Doug's Views – Page 55 – Ocassional Thoughts of an Independent Progressive Atheistic Humanist

November 4, 2012April 18, 2020

Republicans, Mitt Romney & John C. Calhoun – Together Again

created image of John C. Calhoun & Mitt Romney

John C. Calhoun & Mitt Romney: Twins?

You know you are losing an election when you and your party are compared to the ‘planter elite’ that reigned, in the US, in the mid 1800’s. An essay by Mike Lux is a stinging indictment of what passes for Republican party politics today and he compares it to the politics of John C. Calhoun and the later ‘Robber Barons’ of the 1880’s. Ouch. One really doesn’t bring back the dead like John C. Calhoun unless it’s serious and I believe that this time in history is serious for the choice we all need to make on Tuesday.

October 29, 2012April 18, 2020

Hidden Scout Files Show More Interest In Preventing Bad Publicity

A few weeks ago, as the result of a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), files with names of people excluded from the Boy Scouts from 1965-1985 was released to the public. These “perversion files” list names and details of adults who were kicked out either because they abused the boys they were in charge of or were accused of abusing boys. The BSA attempted to keep these files hidden. One file for a man in my area illustrates why BSA and similar groups are on the wrong side of the child abuse reporting issue. Identifying abusers and protecting children is FAR more important than any bad public relations for doing so.

When the files were released I was interested in checking them out. I was a Boy Scout from the mid 70’s to 1985. Although I never experienced any abuse, I wanted to see if any leaders I might have known back then was on the list. Luckily there was no one from my area in the files.

October 26, 2012April 18, 2020

Simple Logical Reason The GOP Is Wrong For This Country

I posted an essay on Daily Kos that gives my simple logical reason Republicans and their inhuman policy ideas are wrong for this country. Please check it out. It is a really good essay.

October 22, 2012April 18, 2020

Did Mitt Romney Write His Columbus Dispatch Endorsement?

image of The Columbus Dispatch sign downtown

Wow! The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch hit all the GOP talking points in their recent editorial endorsing Mitt Romney for President. What kind of shocked me was the inclusion the subtly racist one that says ‘We gave the guy a chance so it is okay to vote him out of office’ that comes from the ad the Republican National Committee is running on the local Dispatch owned TV station now. I wonder if the Romney campaign and/or the RNC wrote the editorial because rational people know all the talking points have been rebutted multiple times.

The editorial starts out as you would expect from a Republican biased owner and publisher:

October 21, 2012April 18, 2020

It’s As If Paul Ryan Says Obama Is At War With Horse Drawn Buggies

created clipart of a horse drawn buggy with coal text written on it

Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan visited Belmont county, in Ohio, Saturday to claim that President Obama has a war on Coal. It is part of the Romney-Ryan plan to drill for more oil, keep the huge handouts to Big Oil, reduce pollution regulations, and stop government assistance to green energy. Of course this also means telling Coal miners that their jobs are in danger even though no matter who is the President their jobs are in danger. If we were at the beginning of the 20th century, Paul Ryan would be complaining about President Obama having a war on horse drawn buggies. Coal is a dying source for energy much like buggies gave way to the better technology of the automobile.