Staff Writer
December 21, 2010

Population shifts further complicate Obama's reelection plans


Some excerpts :

Still, White House officials say the new political math is hardly a game changer, particularly if Obama can maintain the support of independents who helped him best McCain by 192 electoral votes.

"I don't see why there's any reason why in a number of these places both parties can't be equally competitive and I don't think it will have a huge practical impact," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Some analysts also downplayed the electoral shift.

"Although things shift slightly in the Republican direction, if [Obama] wins the same states he won in 2008, he still wins the presidency," said Michael McDonald, a George Mason University political science professor who specializes in redistricting. "By and large, the map pretty much stays the same in terms of what states you need to put together to win the presidency."

Republicans took over a majority of state legislatures now tasked with redrawing congressional lines. But McDonald said that doesn't ensure electoral gains since Republicans will focus most of their attention on keeping the seats they won this year.

Democrats tried to put the best face on the upcoming changes.

"Democratic communities and constituencies have grown in size in states like Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Washington," said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, referencing states that saw gains in Hispanic residents, who generally vote Democratic."In states that will lose a seat, the number of Republicans who will be competing with each other creates opportunities for House Democrats."

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POLITICO.COM : Poll: Obama rebounding : By JENNIFER EPSTEIN - The last important polls give excellent news for Obama's Reelection - Obama is in a recovery and polling good numbers.

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POLITICO.COM
Poll: Obama rebounding
By JENNIFER EPSTEIN
December 20, 2010

Poll: Obama rebounding


Some excerpts :

President Barack Obama may be staging a comeback in the eyes of the American people, a new poll suggests.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Monday, 48 percent of Americans say they approve of how Obama is handling his job, while 48 percent disapprove.

..................

The disapproval number is the lowest it’s been since May, when it was 46 percent in the same poll. His disapproval rating reached as high as 54 percent in September — when the five-month Gulf Coast oil spill saga ended — and clocked in at 50 percent in November.

The president also received more support for his policies than at any other time since mid-2009. Fifty-five percent of Americans said the country would head in the right direction under policies proposed by Obama; in May 2009, 63 percent of those surveyed said Obama’s policies would lead the country in the right direction. In January, the last time pollsters asked about Obama’s policies, just 49 percent said they would improve the country.

The Republican leadership in the House and Senate didn’t fare as well. In the poll, 44 percent of Americans said the GOP’s proposed policies would lead the country in the right direction, while 51 percent said they would take the country in the wrong direction. Policy proposals from congressional Democrats were supported by 48 percent of those polled.

.................

The poll comes on the heels of more positive polling news: A Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey last week showed 42 percent of Americans said they would probably vote to reelect the president, while 39 percent said they would vote for a generic Republican candidate.

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Los Angeles Times : Meg Whitman paid a high price for Latino distrust of GOP - The Comedy of Errors : the alienated alienating the "aliens" and the Latino Electorate

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Los Angeles Times
Whitman paid a high price for Latino distrust of GOP
A former strategist says the candidate lost so conclusively because her party continues to alienate the state's fastest-growing voter group.

By George Skelton, Capitol Journal
December 20, 2010

Whitman paid a high price for Latino distrust of GOP


Some excerpts :

But there's a ballot initiative afoot in California to duplicate Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants. It's sponsored by a former member of the state GOP's executive committee, Michael Erickson.

Stutzman blames the Arizona law for helping to motivate California Latinos to turn out "and vote very anti-Republican."

And he accuses Whitman's Republican primary opponent, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, of being "really reckless" in inserting illegal immigration as the "front and center" issue. "No question we were hurt."

OK, time out.

It was, after all, Whitman who ran a TV ad featuring former Gov. Pete Wilson — a devil incarnate for many Latinos — promising that she would be "tough as nails" on illegal immigration.

It was Whitman who endorsed the Arizona law — but only for Arizona, she weakly insisted, not for California. Many Latinos saw that as a distinction without a difference — and ominous.

And it was Whitman who proclaimed that she wouldn't allow admission to community colleges or state universities for high school grads who had been carted to California illegally as children by their parents. That wasn't quite the show of "empathy" that Stutzman calls for.

All that began as Whitman was trying to protect her right flank from the extremist Poizner. I always thought she paid too much attention to the lightweight. But Stutzman says Whitman couldn't risk ignoring him because at one point he pulled within single digits of her.

Big waste of money and potential Latino votes. Whitman wound up winning the GOP nomination by nearly 38 points.

Fortunately for the likes of Whitman, there won't be any party nominations starting in 2012 when a new open primary system takes effect. "Somebody like her, I would advise to take a serious look at running as a nonpartisan," Stutzman says.

The primary campaign baggage became too burdensome in the general election. And the final straw was the disclosure — aided by the Brown-friendly nurses union — that Whitman for nine years had employed an illegal immigrant maid.

..............

"The [Democratic] math was insurmountable. California Democrats rallied around the president. We had difficulty keeping the campaign focused on jobs and the economy. Brown and his union allies kept [attacking Whitman's] character….

"Brown was more disciplined than I thought. I tip my hat to those guys."

And until the GOP stops frightening Latinos, there'll likely never be any Republican elected governor

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FoxNews : Redistricting Latinos : Texas could gain 4 congressional seats, Florida could get 2, and Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington could each gain 1 - New Jersey could lose one

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FoxNews
Fox News Latino
Reduced Immigration Won't Hurt Latino Political Power
By Elizabeth Llorente
December 08, 2010

Reduced Immigration Won't Hurt Latino Political Power


Some excerpts :

The Voting Rights Act prohibits state and local governments from diluting the votes of minority groups through such actions as, say, drawing district lines that divide minority communities and keep them from having a collective impact on voting for a representative of their choice.

In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court found that a congressional redistricting plan drafted by Texas Republicans to tilt the state’s delegation to their party diluted the voting power of Latinos, in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Texas could gain four congressional seats, Florida could get two, and Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington could each gain one.

“In the end it’s Hispanics, I think we’ll see, who are a big part of the reason those states are getting extra seats,” said Daniel Santo-Pietro, a Latino community leader in New Jersey, which may lose a seat.

“In New Jersey, losing a congressional seat may set off redistricting battles,” Santo-Pietro said. “There’s been a change in Latino communities – there’s been a lot of Latino immigrant growth in the southern part of the state.”

On a national level, the Census’s impact on redistricting may be “a wash” for Latinos, at worst, said Santo-Pietro.

“Even though New Jersey might be losing a seat,” he said, “states with some of the largest Latino populations are gaining.”

In the meantime, Latino civil rights groups say they will be closely watching the Census 2010 results when they are released in detail after February. On Dec. 31, the Census will release state population totals.

NALEO will be in several states that have large Latino populations, urging Latinos to attend redistricting hearings.

“Legislators hold these hearings so they can get testimony from the community that will help them see how to draw the district,” Gold said. “We’re going to really be keeping an eye on this.”

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VIDEO, Lawrence O'Donnell : Obama Polls Ahead of GOP Choices, Obama's next play : with Ari Berman, author of "Herding Donkeys" and Richard Wolffe, author of "Revival" - How to save the White House from Republicans

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The support of Obama in polls, the Tax Compromise and its effects in Republicans, Independents and Democrats.

StartLoving4 | December 18, 2010

Lawrence O'Donnell - Obama Polls Ahead of GOP Choices

VIDEO : Watch Old Senile John McCain making the last stand in the U. S. Senate to oppose Gays and Lesbians in the U. S. Forces - But he lost and Obama won : DADT was repealed in the Senate with 65 votes, 8 of them republican votes.

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Today Don't Ask, Don't Tell, is officially History.


13,000 service people were kicked out of the U. S. Armed Forces because of this discriminatory law against Gays and Lesbians, that since the law was enacted in 1993.


John McCain, Old Senile Fool and perfect Racist and Homophobic - His life is no example for youngsters.




nsotd2 | December 19, 2010

President Obama overturns don't ask don't tell in America

Two VIDEOs of Meghan McCain supporting the DREAM ACT : "Jose, did you hear what those crazy gringos did?" - "No, Juan. Whassup?" - "Madre de Dios! What makes gringos so loco? ... [hollers out] Rosita! Pack our things pronto"

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This was a funny comment to the VIDEO from a Crazy Guy that probably does not support the DREAM ACT like Meghan McCain

midreamact | September 18, 2010


Meghan McCain was approached by folks from the Arizona Dream Act Coalition. She voiced her support for students who wanted to legalize their status by serving in the military. The ask was coming specifically on behalf of 21 year old Michael who has been leading a DREAM Army outside the Phoenix office of Senator John McCain. His ask of the senator is simple, "let me serve in the military."

Meghan McCain Supports the DREAM Act - 9.15.10

Meghan McCain talks with Lawrence O'Donnell and explains her support for the DREAM ACT but asks for some prudence and careful examination.




ThinkProgress2 | December 17, 2010

Meghan McCain Supports The DREAM Act -- but not before Christmas

Superconservative Republican Charles Krauthammer : "If Barack Obama wins re-election in 2012, as is now more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on Dec. 6, the day of the Great Tax Cut Deal of 2010"

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I can not think of a person that is less likable, pleasant and nice than Charles Krauthammer - Everything that he has promised and written about the Wars in Asia during the last 10 years has turned out to be garbage and foolishness ( Gone with the Wind ! )

But he is highly respected in the "Republican Intellectuality" ( a great contradiction ! ) and "Pundit "World" ( bunch of cretins, filled with Jingoism and Militarism ! ) and he has been rewarded many stupid prizes.

And he speaks with such solemnity and pomp because he eats an umbrella for breakfast everyday.


From Wikipedia :

Charles Krauthammer : American Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist and political commentator, and physician. His weekly column appears in The Washington Post and is syndicated in more than 200 newspapers and media outlets. He is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and The New Republic. He is a Fox News contributor, a regular panelist on Fox’s evening news program Special Report with Bret Baier and a weekly panelist on Inside Washington.


INVESTORS.COM
Comeback Kid? Obama Leaves Clinton In Dust
By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER
December 16, 2010

Comeback Kid? Obama Leaves Clinton In Dust



Some excerpts :

If Barack Obama wins re-election in 2012, as is now more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on Dec. 6, the day of the Great Tax Cut Deal of 2010.

Obama had a bad November. Self-confessedly shellacked in the midterm election, he fled the scene to Asia and various unsuccessful meetings, only to return to a sad-sack lame-duck Congress with ghostly dozens of defeated Democrats wandering the halls.

Now, with his stunning tax deal, Obama is back. Holding no high cards, he nonetheless managed to resurface suddenly not just as a player but as orchestrator, deal maker and central actor in a high $1 trillion drama.

Compare this with Bill Clinton, greatest of all comeback kids, who, at a news conference a full five months after his shellacking in 1994, was reduced to plaintively protesting that "the president is relevant here." He had been so humiliatingly sidelined that he did not really recover until late 1995 when he outmaneuvered Newt Gingrich in the government-shutdown showdown.
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POLITICO.COM : House approves Obama Tax Cuts Extension, 277-to-148 vote - Obama is a pragmatist, not an ideologue, personally comfortable with being able to engage Republicans and not be divisive, Obama selling himself

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Obama is laser-focused in creating jobs as fast as he possibly can, and he realizes there’s only a limited amount of time to accomplish that before the next election. This bill of Tax Cuts Extension and Unemployed Benefits Extension can help a lot to accomplish that objective.

POLITICO.COM
Obama makes the sale
By GLENN THRUSH
Decenber 17, 2010

Obama makes the sale


Some excerpts :

Yet for all that drama, Obama closed the most impressive sales job of his presidency a few minutes before the clock struck midnight on Thursday — winning House approval of a broadly popular tax-cut and unemployment extension opposed by the extremes of both parties.

...................

“He’s done a damn good job selling, as good as anything he’s ever sold,” Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), said with a chuckle, a few hours before the measure headed to Obama’s desk after passing with a 277-to-148 vote.

“My problem is trying to figure out exactly what he’s selling.”

In a word: himself.

While admitting the deal itself is profoundly flawed, Obama nonetheless achieved a moment at least of bipartisanship with Republicans, persuaded Democrats to accept diminished expectations and went a long way toward rebranding himself as Obama Classic — the circa-2008 politician at war with partisan discord.

“What you are seeing now is what he always wanted to be,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a longtime Obama ally. “In his heart, he’s a pragmatist, not an ideologue, and he’s a lot more personally comfortable with being able to engage Republicans and not be as divisive.”

And he’s not done. There’s at least the possibility that Obama will achieve two other victories with the cooperation of the GOP: passage of the New START treaty and repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military.

........................

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who recently claimed his goal was to deny Obama a second term — reportedly reacted with disgust when he read Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer’s recent suggestion that he oppose the package because it would lower unemployment “and easily be the difference between victory and defeat in 2012.”

Said one person close to McConnell: “We’re not going to bet against the economy. If it helps Obama, so be it. We’ll do it. Who gives a s--t?”

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Presidential Polls (NBC/WSJ) : Obama leads against Mitt Romney by seven points, 47 percent to 40 percent. Against Sarah Palin Obama leads by 22 points, 55 percent to 33 percent. Obama's Personality liked by Americans

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MSNBC.COM
Poll: Obama down but not out
NBC/WSJ survey shows president leading in 2012 match-ups
By Mark Murray, Deputy Political Director
NBC News
December 16, 2010


Poll: Obama down but not out


Some excerpts :

Yet the survey also shows Obama comfortably leading prominent Republicans like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups for 2012.

And it finds that nearly three-quarters of Americans personally like the president, even if they don’t agree with his policies.

.................

Personal vs. professional

One hint about why Obama still appears dominant over his potential GOP rivals might be that, when it comes to the president’s personality, voters still like what they see. His personal ratings remain much stronger than his professional ratings.

For instance, he gets his highest marks for having a strong family and family values (74 percent give him a high rating here), being easygoing and likeable (68 percent), being inspirational and exciting (51 percent) and having strong leadership qualities (49 percent).

But his lowest marks come on being a good commander-in-chief (41 percent), sharing respondents’ positions on the issues (35 percent), achieving his goals (33 percent), uniting the country (30 percent) and changing business as usual in Washington (24 percent).

Still, an overwhelming majority of Americans either believe that Obama will be a successful president or they haven’t made up their minds yet.

According to the poll, 28 percent say he will ultimately be a successful president, 29 percent say he won’t and 42 percent aren’t ready to make a judgment.

Hart and McInturff argue that this plurality of Americans who aren’t ready to make a judgment about Obama — one month removed from his party’s self-described “shellacking” in the midterms — is relatively good news for the president.

“People want a successful presidency,” McInturff said. “Things are so bad, they don’t think we can afford to have an unsuccessful presidency.”

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Los Angeles Times Editorial : The individual mandate: It's constitutional - The adults subject to the individual mandate participate in the market, for example rushing to an emergency room for treatment - It doesn't force them into the healthcare market, they're already there

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Los Angeles Times
Editorial
The individual mandate: It's constitutional
The legal case against it almost certainly will make its way to the Supreme Court before the individual mandate is due to take effect in 2014. But considered in its proper context, it doesn't violate the Constitution.

The individual mandate: It's constitutional



Some excerpts :

There's no question that healthcare is a form of interstate commerce subject to regulation by Congress. Nor is there any question that the adults subject to the individual mandate participate in that market, whether it be buying aspirin at a drugstore, visiting a doctor for a checkup or rushing to an emergency room for treatment. (The law exempts Christian Scientists and others who abstain from medical care for religious reasons.) The individual mandate affects how people pay for the care they consume, but it doesn't force them into the healthcare market — they're already there.

In that sense, what's at stake isn't Americans' cherished "right to be let alone." It's whether they'll continue to be stuck in a system in which millions of uninsured people force those with insurance to pick up at least part of the tab for their visits to the emergency room and for the untreated diseases that they spread. Two other federal judges have held the law to be constitutional for just that reason. As District Judge George Caram Steeh in Michigan wrote in an October ruling, "Far from 'inactivity,' by choosing to forgo insurance, plaintiffs are making an economic decision to try to pay for healthcare services later, out of pocket, rather than now through the purchase of insurance, collectively shifting billions of dollars — $43 billion in 2008 — onto other market participants."

More federal judges will render opinions on separate challenges to the Affordable Care Act in the coming weeks, and the case almost certainly will make its way up the judicial ladder to the Supreme Court before the individual mandate is due to take effect in 2014. As shown by the first few rulings, how the courts define the relevant market makes all the difference in this case. With more than 2,000 pages of regulation affecting virtually every aspect of medical care in this country, the Affordable Care Act is far more than just a new insurance regulation. If the courts consider the mandate in its proper context, they'll see that it doesn't violate the Constitution.

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HuffPost : "I agree with Bernie Sanders on principle, but I applaud the president's deft avoidance of a show down in crazy town" - "We need to surrender this idea that political purity is the highest value. Good governance should be the goal"

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This Lady is a Great Writer and Thinker : Yes, Governance, Governability, Governableness, The quality of being governable; manageableness. That is very necessary, not to fall into chaos and disarray.

Obama is also governing for the Poorest People ( many of them Minorities ) and they have a very weak voice in Congress. They are in great need in the present recession and the President is taking that into account.



Huffington Post
Obama and the Age of Unreason
December 13, 2010


By Beth Broderick
Actress, founding member of MOMENTUM
Beth has an extensive background in fundraising and community outreach. She is one of the founding members of MOMENTUM a program for persons with AIDS. Begun in 1984 in New York City and only the second AIDS program in existence at the time, Beth produced numerous star-studded benefits and secured funding from a variety of sources. She also spearheaded outreach programs dedicated to increasing awareness of AIDS and support for persons living with the disease. She was also a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council for City Light Women’s Rehabilitation Program in LA and continues to provide resources for the Good Shepherd Home for battered women and children.


Obama and the Age of Unreason


Some excerpts :

The recent hand wringing over the temporary tax cut deal is a true case in point. The president does not preside over only like minded citizens. He must govern for us all. I agree with Bernie Sanders on principle, but I applaud the president's deft avoidance of a show down in crazy town. A whole lot of folks most pointedly do not agree with Mr. Sanders or with me for that matter as the last election made exceedingly clear. Obama saved the bacon of the unemployed, assured tax credits for children and college students and prevented the middle class from receiving a bill for 3,000.00 on January 1. We seem to think that he has some kind of magic wand that he is refusing to wave. There just simply is no such thing. He is the president not the King and God help him. Really I mean that, God ... please help him.
.........................

I hear a constant refrain about Republicans. It is argued that they are pure and always get their way due to an admirable lock step in their party gait. The Republicans are finger pointers not problem solvers and I do not envy their approach to politics. The fact is they did not do much governing last time around. They did plenty of war starting and marriage defending, but, very little actual governing. There is a reason for that. Governing this nation is hard and truly thankless, but it needs doing. I most certainly do not want Democrats to start acting like Republicans. I absolutely never want to see Mr. Obama acting like Mr. Bush and if you do then I respectfully suggest that you go back on your meds.

I have great hopes for this president and for the future of this country. I am grateful to Bill Clinton, a man I have had my issues with, for stepping up and having Obama's back this week. It is something we are all going to need to do if we want progressive values to prevail in the end. We need to surrender this idea that political purity is the highest value. Good governance should be the goal. The problem with political purity is that it leads to purging on both sides of the equation. Can we really survive wave election after wave election without achieving the tiniest ripple of consensus? The notion that we lost in 2010 because the White House did not tack far enough to the left is simply unfounded. A struggling economy was not helpful, but every election is ours to lose and we lost because we did not support our team. Turnout among Democrats was terrible especially by the young and newly registered, the very folks whose future depends on the success of this president.

If we turn into the latte version of the Tea party threatening censure of all but the most purely progressive, this country will continue to be torn apart. Let's leave the wringing and the rancor to the Republicans. We are not a party known for its unity, but we are united in our desire to work for the common good and to bend the will of history toward justice. President Obama is not perfect nor is he a purist, but he is on our side. I for one intend to stand by his efforts on this mission near impossible. It is a tough job, but somebody's got to do it and so I pray may God bless him. Really, God please bless him, because God knows he is going to need it. And he is going to need us.

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Foreign Policy Magazine : "American exceptionalism: a realist view" : By Stephen M. Walt - My favorite "Realist" Professor gives us a great piece of thought !

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The articles of Professor Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy Mag are "exceptional", Wonderful and a Great Pleasure - Yes, Intelligence and Realism can produces a lot of pleasure in readers.

Foreign Policy Magazine
American exceptionalism: a realist view
By Stephen M. Walt
December 6, 2010

American exceptionalism: a realist view


Some excerpts :

Every country has certain unique features and interests, of course, but the idea that any state is truly "exceptional" is sharply at odds with a realist view of international politics. Realism depicts international politics as an anarchic realm, where no agency or institution exists to protect states from each other. As a result, states must ultimately rely on their own resources and strategies to survive. It is, in other words, a "self-help" world, and this situation forces all states -- and especially the major powers -- to compete with each other, sometimes ruthlessly. Although realists acknowledge that domestic politics sometimes matters and that there are important differences between different great powers (and different leaders), the most important difference between states is their relative power.

......................

This perspective also makes realists inherently skeptical about claims to American exceptionalism: we understand that U.S. leaders aren't always nicer or wiser or more moral than other policymakers. Abu Ghraib, waterboarding, drone strikes, preventive war, etc., may all be regrettable, but realists don't find them surprising, because we know that states will do lots of bad things when they are a) really scared, and b) think they can get away with it.

The real difference between the United States and virtually all other countries is that the United States has been unusually secure for much of its history, and very powerful for six decades or more. Realist theory tells you that when a state is really powerful, it will be less constrained by the power of others and it will be able to indulge all sorts of foreign policy whims. It can decide that it has "vital" interests on every continent; it can declare itself to be "indispensable" to almost every important issue, and it can convince itself that it really knows what is good for everyone else in the world. If you're wrong, it may not matter that much in the short term. If you are really powerful, in short, you can do a lot of stupid things for a long time. Even when those blunders are costly, the damage will add up slowly and demands for reform may be ignored. Look at how long it took General Motors to finally go bankrupt: it was obvious for decades that foreign automakers were eating GM's lunch, yet its management never took the steps that might have keep it competitive.

None of this is to say that the United States doesn't have certain unique and admirable traits. On balance, I'd argue that its role on the world stage has been positive one, and other governments (or leaders) might have acted in far worse ways had they been in a similar position of primacy. But realism is a good antidote to the jingoistic self-congratulation that pervades our political discourse, as well as the powerful tendency to see our own conduct as highly principled, while condemning others when they act in much the same way. Of course, that's not unique to Americans either.

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Washington Post : As Richard Holbrooke was sedated for surgery, family members said, his final words were to his Pakistani surgeon: "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan."

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The Death of a Great Diplomat and Statesman

The Washington Post
Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton peace accords
By Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton peace accords



Some excerpts :

"He's the most egotistical bastard I've ever met," Vice President-elect Biden told President-elect Obama as Clinton made her choice known, according to an account by The Washington Post's Bob Woodward. "But maybe he's the right guy for the job."

His long diplomatic career positioned him perhaps better than anyone else in the Obama administration to navigate the often-messy intersection of diplomacy, counterinsurgency and politics.

Mr. Holbrooke felt a strong responsibility, as the only person in the administration who had lived and worked through Vietnam, to bring up his perspectives of that conflict during the three-month White House policy review last year that led to the current strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

......................

Mr. Holbrooke's office on the State Department's ground floor was filled with a diverse mix of policy experts and academics, some of whom were hired precisely because they disagreed with the George W. Bush administration's Iraq war strategy and had little better to say about Obama's efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He was a strong advocate of major increases in development and governance aid. Under his direction, the number of U.S. civilian officials in Afghanistan has more than tripled, to exceed 1,000.

One of his first initiatives was to end the U.S. focus on poppy eradication in Afghanistan, on the grounds that removing the livelihood from opium production that sustained many Afghan farmers was counterproductive.

Mr. Holbrooke crossed swords with another part of the administration in Pakistan, where he ordered an end to the automatic renewal of aid contracts with U.S. and other foreign nongovernmental organizations with long histories there.

Mr. Holbrooke experienced health problems in August, when he underwent treatment for heart problems and canceled one of his frequent trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On Friday morning, he was taken to George Washington University Hospital after he became flushed and suffered chest pains during a meeting with Clinton.

He underwent a 21-hour operation that ended on Saturday to repair his aorta.

As Mr. Holbrooke was sedated for surgery, family members said, his final words were to his Pakistani surgeon: "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan."

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Trading Markets : Asian American voters in California support pro-immigrant policies - They voted overwhelmingly for Jerry Brown against Meg Whitman and for Barbara Boxer against Carly Fiorina

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Asian Americans are extremely important in Business, Science, Professions, etc ... ( and now in Politics ! )


Trading Markets
Asian American voters in California support pro-immigrant policies
Xinhua Agency
December 09, 2010


Asian American voters in California support pro-immigrant policies


Some excerpts

In the governor's race, Asian Americans favored Democrat Jerry Brown with 60 percent over Republican Meg Whitman with 39 percent, compared to white voters at 46 percent for Brown and 48 percent for Whitman.

In the Senate race, Asian Americans supported Democrat Barbara Boxer with 59 percent over Republican Carly Fiorina with 34 percent, compared to white voters at 43 percent for Boxer and 50 percent for Fiorina.

"Candidates who won the Asian American and Latino vote succeeded on Election Day," said Dan Ichinose, director of APALC's demographic research project.

"In California, this meant that Democrats rode to victory on the backs of immigrant voters, including Asian American voters," he noted.

The poll also confirmed a pattern observed in other research on Asian American voters -- Asian Americans are more likely than any other group to register as "decline to state" voters, with 35 percent of Asian Americans compared to 21 percent of Latinos and 26 percent of whites.

"Asian American voters are a complex electorate, with shifting alignments that are not tied to a particular party or issue," said Karin Wang, APALC's vice president of programs and communications.

"With the rapid expansion of the Asian American electorate, we need more data like this, to allow an in-depth analysis of Asian American voting patterns and attitudes," Wang added.

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Super Conservative Weekly Standard : Super Republican Fred Barnes : The GOP’s California Blues - What explains the ‘reverse tsunami?’ - Republicans licking their Californian Wounds.

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The Extreme Right hates California for its dynamism, modernism, tolerance, intellectuality, multiculturalism, friendliness.

According to Peter Schrag of the "New Republic" and "Sacramento Bee" California is the Future of the United States of America.

California has a very dynamic economy, but Right Wing Extremists tell all kinds of lies about this Beautiful Wonderful State.


Weekly Standard
The GOP’s California Blues
What explains the ‘reverse tsunami?’
By Fred Barnes
Fred Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard.
December 13, 2010

The GOP’s California Blues


Some excerpts :

These were sensible, conservative results that in most states would have been part of a sweeping Republican victory. But not in California. Republican candidates here lost every race for statewide office in the November 2 election. In a year when Republicans picked up 63 House seats nationally, they failed to capture a single Democratic seat in the Golden State. They lost a seat in the state assembly, where they were already badly outnumbered.

“A sort of reverse tsunami took effect,” says Republican consultant Ken Khachigian. California voters “know who we are, and they don’t like us,” Duf Sundheim told the Associated Press. Sundheim was Republican party chairman in California from 2003 to 2006.

“The Republican party brand is a major liability in California,” Sundheim wrote in a postelection white paper. Khachigian echoes this view: “The great deadly sin of this campaign was having an ‘R’ by your name on the ballot.”

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While gaining in most states, Republicans have lost ground in California since the last midterm election in 2006. The Democratic advantage in party registration was 42-34 percent four years ago. Now it’s 44-31 percent. Republicans are regarded unfavorably by nearly a 2-1 margin, according to Sundheim.

The most surprising aspect of their defeat was the surge in Hispanic turnout. Hispanics are 21 percent of registered voters but were 22 percent of the electorate this year. “That exceeded any historical number we’ve ever seen,” Khachigian says. Hispanics voted overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates.

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What must Republicans do to recover in California? A lot. Their bench of potential candidates for statewide office is thin. California, Sundheim says, “is the seventh most liberal state in the country.” That doesn’t help. The position of many Republicans on immigration alienates Hispanics. California is a blue state in which Democrats run brutal, lavishly financed, and effective campaigns. And President Obama is still more popular than not here.

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