Is your doctor a bigot? Is your physician prejudiced against you...because you are black...white...Hispanic...Asian...a Native American Indian...or a member of any other racial group? Is your medical provider antisemitic - is he or she...a Jew hater? Is the M.D. you are trusting to care for you...a homophobe - does he or she despise gays and lesbians? Is the doctor you go to...not at all interested in helping you to better your health because you are overweight...or obese? Do you have a suspicion that your general practitioner or specialist isn't giving you his or her full attention...and the best care or treatment...possibly because you're part of any minority...because you practice any religious faith... because your family heritage stems from any ethnic background...because you are a Democrat and he or she is a Republican...or visa versa...or for any political reason? Is your surgeon or other medical healer not helping you because - for whatever the reason - you are in any large or small way...different from him or her?
If the answer to any of the questions above...is yes...then you're not alone. According to a variety of published reports - only a few of which I have referenced in this commentary - studies show that some doctors - and I do say only some - are similar to some other people in the world. They can be bigots. They can be prejudiced. They can be haters.
However...the American Medical Association's Code of Medical Ethics clearly prohibits doctors from refusing to treat patients because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason that is recognized by the laws of the United States of America...as discrimination. But the AMA says that any physician may refuse to provide services if it opposes the doctor's "moral beliefs." CNN has found that some doctors refuse to treat patients because the person's needs - as in the case of prescribing birth control - conflict with the physician's religious thinking.
According to a survey by the University of California at San Francisco... some doctors won't treat certain minorities - including gay men - and that "personal bias affects attitudes."
Studies from Yale University show that fifty percent of doctors find that obese patients are "awkward, ugly, weak-willed and unlikely to comply with treatment" and, therefore, many of these physicians will not treat individuals whose weight is - according to a word used in the survey..."repulsive."
But unlike other people who you may associate with...your doctors are supposed to be caring for your health and well-being...and he or she - according to the laws of our land - should in no way judge you because of who you are...what you are...where you come from...or what you believe in.
All that being said...the Associated Press reports that some PATIENTS... refuse treatment...by a doctor or nurse...of another race or religion. Unfortunately...and sadly...bigotry works both sides of the street.
It's a shame that some doctors will ignore the needs you require medically because of a prejudice against you. But it's equally a shame that some patients...are as ignorant...as some doctors.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication
of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B.
Duglin. The
Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.
Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as
well.Please post
The Controversy site on your own Facebook pages and on your Twitter accounts;
and please pass a link to everyone in your e-mail directories.
Now, please express your opinions in
the comment box below. You do not have to register your name and you can remain
totally anonymous if you prefer. The Controversy wants to know your views on
the editorial above and on any other commentary or essay written on this blog.
Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that
appears. Make sure please that when you finish your statement that you click on
the word "Publish." Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for reading The
Controversy. Copyright 2014 Gary B. Duglin and
TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
After reading the following commentary about 24...please also read my post-script at the
end of this column about the loss of actor, James Garner.
Are you as big a fan as I am of the television show 24? Perhaps you're an even bigger fan. Well, whether you love 24 and its lead character, Jack Bauer - starring the phenomenal Emmy Award winning Kiefer Sutherland - as much as I do...or even more...I'm curious if you "hate" what the writers and producers of the longtime Fox series did for the conclusion of the Season 9 finale. Oh yes, I used the "H" word - which I generally don't like to do. But if you didn't watch 24 on Monday, July 14th, 2014 and recorded it for future viewing then WARNING... WARNING...THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT, so don't read any further until after you see the show. But if you have already seen 24's cliffhanger program from last Monday night then perhaps you will agree with me that the end of 24: Live Another Day - also known as Day 9...which was set four years after the events of the 8th Season - was very, very disappointing.
First of all...unless - for some strange reason - an actor wants off a television series...show creators, writers, producers and directors should never, never write-out a likeable character...with death. One of my other all-time favorite television series - Dallas - did it on May 17th, 1985...at the end of Season 8...when Patrick Duffy wanted to leave the show. Patrick's character - the lovable and altruistic, Bobby Ewing - was killed when executives of the the top-rated series had Bobby run over by a speeding car. However...for die-hard Dallas fans - or most anybody else - you'll likely
remember that the late, great Larry Hagman - a superstar as Bobby's older brother, J.R. Ewing and an executive producer of Dallas - was able to convince Patrick to return to the show at the end of Season 9 - one year later - on May
16th 1986...when Bobby appears in a shower...alive and well. In the Season 10 premiere on September 26, 1986...Bobby's death - and all of Season 9 - would be revealed as a bad dream by Bobby's wife - Pamela Barnes Ewing... played by
Victoria Principal - and everything that happened during that year of shows...never really happened. Therefore, nothing from Season 9 could ever be referred to in future shows because Bobby was dead throughout that year.
As for 24...to kill the daughter of the President of the United States - Audrey Heller Raines Boudreau - was terribly upsetting. It made no sense - and given the plot and storyline for 24: Live Another Day - it was not necessary. It was not needed.
You'll recall that during the 24 Day 9 finale...Audrey...portrayed by Kim Raver...was saved...after CIA Agent
Kate Morgan... played by Yvonne Strahovski...shot down a Chinese sniper from a highrise building in London, England. But as Kate and other federal agents were escorting the President's daughter to their vehicle...a second sniper appeared from nowhere and riddled Audrey with bullets. Efforts by Kate to save her were futile...as Audrey died almost instantly...within moments after being shot.
There was no reason whatsoever for Audrey to die. Her shocking murder began an extremely poor closing to a 24 season that could have ended up being awesome.
The topper though was having Jack Bauer having to be traded for the life of his best friend and colleague, Chloe O'Brian...portrayed by Mary Lynn Rajskub. Russian agents had captured Chloe and were holding her hostage... and they would only release her in exchange for Jack. The Russians want Jack back in Moscow - and behind bars - for trying to kill their president several years ago. Sorry. Not good. Been there, done that. Not in Russia...but in China. Writers of 24 have already had Jack in a Chinese prison - tortured by terrorists. Do they plan to do the same thing to Jack, but in a Russian prison? Why? Why? Very, very bad.
Additionally...throughout this season...the incomparable William Devane - as President James Heller - has kept hidden - except for his daughter, Audrey...Jack... and a select few others - that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease...and that the Vice President needs to be told that he will soon take the oath of office as President of the United States. But as the Day 9 Season Finale nears its end...President Heller tells a senior aide that he "won't remember" this day. And - as the President walks along an American flag-draped coffin, as it's being escorted by military pallbearers to Air Force One - Heller says he won't remember the assassination of his daughter.
William Devane - whose brilliant career spans nearly 50 years - is one of Hollywood's finest actors. He's truly one of the best television, motion picture and stage theatre thespians of his generation...or ever. The 24: Live Another Day finale could have left viewers hanging with a raised question...could President Heller have been wrongly diagnosed as a patient with Alzheimer's?
Instead...producers and writers of 24 caused this season finale to have too much finality. The President's daughter - one of the few 24 characters who never gave us reason to be suspicious or hateful towards them - is dead. And in a Season 10 premiere - if there is one - we will be told that President James Heller either resigned because of his poor health...and died...thus he will not return for a new season. Or...President Heller will come back to 24, but as a former Commander-in-Chief who is suffering from Alzheimer's. We - or at least I - don't want to see that. William Devane is too much of an asset to 24...and both he...as an actor...and his character...don't deserve to suffer such a storyline.
For once...I would have preferred and enjoyed a happy ending on 24. This season was jam-packed with high-powered action, a whole lot of fan tension, stress and pressure...that viewers love. But...to close Season 9 with the death of a favorite character and for our hero to be flown off in a helicopter by Russian terrorists...was not what I wanted for 24.
A better ending would have been to have the husband of Audrey Heller Raines Boudreau - who was President Heller's chief of staff, Mark Boudreau - played by Tate Donovan - arrested by the President on charges of treason and to be hauled off by federal agents and military officials - as he was - but then to have Jack Bauer meet up with President Heller and Audrey as the three of them board Air Force One for a trip home to the United States. If the series never airs again...fans of the show would know that their characters go on to live happily ever after. However...if 24 does return next year - or whenever for a 10th Season - it could have picked up from the boarding of Air Force One, but with a new storyline. And if the producers wanted a cliffhanger...and if they wanted to have - for example - Air Force One crash...or a surface to air missile head towards the President's plane...or some other near tragedy to worry us viewers so that we are uncertain as to what will happen next...so be it. But to have Audrey die...and for Jack to again be held hostage...NOPE! It's not what I wanted to see. Killing Audrey was a cruel, emotional plot twist that gave fans of the show...a sucker punch in the gut. And the Russians flying away in a helicopter with Jack in their custody...was just plain bad. I can only hope that the Fox Television Network and the 24 producers - including one of
its executive producers, Kiefer Sutherland - will bring back the show for a 10th Season - if for any other reason...to correct the mistakes they made at the end of Season 9.
And that's The Controversy for today.
A post-script to today's commentary: There's sadness in Hollywood and across America today as a show-business luminary died yesterday, July 19th, 2014. Television and motion picture legend, James Garner passed away in his Brentwood, California home as a result of natural causes at the age of 86.
James Garner was a classy actor who - through an iconic and stellar career of more than 60 years - did not rely on sexual escapades - on camera or off - profanity, drugs, liquor or any trials, tribulations or troubles to take his name to prominence. Jim Garner was an extreme talent - through and through - who used his versatile skills, his wonderful personality and his magnificent charm to take him to the top. His great looks didn't hurt him either.
From Maverick to The Rockford Files...from Murphy's Romance to The Notebook...and much, much more...James Garner will live forever on film as an Emmy Award winning and Oscar nominated superstar. James Garner will be missed...but he will always be remembered as one of the best.
Using the last words that James Garner uttered in one of my favorite movies, The Notebook..."I'll be seeing you." And someday, Jim...we all will.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication
of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B.
Duglin.
The
Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.
Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as
well.
Please post
The Controversy site on your own Facebook pages and on your Twitter accounts;
and please pass a link to everyone in your e-mail directories.
Now, please express your opinions in
the comment box below. You do not have to register your name and you can remain
totally anonymous if you prefer. The Controversy wants to know your views on
the editorial above and on any other commentary or essay written on this blog.
Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that
appears. Make sure please that when you finish your statement that you click on
the word "Publish." Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for reading The
Controversy.
Copyright 2014 Gary B. Duglin and
TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
I could be nice and say that Sarah Palin needs to keep quiet...but with this issue...I'm not in the mood to be nice. Therefore, the former Alaska Governor needs to shut up. Palin needs to keep her vicious and venomous mouth zipped up and closed tight. The former Republican Vice Presidential nominee needs to stop talking about the ridiculous and ludicrous notion of impeaching
President Obama over the matters of Immigration Reform and the President's use of Executive Actions. And most people in the United States agree with me. A new poll by NBC News/The Wall Street Journal and The Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that a majority of Americans want Palin to remain speechless and to hush up on political issues. A whopping 54 percent say they have heard enough babble and stupidity from the Republican know-it-all. That includes about two-thirds of Democrats, more than 50 percent of Independents and nearly four in ten Republicans.
But although the nation's top Republican doesn't want anything to do with Palin's irrational attempt to punch out the President...John Boehner is acting in an unreasonable manner as well. The Speaker of the House wants to sue President Obama and is moving forward with a political stunt by taking The White House to court. With the lawsuit against Mr. Obama...Speaker Boehner is attacking the President for delaying the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act in 2013. Boehner says President Obama exceeded his authorities and in a statement released on Thursday, July 10th, 2014, the House Speaker stated that "The President changed the healthcare law without a vote of Congress, effectively creating his own law by literally waiving the employer mandate and the penalties for failing to comply with it. That's not the way our system of government was designed to work. No President should have the power to make laws on his or her own."
So someone who should be trying to work with the President of the United States to solve problems in our country is instead going to sue him. And a pain in the butt "has-been" who was really never anything at all is pushing to pummel the President with a threat of impeachment.
On Thursday, July 10th, President Obama took to humor when responding to Boehner and Palin's right-wing freak show that is nothing but a comical, asinine joke. "Sue him. Impeach him. Really? Really? For what? You're going to sue me for doing my job?"
Meanwhile, President Obama continues to point the finger and rightfully blame Congress for failing to take action on everything from the minimum wage to immigration. But Speaker Boehner shot back by saying, "He's been President for five and a half years. When's he gonna take responsibility for something?" As for the outrageous lunacy of Sarah Palin to call for the impeachment of President Obama...Boehner - at a press conference on Wednesday, July 9th - was emphatic. "I disagree."
Sarah Palin is a publicity hog who just wants to be on the front pages of the nation's newspapers or the lead story on the morning and evening television network and cable news broadcasts. Palin simply wants to grab headlines and - despite the fact that I'm talking about her in this commentary - the media shouldn't give Palin any more attention. After all, the United States Constitution is clear. A President can only be removed from office "on impeachment for...and conviction of...treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors." And obviously, President Obama isn't guilty of any such things.
When are Republicans going to stop? They went on a wasteful witch-hunt 16 years ago when they attempted to convict President Bill Clinton after an impeachment by the House of Representatives on December 19th, 1998, which was a total and complete farce. Mr. Clinton was acquitted of any wrongdoing by the Senate on February 12th, 1999. It was a multimillion dollar
inquisition without merit by Independent Prosecutor Ken Starr and others who despicably and disgustingly tried to remove President Clinton from office because they believed Mr. Clinton lied under oath about - what they called - "sexual relations" with then-White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
Now I'm not going to re-live a time in our country - more than a decade and a half ago - that should never have been made in to the spectacle that it was...but poll after poll has proved that most people in America don't think that "getting a BJ" is having "sexual relations." It is widely accepted that "sexual relations" or... "having sex"...is intercourse. So there you have it. I've finally used The Controversy to defend the single greatest President the United States of America has had - so far - during my lifetime...and that's President Bill Clinton. And most Americans apparently agree with me...based on the enormous popularity of our 42nd President...more than 13 years after leaving office. Plus...too many surveys and polls have documented that if the U.S. Constitution would allow it...and if Bill Clinton wanted to run for President again - which personally I think he would - he'd win in a landslide. So to impeach him in 1998...was a travesty of justice and a mockery of our court system.
Now...Sarah Palin and some other Republicans are trying to do it again, but for different reasons. Palin and others want to impeach President Obama for - as the President says - "doing my job."
It is obvious that President Obama is frustrated by the actions of Congress - or the lack of actions thereof. The President has made every effort to work with Republicans since he took the oath of office for his first term on January 20th, 2009. Mr. Obama - without question - has bent over backwards and busted his behind to go along with Republicans...and in many cases - when he should have pushed harder to negotiate more for what he wanted...instead of compromising to such a degree - he gave in and gave up too much. That being said, I understand the President needed to do what he did to get certain bills passed - namely his signature piece of legislation - the Affordable Care Act. And as I have stated in this column at other times...I'm grateful to President Obama because - with all my pre-existing conditions - if it wasn't for him...I wouldn't have health insurance.
Since President Obama began his second term - and now a year and a half in to it - the President's eyes have opened up wide. And if it was me...if I was President...I'd be pissed off - in plain English. After all...everything Mr. Obama's trying to do to make our country better...whether it be with higher wages for American workers...to Immigration Reform...to a whole host of other issues...Republicans in Congress are simply slapping the President in his face and telling him that no matter what he wants to do...they are going to say "No."
President Obama has worked his tail off to be a President and a Commander-in-Chief who will do whatever he possibly can do to work hand in hand with Republicans. But the GOP refuses to do a damn thing that will give the President ways to help the people of the United States and to better our nation.
The thought of suing President Obama and the notion of impeaching him is not only preposterous, but disgraceful. Republicans continue to make a great deal of ruckus over the Affordable Care Act when all three branches of the federal government gave it their stamps of approval. "ObamaCare" is the law of the land and it always will be. Republicans need to get a grip...realize and accept...that the United States Supreme Court endorsed the Affordable Care Act and about 20 million Americans who never had - or could not get - health insurance...including me...now have coverage. And tens of millions of more U.S. citizens...will have health insurance in the future...because of "ObamaCare."
Republicans are relentlessly criticizing President Obama for truly no justifiable reasons whatsoever. Get off his back and let the President do his job. And if Speaker Boehner and the Republicans will do their jobs too...the United States of America will move forward in a positive direction.
Republicans have tried over and over and over again to do whatever they can in their hope to make our President fail and to make him look like a failure. President Obama is already a success for reasons too vast and too numerous to detail here. Republicans tried to kill the Affordable Care Act by shutting down the government. That didn't work. The Congress of today would refuse to agree with President Obama on whether the sky is blue. Beyond politics...the far right wing of the Republican Party - and perhaps others - for whatever the reason...seem to despise President Obama. And there's nobody who can convince me differently that a great many in Congress do not want to see absolute success and perfection from a black President. Oh I know a lot of you are going to jump all over me and give me a tremendous amount of flak for saying that, but race is definitely an issue and it's deplorable and reprehensible that they feel that way.
To sue President Obama...along with any discussion about impeaching him...are not only harebrained and reckless thoughts, but nauseating notions.
Enough is enough. Speaker John Boehner and his Republican cronies need to give up their nonsense of a lawsuit against the President. As for Sarah Palin...she needs to pack her bags and go home. Palin is an annoyance and a thorn in the side of most everyone in our country. And nobody...but perhaps some Tea Party fanatics...care about anything she has to say. Go away, Sarah! Your day in the sun has set...and you've been eclipsed by others whose words are worthy...not whining.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication
of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B.
Duglin. The
Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday.
Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as
well.Please post
The Controversy site on your own Facebook pages and on your Twitter accounts;
and please pass a link to everyone in your e-mail directories.
Now, please express your opinions in
the comment box below. You do not have to register your name and you can remain
totally anonymous if you prefer. The Controversy wants to know your views on
the editorial above and on any other commentary or essay written on this blog.
Just click on the word "Comments" below and write your thoughts in the box that
appears. Make sure please that when you finish your statement that you click on
the word "Publish." Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for reading The
Controversy. Copyright 2014 Gary B. Duglin and
TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
Stop already! Stop! Stop! Stop! Hillary Clinton is not "out of touch" - to use the venomous words being spewed by Republicans, by some Democrats, by some in the media and by others across America. It irritates and disgusts me that people in our country always seem to spin a subject, spin an issue, spin a sound byte or spin a single phrase or word to make a competitor - or merely another person - look bad when, in fact, there is no justification for it.
Hillary Clinton does not deserve the heat she has been receiving. First of all, the former Secretary of State never said she and former President Bill Clinton ARE "dead broke." Mr. and Mrs. Clinton never said they HAVE no money. Neither one of them ever stated that they ARE...or WERE...poor. However, in a June 5th, 2014 interview
with Diane Sawyer of ABC News, which aired in a primetime special on ABC on Monday, June 9th, Secretary Clinton stated a fact. That's right. She stated...a FACT. The former First Lady noted that, "We came out of The White House not only dead broke, but in debt." Afterwards, President Clinton - in an interview with David Gregory for the Sunday, June 29th broadcast of Meet The Press also confirmed that when his Presidency came to a close on January 20th, 2001..."It is factually true that we were several million dollars in debt. Everybody now assumes that what happened in the intervening years was automatic. I'm shocked that it's happened. I'm shocked that people still want me to come give talks. So I'm grateful." And President Clinton went on to say about his wife, "She's not out of touch. And she advocated and worked as a Senator for things that were good for ordinary people. And before that...all her life." The former President continued by asking..."The real issue is - if you've been fortunate enough to be successful...are you now out of touch and insensitive to the agonizing struggles that other people are facing? That's the real issue." Hillary Clinton has always been IN TOUCH.
Why think Hillary Clinton is "out of touch"...because NOW...today...more than 13 years after the Clintons left The White House...they have money? When did it become bad...when did it become wrong...for people in politics - or anybody else for that matter - to have money? Why should anybody think that rich people...wealthy people...no longer have a clue as to how the middle-class...or the poor...live?
Few people in the United States are BORN rich. Most everyone starts out in life the way most people remain throughout their life - in the middle-class...or unfortunately...worse. It's tragic that there are poor Americans... and Americans who live below the poverty line. It's sad. Very sad. And that needs to be changed. The middle-class is not really the middle-class. Many Americans who earn what is considered to be a "middle-class income" make an amount of money that is much lower than the middle. According to published reports - depending on the class model used, the middle-class constitutes between 25 percent and 66 percent of U.S. households. But just because Hillary Clinton isn't a part of the middle-class...and certainly she is not poor or living in poverty...she is still "in touch" with Americans who are.
Hillary Clinton was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Few people are. Republicans and others need to remember that, as a child, Hillary Diane Rodham's father managed a small, albeit successful business in the textile industry. Her mother was a homemaker. They were not rich. And when young Hillary married young Bill on October 11th, 1975...the wedding ceremony took place in the living room of their Fayetteville, Arkansas home...not in some fancy hotel. And following then-Governor Clinton's 1979 inauguration as chief executive of "The Natural State"...he appointed Mrs. Clinton as the chairperson of the Rural Health Advisory Committee...where the Arkansas First Lady secured funds to expand medical facilities for the poorest areas of the state without it affecting doctors' fees.
If there were no suspicions whatsoever that Hillary Clinton may run for President in 2016...the "dead broke" comment would never have made the news...and nobody - a month later - would still be discussing it. And if Secretary Clinton does decide to seek the Democratic nomination for President, the "dead broke" remark should not in any way be relevant.
When did earning money - even lots of money - make it bad to be President? It is a fact - according to The Washington Post - that from January 2001 - when President Clinton left office - to January 2013...Mr. Clinton made 542 paid speeches and he received 104.9 million dollars. So what? That's right. So what? And I'm sure he's made more money than that from giving more speeches through 2013 and in to 2014. And Mrs. Clinton's standard speaking fee is reportedly 200,000 dollars and up. So what? Why should her earnings - and the money her husband has earned - raise complications for a potential run for The White House in 2016 - something the former United States Senator has not yet declared? Neither President Clinton or Secretary Clinton have done anything wrong by being paid to make speeches. People want to hear them speak.
More than 13 years after leaving office...groups, organizations, businesses, even other countries are willing to pay Bill Clinton huge sums of money for his remarks, his views, his opinions and his everyday thoughts on everyday life. So what? He's not stealing the money. Both he and Mrs. Clinton are paid a fee by people who want to hear them speak.
Look at the amount of money that baseball fans pay today to see a Major League game. When I was a kid...my dad would take me to Yankee Stadium - that is the original Yankee Stadium... "The House That Ruth Built" - to see my all-time favorite baseball player, Mickey Mantle...and the other top players of the 1960s. A terrific, field level box seat in 1966 - according to the New York Yankees - cost only three dollars and fifty cents. Or, Dad and I would sometimes sit in the bleachers - where I loved to be - so I could talk to and get autographs from the players in the bullpen. Those bleacher seats cost just 75 cents each. Today, the price for a field level box seat ticket at the new Yankee Stadium is between 85 and 300 dollars...and a bleacher seat costs between 18 and 23 dollars. Now I clearly understand the concept of inflation...but those prices - no pun intended - are way out in left field. In part, the seats at Yankee Stadium cost more today because of the incomes the Yankees pay to their players...especially the superstars. The average Major League Baseball player today earns an annual figure just shy of 4 million dollars. The lowest paid player receives about 500 thousand dollars a year. Mickey Mantle - one of the greatest baseball players ever to wear the Yankee pinstripes - or any uniform for that matter - towards the end of his career...was only paid 100 thousand dollars each season. But fans are willing to pay up to hundreds of dollars to see their favorite ball players...and along with advertising and other means of income for Major League Baseball teams...the players of today can be paid millions and millions of dollars.
The same applies to Bill and Hillary Clinton. People who love them...or perhaps even those who don't...are willing to pay big money to hear them talk. So why complain about how much money the Clintons NOW make? When Secretary Clinton said she and the former President were "dead broke" after their address changed from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...they were. And now Americans are willing to pay both Bill and Hillary Clinton lots and lots of money...to talk. That's America.
So I am fed up with petty criticisms of Hillary Clinton by most Republicans...and by even certain others. Since Mrs. Clinton's comment that she and Mr. Clinton were in debt after moving out of The White House...the former Secretary of State has been accused of being "out of touch" because she has been - for nearly forty years - waited on...driven wherever she needs to go...and had servants to do whatever she needs while being First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, a United States Senator from New York and Secretary of State. But who cares? Mrs. Clinton - and others who have been or who are in similar positions as her - have earned those perks and - for the most part - deserve them. That doesn't mean she is "out of touch" with other Americans.
Hillary Clinton remembers the hungry years. She may now get paid a couple of hundred thousand dollars or more to make a speech...but Mrs. Clinton surely remembers when then-Governor Bill Clinton's salary was only 35 thousand dollars a year...and she and Mr. Clinton didn't know if they'd ever be able to pay tuition for their then-infant daughter, Chelsea to go to college when she reached that age. That's being "in touch" with other Americans...ALL Americans.
Today, Bill and Hillary Clinton are two of the most generous...two of the most magnanimous people that the United States proudly calls Americans. The Clinton Foundation and The Clinton Global Initiative are philanthropic endeavors whereby Mr. and Mrs. Clinton give their money and their time to help others in our country and in nations all around the world. To say Hillary Clinton is "out of touch" with Americans - especially average or middle-class Americans - is merely political mumbo-jumbo that is unfair to say about a first-class woman who is more "in touch" with Americans than just about anybody else. The Clintons - both Hillary and Bill - have fought for the middle-class for decades.
As for running for President in 2016 - which again, Hillary Clinton has not yet said she's doing - let's look back on others who have wanted to be America's Commander-in-Chief. The closest thing the United States has ever had to European royalty is the Kennedy family - especially when President John F. Kennedy worked out of The Oval Office. As a boy, President Kennedy enjoyed a privileged childhood of elite private schools, servants
and summer homes. President Franklin D. Roosevelt came from an abundance of wealth...an aristocratic family. His birthplace was a
stately mansion. President Ronald Reagan lived the life of a Hollywood movie star - and after being Governor of California for eight years - Mr. Reagan was accustom to the so-called "celebrity good life."
The Bushes - both President George H. W. Bush and President George W. Bush - have big bank accounts... and did...when each took the oath of office to lead our country. And the list goes on and on. And nobody ever criticized them for being rich.
So having money...being affluent...does not make a person "out of touch" with the rest of America. It's when someone such as former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney says - as he did in a 2012 Republican Presidential Debate - that
he would bet his challenger, Rick Perry 10-thousand dollars to settle a dispute. Romney offered Perry ten grand that the Texas governor misquoted Romney's book in claiming that he had earlier supported a mandated approach to healthcare. A 10-thousand dollar bet? Now that's being "out of touch." Hillary Clinton saying that she and President Clinton were "dead broke" AFTER leaving The White House is not. So let's be fair... and let's get the facts straight. After all...Hillary Clinton never said she is "dead broke" NOW.
Hillary Clinton is "in touch" with ALL Americans. And should she decide to run for President in 2016 - and should she win...which I am confident she would - there is nobody else in the United States today who could seek the Presidency... who would better serve our country after President Barack Obama than Hillary Clinton.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
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