Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:44AM Greetings!
If you're here, then that means you have seen our new look!
Please take a look around and give us feedback. We want our website to be as helpful as possible for each of our onlookers through the 2012 election cycle. So, if you see something that is missing, arwy or just plain unattractive, let us know! E-mail ydarinfo@gmail.com
Thanks!
- President DeLoach
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 5:33PM Addicting Info posted an article several months ago regarding Ron Paul and his ties to white supremacy, and we were barraged with pleas and “stories” to win us over. In honor of Ron Paul’s obsessive fans we’re publishing the following article, showing his history of discrimination.
Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
As anyone with a blog, YouTube account, MySpace page, or web site knows Ron Paul supporters are everywhere! The internet is filled with them. The frightening thing that I have witnessed is that many liberal voters are giving some credence to Ron Paul’s campaign and message. He somehow comes across as different or better than the run of the mill conservatives filling the Republican ticket.
I do not support Ron Paul in ANY and I find his Congressional record and policies to be, at times, even scarier than his counterparts. The only thing that I have found to agree with him on is the fact that he does not support the war in Iraq. After extensive research I have compiled a list of 10 reasons NOT to vote for Ron Paul!
1. Ron Paul does not value equal rights for minorities. Ron Paul has sponsored legislation that would repeal affirmative action, keep the IRS from investigating private schools who may have used race as a factor in denying entrance, thus losing their tax exempt status, would limit the scope of Brown versus Board of Education, and would deny citizenship for those born in the US if their parents are not citizens. Here are links to these bills: H.R.3863, H.R.5909, H.J.RES.46, and H.J.RES.42.
2. Ron Paul would deny women control of their bodies and reproductive rights.Ron Paul makes it very clear that one of his aims is to repeal Roe v. Wade. He has also co sponsored 4 separate bills to “To provide that human life shall be deemed to exist from conception.” This, of course, goes against current medical and scientific information as well as our existing laws and precedents. Please see these links: H.R.2597 and H.R.392
3. Ron Paul would be disastrous for the working class. He supports abolishing the Federal minimum wage, has twice introduced legislation to repeal OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Act and would deal devastating blows to Social Security including repealing the act that makes it mandatory for employees of nonprofits, to make “coverage completely optional for both present and future workers”, and would “freeze benefit levels”. He has also twice sponsored legislation seeking to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act and the Copeland Act which among other things provide that contractors for the federal government must provide the prevailing wage and prohibits corporate “kick backs.” Here are the related legislative links: H.R.2030, H.R.4604, H.R.736, and H.R.2720
4. Ron Paul’s tax plan is unfair to lower earners and would greatly benefit those with the highest incomes.He has repeatedly submitted amendments to the tax code that would get rid of the estate and gift taxes, tax all earners at 10%, disallow income tax credits to individuals who are not corporations, repeal the elderly tax credit, child care credit, earned income credit, and other common credits for working class citizens. Please see this link for more information: H.R.05484 Summary
5. Ron Paul’s policies would cause irreparable damage to our already strained environment. Among other travesties he supports off shore drilling, building more oil refineries, mining on federal lands, no taxes on the production of fuel, and would stop conservation efforts that could be a “Federal obstacle” to building and maintaining refineries. He has also sought to amend the Clean Air Act, repeal the Soil and Water Conservation Act of 1977, and to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to “restrict the jurisdiction of the United States over the discharge of dredged or fill material to discharges into waters”. To see for yourself the possible extent of the damage to the environment that would happen under a Paul administration please follow these links: H.R.2504, H.R.7079, H.R.7245, H.R.2415, H.R.393, H.R.4639, H.R.5293, and H.R.6936
6. A Ron Paul administration would continue to proliferate the negative image of the US among other nations. Ron Paul supports withdrawing the US from the UN, when that has not happened he has fought to at least have the US withdrawn from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. He has introduced legislation to keep the US from giving any funds to the UN. He also submitted that the US funds should not be used in any UN peacekeeping mission or any UN program at all. He has sponsored a bill calling for us to “terminate all participation by the United States in the United Nations, and to remove all privileges, exemptions, and immunities of the United Nations.”Ron Paul twice supported stopping the destruction of intercontinental ballistic missile silos in the United States. He also would continue with Bush’s plan of ignoring international laws by maintaining an insistence that the International Criminal Court does not apply to the US, despite President Clinton’s signature on the original treaty. The International Criminal Court is used for, among other things, prosecution of war crimes. Please see the following links: H.R.3891, H.AMDT.191, H.AMDT.190, H.R.3769, H.R.1665, H.CON.RES.23, and H.R.1154
7. Ron Paul discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation and would not provide equal rights and protections to glbt citizens. This is an issue that Paul sort of dances around. He has been praised for stating that the federal government should not regulate who a person marries. This has been construed by some to mean that he is somewhat open to the idea of same sex marriage, he is not. Paul was an original co sponsor of the Marriage Protection Act in the House in 2004. Among other things this discriminatory piece of legislation placed a prohibition on the recognition of a same sex marriage across state borders. He said in 2004 that if he was in the Texas legislature he would not allow judges to come up with “new definitions” of marriage. Paul is a very religious conservative and though he is careful with his words his record shows that he is not a supporter of same sex marriage. In 1980 he introduced a particularly bigoted bill entitled “A bill to strengthen the American family and promote the virtues of family life.” or H.R.7955 A direct quote from the legislation “Prohibits the expenditure of Federal funds to any organization which presents male or female homosexuality as an acceptable alternative life style or which suggest that it can be an acceptable life style.” shows that he is unequivocally opposed to lifestyles other than heterosexual.
8. Ron Paul has an unnatural obsession with guns. One of Paul’s loudest gripes is that the second amendment of the constitution is being eroded. In fact, he believes that September 11 would not have happened if that wasn’t true. He advocates for there to be no restrictions on personal ownership of semi-automatic weaponry or large capacity ammunition feeding devices, would repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act (because we all know our schools are just missing more guns), wants guns to be allowed in our National Parks, and repeal the Gun Control Act of 1968. Now, I’m pretty damn certain that when the Constitution was written our founding fathers never intended for people to be walking around the streets with AK47′s and “large capacity ammunition feeding devices.” (That just sounds scary.) Throughout the years our Constitution has been amended and is indeed a living document needing changes to stay relevant in our society. Paul has no problem changing the Constitution when it fits his needs, such as no longer allowing those born in the US to be citizens if their parents are not. On the gun issue though he is no holds barred. I know he’s from Texas but really, common sense tells us that the amendments he is seeking to repeal have their place. In fact, the gun control act was put into place after the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy. Please view the following links: H.R.2424, H.R.1897, H.R.1096, H.R.407, H.R.1147, and H.R.3892.
9. Ron Paul would butcher our already sad educational system. The fact is that Ron Paul wants to privatize everything and that includes education. Where we run into problems is that it has been shown (think our current health care system) that this doesn’t work so well in practice. Ron Paul has introduced legislation that would keep the Federal Government “from planning, developing, implementing, or administering any national teacher test or method of certification and from withholding funds from States or local educational agencies that fail to adopt a specific method of teacher certification.” In a separate piece of legislation he seeks to “prohibit the payment of Federal Education assistance in States which require the licensing or certification of private schools or private school teachers.” So basically the federal government can’t regulate teaching credentials and if states opt to require them for private schools they get no aid. That sounds like a marvelous idea teachers with no certification teaching in private schools that are allowed to discriminate on the basis of race. He is certainly moving forward with these proposals!Remember his “bill to strengthen the American family and promote the virtues of family life.” or H.R.7955? Guess what? He basically advocates for segregation in schools once again. It “Forbids any court of the United States from requiring the attendance at a particular school of any student because of race, color, creed, or sex.” Without thinking about this statement it doesn’t sound bad at all. But remember, when desegregating schools that this is done by having children go to different schools, often after a court decision as in Brown Vs. Board of Education. If this were a bill that passed, schools would no longer be compelled to comply and the schools would go back to segregation based on their locations. Ron Paul is really starting to look like a pretty bigoted guy don’t you think?
10. Ron Paul is opposed to the separation of church and state. This reason is probably behind every other thing that I disagree with in regards to Paul’s positions. Ron Paul is among those who believes that there is a war on religion, he stated “Through perverse court decisions and years of cultural indoctrination, the elitist, secular Left has managed to convince many in our nation that religion must be driven from public view.” (( Koyaanisqatsi Blog: Wrong Paul Why I Do Not Want Ron Paul to be My President )) Though he talks a good talk, at times, Ron Paul can’t get away from his far right, conservative views. He would support “alternative views” to evolution taught in public schools (i.e. Intelligent Design.) We’ve already taken a look at his “bill to strengthen the American family and promote the virtues of family life.” or H.R.7955Besides hating the gays he takes a very religious stance on many other things. He is attempting to force his beliefs on the rest of America, exactly what he would do as president.
So there you have it, my 10 reasons not to vote for Ron Paul. Please take the time to thoroughly review the records of the people running for office so you know where they really stand. Ron Paul has good rhetoric and he opposes the war but he’s not a good man in the human rights sense of the phrase. He is pretty much like every other Republican but more insidious. Here is a video that you should watch after reading this article. Really listen to what he says and how he says it. Watch out for the sneaky ones and RESEARCH! ((Orcinus: Ron Paul’s Record in Congress ))
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 5:23PM From the Young Democrats of America:
This year YDA will not only celebrate its 80th anniversary but will also engage in what is surely one of the most important election cycles of our lifetime. To help lead us in this effort, I am excited to announce that Emily Tisch Sussman has been named Executive Director of the Young Democrats of America. She will officially begin with YDA on February 7 and will be charged with overseeing the organization's more than 1,500 chapters and 150,000 members across the country.
If you had one piece of advice to offer Emily as she takes on this new role, what would it be? Leave a message for Emily on our blog welcoming her to the organization or providing feedback on ways in which she can help strengthen the progressive youth movement.
Emily (Twitter: @EmilyYDA) comes to YDA prepared to hit the ground running on day one. For the past three years, she worked on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” serving as co-government affairs director for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Among other responsibilities, she designed a hugely successful online campaign urging young people to contact their U.S. Senators and demand they vote for repeal.
A New York City native and graduate of Skidmore College and Cardozo Law School, Emily founded and served as president of Think Blue while still attending school. The unique model allowed young New Yorkers the chance to have a voice in the political process by encouraging political candidates to meet and spend time with young people at affordable events.
Please join me in welcoming Emily and offering your thoughts on the future of the Young Democrats of America.
YDA has tremendous opportunities in 2012 as we work to ensure that young voters play a pivotal role in electing Democrats throughout the country. Few people understand the power of the Millennial Generation as well as Emily, and we are very fortunate to have her join our organization.
Sincerely,
Rod Snyder
President
Young Democrats of America
Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 10:03PM 
Robert TaylorRobert Taylor, senior at Lakeside High School, has been named Young Democrat of the Month by the Young Democrats of Arkansas. Taylor, who is responsible for launching and leading the Garland County Young Democrats, currently serves as the youngest member of the Garland County Central Committee.
Taylor is a member of the Lakeside Student Council, a member of Leadership Hot Springs Partnership with Youth Class 17, a starting member of the Lakeside High School Varsity Soccer team and a member of the Youth Advisory Council to the Greater Hot Springs Community Foundation. In the fall of 2012, Taylor will attend Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. He is the son of Michelle Strause and Anthony Taylor.
The Progress of the Garland County Young Democrats under Robert's Direction:
"Since its inception in August of 2011, the Young Democrats of Arkansas Garland County Chapter has taken the approach of spreading the ideals of the Democratic Party through community outreach.
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 1:12PM Yelling at your constituents when you disagree with them is always a horrible idea. Also, yelling at them so that they will refrain from asking you a question that you can't honestly answer without sounding like you're deviating from the unfortunate platform that you have to embrace just to stay in office is pathetic. Arkansans are tired of being overlooked. They want real leadership. So far, Congressman Womack is failing the people of this state. What's worse is that he doesn't seem to know it.
We can do better than this. We SHOULD do better than this.
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Kelly Eubanks, a college student who holds down two jobs, asked Womack how in the world he could support reduction in federal Pell Grants for education. He tried to shush her and talk over her — and his acolytes and punks joined his suppression tactics — but she would not be shushed and calmly persisted.
If we're lucky, some local TV stations will have YouTube film before too long. From Blue Arkansas:
She went to her Congressman’s town hall (something Womack rarely holds) to ask why he voted to cut the pell grants she depends on to go to school but wouldn’t cut oil subsidies. According to Kelley and a handful of other witnesses, Womack happily retorted that it wasn’t the federal government’s job to pay for education (he’s doing this in a college town mind you) and then quickly added that he paid for his education by joining the military, apparently suggesting that the mom of two do the same and totally oblivious I guess to the fact that it was, in fact, the federal government that paid for his education then. Well Womack tried to skirt the rest of Ms. Eubanks question and she proceeded to try and get him to address the discrepancy she pointed out. Well at this point, according to Kelly and several other people that were in the room, Womack blew a gasket.
He skirted the rest of my question and I called him out on it.. he ended up getting pissed off.. and screaming at me.. “are you going to be quiet and listen”
According to Kelly, some of his aides came up and tried to get the mike from her, but she held her ground and kept her cool, insisting her congressman answer her question. Following being shouted at by Womack and told to “be quiet and listen” like a good little girl, Kelly had to put up with some of the usual Rethuglican sleaze telling her to get a job, even after she told them she had two. (They’ve continued this on Womack’s facebook page.)
Womack's Democratic opponent, Ken Aden, said on Facebook: "If EVER there was an indicator of where Womack stands, this is it. He also said that if constituents don't like the way he votes, then vote him out. Well, 2012 we will do just that." In a later news release, he termed Womack's behavior "arrogance and pretentiousness run amok."
Sarah Sparkman will always be woman of the year to me!
