Posts Tagged ‘President Obama’

Republicans and Democrats to sit together? What a concept!

January 15, 2011

 

The Constitution, Article II, Section 3, requires that the President “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient…”

By tradition the “Information” is in the form of a speech, and “from time to time” has become once a year, during the last week of January. This years SOTU, as it’s called in the White House, will be on Tuesday, January 25.

One of the majestic icons of America is the picture of the House chamber packed with every member of both houses of Congress, together with the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and all the President’s Cabinet—all but one member who is kept out to be assume the Presidency in case some unspeakable catastrophe strikes the capitol during the SOTU.

This picture of the grandeur of our Republic stirs our blood and our hopes, from the cheers and protocol of the President’s arrival to the first applause line in his speech. Then any idea of comity is shattered, as every Democrat in the hall leaps to his or her feet and cheers and applauds wildly, while every Republican sits stony-faced. (more…)

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Posted in Ethics-general, Government, Politics | 2 Comments »

President Obama, time to do the right thing about the mosque near Ground Zero

August 18, 2010

Some days ethics backs you into a corner. You have to choose between doing what your inner voice is saying is right—or not. That day is here for President Obama.


He made a stirring statement about religious freedom last Friday at a Ramadan dinner. The next day he equivocated: “I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about.”


Score a miss for Presidential leadership. His conflicting statements poured fuel on the burning controversy.

· Americans generally believe Muslims have a right to worship, just not there.

· One and one-half billion Muslims thought America was a land of religious freedom, not at war with Islam, but aren’t certain.

· Manhattanites mostly think people ought to be able to do whatever they want.

· Families of 9/11 victims are divided


You can’t please everybody, Mr. President. Time to do the right thing. But what is the right thing? Should a Muslim community center-cum-prayer area be built on the site of a decrepit ex-Burlington Coat Factory, hard by an Off-Track Betting parlor, a bar, a porn shop, and some run-down office buildings 2-1/2 blocks from Ground Zero?


The opponents say it’s a matter of respecting sensitivities of people who lost loved ones on 9/11. (more…)

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Posted in Ethics-general, Government, Politics, Tolerance | 1 Comment »

California voters can strike a blow for moderation in politics by passing Proposition 14 in Tuesday’s primary election

June 6, 2010

Do you think President Bush knew about the 9/11 attack in advance, but allowed it to happen in order to advance his and Vice President Cheney’s secret pro-big oil agenda? If so you’re not alone. You and many other Democrats are the people that Democratic candidates target in primary elections. Congratulations.

Do you think President Obama was born in Kenya and is secretly a Muslim, striving to outlaw pork and introduce socialism in America? You and many other Republicans are the people that Republican candidates target in primary elections. Congratulations.

Are you sick about American political life being controlled by wild-eyed extremists. You and many other moderates are the people that California ballot Proposition 14 targets. You have a chance to turn politics back to the people who are trying to solve America’s problems without demonizing members of the other party.

Proposition 14 would change California’s primary election process. It would end separate primaries for each party and make all candidates run in a single primary, with the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes moving on to the general election ballot regardless of party preference.

This would have a profound effect on the outcomes because candidates would necessarily try to appeal to independent voters and members of the other party, in addition to voters of their own party. (more…)

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Arizona governor signs harsh anti-illegal immigrant law

April 23, 2010

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer today signed into law what President Obama had just called an irresponsible act that “threaten[s] to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”

The new law makes it a crime to lack proper immigration paperwork and requires police, if they have reasonable suspicion that someone is in the country illegally, to determine their immigration status. It also bars people from soliciting work as day laborers.

The President made his remarks at a naturalization ceremony for 24 active-duty military people. He acknowledged that the Arizona action resulted from “our failure to act responsibly at the federal level,” as he called for Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

So we now wait and see whether the new law increases or decreases the security of the people of Arizona. To her credit, Gov. Brewer spoke forcefully about her determination not to tolerate racial profiling by police officers. On the other hand, when a reporter asked her what an illegal immigrant looked like, she answered simply, “I don’t know.”

She said she signed the law to combat the “murderous greed of drug cartels, drop houses, kidnappings, and violence.” We can expect that the murderous greedy drug kingpins will no longer congregate in Wal-Mart parking lots looking for day labor.

Read The Ethics Challenge: Strengthening Your Integrity in a Greedy World

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Posted in Ethics-general, military, Politics, Tolerance | 3 Comments »