Van Jones is a civil rights activist, environmental advocate, and anti-war protester. He is not a criminal, a terrorist, or a Marxist. Having left-wing politics you dislike does not make him an "admitted radical". What is the quote where he admits being a "radical".[/QUOTE] “ I met all these young radical people of color - I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.'...I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary.... I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th. By August, I was a communist.[22] ” Eliza Strickland, The New Face of Environmentalism, November 2005
Until the GOP realizes that while it may be fun to "out right wing" the guy in your debate, and the hateful, mean spirited headlines can be stunning, the majority of the country, including those that still think, run as fast as they can from those extremist. The exact same thing happens on the left, but the equally extreme leftist are so bizarre and out of touch, it is a given. And not newsworthy. Kind of like gravity. Big impact on our daily lives, but seldom makes the news! A left of center Dem will beat a right wing extremist every time, just as a right of center Republican would beat a radical left winger every time. God knows is a centrists could gain traction and run. Talk about a landslide! Unfortunately, the anti intellectual GOP is running things these days, making it easy pickings at the national level for pretty much any idiot the Dems want to run. Oh, but you say, wrong HWR, look at 2014 and I say, HAHA, that crap don't matter, that is a feel good vote since the Senate and House are dysfunctional do nothing dens of decrepit deceit. Dems in a runaway, with continued disastrous consequences for what is left of the country, at the national level. I mean seriously, Hillary is a joke, but she is a shoo in. Just as the O man was and is. And one more time, I voted for him. Twicet! It just is not that hard to figure out, but when you promote an anti education/anti intelligence platform as do the Republicans, simple truisms become challenging. Algebra impossible and governing illusive.
Pretty good assessment. I'm more optimistic about those "disastrous consequences". Bill found a way to work with a Republican Congress to get things done. I suspect Hillary will adopt that model, not Obama's. Of course, this ain't Ronald Reagan's Republican party anymore. It's top-heavy with blind ideologues who must learn that compromise for the good of the country is not political failure.
So apparently Rand Paul is a total idiot too. Next. http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/02/politics/rand-paul-vaccine-effects/index.html
I ain't so so sure yet. His campaign has said that he is in favor of childhood vaccinations and his own children were vaccinated. His comment, if I read him right, was that the decision to permit vaccinations should be between the parents and the doctor, not the government and the doctor. In that case, I would agree. Vaccinations are important and effective 99% of the time. Everyone should get them, unless there is a good reason not to--like having a sibling who had a bad reaction. That 1% can have serious problems and parents should have the final say about a child's medical issues. Bottom line, standard childhood vaccinations should be automatic to protect everybody, but a parent should have final permission and the right to opt out if there is a valid medical concern for an individual. Hopefully there won't be many. The diseases kill far more people than the rare side effects of the vaccine.
I do think his comment was taken a little out of context however, I do disagree with him. Actually, the measles vaccine is 95% effective but yes, they are effective when you consider how many horrible diseases have been virtually eliminated when people get the vaccine. If there are such a small percent of people with a legit exemption then they should be the ones to provide proof while everyone else gets the mandatory vaccine. The people who are at most risk are children too young to receive the vaccine, children/adults with weakened immune systems, like childhood cancer, and older folks whose vaccine effectiveness has gotten weaker over the decades. So why in hell should all those people be at risk because a few free range nutjobs want to raise their bratty rich kids in a completely self-absorbed way of life? The biggest problem right now are the wealthy fringe like you have up in NorCal. "In San Geronimo, a mostly rural community of rolling hills and oak trees about 30 miles north of San Francisco, 40 percent of the students walking into Lagunitas Elementary School have not been inoculated against measles, according to the school’s figures. Twenty-five percent have not been vaccinated for polio. In all, the state says that 58 percent of Lagunitas kindergartners do not have up-to-date vaccine records. “A lot of people here have personal beliefs that are faith-based,” said John Carroll, the school superintendent, who sent a letter home to parents last week encouraging them to vaccinate their children. The faith, Carroll said, is not so much religious as it is a belief that “they raise their children in a natural, organic environment” and are suspicious of pharmaceutical companies and big business. Some parents forgo shots altogether. Others split vaccine doses or stretch out their timeline, worried about somehow overwhelming their children’s immune systems. Kelly McMenimen, a Lagunitas parent, said she “meditated on it a lot” before deciding not to vaccinate her son Tobias, 8, against even “deadly or deforming diseases.” She said she did not want “so many toxins” entering the slender body of a bright-eyed boy who loves math and geography. Tobias has endured chickenpox and whooping cough, although McMenimen said the latter seemed more like a common cold. She considered a tetanus shot after he cut himself on a wire fence but decided against it: “He has such a strong immune system.” As Ciel Lorenzen, a massage therapist, picked up her children, Rio, 10, and Athena, 7, at Lagunitas Elementary, she defended her choice not to vaccinate either of them, even as health and school officials urged a different course. “It’s good to explore alternatives rather than go with the panic of everyone around you,” she said. “Vaccines don’t feel right for me and my family.” http://www.ocregister.com/articles/measles-649867-children-parents.html Ciel? Children Rio and Athena? She mediated on it? Gawd, spare me. These people are wreckless and putting other's children's lives at risk.
