The Average Joe

One thing I will give Paul Ryan is the fact that he was able to get his name in the news a few months back when proposing his budget plan, which went nowhere, as it is the same nonsense that is spouted off by most Republicans of the party today. If we take a look at his plan for Medicare, which he is choosing to gut, he would prefer to hand out vouchers to those that would be collecting it and shop around for low cost healthcare.  Ryan’s hope would be that competition lowers the costs and makes it affordable for seniors.  Basically, this would be the same concept of senior citizens and sick people shopping around for the best bargain on a new car with service plan.  Overall, 40-50 million people will no longer be insured if his plan is enacted. It is also important to point out that Paul Ryan voted in favor of the Medicare expansion is 2003.  Since Paul Ryan has flip-flopped on Medicare; Mitt Romney, the original flip-flopper, must be proud. In my o...

As the Iraq War has just ended and the War in Afghanistan is now winding down, most Americans are under the false impression of this nation beginning its "war on terror", as President George W. Bush coined the phrase, since the dawn of the 21 st Century and this is just not true.  The United States has been fighting terrorism since shortly after its independence.  Compared to the rest of the world, the United States is still very young.  This nation was born into a very hostile world ruled by monarchies that did not wish this new democracy well.  At the time of its birth, there was an unexpected problem that the new American leaders were unsure as to how to confront, which was known as piracy.  This piracy was nothing more than state sponsored terrorism of its day.  In this case, it existed in the Mediterranean Sea along the North African Coast. As a result of this, the fledgling United States was considered an easy target due to the lack o...

If you have all been keeping up with the news, it is impossible to not see the headlines dealing with the healthcare battle in the Supreme Court of the United States.   The main argument in this case is whether or not the federal government can mandate all Americans to purchase healthcare insurance if they do not already have it.   The individual mandate, which originated as a Republican idea, would require that all Americans purchase minimum health care coverage starting in 2014, as stated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.            Donald Verrilli Jr., speaking at the Supreme Court in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare; argued that this law is a valid response to a crisis in the market of health care.   The individual mandate regulates how people are going to pay for healthcare services, which is and always will be a universal need.   It is also important to keep ...

Throughout the GOP debates, candidates have criticized President Obama for not doing enough on a variety of issues, which include the economy, jobs, gas prices and his stance on Iran’s nuclear program.  In reality, the GOP candidates are wrong and President Obama stands a very good chance for reelection because of what he has done in while in office. The recession that resulted from the market crash of 2008 put the United States in its biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.  Many have this perception that presidents can fully control the direction of the economy.  The truth is that they cannot and most of that power in government rests with Congress.  Nevertheless, voters still hold the president accountable when the economy tanks and praise him when it grows.  Since January, 2012, the economy has been growing and unemployment has been decreasing .   If this trend continues through the Presidential Debates in the fall, President Oba...

Over the last couple of weeks, contraception has become an issue that has dominated the media.  In fact, there was even a hearing held by Congressman Darrell Issa, a Republican, yet it featured six male witnesses and not one woman.   Their stance on this issue is further damaging and tarnishing the GOP in the eyes of female voters.  Aside from the fact that this was a ridiculous spectacle, I find it wrong and sexist that not one woman was featured as a witness.  Many women have been voicing two main points over these hearings.  The first is that these politicians clearly are not on their side, and the second is they do not understand their life and what it is like to be a woman. After having this whole issue out in the open, many women feel that Republicans just do not get it. Mitt Romney’s position on birth control further demonstrates that he really has no core values.  He has flip-flopped on thi...

On December 31 st , 2011, while most Americans were celebrating the New Year, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).  This pernicious legislation significantly expands the power and scope of the federal government to fight the War on Terror, including the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without trial. Under the new law the US military has the power to carry out domestic anti-terrorism operations on US soil. Even worse, the NDAA authorizes the military to detain US citizens under the broad new anti-terrorism provisions provided in the bill; once again, without trial.  Originally, President Obama threatened to veto the bill unless that specific provision was retooled, so that the civil liberties of US citizens were not in danger. Basically, this law now opens the door for the military to conduct policing inside the United States, which would overstep the powers of the Executive Branch.  The image of military patrolli...

Over the last decade, many in the GOP have created this myth of Ronald Reagan as the savior of the United States and American way of life after the Vietnam Era, high inflation, high unemployment and the gas shortage.  From this, he has become the embodiment of the Republican Party.  For every Republican I can think of, Ronald Reagan is their role model. Is their image of Ronald Reagan accurate ?  Unfortunately, this is a false image as history has proven…should you dare to challenge the status quo. It is worthwhile to find out how images are created.  More importantly, how false images come into being.  Many Americans have grown up accepting, with little question, certain images as accurate portraits of public figures.  As a historian, it is my duty to question whether or not these images are true to the original.  Because of the spotlight that is centered on their every move, presidents seem to fall perfectly into this category. Popul...