kanesrealm

I bet you thought Indiana's Freedom of Religion Act was going to quietly fade from the news once it was signed into law, nope. The Indiana Republican Party has made so many mistakes with this legislation, starting with even considering it, that they need to taste electoral defeat but that probably won't happen. This past Saturday hundreds turned out to protest at the Statehouse. A noble effort and a demonstration of what needs to happen when our leaders do stupid things. However, it wasn't going to sway Governor Pence or most of the legislators behind this law. So Governor Pence did everyone on the opposite side a favor, he went on the national Sunday talk shows and demonstrated tremendous political ignorance, he refused to answer George Stephanopoulos question "is it alright to discriminate against gays and lesbians in Indiana?" Pence would not answer the question. His non-answer speaks volumes about his personal beliefs, which are not a surprise to this writer ...

Indiana Governor Mike Pence has signed the Freedom of Religion Act into law. An intense last minute push from business and religious leaders could not sway him from this path. Even the very real possibility that the producers of the GenCon convention, which brings in 50 million dollars a year to the economy of Indianapolis, had no impact on the Governor. The Governor and his super majority party just don't get it. There will be serious economic repercussions as a result of their actions. Pence is trying to minimize the controversy by blaming the media, a classic right wing tactic. It doesn't hold water here in Indiana where the media has covered the story like it was a PTA bake sale. The reporting was done in brief snippets and hardly over the top. The Governor says that people misunderstand the law, he says it's about protecting religious rights from government interference. Apparently he needs to reread the U.S. Constitution which already covers that. He also says that t...

The Hypocrites Oath is a time honored political tradition, I promise to say one thing and do another. Senator and Presidential candidate Ted Cruz has spent every moment of his time in the Senate demanding the repeal of The Affordable Care Act, what he always calls Obamacare. Literally, every moment. He attacked it again during his campaign kick-off at Liberty University. Cruz' wife is an executive at Goldman Sachs and he has been on her insurance. Now his wife is taking a leave of absence while he runs for the Republican nomination so they would be losing their health insurance. What ever will they do? Don't worry, Cruz has a solution, he signed up for Obamacare. (You know I don't like that word but it's relevant to Cruz.) Do not be fooled by any justification offered by old Ted. He doesn't have to use the government exchange set up by the Affordable Care Act. He can go to any insurance company he wants and buy a plan for his family. He's not doing that becau...

The State of Oklahoma is not happy about Federal Courts striking down their anti-gay marriage law last year. They are so outraged by this meddlesome interference with their institutional bigotry that they are considering passing a law which would outlaw any government office in the state from issuing marriage licenses. Instead of a license you would have to get a certificate issued by a clergyman. The thought process being the end of gay marriage in Oklahoma. Not so my dim little legislative bulbs. Large numbers of your citizens can go online and become an ordained minister in a matter of minutes and oh yeah it's valid because of that whole Church State U.S. Constitution thing. The clergy, including all of those newly ordained, will now have a new revenue source and it's tax free. Clever, very clever. You will then have to pass new laws eliminating any religion that goes against what you want. Perhaps you will need to jail  numerous clergymen to intimidate the uncooperative. ...

Starbucks Race Together campaign has come to an end after one long week of less than enthusiastic support from their customers. No doubt the founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, had the best intentions with the campaign. He was advised by some in his company that it was a bad idea, he went forward anyway. He should absolutely encourage conversations about race and use his public soap box as a major corporate C.E.O. The failure of the idea is really quite simple and it has nothing to do with race. Schultz envisions Starbucks as some kind of community center, it most certainly is not. It is a huge corporation with thousands of locations which had an expansion blueprint in the beginning that was about coming to a community saturating it with multiple locations and crushing the independent coffee shops. Not that all of those independents were worth saving, but that legacy is remembered. Starbucks is a busy place with most customers zooming in and out, that's why many of their locat...

The Indiana House of Representatives passed the Freedom of Religion Act on a vote of 63 to 31. It will now have a very brief layover in the Senate, where they had already passed their version. Governor Mike Pence is just tickled pink with the news and says he can't wait to sign it into law. In fact the super majority representives who allegedly stand for all of Indiana's citizens are all quite proud of their prejudice. There was not now nor was there ever a threat to anyone's religious belief in this country and certainly not in Indiana. A door is about to open which could have far reaching consequences. Do not be deceived by all the smiling corn holes saying it has nothing to do with the GLBT community, it has everything to do with it. It is it's origin and sole purpose. What these short sided moronic legislators fail to recognize is that they will eventually be confronted with discrimination and acts of lunacy that go beyond their intended victims. Here's a fact...

Senator Ted Cruz announced today that he's running for President. No one saw that coming. He chose the perfect place to make his announcement. Liberty University is the creation of the late Reverend Jerry Falwell and an excellent backdrop for a hard right evangelical. The appearance is that a lot of young people love Cruz and came out in support to hear his announcement. The truth is those students had no choice but to be there. His announcement was wedged into a mandatory convocation. They absolutely applauded his red meat speech. Two things are very clear from his speech, he craves a war with Iran and he thinks he's running against Barack Obama. His greatest claim to fame is the longest most ridiculous speech in the history of the Senate. He's an obstructionist and has no interest in doing the work of the people. He seeks to divide, not unite. He's unusually inflammatory for a Canadian. How is it that he can constitutionally run for President? I only bring this up ...

Over a year ago Senator Tom Coburn stated during a general speech period that Social Security Disability Insurance would be bankrupt in 2015, he then went on to other things. During another general speech period Senator Diane Feinstein said it would go bankrupt in 2016, she then moved on to other things. They are from opposite sides of the aisle, presumably with access to the same facts and figures, so which year is it and why is nothing being done about it and why is it virtually ignored by the media? Social Security Disability Insurance (S.S.D.I.) is a complicated program which is demonized by it's opponents through gross misrepresentation of alleged large numbers of recipients who don't really need it and have in some way orchestrated a scam to receive benefits. This is a Federal program that is administered and reviewed by agencies within your own State. In virtually every case the first application will be denied. Depending on where you live this will take up to five mo...

Is there no refuge from controversy? Starbucks has started a campaign asking it's baristas to write on your cup "race together" and apparently try to engage you in a conversation about this subject. I love coffee, it's literally a part of my morning ritual. I don't love Starbucks, the coffee not the company or it's agents. When I go there it's for the free WiFi and an Americano. By the way I always insist on a real cup for my beverage so how will they handle this? Will they say here's you're Americano and what do you think of the state of race relations in our country? I don't want to talk about anything. I just want to drink my coffee, surf the web and maybe blog about how bitter and overpriced Starbucks is. Seriously, why are they putting this kind of pressure on their employees? The baristas bust their ass and are very busy trying to please the unpleasable. I can understand Starbucks as a company wanting to address this issue internally a...

Here's a post you can file under not gonna happen. President Obama was addressing a group of young people and encouraging people to vote. Agreed. The topic of requiring by law all eligible citizens to vote came up. He said it was doubtful that could happen and again kept encouraging voting. There are countries which require, by law, all citizens to vote, most notably Australia. Let's not pretend here, that law will never be proposed, let along enacted in the U.S. The two dominant parties would never touch such a thing. It also falls under the heading of be careful what you wish for. Based on my observation people can be quite bizarre in the way they vote. Marco Rubio became a part of this story by stating not voting was also a choice. Okay,not sure why that needed to be said but whatever. He then said people should vote. Okay, again not sure how this became a thing. I've always voted. I've always said go vote, be greatful you have that right. Statistically minoriti...

The Indiana Freedom of Religion Act passed out of committee on a straight party line vote of 9 to 4. If you're not aware of it Indiana 's Republican Party has a super majority in the House and Senate as well as the Governor's seat. Who knew the Hoosier state had so many multimillionaires. It will be voted on by the full House as early as March 23. This despite the overwhelming objections of Indiana business leaders who believe passage of this law will have a severe negative impact on economic growth. Yes there are ordinary citizens opposed and organized but don't worry in Indiana those opposed to the ruling parties follies have little influence. But corporate interests usually do,it was they who played an important role in stopping the anti gay marriage legislation last year. This time around their influence doesn't seem to be working. Many in business have voiced concerns, particularly in the health field, of lawsuits resulting from employess deciding they can...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won his bid for a fourth term. Kudos for a well played campaign. Don't let the hair on fire media lead you astray to believe there is some big rift between Israel and the U.S. Our alliance is strong. Our mutual leaders aren't exactly bosom buddies and B.B.'s poke in our President's eye by speaking before Congress didn't help build bridges.  That said, the American Administrations criticism of how Netanyahu ran his campaign is none of our business and vice versa.  Can Netanyahu derail the President's negotiations with Iran? No he can't. It's also not just us in those negotiations, it is five other nations. Those nations in many respects are more important than we are because they actually have real trade with Iran. It is they who have the real impact on Iran. Obama and Netanyahu have never had a particularly close relationship and that won't change. They will however hold their noses and meet. Doing tha...

The concept of gatekeepers is often brought up during discussions about blogs and other communications outlets for we the masses. The argument being that at newspapers, magazines and their online equivalents there are those guardians of purity who insure that only triple checked truths get published. The fact that these "fact checkers" often get things wrong and that there is ample historical evidence of alleged legitimate journalists making things up, many continue to diminish the legitimacy of blogs. Even in the world of politics where they depend on them, they will not hesitate to attack bloggers when they offer criticism of those they have supported. At that point the accusations of being nothing more than pajama wearing basement dwellers starts flying. Are there liars and those deliberately out to deceive on the internet? Yes, absolutely no argument here. They also exist in society as a whole including those called journalists. It is ultimately up to the reader to do t...

Remember that little story a few weeks ago about Hillary Clinton's emails? Remember the White House addressing it by saying she had not followed the guidance given by the administration to assure their commitment to transparency? Remember candidate Barack Obama who spoke at length about the need for transparency in our government? Remember his promise that his administration would be the most transparent in history? Remember when he promised that every major piece of legislation and grand idea (he didn't say grand idea, I'm improvising) that his administration proposed would be posted on a website for all citizens to be able to review and comment on before it went forward? What happened to all of that? Should we be shocked about the reality of politics after the promise of campaigns? No, but we should be disappointed and expect more from those who present themselves as being more. Overall the Obama Administration has been fairly typical and business as usual. Right now t...

Republican Aaron Schock of Illinois has resigned from Congress amid ethics investigations into his spending habits, much of it at taxpayer expense for dubious things. The most shocking, sorry Aaron, to me was the big money overhaul to redecorate his office in the style of Downton Abbey. I would never have thought that fit his style. If you don't know it Aaron is 33 years old and loves to spend a lot of time partying and traveling. He also likes to chronicle it on Social Media, not a good idea. Schock had been a darling of the Republican Party because of his youth and good looks, did I mention his six pack? But none of that could save him. I'm sure he received advice from top men that he should resign and at least avoid further Congressional investigation. All kidding aside his problems might not all be behind him. Other governmental bodies could be eyeing him for other charges.

President Obama nominated Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General 128 days ago. No one on the Republican side of the aisle really objects to her. They do mostly despise current A.G. Eric Holder. Given those harsh feelings you would think they'd be happy to be rid of him. Rational people like you and me would sieze the opportunity. Oh, right, I almost forgot, this is Washington, D.C. we're talking about. Come on Mitch call the damn vote, up or down and on it's own. When you became Majority Leader you claimed you would run the Senate in a better manner than your predecessor. Yet for 128 days you have found excuse after excuse why you haven't called the vote on Loretta Lynch. Incidentally it's been decades since an A.G. nomination has lingered like this. Wonder why?

It's one thing to enjoy a lazy day sippin' lemonade and binge watching a favorite show, it's quite another for our legislative representatives to waste the public's time on unnecessary legislation. The Indiana General Assembly is considering a "Freedom of Religion Act" during this session and it's coming to a boil today. This legislation began brewing after the legalization of gay marriage. It is about legitimizing refusing service to the GLBT community but it could open the door to far more discrimination than that. Apparently the sponsors of this bill and it's supporters have forgotten that they live in the United States of America and they already have freedom of religion. We have this thing called the Constitution and the First Amendment reads exactly as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of t...

Many posts ago I reflected on why I was returning to writing a blog. I said I had to mull over what it would be about. My last blog was predominantly about politics published from 2007 to late 2009. The idea was to focus on the 2008 Presidential campaign, which it did, with a few other things thrown in. Clearly as you can see I've been writing mostly about politics. I just can't help myself, that subject and how we arrive at public policy is just too important to ignore. At least in my opinion. It's clear from the depressingly small percentage of Americans that vote, we don't all share this opinion. I have many interests but this one probably will dominate once again. For those following, thanks. If you think you know where I fit on the political spectrum I warn you, it's not so simple. The single person, if there is one, who motivated my interest in politics at a very early age was William F. Buckley Jr. I never missed an opportunity to watch Firing Line and was ...

Social Security is going broke. We can't afford this program. The best thing to do is privatize it or gut it till it bleeds out and ceases to exist. Have you heard these assertions before? All but the gut and bleed out part, politicians rarely speak that honestly. They prefer to wrap their shit pills in sugar. Social Security is not going broke. It's a lie each and every time you hear it. There is currently a 2.8 trillion dollar surplus in the trust fund. If our Congress does nothing to prevent future shortfalls the fund will begin paying out seventy-five cents on the dollar. This will happen sometime between 2035 and 2041 depending on whose figures are being cited. In 1983 Social Security needed to be fixed and it was. Republican Bob Dole and Democrat Pat Moynihan authored bi-partisan legislation which solidified the program through 2042. When asked what would happen then Dole responded, what do you mean what happens, it's up to the next generation of legislators to do t...

The 47 U.S. Senators who signed that letter to Iran have faced so much blowback about their juvenile, yet dastardly deed many of them are trying to explain away their participation by minimizing their reason for doing it. All of the reasons are ridiculous and not worth considering. My favourite one however does merit review because it comes from a wanna be President. A few days ago during a Senate hearing with John Kerry and Ash Carter, Rand Paul said the letter wasn't for Iran, it was for him (Kerry) and the President. Really Senator Paul? Hey I got an idea, why didn't you and your cohorts address the letter to President Obama? The reason is clear. These Senators deliberately set out to try and subvert the President's negotiations with a foreign country. They tried to embarrass him on the international stage. It was a disgraceful and unprofessional act. It was in all likelihood an illegal move. It certainly violates the division of powers spelled out in our Constitution...

The U.S. State Department's non-confidential email system was hacked today, leading them to immediately shut it down. The suspected hackers are in Russia. Perhaps State should consult with Hillary Clinton, her server is apparently more secure.

No matter what Hillary Clinton says about her use of a personal email while Secretary of State will not be enough for her political enemies. They don't care that she broke no laws, they don't care that no Secretary of State used a government email address until John Kerry took office and the law changed. They are happy to call her a liar without saying it. They are not satisfied with the 55,000 pages of e-mails she released to the State Department, the emails which relate to her official duties. You can bet they are boring and uneventful which is why her enemies haven't and won't take the time to read them. Oh no, they will keep asking for nonexistent emails which have nothing to do with her public duties. They will continue to ask for that which they know doesn't matter or exist. The Republican Party is scared to death of Hillary Clinton's impending Presidentail run and this is just the start of their campaign to try and tear her down. They will keep trying, h...

You're not supposed to start a sentence with a number so I won't but 47 Republican U.S. Senators have sent a truly moronic letter to the President of Iran. It's intent, no matter what they say, is to subvert the authority of the President of the United States. These people need a serious refresher course in the Constitution. The letter is laughable in it's simplicity and condescending attitude toward the Iranian government. The citizens of Iran are highly educated. Their leaders, who suck on multiple levels, were mostly educated in the west. They know what our Constitution says, apparently better than these Senators. The talking heads and Democrats are being polite in calling it an unprecedented act and inappropriate. The founding fathers, which Republicans love to reference, would have much stronger language and action on this misguided foray. They would jail them. But we're not going to do that. We'll just call it one more slap in our President's face by...

The Affordable Care Act is not my favorite piece of legislation. Let's start now and work our way back. Approximately 40 million Americans have no insurance, can't afford their premium or co-pays. That's the state of healthcare in our country today. Is that acceptable to you? Why is it this way? Because we are still debating whether healthcare is a right or a privilege. We are the only first world industrialized nation to still be having this argument. Given our history and position as the most powerful nation on earth this is unacceptable and inexcusable. It only continues to be reality because of the extreme fantasies of demagogues who continue to fool people into believing that true universal single payer care is a plot to transfer our nation to communism. They say socialism but they mean big red commie. They know, I give them the benefit of the doubt here, that we already have the two biggest socialist programs in the world. Bigger than any programs implemented by actu...

This past week we heard daily about the U.S. Supreme Court hearing the latest legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act. You didn't hear those three words though and this brings us to one of my pet peeves and perhaps yours too. Calling something that which it is not. Barack Obama's foes coined the phrase Obamacare as a derogatory and devisive term. Our illustrious media across the board joyfully siezed upon the word. I suspect out of laziness and ease of reference. President Obama then turned this to his favor in the 2012 election and neutralized Mitt Romney's use of it as a club. He famously said he was beginning to like the sound of it. So now every media personality and politician uses it, for both good and bad. There is no law or program in our country titled Obamacare. It would be a display of imperial arrogance to actually do such a thing regarding something so important. It is also not acceptable as a slang term, again this issue is too critical for such triviali...

According to some poll 62% of Americans favor boots on the ground to combat ISIS. Yes I do know which poll but it doesn't matter because a poll can be manipulated to get any answer you want. There are those suggesting a return to the Draft so that more Americans will have "skin in the game", that part is in quotations because I despise the term. Let me assure you no Draft will put the privileged and their offspring in the game. It will continue to be poor people fighting the wars but the pay and benefits would be slashed. Sound good to you? The volunteer service has served us well and should be preserved. It is our very foolish political leaders of the last two administrations who has stretched our military capabilities too thin and taken a severe toll on our soldiers and their families. I have a great idea for fighting ISIS, let the middle eastern countries pull their heads out of their collective asses and join together to defeat that despicable group. A group that r...

The Alabama Supreme Court under the direction of Chief Justice Roy Moore has directed all state judges to violate a federal judges orders to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. This is a finger in the eye of the U.S. Supreme Court which has already upheld you can't do that. Now with a  recent contradictory order from another federal judge saying you can the U.S. Supreme Court will finally address this issue in a definitive manner with a decision due in June. It would be easy to make jokes about Alabama but one hesitates to insult the good folk who mean no harm. C.J. Moore is clearly an obstructionist and a self justified bigot but he will soon be served notice from SCOTUS that he's wrong. Will he continue to defy the law of the land? I'm betting yes and he will then face federal enforcement of the law. The right for gay marriage is long overdue as is all gay rights. Gay rights are civil rights and it is time for those afraid of this to get over themselves. You do not ...

Dr. Ben Carson, a darling of the far right, has once again dazzled us with his brilliance on being gay. During an interview with CNN Carson stated that being gay was a choice. When pushed to explain his theory he replied that men go into prison straight and then come out of prison gay so there you are. Actually Dr. Carson most of the sex in prison is rape, which I'm sure you know. Right? No apparently not. One research scientist said it best when she said Carson's statement was insane. Carson has made many statements about the GLBT community, all of them stupid. Ben Carson proves that extensive formal education does not translate to intelligence. If you follow politics closely then you know that Carson has been promoted by many conservatives has their best chance to wow America and take back the White House. They've been saying this for four years. I have watched Dr. Carson closely and listened to him at length and he is not their answer, he's their problem. When t...

What happened in Benghazi should never be forgotten but Congress has nothing further to discover on this matter. They won't stop of course because Republicans are desperate to tar and feather Hillary Clinton for this horrible butchering of our American diplomats. How about doing the unbelievable in Washington and blame the people who are truly responsible for this bloody deed. Let me spell it out for you geniuses, it's the scumbag murderers in Libya. For the record all murder is an act of terror and it's irrelevant how quickly you choose to use the term, if at all. Our Foreign Service personnel put their lives on the line everyday, we simply don't think about it unless something terrible happens. Congress has repeatedly refused to increase funding for embassy security especially before, during and after Benghazi. This was a terrible tragedy but it is not Hillary Clinton's fault. She could not have prevented it, if she could have she would have. Get a clue, get ...

The White House has chimed in on the Hillary Clinton email story stating that she was not in compliance with the guidance the White House gave that everyone in the administration should use a government email address. This to insure their commitment to transparency. What a crock. Barack Obama did not deliver on his promise of the most transparent Presidency in history. In fact it's been business as usual in Washington. If it were so important to the White House why didn't they address it at the time? Are we expected to believe that the President and everyone else in government didn't know about this? Did no one send and receive emails from Secretary Clinton? Something smells and it's coming from the Oval Office!

Well, that last post certainly was fun to write and I may have more. Is it really a scandal that Hillary Clinton used a personal email routed through her own server while Secretary of State?   It is if you're already a Clinton hater or possible opponent. But let's be clear about that annoying little thing called facts. Clinton was not required to use a government email while she served. That rule went into place in the fall of 2014. John Kerry is the first Secretary of State to use a government email address. Condeleeza Rice didn't do emails, not sure how she pulled that off, but good for her. Colin Powell used personal email to conduct business. We've never heard a peep about that. We also haven't heard a peep about Clinton until now and she's been out of office for over two years. Suddenly we are to believe this is a scandal and something which merits our attention and concern? Could it be that there's a hidden reason for the New York Times story? Could...

Our crack investigators have uncovered the following E-mail from then Secretary Clinton. Warning what you are about to read may disturb you. To:bigpappa69@Hotmail.com From:HRC@gmail.com B,      Don't forget to get cat food for Mittens make sure to get the dry wet upsets her.Also pick up another case of Yoo Hoo you drank the last one. BTW a little birdie at DOD told me the new satellite is in place.Also call Chelsea and tell her we're on for Saturday night. See ya Thursday when I get back from my top secret meeting with a certain British PM. Love Ya, H

You might think I didn't watch Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before Congress but you would be wrong. I'm always ready to listen even if I politically disagree with someone and I'm a C-Span junkie. The speech was a rousing saber rattling whopper which soared to great heights of political rhetoric. It had no new information or proposals of any kind other than military hostility. Prime Minister Netanyahu is never shy about suggesting the U.S. go to war and spill our blood and spend our treasure. If I were the Prime Minister of Israel I probably would be a lot like Netanyahu, in fact I would sit down and smoke a cigar with  B.B. anytime. He is not the issue. His speech was a great political campaign stump speech for the benefit of his own domestic optics. The problem is how this was done. It is the Constitutional duty of the President to receive Ambassadors and Ministers of State. A foreign potentate must not be allowed to use a joint session of our Congress to campaign f...

William Shatner was attacked in the media and Twitter for not being able to attend Leonard Nimoy's funeral. Never one to back down from a controversy Shatner fired back and invited his followers to chime in. It was a mixed bag of support and chiding.                                                   Shatner had already explained he couldn't attend the funeral because of a prior commitment to do a fundraiser for the Red Cross in Florida. His daughters went to Nimoy's services on his behalf. For the so called legitimate press that commented on this matter the only thing an intelligent person can say is it must have been a really slow newsday. I'm sure there's real news to be reported. Isn't there? Shatner made a decision to honor his commit...

Speaker John Boehner is fond of accusing President Obama of violating the Constitution on a variety of actions including his Executive Orders. Mr. Speaker you have broken not only acceptable protocols, but you are in violation of Article 2 section 3 of the U.S. Constitution by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress without prior consultation with the Executive Branch.                                                                                     Netanyahu is no babe in the woods and knows exactly what U.S. protocols ca...