Miss You: Tribute to Aaliyah Haughton

Source:The New Democrat

Aaliyah Haughton would've been thirty-five this week had she not of died in a plane accident in the summer of 2001. The beautiful adorable Aaliyah whose music and voice was as beautiful and adorable as she was. Who also sang from her heart and what she felt instead of singing about whatever contemporaries were singing about. So you always knew where she was coming from and what she was feeling and almost thirteen years later. Still represents a huge lost to the rhythm and blues industry.

Aaliyah became big in 1993-94 at the age of fourteen or fifteen years old. I just happened to be a senior in high school that year and probably first heard of her by the winter of 94. Listening to the song when I got home from school one afternoon called Back and Fourth. Singing about a relationship she had with someone that I guess had a lot of ups and downs in it. I got to listen to her music for a solid seven years but not nearly long enough considering how much talent she. And how big her heart was.

American Enterprise: Phillip Swagel: Four Ways We Can Improve the Economy in 2014

Source:The New Democrat

Just to start out before I go any further. I believe there’s a better shot of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in 2014 or the Redskins winning the Super Bowl with Dan Snyder as the majority owner, than I see any bipartisan cooperation in this divided Congress. When it comes to economic growth, but just for the sake of this post if not for just the hell of it, if both sides actually worked together, this is what I believe they could get done based on what both parties in Congress want to do and where there’s already agreement.

1. Infrastructure
Let’s put a five-hundred billion dollar to one-trillion dollar national infrastructure plan over five-ten years. Including a National Infrastructure Bank that would be independent of the Federal Government. A public/private corporation that would run itself and not by government. That would fund a lot of these infrastructure projects all over the country. With private funds by brining in private investors who would make money off of these completed projects. That economic Conservatives should like this because we would be using private capital and private principles. That is about what is the right thing to be doing to rebuild this country.

2. National Energy Policy
We already have a Bipartisan consensus when it comes to renewable energy sources in this country. And a bipartisan consensus when it comes to oil and gas. The fact that we need to produce a lot more of both at least in the short-term to get off of foreign oil. The reason energy independence is now on the horizon for America, is because we’ve produced a lot more oil in the last five years. If we were ruled by commonsense, we would be doing these things creating millions of jobs in our domestic energy sector. But as Senator Chuck Grassley says, "Washington is an island immune from reality".

3. Tax Reform
For short to long-term economic and job growth I’m just talking about business tax reform. And greater tax relief for individuals and business’s to expand economic and job growth. So this would be part of my long-term tax reform plan as well. But short-term we spend somewhere around fifty-hundred-billion dollars a year on corporate welfare. When we also have a corporate tax rate of thirty-five percent, higher than both Canada and Germany. Germany the only large country in Europe with a strong economy now. Let’s lower the corporate tax rate two twenty-five percent on all profits made inside the United States. In exchange for either eliminating most of the subsidies. Or changing corporate welfare to corporate workfare and invest in things like.

A. Health insurance for employees.

B. Life insurance for employees.

C. Pensions for employees.

D. Job training for low-skilled workers and educated veteran workers who need additional skills.

E. Investing in America by either expanding or creating new factories, plants, offices and creating jobs inside the United States.

4. Immigration Reform
Pretty simple at least as far as policy. Bring in the workers that we need to do the jobs where we do not have enough skilled workers for those jobs. And bring in the workers that we need to do the jobs that Americans won’t do whether they are qualified for them or not. Bring in the 10-15 illegal immigrants in this country so they can pay their fair share of taxes. And fine for being in the country illegally based on how long they’ve been in the United States illegally. And no longer be abused by their current employers.

Just to be completely straight up. I sure as hell hope Democrats at least keep the majority in the Senate that they have now. Which I believe is possible and possible simply because their candidates and incumbents are better. And they won’t have a wildcard factor to deal with. Meaning far-left candidates trying to run for office either statewide or in swing districts. Unlike Republicans who still have these problems with their far-right and will have them in 2014. And would love to see House Democrats pick up forty seats. Not going to happen but whatever the Congressional makeup is in 2014, this is what I believe could get done without the partisanship from both sides based on what they already agree on

NBC News In Plain Sight: Brian Williams Interviewing U.S. Representative Paul Ryan,

Source:The New Democrat

I rarely agree with Representative Paul Ryan on anything, but he actually makes some good points about poverty in America. And what I respect about is that he makes his points in an interesting way that leaves me to believe that and intelligent person can believe what he is saying. And say, “yeah I see how an intelligent person could agree with that. It might not be my approach. But it is a good alternative to what I’ve been talking about on these issues.”

Now here is where I agree with Representative Paul Ryan. Where he says that we all need to be in this together. Meaning the whole country when it comes to dealing with poverty in America. That the Federal Government can’t do all of it by themselves as much as they may want to. That the states and locals need to be involved here as well as the private sector. And for me that would be about empowering the non-profits in the private sector with the resources to train low-income workers. Give them health services, find and build them housing, give them childcare etc.

Representative Ryan was talking about the one size fits all solution to combating poverty in America. Meaning the Federal Government trying to manage everything themselves. That needs to stop and allow for the states and locals to have the resources to meet the needs of their own residents. With basic national standards in place, as well as empowering non-profits to deal with these issues. Empowering people in their own communities to take on poverty in their communities.

Newsmax: The Steve Malzberg Show- PJ O'Rourke: Author of The Baby Boom How it Got Away

Source: Newsmax- Political humorist and columnist P.J. O'Rourke, on The Steve Malzberg Show.

Source:The New Democrat 

First of all I love PJ O’Rourke, you know platonically because he’s one my favorite political and cultural commentators. And why is that because first of all his deep honesty and consistency. He’s what is called a Conservative Libertarian. Probably not a pure Libertarian, but a Barry Goldwater Conservative whose politics is built around government should mind their own business and not the business of the people. Meaning that government’s job is to defend the people’s freedom, not try to run their lives. Not one of the fake Conservatives who bash big government as they are sticking up for other parts of big government.

The exchange he had with Steve Malzberg about marijuana in this interview is a perfect example of what a conversation between a real Conservative like PJ and a fake Conservative. I’m not very familiar with Steve Malzberg enough to know if he’s a fake Conservative or not. But how they were talking about marijuana where PJ basically saying the cat is already out of the bag on this. Marijuana prohibition is a failure and besides we are only talking about a drug that has similar effects as alcohol anyway. With Steve Malzberg making the establishment drug warrior argument of why should we legalize another dangerous drug in this country. The same argument that could be made about alcohol.

I’m not a Libertarian but definitely a Liberal who takes the same viewpoint about government that PJ O’Rourke takes that it is not the job of government to run my life for me and try to protect me from myself. But protect me from people who would hurt me. By punishing them not by prohibiting what I can do with my own life. And if you are a real Conservative or a Conservative Libertarian, you have a very similar view about government as well.
Source:Newsmax

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: It's Time for Better Ideas

Source:The New Democrat

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell actually sounding constructive instead of obstructive here in talking about expanding educational and job training opportunities for unemployed workers as part of a deal that would extend Unemployment Insurance for these long-term workers. Who definitely need that income right now and is something that Senate Democrats should at least allow for a vote on. It is relevant to the legislation and would get these workers additional skills that would make to easier for them to find a good job and finally get off of Unemployment Insurance. If you’re unemployed right now, but already have a good education, but are having a hard time finding another job in your profession, the, the more you can improve your skills, the better your chances of finding a good full-time job.

Oliver Stone: Richard Nixon (1995)

Source:The New Democrat

Nixon is one of my favorite movies purely for entertainment value. And I believe Anthony Hopkins did a great job of playing Richard Nixon and Joan Allen did a great job portraying Pat Nixon. But I don’t believe the movie is very accurate as far as other things movies and books that I’ve seen about the man. I mean the movie constantly has Dick Nixon drinking some type of scotch or alcoholic beverage. And although Nixon was Irish, (ha, ha) people close to him said that he couldn’t hold his liquor. He would have maybe one drink after work and another with dinner. But wasn’t drinking throughout the day and during meetings and so-forth.

Also the movie I believe over-portrays Dick Nixon’s negative aspects. And again if you are familiar with the man you know he’s one of the most fascinating complicated politicians whose ever lived. And a big reason for that had to do with the fact that he wasn’t just good or just bad. That he had many aspects that were good and bad that people who worked for the man who have broad respect, like David Gergen or his second Attorney General Elliot Richardson, said that the man had some awful character flaws like not being able to trust people, to use as an example. But that he did a lot of great things as president like as they related to China and Russia.

Nixon is a very good movie from an entertainment value and as far as the aspects of Dick Nixon’s life that they covered. And was very well written with a great cast that also included Paul Sorvino, James Woods and Ed Harris to name a few others. But they left a lot out or didn’t cover some of the other aspects of the man’s life. Like his time in Congress or as vice president and some of his big accomplishments as president.

GOP Weekly Address: Senator Thad Cochran With the GOP's Weekly ObamaCare Statement

Source:The New Democrat

The GOP’s one horse race is ObamaCare even though that is not the only issue Americans are interested in. And if you look at the weak December jobs report and millions of people losing their Unemployment Insurance without having any other way to pay their bills. But the GOP especially the Senate GOP believes their best and perhaps only shot at winning back the Senate in 2014 and giving Republicans a united Republican Congress is talk about what they do not like about the Affordable Care Act and we’ll see how it works for them. Because the Senate GOP at least has no agenda of their own. Nothing positive to run on tell Americans why Mitch McConnell should be Leader of the Senate in the next Congress.