Tag Archive | politics
May 23, 2012  

Day One: Good Luck Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney has recently released a new ad telling voters all the things he’s going to undo during his first day in office. Mainly everything Pres. Obama has already accomplished. I am annoyed with this ad not because he aims to undo some of the great work of the president, but because like most people, he hasn’t taken the time to realize that realistically, most of the things he wants to do or undo cannot be accomplished easily.

The main thing Mitt Romney is promising to repeal  Day One is the Affordable Healthcare Act, better known as Obamacare (I hate that term by the way). Good luck achieving that one Mitt. 

Allow me to offer you a lesson in civics. The Affordable Healthcare Act was passed by CONGRESS. Not Pres. Obama. He pushed for it and signed the bill into law, but CONGRESS drafted and ultimately passed the bill. So what does that mean? It means it cannot be undone by a simple Executive Order, but it must be repealed  through more legislation that must go through Congress. If the last few years have taught us anything, it is Congress doesn’t do anything expeditiously, but will fight to the bitter end over matters as trivial as what size font to use. I may be exaggerating here, but I doubt it.

If you’re thinking that the Supreme Court can overrule this law, you’re partially right. The bone of contention in the law is the individual mandate that requires all Americans to purchase health insurance. If the Supreme Court only rules that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but not the entire law, then the Affordable Healthcare Act still stands partially. In order for it to be completely repealed by the Supreme Court, they must rule the bill in its entirety unconstitutional.

The Keystone Pipeline may actually reopen on Day One because the regulations regarding drilling aren’t a matter of congressional law, but Executive Order. However, before you get excited, let me remind you that just because it CAN be reopened on Day One, doesn’t mean it will. There is a lot of preparation that goes into opening a pipeline and getting it ready to drill. Machinery needs to run and peopled need to be staffed.  Granted, all of this can be done ahead of time in anticipation of Romney issuing the Executive Order, but as recent polls show, it’s still to early to tell.  If by some miracle or sheer determination the Keystone Pipeline is reopened on Mitt Romney’s first day as President, it will still be a few days perhaps week before the average American sees any real benefit, if one exists.

I’m not a White House insider or an expert, but common sense tells me that trying to undo four years in One Day is a bit ambitious. It is feasible according to a recent CNN article, but highly probable is highly unlikely.  The Day One ad reminded me of the 3am phone call  ad Hilary Clinton ran during the 2008 primaries. It got people talking and it had them asking questions about Obama’s experience and whether or not he was truly ready to be the Commander -in- Chief.  But as later news reports showed at 3am, it’s not the president answering the phone, but a switchboard operator.

The Romney ad served it’s purpose. It created a lot buzz for the Romney campaign and got people thinking and some instances dreaming and hoping for a new and better government under Mitt Romney.  But when put to the test, I doubt this bucket can hold water. I could very well be wrong, but my research and knowledge tells me differently. But who am I to kill dreams?

Signed,

Laniece D. Williams

May 16, 2012  

Why I’m a Christian Liberal

I’ve discovered over the past few years, mainly by accident, that I have a weird love/hate relationship for politics. I love the debates,the issues, and the ways people will argue passionately for a cause they believe in regardless of how asinine it may be in my opinion. I hate it because of the partisan gridlock and  blame-game that’s done each day at expense of suffering thousands. But like a good reality TV show, I cannot stay away.

I recently had a rather informative and semi-heated discussion with a co-worker about how Christians should vote in elections. My co-worker, who for the sake of this post I will refer to as Dean, argued that for anyone to call themselves a Christian and follow God, they must look to the Bible and vote for the candidate that most resembles God and His Commandments. In the case of the 2012 election, it would be the Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.

He proceeded to argue the following points: the Republican Party, and thus Mitt Romney, believe in Pro-life, working for food, marriage between a man and woman, and unwavering support for Israel. He went on to say that by voting to re-elect President Obama,  is voting yes to abortion (a vote against God), yes to gay marriage (a vote against God), yes to people getting by on welfare ( a vote against God), and so on.

As I listened to him try to convince me to pick the more Conservative route, it  dawned on me that once again, people pick out portions of the Bible to promote whatever cause they are involved in at the present moment. There are more verses written in the Bible on how we should treat each other and caring for the poor than there are regarding homosexuality and abortion combined. By voting liberal, I am not voting against God nor am I  saying yes to Satan and corruption. If anything,  I am saying yes to God and His desires for mankind.

Let’s take all the commandments and verses out of the argument and let’s just examine the type of relationship God wants to have with us. From the moment God created Adam, it was his desire that WE would come to desire a relationship with Him.  He made it very clear that He would not force us to do anything, but we have free will to do what we want.

Yes, God created commandments (laws)that outlined proper behavior and what the consequences would be should we fail to follow the commandments. To my knowledge a verse doesn’t exist that says God will make you follow him and His laws ALWAYS. This is however is different from predestination.

So back to my discussion with my co-worker Dean. I listened to his arguments and simply asked his opinions on free will. He agreed with free will and as a Republican-leaning Independent, it was something he was in favor of. Dean believed that the government had grown too large and had invaded many of  the personal liberties the Founding Fathers had fought for.

And there was my in.  When Dean wanted to argue the points under the Old Testament, I agreed that Jesus’ coming did not  override the Old Testament and commandments, but through Jesus we had direct access to God. Because Dean was so focused on God’s commandments and adhering to God’s law,  I pointed out to him the story of the Jewish Leader who tried to trap Jesus by asking him what is the greatest commandment. In response Jesus surmised that the greatest commandment is that you would love your neighbor as yourself, shortcomings and all.

When Dean proceeded to say that Christians like me were part of the reason this country was in such moral decay, I prayed real quick and remind him of  our primary responsibilities as Christians. I told Dean that this commandment along with free will does not let Christians off the hook in regards to spreading the Gospel and promoting Jesus Christ and salvation. The Bible clearly states that it is our responsiblity to warn the people (what a life without salvation will mean to your soul) and by warning the people, the blood is no longer on our hands. However, failure to warn the people (spread the Gospel) means the blood (or the reasons for their damnation) would be on our hands. We are responsible for telling others about Christ and the path to salvation. We cannot save them, that is their choice and God’s business.  Furthermore, I had to remind Dean one of the primary reasons Christians have such a hard time promoting Christianity to non-believers is because we tend to focus on the commandments and condemn people for what they are doing wrong. To fully be more Christ-like, we needed to meet their needs first and then through our actions and loving approach begin to introduce them to Christ.

I digress.

As a Christian, I will tell you my opinion on any issue you may find important to you.  I may even reference a scripture and tell you how my relationship with God impacts my opinion. I will even offer you the consequence of your choice as God states it (if relevant), but I will  NOT condemn you for your choices. I will still love and respect you. My job as a Christian is to lead you to Christ, not brow-beat you into forming a relationship with him. That goes against what God desires, for us to come into relationship with him freely.

So to summarize, I am a Christian Liberal because:

1. I believe in helping the poor. Now, I do not believe that people should stay on welfare forever and receive handouts when they are perfectly capable of working, but in some instances, it is necessary to lend someone a helping hand.

2. I believe in the concept of free will. For a party that touts personal liberty and promotes a more limited government, I have a hard time reconciling why it is important for the [Republican] government to legislate what I can and cannot do with my body, who I can and cannot sleep with, and what I can and cannot smoke. Especially when I am a full functional, rational, working adult.

3. Because I believe in people helping people. No explanation needed.

In two-party America, neither party is perfect and neither are going to give me all that I ask for or think would work best in running this country. But from my standpoint, I am going with the party that is more concerned with choices and fair share than the party that looks only at the moral conduct portion of the Bible.

For these reasons, I am a Christian Liberal.

Signed,

Laniece D. Williams

March 30, 2012  

Stories You May Have Missed This Week

Just a list of some  interesting news stories you may have missed this week.

Human Impact–

  •  Woman dies in jail after being kicked out the emergency room – A Missouri woman died from blood clots in a St. Louis jail after she refused to leave a hospital she was in for treatment for a sprained ankle and other medical issues.  She leaves behind two children.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Medical

Let’s Talk Politics

In life, we all need a little entertainment