The Progressive War Vet

The Republican Warlords.

2012-03-04T00:05:00.008-06:00

In the wake of women's rights for contraception in President Barack Obama's new health care law, Republicans chose to attack the plan under the ruse of "protecting" religious freedom. This is an example of an organization grasping at straws simply because Republicans cannot dispute any of the successes the president has achieved.

Republicans cannot dispute a faster-than-expected recovering economy, a foreign policy that has mended relations with our allies, a successful military action that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden and Awal Al Maliki, ending the war in Iraq, passing a health care law that covers all Americans, reducing the need for foreign oil while expanding domestic oil exploration, thus exporting more oil than we consume, not seen since the 1960's, and now, a contraception plan that covers women's health and appeases churches.

Now, drawing on a wedge issue that Republicans favor, is to use religion as a weapon to deprive a woman's right of equality by denying health coverage, contraception, and forcing laws that intrude on women's bodies. It was one's understanding that Republicans were for limited government but, as usual, are more inclined to take away their rights of choice by telling them what they can and cannot do to or with their bodies and force doctors to perform unnecessary intrusive medical procedures under the threat of arrest.

It is bad enough that red states enacted their own destructive and intrusive laws to circumvent Roe v. Wade, but to force their will upon women amounts to nothing more that state sanctioned rape. Kansas virtually allows super pro life suspects to murder doctors who perform abortion or prescribe birth control related prescriptions. Although those suspects were caught, judged, and sent to prison, the state's Republican Attorney General was reluctant to administer the full extent of the law because he is "pro life". Texas Republican Governor Rick "See, I'm a bigger Christian and I carry a gun" Perry enacted redundant sonogram laws that are also intrusive and force doctors to demean and humiliate women who choose to abort a pregnancy and force them to wait much longer before performing the procedure.

And now at the apex of the issue, Rush "where's the Oxycontin?" Limbaugh has resorted to attacking a third year law student by calling her a "slut" and a "prostitute" for testifying the need for women's contraception. Where is the proof to his conclusion? Limbaugh, through his rant against the student, wanted her to "have sex" and "post it on the internet so he could watch". Rush is now abdicating pornography.

Through the outrage and backlash from all sides, some Republicans had to repudiate Rush's tirade, even Rick "I was Tea Party before there was a Tea Party" Santorum said Rush's rant was "absurd". Although John Boehner had a chance to personally say something, he chose to let his spokesperson to speak for him. I thought he was the Speaker of the House and could "speak" for himself. The other Republican presidential candidates did offer some slight repudiation, but Mitt "I'm rich and you're jealous" Romney did not say anything for almost 48 hours after the backlash. It was recently noted that Clear Channel broadcasts Limbaugh's show and owns the the rights, but it is also known that Bain Capitol owns Clear Channel and Romney owns stocks and shares of Bain Capitol, essentially making him Rush's boss. This is clearly a "firing" offense for Romney to influence, but it becomes even more clear that Rush is the mouth piece for the Republican Party.

Because of the backlash, Rush had to apologize. Rush's "apology" was more about himself than it was about being sincere to the young law student. I am sure suing Rush for Defamation of Character and Slander comes to mind from many law students and lawyers, but until then, Rush will continue to slander any one, group, or entity that is not "conservative". Rush should practice that term and conserve his one-man war of words against anyone with a different opinion while Clear Channel should consider firing him. Until then, Limbaugh will continue to speak for the Republican Party while the "candidates" allow him and his followers to continue to hate.

The Four Stooges of the Apocolypse.

2012-02-26T22:24:00.007-06:00

"I pledge allegiance to Grover Norquist, to eliminate taxes for the rich and corporations.

And to the Republic, for which it will no longer stand, under our Autocracy, in the name of the Republican Tea Party.

One nation, under Ronald Reagan, divisible, with limited liberty, and justice for some."

The perception of what the Republican party now stands for seems to reflect the fictitious pledge written. Their actions and speeches reflect the very notion that they do not represent all Americans as they vowed to do so in their actual oath of office.

The Republicans have charged that class warfare was waged when Democrats, Independents, and few true conservative Republicans suggested that the very wealthy, and corporations pay their fair share of taxes to stimulate the economy and to help generate jobs. Under the existing Bush Tax cuts, most (if not all) economists and universities noted that the rich, corporations, and energy companies were the only entities that benefited from said tax cuts, loopholes, and deregulation of most industries. What little money that was returned to the middle-class, poor and working poor was merely a pittance afforded by the Bush tax code as a guise to get votes.

Now, the onslaught is apparent based on what the four remaining Republican candidates now promise to their selected audience and donor(s). It is expected for each Republican candidate to demonize President Barack Obama, his policies, and his administration, but is it really necessary to call the president "a snob", as blurted by Rick Santorum? Where is his proof? How is it possible for "a snob" to help all Americans and actually work with Republicans through sharing and compromise? If anyone should be labeled "a snob", it should be directed at Santorum himself. Recently, Rick Santorum held a very private fundraiser in Texas at a very exclusive gated community, and only invited prescreened wealthy donors. Talk about being "a snob"!

Under eight years of Bush and six years of a House and Senate under Republican "leadership", America, as a nation, came close to going bankrupt. Each Republican candidate has vowed to dismantle President Obama's policies and overturn recent laws passed to bring American overseas jobs back and get more long term unemployed and returning veterans back to work. Although the Keystone XL pipeline would help the unemployed, it is only a short term temporary fix to a long term problem and would not benefit anyone but the energy companies involved.

Only we are in charge of our own destiny, yet there are Republican candidates who want to take that away. Red states are rewriting their laws that aims to eliminate women's' rights and voters' rights under the threat of nonexistent problems. Red states are also pushing for new laws that would circumvent President Obama's laws and policies that allows local and state law enforcement agencies to racial profile anyone they deem "non American". Now, you have Republican candidates who want to return to the Bush policies that brought America close to the brink of destruction.

As each Republican candidate promises nothing for all Americans, their responses, retorts, and Obama loath speeches clearly points out the destructive nature each has planned to eliminate the middle-class entirely, from eliminating public education to eliminating Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and to secure an autocratic rule, the very same type of autocratic rule our founding fore fathers fought to secure us from. Apocalypse now, anyone?

...And The Hate Goes On!

2012-02-20T22:05:00.002-06:00

Now that there are only four Republican presidential "candidates" left, each one has ratcheted up their own talking points and wedge issues to attack and vilify President Obama. Not one candidate has truly offered to give any credit to the president where credit is due. It is embarrassing to the nation and to the world that a singular political party (Republican) would hold such contempt to a sitting president. It is the same language the Republicans said was unpatriotic and anti-American when Dubba-u Bush was in office.
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When Bush was in office, his policies (mostly Cheney's) were more self serving to himself and his rich buddies and their businesses while the middle-class lost their jobs to overseas outsourcing and the working and non working poor suffered even more. Industries were deregulated and rewarded more for sending jobs overseas to third and fourth-world countries. Ignoring the previous administration's intelligence and cherry-picking their own would lead to two unpaid for wars. The deregulation policies of the Bush administration resulted in a tainted food supply (mad cow disease), a runaway spending habit by Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate that led to increasing the deficit seven (7) times without complaint. The USA "Patriot" Act was passed to search for terrorists, only to be expanded to spy on Americans, mostly minorities and anyone not a Republican. "Homeland Security" was established to combine the efforts of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and other state and federal law enforcement agency to share information. So much for "smaller government"! And now there is the Bush "tax cuts" that only benefitted millioaires and billionaires, corporations, and Wall Street that resulted into the economic crisis we are now recovering from.
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Based on how each "candidate" has vowed to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and overturn the progress made by President Obama, each of their ideas is only focused to help only those who have the means to help themselves, restrict or overturn Civil Rights and womens' rights, and turn America into a rich and poor only society, thus eliminating the middle-class entirely.
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Ron Paul calls himself a "Libertarian", but is more Republican who harken to the days when isolationism was policy and overt racism was the norm. Ron Paul is more of a dottering old man who only lives in his own time and prefers his groundskeepers brown and his mansion staff black, and prone to putting his foot in his mouth.
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Rick Santorum is so staunchly "far right", he has finally gained the full support of Tea Party Republicans and evangelical Republicans by promising to end womens' rights by using abortion and contraception while suggesting a state religion. As long as he keeps suggesting that President Obama is anything other than what he actually is (American, Christian, etc;...), he will continue to gain higher Republican poll numbers. Santorum is the clown who always steps on the yard rake thus hitting his head with the handle.
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Mitt Romney is more business-oriented that his idea of America is to run it like Bain Capitol: to fire anyone at will, eliminate unions and curtail workers rights and pay. Romney is only in it for Romney. He would extend the business aspect and economics of the Bush policies. Romney has always had a life of privilege, his idea of "doing without" was reminicing about doing missionary work in France living in a three-star hotel, while other not-so-rich Mormon missionaries went to Africa. Based on his out of touch with reality and his inability to connect with the majority of the middle-class and poor, he continues to shoot himself in the foot every time he speaks publicly at a prescreened location.
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Last, but not least, there is Newt Gingrich. He is so full of himself, he continues to suggest he will be president by saying "after my second term,...". Gingrich, like Romney, is only in it for Gingrich, but will step over anyone to get what he wants. Just ask his last two wives: one whom he served divorce papers to while she was recovering from cancer in a hospital and the other mistress to wife who developed multiple sclerosis. Gingrich's jobs plan is to eliminate unions and overturn child labor laws in order to employ poor and minority children as school janitors under the premise of "teaching" said children a work ethic. Gingrich is the kind of guy who would pull the pin from a grenade, drop the grenade and throw the pin.
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In light of their stance against pro choice, Republicans will have to choose who will be their nominee. Based on their debates, their caucuses and the number of delegates, their public speaking, and each one's only doner and super PAC, President Obama is assured another term in office.

Goodbye Whitney, and God Bless You!

2012-02-13T00:35:00.003-06:00

Like so many great artists of our times, sometimes they also leave so abruptly. Whitney Houston will now be forever remembered as one of the greatest legends who have touched so many lives with her voice. Within the triumphs of her success also came some tragedies with addiction. Her last triumph was overcoming those addictions and to proceed with her comeback.

Goodbye Whitney, we'll miss you!

2012: The Doomsday Year!

2012-01-02T00:33:00.007-06:00

Doomsday! An event that has been predicted since the earliest forms of civilizations sprung up. Although the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012, text surrounding the calendar, deciphered by archaeologists and scholars, seem to indicate some form of catastrophic event to take place on the dated winter solstice. The Incas' also made similar predictions as did a few Native American Indians. It is also mentioned in the Book of Revelations in the New Testament Bible as well as the Old Testament. Nostradamus, the Romans, even our own American sooth sayer Edgar Casey predicted the end of the world. Even Carl Sagan estimated a possible physical end of the world based on a number of factors relative to the sun burning out into a giant red dwarf before collapsing into a pulsar. However, Dr. Sagans' prediction would occur sometime in the 38th century.

So, how will the world end? Who knows what cause or event will destroy our only world? There are a number of possible causes and disasters that seem plausible: super volcanoes, major tectonic plate shift (giant earthquake), tsunami, extinction level asteroid strike, neutron burst from a nearby star, black hole, nuclear/biological war, extraterrestrial invasion, or even (according religion) divine intervention. The only people who seem eager for the world to end are evangelical and "born again" Christians because they believe they will be "raptured" off the Earth, an idea invented by a British pastor in the early 18th century. It is very interesting that people continue to believe the end is near. A belief that has continued for many centuries. All they can think and preach about is the mortality of man. How morbid! Still, we can look at our clocks and calendars and take notes as each day in 2012 winds down.

We can only guess when the world will end or how people will find a way to end it. Just remember that when politicians play up to some of those christian branch religions, pious groups and sects by promising more wars and less freedoms to those who are not one of them (rich), you can bet that others will suffer based on biased Republican ideology.

Just remember that doomsday may just be a Republican vote away.

The Party of Hate

2011-12-27T14:57:00.009-06:00

Among all of the Republican politicians, running for office or not, seen or heard, there is no message of unity for the entire country except for those who favor them despite the fact that each Republican office holder has no real interest in representing them.

Among the candidates running for president, there is no message of peace, no message of unity, no message of equality, no message of compromise, and no message of progression. The messages have been nothing more than sound-bites and the constant bashing of President Barack.

The only messages given in speeches by the Republican candidates have solely been about dismantling President Obama's many accomplishments to the point of going back to war with a new target: Iran.

If Republicans once again regain power in the House, Senate, and the White House, what is left of the Middle-Class may very well become the new poor, thus making American the new Brazil: rich and poor only. Corporations will be able to make new laws to rape the country once again as they did under Bush/Cheney & Co.

Rand Paul would stand a better chance to dismantle the Civil Rights Act with daddy Ron Paul in the White House to make sure it remains a "White" House. Gingrich would make sure all Americans would have no health care at all while dismantling child labor laws to put middle-class and poor kids to work. Romney (as well as the other Republican candidates) would make sure unions are abolished so that companies would be able to fire anyone (especially hourly workers) at will and reduce wages to increase their bottom line. New Republican Supreme Court justices would be put in place to insure women's rights are stripped and allow Republican Governors to redraw congressional district lines to favor their party, suppress voters' rights, and allow state-sanctioned racial profiling to proliferate without interference from federal authority, thus allowing the continuation of whole-sale state sanctioned murder of immigrants crossing the southern border at the hands of gun-toting "Minute Man Patriots". In the mean time, supporters are waiting (or hoping) for pizza guy Herman Cain to return after he straightens out his harem of concubines.

Although each Republican presidential candidates' speech and/or message is relatively the same, their plan of obstruction will continue to make sure President Obama becomes a one-term president. Tea Party Republicans especially, want to impeach President Obama at any cost despite the Presidents' successes in foreign policy, the economy, civil liberties, and equality for all Americans.

The Republican Party itself began their campaign season early since President Obama won the 2008 Presidential election. To the surprise of the Republican Party itself, they have done nothing but promote President Obama through their own actions (as negative as they may be). As long as the Republican Party continues their onslaught against the middle-class, women and minorities, immigrants (legal or not), concerned rich and poor, civil rights and liberties, gay or straight, and now children, those who are not rich and vote Republican must now view themselves as victims rather than as their constituents.

It is fitting that the Republicans have chosen the elephant as the symbol of their party, because they continue to trample on the rights and privileges of other Americans to only represent 1% of all Americans, whether they want it or not. Their very actions may also mean the demise of the Republican Party itself.

Payroll Tax Cuts Extended!

2011-12-22T20:09:00.008-06:00

With tax cuts for everyone in the million dollar club and up since the the Bush Tax Cuts was put into law by a House and Senate full of Republicans, today, 160 million working poor and middle-class Americans were granted an extension of the payroll tax cut. Of all things that most Republicans and all Tea Party Republicans did not want, it was giving a tax cut to the rest of the working class.

Boehner should be crying by now.-----^

Although Boehner could care less what Democrats and have asked for in fairness in sharing tax cuts, but he had to capitulate to increasing criticism from the "right" as well. The Tea Party coalition did not want the Payroll Tax Cut to pass and told Boehner to vote against it, even after the deal was approved by most of the Senate Republicans and Mitch McConnell in an actual bipartisan effort with Democrats. Millions of working class Americans waited in anticipation of the Payroll Tax Cut to pass easily especially since it was, in essence, a tax cut that all Republicans vowed, promised, and signed an oath to keep. Obviously this was one tax cut all Republicans failed to exclude in their anti-tax pledge to Grover Norquist.

Boehner folded like a broken accordion and had to shovel out a list of excuses to why he changed his position to pass the Payroll Tax Cut. Republicans, especially Tea Party Republicans (those who lean towards and those who admit to being Tea Party Republicans) view this as a defeat and an embarrassment to the GOP. Although the Payroll Tax Cut is only a two-month extension, it does give some relief to working Americans to afford the little things in life with the pittance afforded from the Republicans.

It is clear that Republicans only support the rich and corporations, it is very hard for other middle-class Americans who vote Republican to affirm that said Republicans actually represent them. Instead, Republicans tend to only represent district with large businesses in them. The neighborhoods that are within such districts are just excess baggage under the delusion of having such representation. Rhetorically speaking, it leaves the question of "what would happen if corporations, large estates, and exclusive neighborhoods were allowed to become a district of their own? Would other Republican leaning districts with no large businesses or wealth still have that representation?". Obviously the answer is "NO!". This is the clarity of Republican representation.

People who tend to take a centrist position on the subject want to blame both sides for the impasse in Congress are now silent in knowing that only the Republicans are to blame, especially when John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have vowed to make President Obama a one-term president at any cost, even if it means further sabotaging the country in the process. The actions of office holding Republicans will now face upcoming elections in 2012 and find their own pink slip or layoff notice in hand. This would also be the harbinger of death for the Bush Tax Cuts as it would expire on January 1, 2013. Let us be prepared for the new fight of the year when corporations would begin pouring more money into the Republican coffers to extend further or make permanent the Bush Tax Cuts that are now known to have not worked and further eroded the fragile U.S. economy.

For now, Cry Boehner Cry and watch the Tea Party boil over!

Newts' New Labor Law

2011-12-08T00:02:00.004-06:00

Newt Gingrich, a man who was once (and only once) Speaker of the House during the Clinton presidency, was fired from his position by his own party, wants to put public school kids (minority and poor) to work as janitors to learn how to work to develop a work ethic. REALLY!!?

This is coming from a man who used his Speakership position for personal and political gain, and forced a government shutdown. This is coming from a man who handed divorce papers to his first wife in the hospital, recovering from cancer, while having an affair with another woman. This is coming from a man who divorced his second wife who came down with sclerosis while cheating on her with Calista (now his third wife). This is coming from a man who led a personal and Republican vendetta to impeach President Clinton for having an affair while he was in the middle of his own affair, and yet he believes he can teach kids to be ethical.

Let us pray the ousted Speaker does not become president. If so, school children 9 and up will be made to work while Gingrich dismantles current child labor laws. Donald Trump already has given his blessings and is now licking his chops and wringing his hands in hopes of starting up a new child sweat shop of janitorial "apprenti".

If Gingrich does become president, you can bet kids will work in other industries other than the janitorial services. Gingrich will revive his Contract with America that involves eliminating the public school system and usher in "education camps" where poor and minority kids will learn to serve their rich employers. Cleaning toilets is just the beginning, but with Gingrichs' plan to introduce new child workers to the workforce, kids will replace adult workers (thus also eliminating unions) in other areas of employment and work for pennies on the dollar with no health plan.

However, another Republican (the governor of Maine) already has a plan to address the issue of child labor laws that would allow the kids to work right next to mommy and daddy in any remaining factories. Maybe this will bring back the 50,000 companies that moved out of the country during the economically deregulated Bush years.

With a little help from "employers" like Trump, the idea is to get the children of the less financially successful citizens trained and gainfully employed by the age of 14. Affluent families and industries will be happy to know that their hard earned investment in the Republican party will yield well trained servants to tend to their every needs in and out of the office, and at home.

Is this what is in store for America if highly unethical Republicans like Gingrich are elected into office, and with House Speaker Boehner to write such laws?

In Republicanland...

2011-11-26T14:43:00.003-06:00

In Republicanland...

"Non factual" statements are considered the gospel.

Fox News is "fair and balanced".

The new slogan is: "The economy always roars when we're at war!"

Mormons need not apply, but are good to have around only when it suits or supports established Republicans doctrine.

You must pledge allegience to Grover Norquist when elected into office.

Corporations are the lawmakers.

Jesus is replaced with Reagan.

Stimulus is a bad thing, even if it is successful.

Anyone brown with a Spanish surname is automatically considered an illegal alien.

Committing abortion is punished with the death penalty.

A Republican litmus test is given before any candidate can run for office.

Sending jobs overseas is a good thing because it spurs job growth at home.

Hypocracy is an art form.

Washing machines are considered very Republican because of the spin cycle.

Anyone with a different point of view from the established Republican doctrine is labeled a liberal America-hating communist.

Child labor laws are repealed only for minorities and poor people.

There is no public education system because it is considered a hand out.

Being gay or non christian is against moral law and subject to arrest.

There is no freedom of speech unless you can afford it.

The draft is renistated to create "job growth" among the poor only.

There is no middle-class.

Health care is a matter how much money you have: how healthy can you afford to be?

Freeways are now tollways.

There are more prisons than neighborhoods.

Any person or entity (e.i; corporation, business, or conglomerate) that generates a million dollars or more, pay no taxes.

Guns can be purchased from vending machines.

English (American only, not the Queens english) is the only language allowed to be spoken and read.

Country drawl or Southern twang are the only acceptable accents allowed to be spoken or heard publicly.

The Republican Party and Tea Party are the only state-sanctioned political parties allowed.

Country music is the state-sanctioned music allowed with the exception of some forms of pop music for business purposes only. All other forms or genres are illegal and is considered a jailable offense.

Social security, medicare and medicaid are voucher programs poor people are to buy into.

Occupy All

2011-11-21T00:08:00.005-06:00

To the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators and others across the U.S. who would protest the economic disparity everyone faces, this blogger would give a hearty salute and words of encouragement to the occupiers to continue demonstrating and expose the reality of the disproportionate wealth gap we, as a nation, see as a result of Bush era tax policies and deregulation still in place.

As many of the occupy demonstrators continue to point out, it is about wealth displacement, not "redistributing the wealth" as Republicans want you to believe. Most news outlets, except Fox News (a.k.a. Fixed Noise), continue to show how the wealthy in America have fared with a 400% increase in their wealth while the middle-class and poor wage earners pay has barely risen by 15% in the course of 30 years. In noting the growing gap between the rich and poor, more middle-class workers are slowly becoming poor. Obviously, the Bush tax cuts only benefits the very wealthy.

As Republicans continue to defend deregulation and tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, also referred to as "job creators", many Americans, concerned rich and poor alike, continue to point out from actual experience that only 1% of Americans truly benefitted from such tax cuts just as more millionaires contend the need to pay more in taxes to equally balance out the tax burden evenly as true patriotic and supportive Americans.

What a uniquely positive worded euphemism:"job creators". A term that Republicans use to defend those people and organizations that were allowed to leave the shores of the United States and "create jobs" on foreign soil under the deregulation policies of the Bush administration. According to the Congressional Budgeting Office (CBO) and the Department of Labor, from 2000 to 2010, over 50,000 companies moved jobs and operations overseas. Only now are the Republicans concerned about jobs. How ironic! Based on their actions and how they voted (Republicans), they are not job creators, only job destroyers out to completely dismantle the middle-class and usher in a rich and poor only society.

It seems that the Republicans under Grover Norquist and the Tea Party are nothing more than hypocrites and liars, and proud of it. Based on their own philosophy, if Reagan was alive, he would be labeled a turn coat liberal for raising taxes 7 times and raising the debt ceiling numerous times despite the circumstances during his administration.

For Tea Party supporters and members, it is a hard pill to swallow in knowing that the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party movement have a lot in common, which includes both being true grassroots movements.

The Tea Party began as a grassroots movement to stop wasteful spending, smaller government, and excess pork in state projects (like the bridge to nowhere) until it was taken over by ultra ultra right wing-nuts who added more Republican ideology to it. In 2010, ultra conservatives on Capitol Hill cheered them on in support. Among them were Eric Cantor, Michelle Bachmann, and other members that were originally responsible for the very thing the Tea Party was against.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, also a grassroots movement, are simply protesting the wealth gap between the middle-class and poor, and the rich, as well as protesting Wall Street bankers and CEO's who are responsible for the financial crisis we are now in. This protest also includes how such criminals in high seats of power have been rewarded for their crimes instead of being punished and how bought and paid for politicians continue to make new laws to protect them. They are not asking for a hand out or wanting to "spread the wealth" as Republican politicians and presidential hopefuls claim, yet they do not venture out to assert their claims.

The Occupy movement itself has manifested throughout the country and abroad. It is now bigger and alot more meaningful than the Tea Party ever was. The Occupy movement now consists of true Americans from all walks of life from concerned rich, poor, and middle-class, employed, under and unemployed, public and private sector workers, veterans, and anyone else who feels that the current tax code is unfairly balanced to favor the rich and corporations. There are no leaders within the movement, nor are they supported or sponsored by any politician, PACs (Political Action Committees), or billionaire brothers. Simply put: they are all of us regardless of our political beliefs.

As a veteran, this blogger is thankful and grateful for the support and encouragement given by the American people during my deployment to Iraq. Now I am supportive and grateful to the Occupiers who are now defending America from corporate greed and corruption.

Support the Occupy movement! Support the Occupy Dallas and Fort Worth!

A Veterans' Weekend

2011-11-13T23:44:00.002-06:00

As we observe Armistice Day, we must remember the veterans of WWI and the sacrifices they made for that period in time noting it to be the war to end all wars. From that time to the present, we realize that there will always be wars. There will always be an aggressor to arise out of the ashes to wreak havoc in an effort to enslave the world, not just for conquest, but for ideology as well.

We must remember all veterans, from our ancestors, to the new ones today. We must also remember our allied veterans, whom we are also grateful to have in our collective need to defeat those who would take away our freedom not just at home, but from afar. We should always be grateful for the freedoms we now have and sometimes take for granted and let no one take it away by force or by vote.

To know a veteran is to know he or she is humble and also grateful to have served, having volunteered and acknowledging the sacrifices made to themselves and to their families. We should also thank the families of veterans for the sacrifices they made in allowing their spouses, sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers to go into harms' way to secure a free world. Sometimes, the ultimate sacrifice is made.

As the most common question is asked, "if you had to go again, would you?", there would be those who would answer "no" or "I don't know", but deep down we know it would be a resounding "hell yes!" almost as quickly as the question is uttered.

Whether we are in uniform or not, we all do our part to support and defend the Constitution and to defend freedom and democracy around the world against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Let us remember.

The Fixation of Nazism Among Ultra Conservative Pundits and Entertainers

2011-10-16T19:14:00.002-05:00

Whether on ultra conservative radio stations, appearances on Fox "news" networks during prime-time, or posted on ultra right-wing and Tea Party websites, there is a deep fixation of those commentators and entertainers who like to compare and generalize the Democrats and the Obama administration to the Nazis. It is assumed that everyone on the "right" does not remember, or prefers not to remember, the politics of Germany leading up to the election of Hitler and how he ran his campaign based on hate and fear. Does this sound familiar? It should. Let us break it down to actual simple facts to be clear on the subject.

After World War I, Germany and her axis allies were sanctioned heavily by the existing world powers of the time, which were England, France, Italy, Greece, United States, The Russian Empire, (before the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917), Serbia, Ukraine, Romania, Belgrade, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Egypt, to pay for the war and the damage caused by the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. As the rebuilding of Europe began, Germany had to make reparations to the world and rebuild itself on its own with the allies restricting Germany's ability to rebuild its entire military, thus ousting the Kaiser and leaving Field Marshall Paul Von Hindenburg to lead a nation.

In case nobody knows who were the Axis Powers of the time, they were Austria and Hungary, The German Empire, (Germany, Amsterdam, parts of Poland, and Lithuania), Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire which today is now Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, (sometimes referred to as Persia at the time), Georgia, Armenia, and parts of Saudi Arabia.

Before Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Germany was still under an Autocratic Republic after WWI. The Armistice was signed in Paris, France on November 11, 1918. The Wiemar Constitution of 1919 allowed an elected president (Von Hindenburg) to nominate the cabinet and the chancellor. The Wiemar Constitution had provisions for human-rights, but were limited. It also provided for Germany to rebuild its infrastructure and provide jobs, but failed to follow state authority. Adolf Hitler joined a new movement that called itself the National Socialists Movement, later to be known as the Nazi Party with Hitler as its leader. After Hitler was elected into office and later nominated as Chancellor by President Von Hindenburg, he instituted the Enabling Act of 1933 which completely undermined the Wiemar Constitution by allowing him to legislate and change the constitution without cabinet approval.

Does this sound familiar? It should. House Speaker John Boehner (what a coincidence, a German name!) continues to undermine President Barack Obama and his administration by passing legislation without approval, insisting, as House Majority leader Eric Cantor said, approve bills into law without senatorial approval and without the president's signature.

According to most historians, Hitler was considered a megalomaniac bent on total destruction of the European system and reestablishing itself as a world power by investing heavily in its military industrial complex and demonizing non Aryan Germans, homosexuals, Socialist and Communists, and centrist German Democrats.

Again, a similar account of the Tea Party movement that have taken over the Republican Party: Mitt Romney wanting to build a larger military and spend more on defense, most of the Republican presidential candidates demonizing the LGBT community, minorities, other religions, Democrats and few remaining real Republicans who share or compromise, and wanting to overturn some or parts of the U.S. Constitution to favor Tea Party Republican ideology, as well as change election laws to ensure only Republican electoral victories.

Hitler's rebuilding of Germany included rewriting history and teach Germanic folklore based on Nazi ideology. Before doing so, German schools would only teach children of registered Nazi Party members.

There, again, is the similarity of today's ultra conservative Republicans preference to send their children to private schools (if they can afford it) that teaches creationism over proven established science.

Finally, there is the oath to Hitler that is forced upon the people and willingly taken by the military, administered by the Nazi Party. Citizens are made to spy upon one another and report anything deemed a threat to the party.

Although Republican lawmakers have taken an oath to their respective offices and to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, they willingly (and sometimes pressured) to actually take and sign an oath to Grover Norquist and other pledges that undermine their actual legitimate oaths, while Republican red states make laws against illegal immigrants. Such laws have been deemed so extreme that the laws overstep federal authority and make legal immigrants and native minorities criminals in their own communities, thus allowing police to legally racial profile anyone who "looks" like an illegal immigrant.

So, the next time Republicans and Der Tie Party try to make Nazi references towards Democrats and the Obama administration (or anyone else they feel threatened by), just remember that history is now showing who the real National Socialists are. Let us not repeat that part of history ever again.

Will The Real Republicans Please Stand Up?

2011-10-09T00:48:00.007-05:00

As the Republicans continue to struggle to find the "right evangelical Christian" man to run against President Barack Obama, they continue to delude the masses (and themselves) and place the blame of the country's woes on President Barack Obama and the Democratic party. Texas Republican Governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry, recently quelled the HPV mandate his Republican rivals hammered him on in the CNN/Tea Party "debate". Now, Rick Perry must fend off the latest issue that is now hampering his candidacy: the N-word head name painted on a rock at the entrance of the hunting camp grounds owned by the Perry family.

As noted by the Perry family and Rick Perry's campaign manager, Mark Miner, Perry's father painted over the offensive name in 1984. The report of this action is only indicative that the action taken was done only once, only to spur another coat of paint when the story broke. It was reported by friends, acquaintances, and guests who visited the little happy hunting grounds as having witnessed the name of the retreat in it's full glory throughout the years up to this point. The irony is that Rick Perry's father painted over the rock in the early 1980's, little Ricky had just entered politics. Is it a coincidence? Maybe..., but it would have been easier to simply take a sledgehammer to pulverize the offensive language off the rock if the Perry family truly believed the language did not reflect their collective thinking. So, down goes "Pretty (good'ol) Boy" Perry.

So far, Michelle Bachmann has been very careful to stay low and limit her retorts to be aired only on Fox "News". However, she is not without fault. So far, her political career lacks any significant accomplishments as a representative to pass any of her bills to become law, most of which died in committee. Her career as an IRS audit lawyer actually does not fully qualify her to lead a nation, but at least she had a good GPA average in college (hint, hint...!). She also won the Republican Iowa Caucus Straw Poll, but, again,she has not made any real progress after that. As Bachmann continues to make her magical mystery tour, her skewed version of facts and history only hurts her campaign along with her hypocritical acceptance of stimulus funds used towards her farm and her "husband's" clinic. One has to conclude that such acceptance makes her just as much a socialist as she labels liberals. Although Michelle Bachmann did use the HPV vaccination argument against Rick Perry, she only embarrassed herself by including the notion that the HPV inoculation caused retardation reported by one of her constituents' daughter despite years of clinical research and studies conducted by pharmaceutical giant Merck and independent doctors and scientists. Again, trusted science out the window. It would not matter anyway because most Republicans will not vote for a woman to attain the highest office in the land.

Then there is Herman Cain, the Godfather Pizza CEO! Again, the Grand Old Party's (GOP) only admitted Tea Party candidate who, just recently, assume the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters are all unemployed and blamed them for being broke. Although the unemployed only make up a small percentage of the protesters of what Cain assumes, the rest of the protesters are employed or under employed, college students, teachers, city workers, and now have drawn union members, and anyone else, despite their party affiliation,willing to protest the inequities wrought by Wall Street. Obviously, the pizza guy is very supportive of Wall Street bankers, most (if not all) of whom were directly or indirectly responsible for wrecking the U.S. economy, and robbed billions of dollars from retirees pensions, 401(K) accounts, other savings, thus causing one of the largest foreclosures not seen since during the Great Depression. Talk about harboring criminals! Even though Herman Cain is a presidential candidate, he will not be chosen by the GOP because there is already a black man in the Oval Office, and based on how Republicans and Tea Baggers constantly attack President Obama, to them, one is too many. The Tea Party Republicans only favor Cain out of convenience in order to stave off the notion that the movement is racist. To be fair, the Tea Party movement is not entirely racist, but does draw those racist elements that join their movement. Still you do not see any actual member or supporter keeping them out or spell-checking their signs. When such inconsistency is pointed out, the Tea Party movement would cite the First Amendment when it suits them and deny it to all others who disagrees with them.

Newt Gingrich! Need I say more?

And then there is Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman; the only two Mormons running for president. Simply put, Evangelical "Christian" Republicans will not vote for either of them because they are not viewed as Christians, but as a cult, according to Evangelical "Christian" leaders. Although Romney and Huntsman get the standard positive lip service from the Republican Party, they are still not good enough for the other Republican flavors. Mitt Romney has it the hardest due to Romney Care, gun control, and supportive of independent scientific findings of global warming. On the flip-side of that coin, his image as a hired CEO gun to large corporations only confirms how people view corporations as not being human and heartless by firing workers (hourly and salary) and rehiring only half of those workers at half the pay, just to ensure big bonuses for the top CEO's. This stance only makes Romney a favorite among big businesses. The scary part now is how Romney is using an old Republican campaign promise to increase the military entirely and add more troops to the current troop strength levels in all branches (something that already exists). That is all we need; another Republican to (as Republicans like to say about Democrats) "spend us into oblivion" and start another war with a go-it-alone mentality. Did we not already do that under Dub'ya Bush?

With the remaining hopeful Republican presidential candidates waiting in the wing, the Republican Party itself continues a now wide search for that "right" candidate they can have confidence in. Just recently, the Republican governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, has just given his final "no" response to their beckoning, and half-term Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, is quitting (again) early by "deciding" not to join the race.

As Republican leaders now contend that the president "has the nerve to start his campaign for re-election" during the start of the campaign season, said Republicans began their campaign the very next day after the 2008 presidential election was over and all votes in. The Republican campaign began with a solemn oath to make President Obama a one term president. The way Republicans went about it was to use various forms of political terrorism and hold the nation hostage by stripping away rights to vote and deny unemployment benefits to people who put some of their taxes into. Republicans continue to show their true colors by trying to destroy the middle-class and usher in a rich and poor only society and only representing millionaires and billionaires. One can only dread how Republicans allow themselves to virtually destroy the country and pit its citizens against one another just to get back into the White House.

Ideology & Class Warfare

2011-10-03T09:28:00.002-05:00

It is very amazing how Tea Bagger Republicans are calling President Barak Obama's Jobs Bill class warfare. If there is one thing Republicans know about, it is warfare. It is as though they lit the match, burned down the forest and the houses, in front of many witnesses, and claim that Democrats did it, while holding the burnt-out match stick, hoping people have short memories.

Ideology is, simply put, marketing in the worst sense, especially when a movement (tea baggers) virtually highjack a party that was once a well respected party that helped people. There are very few traditional Republicans left, but they now have to follow Tea Bagger ideology that calls for limited and smaller government, yet they pass laws that are overreaching such as governing women's reproductive rights by mandating that women wait long periods of time for an abortion and mandating doctors to "inform" women to guilt them out of a decision they made freely. It is as though the Republican politicians themselves are practicing medicine and psychology without a licence. Oh wiat! They are! Instead of saving money, it will cost taxpayers three times more just to enforce a contradictory and redundant law. Where is the Tea Bagger outrage for this excessive spending!?

A Republican ideology that continues to use fear and hate by trying to bust unions, strip voting rights, circumvent federal law, make laws against Sharia Law that does not exist in our country, go after so-called "sanctuary cities", protect big businesses and oil/energy companies and millionaires and billionaires tax cuts and loopholes while calling for an end to payroll tax breaks for hourly wage earners (also referred to as the middle-class), as well as repealing the new healthcare law in its entirety, ending social security, and currently protecting Wall Street bankers that have broken many financial laws and made a new generation of poor.

Currently, Republican ideology is hell-bent to make sure President Obama is a one-term president by continuing to filibuster in the Senate and strike down any bills (even ones with their own ideas in it) that Democrats introduce in the House of Representatives. The word "compromise" is not in their listed Republican vocabulary as it implies "sharing" and "equally" as well as making concessions such as reinstating tax rates for the rich and large businesses. It is not raising taxes if you are reinstating tax rates as outlined in the Bush tax cuts policy set to expire in 2012.

Class warfare, as many Republicans are now screaming, was really started long ago when Reagan fired unionized air traffic controllers during his presidency. We must remember that that was a different time, but the economy was beginning to fall apart, which led Reagan to raise taxes 11 times and increase the debt ceiling 17 times. Class warfare by Republicans now threaten to shut down the federal government just to ensure the president is a one-term president. Let's see, how did that work for "Mr. Moral Family-Born Again Evangelical Christian" Gingrich when he was Speaker of the House? Oh yeah! He was ousted before he could complete his first (and only) term as Speaker of the House! You're next, Boner (Boehner)!

Republicans now have more presidential candidates than they can shake a stick at and they are still looking for the New Jersey Governor, Christie, to join they fray. The new Tea Bagger Republican darling "pretty boy" Perry continues to lose his luster and appeal to Republicans as more skeletons from his closet is exposed, short of mentioning his myriad affair with a male assistant and male cook at the Texas Governors' Mansion before it was damaged by fire.

Republicans are becoming desperate to find that "right" candidate that now must appeal to Tea Bagger Republicans. It is amazing how some middle-class and working poor continue to support the Republican Party that does not represent their interest and continue to exploit their beliefs just to score political points. As Republicans continue to cut vital school programs and dismantle public colleges, it will not be long before they try to dismantle child labor laws. Think about it! It is their idea to do away with Pre-K and Kindergarten and eliminate the 12th grade, and increase the classroom size and reduce school hours. Next thing you know, your 12 y.o. son or daughter will be mining for coal or working in a dangerous unregulated occupation.

The Tax and Spend Republicans

2011-08-23T03:03:00.003-05:00

It comes as no surprise that congressional Republicans are now wanting to raise taxes, but not from the rich. It was only a matter of time that they would choose this point in time during President Obama's presidency to demand an increase in payroll taxes to raise revenue. Where is the outrage from the Tea Baggers? What happened to Republican House Speaker John Boehners' rehashed slogan of "read my lips..., no new taxes!"? Republican hypocrisy knows no bounds, and now it seems that their stance reaffirms their war on the middle-class and poor. President Barak Obama did extend the payroll tax break, and wants to keep it, but now the "no taxes, period" Republicans want to reinstate only those taxes that 99% of actual working Americans have benefited from.
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According to The Associated Press reporter Charles Babington, "Many of the same Republicans who fought hammer-and-tongs to keep the George W. Bush-era tax cuts from expiring on schedule are now saying a different 'temporary' tax cut should end as planned. By their own definition, that amounts to a tax increase". If the Republicans really feel that way, it opens up new dialogue to not only let all of the Bush tax cuts to expire, but to rewrite the tax code to include equally taxing the very rich and all large organizations. That is being fiscally responsible not only from a Democratic point of view, but equally fair for that 1% of Americans to pay their share. Warren Buffet wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal on the very subject of how fair it would be to rewrite the tax code to raise much need revenue, not only to actually create jobs, but to pay off the nation's debts in the process.
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While Republicans continue to spend audacious amounts of tax payer money to the "job creators" rich and large organizations, no job has actually been created under such Republican philosophy. However, when jobs do develop out of necessity, Republicans are quick to claim credit. A new jobs bill will soon be introduced to the House of "Representatives" from President Obama, it is to have everything in it that is wanted and need by both sides, even Tea Baggers would favor it (hard to believe, huh?). Unfortunately, the party of "No" is going to shoot it down simply because it is a Democratic plan. When Republicans screeched that "they (the Obama administration) have no plan, they miss led a nation to vote them into office. Funny thing, though, they never had a plan for the poor, middle-class, and real small business to succeed in any way or form, but only to score political points from the gullible, narrow-minded people who continue to vote them into office. It makes one wonder how anyone would side with a party out to destroy their way of life to only represent the wealthy.
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As Republicans spend tax money as fast as they can kick a kitten, they have now made their hypocrisy even more transparent.

The Bragger and the Secesionist

2011-08-21T21:42:00.004-05:00

As Republican House Speaker John Boehner admits to "getting 98% of what he wanted", it only leaves the actual question of to whom he is actually representing. The "deal" that he claims is his, is an actual job killer in most public sector careers and some private sector careers such as in education and social services. Other cuts include Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, infrastructure, environment, local and federal government. It is essentially a return to the height of the Bush era when millions of people lost their jobs in order to secure the bottom line for most large businesses and energy companies, only in this instant, it is a denial to allow necessary spending in the public sector to grow more jobs. It is the belief that most Republican office holders espouse as a government growing bigger. Obviously it is not so. It is an excuse to create more unemployment in order to secure the expansion of the private sector. Current college graduates are now finding it more impossible to find good jobs they need to pay off their student debts.
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It is not just federal government employees that are losing their jobs, local governments are also feeling the impact of job losses under a Republican mandate, especially in red states. Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnel admitted that using terroristic tactics to get what they wanted worked and acknowledged that they would do it again in the next round of budget talks that continue to exclude revenue increases to the top 1% and large organizations that have benefited from tax cuts for 10 years. Republicans often spin the term "revenue increase" as a blanket term for raising taxes on everyone. The truth of the matter is a reinstatement of taxes to only the rich and large businesses and energy companies, not the American people. Is it fair that for those with the means to support themselves continue to benefit from the Bush tax cuts while the rest of the nation lose the benefits they put into through payroll deductions?
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While the only concession that was made available to the American public were Pell grants for poor college students, the grants themselves did not increase to commensurate with the increase in college tuition, books and supplies, and dorm accommodations. Instead, they will incur more debt, even with full-time jobs (if they can find any). As the Republicans and their marriage to the Tea Bagger party continue to block real progress, one has to ask why would anyone continue to vote for those (Republicans) whose aim is to completely eliminate the middle-class and create a two class society: rich and poor. This is what Boehner is bragging about.
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Now that the presidential campaign season is now in full swing for the many Republican candidates, Texas Governor Rick "Pretty Boy" or "Gov. Good Hair" Perry has thrown his dead coyote into the presidential campaign ring. It is bad enough there are enough kooks to shake a stick at among the many Republican presidential hopefuls, Perry, a 2.2 GPA college graduate in Animal Science at Texas A & M, "believes" he has the solutions to correct that which his previous boss created (Bush's GPA was a 2.7, and both were cheerleaders). As he and many other Republican candidates continue to blame the wrong person and party for the inherited mess, Boehner and Co. continue to implement their plan to block any progress President Obama and his administration. Not only is that clear defiance to a sitting president, it is all out class warfare on all Americans of any class.
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The reason why for the reference to Rick Perry as "Pretty Boy Perry", is because of his extramarital affair to a male aide and to a male chef at the Governors' Mansion (before the mansion "caught on fire"). Barely a week back from his political prayer-palooza, Perry has already stirred the shit in the pot for making an overt threat against Ben Bernanke, a Republican economist appointed by Bush, for actually doing his job to kick start a sputtering economy that continues to recover from Republican over spending on tax cuts and two unpaid for wars. Perry also said that Texas schools teaches both evolution and creationism. Too bad nobody told that to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), who rebutted his comment to note that Texas public schools currently do not teach creationism. It would be easier to note the many times Perry has threatened seceding from the Union because of his belief of an overreaching government. Ask Perry about how he forced a law to pass that required 10 and 12 year old girls to get "vaccinated" with a drug solely made by a pharmaceutical company owned by one of his friends, or how he has made laws restricting the EPA from doing their job to ensure polluting companies reduce carbon emissions, or even how he quickly signed into law restricting women to intrusive and embarrassing procedures to get an abortion. In all three cases, he is the "overreaching government" that he rails against and wanted to secede from. It should be known that Perry does not speak for all Texans and that some of us are embarrassed that we now have a Bush clone wanting to be president.
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So far, no word from the bragger, and no sense from the secessionist.

The Deal and the Shaft.

2011-07-31T21:45:00.002-05:00

According to Republican House Speaker John Boehner, the agreement reached on the deal is not what both sides want, but lives up to GOP principles. Such principles include "holding the President accountable". Accountable to what? Another GOP principle that comes to mind, based on the outcome of this "deal", is to only represent the wealthy and large businesses by not raising taxes. For now, it does not matter since the Bush tax cuts will expire in 2012 anyway. However, it would have been helpful and really made "the deal" actually balanced in a bipartisan way. Yet, another GOP principle that is implied, is further cuts in social security and medicare/medicaid, thus ensuring disabled people and senior citizens struggle more to survive. Talk about your death panels. Finally, another Republican principle continues to be practicing political terrorism by using the debt ceiling crisis as a means to get what they want, not what the American people need. It is just a matter of the upcoming vote.

Although it is apparent that the Republicans have no heart, it is also apparent that the Democrats have no balls. The deal that was reached by the House and Senate may extend beyond 2013, but it is without sacrifices that furthers the Republican agenda by making an amendment to the constitution to only suit their needs. However, there are a couple of concessions that may actually help. Even though Boehner and most GOP'ers now say "they won", there are some modest compromises that include some cuts in the private sector that includes defense and the war ending in Afghanistan and the illegal war in Iraq. Under Bush, he believed that putting the country in a state of war would yield unity, job growth, and help the economy even further. NOPE! It did unite the country briefly enough for GOP photo ops and V. P. "Dick" (-head) Cheney's business partners to monopolize on the no-bid contracts to profit from both conflict.

As Republicans are quick to blame President Obama and his administration on the woes of the country, the facts still show that President Obama inherited the mess 90% of Americans face. Bush and the GOP threw a big party with the surplus left by President Clinton, ignored the warnings of an imminent attack by terrorists, maxed-out the country's credit cards, waited months before going to war that turned into a quagmire, allowed big business and the oil companies to gouge prices on the American people, trashed the country, stripped away rights, caused the greatest loss of jobs, and, according to the Congressional Budgeting Office (CBO), showed no new job growth during both of Bush's terms in office. Did tax cuts and corporate welfare create jobs as declared by Republicans? Obviously, they did not. They only created job losses and will continue to do so as long as Republican policies remain in place.

Republicans like to use "visual" words that have positive implications for their party and those who support them, such as calling large business organizations "job creators" Technically, they are job creators, but only on foreign soil. Boehner likes to use the term "job killers" to label Democratic policies. So far, the Republicans in the House of "Representatives" are the real job killers when they take away funding to services and kill Democrat-written bills that actually create jobs. Where are the jobs, Boehner?

As President Obama and his administration continue to try to work with Republicans, one has to wonder how anyone can work with a group that is only working to sabotage the Obama administration, the barely recovering economy, and force more Americans into unemployment just to bring down a sitting President. According to the Constitution, it is treason. While Republicans continue to use political terrorism to get deals for their billionaire friends, it is also apparent that they also use such tactics to give the American people the shaft, including the middle-class and poor that voted for them.

The Republican Cause and Effect of "No Compromise".

2011-07-24T23:41:00.007-05:00

As our elected officials continue to come up with a plan both sides can agree upon, it becomes even more clear that there cannot be an actual deal struck if one side continues to withhold on compromise. One side has already made two plans that included some sacrifice to social programs such as social security, medicare/medicaid, health care, and veteran benefits, but just enough to keep them running without shutting them down. Both plans were rejected because they contained equal cuts in tax breaks to corporations and energy companies, as well as having the top 1% pay their fair share of taxes.

Although one side continues argue against raising taxes, they forget that there are no taxes being raised, but only reinstated back to levels before the Bush tax cuts. During the Clinton years, there was actual economic growth that started with a revision of the tax code at all levels. The result caused one of the greatest economic expansion in both the public and private sectors that resulted in an economic surplus Bush would inherit. One of the many questions that was asked was, "how did we get into the mess we face today?" the answer is obvious and very simple: the Bush tax cuts.

During the Bush years, the tax code was rewritten to favor only the private sector and the top 1% of Americans (the rich). Most industries (especially the oil and energy industry) were deregulated for such organizations to earn profits. The result caused the greatest loss of jobs and professions. The middle-class would see their jobs go overseas as well as experience home foreclosures, thus having to either become part of the growing number of poor or having to work two jobs just to keep the house. Many families had to mutually separate in order to survive economically or just to survive. Today, those same tax cuts and corporate loopholes are now being said by all Republicans that they are needed to create jobs. On the contrary! It is the reverse. They (existing "tax cuts" and corporate loopholes) have not created jobs since their inception under Bush "W", only job losses.

Organizations did save a lot of money for growth and expansion, but under newly deregulated rules, they lined their pockets and were able to afford to move overseas to pay workers pennies over dollars. Doing so would help break up unions, no longer pay workers' health care, and turn over the pension fund to CEO's and stockholders. The Bush tax code was so rife with loopholes, troubled organizations were able to take advantage of the rules and rewrite their accounting books to show a profit and rob their employees of their retirement pension fund and 401K's and pocket the money as big bonuses for the top CEO's. Year after year, more jobs were lost and continue to lose jobs today, based on the assurance that such "tax cuts" are creating jobs.

As Republicans continue to play partisan politics, middle-class Americans who voted for them are now having voter's remorse. This is due to the fact that the Republicans in charge are not really representing all of their constituents, but only the top 1%. The only promise they made that put them in the House of Representatives was "jobs, jobs, jobs". Where are the jobs, Boehner? Now, they continue to hold the nation hostage under the threat of default while continuing to defy the President. This is tantamount to actual treason against the Constitution and all Americans.

Still, there are poor and middle-class Americans who continue to vote Republican, blinded by their swinging balony of hate and fear, simply because there is a black man in the Oval Office. They often say that President Obama is "...not their President". Yes he is! Deal with it! Republican politicians continue to laugh at those who are not rich and continue to vote for them, while stripping away their rights to collective bargaining and denying women the right to choose. Republicans often preach about smaller government and overreach, but we continue to see Republicans push for health care repeal, increased tax cuts for the rich, inventing new laws to strip women's rights, and deny immigrants a chance to become Americans. The latter is hypocrisy at it's best since all Republican office holders are decendents of immigrants and would deny today's immigrants the chance to become Americans.

Today, there is a war of the classes. The goal of the Republicans is to have only two classes: rich and poor. If they win and pass a new debt ceiling bill, the middle-class and poor will have to continue paying for the nations' debt incurred by the Bush "tax cuts" and two unpaid for wars, while the Republicans. There was uncontrolled spending under a Republican president but no outrage by the same Republicans who are outraged today. As they continue to say the Obama Administrations' spending is out of control, it is only because they (Republicans) say so with no proof (as usual). Now, they (Republicans) would continue political terrorism and bring the country to the brink of default simply because they do not want to compromise by closing corporate loopholes, cutting back on tax incentives, or reinstating tax rates for the rich equally with cuts in social programs most Americans use, need, or have earned through payroll taxes.

“The People Have Spoken!”

2011-07-13T00:38:00.000-05:00

At the time when John Boehner took the gavel and became the new Speaker of the house, he proclaimed "the people have spoken..." implying American voters chose Republicans as the right choice to create jobs. Although there are many reasons why more voters believed Boehner and his cohorts would begin introducing job-creating bills on the House floor, Speaker Boehner chose to put Republican ideological agendas on the House floor with no jobs bills at all. Instead, Boehner, coordinating with Senate Republicans, held the nation hostage by refusing to pass unemployment benefits to the unemployed workers who had lost their jobs under the Bush administration. That was not representing the American people. That was representing American business interest.

It is now obvious (or at least it should be) to the American people that theyhad no intention to create any jobs at all as they promised in their campaigns and only continue to push Bush-era policies to keep giving millionaires and billionaires, big businesses and energy companies more corporate welfare and tax breaks while stripping away women's rights, collective bargaining, and rigging upcoming elections by redistricting to favor only Republican candidates and disenfranchise minorities and senior voters. To be fair, there are more millionaires and billionaires who agree that they would prefer to pay their fair share in taxes as some polls have shown,

Alas, the people have spoken again and they are now telling the Boehner Bunch to work on what they promised in the last election. Boehner, along with Cantor, McConnell, Kyle, Bachmann, and the other Republican nut-bags, can no longer keep lying to the American people, nor can they regain Tea Bagger support because they were not "right" enough for the movement. The only ones left most republicans can run back to for support are the lemmings who only vote Republican simply because they are Republican, and the ultra-conservative evangelical born-again Christians like Ted Haggard and John Haggee; a disgraced conservative evangelist and an anti-Semitic blowhard.

Just recently, President Barak Obama upped the ante for Republicans by offering, to the dismay of many Democrats, 4 trillion in spending cuts that included trimming Medicare and Social Security: a Republican wet dream which they (Republicans) refused. Was it a ploy by the President to call the Republican's bluff? If so, it exposed the Republicans primary goal of denying President Obama any more successes. The Republicans have, again, made it very clear that they would prefer to sabotage the American economy with no jobs bill on the House floor at the expense of the American people.

The people have spoken again, but the Republicans continue to have selective hearing.

Who Is The Most Right of the Right?

2011-07-10T00:34:00.000-05:00

The race to become the top Republican to challenge President Barack Obama has now come to a full swing! (unless Rick Perry decides to run, also). Let their records speak for themselves, unedited and without the fluff!

It is amazing how these "candidates" have no real issues to talk about except bash President Obama and any Democrat that has yielded actual success. It seems that there is an actual Republican policy in place to purposely sabotage the country in order to make the Obama administration a failure. The ones who have suffered the most continue to be the middle-class and the poor who still struggle with unemployment and underemployment created by the previous administration. The only primary Republican plan each candidate truly has is to insure President Obama is a one-term president.

It is obvious that the key concepts Republicans continue to use is fear and hate coupled with non-factual claims (also known as lying), as well as blaming the current President for the faults of W and his corporate/cronyistic administration.

Now, it is a contest among the Republican presidential hopefuls to determine exactly who is the most "right" in the right wing. As Republican and Tea Party candidates continue to misinterpret and rewrite history to favor right-wing philosophy, it leave more room for hypocrisy to become apparent.

For actual "conservative" republicans, Mitt Romney is technically favored to lead his party to challenge President Obama. However, Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite, is also favored to do the same and become the first female president. There is only one problem for each of the two candidates: the Republican party itself has made it very clear that no Mormon or female will ever become president from within the party itself under actual conservative beliefs.

Mitt Romney continues to defend his own health care policy from the very Republicans who attack President Obama's health care law. Before President Obama was sworn into office, every Republican from under every rock supported Mitt Romney's health care law. Now, they are against it because President Obama used Mitt Romney's health care law as a template for all Americans. As for Michele Bachmann, she must convince all republicans that she is the right choice for the Republican Party despite her gender.

In both cases, each has to "out-right" the other candidates in who can falsify actual successes, misinterpret facts, revise history to support their philosophy, continue blaming the wrong person for the country's economic woes while causing the damage themselves and, most importantly, continue attacking President Obama and Democrats and blaming them for everything including dandruff.