*Please... Cut the Crap

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.

McCain and Chambliss: The Devil DID Go Down to Georgia!

You know, I have never cared for John McCain's politics, because he is an unabashed conservative, who would only rarely take a stand against his conservative brethren on anything important.  But I always respected him; even though I disagreed with him, he had principles, and stood by them most of the time.  If he has won the Republican nomination in 2000, and beaten Al Gore, I wouldn't have liked it, but we would have been better off than we ended up.

 

But that John McCain is gone forever, I'm afraid.  When he decided to run for president, he apparently sold his soul to the right wing devils. Instead of rightfully referring to the religious right as "agents of intolerance," he now has his tongue in their ears, and he's promising to bear their children. Instead of laughing his ass off with derision at assholes like Newtie and the Fox News bunch, he's kissing their asses and offering to have their children.

 

In other words, not that he cares what I think, but John McCain has moved gone farther down on my shit list than Ralph Nader, and that's a pretty hefty drop. I have no respect for the man anymore; he's now become 100% political whore, totally lacking in principles, and he's forgotten everything he used to stand for. I don't know about you, but after the personal shit Bush threw at him in the 2000 primaries, no one with principles would ever have carried water for that man again. I mentioned his tongue kissing of the religious right. But the most distressing aspect of John McCain's political sell-out has to be his treatment of veterans and veterans' issues. He's essentially a military hero, who's apparently forgotten what it's like to be a military hero, or even a veteran.

 

I thought for sure that, once McCain lost the election, he would begin to revert back to the old McCain; the conservative McCain, with a principled streak.

 

I was wrong, and it's a damn shame.

Cutting the Crap! What are Caribou Barbie and the Chimp Faithful TO, Exactly?

Okay, we know she doesn't know anything about the Constitution, because  she demonstrated repeatedly during the campaign that she had no idea what a vice president does.  But isn't it time we started enforcing the separation of church and state that is contained repeatedly in the Constitution?

 

This is from a Monday interview of Caribou Barbie (Sarah Palin, of course) on Fox News:

 

Faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator's hands - this is what I always do. I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is. Even if it's cracked up a little bit, maybe I'll plow right on through that and maybe prematurely plow through it, but don't let me miss an open door. And if there is an open door in (20)12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door.

 

Let me start off by saying, I don't really care about anyone's personal religious beliefs, especially those of politicians. I don't have a problem if they pray silently before every Cabinet meeting, or they ask God for guidance on an issue that vexes them.

 

I just want them to keep it to themselves.It's none of my business, no matter what they do for a living.

 

Religion and faith are very personal activities. Even when you go to church, it's still a personal activity; you just happen to be sharing with like-minded people who are in that church of their own free will. That has nothing in common with running the government. No matter how much they pretend it is, this country is not a church, and the president is not my pastor.

It's personal, and you have to understand that most people don't believe the same way you do when it comes to God. I know; for the last 40 years, the neocons have been trying to lump all "Christians" into one group, and tell you you're in "the majority," but the fact of the matter is, there are hundreds of Christian sects, and every one of them believes something different about God and Jesus Christ. For example, you Catholics and Mormons out there; did you know that quite a few of the other Christian sects refer to you as "cultists"? And you evangelicals and fundamentalists; were you aware that most other Christians think you're loons?

Gosh, Imagine... a Corrupt Republican

Stevens Convicted On All Counts.

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that threatened to end the 40-year career of Alaska's political patriarch in disgrace. The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, increased Stevens' difficulty in winning what already was a difficult race against Democratic challenger Mark Begich. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

What can you say, except may he only be the first of a long line? If there is actually justice in this country, then every other corrupt Republican politician should also be convicted of his crimes, and sentenced to his or her crimes as well.

When compared to what Stevens is guilty of, Bush, Cheney, Rove, Libby, Rice, et al, are guilty of far more dastardly deeds and must be punished accordingly, don't you think?

Cutting the Crap: Conservative, My Ass!

You know, I rarely agree with David Frum on anything, but much of his assessment of the McCain campaign in  this morning's Washington Post hits the nail pretty much on the head. Here's an excerpt:

There are many ways to lose a presidential election. John McCain is losing in a way that threatens to take the entire Republican Party down with him.

A year ago, the Arizona senator's team made a crucial strategic decision. McCain would run on his (impressive) personal biography. On policy, he'd hew mostly to conservative orthodoxy, with a few deviations -- most notably, his support for legalization for illegal immigrants. But this strategy wasn't yielding results in the general election. So in August, McCain tried a bold new gambit: He would reach out to independents and women with an exciting and unexpected vice presidential choice.

That didn't work out so well either. Gov. Sarah Palin connected with neither independents nor women. She did, however, ignite the Republican base, which has come to support her passionately. And so, in this last month, the McCain campaign has Palinized itself to make the most of its last asset. To fire up the Republican base, the McCain team has hit at Barack Obama as an alien, a radical and a socialist.

Sure enough, the base has responded. After months and months of wan enthusiasm among Republicans, these last weeks have at last energized the core of the party. But there's a downside: The very same campaign strategy that has belatedly mobilized the Republican core has alienated and offended the great national middle, which was the only place where the 2008 election could have been won.

Like I said; it's difficult to argue with that sentiment. John McCain will likely lose this election, because he played to the Republican base, and not to the real strength in this election, which is the middle of the ideological spectrum.

But there's something in the above that really bothers me, and has bothered me for a while, and that is the concept that the Republican "base" represents anything resembling what Frum calls "conservative orthodoxy."

Obama's Single-Handedly Reforming Campaign Finance: McCain Worried

John McCain made me laugh my ass off today.

I know, I usually laugh my ass off, but this had to be the most clueless thing I have ever seen in my life.  You see, McCain seems to be quite concerned about Obama's effect on the campaign finance system. Read this carefully, because it will make you laugh. Okay, it will only make those of us with a brain laugh;  the wingnuts will take this seriously:

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday" hours after Obama's campaign reported raising a record $150 million in September, McCain said the overall sum his Democratic rival has raised — $605 million — showed the "dam has broken" for future White House races.

McCain also complained that the identities of people who contributed more than $200 million of Obama's total take have not been reported, although that is allowable under federal law because the individual donations fall under the $200 reporting limit.

"I'm saying it's laying a predicate for the future that can be very dangerous," McCain said. "History shows us where unlimited amounts of money are in political campaigns, it leads to scandal."

With this, John McCain certifies himself as a clueless putz. I used to think he was a little smarter than his campaign demonstrated. Now, I'm not so sure.

Think about this for a moment.

Why McCain Was Always Going to Lose: Bye Bye Right Wing!

The Republican Party is truly screwed, and I think they're just beginning to realize it.

 

See, the one basic truism of politics is that every election cycle is different. It's really not possible to compare 2008 with 2006, or 2004 to 2000, etc. I know, the pundits try, but if you actually pay attention, very few of them ever get anything right. There are a few who are less wrong than others, but for then most part, let's be real; they're wrong more often than they're right.

 

One of the reasons the Republicans are screwed is because they're trying to run the same campaign against Barack Obama that they ran against John Kerry, and that they've been running since 1980, and it's never going to work, for many reasons.

 

For the record, I would be saying this no matter who won the Democratic nomination, although Obama won the nomination largely because Hillary Clinton chose to run the same campaign Bill Clinton ran in 1992. You see, the Clintons have been way too beholden to the Democratic Leadership Council, which is the most Republican Democratic organization anywhere, and as such, they have absolutely zero political skills. If you doubt me on that, think about this: from 1994 to 2004, with the DLC running the Democratic Party, Democrats couldn't beat the pants off a party with a platform of essentially bankrupting the country and handing all tax money to the rich, and who have been bound and determined to prove the government absolutely incompetent.

Caribou Barbie Abused Power; Will McCain Continue to Associate With Her?

Well, well...

This is what happens when you make a rash, purely political appointment, without vetting the appointee thoroughly and completely.

Today, the Alaskan legislature, which is majority Republican, voted to release a report by a non-partisan investigator, hired by a Republican majority legislative council, that declares that Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, John McCain's perky running mate, abused her power when she fired the guy who refused to fire her brother in law, because her sister essentially asked her two.

Here is a summary of what they found:

Finding One

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39/52/110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides

 

The legislature reaffirms that every public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.

Finding Two

I find that, although Walt Monegan's refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooter was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin's firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.

 

Finding Three

Harbor Adjustment Service of Anchorage, and its owner Ms. Murleen Wilkes, handled Trooper Michael Wooten's workers' compensation claim properly and in the normal course of business like any other claim process by Harbor Adjustment Service and Ms. Wilkes. Further, Trooper Wooten received all the workers' compensation benefits to which he was entitled.

Finding Four

The Attorney General's office has failed to substantially comply with my August 6, 2008 written request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of emails.

Go HERE for the full Report

---------------------------------------

So., let's recap. Caribou Barbie, candidate for Vice President of the United States, has shown herself to be unethical, and abused the power of her office as governor.

Haven't we had enough of that shit for the last eight years? Do we need another Administration in office that uses the Constitution as just so much toilet paper? How is replacing Dick Cheney with this woman, who obviously shares that immature notion that, because she's "the boss" in her mind, she can do whatever the hell she wants, an improvement? These people don't seem to understand that the United States is not a private company, and she is not its CEO. SHE works for the people of Alaska, not the other way around. And if she became president, she seems incapable of understanding that she would be the LEADER of the free world, not the BOSS of the free world.

And she's also a proven liar.

Note that fourth finding up there? In short, it means she promised to cooperate, and then told them to shove it.

Come on, folks. This is the kind of thinking we need to replace. WE need a government that works for US.

One question, though; since she's less ethical than William Ayers lately, will McCain continue to associate with her?

NRA Sells Out: Endorses "One of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment”

Wow. I’m stunned. 

The National Rifle Association has endorsed John McCain. Not only that, but they have embarked on a $40 million ad buy, where they lie their asses off about Barack Obama, and his alleged desire to take away everyone’s guns.

Okay, let me dispatch the lies in the ads first.  

This is from The Wall Street Journal, and dated September 5, 2008 so you know it’s not coming from a “liberal” source:

A woman in the crowd told Obama she had “heard a rumor” that he might be planning some sort of gun ban upon being elected president. Obama trotted out his standard policy stance, that he had a deep respect for the “traditions of gun ownership” but favored measures in big cities to keep guns out of the hands of “gang bangers and drug dealers’’ in big cities “who already have them and are shooting people.”

“If you’ve got a gun in your house, I’m not taking it,’’ Obama said. But the Illinois senator could still see skeptics in the crowd, particularly on the faces of several men at the back of the room.

So he tried again. “Even if I want to take them away, I don’t have the votes in Congress,’’ he said. “This can’t be the reason not to vote for me. Can everyone hear me in the back? I see a couple of sportsmen back there. I’m not going to take away your guns.’’

So, there you are. We can start with the fact that the NRA is apparently a group of bald-faced liars.

Buying Bad Mortgage Policy from McCain

I know what a lot of you think you heard from John McCain last night about the government buying bad mortgages and all that. And in a way, it kinda sorta sounded like an idea Barack Obama had earlier, and that Congress included in its final bailout package last week.

But I listened to it again, and it sounded different. So, I looked at the transcript, and what I figured out is that John McCain really doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about, and cannot be trusted with the economy.

See, the idea that I thought McCain was discussing, and claiming as his own, was this idea that many have recommended (including me), in which people who are upside down on their mortgages can negotiate a new mortgage, reflecting the current, lower value of their home. The banks could be partially subsidized for any losses, and in almost no time, we’d all be back on our feet. People who were previously screwed would be made whole, and it would then be largely unnecessary to bail out the gamblers who pissed their money away by creating a phony market based on no actual value. In other words, he may be trying to paraphrase the plan Obama and the Democrats have been pushing all along.

But read carefully, because McCain actually stands this idea on its head.

Out of the Way, Wingnuts! This Election is Too Important for Your Crap!

Just to make clear, what you're seeing all over the country is the far right in this country being forced back to the fringes of political discourse in this country, which is where they belong, and progressives and real conservatives taking back the country. This is not just people wanting a little change in Washington; this is a movement. This is Americans waking up from a slumber, and deciding to take the country back, before there's nothing left to take back.

 

And it's so humorous to watch these idiots flail, and try to hang onto power. Seriously, is there anything more pathetic than watching Elisabeth Hasselbeck pleading wih the others on "The View" to please take her seriously, because what she has to say has huge national importance, or to see Sean Hannity beating the Ayers and Wright horses well after they're deceased, and starting to smell?

 

I'm going to put it as bluntly as I can, folks. If you vote for John McCain, you are voting to bankrupt the United States and turn us into a Third World country within our lifetimes. That's not to say McCain wouldn't be a slight improvement over the disaster who occupies the Oval Office currently. But shouldn't we aim higher? Instead of trading lung cancer for hepatitis C, why don't we instead work for the good health of the country?

 

One of the likely reasons so many people are finally waking up, is because a significant enough number of them have finally maxed out their credit, and can no longer pay the bills every month, and it's starting to dawn on them; perhaps something is wrong?

 

So, what's been wrong with neocon rule since Reagan? Gee, where do I start?

 

Texas-based Contractor USPI Indicted

This is the first of a small trickle of these types of stories, that is likely to turn to a flood sometime just after January 20.

Apparently, a Houston security company, United States Protection and Investigations, has been indicted and charged with conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud, and three count of major fraud, for inflating expenses for rental vehicles, fuel and security personnel in Afghanistan, to the tune of $3 million.

Of course, compared to the likes of Blackwater and Halliburton, these (alleged) crooks are just pikers. And I've become just cynical enough with the current administration to believe they're going after companies like this, just so they can say they're going after fraud and abuse, and to discourage any investigation of their crony companies.

And that is likely, given that Afghan authorities were behind the initial raid a year ago, along with FBI and State Department officials, and -- hold onto your hats -- Blackwater security personnel. During he raid, they arrested four of the company's management team and seized 15 computers. After the raid, the two Americans who had been arrested, while the Afghans remained in custody.

More coming...

THIS is the Difference Between Republicans and Democrats

If you ever doubted that today's incarnation of the Republican Party is a bunch of humorless, authoritarian tools, check out what they're whining about in Pennsylvania.

Apparently, during the Pennsylvania primary last spring, a woman was walking into a polling place wearing an Obama t-shirt, and she was told by volunteers to take it off, because it was a violation of the rules against electioneering at a polling place.

Okay, fair enough; I think a lot of volunteers would make the same mistake, because the ban on "electioneering" is quite non-specific. They could have suggested she tape a sheet of paper over the Obama shirt while she was in the polling place, but their heart was in the right place.

The woman, however, rightly objected to the request that she strip to her underwear in order to vote, and asked the state to clarify the rules, and tell her if she actually broke any.

So, after some deliberation, the Secretary of State for Pennsylvania issued a memo last month, advising counties o disregard the voters' attire, so long as the voter takes no additional action to attempt to influence others' votes.

Well, as you can guess, the Republican Party is furious, and two right wing Pittsbirgh-area election officials filed a lawsuit to have the memo rescinded. Their lawsuit contains a dire warning; "Nothing would prevent a partisan group from synchronizing a battalion of like-minded individuals ... to descend on a polling place, presenting a domineering, united front, certain to dissuade the average citizen who may privately hold different beliefs."

Democrats, on the other hand, feel that voters should be able to express themselves, and not be discouraged from voting, because they choose to wear their candidate on a t-shirt.

This is all part of a Republican strategy that is as old as Nixon's "Southern Strategy," folks. Republicans will do anything they can to depress voting as much as possible, because they have a statistical minority in the number of registrations. That's why they "go negative" so often; they're trying to piss people off enough to keep them away from the polls, to give them a fighting chance.

The idea that Obama will present a phalanx of people wearing t-shirts and intimidate McCain voters into voting for Obama in their secret ballot is ludicrous, because it ignores the fact that we live in a society where advertising is literally all around us, and we don't automatically go out and buy everything that is advertised to us.

And frankly, putting together a phalanx of people wearing McCain t-shirts, and openly attempting to intimidate Obama voters sound more realistic, anyway, dontcha think?

Republicans are the authoritarian bullies, after all. They're the ones pushing for a dress code at the polling place.

Law and Order Republicans Trying to Shove Caribou Barbie's Malfeasance Under the Rug!

Dontcha just love how the "law and order" Republican Party drops any pretense to "law and order" whenever it might mean actual law and order might put their ass in the proverbial sling?

Today, six Republican lawmakers in Alaska filed an appeal, asking the state Supreme Court to -- and I am not kidding here -- suppress the results of a public investigation instigated by Republicans against a Republican governor, because that governor just happens to be Sarah Palin, and John McCain forgot to vet her properly before he chose her as his running mate.

You see, this is about "Troopergate," in which Caribou Barbie supposedly demanded the Public Safety Commissioner fire her ex-brother-in-law, who was a state police officer, for no good reason, and then fired said Public Safety Commissioner when he refused to do so. In other words, there is a question as to whether or not Palin abused her power as governor, and the people of Alaska have a right to know. The independent investigator plans to turn over his report by next Friday, and therein lies the rub.

Here's the funny part, and I don't mean funny ha-ha.

The legislature is majority Republican, and the Legislative Council, which authorized the investigation in the first place, is also majority Republican. But now, because John McCain made a rash choice for vice president, without fully vetting her, Republicans are scrambling to cover up for his lack of judgment.

Keep in mind; the investigation is already pretty much complete. The only thing these Republicans are attempting to do is to make sure the results of that investigation doesn't see the light of day until after the election.

The Alaska Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal, and the oral arguments are set for Wednesday, so we'll see. But I have a couple of questions;

If Palin did something wrong, don't the people of Alaska actually have a right to know about it as soon as possible?

And similarly, if Palin is guilty of abusing her office, don't the people who are going to vote for her on November 4 have a right to know that, as well? I mean, if a significant number of McCain voters are voting for him, because of his choice of running mate, and she ends up being unable to serve as vice president, don't voters nationwide have the right to know that, as well?

"Law and Order" Republicans, my shiny white ass...

Republican Pussies; Boner and Cantor

Today, we saw a major reason why we have to get rid of the current incarnation of the Republican Party, and do so thoroughly and quickly.

They're the biggest bunch of pussies on the face of the earth.

When asked why he failed to get a majority of Republicans to vote for this bill,big brave Minority Leader John Boehner, he of the bronzing agent and the multiple drunk crying jags on the House floor, actually said;

 

"I do believe that we could have gotten there today, had it not been for this partisan speech that the Speaker gave on the floor of the House. I mean, we were -- we put everything we had into getting the votes to get there today, but the Speaker had to give a partisan voice that poisoned our conference, caused a number of members who we thought we could get to go south."

 

Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia should have made his fellow Virginians cringe with embarrassment when he followed that sentiment moments later. Waving waved a copy of Pelosi's speech in the air, he whined;

 

"Right here is the reason I believe why this vote failed. And this is Speaker Pelosi's speech that frankly struck the tone of partisanship that frankly was inappropriate in this discussion."

 

Seriously, why do we allow these pussies to run our democracy? I mean, let them have a vote, but what kinds of constituencies put these pussy-boys in office?

We are sitting at the brink of a fiscal crisis here. Our economy has sucked for a while, and these guys, among others, have pushed us closer to a financial depression than we've been in about 75 years. If these two wusses think the bill sucked, they should vote against the bill. But if they voted against a necessary emergency bill because Nancy Pelosi hurt their feelings, then their weenie asses need to be out of the House, pronto. This bill is about saving the American economy, not Republicans' egos.

 

It Really Is the Economy, Stupid -- This Time, Let's REALLY Change It!

You know, one of the greatest frustrations in being somewhat liberal is the tendency for others of my ideological ilk to demonize individuals, and to focus on specific people as "the problem."

Our economy is damn close to a total meltdown, and we're closer to being a Third World country than at any time in our history. In a system that purports to be capitalist, we the taxpayer are now expected to bail out these "Captains of Industry" to the tune of $1 TRILLION, just to prevent the collapse of the economy.

Let me make something clear here, folks. This is not the fault of a few select individuals; it's about ideology. This election represents a turning point for this country. It's not about Republican vs. Democrat, it's not about Obama, or McCain, or Bush and Cheney, or Palin. This election is about repudiating an IDEOLOGY; an ideology that has kept us stagnate since the far right took over the government in 1981, that has managed to make the economy look better than it was with a series of bubbles and an unprecedented amount of debt, and which has pushed us to the brink of economic annihilation.

A good economy makes things and sells them for a profit. A good economy provides good jobs for as many people as possible, and pays them enough to create a good life. A good economy encourages entrepreneurship.

We do not have a good economy, and we haven't for at least 35 years. We started to recover in the right way under Bill Clinton, because he guided programs that propped up the bottom rungs of the economy, and he encouraged manufacturing and increased trade. But overall, our economy has been shipping most good jobs overseas, pay has been largely stagnant since the mid-1970s, and the level of actual entrepreneurship is so low as to be frightening. And has anyone even begun to comprehend the amount of debt we hold as taxpayers? We'd better start thinking about it, because that debt has to be paid back at some point. And the higher that debt goes, the harder and more expensive it will be to borrow money later. And since we're currently counting on borrowed money just to make ends meet in the current right wing economic environment, that will eventually cause us serious problems in the near future. 

And no matter what the people on the right tell you, make no mistake; it's not liberal policies, or free-spending liberalism, that is causing our economic problems.

The culprit is a right wing Republican ideology, which takes money from the poor and hands it to the rich. They still push the completely discredited concept of "trickle down economics," even though it's been nearly 30 years, and the only thing that's "trickled down" to the poor and working classes is the urine from the rich fat cats who have made out like bandits on your dime, and who are proceeding to piss all over you.

This election is about returning us to an economic model that worked, and abandoning the failed economic policies of a generation of right wing Republican theory that has proven itself to be both economically and morally bankrupt. Again; this isn't juast about a difference between Obama and McCain;this is about  complete change in mindset; to making people count again.

The GOP Strategy -- Designed to Piss You Off

About 36 years ago, when I was very young, I learned one absolute truth about the Republican Party, and it continues to be absolutely true to this day.

The Republicans are in an electoral minority, folks, so they have no choice but to even the playing field. The way they do it is this; they try to piss the electorate off so much, that a large percentage of voters stay home on election day.

This was told to be by a liberal Republican, back when there was such a thing, and he knew what he was talking about. It's still a major strategy to this day.

Have you noticed something, folks?

If you go online, and check out John McCain's statements to the press, and compare them to Barack Obama's statements to the press, you'll notice a stark difference. At least three quarters of the time, Obama is talking about the issues, like Iraq, the economy, energy policy, gas prices or jobs. At least three-quarters of the time, John McCain is talking about Barack Obama.

When Did the United States Become a Nation of Pussies?

Today is the 39th anniversary of the day that American astronauts first set foot on the moon.

Think about that a moment. Within ten years, this great country was able to go from being unable to fire a rocket into space, to putting men into space, then creating a way for them to land on the moon, take off from the moon, and return home safely, six out of seven times.

Contrast that with today, 39 years later, when we're looking at taking 20 years to increase the average gas mileage of our cars to 34 miles per gallon, and lessening our use of "foreign oil."

When World War II was declared, a factory in Detroit that made Ford automobiles was retrofitted to manufacture helicopters for the war effort, and was able to do so in the space of eight weeks.

Contrast that with today, when all American car companies claim they can't compete in the global market, and they have to shut down for years, just to be able to make cars that people want to drive, cars they should have been making all along.

During World War II, our leadership was able to mobilize the entire country to defeat the Nazis and Japanese Imperial Forces, two of the most formidable powers in the history of world, and helped defeat them within four years.   

Contrast that with today, when our leadership expects us to cower in fear at rogue actors who might strap a bomb to their waist and blow up everyone within a short distance.

What have we become? We're afraid of everything these days. How have we gone from "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," to the current attitude, whereby; we're afraid of terrorists, because they might want to "kill us for our freedoms;" we're afraid to switch to alternative fuels, because it might entail pumping something other than gas; we're afraid to try anything new, because it may not work?

When did the United States become a nation of pussies?

Gee, You Mean Bushies are Liars? Who Knew?

Why is everyone going ga-ga over Scott McClellan's revelations that George W. Bush and his administration suck? Are the rest of us becoming like the right wingers, where we have so little faith in our opinions that we need validation from others to even have them?

McClellan has written a book and, of course, his publisher needs to sell a ton of them in order to rationalize the overpayment they made to him in securing the book deal in the first place. You know, because every reader is chomping at the bit for a book by a guy who was arguably the worst and most inarticulate press secretary in US history. So, they release some details designed to get the book a lot more publicity than it would normally get, and everyone oohs and aahs and talks about how stunning all of this is.

So, what did McClellan's book reveal, after all?

SEVENTY PERCENT of Republicans APPROVE of Bush! (And they wonder why they're losing?)

We've all see this before, of course...

In yet another poll, Bush's approvals take a nosedive. Today's Washington Post contains an article  touting Bush's now-lower approval rating.

Nothing new, of course. but I'm always curious as to why the number is always so high. In this case, 31% of respondents approve. Seriously, folks... that's damn near a THIRD! You go to the gas pump and drop $40, you drop $200 a week at the grocery store, you see all of the empty houses in a lot of neighborhoods, the daily news of foreclosures, the floundering stock market, the strip search when you get ready to board a plane; two wars that are basically being bungled beyond comprehension...

How is it even POSSIBLE that 31% of the people in this country approve of this idiot?

Then, as I'm scanning the article, and I note the following:

Nearly seven in 10 Republicans continue to back the president; about nine in 10 Democrats disapprove.

Now, I know that many of those who have been reading me for a while think I'm a little hard on the Republican Party. After all, they tell me; MOST Republicans are reasonable, and they're not like the far right scumbags that have led the party off the clip.

Oh, really? SEVENTY PERCENT of Republicans polled think Bush is doing a bang up job. The worst administration in history, and because he has what they consider the "right" politics, they "approve" of his dismantling of the Constitution, his bungling of two wars, putting us into more debt than even his father, and the near-destruction of the economy. SEVENTY PERCENT of Republicans APPROVE of the rampant corruption, and the pillaging of the Treasury that has marked the last eight years.

Unbelievable. Or, at least, I WISH it was unbelievable...

McCain Trades Political Favors for Campaign Cash

The kind of thing I read in this morning's Washington Post makes you wonder if John McCain's psychology isn't such that every time he does something good, he follows it up with something bad, just to even things out, and make sure he can still be a member of the Republican Party.

See, there were these developers in Arizona, and they wanted to do a little land swap, so they could build 12,000 homes in Tempe, presumably to be purchased with the sub-prime scam loans that are causing such a problem. Well, at first, John McCain the sometime environmentalist was against it; too many people, and bad for the environment.

Then, the lobbyists for the developer started talking to him, and he went from being against it, to being their champion. Funny thing about those lobbyists; that developer knew just who to hire to get McCain to go for his idea; it was uncanny. They hired one of McCain's former campaign managers, two of his former staffers, one of which is now he chief of staff for his current presidential campaign, and a major McCain donor, who is now bundling lots of checks for the presidential candidate.

it was amazing; they started talking to him, and within a short time, he was not only no longer against the land swap, he was championing legislation to make sure it happened.

Pretty amazing the influence these lobbyists have with "The Maverick," isn't it? Oh, did I tell you; so far, his buddy, the lobbyist-bundler, has raised more than $100,000 for the McCain campaign. But that has nothing whatsoever to do with McCain's support! Perish the thought...

Now, for those of you with short memories, this revelation comes just a couple of weeks after the New York Times reported that in 1999 McCain helped the aptly named Don Diamond, one of the senator's top fundraisers, to obtain the land and water rights to a prime spot of California coastline after the closing of an Army base for $250,000. Two years later, Diamond sold that same land for $30 million. It wasn't the first time he rewarded Mr. Diamond, either; in 1991 and 1994, McCain passed bills that purchased some of Diamond's land for national parks, for either millions of dollars, or thousands of acres of other land.

Now, perhaps I'm naive, but aren't these stories just a little more important than whether or not Barack Obama wears a lapel pin, or has a pastor with a big mouth?

Just asking...

Journalists Bought and Paid for With Your Tax Dollars

There is an excellent but ultimately very disturbing article in this morning's New York Times which deserves a look. It demonstrates two things; it shows that the Bush Administration has been actively propagandizing to its very own people, which is disturbing enough. But it also demonstrates the extent to which the press, which is supposed to be our advocate to the government, actively pushes the Bush propaganda line. Here are a few excerpts;

Behind Analysts, the Pentagon’s Hidden Hand - New York Times.

In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantánamo Bay. The detention center had just been branded “the gulag of our times” by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure.

The administration’s communications experts responded swiftly. Early one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one of the jets normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney and flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantánamo.

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, the men on the plane and several dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.

If the mainstream press wants to know why it's losing money and having to lay people off this is it. The reason people go to blogs for their information is because traditional journalism has let them down. Can you say "unethical"? There is nothing ethical in the above practice, journalistically speaking.

George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson are but a tip of the iceberg, folks, as are their main apologists, including the hack, David Brooks. This is a systemic problem, whereby the entire journalistic profession has completely forgotten what their purpose is. Their purpose is to keep public officials honest, by watching what they do.

Let me engage you in a little Journalism 101. First off, actual journalism should be hard. A good, investigative piece of journalism can take months, or even years, to complete. It requires a lot of very arduous research, and often, the information can be difficult to impossible to come by.  But that's your job. If you want to just repeat whatever bullshit the president's people dictate to you, then go work in his press office.

The fact that journalists today value "inside information and easy access to senior officials" demonstrates the biggest problem with journalism today; reporters are lazy and slothful, by and large. They all want to be millionaire anchors; they don't give a rat's ass about journalistic integrity, and the thrill of working their asses off to get the "good story." It shouldn't come as a shock that many of the best journalists in this country have foreign accents. Christiane Amanpour, for example. And has anyone done a better job of reporting on Iraq than Australian reporter Michael Ware?

Here's a clue, reporters; "easy access to senior officials" is usually a sign that you're NOT doing your job. If someone inside the Bush Administration is offering you "easy access" to any information, you should assume that the information is bullshit. Actually, if anyone in government from either side of the aisle offers you information without you having to dig for it, you should treat it as if it was a piece of moldy cheese, and be very  suspicious of it.

And why doesn't it piss off more people that they are using our tax dollars to feed us this crap? (Okay, in the interest of accuracy, they're using your grandchild's tax money, but still...) We are being soaked for the whole enchilada, folks; they're making us pay for the war, they're making us line the pockets of Bush cronies who are profiteering on the overpriced contracts in Iraq, and they're even making us pay for the lies that are designed to hide the facts that they screwed up an occupation, and that they're stealing from us.

I don't understand why people aren't more pissed off at this stuff.

 

Republicans -- The Party of "Values" -- Part 1: Sex (and some Drugs)

So how about this whole "Party of Values" label the Republicans have handed themselves? Isn't that a hoot? How about the whole "I'm more Christian than you!" tone the right wing has celebrated for years? You evangelicals who worship at the feet of these idiots; do you feel duped yet? There's nothing even remotely moral about these people, as a group, and I mean nothing. That is not to say there are no moral people who happen to be registered Republicans, of course, but if you look at what your votes have sanctioned over the years, there has to be some soul searching going on in moderate Republican circles.

Face it, folks; you've been had.

If it seems at times like the Democratic Party has a hard time getting its act together and acting in unison, it's because it doesn't. On the other hand, for most of the last 40 years, we have been led by a Republican Party populated by hypocrites who say all sorts of things that people want to believe, but their actions have in no way matched their words.

Actually, it goes well beyond that. It's getting to the point where I don't want to be alone with a Republican man. Apparently, they're a bunch of freaks. Within the last few months, we've had several prominent Republican political operatives, including many who had high profile roles in Republican presidential campaigns, who were caught doing, um, weird things to people.

Let's start with the more recent freak scandals. Many have referred refer to this stuff as "gay sex," but let's get real here. I'm not gay, but somehow, I can't see these activities as particularly normal for most gay men who are relatively secure in their sexuality. These people are freaks, in part because they simply cannot be what they want, and they're acting out.

Seriously, folks; all of you know gay men. You don't know many of them are gay, but they're there, right in front of you. But it doesn't matter to you, because most gay men are not freaks. I think it's safe to say that  most gay men do not solicit strangers for sex in a public restroom. I know some of you wingnuts think of gay men as something akin to predators, but most are pretty much aware that most bathroom solicitations will probably result in something painful happening to them. Most gay men find other gay men the same way most of us in the heterosexual world find women; in bars, in church, through mutual friends, on the Internet, etc. They don't stand outside a men's room stall and peek longingly through the crack at a guy taking a shit, and continue staring for two or more minutes, before proceeding to the next stall to play footsie. They don't peek over the stall door and offer the guy inside $20 to give him oral sex. Actually, it's pretty unusual for anyone to pay to give oral sex, and even more unusual to then claim that you were trying to do it to get away from the "cluster of black people" gathering around the area. I'm pretty sure, if enough menacing people of any race were "clustering" threateningly, offering them money to blow them might get you in more trouble than simply running away. And I can't imagine a relatively normal gay man ever having sex with another man while he was sleeping, either, especially when the other man was so incredibly drunk and passed out that it didn't even awaken him. Relatively normal gay men don't preach against homesexuality during the day, and then partake in crystal meth and male prostitutes at night. They also don't host hours and hours of television with their wives, preaching about the wickedness of adultery and homosexuality, while going off several evenings a week to be with their male lovers, nor do they pay huge sums of money to hush up said (now former, I presume) lover, in order to keep their hundred-million-dollar television ministry from going under. And normal gay men, despite the right wing stereotype, simply do not get into intimate sexual discussions with underage kids who are supposed to be in their employ, especially when they're congressmen.

You see, the behavior above is not the behavior of normal gay people; it's the behavior of self-loathing predators who feel the need to persecute others who are fortunate enough to be comfortable in their own skin, and able to be themselves. If these wingnut Republicans want to be gay, they can be gay. But then, they might have to give up some of their perceived power, and that's simply not acceptable.

And for those Republicans or their supporters who aren't gay, aren't pedophiles, and aren't criminals, you, too are just as culpable when it comes to the immorality of hypocrisy. Another of the leading televangelists in the country, who praises Jesus while simultaneously supporting those who violate His teachings on a daily basis, actually referred to the predatory behavior of the congress toward the boy pages, as described above as a "joke," and excused -- not forgave, mind you, but excused -- the above congressman's behavior as unimportant. Imagine that your child was a congressional page, and you found out that this congressman was talking to him explicitly about sex. I'm pretty sure you'd want to kick his ass. and if someone who proclaimed himself to be Jesus' representative on earth, and instructed everyone on ethics and morals, excused such behavior with a 'boys will be boys" kind of attitude, you'd certainly consider him a hypocrite, and you sure as hell wouldn't go to his church. Yet, this phony preacher has most of the Republican leadership kissing his ample ass. Why?

The Republican sex scandal is not a new phenomenon, either. Back in 1990, the FBI broke up a teenage homosexual prostitution ring that had been active in and around DC for many years; among the ring's clients were several very high level White House officials. Did I mention the prostitutes were teen boys? Before that, another official working in the White House was forced to resign when it was found out that he had hired gay prostitutes, and used his own credit card to pay.

And those are just the criminals, folks. Among the others who have spent the last 40 years gay bashing, and doing their best to make sure their "base" understands that they don't "condone" homosexuality, include a very prominent Republican who was "outed" against his will after he voted against a host of bills designed to give gays equal rights; another Republican who spends far more of his time living alone with a male chief of staff in a small Capitol Hill apartment than with his wife,  and several others. There are actually quite a few, but this isn't about outing anyone, but pointing out the hypocrisy of a party that touts itself as being the party of values, when it is obviously the party of hypocrisy.

I don't care if anyone is gay, including a Republican. But when someone is gay, then claiming they're against homosexuality makes them a liar, and actively voting to deny rights to other gays makes them the ultimate hypocrites. And can we all agree that, at the very least, we should expect as much truth and as little hypocrisy as possible from those we elect to lead us?

Besides, the Republican sex scandals aren't just about "gay" sex. There is plenty of heterosexual freakiness to go around, and for a "family values" group of "devout Christians," there sure seems to be a lot of adultery and an awful lot of multiple marriages.

Several prominent Republican politicians, while they were busy impeaching the President of the United States for adultery, declaring themselves moral stewards for the country, and expressing remorse for the president having somehow made it "acceptable for teenage girls to give their boyfriends oral sex (despite the fact that said president never talked about oral sex; only the "moral" republicans did), were themselves involved in adulterous affairs, or had been recently. One even later dumped his wife for the mistress he was sleeping with during the impeachment trial. Of course, this shouldn't have shocked anyone, since that wife had once been his mistress when he dumped his first wife, while she lay in a hospital bed. Another impeachment-obsessed Republican, who was set to take over as Speaker when the first adulterer was forced to quit before being kicked out for ethics violations too great for even the Republican Congress, was himself forced to quit, having been identified as an adulterer himself. Not only that, but the leader of the House impeachment brigade was forced to admit that he, too, had been an adulterer several years before, in what he characterized as a "youthful indiscretion," despite the fact that he was well into his 40s when it happened. Then there is the Republican politician recently discovered to be a client of a prostitution ring, who apparently has an affinity for wearing diapers.

And it's not just the politicians themselves. Their most prominent supporters also play the hypocrisy game to the hilt. Who can forget the Republican talk show host (I know, he claims he's not a Republican, but then, he also claims to tell the truth) who was caught with his pants down, so to speak, having phone sex with a subordinate employee, and describing the unspeakable things he'd do with a falafel. Then there's the Republican mouthpiece who was caught red-handed, as it were, with an addiction to oxycontin procured for him by his maid, and then later, this paragon of morality (according to him) was stopped at the airport, after a return flight from the Dominican Republic (where he vacationed with several male buddies), with a large vial of Viagra not prescribed to him.

The above is only the tip of the iceberg, folks. There is also the Republican legislator who was convicted of molesting his daughter and her friend for 8 years; a Republican activist arrested on suspicion of having given a 13 year old girl pot and having sex with her; a leading Republican voice against Roe v. Wade, who has been married three times, and once paid for a girlfriend's abortion; the Republican congressman and anti-gay activist who was charged with having sex with a 16 year old he picked up at a gay bar; the Republican activist convicted of possession of child pornography; the Republican legislative aide who was charged with molesting a 12-year-old boy and possessing child pornography;  the male Republican politician who was charged with having sex with a 13-year-old boy...  I could continue, but I think that's enough.

 

This is not to say the Democrats are without sin; they're not. But then, the Democratic party doesn't strut around, portraying itself as a party of virtue. I am also not trying to say that every Republican is an immoral clod and a sexual freak show. But there are too many instances of things like this happening, for it to be a coincidence. And it's not a coincidence. What better way for a self-loathing gay man to hide his hated sexuality than to join the Republican Party, grab his crotch, proclaim himself "anti-gay," and pass a bunch of laws that persecute gays? it won't matter, right, since he'll always hide his homosexuality, or at least hope to.

Likewise, for the pedophiles and the sexual freaks, what better way to hide your hated sexuality than to cloak yourself in legitimacy, so to speak, and become a Republican politician? After all, no one in his right mind would ever imagine anyone who speaks so brilliantly against "immoral behavior" would ever engage in it themselves, would they? And then they wrap themselves in the cloak of "Christianity" (the fake kind) for added cover.

These are among those leading the Republican charge against "immoral" behavior, folks. I purposely didn't include names, because this isn't about them, personally; it's about the overall issue of honesty and integrity, as well as the veracity of the whole "Party of Values" label and the absolute double standard of these people.

Except for the child molesters and pedophiles, I don't have a problem with any of the behavior above. I'm not sure I'm too crazy about a guy approaching me while I'm taking a shit, and he's liable to be, shall we say, startled if he tries, but I think prostitution should be legal, and adultery is between the married couple themselves. It's not the behavior that should bother anyone, but the institutionalized hypocrisy innate in such behavior.

In the context of everything they say and do within the scope of their job, the behavior begs the question; what are their values, really? Where do they get off being so judgmental of others? Is that what makes someone a loyal member of the Republican Party? Are you, as a Republican supposed to judge everyone else far more harshly than you judge yourself? Are you supposed to hold everyone else up to a much higher standard than you yourself follow? And pretty much every single Republican in office right now holds himself up as a "Christian;" please point to the section of the New Testament that encourages you to judge others more harshly than you judge yourself? Better yet, point to the section where it tells you to deny civil rights to people, based on your disapproval of some aspect of their personal life. And what was it Jesus said; "Do unto others, so that you can get as much money and power as you want, and screw 'em if they don't like it." What? You mean, he didn't say that? Well, his followers in the GOP seem to think he said that...

This is just the sex chapter, folks... I have a lot more to cover, and a lot more questions to ask...

Stay tuned for Part 2...

Whose Taxes are Lower Again?

I cut the taxes on everybody. I didn't cut them. The Congress cut them. I asked them to cut them.
    --George W. Bush, Washington, DC, 08/06/2004

The next time a Bush fan tells you how much they cut everyone's taxes, remember this story...

From: After Foreclosure, a Big Tax Bill From the I.R.S. - New York Times.

Two years ago, William Stout lost his home in Allentown, Pa., to foreclosure when he could no longer make the payments on his $106,000 mortgage. Wells Fargo offered the two-bedroom house for sale on the courthouse steps. No bidders came forward. So Wells Fargo bought it for $1, county records show.

Despite the setback, Mr. Stout was relieved that his debt was wiped clean and he could make a new start. He married and moved in with his wife, Denise.

But on July 9, they received a bill from the Internal Revenue Service for $34,603 in back taxes. The letter explained that the debt canceled by Wells Fargo upon foreclosure was subject to income taxes, as well as penalties and late fees. The couple had a month to challenge the charges.

Yes, that's right, ladies and gentlemen. While right wing patrons get tax breaks for taking their friends to lunch at the most expensive restaurant in town and calling it "business;" while the relatives of rich Bush supporters who get millions of dollars in free money through inheritance get to pay next to nothing; while Wells Fargo Bank gets to write off the mortgage as lost, and not pay taxes on it, and keep the house as an asset to sell later, for even more income; the IRS actually considers forgiven debt to be "income" and forces you to pay tax on that.

Are you getting how the system is rigged yet? the net result of 26+ years of right wing addiction to "tax cuts" has the net effect of substantial tax cuts on the rich, who didn't need tax cuts in the first place, and increased punitive taxation on everyone else. Like I said; rich CEOs of large corporations pay no taxes on the "deferred" portion of their compensation, which in many cases is most of it. They are largely able to shelter most of their income from taxation altogether. Meanwhile, the average working person sees their taxes go up, as their income goes up, and the IRS finds more and more ways to sock it to the poor.

Imagine the relief this guy felt at having been relieved of the burden of this mortgage he couldn't afford, because the Bush economy screwed him, only to be told by the government that the forgiven debt was, in fact, "income." Meanwhile, across town, a rich CEO's kid gets $2 million dropped in his lap after his father passes away, and pays nothing.

That's the tax system the Republicans have created for us, folks. They only reduced taxes on the very rich, raised your taxes and they call every gain you see in your life "income," while exempting most of the income received by the rich...

Feel good about that, do ya?

And then, there's Republican Corruption

Of course, republicans aren't just dropping like flies through attrition. there is also the corruption component. Uncle Ted Stevens is just the latest in a long line of sleazy Republicans who thinks his job entitles him to a little extra "welfare...

From: Feds eye polar contract in Stevens probe on Yahoo! News.

Federal authorities investigating Sen. Ted Stevens have turned their attention toward a federal contract that made millions of dollars for one of the senator's friends, a wealthy Alaska oil field contractor.

The Justice Department recently asked the National Science Foundation for records related to VECO Inc., the company at the center of a sweeping corruption investigation. VECO's founder, Bill Allen, has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska lawmakers and oversaw a complicated home renovation project at Stevens' house in 2000.

VECO and its subsidiaries have so far gotten more than $50 million from the science agency for contracts to provide transportation, equipment and other support for Arctic researchers. The contracts could be worth much more in the coming years. They represent the company's most lucrative federal contracts, according the federal procurement data.

I'm still a bit uncomfortable with the current Justice Department investigating this. How long before "Fredo" tries to kill it, thus saving his party -- which he places way above his country -- a much-needed Senate seat.

On the other hand, if anyone does try to short-circuit this investigation, then it will be obvious just how corrupt the Republicans actually are.

Republican Law Again Puts the Rich Ahead of Hurricane Victims

Here's yet another example of the Republican right wing legacy -- rich developers using tax money meant to help Katrina victims rebuild, to build luxury condos near the University of Alabama, which isn't really all that close to the Gulf Coast.

From: Katrina Aid Goes Toward Football Condos - The Huffington Post.

With large swaths of the Gulf Coast still in ruins from Hurricane Katrina, rich federal tax breaks designed to spur rebuilding are flowing hundreds of miles inland to investors who are buying up luxury condos near the University of Alabama's football stadium.

About 10 condominium projects are going up in and around Tuscaloosa, and builders are asking up to $1 million for units with granite countertops, king-size bathtubs and 'Bama decor, including crimson couches and Bear Bryant wall art.

While many of the buyers are Crimson Tide alumni or ardent football fans not entitled to any special Katrina-related tax breaks, many others are real estate investors who are purchasing the condos with plans to rent them out.

 

And they intend to take full advantage of the generous tax benefits available to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, or GO Zone, according to Associated Press interviews with buyers and real estate officials.

Now, you're thinking, here's another case of the rich taking advantage of a loophole, in order to screw the poor, right?

Think again. The bill that created these GO Zones was written to their advantage.

The GO Zone contains a variety of tax breaks designed to stimulate construction in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. It offers tax-free bonds to developers to finance big commercial projects like shopping centers or hotels. It also allows real estate investors who buy condos or other properties in the GO Zone to take accelerated depreciation on their purchases when they file their taxes.

The GO Zone was drawn to include the Tuscaloosa area even though it is about 200 miles from the coast and got only heavy rain and scattered wind damage from Katrina.

So, here's the deal. The Republicans in Congress created a bill, ostensibly designed to help the victims of Katrina, and drew up the affected area, so that developers in other areas could take advantage. Not only that, but why are they helping real estate developers, and not individual homeowners, anyway?

The answer is deceptively simple, folks. It's because they simply don't care about average people. They only care about how their rich supporters do. They claim to be in favor of the "free market," but they're all about limiting opportunity for those who aren't already making millions or billions of dollars in it. In the past, the government would have offered loans and grants to people to rebuild their homes and to small businesses. But the Republicans have even corrupted  that concept, funneling your tax money to people who don't need it, in order to build things that most people don't need and can't afford.

These are the same folks who rail about welfare for the poor, as if a woman getting a few hundred a month to feed and clothe her kids was the worst parasite there ever was. But rich developers who use your tax money to build million-dollar condos for Alabama football fans aren't parasites at all?

Poor single mothers living in squalor in the inner city aren't the "welfare queens," folks; it's the rich Republican developers who are siphoning money away from the rest of us who deserve our scorn. Do they really need money meant to help people rebuild after a natural disaster to make even more money for themselves?

House Republicans Throw Pissy Fit Because they Can't get Their Bigoted way

Check this out! The Republicans want to pass a bigoted bill that would violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, so that they can appeal to their gullible wingnut base. There is no other reason to pass such a bill, because they know it'll end up dead in court somewhere. So, when the Democrats play procedural games, they get all bent out of shape, pick up their ball and go home...

From: The Crypt's Blog - Politico.com.

In a massive flare-up of partisan tensions, Republicans walked out on a House vote late Thursday night to protest what they believed to be Democratic maneuvers to reverse an unfavorable outcome for them.

The flap represents a complete breakdown in parliamentary procedure and an unprecedented low for the sometimes bitterly divided chamber.

The rancor erupted shortly before 11 p.m. as Rep. Michael R. McNulty (D-N.Y.) gaveled close the vote on a standard procedural measure with the outcome still in doubt.

Details remain fuzzy, but numerous Republicans argued afterward that they had secured a 215-213 win on their motion to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving any federal funds apportioned in the agricultural spending bill for employment or rental assistance. Democrats, however, argued the measure was deadlocked at 214-214 and failed, members and aides on both sides of the aisle said afterward.

One GOP aide saw McNulty gavel the vote to a close after receiving a signal from his leaders – but before reading the official tally. And votes continued to shift even after he closed the roll call - a strange development in itself.

Whatever the final tally, acrimony quickly exploded between lawmakers on either side of the aisle as Democratic leaders tried to plot a solution, while parliamentarians on either side argued over protocol.

There you go. Republican politicians are desperate to play to their base, so they put forth a bigoted, blatantly unconstitutional bill like this, and then grab their blankies and go home when Democrats actually use their majority status to stop them.

Does anyone remember Democrats walking out when republicans held the vote open for three hours on the Medicare prescription drug bill, so that they could offer members more bribe money to get them to switch?

It's a non-issue, folks. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the government from treating anyone present within our borders unequally, regardless of their alleged immigrant status.

So far, Congressional Republicans haven't found an Iraq spending bill they didn't like, they attempt to block everything Democrats do that most voters want them to do, and they continue to follow a course that demonstrates that they don't give a rat's ass about anything but pleasing the idiots who comprise their "base."

 

Another Republican (Alleged) Crook!

Is it a prerequisite to becoming a Republican politician that you have to promise to use whichever office you hold for personal gain?

Seriously, folks; even the technically "not crooked" Republicans are all about funneling your tax money to rich people who don't need it. Yes, I know... members of both parties become highly paid lobbyists when they leave office. But the sheer volume of Republicans who seem to think the Treasury is their own personal piggy bank is remarkable, isn't it? The list of confirmed (alleged) crooks is long, and getting longer; Gingrich, Cunningham, Ney, DeLay, Frist, and now Ted Stevens. And those are just the money freaks; I haven't even gotten to the sex freaks, like Foley, Vitter, et al.

Whatever is in the water over there, I think it's time we started cleansing, electorally speaking...

Link: Alaska Senator's Home Is Raided - washingtonpost.com.

Agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens (R) yesterday as part of a broad federal investigation of political corruption in the state that has also swept up his son and one of his closest financial backers, officials said.

Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, is under scrutiny from the Justice Department for his ties to an Alaska energy services company, Veco, whose chief executive pleaded guilty in early May to a bribery scheme involving state lawmakers.

Contractors have told a federal grand jury that in 2000, Veco executives oversaw a lavish remodeling of Stevens's house in Girdwood, an exclusive ski resort area 40 miles from Anchorage, according to statements by the contractors.

Stevens said in a statement that his attorneys were advised of the impending search yesterday morning. He said he would not comment on details of the inquiry to avoid "any appearance that I have attempted to influence its outcome."

Stevens, 83, who joined the Senate in 1968, has been considered one of the most powerful members of Congress for more than a decade, including six years in which he held wide sway over nearly $1 trillion in federal spending as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He is now the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, which has oversight of fisheries and other industries critical to his home state.

"I urge Alaskans not to form conclusions based upon incomplete and sometimes incorrect reports in the media," Stevens said. "The legal process should be allowed to proceed so that all the facts can be established and the truth determined." Brendan Sullivan, a prominent white-collar defense attorney representing Stevens, declined to comment.

Nuclear Power Shoved Down Your Throat...

The only thing worse than paying for things you don't want, is paying for them twice...

From: Energy Bill Aids the Expansion Plans of Atomic Power Plants - New York Times.

A one-sentence provision buried in the Senate’s recently passed energy bill, inserted without debate at the urging of the nuclear power industry, could make builders of new nuclear plants eligible for tens of billions of dollars in government loan guarantees.

Lobbyists have told lawmakers and administration officials in recent weeks that the nuclear industry needs as much as $50 billion in loan guarantees over the next two years to finance a major expansion.

The biggest champion of the loan guarantees is Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy Committee and one of the nuclear industry’s strongest supporters in Congress.

(...)

But the provision has the potential to considerably expand the nuclear industry, which plans to build 28 new reactors at an estimated cost of about $4 billion to $5 billion apiece. And while the nuclear industry would be the biggest beneficiary, the provision could also set the stage for billions of dollars in loan guarantees for power plants that use “clean coal” technology and renewable fuels.

Can we please cut the crap?

There is no future for nuclear power, until someone make nuclear fusion a reality. Nuclear fission is dangerous as hell, and while it's clean in one respect -- there are no immediate emissions from a nuclear plant -- there is also the significant problem of waste. Right now, there is little to be done with nuclear waste, and to put 28 more power plants online without a plan for the waste is just stupid and irresponsible.

You see, that's American business for you. They champion politicians who will whine and cry about single women with three kids who get a few hundred dollars a month to feed and house their kids, but they'll gladly write a check to a bunch of fat rich guys for $4-5 billion to help them make money. They want all of the money, without any of the risk.

But nuclear power is a bad investment, anyway. I think we have to do something about global warming, as well, but the answer is not creating a heightened risk of a major nuclear meltdown tragedy in order to cut emissions. We should be looking at ways to produce power well into the future -- hundreds of years into the future, even -- and nuclear power has only proven to be a pain in the ass. If there's an accident -- and face it, with 28 more plants online, owned by people who didn't even pay for them in the first place, and who can be counted on to cut costs to enhance the bottom line at some point, the odds of an accident will go up exponentially -- the effects could possibly be devastating. And then there is the problem of fuel production.

And did I mention, they're a security risk?

It seems quite odd that a country whose government is so concerned of the "terrorist threat" should be so gung-ho over creating so many new potential targets for them. Imagine the devastation if the terrorists on 9/11 had chosen to fly the planes into nuclear plants instead of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And then there's the nuclear fuel; we're concerned about Iran's nuclear program for a reason; nuclear fuel can create serious problems, and with more of it out there, the potential for disaster will be even greater.  It's impossible for a terrorist, or anyone else, to cause major problems with the fuel from any other type of power plant. But nuclear fuel can cause major devastation.

Our emphasis on future energy technology must be based on not only renewable resources, but on natural energy resources available to us without burning things. Wind, solar, geothermal and tidal energy are the future. Creating plants which produce energy by creating nuclear fission is a disaster waiting to happen.

And for us to even think of paying a $50 billion subsidy to a bunch of fat cats for it is the height of irresponsibility, especially since the government has only committed $4 billion to research into other alternative energy sources.

Surely for $4-5 billion just to build each plant, this can't be the cheapest way to reduce our carbon footprint in any case.  Can you imagine your electric bills while the company tries to pay back this money AND attempts to make a profit, as well?

Write your Congresscritter, and let them know they cannot appropriate this money. It's irresponsible.