The PCTC Blog

The Real Meaning of "Investment"

Under the current president's leadership, we're starting to get a little better, in that it's very unlikely that we'll see a major bubble pop up in the economy anytime soon. But oil prices still go up and down, depending on where speculators want to manipulate them, and the price of an ounce of gold as of today is $1673, which really should be seen as absurd. Even some aspects of the stock market's rise to 13,000 should be worrisome. 

 

At some point, we have to learn that our biggest problem, economically speaking, is rooted in our tendency to demand huge, quick returns on our investments, instead of investing in a solid, workable future. Our parents built the greatest economic engine in the world through investment in ourselves, and by having enormous patience. The stock market didn't double in five years; it rose steadily. Likewise, inflation was very modest for many years; people knew how much a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk was going to cost from year to year. But these days, Instead of putting our money aside for a rainy day, everything's become a bet of sorts, and the end result is an economy that is largely scary and unpredictable. Our notion of investment has become somewhat bastardized over the years, and it's high time we changed our attitude; otherwise, we'll never get out of the doldrums completely. 

Separation of Church/State IS Absolute, Santorum

It’s weird how many so-called “strict constitutionalists” don’t seem to have read the Constitution. If they have read it, they don’t understand what they read. While there are some on the left who don’t seem to understand it much, either (you can’t simply round up “banksters” and throw them in jail because something happened that caused the economy to collapse, for example; you need a specific broken law and enough evidence to convict in a court of law), the far right wing simply has no clue what any of it means, including the Second Amendment. 

It’s bad enough that the average Republican voter doesn’t seem to get the Constitution at all. But their candidates don’t understand it at all, and that is inexcusable. How can you take an oath to uphold something you don’t even understand in the first place.

Yesterday’s edition of "This Week" on ABC featured an exchange between George Stephanopoulos and Rick Santorum (Google it!), during which they discussed John F Kennedy’s September 1960 speech before Baptist ministers, in which he assured them he believed the separation between church and state was absolute. Here is that exchange. I placed a link to the transcript of the speech where it says “Begin Video Clip.”

Perhaps It's Time to Start Taxing Churches

So, the Roman Catholic Chuch in the United States wants a special exemption in regulations governing health insurance, so that they don't have to "pay for" contraception. Of course, as I pointed out in my previous post, it's not their insurance, it's their employees', and they aren't paying for it. It's part of their compensation package. 

 I'm getting tired of phony religious nuts constantly trying to push their way into the political arena and make us accept their absurd superstitions. I'm not talking about truly religious individuals; those who truly believe what they claim tend to act in a way that makes you want to be like them. I'm talking about the fakes; the people who lack humility, and usually push political positions that actually go against their stated belief systems.

It's funny that the Catholic Church is suddenly finding fault in our health insurance system. Where were they before. In what New Testament does Jesus Christ favor support for a system whereby health insurance companies make obscene profits for NOT providing health care to the sick and injured? I've been combing the New Testament, and I simply cannot find the part where Jesus forbids a public health insurance option to make sure everyone gets health care. Yet, the Catholic Church only NOW has a problem with the health insurance system. 

If You Think Both Parties are the Same, You're INSANE

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know; that this blog is a bit different from other lefty blogs. Yes, I take on the Right Wing Fart Machine and will continue to do so. But frankly. a small but loud portion the progressive movement has a tendency to be just as bad as the right wingers when it comes to flinging rhetorical bullshit. These people are loud, obnoxious, and they like to portray themselves as the “only true progressives." This, despite the fact that they constitute a small minority within the progressive movement, and often, they;re rhetoric actually hurts our cause. 

These “progressives,” who tend to be referred to as "professional left" or "emo left" are usually white, they tend to have college degrees, and they tend to have above-average-sized bank accounts, and they seem to think they know more about what it’s like to be poor and working class than those who actually are poor and working class. I saw an exchange recently on a lefty blog, in which a white "emo lefty" actually attempted to imply that his sociology  degree had equipped him with the knowledge to understand what a black man in America faced. I wish I was kidding. 

Cutting the Crap on the Debt Ceiling

It's amazing how often I'm forced to listen to teabaggers. That is because we are being ill-served by a news media that is populated by idiots who seem to be under the impression that the definition of “objective journalism” is to present all sides of any argument, no matter how stupid and uninformed any one of those arguments is.  I’ll get to that in other columns, I’m sure. This column, however, I'd like to clear a few things up about the debt ceiling. Call it a public service to teabaggers. 

The debt ceiling is the somewhat artificial barrier Congress put in place many years ago in order to pretend they were being responsible with our money. It is absolutely illegal for the United States to borrow more than the debt ceiling allows. So every so often (more often when Republicans are running things, for some reason), Congress votes to raise the debt ceiling to a number a bit higher than the projected deficit, and Congress may then borrow money at will up to the new limit.

The debt ceiling is once again coming up for a vote, and the Tea Party is chomping at the bit to make a stand on it. They won’t be successful in the long run, but it will be fun to watch the less-lunatic Republicans in Congress hem and haw and stammer and pose just to make the teabaggers happy. That’s what happens when you allow your base to be populated by the most ignorant people on the planet; you are made to look stupid.

And face it, folks; these people are dumb as rocks, and that may be unfair to rocks, since at least rocks have the good sense to simply lie there and not screw things up. As idealistic and naïve as some portions of the far left are at times, at least one has a sense that they can be taught. Teabaggers can’t be taught anything, because they see everything in simple black-and-white terms, and they’re too convinced of their own genius that they can’t absorb anything about which they have not preconceived a notion.

So, last night, I’m watching the news, and reporters were talking about the looming vote to raise the debt ceiling. They spoke to an economist, a couple of politicians and, for “balance”, a Tea Party spokesperson, who came on to tell us all that it’s important to not raise the debt ceiling, because that will once and for all force the government to live within its means, and it will make them cut spending. She had such a smile on her face. It was clear that at least one person in that discussion thought she was brilliant. 

Gosh, I wish life was so simple. I wish economics were so simple, you know? But in an economy that was built on debt, and thrives on debt, they’re dreaming.

Mr Obama is IN Washington; Help Him Help You!

Over the last week or so, I have heard a large number of progressives cite "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" as their ideal political movie. Ya know, cuz they wish President Obama was more like Jimmy Stewart’s character, Jefferson Smith. 

As an old movie buff, I love this film. I love watching almost everything Frank Capra ever did. But the progressives who "wish Obama was like him" miss the point of the film. If you think the film is about an idealistic individual who rises up and upsets the corrupt old guard, Frank Capra is up there looking down on you and wishes he could slap you, because you're way off. Senator Smith didn’t win by himself. In fact, when he was taking the corruption on by himself, he was losing, and losing badly. For some reason, some people think the ending has him “winning” the filibuster by making his opposition crack.

Um, not quite.

Reaping and Sowing: The GOP is Dying; Libs Can End the Suffering

I've written and rewritten this post several times over the years. I think the first time was in 2002, when the original Daily Weasel was kicking ass and taking names (this having to work for a living is hard on a blogger who makes no money with his blog.), and it is still true. The GOP is largely dead. If it seems as if it's taking a long time for the current incarnation of the GOP to die, look in the mirror, folks. If not for the political incompetence of progressives, we could have shut the door on the GOP far right in 2004 at the latest. Really, if we had any political chops at all, we could have gotten Carter a second term and never had to deal with them in power at all. 

I'm not sure many progressives understand what's actually happening with the Republican Party these days. Progressives love to whine and complain about what they call "Blue Dogs," and their seemingly poor fit in the Democratic Party, but the fact of the matter is, we can't do anything about them until we get rid of the current Republican leadership. What you don't understand is that Blue Dogs are a sign that there is only one viable party for reasonable people these days. With this version of this column, I hope to begin to tell you how to make the current incarnation of the Republican Party go away for good, and save this country from the extremists who control so much of the debate.

Cutting Spending Will Increase the Deficit, GOP Geniuses

I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot, but this is an important concept that absolutely must be said and repeated as nauseum, until the average person gets it.

Our deficit is NOT high because the government is spending too much money.

Let me repeat that, and then YOU be sure to repeat it far and wide to anyone and everyone you meet, because it’s important:

The reason we have a record-high deficit is NOT because the government is spending too much money.

Now, let me explain. First, I want to state, for the record, that the government does waste money. The above statement is not an acknowledgement that every dollar the government spends is good and just and goes to the right places. In fact, one solution to the deficit problem would be to take the money we spend on one thing, and move it to something else. I'll talk more about that in a future post. 

Republicans: C***-Blocking the future; Even More Bills

The purpose of this series of posts (This is number four -- scroll down for the others) is to give you ammunition. Ammunition for all of those friends and others from all sides of the political spectrum who blame Democrats who are not getting things done, when there are 375 examples of bills that were PASSED by Democrats in the House and BLOCKED by Republicans in the Senate.

In the last few days, I have received a few messages about these posts, including several suggesting that Republicans  aren’t really against all of these things; that their ulterior motive for blocking all of this stuff is to make Democrats look bad and win elections. 

Sorry, but that makes things worse. 

I’m here to tell you; there is no justification for this, and I mean none. Saying “no” to anything that might help the people they supposedly represent is not something you go to the voters with, if you expect to win elections over the long haul. A list of accomplishments should entice the most voters. The only time voters fall for this stuff is when they are only offered one side of the debate. Voters should be aware of everything both parties are doing for them or to them. Pass this information along, folks. The election’s four weeks away, and this makes things crystal clear.

Once again; Democrats PASSED the following bills, and Senate Republicans prevented these bills from even coming to a vote. If you think these would be good for Americans, thank Democrats for trying to pass them, and blame Republicans for blocking them from actually making the lives of average Americans better.

Republicans Block Bills to Help Small Business, the Disabled and Pretty Much Everything; More Bills GOP-Blocked

This series is really long, isn’t it? I mean, did you ever realize how many bills have been passed by Democrats in the House, and are being blocked by Republicans in the Senate, just so they can try to make Democrats look bad,and win power back for themselves?  Did you realize they had blocked 375 bills thus far? Also, please understand; this is the third installment, and even with all of these bill, I’m not posting every single one. I’m just trying to give you ammo that you can use with your inattentive friends, to make them realize what they would be voting for if they vote Republican this year. Really, to give you an idea of the number of bills they have blocked, by the time I’m finished, I will have only written about one quarter of the actual number of bills they blocked.

The Tea Party is right about one thing; the people in this country should be pissed off.right now. The government put us into the crapper, and they’re taking their sweet time getting us out of it. But anyone who’s pissed off at “the Democrats” for this is either phenomenally stupid or not paying attention.

Did you know the word “filibuster” derives from the Spanish and French words for “pirate”? That’s quite an appropriate description of the way Republicans are using it these days. They are hijacking the entire system and holding it for ransom. If you vote for them, you will validate their ploy; it will be the functional equivalent to not only paying ransom to the kidnapper, but refusing to have him arrested for kidnapping.

More Bills to Make Your Life Better -- Blocked by Republican Filibusters

If you’re a voter and you’re pissed off, good. You should be pissed off, because this country is at a crossroads, and your government isn’t doing as much as it should to fix the problems we face.

But the entire government isn’t screwing us, and it won’t do anyone any good to send every single one of them packing. We need to know WHO to get rid of and who to keep.

This list makes it easy, folks. The entire Republican Party needs to go. THEY are the politicians who are blocking every piece of legislation designed to make your life better. THEY are the ones blocking every single bill that might make your life easier.

This post continues a list of bills that were passed by Democrats in Congress, and blocked by ALL of the Republicans in the Senate. Most of these bills had zero Republican votes in the House; a few of them had a handful of votes. A couple of them were even proposed by a Republican in the House. But every single one of these bills is being blocked by every single Republican in the Senate, all of whom are working in lockstep to prevent a vote. Keep in mind, there are enough Democrats willing to vote for these bills, most if not all of these bills could be law right now, if Republicans – ALL of them – weren’t using procedural measures to prevent the vote.

Let’s continue our list.

Want Proof That the Republican Party is AGAINST the People? Part One

To those of you who are allegedly pissed off and plan to either not vote at all, or vote for a Republican in four weeks so that you can “stick it to the status quo,” let me ask you a question:

Are you completely fricking nuts?

First of all, if you’re a little disappointed in President Obama and the Democrats right now,you're simply not paying attention. The problem isn't that Obama hasn't been working his ass off to get things done. The simple fact is, the Senate is broken; its rules -- especially rules put in place by Republicans -- make it possible for the minority to prevent a vote on any bill they don’t want passed.

Did you know, for example, that a total of 375 bills that passed the Democratic-majority House have been blocked by Republicans in the Senate? That’s THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE BILLS! You can’t pass a bill if you can’t vote on it, and because of current Senate rules, one anonymous Republican Senator can block a vote if he objects to it, and it takes 60 Senators to undo that. In other words, if you're frustrated with the status quo, blame Republicans, not Democrats.  

In order to cut the crap on this, I have compiled a list of bills that were passed in full by the Democratically controlled House, but which were filibustered by the Republicans in the Senate. Keep in mind, these are all bills Republicans are either against, or have decided to kill for political reasons, in order to keep Democrats from claiming successes in the next election.

Now, think about that a minute. These people are willing to out YOUR life and good fortune on hold, just so they can attempt to score political points and take power again.

The Definition of Newtie: To Fix The Economy, We Do What We Did Before, Right?

How big an idiot is Newt Gingrich?

Apparently, he’s a pretty big one. And trust me when I tell you, you do not want him running an economy. Although, the thought of him and Caribou Barbie (Sarah Palin) being the political face of the Republican Party makes me giggle. 

In this morning’s Forbes, Newtie provides commentary on just what President Obama can do to get the economy moving and create jobs. The opinion piece, entitled “Job Killers vs. Job Creators, can be found here. Feel free to follow along.

I’m going to start at the beginning:

The National Bureau of Economic Research officially scored the recession as starting in December 2007. Since World War II, 65 years ago, the average duration of recessions has been 10 months, with the longest being 16 months. In April of this year, NBER issued a statement saying it could not yet determine an end to the recession, 28 months after it began.

What we do know is that in July 2010, 31 months after the recession started, the economy was still losing jobs. The Labor Department reported yet another 131,000 jobs lost in July. The department also revised the June report downward to show 221,000 jobs lost that month from 125,000. The unemployment rate remained at 9.5% only because 181,000 additional discouraged workers left the work force and so were not counted as unemployed.

Indeed, since April 1, 115,000 former workers have fled the work force in hopelessness and despair. Without that work force decline, the unemployment rate would be 10.4%.

Burning the Koran? They'd Better Hope There's No Such Thing as Karma, Huh?

(You might want to read this whole thing, because there's a great video at the end...)

If you haven’t heard, a so-called Christian “Reverend” named Terry Jones plans to hold a Koran burning this coming Saturday in Gainesville, Florida, to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed 3,000 of our fellow Americans. 

Right wingers are either silent or, in a few cases, actually praising this disgusting display, and a number are defending this action as an example of his right to “free expression.”

Also, over the last several weeks, right wingers all over the country have been tied up in knots over the prospect that someone may build an Islamic Cultural Center on a lot not too far from the spot where the World Trade Center once stood. They have characterized such a building as a “slap in the face” and blamed the ENTIRE RELIGION for the actions of the people who hijacked those planes, knocked down those buildings and killed all of those people.

I have a few questions for those on the far right;

Does the United States believe in freedom of religion, or doesn’t it?

Those Fiscally Irresponsible Republicans; Do You REALLY Want Them in Charge AGAIN?

The problem with the far right is, they want all of the rights without any of the responsibilities that are expected of good citizens. And this column will prove that statement.

I know, let's have some fun. Let's talk about three things that right-wingers can't seem to discuss without turning themselves into blithering idiots and demonstrating the above adage as true. Those three things are taxes, deficits and government spending. Those are their favorite subjects, and they talk about them ad nauseum. But they really don’t know what they’re talking about.

The most amazing thing about of any right-winger’s discussion of these subjects is the absolute certainty they have that their position is the correct one, and they’re seemingly automatic declaration that they, and they alone are "fiscally responsible." That’s the term that they use to describe themselves, and it makes me chuckle every time. Look back in history, if you want a clue. Go look it up; The Great Depression, the 1982 Recession and the Great Recession that we are currently living through all have Republican fingerprints all over them. And the debt that they suddenly seem so concerned about? Well, we’ll get to that.

Mark Williams: Exhibit One that Teabaggers are Racist.(Part one of a series)

I am sick to death of the Tea Party bullshit. I’ve just plain had it.

First of all, I refuse to take them seriously as a "movement." It's not a movement; it's your classic "astroturf." A number of rich crooks are taking advantage of the most ignorant assholes in our society and they're using them to raise money. 

Now, I will admit that, for a long time, I was among those delusional folks who tried to be   diplomatic and give them the benefit of the doubt.  Yes, I am among those who have said in the past that “some of the points the Tea Party makes are valid.” 

I was wrong.

 

I have spent the last several weeks examining the Tea Party, and I’m here to tell you; there’s no there there.  The Tea Party “movement” obviously has nothing to do with patriotism, and there is no corollary between what these ignorant assholes say and do and any of the events that led to the revolutionary war. After examining this charade and its elements, I’m here to tell you;  this entire “movement” is nothing more than an attempt by moneyed interests to motivate stupid, ignorant, racist crackers to put them back into power.

 

Yes, I said stupid, I said ignorant and I said racist. And I am setting out to prove all three. 

The United States of America IS Multi-Cultural -- Deal With It.

Someone I know – a liberal, no less – posted this article on their Facebook page and praised its main point. I'm thinking she didn't actually read it, because the main premise is "America - Love It or Leave It," or "sieg heil, y'all." Basically, the main premise is that he thinks all Americans should act the same. He makes that especially clear in the last few paragraphs. Seriously, it made me want to retch.

Now, before I rip this guy a new one, I want to say I love police officers and I appreciate what they do for us.  I never say anything bad about police, unless they do something specifically horrendous. This is not a criticism of this guy as a law enforcement officer; this is a critique of his opinion on this one subject. I’m going to assume that he’s a lovely man with a good family who loves his family. He’s just wrong on this; incredibly wrong.  

The entire article can be seen HERE. Here is how he starts out:

Why Arizona SB 1070 Is Bad Law, No Matter What You Think

You have to hand it to right wing Republicans. They certainly know how to adopt an issue and get behind a law based on that issue that they know a) will probably be overturned by a court because it's unconstitutional and b) if it's not overturned won't actually fix the problem, in any case. Because see, if you fix a problem, then you can't run on it. I mean, how long do you lame right wing idiots have to be strung along before you figure out they have absolutely no intention of outlawing abortion, stopping drugs or reducing illegal immigration, because to do so would make it almost impossible for them to bitch about stuff that gets them elected.

Case in point; S.B. 1070, the Arizona immigration law that is unconstitutional and guaranteed not to work. Yeah! Republicans got a two-fer on that one.

Look; I know Arizona very well. Most of the people there are generally nice, face to face. They’re sweet and kind and they seem to always smile.

Of course, I’m white; they have nothing against me.

Traitor For Congress, Alabama Second District?

Rick Barber. Remember that name. (And no, this is not the longtime radio talk show host at KOA in Denver. He could never be this stupid.)

This asshole is running for Congress. In the United States of America. Yes, last I checked, Alabama was still a state, and had a significant number of sane people living there. 

Keep in mind as you watch this campaign video; this guy is running for a seat in the United States Congress, representing  just under a million people. No, a million AMERICANS. 

 I’m going to ask this question again; why do so many right wingers wish to turn this country into a clone of the old Soviet Union, and why the hell do we have to listen to them? If this guy is in fact running this ad on the public airwaves, why are we allowing this? Yes, I am for free speech, but this isn’t about free speech; it’s about treason, folks. This guy is advocating armed rebellion against the government because he doesn't like the "progressive tax code." This, despite the fact that he was apparently quiet as a church mouse while his fellow neocons basically trashed the progressive part of the tax code. 

Wherein We Cut Some Frank Luntz Crapola on Wall Street Reform

You know, while many people look upon Frank Luntz as a political genius, most of the time, he’s little more than a right wing con man. And now, he’s set his sights on the financial services reform that sits in the Senate; you know, the one that Republicans tried to block debate on for several days.

In a post on today’s Huffington Post, Luntz tries to tell everyone how bad the Dodd bill is for all Americans, and how it will absolutely backfire on the Democrats come this fall. In other words, everything Democrats accomplish is bad for us. After eight years of complete incompetence and sloth, the Democrats pass an economic stimulus that's working, collects bailout money BACK from the banks and car companies we lent it to (and be serious; would Bush have even asked for repayment?), passed a health insurance bill that allows 30 million people to pay their medical bills, and passes a bill that reforms Wall Street, and he really thinks swing voters will choose to return to incompetence and sloth?

And every reason he gives is made of classic right wing talking points that have no factual basis whatsoever.  I am curious of one thing, however; given the Republican track record on major legislation during this session of Congress, if this bill is so bad for Democrats, why would they block it? It seems to me that, if it was so incredibly bad, Republicans wouldn’t block it; they’d want it passed, so they can be elected in 2010 on a promise of “repeal and replace.” They seem to love that term, don’t they?

No, this bill is great for consumers, and it’s about to get even better with some of the amendments that are being proposed. In fact, it’s so good, Luntz, who is one of the greatest bullshit artists of all time, can’t even produce a solid reason why this bill is actually bad for Democrats. Instead, he lists three incredibly lame rationales for why it's bad for Democrats, and then goes off on another health care rant.

Observe:

The dirty secret of the Senate financial reform bill is that some of its biggest supporters work on Wall Street. Recipients of taxpayer bailout money have no concerns about the bill -- in fact, the CEOs of Citi and Goldman Sachs have publicly endorsed it, and several of the other big banks have expressed support. It keeps the "too big to fail" guarantees in place for another generation of financial services companies.

This is classic Washington Republican double-speak, and it’s actually beneath someone with Luntz’s pedigree. The entire populace wants financial reform, and like it or not, the CEOs of Citigroup and Goldman Sachs need to clean up their reputations in order to make money going forward.  In my memory, only health insurance companies are stupid enough to pull a PR stunt that actually makes them worse in people’s minds. Of COURSE big banks SAY they want financial services reform.  But Luntz is also wrong, at least with regard to the Goldman CEO. Check out this exchange between Sen. Tom Coburn, who voted against even debating this bill, and the CEO of Goldman Sachs just two days ago:

LLOYD BLANKFEIN, Goldman Sachs CEO: “I Listened To A Speech By Barack Obama At Wall Street, And One Of The Points He Made Resonated With Me Because I’d Said It Myself. He Said That The Biggest Beneficiaries Of Reform Will Be Wall Street Itself.” 

SEN. TOM COBURN (R-OK): “Let me ask you a few questions about the bill that's being proposed. Your Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer said you embrace it, you’re generally supportive of the Dodd bill. You've been fairly high profile in your support for it. Do you still maintain that support for this bill? Do you think it solves the problems that caused the problems that we got into?” 

LLOYD BLANKFEIN, Goldman Sachs CEO: “I think execution – well, first of all, some aspects of the bill, I think have morphed over the last - maybe even over the last few days, I’m just not sure.” 

COBURN: “I don't think so. The vote was turned down again. I don't think we've gotten there.” 

BLANKFEIN: “I see, right. I'm generally supportive. To be sure, there are details of it that I think I'm less sure of, but I think, on the whole, financial reform is, absolutely is essential and I will say that last week, in New York, I listened to a speech by Barack Obama at Wall Street, and one of the points he made resonated with me because I’d said it myself. He said that the biggest beneficiaries of reform will be Wall Street itself.”

(From the Homeland Security & Government Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 4/27/10)

Oops.  You see, Luntz would have done well to pay attention the last few days, because while the CEO of Goldman thinks the idea of reform is a great idea in the abstract, he's not too crazy about this bill. And if he's not too crazy about this bill, well, doesn't that undermine Luntz's main premise, which is that this must be a bad bill because bank CEOs love it? At least one of the two he mentioned doesn't love it at all.

Then, Luntz turns to one of the most-used rhetorical weapons in the right wing’s arsenal; the incredibly lame argument that corporations don’t pay taxes, people do.

(…) The Democrats supporting the current legislation have assured an anxious electorate that whatever funds are used to create whatever regulatory scheme created will come from the banks, not the taxpayers. Let me emphasize that so that even casual readers will catch it: the Democrats promise that you won't pay for their legislation, banks will.

Really?

Since when have corporations ever paid taxes, fees or penalties? Employees end up paying in the form of lower salaries and benefits. Customers end up paying in the form of higher costs.

And in this case, every account holder will be forced to pay higher fees on their checking account and savings account. That's you, my friendly reader. Can you say "checkbook tax"? I can, and I think lots of candidates will be saying it come November. Is that what you really want to do to your constituents, Senator Lincoln? Is that what you really want to explain on the campaign trail, Senator Bennett?

The sophistry in the above can’t be over-emphasized.

If corporations never pay taxes, fees or penalties, then please explain why the largest ones have such huge legal departments in order to fight these things? I mean, all they're going to do is pass it all on to consumers, so why fight it?

As I said, this is a common argument for right wingers to use against any sort of tax increase on corporations and it’s actually pretty easy to explode. If you're going to take the position that corporations don’t pay taxes, then you have to stop bitching about your own taxes, because you don’t actually pay them, either; your employer does. Of course, that’s not true, either; your employer can’t possibly pay your taxes unless someone pays them for the goods and services they provide. But wait; someone paid the people who paid your employer, so that won’t work, either...

See what I mean? Based on the ludicrous concept that corporations don't pay taxes, the reality would have to be that no one actually pays taxes. The entire economy works based on the premise that money circulates through it, and the concept that a corporation simply passes on all of its expenses to its customers depends entirely upon their competition and their customers’ willingness to pay for their product or service.  

The way the Dodd system works is, banks pay into a fund, and if a bank fails, that fund decides whether or not to bail out the bank, or kill it and sell off the pieces. This concept works on roughly the same principle as the FDIC. When a bank fails, the money to rescue it and make depositors whole doesn’t come from taxpayers; it comes from the FDIC trust fund. And banks pay into that fund, and have been paying into that fund since the 1930s. Yet, they all offer free checking, and free ATM use; go figure. Of course, that's not to say that banks don't charge outrageous fees on some "services." But if the fees are so high now, does Luntz really think people will notice an increase to pay for reform?

Ah, but Luntz isn’t finished. He’s used the “Wall Street likes it, so it must be bad” argument, which wasn’t true. Then, he switched to the “checkbook tax” argument, which is complete crap, but the word "tax" sends right wing clowns and teabaggers into a major frenzy. Let’s just eliminate the FDIC and FSLIC, while we’re at it, based on "Luntz Logic"? Now, he’s about to use the “scary lobbyists” dodge.

You’ve seen this "evil lobbyists" argument from both sides, but while the left uses it, the right excels at manipulating people with it. Check this out:

Regardless of what side you're on, the financial reform bill is special interest heaven -- a bill written by lobbyists, for lobbyists, and will probably be implemented by lobbyists. The Dodd bill has carve-outs right from the get-go. Real estate agents, title companies, the Farm Credit system, even Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae are exempt from its onerous and costly provisions. And for everyone else, it's been a special interest feeding frenzy.

More than 130 companies have publicly hired lobbyists seeking their own loophole. Mars Candy wants to continue to use derivatives to hedge against price hikes in sugar and chocolate, so they've hired a lobbyist. Harley Davidson wants to protect dealer financing of their bikes, so they've hired a lobbyist. And eBay wants to not harm its subsidiary, PayPal, so they've hired ... well ... a team of lobbyists.

But most average Americans -- the ones who bailed Wall Street out in the first place -- cannot afford lobbyists, and won't be exempted from the legislation.

If the bill is a “special interest heaven,” then why are Republicans trying to kill it? I mean, if they wanted “better” financial services reform, they had more than enough opportunity when they held both the House and Senate and the White House. And what was about to happen to the financial services industry was pretty well known by 2006, when they were in charge, and could have "saved the day."  Yet, while the Republicans spent the last 30 years removing regulations that had served to turn us into an economic superpower, we’re suddenly supposed to worry because there are (GASP!) lobbyists in Washington?

But this argument falls flat on its face even without all of that.

The man who crafted this particular bill is Christopher Dodd. Forget the fact that Chris Dodd is one of the more honest politicians in Washington, which is not a high bar, admittedly, but the fact is, Dodd has announced his retirement. He’s not running for reelection. Therefore, the initial bill was crafted by a guy who just wants to reform Wall Street, who has no need to raise money or to court voters.

Luntz’ implication is that the mere presence of lobbyists in Washington should signal to voters that this is a bad bill, which is wholly ridiculous. It also demonstrates just how weak Frank Luntz’ arguments are when he tries to claim this bill is bad for Democrats. Seriously; we just experienced six years of Republican Congresspersons employing lobbyists to WRITE bills, and eight years of a Republican administration that not only put lobbyists for moneyed interests into key positions in its own administration, but let lobbyists write administration policy. Why would any Republican  even want to mention lobbyists at this point in time?

By the way, did you notice the lobbyists he mentioned? Look at the list again. The lobbyists he mentioned -- the ones we should fear – are all for industries that have direct contact with the public. They are lobbyists for companies and industries that have direct contact with consumers.  Think about that a moment.

And that’s pretty much his entire argument against the financial services reform bill. Go read the rest of the article, where he goes off on another rant about the health care bill, because that's so relevant to Wall Street reform.

And now you know just how good a bill this is. When an uber-Republican can only bring out three extremely lame and generalized arguments, you know they’re out of ammunition and they’re forced to throw the gun.

Oh, and about the health care rant; all summer, we’re going to hear all about how bad health reform is. But the fact is, about the time swing voters actually start thinking about the coming election, millions of people will be signing up for health insurance who haven’t been allowed to for years. Good luck, Republicans.

Are You Pissed Off Enough Yet? Only a Moron Will Vote GOP in November

The next time someone tells me there’s no difference between  Democrats and Republicans, I swear I’ll kick 'em in the shins.

Ok. I won’t. I’m amazingly non-violent. But I’ll still call you an ignorant sop, because while neither party is perfect, the fact of the matter is, the Democratic Party does give a damn about the country, and the current incarnation of the Republican Party simply does not. 

And to you “independents” who plan to vote for a Republican this year, because the Democrats haven’t done enough, or because the change hasn’t come fast enough, or some other such nonsense, well, screw you, too. I’m sick of hearing it.

Have you heard? Not one Republican Senator voted to allow Wall Street reform to make it to the Senate floor. Not one!  Isn’t this a hell of a democracy, when 57% of an elected body votes in favor of something, and it dies? The Democratic House passed even more stringent reform this past December, and received no support from Republicans on that, either.

And why do Republicans vote in lockstep on absolutely everything? I mean, why they always vote against the people is a good question. But is everything Democrats want to to so completely and utterly wrong that not one Republican can support it? And why do people refer to that as “party discipline”? That’s not discipline; that’s cowardice.

Arizona's Racist Immigration Law Must Go!

In the interest of full disclosure, I have lived in Arizona for a fairly significant period of my life, and I understand the frustration many Arizonans  feel, in that the federal government has largely dropped the ball on the problem of illegal immigration, at least from some perspectives.

But to pass a racist and pointless law in response is simply not the way to go about fixing such a problem. In fact, it’s absolutely the opposite approach from one that makes sense.

Like I said, the SB 1070 is a racist law, certainly not worthy of most Arizonans. The entire premise of the law is based on the concept that it’s possible to look at someone and determine that they are in this country illegally, which is a ridiculous concept on its face. It’s based on two concepts that are classically racist; the first is that all criminals stick out like a sore thumb, and that all Latinos look alike.

If it’s really that easy to spot “them,” then why aren’t the people in favor of this law rounding up all these people themselves and turning them in to the Border Patrol? And if they’re not doing that because, well, it’s the job of police, well then, I have another question for you – how much time do you think a typical police officer has, to go chasing after Latinos? If they already know who’s who, what’s preventing them from calling ICE now?

Ignorance of the Constitution is no Excuse!

Before they are allowed to take the floor of the United States House of Representatives, every member of Congress is required to take an oath.  This is that oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

In other words, every member of Congress, before they can be seated, must promise God and the people of this country to protect and defend the Constitution, and to pledge "true faith and allegiance" to the Constitution. 

Cutting it Deep: Supply-Side is NOT Capitalism; Right Wingers HATE Capitalism!

Let's start by making something crystal clear; for all of their talk, the right wing is not a fan of capitalism.They like it when their heroes make a lot of money, but as organized crime, Enron and Jack Abramoff have proven over many years, it is possible to make a ton of money doing something that isn't capitalism.

I suppose we're supposed to be relieved by the current spike in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It is a sign that the economy has bottomed out. But we can't allow ourselves to fall into this trap again, folks. The Dow going to 10.000 means diddly squat when it comes to the overall economy. And if we don't gain some perspective, and do so soon, we're in danger of allowing ourselves to be taken in by another bubble. A rising Dow should be seen as a warning sign, not as a hopeful sign. The stock market is no longer about capitalism, which is why the right wing loves it so much.

You see, capitalism is supposed to work this way:

Pseudo-Christians Using Jesus' Name to Lie About Health Care Reform

(The original deconstruction of the right wing lies about the health care system is still here. You just have to click on the link at the top right... or you can click here... )

I received this in my e-mail Sunday (of all days). I'm having problems with formatting, so I apologize in advance. Not only is it sacrilegious on some level, and should be seen as an affront to any actual Christian who claims a belief in the words of Jesus Christ, but it also shows once again the lack of an irony gene on the part of the right wing.

Seriously, how can you call yourself “The Pray in Jesus’ Name Project,” and then tell out right lies and swear to God on them? Think I’m exaggerating? Check out the signature at the end. And then be sure to read about the guy who signs this crap "in Jesus' name."

Oh, and by the way, look at what they include at the end of this thing. Faithful readers of this blog will recognize it right away.

My Comments are in dark blue and bold…

Cutting More "Objectively Standard" Lies About the Health Care Bill

(Note: The original "Deconstruction" is still here...)

Apparently, they haven't figured out we're onto them.  

What follows is from an e-mail sent by a reader. The original comes from a blog entitled "The Objective Standard." It's an Ayn Randian type blog that simply has a problem with the government doing anything in general, so it's somewhat different from a typical right wing rant. Although it's still plenty dishonest.First of all, the title of the blog is insane. I'm not sure they even understand what an "objective standard" is. Frankly, I'm not even sure such a thing is possible. Facts are objective; standards tend not to be.They may TRY to be objective, but the fact is, pretty much all standards are subjective at their heart. But check out the title of the article. He purports to tell his readers what HR 3200 actually says, but then proceeds to leave out huge sections of the bill, removes any context from the sections of the bill he cites, and then mischaracterizes what the bill says.

 

As usual, I don't expect anyone to take my word for anything. Follow along with the bill itself. It's important that you know what's in it.

As usual, my comments are in red... By request, I darkened the color. Hope you like it.

Why I'm Not Always Nice...

(Don't panic. If you came here to see my deconstruction of the wingnut health care lies, it's right here...)

====================================================================

I hate to burst some bubbles out there, but I'm generally one of the nicest people you will ever meet, if you should ever meet me. The passion you see in these posts is real. I truly believe this country can do better, and that we, as a people working together, can do anything. But  I honestly believe that sometimes requires us to bust some heads, rhetorically speaking. (I'm also non-violent). And I will admit to a few things with which I have little patience, and you'll see that in spades as you read this blog.

 

You see, I've been confronted with my horrible personality so many times in e-mails and comments the last few days that I'm not sure whether to laugh or laugh harder. So many people take issue with how I refer to certain people, and the ridicule I routinely use to excoriate liars and the terminally stupid, who get way too much face time in our national discourse.  Strangely and perhaps sadly, many of the people who take offense are liberals. Stephanie Miller refers to them as "stick up the butt" liberals, and I can't disagree with that term. While I can't and won't speak for her motivations behind the names, I claim a specific strategy behind the way I refer to people. In other words, there really is a method to my madness.

Wingnuts Invoke HITLER in Slandering Health Care Supporters

The video at the end this post is what many on the right apparently consider to be humor. I've really never found right wingers funny. Their attempts at humor are usually cruel and hurtful to the weak, which is never really funny.

Apparently, to them, Hitler and the Nazis are a great source of humor. Must be the 20 million people they killed, and the tens of millions of others they drove from their homelands or something. I'm sorry, but as someone who has interviewed several of these people, and who has held the hand of a Nazi-tattooed lady who survived that tragedy as she sat in her mosest kitchen in the Fairfax Districy of Los Angeles, and told me what happened to her and her family when she was a young girl, I simply cannot find shit like this even a little bit humorous. What makes this more painful is that the person who posted this elsewhere actually implied that he laughed himself silly. I really like this guy, and I normally respect him in most areas of his life. I even excuse his right wing political tendencies most of the time. But I cannot let this one go. 

Caribou Barbie Puts the Twit into Twitter, So Let's Smack Her Facebook

Just when I was feeling hopeful that she had gone away, Caribou Barbie (Alaska Governor-Quit Sarah Palin, of course) comes back in spades. Apparently, the reason she quit as governor was because it was difficult to lie her ass off with the press hanging on every word. I can imagine how difficult it must be to be the governor of a small state and a former vice presidential candidate and swimsuit model, and still stay anonymous. It's quite the challenge.

 

So, she quit her job, ostensibly so that she could keep all that "lawyerin' money" and do scintillating speeches before groups of wingnuts who didn't disagree with her and who, in fact, were willing to pay good money to sit in an audience and fantasize about doing her. Much easier, dontcha know.

 

So, now she lies on the Facebook, and promotes her lies by the Twitterin', you betcha. This is a note she put up on Facebook yesterday:

Cutting the Crap: Dennis Prager's 10 Health Care Lies -- er, Questions

(This isn't Part III... this is yet another example of lies the right wing is trying to pass off as discourse. My deconstruction of the lies in the Health Care Bill are Here (Part I) and Here (Part II))

(I was on the Nicole Sanders Show Wednesday night to discuss health care... check it out here... (yes, I know... I need a new cell phone...))

Sigh…

 

The right wing fart machine is working overtime on the health care reform bill, lemme tell ya.

 

The following was sent by a reader. It's by Radio Gasbag Dennis Prager (whom I'm told is actually a really nice man, so it will hurt a little putting my rhetorical foot up his "nice" ass…), and this load of crap is absolutely chock full of misinformation and false assumptions. He even lies about the number of questions. There are a lot more than 10.

 

The original apparently came from the Jewish World Review. (Why are so many so-called religious people so dead set against letting everyone have access to health care?)

 

As always, the article I'm responding to is not edited, and my responses are in red...

 

10 Questions for Supporters of ‘ObamaCare’

By Dennis Prager

When Do Good Republicans Drive OUT the Racists?

This is destined to be a recurring theme of this blog for a while, until good, decent Republicans actually move to get their party back.

I want to know why you are not more disgusted with the sort of filth people who claim to be of your ilk spew forth. Fox News is 24 hours of hate speech disguised as information and political commentary, and the Republican Party leadership not only doesn't complain about the constant stream of lies and inaccuracies, they kiss Roger Ailes' ass, as if he's more demigod than antichrist.

I mean, come off it, Republicans! I know tons of Republicans, and none of them would seem to approve of the constant pandering to the lowest common denominator in our society. So, why are so many Republicans sitting back and letting it continue in their name? Even if it made some rational sense back in the days when you were winning elections, right now it makes no sense whatsoever. Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but appealing to the fringe elements of society isn’t helping you win anything any longer.

How The Neocons Screwed Us, And Why We Can't Let It Happen Again

I hope no one is betting the farm on Congress being able to tax AIG bonuses to get the money back. The Constitution kind of forbids that sort of thing, and for good reason.

Say the party in power was the Republican Party, and they proposed a bill that instituted a special tax for auto workers to pay for the bailout of General Motors?

Yeah, now THAT doesn’t seem fair, does it?

I know we’re pissed off, and I know we’re tired of this crap, but we have to keep our heads in this situation. This economy took neocons a long time to screw up, and there is no “magical formula” which will fix the whole mess in a couple of months. This situation is the end result of 28 years of supply-side economics, culminating in the “free market uber alles” of the last eight years, in which deregulation was championed, and the regulations Republicans couldn’t kill were routinely ignored by an administration that decided that, as long as it LOOKED like someone was making money, whatever “the market” did was perfectly okay.

If you want to know what brought our economy down, it’s actually relatively simple, even though it looks complicated.

Republicans: The Party of Drug Addled Gas Bags? Works For Me...

The kerfuffle surrounding Rush Limbaugh (who tied with Ann Coulter with the most times as our Right Boob of the week) is absolutely priceless. It’s also proof that Barack Obama has political instincts that are absolutely unparalleled.

If you’re paying attention, President Obama actually started this by suggesting to the Congressional  drooling class idiots – which is most Republicans – that they had a choice – they could follow Limbaugh, or they could do the right thing by the American people. Of course, they chose Limbaugh. Obama knew they would; it’s in their political DNA. You could see it during the presidential election, when they forced the chosen GOP candidate, John McCain, to go against his better angels and embrace their right wing claptrap, or risk losing the "Republican “base,” which every Republican seems to think is a guarantee of victory in any election.

Until recently, Rush Limbaugh had actually spent 20 years flying just below the radar. Most people had heard the name but they knew nothing of the man himself. Most people don’t listen to AM radio much anymore, and they would rarely happen upon him, unless they were driving through one of the areas in the west and midwest in which there are no FM stations. Face it, folks; as radio programs go, his and Hannity’s are the most popular, and they make a lot of money for advertisers, but theirs is a niche market. As we have proven time and time again on these blogs, more than 90% of radio listeners do NOT listen to either Limbaugh or Hannity.

Cutting the Crap! Republican Senator ONLY Skeptical of Bailing Out Americans

Don't let them fool you. Republicans sound like they're concerned about wasting money bailing out the US car industry. But this is not about giving money to the car companies, and a concern about getting it back. This is about killing the last major bastion of American manufacturing, and breaking the unions.

If you doubt that, take special note of WHO is speaking in the following article from the New York Times:

Senator Remains Skeptical About Auto Bailout - NYTimes.com.

Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said that he did not know whether he would support the larger loan requests that G.M. and Chrysler made Tuesday but that he had reservations about G.M. owing taxpayers $30 billion, nearly 24 times the amount that the company is worth based on its outstanding stock.

Mr. Corker said he was also concerned that G.M., which was negotiating with bondholders to cut much of its debt to them, would continue to ask for more money.

“They’re coming back for debt that will load down their balance sheets,” he said in an interview. “How much better off is the capital structure of G.M. when another $30 billion of public lending supplants that private debt?”

Bob Corker. Tennessee.

Ring any bells, folks?

Republicans; Shameless as they Drown, Politically

You really have to hand it to these assholes. They have balls, even if they don't have a brain in their heads. The Huffington Post is reporting that House Republicans are going back to their districts, and pretending they never voted against the damn thing. Here's what they report:

GOP Fighting For Money From Stimulus They Opposed.

House Republicans, as a group, may take great pride in the goose egg they offered President Obama's stimulus package. But now the unanimous opposition is struggling to bring that money home.

Republicans will be working hard to make sure the money they opposed ends up benefiting their home districts, highlighting the political tightrope they walk in this economic crisis. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is watching House Republicans -- and reading local media -- closely and is only too happy to highlight any happy talk about a stimulus Republicans voted against.

Back in his home district, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) found some nice things to say about the plan.

"Within the stimulus package there is some Pell Grant money, which is a good thing. It helps students be able to pay for their education and that's kind of a long term stimulus effect there. I mean obviously that's not gonna provide a job in the next 120, 180 days, but the ability of someone to get an education is an economic development tool," Luetkemeyer said at a local college. He was there, in another inside-outside Washington twist, to celebrate an earmark for a college building.

I guess what I'd like to know is just why he thinks the people of Missouri -- or at least the ones in his district, are so stupid.

The Right Wing Republican Legacy: Kids being Jailed for Money

This is what happens when you implement the Republican ideal, wherein anything that makes someone money is okay, because wealth is king. If you want to know why this society is broken, here's a prime example, from Truthdig - Jailing Kids for Cash, by Amy Goodman".

As many as 5,000 children in Pennsylvania have been found guilty, and up to 2,000 of them jailed, by two corrupt judges who received kickbacks from the builders and owners of private prison facilities that benefited. The two judges pleaded guilty in a stunning case of greed and corruption that is still unfolding. Judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan received $2.6 million in kickbacks while imprisoning children who often had no access to a lawyer. The case offers an extraordinary glimpse into the shameful private prison industry that is flourishing in the United States.

Take the story of Jamie Quinn. When she was 14 years old, she was imprisoned for almost a year. Jamie, now 18, described the incident that led to her incarceration:

“I got into an argument with one of my friends. And all that happened was just a basic fight. She slapped me in the face, and I did the same thing back. There [were] no marks, no witnesses, nothing. It was just her word against my word.”

Jamie was placed in one of the two controversial facilities, PA Child Care, then bounced around to several other locations. The 11-month imprisonment had a devastating impact on her. She told me: “People looked at me different when I came out, thought I was a bad person, because I was gone for so long. My family started splitting up ... because I was away and got locked up. I’m still struggling in school, because the schooling system in facilities like these places [are] just horrible.”

This is what happens when you privatize what should be a public function. But worse, when you privatize a public function, and you then turn around and incentivize the operation, you have corruption. I have a sneaking suspicion that, if we did an audit of this sort of thing where private prisons are concerned, it's more common than we think.

Think about it; cities and states hire private companies to run traffic and red-light cameras, and then pay them a percentage of the revenue they bring in. How much of those tickets are actually the result of legitimate violations, and how much of them are simply a private company trying to pad its bottom line?

Republicans have created an economic system that bastardizes the capitalist concept. It's not enough for a company to make money anymore. Now, they have to make more money every year, or they lose money, because their stock tanks. Companies lose money if they don't maintain an unsustainable "growth" every year.  The system encourages cheating, and rewards companies that cheat and/or cut corners. It's the primary reason why we don't make anything here anymore, and why companies don't seem to be out for "America" anymore.

That's bad enough when we're talking about closing plants and stores and putting people out of work. But when it comes to the justice system, money can NEVER be a motivating factor in any decision, period. And when it comes to our children's lives, our society cannot afford to allow something like this happen.

I guess my question is, Is this finally the point where we decide that money really isn't everything?

It's time we got back to our roots, folks, and make money the means to a good life, and not a life in and of itself.

Republican Stupid Idea of the Day: Nationalize the Banks!

Was I dreaming?

Didn't the Republican noise machine spend the last few months of the presidential campaign trying to portray Barack Obama as a socialist?

So, what the hell is this? This is from Lindsay Graham yesterday, speaking on ABC's This Week:

"I would not take off the idea of nationalizing the banks" from the table, Graham, R-S.C., told George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week" program

"This idea of nationalizing banks is not comfortable, but I think we have gotten so many toxic assets spread throughout the banking and financial community throughout the world that we're going to have to do something that no one ever envisioned a year ago, no one likes," Graham said. "But, to me, banking and housing are the root cause of this problem. And I'm very much afraid that any program to salvage the bank is going to require the government.."

The first question I have is, why the HELL are Republicans still all over the goddamn talking head shows, spouting their bullshit, while Democrats, who are in charge, are still standing on the sidelines, when it comes to the major media? 

It's a good question, but one I'll get into that in another post, though. Let's talk about this, the stupidest damned idea to EVER come down the pike from a Republican, and that's saying a hell of a lot.

Boehner's Lasted More Than Four Hours! Call Someone!

How far the neocons in the Republican Party have come, eh?  You have to love their leader in the House, don't you?

 

Their leader during the "revolution," way back in 1995, was Newt Gingrich. Say what you will about Newtie (and believe me, there is a lot to say, and I've said it all over the years), but he was a skilled politician. He's not as bright as he thinks he is, but his political skills were actually quite good, at least when it came to phrasing his bullshit.  I remember when I was very young, and he was brand new to politics, and running as a liberal Republican in Georgia. I met him when he was trolling other liberal Republicans for support. He only had to lose two elections before he realized where the party was headed and promptly changed every single one of his core political principles so that he could win.

 

If he had actual core political principles, he might still be in power today.

 

After Newtie was dethroned because of his lack of principle and his wandering pecker,  he was replaced by a twosome; Dennis Hastert as Speaker, and Dick Armey as Majority Leader.  Once more, the GOP was led by people who had zero principles, but the political skill to pull off the trick of doing the exact opposite of what the Republicans said they would do, while sounding like they’re keeping their promises.  Hastert was a master at making sure Democrats had as little input into the process as possible, all the while looking reasonable and fair, while the unfortunately named Dick Armey (rumors that he had been forced to change his name from Penis Marines are unfounded) drew the resulting firepower away from Hastert, which allowed Denny to get his work done, and screw the country for a generation.

Republican Moron on Moron: Beck vs. Steele

I truly feel sorry for the right wing cognoscenti. Just think of the number of morons they rely on for information and leadership. How could anyone on the right feel hopeful with "leaders" like they have?

This is a classic example of what I mean. Here is the Moronic Glenn Beck, interviewing the empty suit Michael Steele, and both of them agree that (and I swear this is a direct quote:

"You have absolutely no reason, none, to trust our word or our actions at this point."

No shit, Sherlock.

Investigation and Due Process of the Bushies: Are we Americans or are We Mice?

I am excited at the prospects offered by the Obama Administration, and I am looking forward to a future that is much brighter than anything we've seen since we ceded the government to the neocons 28 years ago, culminating in the last eight years of pure hell on earth.

The Obama Administration is like a breath of fresh air, when compared to the governments of our recent past. There is already an air of openness and transparency that we haven't seen in many years, even when Clinton was president. Even when a mistake is made, there is an easiness about admitting it and moving on with a solution.

But while I do agree with them on most issues, there is one issue on which we seem to stand on different sides of the fence.I say "seem," because I have a feeling we can find ourselves on the same side of the fence with a little prodding. But for now, the Obama Administration seems to be far too willing to let bygones be bygones, and let the previous administration slide on its sins.

That's just a crock, and we cannot be allow that attitude to stand.

I don't care who does the investigation, as long as the people involved are impartial, but a complete investigation of the last eight years has to be conducted. And if we care at all about the concept of justice for all, we simply cannot allow anyone responsible for the crimes committed in our name to slide, without prosecution, and a payment for their crimes. If that means we have to watch a former president and vice president and/or a bunch of their underlings be frog marched to jail for the cameras, and repeatedly interviewed from a jail cell by Fox News and Inside Edition, then so be it.

The Republicans Have Lost It -- They Really Have...

They spent the last eight years screwing up everything they touched. Best case scenario, they stood back and did nothing, while the most incompetent administration in US History took apart the federal government and put the economy in the toilet.

Now, it's time to fix things. Voters made themselves crystal clear last November; they were dissatisfied with the way Republicans ran things, and they wanted Democrats to take charge. The Republican Party is on the ropes, and they are in desperate need of a make over.

Yet, read this article from today's Washington Post. If you're Republican, it should worry you greatly. 

Three months after their Election Day drubbing, Republican leaders see glimmers of rebirth in the party's liberation from an unpopular president, its selection of its first African American chairman and, most of all, its stand against a stimulus package that they are increasingly confident will provide little economic jolt but will pay off politically for those who oppose it.

After giving the package zero votes in the House, and with their counterparts in the Senate likely to provide in a crucial procedural vote today only the handful of votes needed to avoid a filibuster, Republicans are relishing the opportunity to make a big statement. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) suggested last week that the party is learning from the disruptive tactics of the Taliban, and the GOP these days does have the bravado of an insurgent band that has pulled together after a big defeat to carry off a quick, if not particularly damaging, raid on the powers that be.

"We're so far ahead of where we thought we'd be at this time," said Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), one of several younger congressmen seeking to lead the party's renewal. "It's not a sign that we're back to where we need to be, but it's a sign that we're beginning to find our voice. We're standing on our core principles, and the core principle that suffered the most in recent years was fiscal conservatism and economic liberty. That was the tallest pole in our tent, and we took an ax to it, but now we're building it back."

The second-ranking House Republican, Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), put it more bluntly. "What transpired . . . and will give us a shot in the arm going forward is that we are standing up on principle and just saying no," he said.

When I first read that, I actually checked the date. No, it wasn't April 1. Then I checked the source, just to make sure I hadn't gone to the Onion by mistake. Nope; it was a reputable news source, and the article was written by its staff writers.

Right Wingers on NRO: 50 De-Stimulating Myths Disguised as "Fact"

One of the worst aspects of the "debate" over the economic stimulus package has to be the sophistry exhibited by the far right when discussing  the issue. One of the purest examples of the bullshit coming from the far right was in The National Review Online this morning, in the guise of an article entitled "50 De-Stimulating Facts: Chapter and Verse on a Bad Bill" by Stephen Spruiell & Kevin Williamson. In the article, the two wingnuts cite "facts" that are certainly not factual, but no more than opinion., and that is being kind, because they are the opposite of factual. This is not unusual, of course; right wingers are always posing their opinions as "fact," even though they're usually wrong. But what makes the current effort by the right wing to muddy the waters is the fact that the lives of millions of families who are struggling with the economy these same idiots screwed up, are hanging in the balance.

We literally don't have time for this kind of crap: We just don't.

Before I get into their list of items they don't like, let's get something else out of the way first. In the introduction to the piece, they make the following claim:

The idea that the government can spend the economy out of a recession is highly questionable...

This is right wing sophistry at its ballsiest, folks.

Stimulate THIS, Republicans!

Look, Democratic Senators; it is this simple. The current incarnation of the Republican Party will only play ball when they lose enough fights, and realize they have no choice but to either help craft legislation, or get the hell out of the way while you do.

The people want and need a stimulus package, and they will get one. The most Republicans might be able to do is to delay it a bit, but they can’t stop it, so stop acting as if they can. If moderate Republicans make decent proposals that make sense, and could help move the economy along, you’d be crazy not to consider it. But stop listening to the bullying tactics and the promises to “not vote” for the package. They lost the last election, and they seem poised to lose the next few elections, and it really doesn’t matter what they like and don’t like.

And don’t worry about a filibuster. If they do filibuster this, they will be sorry. See, the unemployment figures are about to come out, and they’ll be the highest we’ve seen in many decades; possibly even higher than they were in 1982; the last time supply-side economics pushed us over a cliff. And if Republicans delay or kill a stimulus package that might work, or even if they vote against a stimulus package that ends up working, they will be screwed, and they know it.

Bipartisanship With Petulant Children; Is it Possible?

Look, I'm all for President Obama seeking support from Republicans.  After all, he is the president of all of the people, and Republicans are people, too. But for Chrissakes; at what point does he get that the leadership representing the Republican Party in Congress -- especially the Senate -- is made up mostly of people whose election hasn't come around yet, so they haven't had the opportunity to be tossed out on their asses. Yet. Moreover, they have no concept of what "bipartisanship" actually means, so you have to teach it to them. To them, bipartisanship means, "you do what we want." They sound very much like the biggest kids in fifth grade, who have gotten to ninth grade, but don't seem to realize all of the other kids are now bigger. 

 

When you listen to these morons, I swear to you they're living in a goddamn echo chamber or something. They seem to be sealed off from the real world somehow; to them, 2006 and 2008 never even happened.  First, the idiot Republicans in the House voted as a bloc AGAINST a stimulus package designed to relieve the current economic mess that THEY caused in the first place. And what did they choose to bitch about? I mean, besides the pennies the bill was scheduled to toss at contraceptive programs.

 

The DEFICIT!

 

I kid you not! I almost fell out of my chair! Suddenly, John Boner (sp?), the House MINORITY Leader (I made the letters bigger so that he understands that's who he is now -- the MINORITY Leader), decided he finally gives a shit about the deficit, and perhaps we shouldn't add to it, because, well, it's pretty big. HIS PARTY is responsible for adding $10 trillion of the $11 trillion debt we find ourselves with, and they accumulated that debt at a time when they were declaring the economy was just humming along. Now, suddenly, after they tossed our tax money to their friends and supporters for the last eight years, they've decided we're borrowing too much, and we should really be a little more responsible with the people's money.

 

Bite me, Boner (sp?).

KBR Negligence Kills Soldiers; Bushies Covered it UP!

This is outrageous, folks!

From the Associated Press: Sailor electrocuted - Yahoo! News.

A third U.S. service member has been determined to have been electrocuted in a shower in Iraq, and Navy criminal investigators are investigating, The Associated Press has learned.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren, 25, of South St. Paul, Minn., died Sept. 11, 2004, while showering. His family was told he died of natural causes.

Late last year, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology changed the manner of Cedergren's death to "accidental," caused by electrocution and inflammation of the heart. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has reopened an investigation into his death, Ed Buice, a NCIS spokesman, said Monday.

Cedergren's death is among 18 electrocution deaths — 16 U.S. service members and two military contractors — under review as part of a Department of Defense Inspector General inquiry. Improperly installed or maintained electrical devices have been blamed in some of the deaths, while accidental contact with power lines caused others.

THIS is how Dick Cheney's been getting rich? Letting his Halliburton contractor buddies get away with putting up defective facilities, and then covering up the deaths and injuries that result from it? And worse is lying to the families of the servicemen about how the death occurred?

Eighteen Americans -- 16 of them soldiers -- may have died because of KBR's negligence, and they're just raking in the billions and padding their bottom line. And the Bush Administration was apparently helping them cover it up!

What else have they lied about, folks? If we can spend trillions of dollars fixing the mess they've made of the economy, and trillions more fixing their messes in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have to dedicate a few billion dollars investigating these assholes, and finding out about everything they've lied about.

House Republican Steele Says the GOP is Perfect As-Is... GOP is Toast!

So, just how did someone like Michael Steele, who has no successful political experience -- he won one election as a governor's running mate, and has never won election on his own -- get to lead a party that most agree is on it's way down?

By being black, and declaring that nothing is wrong... 

You can't make this crap up.

The following is from a transcript of RNC Chairman Michael Steele on 'FOX News Sunday' with  Chris Wallace.

On immigration;

STEELE: The GOP's position is secure our borders first. Let us know and let us make sure the American people know that we've taken care of the important business of dealing with illegal immigration into this country. You cannot begin to address the concerns of the peop le who are already here unless and until you have made certain that no more are coming in behind them.

Believe it or not this was the first thing Steele mentioned. Immigration. The economy is falling apart, and Steele wants to talk about immigration. Ironically, the economy in the shitter is probably the one thing that will keep people from wanting to come here. (Well, unless they're invited by bankers, of course. See previous post.)

But here's the thing; the Republicans HAVE NOT dealt with illegal immigration in any significant way. They've had control of the government since 1981, and all they have done is give illegal immigrants amnesty over and over. The immigration departments are still overwhelmed with everything, and we're behind other countries when it comes to using advanced technology to track immigrants.

Here's a clue, folks. The biggest problem isn't brown people swimming the Rio Grande or climbing over a fence. It's people who come over legally and never leave.

Republicans: Party Before Country

Republican Senator Judd Gregg is a typical Republican, through and through, thinking of his party's power first, and the country second.

From Senator: Appointment wouldn't affect Senate makeup - Yahoo! News.

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg has told colleagues that if he becomes commerce secretary, his replacement would affiliate with the GOP, denying Democrats' total dominance, his party leader said Sunday.

That would require an agreement involving President Barack Obama, who would appoint Gregg to his Cabinet, and New Hampshire Democratic Gov. John Lynch, who would name Gregg's successor to the Senate. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky suggested such an arrangement was in the works.

"Sen. Gregg has assured me that if this were to happen, if it were to happen, it would not change the makeup of the Senate," McConnell said on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "In other words, whoever is appointed to replace him would caucus with Senate Republicans, so I think it would have no impact on the balance of power in the Senate."

There are a lot of questions that come to mind immediately, of course.

First of all, what kind of person is asked to serve his country as Secretary of Commerce, and puts his political party's power ahead of that service? I mean, look at what he's saying. Essentially, he would only serve the country, as long as his party's power in the Senate wouldn't be negatively affected.

Good thing Democrats don't feel that way, right? I mean, Janet Napolitano, the current Secretary of Homeland Security, didn't refuse the position, even though her appointment left a right wing idiot in charge of the state of Arizona.

When you are called to serve your country, you serve your country, unless you feel that you can't do the job for some reason. There is no excuse whatsoever for this.

But I would also note that the Republicans are putting a lot of stock in the filibuster as a weapon. It seems to me that they intend to use if liberally, to stop anything they don't like. Isn't it strange that when they were in charge, they were willing to kill the filibuster, and now that they're no longer in charge, the filibuster is their best friend?

They're into power, and they're into kicking the legs out from under Democrats. They have no principle, as a party, and they truly do not care about average Americans.

At what point to real Republican voters -- those who care about the country -- finally get rid of this kind of leadership?

Just asking..

Meet the House, er, Republican

Them there Republicans must be so proud.

Just when you think they're done, and they're about to become inconsequential for a generation, they turn around and defy expectations and elect a chairman who is... um... well... a "keepsake," for the lack of a better term. You see, they've realized the errors of their ways, and they have chosen as their leader someone who... um... is unlike the bulk of Republicans, in that he... well, see for yourself...
Meet the House, er, Republican

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Who the hell is Michael Steele, and what are his qualifications to run a major party? Well, that should be obvious. I mean, sure, he's never won public office running on his own. But he was a securities associate with Cleary Gottlieb for 7 years, right? You know, helping underwriters find investments. And hey! he's Mike Tyson's former brother-in-law; that must mean something... And of course, he's also Catholic, and actually goddamned near became a priest. Hmm.. wonder how that'll play with the base, given how they feel about that "Catholic cult" and all? Hmmm...

Can we talk, guys? Okay...

This is a guy whose only qualification for this post is that he's held the same post in the state of Maryland, one of the most Democratic states in the union. He was my boyhood "pal" Bobby Ehrlich's running mate in 2002, and he served four years as Lieutenant Governor. He ran a god-awful campaign for Senate in 2006, and with him as the titular kinda sorta head of the Republican Party, Maryland, which once had five Democrats and three Republicans in the House, now has seven Democrats and one Republican. His greatest claim to fame in public life has to be the time he claimed to have made a speech in which white Democrats threw Oreo cookies at him. That incident, of course was made up.

The RNC has elected an empty suit, folks.

Oh, did I mention, he was black? First black head of a major party. Wow. They might pull 5% of the black vote next time, huh?

Congratulate Michael Steele! Send him your Oreos!

Republicans -- In the Car Seat, Driving Nothing

I know it's difficult, given what we've been through for the last 28 years, and especially the last 8, but can I please ask progressives and others to stop obsessing over whatever the Republicans do?

To put it bluntly, who gives a shit?

Barack Obama is a master politician. He's publicly making overtures to the Republicans, for one reason only; he promised to. He knows they have two choices; they can either play to him, or they can play to the nut cases who make up their core "constituency," or what they consider to be their "base." (Seriously, has there ever been a more appropriate term for people like this than "base"?

And we all know which course most of them will take. And it will be to their detriment, and it's all good.

See, we know how these people think. House Minority Leader (not the "MINORITY" in his title, folks) John Boner (sp?) screwed the pooch last week when he threatened the entire Republican delegation with  something (what the hell could he possibly threa ten them with? They've already lost everything in two elections) and got them all to vote against a stimulus package that is guaranteed to work. At the same time, he whined about a few measly million dollars for contraceptive programs, and then complained about the resultant deficit.

The result was, not one Republican voted for the bill, and it still passed. See? nothing to worry about, right?

And mark my words, it will pass the Senate. There is no way Senate Republicans will have the balls to filibuster this thing. But suppose they do, and they're successful. Can you imagine the shitstorm when they have to go back to their home states and proudly proclaim that they killed a bill that cut taxes and created jobs? How many working people do you think will vote for them in 2010 or 2012, if they keep killing these packages?

In other words, even if they managed to filibuster the bill once, they won't filibuster another one. Mark my words.

Republicans are digging their own political graves, and they are too stupid and ideological to realize they're doing it. They actually see it as a point of pride -- some sort of victory -- to have given zero votes to a package that contains far more of a stimulus than the package their lord and ruler George W. Bush, begged them to pass last September. They all voted, as a bloc, against it, and it passed anyway. And the results of the bill will be positive in many communities, including some of those in districts that these Congresspeople represent. Imagine it works, and a year and a half from now, they're campaigning, and someone brings up the fact that they voted against it. Will it be a victory then?

In other words, they are rooting against the country pulling out of this thing. They are so politically twisted, that they see an economic recovery as a detriment to them. And they don't understand that voters see that. They don't get that, even among natural Republicans, the country comes before party, always. And independents -- people Republicans need on their side in order to win -- definitely vote against that sort of behavior.

We're in the driver's seat, folks, and the Republicans in charge right now are sitting in the car seat in the back, and pretending they're driving themselves.

Stop worrying about them. They lost, and the more they try to pretend they didn't, the harder 2010 and 2012 will be on them. We have to stop worrying about them, and focus our attention on getting President Obama and Congressional Democrats to continue to return the government to the people. Concentrate on making sure the government returns to its job of making our lives better.

It's our time. They had their time and blew it. Let's make sure we don't blow our chance.

Darth Cheney, Torquemada Gonzales Indicted; A Pardon Would Save Them...

Here's another reason why we need to impeach. Does anyone doubt that a pardon will come down, and neither of these bastards will ever have to be tried and either convicted ro acquitted?

From the Huffington Post, via the AP:
Cheney, Gonzales Indicted By South Texas Grand Jury.

Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor.

The indictment returned Monday has not yet been signed by the presiding judge, and no action can be taken until that happens.

The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tuesday included one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some targeting public officials connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles.

Regarding the indictments targeting the public officials, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me."

Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guerra's tenure ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March.

Guerra said the prison-related charges against Cheney and Gonzales are a national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand jury.

The only way to have at least some control over who gets pardoned, and for what, is to impeach Bush, and name the principles in his administration as witnesses.
Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guerra's tenure ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March.

Call your Congressperson NOW. Demand articles of impeachment, just to stop the pardons of key players in the Administration.