Food for Thought

Good Morning, Rep. Jim DeMint!

2010-03-26T14:15:00.000-04:00

I sat at my desk on this beautiful morning in Miami, working on taxes, yes, on taxes, watching TV and waiting for President Obama to sign the HealthCare Bill into the law of the land. What else could I ask for, on this beautiful day? Therefore, I take a break from taxes to write for my blog.

Good morning, Mr. DeMint. Were you the one who screamed about how important it was for your Republican colleagues to stop President Obama from getting Healthcare relief through Congress? Were you the one who said that defeating President Obama was going to be his Waterloo and the Democratic Party’s defeat in the next elections? Mr. DeMint, have you changed your mind? You still have time.

Because you, Mr. DeMint, do not want to accept or to believe that our President means what he says: Hope and Change. You, and your colleagues, have been unwilling in your unbelief, to accept the reality of a person and a politician very different from what you are accustomed. Maybe, for the first time in your political life, you are seeing a President who has the intelligence, the ability and the will to offer serious Change to America. In addition, he has the American people’s support, which is exactly what you have lost, except for the Tea Partiers.

The Fox News choruses of eccentrics who pretend to define an America, which does not exist, are your most serious supporters. They will not be enough to help you implement your ideas and to continue exercising your inability to govern as a public servant. The people you pretend to serve are those who live enamored of “cowboy movies” and “masters of the universe” novels. People who are constantly afraid of the possibilities, while ignoring the realities of life. People who complain about taxes, government debt, budget deficits, and loss of personal freedom. People who are not willing to pay what it costs to live in a society that is the envy of the entire world.

They, the eccentrics in Fox News and Congress, are not the real Americans who strive unsuccessfully for an opportunity to find work, who see their relatives live in sickness or die without any relief from the institutions that are supposed to help them. Real Americans who retire from work after long careers paying taxes, and saving, not being able to afford the necessities of life. These eccentrics are not the people who first had Hope and believed in Change. The change that you and your followers could not and cannot see is happening now. It is Change we can believe in, and since there was not a Waterloo, why not come up with a different name? Maybe next time you could be successful, assuming you are on the winner’s side.

Have a good day, Mr. DeMint. It is a beautiful day in Miami today!

Now, back to finish my taxes.

Good Morning, Rep. Jim DeMint!

2010-03-23T17:14:00.002-04:00

I sat at my desk on this beautiful morning in Miami, working on taxes, yes, on taxes, watching TV and waiting for President Obama to sign the HealthCare Bill into the law of the land. What else could I ask for on this beautiful day? Therefore, I take a break from taxes to write for my blog.

Good morning, Mr. DeMint. Were you the one who screamed about how important it was for your Republican colleagues to stop President Obama from getting Healthcare relief through Congress? Were you the one who said that defeating President Obama on Healthcare reform was going to be his Waterloo and the Democratic Party’s defeat in the next elections? Mr. DeMint, have you changed your mind? You still have time.

Because you, Mr. DeMint, do not want to accept or to believe that our President means what he says: Hope and Change. You, and your colleagues, have been unwilling in your unbelief, to accept the reality of a person and a politician very different from what you are accustomed. Maybe, for the first time in your political life, you are seeing a President who has the intelligence, the ability and the will to offer serious Change to America. In addition, he has the American people’s support, which is exactly what you have lost, except for the Tea Partiers.

The Fox News choruses of eccentrics who pretend to define an America, which does not exist, are your most serious supporters. They will not be enough to help you implement your ideas and to continue exercising your inability to govern as a public servant. The people you pretend to serve are those who live enamored of “cowboy movies” and “masters of the universe” novels. People who are constantly afraid of the possibilities, while ignoring the realities of life. People who complain about taxes, government debt, budget deficits, and loss of personal freedom. People who are not willing to pay what it costs to live in a society that is the envy of the entire world.

They, the eccentrics in Fox News and Congress, are not the real Americans who strive unsuccessfully for an opportunity to find work, who see their relatives live in sickness or die without any relief from the institutions that are supposed to help them. Real Americans who retire from work after long careers paying taxes, and saving, not being able to afford the necessities of life. These eccentrics are not the people who first had Hope and believed in Change. The change that you and your followers could not and cannot see is happening now. It is Change we can believe in, and since there was not a Waterloo, why not come up with a different name? Maybe next time you could be successful, assuming you are on the winner’s side.

Have a good day, Mr. DeMint. It is a beautiful day in Miami today!
Now, back to finish my taxes.

It is Never too Early

2010-02-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

When Joe Garcia ran for the senatorial seat of District 25 in 2008, I was working for President Obama’s Organizing for America in my District (Precinct 462). I live in Doral and there are very few Democrats in this area. However, if you get a good listing from the MDCDEC (Miami- Dade County Democratic Executive Committee), you can find Democrats and “undecided” voters without problem.
Very few people in Doral, if any, knew who Joe Garcia was during the President’s campaign, and I was one of the few who had a “Joe for Congress” sign on my front lawn. I went to Garcia’s campaign office on US 1, and asked for campaign materials, which they graciously gave me. I offered to help Joe’s campaign in my neighborhood as I went campaigning for Barak Obama, but there was absolutely no interest in the campaign’s office to do anything in Doral. Now we know the results of that election. Like the song says: “what could have been, never happened!”
Do we think that any Democratic candidate can win the District without winning Doral? I doubt it. In deciding if he wants to be a senator representing Democrats in this District (hopefully not another senator to join the Blue Dogs), Joe would do very well deciding if he is committed to do what it takes to win Doral. A few of us would be willing and more than happy to help oust Mario, or his Republican successor.
It may already be too late to start the work that is necessary to win Doral and to take the seat. However, it is certainly never too early. What do you say, Joe? I would rather be an Honorable Senator that another beaurocrat in the Energy Department. You know, a few senators in Washington stop much from happening and hopefully you would be a welcomed change.

February 23, 2010

Massachusetts misinterpreted. Thinking out of the box.

2010-02-27T17:25:00.001-05:00

Many different explanations have been given about the triumph of Senator Scott Brown in winning the Senate seat previously occupied by Ted Kennedy:

• The voters overwhelmingly rejected the healthcare liberal agenda
• It is time to stop this socialist administration from taking over the government of this country
• People want freedom, and independence, and they want to be able to exercise their right to make their own decisions without government interference
• Congressional seats do not belong to anybody: they belong to the people of the State
• The Federal Government should not interfere in matters better left to the States
• The radicals and their liberal agenda are a threat to our democracy and to our freedoms
• The liberals want to spread the wealth around giving it to those who do not work and getting it from those that produce and create businesses

Put on your thinking hat and consider this:

First, people, not only in Massachusetts, but everywhere else in the nation are fed up with the incumbents, both Republicans and Democrats, because of their incompetence and inability to think and solve real problems. A clear example of this incompetence is their inability to discuss intelligently the healthcare issue, in spite of the fact that it has been talked about for more than 50 years, and it was discussed in Congress for more than a year now. Many other examples could be mentioned here, but this incompetence is the same when discussing matters of education, energy, the role of government in society, church and state relationships, etc. All of these are issues of paramount importance to be critically analyzed if a modern society wants to progress.

Second, Massachusetts has a Health care system that covers 95% of the people and most of them are happy with what they have. What benefit do they get by signing up for a proposed bill that was rewritten in the Senate to make everybody happy except the people the reform bill was supposed to help? None! They voted against the wrong kind of reform (reform to keep lobbyist happy and to spread the pork around amongst the signers), not against smart legislation to change the way our healthcare system is bankrupting the country.

Third, and finally, just because you want to succeed a Kennedy, does not mean that you do not have to work hard and show intelligence. It does not mean that the voters owe you an appointment. You have to demonstrate that you deserve the position and that you will defend the gains they have already accomplished.

It makes sense to me.

February 20, 2010

My conclusions from the meeting with the President.

2010-02-27T16:10:00.001-05:00

If there was any doubt in my mind about the significance of Jim Demint’s (Senator, South Carolina) statement that he wants President Obama to fail, I had more than enough proof yesterday. To my knowledge, no Republican has clearly and publicly rejected that statement. It seems that most, if not all, Republicans agree with him. From watching yesterday’s meeting where the President invited the opposition (better said, the minority) to present their ideas about ways to solve the healthcare crisis, I have come to the following conclusions:
• Republican ideology is making the US Senate an obsolete and counterproductive institution, unnecessary in our democratic system. Senators are looking after their personal interests and the interests of those who financially support them, rather than working for the well-being of the Nation, or even their own constituencies.
• Republicans in the Senate, and in the House, do not want to achieve solutions to the problems our society faces, as long as our elected President is in power, or as long as he supports a proposed change.
• The minority party is using its constitutional right to dissent, to stop government from functioning and from doing its job of debating issues, and coming to conclusions in a timely manner. This abuse causes a failure to enact legislation necessary to solve society’s problems. The majority is allowing them to stop progress.
• The Senate was not designed to be a forum to express ideological differences amongst the members without resolution, nor to paralyze all legislative action, but to enact legislation useful and helpful to promote the economic well being of society. In this respect, those senators are not doing their job and should either resign from their elected positions, or be replaced by the voters.
• What we are seeing today is a minority that has no public mandate, is being obstructive and counterproductive, and is ruling a majority government. The majority party is not doing what it was elected to do. Do we really have a majority in congress?
• The threats, name-calling, abusive treatment, and misrepresentations, of the minority opposition can be allowed in our Democracy, as long as they neither paralyze government nor make institutions ineffective as to their intended purpose. When the latter is the case, it is time to respect the voice of the majority, which is 51%.
• The inability of our elected representatives to read (they could not read a 1200 page healthcare bill in one year), to think, to reason, and to make decisions is endangering our Democracy and destroying our sustainability as a prosperous economic system and a world-respected superpower.
The enemy of our Nation is not only outside the country but also within our own system. Let us try to be smart and get rid of it. There is no better place in the world to live than the United States of America. There is no better economic system invented so far, either. Let us be smart, diligent, willing and recognize that Democrats have the mandate.
Let us count the votes and see who the DINOS (Democrats in Name Only) in the Senate are. For one year, they blamed the lack of progress on a few Blue Dogs. They argued that four or five conservative senators were stalling legislative progress. Let us expose the Blue Dogs as the face of the now extinct Republican Party. Let the true Democrats move ahead with necessary Health Care Reform.

February 26, 2010

On Job Requirements

2010-02-21T01:05:00.000-05:00

I am a retired corporate executive who spent about 30 years in corporate life. Administration and finance was my background and field of experience. I have an MBA from the University of Georgia, but I never went to school to prepare for a CPA degree. Because I did not have this professional credential, there were some positions during my career that were not open to me, even if I had the knowledge and experience to do the job. Now, let me go to my point.
One of the most vociferous spokesperson (Tancredo) of the right wing Tea Party movement suggested that we should have a literacy test before people are allowed to vote. I found myself in agreement with this man, perhaps for different reasons. He probably wanted to use this pre-requisite as a tool to keep some undesirable elements in society (in his view) from voting.
A test of qualifications is required for any job, except for the job to be a member of Congress. That lack of testing for our honorable representatives results in the shameful and unbelievable state of affairs observed when our representatives in Washington discuss and give opinions on matters about which they are ignorant. We have people in congress that never took a basic accounting, economics, or finance course. Even so, they are required to analyze, give opinions, and contribute to the creation of laws in an effort to keep our society from going bankrupt. We remain paralyzed going from crisis to crisis, because our honorable representatives are unprepared to understand what is happening in the world they are supposed to govern.
Why do we not require our members of Congress to pass a technical literacy test? Why? Why not? If we did, we would be assured that they have minimal qualifications to hold their jobs.

A New Chair, a New Chance

2010-02-09T15:21:00.002-05:00

After a turbulent period in the direction and performance of the MDCDEC, we finally have a Chair who seems to be committed to have the party do what is necessary to fulfill the mission of the DEC. In general, the meeting last night was fairly organized, well attended, and surprisingly enough, leaders and attendees were able to speak without being rudely interrupted. We have long way to go, however.

Listening to the speakers, I could see that there are many members who want to participate and desire the best for the Party. Members that want to volunteer, candidates that want to be elected, leaders that want to do a good job and fulfill their respective obligations according to the position they hold, and many others, sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what happens and if the new direction has any appeal for them to actively participate and contribute. Unless there is a real effort on the part of the leadership to listen to the membership, and acknowledge that they are listening, even when sometimes they may not agree with what they hear, this new administration and this new hope will go the way of previous efforts: nowhere.

To be a truly effective Organization, the MDCDEC needs to understand that to elect Democratic candidates to elective positions may be more a result of the DEC activities than a mission. There are many other activities we need to engage in, so that the result of electing our members becomes a real possibility. It is not just to elect candidates to public office. The objective of the DEC should be to help elect competent individuals who can express the democratic ideals of representative government convincingly and forcibly. Our candidates must be able show their unquestionable support for the ideas of economic prosperity for all, fair taxes for all, equal treatment under the law for everyone living in this country. Most of all, our candidates should be able to show their support for the idea that if you work hard and do your best, you will be successful in this country, because your efforts will not be blocked by anybody in power, for the wrong or for just personal reasons. These ideas when implemented, pave the way for a society with a strong middle class, and this strength provides the incentive to invest, it provides the purchasing power necessary to make the economy grow. The result is a higher standard of living for all people, and a more equitable society. We need to train our leaders as to the reason why they serve, and to educate our voters, as to whom they should vote for.

So now, members of the MDCDEC, it is the time to talk about a Vision for the party, commit to a Mission that embodies that Vision, and develop specific Strategies knowing exactly how, and when, those strategies will be implemented. Finally, we need to set up specific Goals and Objectives that can be quantitatively measured and evaluated in time, so that not all our efforts and activities will go to waste.

Now that we have a new office, and a new Chair, it is time for all of us to show a new ATTITUDE and a new way of THINKING. Will we be up for the task?

Well paid....easy jobs.....

2009-11-10T12:58:00.003-05:00

How would you like to have a good paying job, with excellent health care benefits, with unlimited fringe benefits that allow you to travel, meet people, live the social life, improve your love life with the complacency of your close friends, and appear to be virtuous, patriotic, and good in all areas of your public life? I can tell you about that job.

The job may be easy to execute, but not easy to get.

• First, you have to "sound good", so that people do not run for the exit when you begin to talk. Having a good voice is a valuable natural talent that did not cost you anything, to begin with. Acting skills are also a plus.
• Second, you need a lot of personal and economic support. Support of countless volunteers and financial gamblers who are willing to work for you, hoping to get back some of their investment later, should you get the job.
• Third, you have to be able to learn a few basic tenants, all of which fit in one 8 1/2X11 page. You must be able to use them to express lies that appear to be true. You must use them to distort reality to the point that even yourself become confused. You must accuse, insult and threaten anybody who does not agree with you. Extremely helpful is to scare the incompetent, the lazy or the sick who cannot think by themselves. And finally, oppose, say no, do not do anything or agree with anything which does not benefit you, your friends, and those who have supported you.

This job is easy, because according to what the tenants in the one page you memorized tell you, you do not have to do anything about problems because it is unnecessary: eventually things will get better by themselves if left alone. People like you are so good, compassionate and moral, that you will make sure to solve all existing problems, without government help. Interfering with them only makes matter worse. If you can do all of these, then YOU will be a success. It may take longer for everybody else, but YOU will be ok.

If the job just described sounds good to you, and you qualify, you can get it. All you need to do is to run as a Republican candidate for Congress.

Dashboard

2009-09-07T22:52:00.000-04:00

Dashboard
It is Time for Democrats in Congress to show their Teeth!
The American people went to the polls in November to show their overwhelming support for the ideas that, then candidate Obama, was telling us were necessary to change the direction of this country. We elected him because he promised real change in the most important areas of public policy: healthcare, energy, and education.

The fact that the majority of the people voted for him is an indication that the people are expecting real results. It was also because of his success and the support for his initiatives that many representatives in Congress were able to retain their seats, and will be able to continue serving in the future.

The majority of the people, at least 60-65% of those who voted for change, are expecting the President to implement his promise of change even without the support of the minority opposition. We did not elect the President to get along with the minority, at the expense of not getting the programs he promised enacted this year. When it comes to healthcare reform, for example, we are expecting Universal, Single-payer insurance for all Americans. Additionally, and most important, a public option, to bring competition to the system and keep it honest and transparent.

We do not care if a minority of Republicans in Congress likes it or not. This is a Democracy, and the majority of the people voted for change. That is it! There will never be another opportunity for real change like this one, and the American people will not forgive those representatives in Congress who will not support change and vote in favor of healthcare reform.

Let us not forget that this is not a Republican Administration. They have had their say and they will never change the status-quo because a change is not favorable to them. They are the minority in America. After all, most of them already have good coverage, paid either by their employers, or by themselves, because they can afford it. That is why Republicans in Congress talk about the goodness of the system, because it is good for them, but not for the majority of Americans. There is where they go wrong: they have ignored the call of the people for change, and have not done anything, except continue supporting a system with higher costs, lower quality, and the promise of never getting any better.

It is indeed time for Democrats in Congress to show their teeth!
Posted by Luis C. Isaza E at 8:11 PM

It is Time for Democrats in Congress to show their Teeth!

2009-06-09T20:11:00.000-04:00

The American people went to the polls in November to show their overwhelming support for the ideas that, then candidate Obama, was telling us were necessary to change the direction of this country. We elected him because he promised real change in the most important areas of public policy: healthcare, energy, and education.

The fact that the majority of the people voted for him is an indication that the people are expecting real results. It was also because of his success and the support for his initiatives that many representatives in Congress were able to retain their seats, and will be able to continue serving in the future.

The majority of the people, at least 60-65% of those who voted for change, are expecting the President to implement his promise of change even without the support of the minority opposition. We did not elect the President to get along with the minority, at the expense of not getting the programs he promised enacted this year. When it comes to healthcare reform, for example, we are expecting Universal, Single-payer insurance for all Americans. Additionally, and most important, a public option, to bring competition to the system and keep it honest and transparent.

We do not care if a minority of Republicans in Congress likes it or not. This is a Democracy, and the majority of the people voted for change. That is it! There will never be another opportunity for real change like this one, and the American people will not forgive those representatives in Congress who will not support change and vote in favor of healthcare reform.

Let us not forget that this is not a Republican Administration. They have had their say and they will never change the status-quo because a change is not favorable to them. They are the minority in America. After all, most of them already have good coverage, paid either by their employers, or by themselves, because they can afford it. That is why Republicans in Congress talk about the goodness of the system, because it is good for them, but not for the majority of Americans. There is where they go wrong: they have ignored the call of the people for change, and have not done anything, except continue supporting a system with higher costs, lower quality, and the promise of never getting any better.

It is indeed time for Democrats in Congress to show their teeth!

The Urgency of Involvement

2009-05-13T13:02:00.002-04:00

One thing I learned from my involvement in the presidential election campaign last year. What I learned is the reason why I want to continue getting involved in the political process. What I learned is that the closer elections get, the less effective we are in getting our message across to our voters and getting our candidates elected.

During the feverish campaign (not only here in Miami-Dade but also in Forsyth County, NC.) to get then Senator Obama elected to the Presidency, we knock on many doors where we were made aware of one reality. The “potential” voters we called on were in desperate need to get either more information, get clarification on certain important issues, or just in need of being reassured that things would eventually get better if we won the presidential election.

The pressure then was to knock on as many doors as possible, to get as many people as possible to the polls. However, the lack of knowledge about the issues, the cynicism about the political process, and many times just the need for reassurance, kept many people away from the voting booth. In many cases, a little bit of information about an issue, a short explanation about a doubtful point, or the clear identification of how the opposition mixed myth with reality, was sufficient to get the voter on our side.

That is why I believe in the urgency of involvement, and in the need to make every possible tool available to us useful for the purpose of educating, informing, and gaining support. Congressional elections are already closer than we imagine, and our effort to get the message across has not started.

The Pope’s Visit to the Middle East

2009-05-08T12:43:00.001-04:00

As a Christian Catholic who agrees with the Pope on the importance of freedom of religion and who believes in the necessity of peace, I am surprised that His Holiness has not made this trip before now. Peace between Israel and Palestine is the most important issue in world affairs today. Most countries, including members of the Arab League, Britain, the European Union, and the United States are deeply involved with, and concerned with the slow process of reaching an agreement between the representatives of Israel and those of the Palestinian people. Shining for its absence is the presence of the United Nation’s representatives in the mediation of the conflict.

There have never been better signs indicating the possibility of a long-term peace agreement than we can see now. I am not referring to the public statements of spoke- persons for either side that have more to do with publicity than with logical analysis of the real problem. There is not only a renewed concern of world opinion about the inefficacy of war as a means to resolve international conflicts, but there is a new age of “pragmatism” that offers many more possibilities of an agreement that the empty gestures and faked smiles that have accompanied the process in the last 20 years.

The two parties directly involved in the conflict know it, and the world looks upon this unnecessary conflict with sadness and reproach. There is no time to review legal documents and blame each other. Now is the time to recognize that war is a waste of money and moral reserve. History has taught us that silence at the suffering of many is unjust, immoral, impractical, and wasteful.

I wish all the God fearing, good willing people with something to say or do about this conflict to say it now, before it may be too late.

Marco Rubio to run for the US Senate

2009-05-06T12:39:00.003-04:00

The thought of any more Florida Republicans in Congress is enough to make any thoughtful Democrat have a sudden attack of what will probably feel like “swine-flu”.
The question is whether we Democrats are prepared to do the necessary work to win the senatorial race, and not give the “Limbaugh boys” a chance to continue the kind of policies they have implemented in the State with the unacceptable results that we are all seeing.

I believe that we Democrats in Florida and Miami-Dade should not feel very proud of our accomplishments. Our victory and political achievement is the result of two very clear historical events: the catastrophic failure of the Republican Party who gave such preeminence to the voice of the extreme right in their constituency, and the unbelievable triumph of one person, called Obama.

Now that the race is on, the first thing that we hear from our potential candidates is not any particular strategy or plan that may ensure the success in putting a democrat in the seat of Mel Martinez, but the same old criticism of the party of “NO” and requests for “donations”, as if just making donations would ensure our victory. Did we learn anything from the past candidacy of Raul Martinez, Joe Garcia, and Annette Tadeo?

It is time for the Miami Democratic Party to assume the leadership and the responsibility in planning winning strategies and in directing the efforts of the registered voters to get our candidates elected. The best thing the leadership can do to ensure success, is to take into account what the voters think and what they can do for the party. It seems to me that just asking for donations and/or criticizing the extreme right of the Republican Party is not the right strategy for Democrats.

DEC Meetings

2009-04-20T10:20:00.000-04:00

After several attempts to be a member of the DEC, I was finally sworn in during the last committee meeting. The swearing in portion of the agenda almost did not happen for reasons that I still cannot understand. I hope what happened at this meeting is not an indication of the importance the DEC gives to the acceptance of new members.

A couple of suggestions I would like to make, in order to help the meetings run more smoothly, are as follows:

Once the meeting has started, and quorum verified, members should stay in the room until all the items in the Agenda have been discussed in the order scheduled.
Publish the minutes of the meetings in the website within one week of the meeting, to inform the membership, especially those who were unable to attend. It is also useful to give an opportunity to the attendees to clarify any misunderstandings, as well as to incorporate any points discussed but that were not included in the minutes. Publish reports of the Treasurer and Budget details of revenues and expenses in the website in order to give transparency to the financial dealings of the organization and to make the leadership accountable for the good use of financial resources.

I look forward to attending more productive and smoother meetings. Our objective should be doing all we can to be effective and organized to win elections.