Author: internationalmosaic

Surveying Battleground States in 2016

/ internationalmosaic / Leave a comment

We e-mailed out a press  release about InternationalMosaic.com’s ongoing  work about the battleground states.

Culver City, California – October 4, 2016.

Blogsite Encourages Battleground Senators to Support or Oppose Trump

In the upcoming elections for US senator, many incumbent US senators and/or their challengers try to distance themselves from Republican presidential nominee. Donald Trump.

Andrew Yamamoto, creator of the InternationalMosaic.com blogsite, noted that “whether a public official wants to be associated with Mr. Trump or not: Given the stakes involved, a person cannot commit to voting for voting for Mr. Trump, without sharing responsibility for disasters that may ensue if he is elected President.”

For example, in New Hampshire, as the LA Times explained, Senator Ayotte is trying to avoid the controversies caused by Trump.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-senators-20160817-snap-story.html

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-trailguide-updates-new-hampshire-sen-kelly-ayotte-still-1470773615-htmlstory.html

To encourage Senator Ayotte and Governor Hassan, her opponent, to clarify their positions, on September 30, 2016, InternationalMosaic.com has sent each of them a short 14 question survey. Once Senator Ayotte and/or Governor Hassan, answer the survey questions, InternationalMosaic.com will publicize the answers (or the failure to answer).

In question number 8, we ,,,  ask senators and/or candidates about Mr. Trump’s statements about the judicial system.

  1. Donald Trump made headlines by claiming that the Judge hearing the case against Mr. Trump has an “Absolute Conflict” of interest. Mr. Trump argued that Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s Mexican American heritage disqualified the judge from hearing cases that involved Mr. Trump. http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-keeps-up-attacks-on-judge-gonzalo-curiel-1464911442 Do you agree that the judge’s ethnic heritage is a valid reason for him to be disqualified?

_____ Yes

_____ No

_____ Decline to Answer/ No Answer

In question 10, we said:

  1. On August 8, 2016, the New York Times reported that:

“Dozens of the nation’s most senior Republican national security officials, many of them former top aides or cabinet members for President George W. Bush, have signed a letter saying they will not vote for Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee.”

The letter said, in part:

“From a foreign policy perspective, Donald Trump is not qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief. Indeed, we are convinced that he would be a dangerous President and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.”

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/08/us/politics/national-security-letter-trump.html?_r=0

Do you agree that Donald Trump would endanger “our country’s national security and well-being”?

_____ Yes

_____ No

_____ Decline to Answer/ No Answer

Regardless of one’s political perspective, the public deserves clear answers these questions. As Andrew Yamamoto says:
“Like a street hustler playing Three-card Monte, some cagey senators are trying to distract the public from the real issues. As the senior Republican foreign policy officials said: ‘Indeed, we are convinced that he would be a dangerous President and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being. ‘”

InternationalMosaic.com has or will be sending the survey to other senators and senatorial candidates in other battleground states and/or completive senate races. Media Contact: Andrew Yamamoto at InternationalMosaic@gmail.com …

Should the Senate hold hearings on the Nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court?

/ internationalmosaic / 21 Comments

This blog delves into the issues regarding the March 16, 2016 nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court of the United States.   Wikipedia said the following about the nomination of Judge Garland:

“On March 16, 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Antonin Scalia on February 13.[1] Scalia’s death led to an unusual situation in which a Democratic president had the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court nominee while the Republicans control the United States Senate; before Scalia’s death, such a situation last occurred when a Senate Republican majority confirmed Grover Cleveland‘s nomination of Rufus Wheeler Peckham in 1895.[2] Conversely, in February 1988, during an election year, the Democratic-controlled Senate confirmed Anthony Kennedy, who was the Republican President Ronald Reagan‘s nominee for the Supreme Court, though Kennedy had been nominated in November 1987.[3]

“Political commentators widely recognized Scalia as one of the more conservative members of the Court, and noted that a more liberal replacement could shift the Court’s ideological balance for many years into the future. Consequently, Republican Senate leaders announced that they planned to hold no vote on any potential nominee until a new president was elected. Senate Democrats responded that there was sufficient time to vote on a nominee before the election.[4] Garland’s nomination has remained before the Senate for 160 days, longer than any other Supreme Court nomination.[5]”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland_Supreme_Court_nomination

Throughout my education, my teachers have taught me to revere the noble nature of the United States system of government. After law school, I spent a year clerking for the late Ninth Circuit Judge David R. Thompson, who had been nominated by President Ronald Reagan.  The year working for Judge Thompson further cemented my reverence for the judiciary.

In this context, the U.S. Senate’s refusal to hold hearings on the nomination of Judge Garland perplexes me, and I fear that the decision will further encourage the public’s distrust of the Senate.

If you have any opinions about the Judge Garland, please join our blog so you can share your ideas with the community.