Newt Gingrich a scoundrel and rogue

Newt Gingrich says he was paid $60,000 per speech. Even though he had been speaker of the House during the Clinton / Lewinsky years, and gained a lot of publicity (Newt was also having lots of sex with various Washington groupies), Newt is not worth $60,000 per speech. Newt was influence-peddling and lobbying for private investors. He even accepted a $500,000 credit from Tiffanys to get Tiffanys business inside the DC beltway. He can not be trusted with our money. Newt Gingrich will sell-out in a minute if he can make a buck. Newt had been caught many times in the 1990's lying to cover up his greed and financial abuse of public funds. Newt was caught taking money intended for inner-city youth, and converting it for his private enrichment. Newt was caught writing over $100,000 in fake checks to the congressional bank. No, Newt Gingrich is an untrustworthy liar and, at this time in history, could bring America to its knees by funneling money abroad. Finally, for anyone who knows me, I am a defender of women. I can not forgive Newt for asking his wife for a divorce as she laid in a hospital dying of cancer, so her could marry his mistress. Newt is not loyal or a supporter - he thinks only of himself. For Newt, to hell with the wife, kids and vows ("in sickness and in health").

Afghanistan abuse of women

Kabul (CNN) -- The ordeal of Gulnaz did not simply begin and end with the physical attack of her rape. The rape began a years-long nightmare of further pain, culminating in an awful choice she must now make.
Even two years later, Gulnaz remembers the smell and state of her rapist's clothes when he came into the house when her mother left for a brief visit to the hospital.
"He had filthy clothes on as he does metal and construction work. When my mother went out, he came into my house and he closed doors and windows. I started screaming, but he shut me up by putting his hands on my mouth," she said.
The rapist was her cousin's husband.
After the attack, she hid what happened as long as she could. But soon she began vomiting in the mornings and showing signs of pregnancy. It was her attacker's child.
In Afghanistan, this brought her not sympathy, but prosecution. Aged just 19, she was found guilty by the courts of sex outside of marriage -- adultery -- and sentenced to twelve years in jail.
Now inside Kabul's Badam Bagh jail, she and her child are serving her sentence together.
I started screaming, but he shut me up by putting his hands on my mouth
Gulnaz
Sitting with the baby in her lap, her face carefully covered, she explains the only choice she has that would end her incarceration.
The only way around the dishonor of rape, or adultery in the eyes of Afghans, is to marry her attacker. This will, in the eyes of some, give her child a family and restore her honor.
Incredibly, this is something that Gulnaz is willing to do.
"I was asked if I wanted to start a new life by getting released, by marrying this man", she told CNN in an exclusive interview. "My answer was that one man dishonored me, and I want to stay with that man."
Tending to her daughter in the jail's cold, she added: "My daughter is a little innocent child. Who knew I would have a child in this way. A lot of people told me that after your daughter's born give it to someone else, but my aunt told me to keep her as proof of my innocence."
Gulnaz's choice is stark. Women in her situation are often killed for the shame their ordeal has brought the community. She is at risk, some say, from her attacker's family.
We found Gulnaz's convicted rapist in a jail across town. While he denied raping her, he agreed that she would likely be killed if she gets out of jail. But he insists that it will be her family, not his, that will kill her, "out of shame."
Whether threatened by his family or hers, for now, jail may be the safest place for her.
Shockingly, Gulnaz's case is common in Afghanistan.
CNN asked a spokesman for the prosecutor to comment on the case. The reply was that there were hundreds such cases and the office would need time to look into it.
I was asked if I wanted to start a new life by getting released, by marrying this man
Gulnaz
But Gulnaz's plight has found international attention because of a dispute between the European Union and a team of documentary makers hired to report on women's rights in Afghanistan.
The documentary makers filmed a lengthy report on Gulnaz and other women, showing her talking openly about her fate. They showed the film to the EU, who were paying for it as part of a project on female rights here. After viewing it, the EU decided to spike the project.
The EU said it was concerned about the safety of the women in the film: they could be identified and might face reprisals. The filmmakers however suspect -- citing an email leaked from the EU delegation -- that the EU might also be motivated by its sensitive relationship with Afghan justice institutions, since he film shows the Afghan justice system in a very unflattering light.
The leaked email says: "The delegation also has to consider its relations with [Afghan] Justice institutions in connection with the other work that it is doing in the sector."
The EU Ambassador to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, rejected any political motivation in asking for the film not to be shown.
"What I am concerned about is that situation of the women. About the security and well being, that's of paramount importance, the key criteria according to which I, as representative of the European Union will judge," said the ambassdor.
Under Afghan law, Gulnaz has been judged an adulterer. Despite the ongoing dispute over her story, her predicament has not changed. She faces the hideous choice of 12 years in jail or marriage to her rapist and risk death. It's a marriage she says she'll accept, so her child can continue to have a mother.

Middle East Caution

We must all face the probability that Iran, Iraq, China, or others will develop and hold nuclear weapons in the near future. The materials can be made, stolen or bought. The idea of using nuclear weapons was more remote in years past. But, when President Bush invaded the Middle East and used bombs, targeting "enemies," but also injuring non-enemy civilians, the picture changed. People never forget when a family member is killed. It may be 10 or 30 years, For some the pain is carried for generations. Hatred and anger unites the groups and covered by the cloak of "God's will," the threat will remain for generations.

Middle Eastern Islamic countries do not support the US way of life. In the Middle East, women can be beaten, jailed, and even killed for not being veiled and cloaked. Women can be burned or have acid thrown in their face. Why is it good to have women covered head-to-toe with cloth? Because they look less like humans. They appear to all look alike. It is a way of conveying that the women mean little and need to keep their ideas covered. Some may feel that the women are evil or devilish, so the coverings keep the demons inside and do not allow them to get out to infect others. I saw a family with an older mother, probably age 50's, at the dinner table. The older woman had to wear a lot of garb over her head and cover her mouth. Just navigating the food, without creating a mess, seemed difficult to me. Naturally, the woman said it was good to wear this garb and that she was honored. Did she have a choice? Older women, who are not supported by a male are thrown into the streets to beg. Naturally, with a lot of women, totally covered begging on the streets, they are easy victims for crime and abuse. Women can never go against the male of the household - she can be killed (and I mean stoned) and beaten. Freedom and choice are not welcome in the Middle East. We in America must recognize these differences and continue to protect our American freedoms and way of life.

Libya now wants Sharia law, tents, and for men to have as many as four wives. The killing of Qaddafi was a disgrace. Yes, Qaddafi was a miserable person, and his sons were raised in a similar manner, but I believe in human honor and rights. No human should ever die in that animalistic manner. Many Middle Eastern Muslims believe in mob beatings, and killing those who do not follow Muslim beliefs. Qaddafi's final moments will be a part of American shame. I expect many others are suffering in Libya right now - but we hear no words. We Americans are different and I say "Remember la Difference!!!" Americans are short-sighted. The Middle East looks to the future, the distant future, for their final goals. We must be vigilant and stand firm for American values, ideals, and the American way of life. Women must be especially active in protecting our liberties. We must ensure our money is going towards freedom-loving countries who we will work with as partners for hundreds of years to come.

Republicans angry at minorities and women

(CNN) -- Campus Republicans at the University of California Berkeley have cooked up a storm of controversy with their plans for a bake sale.

But it's not your everyday collegiate fundraiser they've got in mind. They've developed a sliding scale where the price of the cookie or brownie depends on your gender and the color of your skin.

During the sale, scheduled for Tuesday, baked goods will be sold to white men for $2.00, Asian men for $1.50, Latino men for $1.00, black men for $0.75 and Native American men for $0.25. All women will get $0.25 off those prices.

"The pricing structure is there to bring attention, to cause people to get a little upset," Campus Republican President Shawn Lewis, who planned the event, told CNN-affiliate KGO. "But it's really there to cause people to think more critically about what this kind of policy would do in university admissions."

Lewis says it's a way to make a statement about pending legislation that would let the California universities consider race or national origin during the admission process.

But the young Republicans have been on the receiving end of a fierce backlash. Reaction has been so negative they've been forced to cancel their customary lunchtime tabling duties, according to KGO.

Lewis told CNN's Don Lemon that they expected a certain amount of opposition but not the level of outrage they experienced.

"We didn't expect the volume, the amount of response that we got," Lewis said. "In the first few hours, hundreds of posts on our Facebook page. And the tone of some of the responses -- we expected people to be upset. We didn't expect personal threats to be made. They were implicit and explicit threats made to the organizers of the event, from burning down the table to throwing our baked goods at us and other kinds of physical threats."

Tim Wise, author of the book "White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son," calls the bake sale a "sarcastic and rather smarmy slap at people of color."

"There are a lot of ways to make a point about your disagreement with affirmative action," Wise told Lemon Saturday night.

"I get the joke," he continued. "How very original. It's been done for 15 years. The point that I think needs to be made ... is that by the time anyone steps on a college campus ... there has already been 12- to 13-years of institutionalized affirmative action for white folks, that is to say, racially embedded inequality, which has benefited those of us who are white. And it's only at the point of college admissions that these folks seem to get concerned with color consciousness."

Lewis insists, however, that Campus Republicans will go ahead with their bake sale and are committed to their controversial pricing structure.

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COMMENT: The irony is that Asians have for years out-performed whites in placement testing. So, more Asians would have gone to their first-choice schools, if not for racial bias which limited the Asian admissions. 

Blacks have been excluded from quality education at all grade levels for over 200 years. The civil rights movement was able to change laws in the sixties, but racial hatred and discrimination persisted - and continues to this present day. Blacks will need at least three generations of education security to reduce the damage done by slavery, systematic exclusion and institutionalized racism. I feel it will take until 2055 to eliminate the imposed educational achievement gap and special race considerations and assurances will be needed for approximately fifty more years.

As we get closer to 2055, whites will feel all of the damage is gone and feel jealous that Blacks have an "educational advantage." Learning, education and cultural development goes deep - cytoplasmic. It can not be rushed.  Many Blacks are still caught in the web on the 1950's. Their cytoplasm is still untouched. Reversing the evils of the past will produce benefits in the future for all Americans and is necessary. As you enjoy the TV show "Pan Am" today, remember those glorious Pan Am days depict a time when Black women we not allowed to work as a stewardess, Black males were allowed to be porters or skycaps. I imagine Black women were allowed to be janitors. Blacks were forced into the lower class and, for most Blacks, education was not a reality. White universities would not accept more than a few Blacks as students and most Blacks were educated at segregated institutions. Yes, this was America. Don't forget US history just because you are at Berkeley.  

Just as current adults are leaving a debt for our children's children, the adults of early American created a huge debt for you and your children to pay off. No one wants to pay their debts. But, they must be paid, and once paid, all is well in the US again.



Example: Consider the life if racism and obstruction incurred by First-lady Michelle Obama: Luckily, she was smart and succeeded. http://womensissues.about.com/od/influentialwomen/p/MichelleObama.htm
Consider her generation 1, her children are generation 2,and their children will be generation 3.

Goodwin Announces Run For Congress

Goodwin Announces Run for Congress

AAAH! The ignorant spew racism and hate in the newspaper - it must be election time again in the valley. 

As the old-time Madera bigots regurgitate their frothy, green fowl-smelling words and accusations filled with hate, they hope to keep minorities and women out of elected office.  They offer no answers for our global problems, just attacks for attempting to make the Central Valley a better place.

We must prepare our children to recognize that smiles and head nods can bring a continuation of suppression and joblessness.  Only true INCLUSION will make the valley a better place. As a teacher, I want to reassure our Central Valley kids that these "haters" should not deter you from running for any elected office you wish to pursue. Much like the idiots we have in Congress now, who speak in TV sound bites and regurgitate party lines, they only serve to act as a blockade, but offer no real hope or ideas for the future. They only show up for fundraising parties. 

I hope no one will feel losing an election, especially when you are not a professional politician, is a bad thing. Denham, my opponent, had been in state office for over ten years. He had several fully staffed offices and banked funds. I, in contrast, was in my first big election and had no local Democratic structure. I was expected to lose, but I was learning. Losing was not a bad thing. The only bad things are: not showing up when we have our elections; not expressing your views in a civil,honest, respectful and intelligent way; and not voting for the best candidate, regardless of race or gender. I hope in the near future, we will be able to elect a minority representative to Congress in the Central Valley. We have had only white congressmen representing us for over two hundred years and the valley needs help. Old water wars still rage on and money is slipped under the table. 

United we are stronger. I am seeking to build communities in Madera and Merced that value diversity, compassion, and inclusion. I want the people in the valley to value education and the positive future changes it can bring. 

I was able to help integrate the Madera Unified school board, and we now have 5 of the 7 board seats filled by Hispanics. Due to “white flight,” MUSD has had a 60% to 80% Hispanic student population for many years with high dropout, suspension and expulsion rates and a wide achievement gap. A costly failing system. We needed better representation on the board by parents of children who are most affected by the school district. 

In 2007, my first year in office, I was able to create the MUSD Farm-to-School Program which ensures Madera kids enjoy the valley agricultural produce on a regular basis at school. I had to fight hard to create the Farm-to-School Program because the superintendent was against it. It is now a tremendous success. I hope in the future many more people will decide to run for a school board position - political office is NOT meant to be a career. 

The “haters” want to keep us all out of office, regardless of our qualifications, demean our efforts towards UNITY, COMPASSION and INCLUSION, and keep minorities divided. I know we can and will do better for our Central Valley communities in 2012. UNITED WE ARE BETTER!! We must encourage our kids to seek higher education. As we all know from 9/11, hatred kills.

For my supporters, 64,000 strong, yes, I will run for Congress again and you can follow me and contribute via www.ActBlue.com or via my website: www.drgoodwin.info. Remember:register to vote.

Dr. Loraine Goodwin, M.D.,J.D

Physician, Attorney Arbitrator, Hearing Officer, Teacher, Role Model for Kids

Candidate Congress 2012

Jeff Debham Says Can Not Debate or Discuss Issues...Can Not Think...Not Fit For Congress

Jeff Denham told the Fresno League of Women Voters he can not debate - so, the debate between candidate Dr. Loraine Goodwin and Jeff Denham was cancelled.


Debates and discussions on issues and relevant topics are necessary. Often debates and discussions can lead to other topics and eventually lead to solutions. As a physician, we always had medical meetings to discuss medical puzzles and it frequently led to lists of alternative treatments or possible rare diagnoses.

Debates and discussions about issues are for thinkers. It is great to think "on your feet" and experience the "give and take" and excitement of a good debate. Jeff Denham says he can not discuss or debate issues. He is too pitiful for Congress. I can't imagine a person who can not debate or discuss issues in Congress at all. Why would someone want him in Congress except as a puppet or toy?

As a current elected official, Denham has been overspending for 8 years and has never experienced a balanced budget. Jeff Denham has left California with the largest debt and lowest credit rating of all 50 states. He would ruin Congress with his lack of accounting and budget skills. Now, he say he can't debate or discuss issues either? What is he thinking? Or probably, he is not thinking at all.

Anyone who would vote for Jeff Denham after these and other bizarre antics, is asking for abuse and failure.