Is this an article to bash one or the other of the two political parties? Nope! This is just an opinion of an American citizen on the two pages. The two pages end up bashing each other enough as it is.

What I want to say is that after reading through both of them thoroughly, I have discovered something. If you can get past the bashing of President Obama and/or the bashing of conservatives you can see that the two parties do have the same general principles on government. According to my understanding, conservatives want less government control and liberals only want government to acknowledge and legalize basic rights. Isn’t that technically the same viewpoint?

I believe that if liberals and conservatives combined forces than we could possibly be better united as a whole. Instead, we have internal fighting amongst each other due to ignorance on both parties faults. Then you have people who only see the black and white with no vision of the gray areas in between. As a result discrimination spreads like wildfire through both liberals and conservatives. I’m not even going to bother mentioning the other political parties either…

What the people of these parties fail to understand is that our very first president George Washington had even stated that political parties would cause chaos. (I forget where I read the exact quote, but I did read it from a book written by a British author.) It certainly seems to be happening. No allow me to rephrase; it is happening!

Side Note From Me On The Presidential Election of 2012:

None of the candidates that are running in the 2012 election will get my vote. I don’t like either of them. It’s a shame but we keep spitting out these hypocritical politicians promising this and that and then doing none of it! Of course, our country America was originally founded on slavery and deceit but we have changed some of it. Too bad we haven’t gone to change the rest of the things that need to be changed.

END SIDE NOTE

Once again I know that the Americans who read this article will start fights with me for expressing an opinion on my government. Then the people from other countries agree with me-some of them anyway… Well here is food for thought which I found on the “Being Liberal” facebook community page. However, if you open you’re mind and fully take it in, you’ll see where I am coming from… 

The video was created by a non-American but it is shockingly accurate!

Image via Wikipedia

The United States of America has produced remarkable names that helped and made America a great and powerful nation of the world. They became the presidents of the USA like:

The present President Barack Obama – he is the 44th presidents of the United States of America. He is a left-handed person who leads the country and the millions Americans. He was born on August 4, 1961. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he is the first African American to hold the office. He previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.

The former President Bill Clinton – he was born on August 19, 1946. He is a left-handed person – an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War and was the first president of the baby boomer generation. President Clinton has been described as a New Democrat. Many of his policies have been attributed to a centrist Third Way philosophy of governance, while on other issues his stance was center-left.

The former President George H. W. Bush Senior – he was born on June 12, 1924. He is a left-handed person - an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981to 1989, a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence. He was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.

The former President Reagan was born in Tampico in Whiteside County, Illinois and educated at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology. He began a career as an actor, first in films and later television, appearing in over 50 movie productions. Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and later spokesman for General Electric; his start in politics occurred during his work for GE. He was born on February 6, 1911 – a left-handed and was the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989, the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975.

The former President Gerald Ford – he was born on July 14, 1913 – a left-handed. He was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment after Spiro Agnew had resigned, when he became President upon Richard Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974, he became the only President of the United States who was never elected President nor Vice-President by the Electoral College.

From America, let’s check Costa Rica. This country has also produced a president who is also a left-handed person. She is President Laura Chinchilla. She was born on 28 March 1959 – a Costa Rican politician and the first female President of Costa Rica. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez’s two Vice-Presidents and his administration’s Minister of Justice. She was the governing PLN candidate for President in the 2010 general election, where she won with 46.76% of the vote. She is the sixth woman to be elected president of a Latin American country and the first woman to become president of Costa Rica. She was sworn as president of Costa Rica on May 8, 2010.

From Costa Rica to Ireland. Former Ireland’s Prime Minister, Brian Cowen, is left-handed. He was born on 10 January 1960 and is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs. Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May 2008 until 22 January 2011, when he resigned under political pressure after a failed and highly controversial attempt at a cabinet reshuffle.

From Ireland to Israel. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is left-handed. He was born on October 21, 1949 and is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel. Netanyahu is the first and, to date, only Israeli prime minister born in Israel. Netanyahu joined the Israeli Defense Forces in 1967 where he served as a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal Special Forces unit, taking part in many missions including Operation Gift and the hostage rescue mission from the hijacked Sabena Flight 571 in 1972, where he was shot in the shoulder.

Now let’s go to UK. Prince William was born on 21 June 1982 – a left-handed and is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and third eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is second in the line of succession, behind his father, to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Another from England a lefty musician Tom Milsom has released a new single under the persona of “Tommy Firefly”. It is a cover of a David Bowie song with Tom on vocals, ukulele and accordion. Tom is 18 and lives just outside London, England. He has been a talented musician and creative writer since a very early age and has recently completed A Levels including Music and Music Technology. He is currently taking a year off of studying before going to university in England to study Creative Music Technology. In that year, he is bringing together some of his music and lyrics into finished songs that can be distributed to his many followers around the world. He may even sell some to generate some income to pay for University and the instruments and equipment needed to develop his musical career.

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When it comes to choosing an American president, forget about his or her positions on major issues, his or her experience, or a candidate’s gravitas and intellect.  It’s all about his or her height.

That’s the conclusion of a group of researchers at Texas Tech University who claim that people like the leader of the country, and other political higher ups, to be … well, higher up.  Give us a tall president and we’ll be happy, the researchers say voters are thinking.

Taller Equals Stronger?

Why is this the case?  The researchers claim that it’s all because of our instincts left over from when we lived in caves, wore animal fur and looked more like the apes we might have come from than today’s well-polished humans.  It’s that “caveman instinct” that still drives us to want leaders who are tall and therefore seemingly more strong.

The researchers aren’t just lording it over the rest of us with some idle speculation.  They’ve studied all presidential elections since 1789 and discovered that the taller candidate won 58 percent of the elections.  They don’t seem to be bothered by the fact that this represents barely more than half of the U.S. elections – why upset silly science with facts?

The researchers say that culture and environment alone can’t explain our preference for long, tall leaders; and it’s true not just in the U.S. but in other countries as well.  They say that measurements of ancient Greeks and Mayans also show that the great leaders and politicians from those civilizations tended to be taller.

What Is An Ideal Leader?  Height Wins Out

Going a step further, the researchers asked almost 500 students from around the world to describe their concept of a “typical citizen” and an “ideal leader.”  From that exercise the scientists determined that 64 percent of the students drew a picture of a taller leader meeting a smaller average citizen.

What does that mean for the 2012 presidential election in the United States?  While Barack Obama, at 6 foot 1 inch was a shoe-in for president in 2008 since he faced 5 foot 8 inch John McCain, in 2012 he might have his hands full if he faces either Mitt Romney at 6 foot 2 inches and might be on equal footing if he faces off against the 6 foot 1 inch Rick Perry. 

The researchers also concluded that individuals who are taller may view themselves as a more qualified leader and are therefore more likely to seek higher, elected office.  Perhaps they never heard of Napoleon.

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You probably haven’t heard of Abraham Maslow. He was a psychologist and a prominent founder of a branch of psychology: humanistic psychology. His study focuses on treating humans like, well, humans. Psychologists that came before him and Carl Rogers (another founder of humanistic psychology) treated their clients with a cold air and had an emotionless method of diagnosing and treating their patient’s problems. Maslow brought a face to psychology and focused on helping people emotionally and personally as well as clinically. Despite all this, he is really only famous for his theory that he, so very modestly, called “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”. In a nutshell, the theory states that human needs come in (you guessed it) a hierarchy. Starting with the most primitive and basic needs, one transcends through the hierarchy and eventually ends up fulfilled and “happy”.

Here’s the theory, courtesy of my good friend Wikipedia:

1. Physiological – breathing, food, water, sex (impersonally), sleep, homeostasis, and excretion.

2. Safety – security of: body, employment, resources, one’s family, property and health.

3. Love/Belonging – friendship, family, and sexual intimacy.

4. Esteem – self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others.

5. Self-actualization – morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, and acceptance of facts.

Basically, what this means is that one cannot move on to step two without first satisfying the needs of step one, and step three cannot begin until step two is completed, and so on in this fashion. Very surprisingly, things that we think we do on a daily basis are in step five, like solving problems and being moral. However, when Maslow mentions things like problem solving, we must be careful not to look at it mundanely. He doesn’t mean that someone with a low self-esteem can’t solve a math problem or figure out how to manage their daily schedule, he means that they probably wouldn’t be able to understand complex and consequential problems. An example of this would be a teenage girl who is so enthralled with her boyfriend that she just doesn’t seem to have the sense to break up with him even when he cheats on her repeatedly and has no respect for her. It is a simple problem with a simple fix, but she cannot see the long term benefits that would outweigh the short term heartbreak of losing her love. Plato called this “virtue”, or the ability to see the long term consequences of one’s actions. He believed that it was a trait like openness or agreeableness; that some people are virtuous and some people just aren’t. I, as well as Maslow, think he was wrong.

So, if Maslow was right and humans can’t be moral, creative, or even accept facts until they have eaten and drunk, are safe, have stable relationships, and have confidence, then how can we function? How can we address things like morality or even think of moving forward as a society until every citizen of our country is provided for physically as well as emotionally? How can we expect our voters to make the right decisions and our children to be educated properly if their emotional needs are neglected? This is the answer to my aforementioned question in the first paragraph: we can’t. We can’t move forward until we address the importance of emotional stability for everyone. And that means everyone, not just the people who can afford health insurance. If we don’t, we are doomed to follow the same cycles that have been repeating throughout history. Considering that humans have had noticeable societies for about 10,000 years, shouldn’t we have realized that the color of someones skin doesn’t make them inferior or superior to others a bit sooner than half a century ago? Should we not have understood that women are not dumber than men because of the mere fact that they are female? I believe the lack of emotional treatment to be the cause. We’ve been stuck in the same cycles for thousands of years, and it’s about time for a change. Not a rhetorical Obama “change”, but a real one.

Thoreau said, “Drive a nail home and clinch it so faithfully that you can wake up in the night and think of your work with satisfaction – a work at which you would not be ashamed to invoke the Muse”. I struggle with this quote because, quite frankly, I am embarrassed to be a part of this society. I cannot turn on the TV for fear that I might glimpse the brightly colored advertisements and the whimsical sitcoms, so innocently engorging the public with farce and nonsense. I dare not listen to the news, the great liar that only tells us what we want to hear and what it thinks we should hear. America has yet to drive home a nail worth waking up for.

Let’s start talking about the real issues, not the “big issues”. I hope one day I can go to a political website and see Therapy or Human Resources listed on the debates, and not foolish things like whether gays are defiling marriage or not. Let’s stop throwing people in jail for doing drugs and start helping them. Let’s stop eating everything the media says and start taking it in with five, or better yet, twenty-five grains of salt. Let’s stop being the teenage girl that doesn’t see that she would be happier if she broke with her cheating boyfriend. Let’s stop the stigmatizing of therapy and make it acceptable and available for everyone. Let’s prove Plato wrong and show that we all have virtue by helping others as well as helping ourselves. Perhaps then we can actually grow and change as a society, and transcend above humanity’s less-than-proud past. It’s time for a change.

     Is it just me, or does anyone else out there feel that this country is being hijacked toward a future we never contemplated, one in which we have increasingly fewer and fewer rights? Since the advent of the Patriot Act back in 2001, we, the American people, have had a significant percentage of our liberties curtailed by the backlash of fear that gripped the country at that time. Without a whimper or any sound of protest, we have allowed the government to abrogate several of the freedoms that the founding fathers attempted to secure for us, including rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. And it is done all in the name of “homeland security”. I thought “homeland security” was guaranteed for us by the Bill of Rights, which gave us the right bear arms. A 12-gauge over-and-under Winchester is all the “homeland security” I need.

     Now, I know that some folks will ask, “well, but what about terrorists?” My answer would be that one can only be terrorized if they give control over their emotions to someone else. When I first heard about the attacks that were taking place on 9/11, I too felt a moment of fear, along with the anguish and sadness that came with the reports of casualties. But fear passes, always, and reflection allowed my reason to re-assert control. When we allow our fears to dictate our actions, we are acting out of weakness, not strength. And acting out of fear can only exacerbate what is already an unstable situation.

     In my estimation, this loss of liberties can, unfortunately, be laid right in our own laps. The American public, over the last century, and into this one, has consistently voted for people (men and women) who lie to us without remorse. Every president we’ve had since 1950 has lied to the American public; this is a documented fact, not a supposition. Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Johnson, Reagan, Clinton, Bush I, Bush II, Obama; all of them have been caught in lies, reported in the news (you’ll note Mr. Carter was not included; he may be the best man we’ve ever had in that position. It’s too bad that the rest of our government was made to look bad in comparison; that was unforgiveable to them, and they sabotaged all his attempts at reform). Not one of them has ever admitted to these lies, though there is ample documented proof of them.

     As long as the American public refuses to admit their own complicity in re-electing all these “tyrants” (see quote, above), then we will continue to have to combat further degradation of our rights, because the way the politicians see it, they can continue doing exactly as they wish, because nobody is ever going to take them to task for it. We need to stop electing people who want the job. They want the job because they know it gives them a free license to steal from the American public, which is not a bad gig, if you can get it. I can’t see how we can keep our freedom, when we keep electing people who want to take it away. Think about it! Is it sane to want such power over others? No, it is not. It is insane, and insane people should not be allowed to control our destiny.

     “No man who needs a monument ever ought to have one.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne

End of rant…..thanks for listening…..

Image via Wikipedia

Say this man had the corrupted mind to open this suitcase, and (launch) whatever it was directed to (launch). Say George W. Bush or the previous George Bush carried such a mentality. Say just one man, or woman, could hold the world’s fate in their fist and swing it around at their side as you would with a suitcase.

It is fact that this suitcase holds the power to unleash a nuclear outlash. With rather complex codes that gives one man to decide the fate of the world with the entrance of these codes and the push of a button.

On September 11th, 2001 there was no room for doubt in the mind of the president that nuclear threat was iminent after the destruction and damage dealt to the Pentagon and the Twin Towers. It was no doubt then as air-force one entered the skies that president George W. Bush was in posession of that suitcase. Able to, with the push of a button, unleash extreme retaliation.

So is it right that one man deserves, or even is obliged to the power to unleash nuclear outlash? Is it right that the fate of the world is held in the power of one man’s hand – the push of a button?

While this was interesting and even exciting news to discover it paled in comparison to finding a real live fifth cousin twice removed on my fathers side of the family. Having exchanged a couple of emails with him it hit home how a connection to a relative neither of us had ever met who died before either of us were born could bring us together at this time and place in both our lives. It also brought home to me that having family roots is more than being connected to immediate family, it is a kind of living history that will go on long after I am dead and buried. For some reason I find that comforting.

I also discovered that my family has a connection to three presidents. Okay, maybe I am stretching the truth a little here and we aren’t really connected to three presidents in any significant way. But, I do have three relatives named for presidents. My great grandfather on my mothers side was named Henry Harrison Miller, My great grandfather on my father’s side was Name Thomas Jefferson Baker and I have a brother in law named Woodrow Wilson Black.

I also discovered that most of my ancestors were farmers and railroad workers, and that two ancestors served in the Civil war. It is strange to see muster rolls from people you have never heard of yet, shares your blood. However, one of my most exciting discoveries was to see a picture of my Great Grandmother’s father sitting on horseback looking very much like an advertisement for Gunsmoke! It put a face to my search and has made those stories my mother told me really come to life.

While I am not sure how much further with this search I will be able to go given my limited income, I am glad I set out on this search of discovery and am thrilled to learn what I have about my family history.

Cong. Anthony Weiner (R-NY) is just the latest in an unfortunately long list of American politicians who have gotten themselves into hot water.  And, although Weiner is still defiant and unwilling to resign his office (as of this writing in June, 2011) – despite calls from fellow Democrats to do so – there are many of his predecessors, both on the national and local political scene that have made headlines and had to step down from office for actions unbecoming their position.

Although this is not a complete or scientifically researched article, but rather just an off-the-top-of-my-head recollection of famous – or infamous- politicos in history, it’s interesting to note who has had to pull the plug on their political careers or found to have seriously flubbed the test of honesty and integrity.

RICHARD NIXON

Perhaps the most famous politician to get into trouble and was forced to resign his office was Richard Nixon.  Long after his “you won’t have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore” speech, Nixon resurrected himself, won the presidency and then proceeded to go down in history as one of the most loathed presidents.  And, thanks to the Watergate scandal, left office prematurely.

BILL CLINTON

But, Nixon was far from the only U.S. President to get himself into difficulty. Although, Nixon seems to be one of the rare politicians whose problems were not sex-related, President Bill Clinton is rare in terms of his sexual peccadilloes while in the White House.

SPITZER, VITTER, CRAIG AND SANFORD

Anthony Weiner had plenty of company in New York State.  There was Elliot Spitzer, now a television pundit, but earlier the governor – who ironically also fell victim to a sex scandal.  Like Spitzer, Louisiana Senator David Vitter, in 2007, also admitted to using an escort service (a nice way of saying he frequented prostitutes) – what seems to be one of the booming industries in Washington, right up there with defense contractors.  And, let’s not forget Senator Larry Craig of Idaho who, in the same year as Vitter, was accused of lewd conduct in a men’s room.  Nor can South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford be left off the list when two years ago he admitted to having an affair – trying to cover it up by saying he was hiking, one of the more unique explanations.

EDWARDS AND SCHWARZENEGGER

Recent fare – and tied with Weiner for the “what were you thinking” award, was John Edwards, who with a wife battling cancer decided to have a fling with a woman who worked for his campaign – and had a child with her to boot.  And, speaking of kids out of wedlock, Edwards and Arnold Schwarzenegger are tied on that score with the ex-California Governor having kept his own little secret for more than a decade.

HAMILTON AND JEFFERSON

Recent history is replete with the ups and downs of politicians who have shown questionable judgment.  Even during the early days of the republic one can point to founders such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson who researchers suggests might have had an affairs (and produced progeny therefrom).

I suppose one can peruse history and add your own infamous politicians to this list.  If my memory were better I suppose I could easily add dozens more.  But, that shouldn’t stop you from adding to this list.  Go ahead and try.  Unfortunately, it won’t be hard to do so.

            Prior to the presentations in class, I thought Andrew Jackson was a great president. He was a man of the people which helped him receive many votes. He got the support of the common man by saying the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Most people in America were poor so this helped his cause. He should be on the twenty because of his success in helping the poor gain money. In my mind, Jackson was great because he was a leader. He was a military general that won many battles. The famous Battle of New Orleans was a perfect example because he led a group of militia, slaves, and pirates. He defeated a strong British army and kept America the owner of the Mississippi River. Overall, my opinion of Jackson’s presidency was really good. He had some acts of cruelty, but he did what was best for the country.

            Now, I think Jackson should not be on the twenty dollar bill. When Jackson destroyed the National Bank, the success only lasted a short while. By destroying it, he shouldn’t be on the twenty dollar bill for hurting the economy in that way. Second, the destruction of the National Bank led to an extreme depression and the Panic of 1837. This left Martin Van Buren struggling to hold America from falling into a large hole in the world. Andrew Jackson doesn’t deserve to be on a currency if he destroyed the common currency of America in the first place. In my new opinion, Jackson should not be on the twenty-dollar bill.

            Andrew Jackson had a terrific presidency. He did what was best for the people like removing the Indians and lowering the power of the rich. But his economic decisions may have changed that terrific to just good. Andrew Jackson doesn’t deserve to be on a national currency if that was something he destroyed in his presidency. Instead, someone like Henry Clay that worked on improving the country’s economy should be placed on the twenty dollar bill.

In all the wonderful places to visit, no where is there a more surprising and magnificent cemetery than Hollywood Cemetery, which is located in downtown Richmond, Virginia (412 South Cherry Street). Even though the ground beneath is saturated with lives of the past, the ground above is adorned by amazing antiqued statutes of angels. The angels are placed upon the grave sites, watching graciously over the past and yet, inviting the future in for a glimpse. People come from all over just to walk these grounds and admire Virginia’s history of the past.

Gravesites of The Famous

There are many people that lie beneath these small pastures of green. Many were famous, many were not. James Monroe and John Tyler, two of our Presidents of the United States and Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America, also landscape the depths of these grounds. Some other famous residents of Hollywood Cemetery are John Randolph; an American politician and Mary Cook Branch Munford; who had helped develop Virginia’s state school system. There are many more.

Pyramid Represents 1800 Confederate Soldiers

World War II veterans and other military personnel are resting at Hollywood Cemetery. But, lying atop the earth and overshadowing some of its residents, stands a pyramid that was built as a tribute for the 1800 unknown Confederate soldiers, who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Civil War.

The Angels Adorn The Gravesites

There are crosses, statutes and mausoleums located within the boundaries of Hollywood Cemetery, but the statutes of angels are the ones that give the calmness. The James River runs along the bountiful side of the cemetery, as though it is keeping a watchful eye over its sheep; the quiet remains of past lives that deserve the tranquility that the cemetery brings. All along, the angels guard that tranquility and look on in peace.

The next time you are close to Hollywood Cemetery, visit it. It is a visit that you will always remember and cherish. To see what past it holds, is an insight into how much Americans loved their country and how well the angels still stand tall, watching over its residents.

Source:

Visit to Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia