What happened at the Presidential debate. That is a statement, not a question.

To the left, statistical analysis.

The media is excited as if they opened their first gift Christmas morning as if something actually happened. Nothing really did.

If I may?

Before the debate the Republican media was screaming about the lousy polls and how they were biased, now they are stating the polls finally got it right. It is a lie. The lies they were speaking before the debates were about one thing and one thing only. 

Momentum. Enthusiasm. The Right Wing media lied before the debates to continued whatever momentum existed and then after the debate when Mr. Mystery Mitt showed up everything was right with the world. That woman commentator, what is her name, not Laura anybody the other one. The mouthpiece for Murdoch, she stated, "If Chris Christi isn't the nominee, then it will be Romney and we will lose." Now she is saying she had it right the entire time that Romney is going to win.

Oddly, President Obama BEFORE the debate when the polls were putting him 13% ahead of his opponent stated, "The polls are eschew." He and his campaign said that.

I think the polls in Ohio are very instructive, but, first I want to comment about Pew.

The Pew Poll doesn't come out that often. Once a month I think it is, if it is that often. Whether they will step it up now that the election is near is another question. I don't know the answer to that. If a commentator doesn't look at statistics well, then it is easy to exploit what seems like the obvious.

Immediately after the debate Pew released a poll which stated Romney did amazingly well, won the debate and was winning the election. Basically. The Pew Poll released previously to that one was taken some time ago, about a month I believe and it stated President Obama was ahead by 10 points. 

The Pew Poll is a conservative think tank polling focus. In my opinion, a swing as wild as that is an outliar. It carries an interesting political impact, but, basically is very inaccurate in both cases.

In the Real Clear Politics statistic, the Pew Poll impacted the overall average of all the polls taken. No other poll had the extensive change Pew had and they did not have a huge swing to increase the balance with President Obama's statistics, so the overall average at RCP reflects PEW's wild card statistic or outliar impact. That may be why PEW has the design to its statistical questions and participants by the way. It could be designed to be an outliar. As a partisan poll it could emphasize 'the trend' rather than 'the reality.

In the weeks before the debate most of the polls were stating when the overall averages were broken down the ONLY place Romney out paced President Obama was on the economy and deficit. When asked by any polling agency most voters stated Romney could better address those two issues. But, on all other topics Romney trailed considerably. 

Ask yourself what was the topic of the debate?

The debate was to cover the economy and other topics including governance. Where did Romney poll better than President Obama? The economy and the deficit. That showed up in the debate. However, the aggressive nature of Romney during the debate effected the moderator and he was scrambling to cover the remaining topics at the every end. Romney aggressively kept 'on topic' of the economy for the greater length of the debate because it was no secret it was the only place he out paced the President. In other words, Romney was cheating the viewership of their debate and made it an hour commercial for the economy. He lied throughout the debate, but, he put on a good show and the people cheered.

Today, if one looks to the Ohio polls it is very instructive. The percentage of voters in Ohio voting for President Obama hasn't changed. President Obama remains the steadfast hero in Ohio and he is polling the same pre and post debate. Mr. Romney is polling higher in Ohio but still behind President Obama. Mr. Romney gained 'interest' by the undecided.

President Obama won the debate on substance. He was true to his positions and policies throughout the debate. He maintained a civil stance and the same ole, same ole demeanor we are used to. He has kept the USA on track to success in over coming the economic collapse of 2008 and he does so by remaining trustworthy, speaking the truth and asking the people of the USA to be involved. He did that during the debate and he'll continue to do that.

President Obama is a great president. When he tossed his hat in the ring for the Democratic nominee he never bargained for the October surprise of 2008 when he was the nominee. It didn't matter. He stepped up to the country's needs, met them and continues to deliver on every one of his 2008 campaign promises even with a hostile and divided Republican House. I find that interesting. The fact that he can deliver on his 2008 campaign promises regardless of the huge change in circumstances he faced when taking office compared to the circumstances he campaigned on as a candidate and then nominee. No one ever remarks on that incredible achievement. It is as if he knew all of what he said during the 2008 campaign was paramount to the nation's best outcomes in the face of a huge economic failure. 

Look, the jobs picture today is a mirror reflection of Bush's lack of achievement during his eight years. We had an economy riding high on government money from 2000 - 2008, two wars and exploitation of the American Dream. Even with two wars and all the spending that went with them, Bush could not improve the jobs picture as it is finally improving today under President Obama. After October 2008 the construction industry practically disappeared because it was one of the only industries growing under Bush. The Bush economy was about exploiting the monies one had in equity in their ONLY home and 'dealing that money' into becoming millionaires. Where did the Bush economy collapse? In housing. The construction industry not only deflated it disappeared, until recently and finally with all the help the Obama Administration has provided to the mortgage markets it is finally recovering. And recovering ahead of schedule/predictions, by the way.

Returning to the issue of the debate and its after math, what is disappointing to me as an American in search of a President of the United States, it isn't about substance anymore. It is about putting a winning 'persona' on the stage as if it were some kind of sparing match. The declared winner of the debate is about viciousness and not about the truth. In my opinion, the debates are basically just a dog and pony show where facts, the truth and civility don't matter. It is about showmanship and nothing more, because, Romney lied about nearly every word he spoke, but, it just didn't matter.

Whatever happened to Zogby (click here), by the way?

"Nuns on the Bus" are again carrying the message of the poor to the public.

Sr. Simone Campbell asks attendees to participate in an exercise to demonstrate the changes in Americans’ income from 1980 to 2009 by creating a human graph. (Photo by Sue Ann Rybak)

Democrats and Republicans see the definition of democracy very differently. Democrats believe democracy is about opportunity and 'getting the chance' for it while Republicans define democracy as wealth, having it and keeping it. The differences are clear, what side of the great divide do you sit on?

The problem of poverty will worsen and the economy will reflect it in growth and employment if the GOP has its way after November. This is the America most people distain but they never seem to understand it and how it relates to the future of our economy. Poverty slows economic growth in the USA, while opportunity corrects its course.

The increase in homelessness in New York City also has a ripple effect. The housing no longer with occupants, paying customers if you will, will cause a further deterioration in the economic viability for those buildings. This isn't just a loss of housing for some lazy working bumbs, this is a loss in income across the board including property owners. It should be very obvious how 'opportunity' is necessary for economic growth.

Poverty is not joblessness, it is INCOME.

"Nuns on the Bus" leader calls on Americans to reclaim democracy (click here)

October 3, 2002

by Sue Ann Rybak

Sister Simone Campbell of “Nuns on the Bus” told an audience of about 300 people at Chestnut Hill College that Americans today face the challenge of “reclaiming our democracy.”

Speaking in the college’s Gruber Theater on Sept. 27, Campbell, who is executive director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby in Washington, D.C., recently toured nine states this summer to protest Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget, which gives tax breaks to the wealthy while cutting funds to social programs that benefit the poor....

This is what happens when the 47% are abandoned.

Romney has no basis for his 47% statements. Budget cuts at the federal and state levels are causing the cancellation of local programs that support 'marginal' citizens. This is the working poor. Their jobs are located in areas of cities where rent is unaffordable to them, so they have received subsidies to prevent homelessness. I am not sure where at the NY State level the funding was cut, but, the federal government has provided assistance through the Labor Department and Workforce Development.

The article below made predictions about the loss of subsidies and the correlation to homelessness. These folks simply don't make enough money to support themselves or their families. They never wanted to give up their housing. They just couldn't afford it.

Adults adjust, but, children are an entirely different issue. Putting Americans back to work with jobs that pay this low will not solve the country's poverty problem. These are the people Paul Ryan likes to state have no character and need jobs. That isn't the case. These people work, they work in jobs others don't want, they are marginal in their ability to live within the parameters of a decent life because they are low income, not because they are lazy. This is a return to Reagan when the homeless population across the country skyrocketed and he stated, "In the USA if you want to live on the street it is permitted." Same paradigm. 

The city canceled the program after losing state and federal funding.

Saturday, Feb 4, 2012  |  Updated 9:01 AM EDT

...New York City is cutting off rent-assistance payments (click here) to about 9,000 homeless families following a court decision, and advocates are warning that the move could flood the city's shelter system.

The city canceled the Advantage rent-subsidy program in March after it lost state and federal funding. A court order that was lifted Thursday had forced the city to continue payments while legal challenges to the decision played out.

An appeal is set to be heard next week, but officials said Friday the city plans to stop paying participants' rent immediately....

The Turkey-Syrian border is still volitile. Assad is claiming gains in Damascus.

Assad is not about to stop killing anywhere. He apologized for the border attack, but, he was warned by Turkey when the first incident shot down a Turkish jet took place. This isn't going to end soon, Assad will keep his attacks up while apologizing for each one. 

Syria, Turkey trade fire as clashes rage (click here)

By: AFP | October 08, 2012

...On Wednesday five civilians were killed in Akcakale in a mortar strike that provoked counter-fire, in the most serious incident since Syrian anti-aircraft fire brought down a Turkish warplane in June. That incident caused a spike in tensions between the former allies and renewed fears of a broader conflict. Turkey’s parliament on Thursday gave the government the green light to use military force against Syria if necessary. Akcakale’s mayor was quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as saying Sunday’s mortar hit prompted an immediate response by Turkish artillery. “Thank God there were no victims. Turkish artillery immediately responded to the shots that came from Syria,” Abdulhakim Ayhan said....

Attempted assassination of a 14 year old girl activist by the Taliban could be pivotal in Pakistan.

Perhaps this might make an impression on the Pakistani people how brutal the Taliban can be. This attempted assassination occurred at a bus stop. Both Malala and her girl friend sitting next to her were both shot.

The Taliban expect people to rise up against the activist and justify the actions of the Taliban. If there is hope of ridding the region of this danger the opinion against this brutality has to change.

Attempt to kill activist Malala Yousafzai, 14, could be 'watershed' moment that turns public tide against militants and extremism'

Jon Boone 
Tuesday, 9 October 2012

The Taliban's attempt (click here) to kill a 14-year-old girl, famous for speaking out against the Islamic militants and their attacks on girls' education, has triggered a wave of national revulsion in Pakistan .

Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck while she sat with classmates on a school bus as it prepared to drive students home after morning classes in Mingora, a city in the Swat valley, where the army mounted major operations in 2009 to crush a Taliban insurgency.

She was taken to hospital before being whisked in a military helicopter to an intensive care ward in Peshawar.

Police said a bearded man approached the bus and asked which of the girls was Malala. When one of the girls pointed at her she denied it. The gunman shot both girls, although police say three people were wounded in all....

The GOP rhetoric surrounding the Benghazi incident is wrong.

Secretary Clinton was clear immediately after the incident that this was a separate issue than what was occurring in Egypt. I know because I blogged that fact. She stated the attack itself was a result of militants and not demonstrators.

While the GOP is attempting to make hay out of attack, the State Department was stating the facts clearly. I blogged it right here. I knew when the GOP started their banter they were wrong, but, they and some media were determined to lie about it. Secretary Clinton knew exactly what happened and it was a separate incident all together than what was occurring in Egypt.

State Dept. description of attack in sync with GOP (click here)

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/09/2474638/us-official-in-libya-said-he-wanted.html#.UHUuuRVkynk#storylink=cpy

Tuesday, Oct. 09, 2012

By LARRY MARGASAK and BRADLEY KLAPPER

WASHINGTON — The State Department (click here) says it never concluded that an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya was simply a protest gone awry, a statement that places the Obama administration's own foreign policy arm in sync with Republicans.

That extraordinary message, appearing to question the administration's initial description of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, came in a department briefing Tuesday - a day before a hearing on diplomatic security in Libya was to be held by the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee....

...Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Republican lawmakers have increasingly sharpened their criticism of the administration's initial explanation of the attack. They said they never accepted the original explanation....

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/09/2474638/us-official-in-libya-said-he-wanted.html#.UHUuuRVkynk#storylink=cpy

Officials tell how ambassador Chris Stevens was trapped in safe-room as assailants burnt the compound down (click here)

By EDDIE WRENN

PUBLISHED: 22:24 EST, 9 October 2012

UPDATED: 03:01 EST, 10 October 2012

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/09/2474638/us-official-in-libya-said-he-wanted.html#.UHUuuRVkynk#storylink=cpy

This time last month, it was business as usual at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

A day later, ambassador Chris Stevens and several agents were dead, in an attack which was as brutal as it was deadly.

Officials have now described the overnight attack, which saw agents trapped in the burning compound before finally speeding away as attackers threw grenades and sprayed their armoured vehicle with gunfire from AK-47 assault rifles from a distance of two feet.

Meanwhile, the ambassador was locked in a safe-room as the compound filled with flames.

When the decision was made to escape the diesel-heavy smoke, it was too late, and Stevens never made it out....

The 'idea' Wall Street is all about a free market system is a myth.

The practices of Monsanto and its hold on American agriculture proves that.

Nebraska is one of the states seeking a new Senator this November.

The state is not usually a topic of conversation in the USA. 

The name is not sincerely American, it is Native American. It means flat water.

Few people, even citizens of Nebraska, stop to appreciate the fact the entire state is interlaced with rivers. The primary river system is the Platte River. The North and South Platte join to create the Platte River. The Platte runs roughly through the bottom third of the state, but, the entire state contains tributaries throughout its borders.

Nebraska is the heart of the Plains States. This is where westward settlers found soil yielding larger than expected crops. It is also a state where water was abundant and towns sprung up along them.

From the Library of Congress:

Prairie Settlement: Nebraska Photographs and Family Letters, 1862-1912 (click here)

Homesteading is what it was called. Settlers went westward and built homes while claiming land to make a living. The rivers served as transportation as well. It was easy for Nebraskans to move their goods to market from one end of a river to the other. Nebraska's history is America. It is where pioneering built the state and the food source for a nation.

Sometimes ignored in the history of many of the western states is the migration of African Americans to the west. The Great Migration which started in the early 1900s brought growth and development to Omaha. The city was incorporated in 1854 which would see an influx of its first black settlers. There was segregation and due to that there wasn't much representation in the government, but, it was the African Americans of Omaha that organized the first Fair for African-American exhibitors and attendees. Today the city has about 20% black Americans as their populous.

The dam broke in regard to race relations and diversity in government in Nebraska with the election of Matthew Oliver Ricketts. He was the first in his family to be born outside slavery, graduate as a physician from University of Nebraska College of Medicine and then elected to the Nebraska state legislature for two terms. His election was in 1892 on the Republican ticket.

Oh, by the way, Omaha is the largest city in Nebraska and 43rd in the nation, I think.

Just for the record, the Platte River joins the Missouri River at the Nebraska border. 

Yes, I have been to Nebraska and yes with my two sons. I do not lie. It is a rustic farm state and we loved it. It was the first place we ate biscuits and gravy for breakfast ever in our lives.

Nebraska also has some beautiful fall colors in their trees. This is the home of The National Arbor Day Foundation (click here). Arbor Day was first celebrated here. It is easy to love the land and the environment in Nebraska, it is part of the state's heritage and culture.

We traveled through Nebraska during the summer, but, one of the longest lasting memories was that of the silos. This picture is a set of Nebraska silos in the wintertime after the crops have been harvested and stored inside them.

They are a part of the beloved history of the state. 

ConAgra (click here) has been one of the largest industries in Nebraska and Omaha. ConAgra is the nation's largest producer of flour. WHEAT. ConAgra is the nation's largest flour mill. They also produce a whole chickens used in the American diet and they also produce chemicals for crop production.

There are five Fortune 500 companies in Nebraska, Berkshire-Hathaway was ranked 7th in the year 2012.

Union Pacific was ranked 143 out of 500 with revenues of $19.5 billion of which stockholders saw 16% return on their investment in 2011. Union Pacific is a very successful railroad.

ConAgra was ranked number 215. Peter Kiewit Sons was ranked 255 with revenues of over $10 billion of which 5.5% was pure profit to the company.

And last but hardly least with a ranking of 411 is Mutual of Omaha Insurance. They had revenues of $5.9 billion of which 2.2% was profit.

Kansas has a durable fiscal infrastructure. These are companies that have been around for a long time, almost as long as the farming heritage itself. I would think with that much fiscal density in Wall Street, both stocks and commodities, Nebraskans would be looking for a level headed Democrat to protect them from some hideous crash again.

Of course the real beauty of Nebraska besides the people and their lifestyles and heritage is the fact all the industry in the state seems to 'fit together' so well. Farmer's grain, railroad cars and processing plants that receive the grain and also export the products for revenue to the state. it is rather interesting to think about. There is no waste in Nebraska. Everything fits and everything works.

In the past one of the largest growth industries was the service industry and primarily the public sector. The pension funds in Nebraska are considerable. They are also invested. 

December 14, 2011

Andrew G. Biggs

Public Sector Pensions in Nebraska (click here)

The American Enterprise Institute published the study of Nebraska pensions above. The AEI prides itself on research of policy, including public policy. They claim to believe the American Dream should be accessible to all Americans.

The article below was published 19 minutes ago. To say Republicans have abandoned Nebraska is an under estimate of the mood of farmers there.

Officials looking for ways to heal drought wounds (click here)

By ART HOVEY

Lincoln Journal Star

...Growing conditions were about as good as they could be at the start of the growing season, he told an audience at Omaha’s City County Building. Then …  they weren’t.

“Mother Nature decided it was too good to be true,” he said.

Omaha hosted the first of four regional workshops. The daylong event and others to follow in Arkansas, Colorado and Ohio are meant to identify resources that can help with recovery from a drought of record proportions.

In the absence of a farm bill and the emergency boost it could give to livestock producers, the most compelling moment of the opening session might have come when Vilsack pressed weather forecaster Doug Kluck on prospects for relief during the next 90 days.

Kluck, based with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Kansas City, couldn’t deliver the answer everybody wanted to hear....

Wheat is not the primary crop of farmers in Nebraska, corn is. Wheat is a cover crop, 'sorta.' It is planted to 'winter over' and be an early harvest as a 'cash crop' before the corn is planted.

Posted: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 4:00 pm | Updated: 12:57 pm, Tue Oct 9, 2012.

LINCOLN (AP) — Planting a crop is always a risk, (click here) but Nebraska farmers may be taking a bigger gamble than usual this year as they plant winter wheat amid continuing drought.

Nearly 89 percent of Nebraska is in extreme or exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor compiled by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

That means farmers who plant now may not have enough field moisture for winter wheat to sprout. But those who wait for rain risk a killing frost before wheat roots can withstand the cold, experts told the Lincoln Journal Star....

Whatever happened to the days of "plant from fence post to fence post," huh?

Nebraska Governor Heineman has focused on education as a means for job creation and growth.

Posted: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 2:00 am | Updated: 11:05 pm, Thu Oct 4, 2012.

By Robert Pore robert.pore@theindependent.com

Nebraska's good economic health (click here) with its job creation and low unemployment rate is being recognized throughout the United States. But to keep that momentum growing, Gov. Dave Heineman said education and job creation remain top priorities for the future.

"The reason we are focusing on those is that we want to make Nebraska the very best place to get a job and grow a business," Heineman said. "We want to make sure that we get every student the very best education that they can get..

Heineman was the keynote speaker at the Nebraska Business and Industrial Products Show Wednesday at Fonner Park. This is the first year the show has been held in Grand Island or Central Nebraska....

Lincoln Teachers Hold Rally to Support Kerry (click here)

October 07, 2012 10:35 pm 

By the Lincoln Journal Star

A group of educators gathered in Lincoln on Sunday to express support for U.S. Senate candidate Bob Kerrey.

The Lincoln Education Association event featured a host of speakers, including two Nebraska State Education Association Teachers of the Year, who shared personal reasons for backing the candidate.

Many cited the former governor’s leadership experience and a record of supporting educators.

Attendees were asked to share campaign information with neighbors and friends.

“What is good for teachers is good for kids,” said Sharon Nore, a retired Lincoln Public Schools teacher.

Nebraska ranks their schools and it is available at the state website (click here).

Nebraska, in the 2000 census, has educated 86.6 percent of their students to high school education or higher. The national average is about 80.4. So, Nebraska is doing okay compared with its peers. However, that is still a failure rate of 13.4%. Again, this is statistical data from 2000 and not 2010. There was some mention Nebraska ranks low in funding for education as well. Last checked it was 50th in funding in the nation and seeking to cut the  state's budget more. When one looks at the education cuts across the nation it is very obvious they could have used an infusion from The American Jobs Act of which the USA Congress never passed.

In Nebraska (click here) 45.6 million acres of land is used for farming, or 92.7 percent of the 49.2 million acres of land in the State.

Nebraska has 76,872 square miles of land.

The fact 92.7% of Nebraska is dedicated to farmland might explain why the nuclear power plant which was flooded last year still has no date to begin operations. 

Airspace Over Flooded Nebraska Nuclear Power Plant Still Closed (click here)
Ricky Kreitner
Jun. 15, 2011, 4:02 PM
A fire in Nebraska's Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant briefly knocked out the cooling process for spent nuclear fuel rods, ProPublica reports.

The fire occurred on June 7th, and knocked out cooling for approximately 90 minutes. After 88 hours, the cooling pool would boil dry and highly radioactive materials would be exposed.

On June 6th, the Federal Administration Aviation (FAA) issued a directive banning aircraft from entering the airspace within a two-mile radius of the plant....

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant Has No Solid Timeline For Reopening, Regulators Claim (click here)

By Josh Funk

Posted: 06/01/2012 11:11 am

...Several dozen people attended the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's open house in downtown Omaha, about 20 miles south of the plant. The meeting was part of the strict oversight regulators have imposed on Fort Calhoun because of problems at the plant, which has been offline since April 2011.

Omaha Public Power District officials said they hoped to restart Fort Calhoun in September but would adjust the timeline as needed if any additional issues are found. Initially shut down for maintenance, the plant was forced to stay closed because of flooding along the Missouri River and several safety violations....

Nebraska has problems, but, a candidate running for the USA Senate should be able to speak to all these issues and find resolve to the security and safety of the nuclear power plant that experienced a 'mini-event' of Fukushima dynamic.

My last thoughts about the perils of Nebraska returns to the issue of fuel costs and promoting farmer cooperatives to produce their own biofuels to reduce their operating costs. It is doable.

Oh, yeah and not a minor matter is that entire Monsanto seed empire monopoly. Monsanto has no answers for drought by the way. If any farmer wants drought resistant crops there is "The Land Institute" which has solid research showing perennial crops with deep roots have far better performance and less costs for production. They out shine any Monsanto annual seeds. There is no incentive for Monsanto to produce anything but annual yielding seeds, now is there?

Progress in Breeding Perennial Grains (click here)

published in "Crop & Pasture Science," July 2010

by T.S. Cox, D.L. Van Tassel, C.M. Cox, and L.R. DeHaan

Abstract:     
Annual cereal, legume and oilseed crops remain staples of the global food supply. Because most annual crops have less extensive, shorter-lived root systems than do perennial species, with a correspondingly lower capacity to manage nutrients and water, annual cropping systems tend to suffer higher levels of soil erosion and generate greater water contamination than do perennial systems....

This is pure speculation, but, The Land Institute was included in The Farm Bill in 2009 and the bills that followed. There work can cause Monsanto some moments of anxiety and could be the real reason The Farm Bill didn't pass and not the issue of food stamps (SNAP). I am quite sure Monsanto has hefty lobbyists to maintain their strangle hold on USA agriculture. Just a personal observation.

I have gotten to know The Land Institute and their work, they are good, decent people and they love farmers. They love growing crops that work for farmers when the climate challenges them to be productive.

Food for thought.

Perennial crops have TAP ROOTS. Annual crops don't. As a matter of fact irrigated crops have very superficial roots. The diagrams are below.

Graph A is an irrigated root system of corn.

Graph B is a root system without the need for irrigation.

Graph C is the root system of perennial crops.

I find that fascinating. Monsanto can't and won't produce seed for perennial crops for farmland because it would mean they don't have their profit STRUCTURE intact year after year. See, farmers purchase seed even if there is a drought. Monsanto never suffers losses really, except, if farmers don't plant. 

Cesar Chavez from The Fight in the Fields

Whoever thought migrant farm workers could ever be organized to promote their rights and dignity?

The Fight in the Fields, Cesar Chavez and the Farm Workers Struggle (click here)

In this PBS documentary Cesar Chavez is stated to be the most important Latino leader in the United States. It is true. What he accomplished was nothing short of incredible. He brought recognition to the substandard living and working conditions of Hispanic American farm workers in California and Florida.

The living conditions of these forgotten Americans were subhuman. The housing, if any were available, was a shack where they could get out of the sun and sleep with some shelter, but, it was never a home. The people were considered derelict and unworthy of esteem. The workers were basically homeless. Their work was extremely difficult, long hours but one of the most vital needs for labor in the USA. These workers fed the nation, while their children had few rations on a daily basis.

12:14AM EST October 9. 2012 - President Obama traveled (click here) to Southern California on Monday to announce the establishment of a national monument to the Mexican-American union organizer César Chávez, while offering Hispanic voters a subtle nudge less than a month before Election Day.

While the trip to Keene, Calif., to pay tribute to the founder of the United Farm Workers was technically official White House business, it also helped magnify Obama's outreach efforts to the Hispanic community. It is an important voting bloc whose turnout could be crucial to his chances in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia....

It was an honor for President Obama to be with Hispanic Americans today in recognition of Cesar Chavez. It was convenient there is a Presidential election this year, but, he would have been there anyway.

This was the second time this year a monument was dedicated to great minority leaders. Today is was Chavez and in the recent past Dr. King. This has been an incredible year for the President overseeing the recognition of great and benevolent people in the minority communities. 

President Obama lays a rose at the grave of Cesar Chavez, with his widow Helen Chavez, during a tour of a memorial garden at the Chavez National Monument.(Photo: Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images)

Cesar Chavez' grave is marked by a simple cross.

"Every time somebody's son or daughter comes and learns about the history of this movement," Obama said, "I want them to know that our journey is never hopeless, our work is never done."

He also said: "Our world is a better place because Cesar Chavez decided to change it. Let us honor his memory. But most importantly, let's live up to his example."

Whether the Dreamers realize it or not, there roots for equality, education and health began with the movement to bring dignity to Hispanic labor. It is that reality which makes the Arizona laws so egregious.

...The justices (click here) struck down three other parts of the law:

- One making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to work or to seek work in Arizona;

- One which authorized state and local officers to arrest people without a warrant if the officers have probable cause to believe a person is an illegal immigrant;

- And one that made it a state requirement for immigrants to register with the federal government.

The Arizona laws were a regression in time and an insult to the progress Hispanics made in the USA.

I thank President Obama for commemorating this great American today. I am confident the ceremony would not have achieved the depth without him. I congratulate the Hispanic community on this great achievement and recognition. Perhaps, now, they will finally be considered as much a part of the USA as the first settlers.

Husted has no basis for appeal of the oppressive Ohio voting laws.

The 15th Amendment is very clear, African American Men are not to be discriminated against in any way shape or form. THAT is USA Constitutional law. Simply because White Men in Ohio continue to play with Article One, Section 4 of the USA Constitution it does NOT mean it applies to African American Men. It is amazing to me how 'buffaloed' the Republicans have this nation.

...The most direct attack (click here) on the problem of African American disfranchisement came in 1965. Prompted by reports of continuing discriminatory voting practices in many Southern states, President Lyndon B. Johnson, himself a southerner, urged Congress on March 15, 1965, to pass legislation “which will make it impossible to thwart the 15th amendment.” He reminded Congress that “we cannot have government for all the people until we first make certain it is government of and by all the people.” The Voting Rights Act of 1965, extended in 1970, 1975, and 1982, abolished all remaining deterrents to exercising the franchise and authorized Federal supervision of voter registration where necessary.

Let's look at the way voting rights were set up in the original document of the USA Constitution.

Article One

SECTION 4.

The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

The second paragraph really isn't my concern.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

These are the original words written when the US Constitution was signed. A lot has happened since then.

The Thirteenth Amendment was passed over 100 years later. The wording is straight forward and never did any one passing the 13th amendment believe there would be anything other than freedom of citizenship for Black Men, no different than that of White Men. 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

The reason things went so badly after the 13th Amendment was passed is because of the USA Constitution's Article 1, Section 4. I have placed the text above. Every time there are laws passed to dissolve bigotry and provide equality it is removed as soon as White Men at the state level get their hands on it.

As the states tinkered and tinkered and tinkered the Fourteenth Amendment came into being. You think the nation would learn that after two Constitutional Amendments were passed to SECURE the rights of Black Men that would be enough, but, it never is.

The really interesting thing about the 14th Amendment, other than the right of women of any ethnicity to vote, is the fact Section 1 assigns jurisdiction to the United States, not individual states.

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Even though the 14th Amendment clearly places jurisdiction of all persons to the federal authority while recognizing the states as entities of those federal borders, there is NOTHING here assigning voting rights laws to the states.

The method of carrying out the vote is still relegated to the states. The organizing of the COUNTING of the ballots and reporting of the counting of the ballots are the responsibility of the jurisdiction reporting for the House of Representatives. In all honesty, it really isn't the states responsible for the vote count, so much as each House of Representative seat in Congress.

The way election laws are administered TODAY by each state is a violation of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment. Now, how many times is the federal legislature going to pass laws and Constitutional Amendments before it is done correctly with a firm set of federal laws defining the LACK OF CONDITIONS necessary to vote in the USA. There is no identity fraud that cannot be detected with a finger print reader or a simple signature, so to allow this mess to continue is outrageous.

Besides the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the NATION'S Constitution there is also the Voting Rights Act. WHY?

The White Men at the state level continue to game the system because it is allowed, not because it was ever suppose to continue. Why was the 13th amendment every necessary? Aren't black skinned men as human as white skinned men? Why was the 14th Amendment ever necessary? Were women as human as men? Why was the 15th Amendment ever necessary? We are back to the issue of the civil rights of black men born in the USA (I suppose in the mid 1800s they were the Dreamers of the day.).

The states lost their credibility a long time ago to carry out nothing more than the TASK of counting the vote and reporting to the US Congress in the House of Representatives. The states rights to continue to harass minorities ended, in my opinion, with the 14th Amendment. I sincerely believe the 14th Amendment clearly hands accountability of laws to the federal government and the jurisdictional reporting ONLY to the individual federal House seats.

Article One, Section 4 of the USA Constitution was written for 13 states. There was slavery then. It took 100 years and a civil war to stop slavery. It was a moral social issue. Somehow slavery continued due to the clout of the whip and gun and not because the USA Constitution every allowed it in the first place.

The problem today, no different than from the beginnings of this country is bigotry. Today, bigotry seeks control of the outcome of elections. It is a return to the Civil War by allowing the states control over election laws in the year 2012. The states were dissolved of their jurisdiction for setting voting laws a long time ago. 

In the 15th Amendment it clearly states Black Men are not to be impeded in any way. There is no state that is to violate that and currently Husted is in violation of that Constitutional Amendment by targeting a minority demographic, Black Men, to prevent them from casting their vote on an extended timeline. Husted is in violation of the USA Constitution in his very thought of committing the crime of OBSTRUCTING the 15th Amendment.

When the states finally come to terms with the FACT they do not have authority over setting laws regarding voting this circus will stop, but, not before. The vote is a toy for politicians and until the protections of all Americans are standardized at the federal level this monkey business of the White Men will continue.

If Husted files an appeal to a court to SUBVERT the USA Constitution he is in treason of its laws and needs to be arrested immediately.

If our federal government doesn't stand strong for every Section of the USA Constitution and every Amendment we will be in danger of having the entire Constitution dissolved before our eyes by ? states rights ? Someone needs to get this straight. Husted is engaged in unconstitutional activity to subvert the vote with intent to over throw the USA federal government. What of that doesn't anyone understand?