Second time, Shame on Me

While attending the seventieth birthday party for a lovely friend of mine on Charlie Mountain this past weekend, I was once again the target of extreme ridicule for being a Democrat.  While sitting on the porch with neighbors, I was ambushed with questions:

"Why do you feel it necessary to keep giving handouts to the 48% of people on the government dole?"

I was one of the FEW people in attendance NOT receiving Medicare benefits and free prescription drugs!   I guess my elderly neighbors have not come to realize that they are included in this identified group of "deadbeats."

"Before LBJ people survived hard times on their own without government assistance".  

They did? Let's look back at a time when the President of the United States decided to let fiscal events run their course.  Herbert Hoover was a strong individualist that believed the downturn in the economy would right itself within 60 days.  Here are a few facts from the outcome of his decision:

• 1,000 homes foreclosed each day 
• Hospitals reported an increase in death from starvation.  Boris Borisov, a history researcher estimates (based on analyzing US population, birth and death rates, immigration and emigration) the US lost over seven million people during the famine of 1932 and 1933.
• Average rate of death by suicide (per 100,000 population)
  
  1929: 18.1
  1930-1940: 15.4
• Working women were openly discriminate against and usually lost their jobs.  Section 213 of the Economic Recovery Act of 1932 stated that any married person whose spouse worked for the federal government should be fired first.  State and local governments and school boards refused to hire married women. Collages urged female graduates not to seek work. 

Who are the individuals most benefiting from the social reforms introduced by LBJ? You got it SENIORS!  In 1963 most elderly Americans had no health insurance and very few retirement plans provided healthcare coverage.  Since 1965, 79 million Americans have signed up for Medicare. Poverty levels for senior citizens has dropped to around 10%, the lowest level for any category.    

And while life expectancy for seniors has done nothing but increased during the past twenty years, the number of newborn deaths each year puts the US at 41st worldwide in health care rating for infants and their mothers.  

Are you a pacifist?  You don't own a gun.  Would you defend your family if attacked?  

I have never owned a gun because I have a temper and believe it best I'm not packing heat.
However,  looking back, I do see I lost an incredible opportunity to whip out my six shooter and rid the world of a room full of government freeloaders.:-)

If the Shoe Fits

Doug, my dear husband, does not like the idea that in my last post I said if you are a "birther", or questioning the education of or the civility, or sending mean spirited emails daily about our current President that you are a racist.  Sorry....but if the shoe fits.

WE all have deep seed racist or stereotype concepts  that are a part of our upbringing. We have ideas that Asians are smart, Germans are hard-working, Latins are hot tempered.  And for many, it appears that if a black man can rise to be President at a young age, well something has to be amiss somewhere, he just can't be that smart.

During the last few years of the Bush administration it became apparent to all that we as a nation had been misled into a war for questionable reasons.  We ran up insurmountable debt as we quickly learned that current military tactics did not work against these middle eastern countries.  They just didn't follow our rules!  The interest on this debt is crippling us today. 

BUT people at cocktail parties and in the middle of dinner parties did not foam at the mouth and announce loudly they "hated George W. Bush".  People disagreed with decisions he made, they shook their heads in disgust, but they did not question if he were the real son of George Bush Sr.  They didn't crawl into the cesspool of inconsequential, mindless dribble (yes I know Doug what word I am using) that has come out of the mouths and pens of many people once believed to be at least mildly intelligent. 

If you are saying history will prove this to be the worse President we have ever had, if you find hatred burning in your soul  (I actually know a woman who talks to her therapist of her hatred for the President), if you find yourself daily looking for negative comments and gleefully sending fictitious, ill-informed email after another to your friends, you need to look a little deeper into your Republican soul and have an honest evaluation.   I don't believe you will like what you find. 

Just because

I have always found that individuals who find the need to constantly define or discuss their position are woefully in need of reassurance in their beliefs.  I find this particularly true in today's political atmosphere. 

Some want to argue that this is an election of the size of government.  Others want to say that this election is based on jobs and other economic factors.  Others just don't like Obama, they will give you a hundred reasons why - his questionable birthplace, not enough info on his educational background, he is uppity...

Here are my thoughts

Those of you that argue we are voting on the size of government find yourself sitting on the same team with those that believe that it is the "right" of a religion to tell you how to live your life, who your friends should be, who you can marry, well you know who and what "they" are. No wonder you are constantly bring up intellectual arguments, you want to demonstrate the difference between you and your new friends. 
Resolution:  You need to get a new party - yours has been contaminated.  

You that argue we are voting on job creation and other economic factors are overlooking that the last four years the US has had had incredible business earnings.  You try to convince yourself and others that the best thing for the good ole US of A is Big Business and that humbling ourselves and bowing down to the Gods of the Fortune 500 will appease them to open up jobs here in the US.  Job creation is a problem of the US educational system - not the political party in power.  The 25% without a high school diploma will not find good jobs in manufacturing and construction as in the past to feed their families.  And many of the Red States that find themselves with high unemployment also have very high high school drop out rates.  Go figure.....

Those that just don't like Obama based on any or all of the above mentioned things,  well I won't waste my energy, please just take me off your email list with your daily dribble of hate. I have lived through eleven Presidents and do not recall ever hearing such hate-filled, mean-spirited discussions.  And they ALL begin with, "I am a social liberal but a conservative voter."    No my friend you are just a racist.

More could follow, but probably won't, I don't need to defend or define my position.  I feel damn good about my beliefs.