Way to go Massachusetts...of all places!!! In the clip below, Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Firefighters joins Rachel Maddow to discuss withholding financial support for federal Democrats who have not done enough to fend off the GOP's anti-union agenda. Why might they do this you ask? Because the Democratically controlled House in Massachusetts are drinking "the tea." State Democrats seem to be buckling under lack of national leadership. NPR article here. I live in this state. Our public employees are not the problem. It's revenue. It's revenue across the entire country. This situation was not created at the local level. I get it, no one wants their taxes increased, yet no one wants their services cut. I offer this. What is more essential? Do you want quality protection from your firefighters and police? I do. Do you want good education for kids? I do, and I don't have kids. I want them to be able to do something with their lives so they're not robbing my house. Do you want to drive down the street without damage to your vehicle because the roads are crumbling? I do. Your vehicle is the second most expensive purchase besides your home. When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he changed the psyche of the country. He not only made the most disasterous tax, deregulation (including our media) and financial decisions of my lifetime, he managed to turn a country that worked together for the most part, since WWII at least, into a country that pointed the finger and blamed anyone else for their failures. In other words, the country that had a "we can do this" attitude, turned into, "I got mine...F you." attitude and it prevails today. Today's Republican party has not only become Reaganism on steroids, it has overdosed. The folks voting on the other side are truly convinced that those of us who don't agree that funneling money from our pocket to the top are anti-American. They are convinced that womens most personal decisions are best left to rich white men who know best. They see today's impoverished as tomorrow's soldiers. I could go on, but I think the point has been made. If a state like Massachusetts falls into this regressive policy syndrome plaguing our country, what happens to those of us without lobbyist? I can't see Governor Deval Patrick signing this bill even if it gets through the Massachusetts state senate, since he's on record saying he won't sign a WI type bill. But here's the thing...if this anti-public worker crapola can even be discussed in Massachusetts, it will happen everywhere. This is our future, these are our lives. American Idol really isn't that important, is it?
In this clip, Rachel echoed a fear I expressed on April 15, when I said, "I'm not going to get my hopes up too much because Democrats have a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory." She used that exact term discussing this asinine idea that MA Dems have hatched. What I wrote that day was actually talking about the wildly unpopular attempts by Republicans to kill Medicare, but it applies to EVERYTHING. I don't know what it is or why it happens, but Democrats have this instinct to run toward a terrible policy idea, lend their hand and end up owning it, much to the chagrin of voters. At the end of the day, they end up out of power with egg on their face, for supporting such a hugely unpopular position. Democrats don't know how to message, Republicans do. It's the only thing they're good at. It truly pisses me off that they do this, and it works time and time again.
This Charlie Brown/Lucy football stunt has grown old. We need more Bernie Sanders' and Anthony Weiner's who don't disappoint and actually work for the people, even when met with hostility. They are true representatives for the people, not those who have it all.
Showing posts with label Ronald Reagan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ronald Reagan. Show all posts
Friday, April 29, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Now THIS is Class Warfare
And you thought WI Governor Wanker's (not a typo) only target was stripping collective bargaining, thereby destroying unions (which is bad enough)? This Koch sucker is out of control. In 2009, Wisconsin passed a "contraceptive equity" law that requires health insurance plans in the state that cover prescription drugs to include contraceptives. Proponents argued that the measure was necessary to ensure that commercial health providers, who cover approximately one-third of the state's residents, don't discriminate against women. Walker's budget released this week would repeal the 2009 law. His budget summary called it an "unacceptable government mandate on employers with moral objections to these services," and it "increases the cost of health insurance for all payers." Huh, no mention of banning ED pills as unfair to insurers? Go figure. But it gets worse...
This hopefully short termer, is also proposing the elimination of the Title V Maternal and Child Health program, which receives a mix of federal, state and local funds to provide family planning services. Uninsured men and women can currently receive this care, which includes cervical and prostate cancer screenings, access to birth control and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. Walker's budget would also kick uninsured men between the ages of 15 and 44 out of the family planning program of BadgerCare, the state health program that currently provides coverage to tens of thousands of residents who don't receive employer-sponsored care but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. Currently, men can receive coverage for birth control, cancer screenings and STD testing and treatment. The Title V program's money goes to family planning centers like Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin spokeswoman Amanda Harrington argued that more than 50 health centers in the state would be deprived of a total of $4 million once the federal and local funds are included. (Planned Parenthood receives roughly one-quarter of that money.) In many cases, Harrington said, these health centers are the only providers in the area and deliver critical care.
Planned Parenthood is not a new target for Wanker. While campaigning for governor in April, he told the WI Right to Life convention that during his time as a state legislator, he was proud of "trying to defund Planned Parenthood and make sure they didn't have any money, not just for abortion, but any money for anything." What a guy!
Ladies & gentlemen, wake up!!!
So what kind of idiot votes for these guys and screams at the left that WE are creating class warfare? If this isn't class warfare, I'd like to see a better example. I really would. At first, I was was angered about womens reproductive freedoms once again under attack (which they are), but this goes even deeper. This goes after both sexes who are less than affluent. Thirty years of policies blaming victims, culture wars, perpetual wars by our military and the reclaimation of Reagan's shoddy legacy by the right wing, has made us insanely unable to think clearly. HE is the main reason for our ills. He believed people were poor because they chose to be. He was the architect of trickle down economics. That policy always makes me think of that little cartoon character you often see on redneck's vehicles. You know the one, the kid wearing (ex.) a Ford shirt, pissing on a Chevy logo. In my mind, that kid is the top 2% and he's pissing on the middle class --- that's what I see as trickle down.
But as a woman, I would like to question a few other things. What is wrong with Republican women supporting these policies that fright wing men are advancing all over the country? Are they really willing to go backwards to the days of barefoot, pregnant and property? Are they really willing to allow someone else to have control of their most personal decisions? This attack on Planned Parenthood is not just about abortion, this is about contraception for christ sakes. It's about poor women (& men apparently, which I did not know) being able to get check-ups and tests at a nominal cost. What has happened to this country that we have no empathy for anyone who has less? Most of us are closer to being one of them, than a Koch billionaire. Why is the right so protective of the wealthy? Are they so disillusioned that they think they can be obscenely wealthy someday too? Or are they so worried that the two guys next door might be able to get married someday and have the same rights, so in their irrational fear, they vote against their own best interest?
So it appears that what conservative men want, is women to not be able to protect themselves from unintended pregnancies, but they want to have the ability to perform even when little willy's time has passed! Seriously?! This is NOT small government and this is NOT what these deadbeats ran on. I honestly fear for womens rights in this country that were fought so hard for in generations past with these backwards thinking corporate owned neanderthals in power. And gay rights advancing? Forget it. No offense to my liberal, like-minded male friends, but I can't tell you how angry these things make me...or perhaps you can tell!
Full disclosure: I borrowed the Governor Wanker slang from liberal comedian/political talker Stephanie Miller.
This hopefully short termer, is also proposing the elimination of the Title V Maternal and Child Health program, which receives a mix of federal, state and local funds to provide family planning services. Uninsured men and women can currently receive this care, which includes cervical and prostate cancer screenings, access to birth control and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. Walker's budget would also kick uninsured men between the ages of 15 and 44 out of the family planning program of BadgerCare, the state health program that currently provides coverage to tens of thousands of residents who don't receive employer-sponsored care but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. Currently, men can receive coverage for birth control, cancer screenings and STD testing and treatment. The Title V program's money goes to family planning centers like Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin spokeswoman Amanda Harrington argued that more than 50 health centers in the state would be deprived of a total of $4 million once the federal and local funds are included. (Planned Parenthood receives roughly one-quarter of that money.) In many cases, Harrington said, these health centers are the only providers in the area and deliver critical care.
Planned Parenthood is not a new target for Wanker. While campaigning for governor in April, he told the WI Right to Life convention that during his time as a state legislator, he was proud of "trying to defund Planned Parenthood and make sure they didn't have any money, not just for abortion, but any money for anything." What a guy!
Ladies & gentlemen, wake up!!!
So what kind of idiot votes for these guys and screams at the left that WE are creating class warfare? If this isn't class warfare, I'd like to see a better example. I really would. At first, I was was angered about womens reproductive freedoms once again under attack (which they are), but this goes even deeper. This goes after both sexes who are less than affluent. Thirty years of policies blaming victims, culture wars, perpetual wars by our military and the reclaimation of Reagan's shoddy legacy by the right wing, has made us insanely unable to think clearly. HE is the main reason for our ills. He believed people were poor because they chose to be. He was the architect of trickle down economics. That policy always makes me think of that little cartoon character you often see on redneck's vehicles. You know the one, the kid wearing (ex.) a Ford shirt, pissing on a Chevy logo. In my mind, that kid is the top 2% and he's pissing on the middle class --- that's what I see as trickle down.
But as a woman, I would like to question a few other things. What is wrong with Republican women supporting these policies that fright wing men are advancing all over the country? Are they really willing to go backwards to the days of barefoot, pregnant and property? Are they really willing to allow someone else to have control of their most personal decisions? This attack on Planned Parenthood is not just about abortion, this is about contraception for christ sakes. It's about poor women (& men apparently, which I did not know) being able to get check-ups and tests at a nominal cost. What has happened to this country that we have no empathy for anyone who has less? Most of us are closer to being one of them, than a Koch billionaire. Why is the right so protective of the wealthy? Are they so disillusioned that they think they can be obscenely wealthy someday too? Or are they so worried that the two guys next door might be able to get married someday and have the same rights, so in their irrational fear, they vote against their own best interest?
So it appears that what conservative men want, is women to not be able to protect themselves from unintended pregnancies, but they want to have the ability to perform even when little willy's time has passed! Seriously?! This is NOT small government and this is NOT what these deadbeats ran on. I honestly fear for womens rights in this country that were fought so hard for in generations past with these backwards thinking corporate owned neanderthals in power. And gay rights advancing? Forget it. No offense to my liberal, like-minded male friends, but I can't tell you how angry these things make me...or perhaps you can tell!
Full disclosure: I borrowed the Governor Wanker slang from liberal comedian/political talker Stephanie Miller.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Tragedy To Risky To Cover...Evidently
Shawna Forde: Guilty of all eight counts in the Flores family murders, including two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder for the shooting of the nine-year-old's mother, and an assortment of burglary, robbery and aggravated assault charges.
The bigger question is, how many people even know what I'm talking about? I haven't yet seen a single cable-network report on the story -- not MSNBC, not CNN and certainly not FNC.
Here's the short version. According to what the Arizona Daily Star reported, prosecutor Rick Unklesbay told jurors last week, Shawna Forde thought so highly of herself she believed she could create a new world, decide who was a drug dealer and who wasn't and who should live and die. Unklesbay spent approximately 90 minutes Thursday going over the evidence he says proves Forde, 43, was the mastermind behind a May 30, 2009, Arivaca home invasion that left Raul Junior Flores, 29, and his 9-year-old-daughter, Brisenia, dead of multiple gunshot wounds. The prosecutor reminded jurors that at least four witnesses testified Forde bragged about her plan to fund her Minutemen American Defense organization by robbing drug-cartel associates during home invasions. Among those witnesses were her sister, two FBI informants and Oin Oakstar, an Arivaca drug smuggler.
For two weeks, we watched non-stop coverage of the other Arizona tragedy, the one leaving Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords with a bullet shot through her brain and six dead, including nine-year-old Christina Greene. Certainly a tragedy that deserved the coverage it received, but what's up with not covering a right wing militia madam who masterminded the execution an innocent man and his 9-year-old daughter? Is it because the media does not want to report anything that reflects poorly on the right wing or is it because Brisenia Flores was Hispanic. I suspect a little bit of both, but I lean more towards the former as several under-reported attacks incited by right wing media, particularly Glenn Beck have been mostly buried. Off the top of my head: A cop killer in PA, church killings in TN, murder at the Holocaust Museum in DC, doctors who perform abortions, Carlsbad, CA where a shooter yelled "Death to Obama" while firing his gun on a playground, etc... Luckily the police pulled over a crazed heavily-armed Beck fan on his way to the Tides Foundation in an attempt to assassinate the progressive organization's employees based on his Becktrination. On the other side of the coin, a young right wing punk set up ACORN with heavily edited videos to make them look like they were trafficking prostitutes, Fox ran the story on a 24/7 loop, CNN and other MSM picked it up and ACORN was defunded by our Democratic led House. By the way, they were later cleared of wrong doing once the video was proven to be edited. Too late for them though. Right Wing mission accomplished.
Getting back to the story at hand. Now that the verdict is in with the Forde case, I wonder of any of the so-called liberal media (so says the right wing) will touch this now? I'm afraid this is just another example of what our corporate owned media does. We're only allowed to see what they want us to see. If a left wing group had been accused in any organized illegality of any kind, this would be getting 24/7 coverage, led by Fox, but with the others joining in. I'm really frustrated at the direction this country is going. The pendulum should've swung back after the Bush Debacle, but instead, the right is doubling down and getting a foothold. Another tragic reminder of how Ronald Reagan began dismantling this country with deregulation. Best of luck to Keith Olbermann on Current TV with no corporate backing.
The bigger question is, how many people even know what I'm talking about? I haven't yet seen a single cable-network report on the story -- not MSNBC, not CNN and certainly not FNC.
Here's the short version. According to what the Arizona Daily Star reported, prosecutor Rick Unklesbay told jurors last week, Shawna Forde thought so highly of herself she believed she could create a new world, decide who was a drug dealer and who wasn't and who should live and die. Unklesbay spent approximately 90 minutes Thursday going over the evidence he says proves Forde, 43, was the mastermind behind a May 30, 2009, Arivaca home invasion that left Raul Junior Flores, 29, and his 9-year-old-daughter, Brisenia, dead of multiple gunshot wounds. The prosecutor reminded jurors that at least four witnesses testified Forde bragged about her plan to fund her Minutemen American Defense organization by robbing drug-cartel associates during home invasions. Among those witnesses were her sister, two FBI informants and Oin Oakstar, an Arivaca drug smuggler.
For two weeks, we watched non-stop coverage of the other Arizona tragedy, the one leaving Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords with a bullet shot through her brain and six dead, including nine-year-old Christina Greene. Certainly a tragedy that deserved the coverage it received, but what's up with not covering a right wing militia madam who masterminded the execution an innocent man and his 9-year-old daughter? Is it because the media does not want to report anything that reflects poorly on the right wing or is it because Brisenia Flores was Hispanic. I suspect a little bit of both, but I lean more towards the former as several under-reported attacks incited by right wing media, particularly Glenn Beck have been mostly buried. Off the top of my head: A cop killer in PA, church killings in TN, murder at the Holocaust Museum in DC, doctors who perform abortions, Carlsbad, CA where a shooter yelled "Death to Obama" while firing his gun on a playground, etc... Luckily the police pulled over a crazed heavily-armed Beck fan on his way to the Tides Foundation in an attempt to assassinate the progressive organization's employees based on his Becktrination. On the other side of the coin, a young right wing punk set up ACORN with heavily edited videos to make them look like they were trafficking prostitutes, Fox ran the story on a 24/7 loop, CNN and other MSM picked it up and ACORN was defunded by our Democratic led House. By the way, they were later cleared of wrong doing once the video was proven to be edited. Too late for them though. Right Wing mission accomplished.
Getting back to the story at hand. Now that the verdict is in with the Forde case, I wonder of any of the so-called liberal media (so says the right wing) will touch this now? I'm afraid this is just another example of what our corporate owned media does. We're only allowed to see what they want us to see. If a left wing group had been accused in any organized illegality of any kind, this would be getting 24/7 coverage, led by Fox, but with the others joining in. I'm really frustrated at the direction this country is going. The pendulum should've swung back after the Bush Debacle, but instead, the right is doubling down and getting a foothold. Another tragic reminder of how Ronald Reagan began dismantling this country with deregulation. Best of luck to Keith Olbermann on Current TV with no corporate backing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
