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Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Essay: Why Everybody (except angry white males) Should Vote Democratic

Why Everybody (except angry white males) Should Vote Democratic
This was written in the spring of 2012 - The names have changed, but the sentiments are worth running up the flag pole again.
 
I don’t begrudge “Tea Party” sympathizers their frustrated state of mind. Times are hard and they have been getting harder for the last several decades – along with the pace of change. Everybody is struggling and unhappy. But, this is not a good time to seriously think that we can go back to family farms and small-shop manufacturing. Neither is it helpful to start arming yourself because your President is black, some of your neighbors speak Spanish or Vietnamese, or some Muslims are building a place of worship. Really, just what are you planning to do with all of that firepower?
We rescued a small dog a while back. We knew that the dog would eventually quit trying to jump on the cats and that the cats would quit hissing at her – but the critters only knew that they were anxious and confused right now. One kitty wouldn’t come out of the laundry room for several days. They will never be great friends but they can now nap all together without making a fuss. My point is that we humans ought to be able to do even better.
The Democratic Party represents the best long-term interests of the majority of U.S. citizens. Even if you don’t like their attitude, diversity, or permissiveness, a Republican vote, this year, is against your best interests. Most angry white males are in their own tightly self-constructed world. You can love them and feed them, but

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Essay: The importance of explaining the economic benefits of “fairness to wage earners”

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The importance of explaining the economic benefits of “fairness to wage earners”

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks

Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKUWtKUUtOdjFGcTg/edit?usp=sharing

#employment #MinimumWage



Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters
Have you noticed that President Obama doesn’t get enough recognition for all the changes that he has made to support America’s recovery? The connections seem so obvious that they shouldn’t need a team of advertising consultants or a horde of supporters shouting from their housetops.


Well, perhaps the dots need to be more-explicitly connected. Perhaps we do need to wrap our minds around the fact that the working and middle classes matter, and that fairness to wage-earners has both social and economic benefits for our country.
 

Essay: Democrats in 2012—The need to get real

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Democrats in 2012—The need to get real

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks

Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKTGFUdXdkLTVfWkE/edit?usp=sharing

#Elections #Liberals #Politics #DCCC 

Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

Democrats in 2012—The need to get real


Some Democrats are hesitating to rally behind our president. I don’t get it. Put all the rest of the clutter and noise aside and here is what you have left: President Obama is leading in the best direction. Mitt Romney has promised to take our country in the other direction. Progressive change may be slower than expected, but our President has persistently moved us forward. Republicans have gone to radical extremes to obstruct his efforts, willingly damaging our nation in the process. Their disdain of the public good is unconscionable.

Some Democrats caught Barack Obama’s vision for the future and assumed that their party would immediately run screaming, with hair on fire, as fast as it could to the left. But, that is no way to govern the whole country. That is no way to consider the diverse interests of America’s many citizens, including our many deeply-conservative neighbors.

Some Democrats, failing to send liberal representatives to congress in 2010, also failed to understand that, particularly in this economic and political climate, Moses himself could not have led such a rebellious people out of the wilderness overnight. The good news is that

Essay: The myth of Truman as a simple man

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The myth of Truman as a simple man

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks
Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKdnRLNWpJd3F2SFE/edit?usp=sharing


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Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

The myth of Truman as a simple man


This morning, one of our neighbors dropped off a clipping about Harry Truman. We had been discussing presidents after my column mentioning FDR. The piece was complimentary and praised President Truman especially for his modesty and humility after retiring back to his home in Independence, Missouri.

I have to tell you that I have a soft spot for Harry and Bess. I was raised across the river from Independence in Liberty, Missouri. How about those city names for symbolism? (Then again, Peculiar and Normal are city names in Missouri. Go figure.) Kansas City still embraces “Give ‘em Hell Harry” as a beloved native son.

Anyway, the clipping mentioned his few personal assets including Bess’ house, an Army pension, and a special allowance granted by Congress. He did not “enjoy” Secret Service protection after leaving the White House. Harry declined corporate positions saying, “You don’t want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it’s not for sale.”

Of course, this would be a great place to take a pot shot at

Essay: Letter to the editor – President Obama could echo FDR’s reelection speech

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Letter to the editor – President Obama could echo FDR’s reelection speech

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

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Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKS1pwbGVyUU0xQU0/edit?usp=sharing

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Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

Letter to the editor – President Obama could echo FDR’s reelection speech


Letter to the Editor
Fort Dodge Messenger
  (Published May 16, 2012)

In 1936, FDR (that would be President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for the young whippersnappers) gave a speech in Madison Square Garden, New York, just days before his re-election. It was powerful; defiant; inspiring.

I was startled by how circumstances now reflect that time of monopoly, grave financial risk-taking, pocket government, and the resulting Great Depression. I was astonished at how FDR’s words could just as easily be coming from our current president.

“For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away.

“Nine mocking years with the golden calf and

Essay: Would you rather hitch a ride with a conservative or a liberal?

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Would you rather hitch a ride with a conservative or a liberal?

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks


Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

Would you rather hitch a ride with a conservative or a liberal?

It was getting late on a cold Iowa afternoon when I stopped for a hitchhiker on an empty stretch of two-lane highway. 

After putting his three heavy bags into the back, settling in, and thanking me, he told a story about a conservative town down the road that had confiscated his companion dog of 3-years and refused to release it without a $100 ransom that he couldn’t afford.

He asked me why I had picked him up. I said, “Well, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about politics recently and about the differences between liberals and conservatives. I’ve become absolutely certain that we’re all in this together and it really bothers me when people take the attitude that as long as they get theirs, everybody else can go to heck.” 

He replied, “Yeah, I figured you were a good guy when I saw your Obama bumper sticker.”

Essay: Hate speech at my US Post Office

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Hate speech at my US Post Office

From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee

Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks

Read or download this essay as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKYkNydWpUbU5IdVE/edit?usp=sharing

A personal story of #conservative #intolerance 

Chum For Thought:
Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters

Hate speech at my US Post Office


I recently found a “hate note” posted on the information board at my small-town US Post Office. There were also three modified cartoons referring to President Obama, fried chicken, watermelon, and black salami. I thought that the cartoons were inappropriate and offensive to public decency; I removed them.

The note seemed more personal, so I added my answer and left it there. The original message was: “What do you call 20,000 liberals in the bottom of the ocean? A good start. Liberalism is a mental disorder.”

My answer read: “Please, don’t just threaten me and post anonymous racist hate cartoons against our elected President in a US Post Office. Make your case, explain your issues, and give practical ideas for improvement… and please have the courage to sign your name. With sincere best wishes, Your neighbor, David Satterlee”

Frankly, I worried that the threat could get personal. It may already be personal: I’d had an