BILLBOARD News Now
Pact with the Devil
(Editor’s note: Dr. Jorea Marple, a nationally recognized educator and author based in West Virginia offers her view of what is occurring in Congress and the country. This guest commentary deserves serious thought.)
Has Congress just become a collection of Faust like characters? Have they made a pact with the Devil trading their souls for unlimited worldly pleasures and power? Have they sacrificed spiritual values for earthly gains?
What other reason can it be for turning one’s heart and head from the endless atrocities reaped on this country and world by the Trump administration? Is America still the Home of the Free and the Brave or the Home of the Possessed and Frightened who sacrifice essential values for short-term power with disastrous consequences.
I’m a senior citizen who lives in West Virginia. Every day I wake up, read the headline news and commiserate with friends “that there is nothing we can do about what is happening in this country.” Everyday the news is grimmer, but few people do anything to actively change what is happening. I wonder if we no longer believe in the words of the great poet Emily Dickenson, who urged us not to lose our sense of alarm, of dismay of shock.
Historians still grapple with the Nazi phenomenon and what we should learn from it? The similarities between the rise of Nazi Germany and what is happening in America cannot be discounted or overlooked. Just like the Germans in Nazi Germany, Americans in Trump’s Make American Great Again fall into the same categories: 1.) Many have joined the Trump Tribal Movement early on and can’t seem to distance themselves from their original commitment, not wanting to be seen as having made a mistake; 2.) Many are just afraid of the regime, the intimidation and retribution that may come their way if they resist the movement; 3.) Many, like me, have an overwhelming perception of powerlessness, and 4.) Despite the risks, there are a growing number of individuals and groups who are willing to act.
The need to act has never been more important to the survival of our Democracy. The repeating of what happened in the 1930s and 1940s in Nazi Germany is here and now.
The People must give Congress the courage to act, to resist fear of what might happen to their personal power and stand up to preserve the rights provided by our Constitution.
I don’t know the number, but I imagine a sizeable percentage of the members of Congress had fathers and mothers who fought in World War II. They fought against Hitler’s Gestapo that victimized vast numbers of people through intimidation, retribution and murder.
It only takes one “leader in the right place and in the majority party” to stand up for injustice.
Perhaps our two Republican WV Senators could find courage to begin a movement based on intellectualism and not fear and intimidation. Both had fathers who defended Democracy and fought against the spreading threat of Nazism.
Senator Jim Justice, a recently elected Republican member of Congress, often tells the story of his father, James, Sr. a graduate of Purdue and an Air Force Captain in WWII, who was willing to give his life to fight against the spread of Nazism and Hitler’s Gestapo. James, Sr. co-founded Ranger Fuel in early 1960s and sold it in 1969 for $70 million ($485 million in today’s money). He then formed Bluestone Coal in McDowell County and Sen. Justice worked for his father for two decades. At 19 Sen. Justice went into his father’s office with a problem. He said to his father, ‘Dad there’s nothing I can do, ‘and all of a sudden, the desk explodes and he grabbed me around my shirt and slammed me down against that desk and said, ‘Damn you, there’s always something you can do, and you damn well better always remember that’.
Senator Shelly Moore Capito’s father, Governor Arch Moore, was a decorated WWII combat veteran in the infantry. He fought in Europe and was severely wounded and left for dead. He earned the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Governor Moore also served in the US. Congress often voicing his commitment to the service of people. He voted for the Civil Right Act of 1957, 1960, 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act 1965. Governor Moore would not have supported a “Gestapo,” masked and armed ICE “officers, who are terrorizing, victimizing and murdering people in our cities. Governor Moore would never condone the actions of all who associate with or participated in the attack on our Capitol on January 6, 2021.
I was a teacher and an educator for my entire professional life. Every day, in every classroom the Pledge of Allegiance was recited:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation Under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.
Now is the time for all members of Congress to take to heart and act upon the words: One Nation Under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
Use icons and envelope above to forward this post to your friends.
Follow us on Twitter (X), Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook or Threads.
Republicans Are on Probation
Karl Rove, The Architect, has guided Republicans to office from the courthouse to the White House. His weekly column in The Wall Street Journal offers an overview of this week’s midterm election. Then numbers are fascinating. More importantly he tells his follow...
Observations
Governor Manchin must & will watch his votes carefully as Senator-elect. The 2012 Senate election started last night. The forthcoming lame duck session presents some problems. We will see more Tea Party members taking an active role in Republican affairs –...
Obama Should Listen to Mitt Romney
An unexpected Op Ed authored by Governor Romney appeared in The Washington Post this morning. No doubt everyone needs a break from politics. However, the counsel being offered by Mitt Romney should be heeded by President Obama, current Members of Congress and those...
Election Day…Tidbits
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE…..here is a pick up from POLITICO yesterday…..just had to pass this along…..Boehner is going to make a great Speaker…..this could set the tone which starts tomorrow….. House Republican Leader John Boehner plans to hammer President Obama tonight...
Political Tidbits….End is near
Midterm election excitement is growing…..but not because of the election….but the end of it…..readers have emailed…..what can be done about all the nasty TV ads…..the answer is…..end our democracy. Look for a nasty polarized Congress after November…..it appears the...
Postpone The Next Two Years
With only eight days until we know the outcome (we hope) of the 2010 midterm elections the national news organizations are beginning to discuss Obama’s days after the election. The Caucus, a politics and government blog of The Times, suggest President may want to...
Updated…Political Tidbits
Speaker In Waiting….House Republican leader John Boehner told AP Obama must signal a willingness to work with Republicans to cut spending…..if he expects to work with the new Congress….”Cutting government spending is what the American people want, and it’s an approach...
Second Term?
President Obama in my view could never get a second term. That was until yesterday. He has presided over an “Administration of Failure.” The policies he pursued after taking office have been rejected by voters from the beginning. Even so he has continued on message...
Political Tidbits…18 Days
Everyone is fixated on the polls…..they change everyday…..but what does not change is the importance of turnout…..that is where elections are won…..equally important Governor Underwood used to say is timing. 18 days to go…..small movements matter…..battleground...
Obama’s Untraceable Donations
Think back two years when the Barack Obama presidential campaign allowed donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards to contribute. See this 2008 link to get the details. After reading the 2008 story you would wonder why President Obama would bring up...
How Big A Government?
If your not a Washington Post Sunday reader this piece may be of interest as November 2nd and the 2012 election approaches.
Political Tidbits
In some ways the current U. S. Senate race resembles 1978…..Senator Jennings Randolph was challenged by two term Governor Arch Moore…..Randolph won by 4,717 votes…..Manchin like Randolph stays in close touch with West Virginia families and communities. As the mid-term...
BILLBOARD Archives
Tidbits & politics…from home
RANDOLPH COUNTY…..Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito was dynamite last night…..the headline speaker at the Lincoln Day Dinner…..best job ever…..talked with enthusiasm for November…..Joe Manchin’s hands would really be full if she had entered the race. Carolyn Jackson...
Political Tidbits
WHAT A WEEK…..John Raese moves ahead in poll put out by a Democratic leaning NC firm…..was this a ploy to motivate the Democrat base…..if so the opposite happened…..the poll lit a fire of enthusiasm among WV Republicans…..they increased nasty “Media Alerts”…..not to...
Ballot Lawsuit Coming?
The PHILLIPSBILLBOARD.COM Sunday called attention to the single ballot planned for WV’s November election. It suggested Republicans should be concerned. At this point Governor Manchin and Republican John Raese should be concerned. They should step forward and...
Republicans Take Note
When George Allen was coach of the Washington Redskins he coined the phrase “the future is now.” In government the past should not be forgotten but “the future is now.” David Brooks in today’s NYT offers Republicans a thoughtful view about the future.
Polticial Tidbits…from Charleston & Football Game
Political Tidbits….. Three days in Charleston…a high powered football game in Huntington…..an evening in Roane County…..at Bob and Anita Ashley’s home honoring Shelley Moore Capito….offers a lot of Political Tidbits. Charleston talk….. impact of the Rasmussen poll on...
Obama’s Economic Mess
Most of us wonder what the economic plan of President Obama is. Two recent stories in The Washington Post confirms what we all expected – there is no plan or if there is it changes every day. This theme is captured by Michael Gerson on September lst. That same day...
Political Tidbits
Labor Day…..the traditional start of political campaigns…..came early…..candidates have been going full blast for months…..early bird gets the worm? Even county Republican organizations are opening headquarters earlier than usual…..remember these are not normal...
Gallup Finds Times Changing
Earlier I wrote about these not being normal times. Our “moving vacation”, as I like to call it, has ended. Today I spent catching up on my political newsletters. I found an item on POLITICO from a Gallup weekly tracking report. It reports an historic midterm...
Manchin Raese Race Heats Up
These are not normal times. A Rasmussen poll taken after Saturday’s special primary election reveals a close race developing for the U. S. Senate seat of the late Senator Byrd. It appears the big factor is the “drag of Barrack Obama” is having on Governor...
Manchin’s Challenges
After Saturday’s election I have had time to reflect on the forthcoming November election while completing a driving vacation. You may recall a Rasmussen survey in July where seventy-one percent (71%) of West Virginia voters approved of the job Governor Manchin is...
Coming To The USA?
Healthcare reform continues to drive the mid-term elections and the down fall of President Obama. While traveling I had an opportunity to read the comments of the new president of the Canadian Medical Association. He appears to be sounding the alarm of what to...
Morning After Reading
Thought I would share some of my morning reading. It will not cheer our Democratic readers and Republicans should not cheer too soon. Along time ago it was said “a day is a year in politics”. House Democrats, already facing a perilous midterm landscape, wake up this...