Georgia hasn't looked this bad since Lester Maddox.
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Had enough?
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
February 6, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Watch it and Weep
Georgia hasn't looked this bad since Lester Maddox.
Had enough?
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
February 6, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The Next President From Georgia
I had a random thought today as I watched the Republican Party continue to fall apart. Let's say you're the smartest teenager in Georgia and -- one day -- you want to be President of the United States. Would you want to be a Democrat or a Republican?
You have to look down the road a little bit to figure this one out. You can't be President until you're 35 and it's more likely you'll be at least 45 years old. While Democrats flourish in the biggest cities, most of the politics in Georgia is Republican. But what will it look like in 20-30 years? Do you think Atlanta and Savannah will get smaller? Do you think the population is going to boom in South Georgia? In Pike County?
Think on this for a little and you'll see the future of Georgia is in the Democratic Party. And right now -- if you're young and ambitious -- there isn't a lot of competition in the Georgia Democratic Party. You can get in on the beginning of the change.
Come join us. Come join the future. Come join the Democrats.
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
February 5, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Trivia Tonight, Meeting Tomorrow
Here's your reminder of tomorrow's (Feb., 5, 2013) meeting of the Democratic Party of Pike County. Be at "A Novel Experience" in downtown Zebulon at 7 PM. In addition to our regular business, one item of discussion will be Senator Saxby Chambliss' announcement that he will not seek re-election.
For those that don't remember, here's how Senator Chambliss won his seat from a popular Democratic Senator.
For those that don't remember, the subject of that attack ad was Senator Max Cleland. Senator Cleland was an Army Captain in Vietnam where he lost three limbs. President Jimmy Carter put him in charge of the Veterans Administration. He was a proven leader -- in more than one arena.
We might even discuss one of my favorite subjects: electronic voting. Senator Chambliss was elected in the first election in Georgia with electronic voting.
What's your favorite subject? If it involved politics, we can discuss that too. Come join us.
Speaking of which, don't forget Monday-night trivia. We'll be on the square in Zebulon at Rocky's Pizza and Wings just like we always are. Our table is just about full all the time now, but you can stop in and say hello anyway. And there's nothing to stop us from filling up another table. Come on out and have some fun with us
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
February 4, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
MLK Day 2013
It's been almost 50 years since Dr. King gave his "I have a dream" speech. NPR plays the speech on the radio every year. It's worth listening to. We've come so far, yet, the journey has not ended.
On King's 84th Birthday, His 'I Have A Dream' Speech
"But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt."
Don Brown
January 21, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Israel: Land of Liberals? Web Version
In case you missed the Pike County Journal-Reporter last week, here's the letter to the editor I wrote.
Israel: Land of Liberals?
Why do "conservatives" speak of Israel in such glowing terms? Why does Bibi Netanyahu (Israel's Prime Minister) have a sterling reputation with "conservatives"? Don't they know Israel is a hotbed of socialism?
Don't they know Israel has universal healthcare? Israelis voted for it in 1995. That's right, Israel has had "Obamacare" for over 15 years.
How about tax rates? America's top tax bracket is 35%. Israel's top bracket is 45%. The income threshold for the America's highest tax of 35% is $388, 350. For Israelis, the 45% rate kicks in at 482,760 shekels ($128,588). Have you ever heard Republicans mention Israel's "job crushing taxes"? No? That is probably because Israel's economy is doing quite well (thank you very much.) Their real GDP growth for 2011 was 4.7%. America's was only 1.7%. (And while we're here, the actual socialists -- the communists in China -- had a GDP growth rate of 9.1% in 2011.)
How about Sharia law? Did you know Muslims have their own religious courts in Israel? Have you ever heard Fox News scream about that? Seek the truth. It will set you free.
Israelis aren't socialists and neither is President Obama. Taxes don't destroy jobs; they are the price we pay for civilization. Freedom of religion isn't a threat; it is a right.
If you would like to see America's public policy based on reality instead of misleading, worn-out rhetoric, join us. We're the Democratic Party of Pike County. We believe America should be governed by facts -- not fears.
Don Brown, Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
I thought some people might be interested in doing more reading on the subject. Most of my initial research was done on Wikipedia and that is where I would encourage you to start. I'll toss in a couple of citations to (hopefully) pique your interest.
Health care in Israel
"Health insurance is administered by the Health maintenance organizations, most of which were set up by the labour unions before the founding of the State."
I would have loved to work unions into the conversation but you can only cram so much into 250 words. (The limit on letters to the editor.)
I also found the section on Medical Tourism enlightening.
"Medical tourists choose Israel for several reasons. Some come from nations such as Romania and Cyprus where certain procedures are not available. Others come to Israel, perhaps most commonly from the US, because they can receive quality health care at a fraction of the cost it would be at home, for both surgeries and in-vitro fertilization procedures."
It would seem that "government-mandated healthcare" isn't as bad as some conservatives would have you believe. Oh, and it's cheaper too. And that (more affordable healthcare) is the crux of the matter for the United States budget as we go into the future. If we don't control our healthcare costs, we can't control our budget. Healthcare in America is expensive and it doesn't work as well in comparison to other countries.-- countries that have universal healthcare like Israel.
I included the bit about Sharia law in Israel simply because it is used by the Right to inflame instead of illuminate. I don't claim to be an expert on the matter but I found that section of Wikipedia thought provoking. Marriage appears to be a religious matter -- separate from civil matters (support, custody and property.) In other words, the State doesn't "define marriage". The various religions do. None of this is meant to be a suggestion. I just think it important to look at relevant facts when you want to make a rational decision.
Perhaps the most interesting (and important) aspect of my research was in taxation. Israel's tax rates are significantly higher than ours in the United States and yet, Israel's economy is doing very well. I initially thought that Israel's tax rates were a reflection of their security situation. But their defense spending isn't as bad as you might think. While their defense spending as a percentage of GDP is higher than ours (6.5% vs 4.7%), they spend less per person: $1,822 per person vs $2,141 for the U.S. Again, you can't get into the policy weeds like this in a letter to the editor.
But you can on the internet. As a matter of fact, I'd urge you to compare whatever policy is of interest to you with the rest of the world. Or, if that seems too overwhelming, you can compare Georgia with the rest of the States. You might want to find out why Georgia's public policies put it 37th on the HDI index of States when it has the 11th largest economy of the States. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume it isn't the socialists that are keeping Georgia (and the rest of the South) at the bottom of the heap.
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
January 15, 2013
Israel: Land of Liberals?
Don't they know Israel has universal healthcare? Israelis voted for it in 1995. That's right, Israel has had "Obamacare" for over 15 years.
How about tax rates? America's top tax bracket is 35%. Israel's top bracket is 45%. The income threshold for the America's highest tax of 35% is $388, 350. For Israelis, the 45% rate kicks in at 482,760 shekels ($128,588). Have you ever heard Republicans mention Israel's "job crushing taxes"? No? That is probably because Israel's economy is doing quite well (thank you very much.) Their real GDP growth for 2011 was 4.7%. America's was only 1.7%. (And while we're here, the actual socialists -- the communists in China -- had a GDP growth rate of 9.1% in 2011.)
How about Sharia law? Did you know Muslims have their own religious courts in Israel? Have you ever heard Fox News scream about that? Seek the truth. It will set you free.
Israelis aren't socialists and neither is President Obama. Taxes don't destroy jobs; they are the price we pay for civilization. Freedom of religion isn't a threat; it is a right.
If you would like to see America's public policy based on reality instead of misleading, worn-out rhetoric, join us. We're the Democratic Party of Pike County. We believe America should be governed by facts -- not fears.
Don Brown, Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
I thought some people might be interested in doing more reading on the subject. Most of my initial research was done on Wikipedia and that is where I would encourage you to start. I'll toss in a couple of citations to (hopefully) pique your interest.
Health care in Israel
"Health insurance is administered by the Health maintenance organizations, most of which were set up by the labour unions before the founding of the State."
I would have loved to work unions into the conversation but you can only cram so much into 250 words. (The limit on letters to the editor.)
I also found the section on Medical Tourism enlightening.
"Medical tourists choose Israel for several reasons. Some come from nations such as Romania and Cyprus where certain procedures are not available. Others come to Israel, perhaps most commonly from the US, because they can receive quality health care at a fraction of the cost it would be at home, for both surgeries and in-vitro fertilization procedures."
It would seem that "government-mandated healthcare" isn't as bad as some conservatives would have you believe. Oh, and it's cheaper too. And that (more affordable healthcare) is the crux of the matter for the United States budget as we go into the future. If we don't control our healthcare costs, we can't control our budget. Healthcare in America is expensive and it doesn't work as well in comparison to other countries.-- countries that have universal healthcare like Israel.
I included the bit about Sharia law in Israel simply because it is used by the Right to inflame instead of illuminate. I don't claim to be an expert on the matter but I found that section of Wikipedia thought provoking. Marriage appears to be a religious matter -- separate from civil matters (support, custody and property.) In other words, the State doesn't "define marriage". The various religions do. None of this is meant to be a suggestion. I just think it important to look at relevant facts when you want to make a rational decision.
Perhaps the most interesting (and important) aspect of my research was in taxation. Israel's tax rates are significantly higher than ours in the United States and yet, Israel's economy is doing very well. I initially thought that Israel's tax rates were a reflection of their security situation. But their defense spending isn't as bad as you might think. While their defense spending as a percentage of GDP is higher than ours (6.5% vs 4.7%), they spend less per person: $1,822 per person vs $2,141 for the U.S. Again, you can't get into the policy weeds like this in a letter to the editor.
But you can on the internet. As a matter of fact, I'd urge you to compare whatever policy is of interest to you with the rest of the world. Or, if that seems too overwhelming, you can compare Georgia with the rest of the States. You might want to find out why Georgia's public policies put it 37th on the HDI index of States when it has the 11th largest economy of the States. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume it isn't the socialists that are keeping Georgia (and the rest of the South) at the bottom of the heap.
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
January 15, 2013
Monday, December 31, 2012
Schedule Changes
Happy New Year everyone. With the new year, there will be a couple of short-term changes you need to know about.
First, the regular monthly meeting for January has been cancelled due to scheduling problems. In looking at the next month -- February -- the second Thursday (our regular meeting date) happens to be Valentine's Day. No matter how much you love politics, your spouse probably doesn't like it that much. So we needed to adjust that schedule too.
In short, we've hit upon Tuesday, February 5th, as a date for the next meeting of the Democratic Party of Pike County.
It will be at our normal time, 7PM, at our normal place, A Novel Experience, on the square in Zebulon. If you haven't been able to attend a meeting on Thursdays because of a scheduling conflict, here's your chance to make a meeting and see what we're up to. For our regulars, we will resume our normal schedule of meeting on the second Thursday of the month on March 14, 2013.
To recap:
No meeting in January.
Meet on Tuesday the 5th in February.
Resume our regular schedule in March (on the 14th).
In other news, our regular Monday night trivia at Wings & Things has had the same scheduling problems (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.) In addition, the restaurant is changing owners and menus. It will soon become Rockys Pizza and Wings. (You can check out their Facebook page.) We don't have any definitive word on whether or not they will have a trivia night but we will certainly give it a try if and when they do. So stayed tuned. Check back here or on our Facebook page for updates. (You should "Like" us on Facebook if you haven't already.) That's it for now.
We hope to see you on Tuesday, February 5th for our first meeting of the New Year.
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
December 31, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Vote for History
If you're a first-time voter and looking for some guidance on the Presidential race, I have some. Vote for history. Vote for Barack Obama.
If you learned any political history you might have heard of Strom Thurmond. He ran for President as a Dixiecrat when Truman (a Democrat) integrated the military. I'm betting some people still living in Pike County voted for him. I'm also betting they don't talk about it.
Likewise, there are people that voted for George Wallace when he ran for President as a pro-segregationist. He made a good showing. But I bet you won't find anybody that brags about casting their first vote for George Wallace.
Don't get me wrong. Bragging rights aren't something you want to base your vote on. What I'm saying is that if this is the first time you can vote in a Presidential election, you'll remember who you voted for for the rest of your life.
Barack Obama won't win Pike County. He won't win Georgia. But he will win America. And he will win history. Not only will he be historical as the first African American to become President, he will go down in history as the President that finally got universal healthcare coverage in America. Some down here may deride it as "Obamacare" but make no mistake about it. The Democratic Party has been trying to get universal healthcare passed since before Truman desegregated the Armed Services. And Barack Obama got it done.
Every other civilized nation on the planet has some form of universal healthcare. Do you really think it can be repealed and stay repealed? Look, there's a time for rhetoric and there's a time to make a decision. The Supreme Court -- a conservative court -- upheld Obamacare. It's here to stay and it will only get better as -- like Social Security (another Democratic idea) -- it is amended and improved over the years.
So vote your conscience tomorrow. I hope you'll vote for history. If you vote for Barack Obama, I believe you'll be proud to -- someday -- tell your grandchildren that you voted for him.
Don Brown -- Chairman
The Democratic Party of Pike County
November 5, 2012
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