The left pushes back...finally! People in support of President Obama's policies showed up at various Tea Party events today. Unlike President Bush's 2001 tax cuts, which went to the wealthiest 2.2%, President Obama's tax cuts overwhelmingly benefit working and middle class families -- in fact, 95% of all Americans! Woo hoo!!! Citizens for Tax Justice, a self-described non-partisan organization, released a report on Tuesday that read: "The 2009 economic stimulus bill actually reduced federal income taxes for tax year 2009 for 98 percent of all working families and individuals." This total includes the 95 percent of working families that will or have received tax credits in the range of $400 to $800. Huh, what do you know? Obama got it right...much to right wing chagrin. I think the troubling message though is that polling numbers indicate that many Americans are barely aware of reality. Sadly, a good chunk of the country believes it has been saddled by this administration with tax hikes. Back in mid-February, 24 percent of respondents to a CBS News/New York Times poll said that their taxes had increased under Obama. Fifty-three percent said they had stayed the same. Only 12 percent thought their taxes had gone down.
REVOKE REAGAN TAX CUTS...SPEND ON EDUCATION...WE'RE A NATION OF DUMMIES!
People crying about their taxes are seriously misguided. They are upset because they feel the government takes too much of their limited funds. The larger issue is that their wage isn't high enough, not that they pay too much taxes on it. Wages have stagnated over the past 30 years while expenses (and corporate profit) have gone up. Earning power in relation to inflation leaves us with far less purchasing power than our parents or grandparents had. You can thank Corporate America via Ronald Reagan for that. Many families can't even get by with two incomes, while 50 years ago one income was more than enough to pursue the American Dream. But try explaining this to a member of the Tea Party. For them government is the problem...especially when led by a so-called black socialist, marxist, nazi guy; Unless it's a Republican government,who can do no wrong and must be obeyed without question.
Make the rich pay their fair share. Let's get a progressive tax rate and close the God damn loopholes that are slowly turning us into a third world country. If anyone thinks that can't happen here, they're not paying attention.
At last year's CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) event, the keynote speaker was Rush "I hope Obama fails" Limbaugh. This year's is Glenn "Obama is a racist" Beck. Who are the real leaders of the conservative movement? Clearly not any of their politicians. This party is turning to hate tv/radio hosts while their fired up listeners and viewers have turned into rabid dogs who no longer fear showing bigotry and hatred. In fact, they seem to be "out and proud." What is in our future when the most angry are the anti-intellectual crowd who are enthused enough to show up and vote? I hope Democrats are paying attention and Independents don't allow themselves to be lulled into a false sense of responsible policy. Don't for one minute buy into Republicans are for smaller government. That is a myth that the Democrats need to start literally proving to the people. Taking the high road in politics will never again be a possibility. Just ask John Kerry.
We got some interesting little tidbits this week from CPAC. I'm going to run down a list of some of the more interesting one's. Former Massachusetts short term governor Mitt Romney claimed among other thing's that the Bush record wasn't all that bad compared to the current president's. "I am convinced that history will judge President Bush far more kindly -- he pulled us from a deepening recession following the attack of 9-11, he overcame teachers unions to test school children and evaluate schools, he took down the Taliban, waged a war against the jihadists and was not afraid to call it what it is -- a war. And he kept us safe." Let's see where I disagree...oh yeah, all of it. I would like some kind of evidence where he pulled us out of a recession after 9/11. Anyone got anything? All "No Child Left Behind" did was force schools to push kids through that weren't necessarily ready. The schools became more concerned with their own evaluations rather than the students. He took down the Taliban? Really? Why hasn't this bombshell been on the news? What does Willard know that the rest of us don't? More nonsense being suggested that Obama doesn't call our military occupations -- war (totally proven to be false) and my very favorite...Bush kept us safe...except for that one really, really big time and a few smaller one's that no one really remembers...at least no one who get's all their information from Fox News.
Tim Pawlenty didn't want to go unnoticed, so on the day Tiger Woods spoke at his apologetic press conference, TimmyPaw remarked, "I think we should take a page out of her [Elin Wood] playbook and take a nine iron and smash a window out of big government in this country." Do these guys ever outgrow junior high humor? They probably fart in public and insinuate it was someone else just for laughs.
Florida wannabe senator Marco Rubio (R)said, "The president couldn’t find anywhere to set up a teleprompter to announce new taxes,” while he was reading off of a teleprompter. This "Obama uses a teleprompter" thing is so friggin' old already. Name the last president or politician who didn't use one. I think the thing that drives me crazy is the dummies who actually think that both Bush's, Reagan, Palin, Bachmann and the rest of their hero's speak off the cuff...well, I guess in Palin's case, it's true.
Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of the conservative RedState.com blog, offered up some honesty while discussing the right wing's infrastructure when he noted, "We've got Fox News." It's not like it's a secret, but they're now getting brazen enough to admit it.
As Human Events editor Jed Babbin introduced Grover Norquist, he quipped, "And let me just say, I'm really happy to see Grover today. He was getting a little testy in the past couple of weeks. And I was just really, really glad that it was not him identified as flying that airplane into the IRS building." Seriously? They couldn't even wait until the IRS building in Austin stopped smoking? How do you joke about a terrible event sparked by an unstable man which caused several injuries and two fatalities, including the pilot...just one day later to boot? Don't forget, these people call themselves compassionate conservatives. Way to stay classy, conservative movement.
One surprising thing happened at CPAC. When California Young Americans for Freedom’s Ryan Sorba launched into a denunciation of the conference for inviting GOProud, he was roundly booed off the stage. In response to jeers following his initial screed, Sorba said, "the lesbians at Smith College protest better than you do." Way to go Smith College, you've been in the limelight twice this week! This one positive reaction by the crowd does not for a second make me think of amending the title to this blog entry.
The crowd chanted, "Run, Dick Run" when Dick Cheney was introduced by daughter Liz. The pair took turns with their usual anti-Obama rhetoric. You know the one's, he doesn't keep us safe, he's a socialist, he's a one term president, yadda, yadda, yadda. Were these people seriously hibernating from January 2001-January 2009? I have no other explanation as to their rational for wanting to return to the good ol' days of the Bush-Cheney Dictatorship. I'm not on board with everything Obama has done, it's the difference with our side, we don't march lock step. However, to think the current state of affairs is in any way Obama's fault is just plain ridiculous. In my opinion, if Obama would put Elizabeth Warren in charge of everything financially culpable to our government and let her make the decisions without getting in the way, we'd be on our way to a solid long-lasting recovery! She has been the only one consistently making sense out of this whole financial debacle.
Rachel Maddow who was in D.C. for a Library of Congress event decided to take in CPAC while she was in town. She was accosted from a guy who literally got into her face, got somewhat physically threatening and threw literature at her (To Keep Our Honor Clean: We Must Oppose the Homosexual Agenda for the Military). She said, Thank you. Who are you? and he yelled in her face, "We're normal people, what about you?" As Rachel stated on her show, "He did not in fact seem like normal people, but more specifically he was from an organization called Tradition, Family and Property whose booth I sought out later. They say that it would be unclean to have gay people in the military - and they have this neato gold Welsh looking crest." Except for that one creepy individual, Rachel said everyone was very nice to her. I still find it amazing that these people don't understand that gay people are already serving. Removing DADT isn't about allowing gay people to join the military, it's about letting them continue to serve even if someone finds out they're gay! I don't understand how they're missing that fact!
Mr. Everyman, Glenn Beck with trusty chalkboard along side, gave his keynote speech Saturday evening. Among his claims: He said, "The progressives are a cancer to our society." He used some pretty deceptive "historical" information to back up his misinformation. Did you know Herbert Hoover was really a progressive? How can you even spin that claim? He had percentages of various claims all over his trusty chalkboard. This is another case of taking one of the worst president's in history and trying to chain him to our side. The Beckerheads in the audience don't know any better and certainly aren't going to do a fact check. Did you know you have the right to "pursue" happiness, but you do not have a right to health care or housing? In Glenn's world, his pursuit of happiness is complete. He lies for a living and is very well paid for it. The health care opinion didn't surprise me, but the housing one sure did! Funny how he didn't tie any crime statistics to his uneven rhetoric about homelessness on his chalkboard. Did you also know the progressive tax rate is a bad thing? He got a standing ovation and a huge roar from the crowd for that one. He's making $23M per year and they're making a bit less than that! What is wrong with people? They not only vote against their own best interest, they're cheering an entertainer for telling them they're stupid! I guess having a modern infrastructure isn't important to a group of people who look back wistfully on the 50's. Speaking of going back in time, he compared the 20's to now, saying that it was a great time because that's when the middle class was made, failing to mention how they were exploited by their employers. He also failed to mention that in the 20's, African Americans, recent immigrants, farmers and a large part of the working class population lived below the poverty line of $2,000 per year per family. He was correct saying it was the decade of radios, motion pictures and cars becoming more affordable with mass production. However, to combat the exploitation of those same workers, the UAW for example, was eventually founded in May 1935. Manufacturing and "gasp" unions are what actually made the middle class. Conservative Republicans have been methodically destroying them ever since. Furthermore the comparison is void, we still made stuff then, we don't now. We now have unfavorable trade policies and a global economy. He also got a huge cheer for saying he took one class in college before dropping out. After telling everyone he didn't care about their personal story, he told his. We know he was a drunken, drug addict whose first wife left him, blah, blah, blah. I'll give him one thing, the misinformation he hands out to support his point of view doesn't seem to wear on his conscience at all.
Finally, Ann Coulter called Keith Olbermann a girl (amongst several other anti-liberal, anti-Democrat remarks). That's fine, he's just as much a girl as Coulter used to be! Not that there's anything wrong with being a transgender Ann (or is it really Arthur?). I really don't care about that stuff, but this is arguably the most hateful, vile public personality at this time. You reap what you sow.
I really can't say anything more interesting than suggest you watch Rachel Maddow's appearance today on Meet The Press. She was magnificent. The world's worst moderator, David Gregory still kept her in check at times, but she was more than prepared for his antics today. The panel discussed the Obama Administrations treatment of terror suspects compared to Bush's with the all the political hypocrisy. Also discussed was Republican hypocrisy over the stimulus package and the jobs bill. Maddow challenged Aaron Schock (R-IL) as to why reading an enemy combatant his Miranda Rights is a bad thing. He went into a lie and she bagged him. That woman always shows up with facts and stats. How can they not know this about her at this point? Then they went into domestic policies with Rachel accusing Schock of hypocrisy for railing against a spending bill in public while touting its benefits in his home district. She crushed him again. I do wish Gregory had let her respond when Schlock managed to whimper a question of whether she would give back her Bush tax cuts. She was our local DJ when the Bush cuts for the wealthy were issued and the rest of us got a $600 check. Although I'm sure her point would've been that she wasn't in congress or the senate voting against bills while reaping the benefits, my point is that she wasn't a huge beneficiary either. I don't see that as a point for little Aaron. He looked like he wanted to cry.
All of this deficit talk is starting to get on my nerves. Of course it’s an issue, but this didn’t start last January. Why is the military/defense budget exempt from spending cuts? It’s our biggest source of wasteful spending, it always has been. Of course Cheney's Halliburton would suffer greatly and we can’t have that. Those mercenaries employed by Blackwater and KBR are real American heroes. Next, make the rich pay the same share as they did before Reagan gave them the keys to the Kingdom. Their pre-1980 tax wasn’t denting their lifestyle. Tax the hell out of U.S. corporations manufacturing outside of our borders. Oh wait, that would make sense. Our politicians are more concerned with who’s funding their next election, which brings me to my desire for term limits. We will need a national referendum or ballot proposition or whatever it’s officially called to ever have any hopes of that happening.
Last night I watched Texas Representative Jeb Hansarling (R) go on Chris Matthews Hardball. He blamed the Democrats for everything naturally, but that's not the thing he said that set me off. He basically called for a cut to Social Security benefits for anyone who is currently under age 55. Since this affects me…and many others, I’m concerned. I’ve been paying into that system for more years than I care to remember and this fool is basically saying “tough luck, sucker!” Yes, I’m well aware of the fact that I can’t live off S.S. alone, but since I paid into this agreement, not getting anything back basically means the country downright stole from me and everyone else who falls into our category. We need to start taking care of our own citizens and stop policing the world. How about we try that?!
We spend at least $607 billion annually for military expenditures. The next closest country in spending is China…at $85 billion. Do we actually have to spend seven times more than another country to be safe? Those big bad Russians spend a whopping $58.6 billion. We are 41.5% of the whole world’s share of military expenditures! Just cut the spending in half and we’ll still have the biggest d***s in the world. Isn’t that what this is really about? Seems like a simple enough solution. The deficit would be under control in about 5 years. Furthermore, Bush lied when he said, “They hate us for our freedoms.” That’s not why they hate us. They hate us because we meddle in other country’s policies without being asked. The U.S. really needs to take a look in the mirror and think about what our reaction would be if another country, say China, comes here and starts telling us how to live. I'm guessing we wouldn't take kindly to it.
On Tuesday, the 19th of January, our little ol' state of Massachusetts will be holding a special election to replace the seat once held by Senator Ted Kennedy. Democrat Martha Coakley is in a tight battle with Republican Scott Brown. The thing is, this should've been an easy win for Coakley, but I honestly think someone was whispering in her ear that "it's in the bag" so she hadn't been doing much campaigning until the polls started tightening. Brown on the other hand has been pretty aggressive and has had money pumped into the state from outside sources. I will be shocked and dismayed if our state elects a Bush-clone to the seat once held by Kennedy.
To me, this is about so much more than the health care debate. Brown’s positions are actually lock-step with what Bush and Cheney did…tax cuts for the wealthy, protections for business, he’s against the fees Obama has proposed on big banks to get bailout money returned in entirety, health care for all as long as it’s done through private insurers, doesn’t care about the environment, etc… On gay marriage: "Marriage issues should be left up to the states, so long as they reflect the people’s will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.” In other words, keep letting the majority decide on the rights of a minority. He’s been endorsed by the hate group, MassResistance. I wonder what would’ve happened in 1967 if inter-racial marriage was put up for vote as a popularity contest? I’m a bit confused about his stance on abortion since it seems to change depending on his audience. At one point he stated: “While this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America. I believe government has the responsibility to regulate in this area and I support parental consent and notification requirements and I oppose partial birth abortion.” First, let me just say that I hate the term partial birth abortion, just as much as I resent being called pro-abortion. The anti-abortion crowd just keeps on coming out with terms to place fear in women. As a very pro-choice individual, I also recognize that late term abortions are no longer a clear cut decision between a woman and her doctor. At a certain point, you’ve taken on some responsibility whether you realize it or not. I’m not a believer that life starts at conception, rather at individual viability. That is when the decision becomes tricky since the woman has had several months to decide, life/health of the mother obviously excluded. However, Brown also sponsored an amendment to a 2005 bill on emergency contraception that would have let emergency room doctors or nurses turn away rape victims if they had religious objections to providing emergency contraception. Rape victims! They’ve already been violently victimized once and now they’re going to get victimized by the very people who are supposed to help them? My feeling has always been you need to leave your personal feelings at the door in any profession. If you can’t do your job every single day in every single way, you need to find another line of work. It’s as simple as that.
Here’s what I find somewhat interesting. In June of 1982, Scott Brown won Cosmopolitan’s “America’s Sexiest Man” contest and posed nude for the centerfold. Isn’t this the family values party? Didn’t fellow Tea-bagger Sarah Palin say her former, future son-in-law Levi Johnson was doing porn by posing in Playgirl? What’s the difference? Enquiring minds want to know. I’d also love to hear the roar if it was the Democrat who had done the nude layout. It would’ve been scandalous! What I think is mind-boggling is in their ongoing hypocrisy. Their defense is that it’s ok because he’s good looking! So what, Obama is too. The right wing went nuts over a photo just as old as this one, of Obama smoking a cigarette because of the message that it sends to the youth of America. Conservatives really are one dimensional cretins.
Today President Obama will arrive in Boston to help gin up the base to turn out on Tuesday. I’ve been getting robo-calls from Obama, Bill Clinton, Martha Coakley and sadly Scott Brown (I’d love a live call) who’s been endorsed and heavily funded by the Tea Party Express. I hope it’s not a question of too little, too late. Martha Coakley is not an exciting candidate by any stretch, but the alternative is not acceptable. What a sick twist in irony it will be when Houston, TX just elected a lesbian Mayor and liberal Massachusetts ends up with a Tea Bagger in the senate if this doesn’t go well. If that happens, I hope the Democrats find a strong candidate to run for the full term in 2012.
Ok, back to business as I was a bit under the weather recently. Ever since the Christmas Day attempt at bringing down an airliner, Republicans have been salivating that there was a terrorist attempt under Obama’s watch. They figure this was just what they needed to begin a new string of attacks on Obama and Democrats and how they’re weak on “the war on terror”. Never mind that the policies in place were left over from the Bush-Cheney Regime; they count on the fact that most Americans don’t pay attention to politics so they can say virtually anything and get away with it. Like Obama, Bush was on vaction at the time of the shoe bomber attack. He didn't speak publicly for 6 days compared to Obama's 3. The perception that Republicans are asserting is that Obama wasn't doing anything after he learned of the attack. It would be laughable, but when I view other blogs, the conservative base actually believes that he just shrugged and continued to play golf. Conservatives are now attempting to rewrite history in the mindset of America. They are counting on the fact that most Americans are too lazy to fact check. Eventually this may work for them, as America gets dumber collectively with every passing year, but I think it's still a bit too soon!
First we watched Dana Perino in November claim on Sean Hannity’s show that there were no terrorist attacks during Bush’s administration. Ok, it’s Fox and Hannity, it would’ve been way too much to expect some journalistic integrity or credibility. Then there was Mary Matalin on CNN with conservative John King in December claiming the Bush administration “inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation's history.” Obviously soul mate King gave her a pass too. However, what former Clinton advisor George Stephanopoulos let Rudy Giuliani get away with Friday on Good Morning America was unforgivable. Giuliani claimed “We had no domestic attacks under Bush." First it just appeared that he didn’t seem to remember he was the mayor of New York City on 9/11/01. Then he told yet another blatant lie which again went unchallenged, saying that it took Obama “10 days to respond.” In fact, anyone who has been paying attention knows that is untrue. After a firestorm mostly from the left was created by these lies going unchallenged, Rudy claimed he meant "post 9/11." Well, not so fast dude. GWB was in office from 1/20/01-1/20/09. What else happened on Bush’s watch you might ask? The Anthrax Attacks were from October-November 2001, the Shoe Bomber on 12/22/01, LA Airport shootings by Hesham Mohamed Hadayet on July 4, 2002, D.C. Sniper John Allen Muhammad in the fall of 2002, Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar of Iran who claimed he was following in the footsteps of his idol, 9/11 hijacker Muhammad Atta when he ran down 9 North Carolina college students in March of 2006. Later in the day after being heavily criticized, even from some of ABC’s own correspondents for his failure to correct Giulini, Stephanopoulos posted an expression of regret on a blog post. A blog post?! Really? How about making your apology on GMA on Monday morning in the same time segment that the interview aired so the likelihood that you’ll be apologizing to the same mislead viewers is heightened. When writing about Giuliani's misspoken words, the Washington Independent's Spencer Ackerman wrote: "You actually need to give President George W. Bush credit for this. The Bush people did a wonderfully effective job of making it verboten in mainstream political discourse to consider the deaths of 3000 Americans on 9/11 in any sense Bush’s failing."
Vice President Biden was right in 2007 when he said of Giuliani; “…I mean, think about it! Rudy Giuliani. There's only three things he mentions in a sentence -- a noun, a verb, and 9/11. There's nothing else! There's nothing else!...”
As far as the attempted attack on Christmas Day, it’s sickening that Republicans are happy that an attempt was made, but appear somewhat saddened that it failed. When you have Faux Newz resident talibangelical Brit Hume along with Bill Kristol claiming that the attack was a success even though the only thing Abdulmuttalab managed to set on fire was his own junk, you’re showing your hand. You’ve got Dick Cheney running to every single microphone or camera he can find to say that Obama’s too low key, doesn’t want to admit we’re at war and promises more attacks because of this alleged weakness and all the ditto heads (elected officials as well as the conservative electorate) follow his lead. Do they actually think if he says the word “terror” more often, that’s some sort of tool against terror? It's been one of their claims. How do they think they don't sound ridiculous? Maybe if the Bush-Cheney Regime hadn’t actually taken their eye off the real terrorists instead of trying to steal the “black gold” in Iraq, we wouldn’t be in this mess now. The sad truth about this fool who got 5 seperate deferments to keep him from serving in Vietnam is that the very people we're trying to defeat are listening to this idiot tell them that the current administration in inept. He is inviting them to attack. Are the Republicans so hungry for power that they have total disregard for the safety of Americans not just here, but abroad? Why can't the majority of Americans see this game being played? Why isn't the majority of the media calling him or other conservatives out? MSNBC is the exception. They get called a liberal channel (3 hours with Olbermann, Maddow, Schultz) which is balony (3 hours of Scarborough and daily guest nazi Buchanan) because they seem to be the only one's that haven't yet fallen victim to the "conservative media bias" that now inhabits our airwaves. It's crystal clear for anyone paying attention,that the current administration has stepped up the search and destroy missions of terrorist pockets. Isn't it likely that the current administration, by using the "speak softly and carry a big stick" approach is probably leading to more success because we're not tipping our hand to the enemy? By the way, I think Obama's address on Thursday when he said, "The buck stops with me." was one of the most honest presentations any modern President has given. If Obama and the Democrats do this right, the Republicans will never again be able to paint them as weak and defenseless. Maybe that's what neocons like Cheney are really afraid of, that it's working.
Liz Cheney’s neoconservative political attack organization, Keep America Safe, is out with a new ad titled “100 hours.” It is complete with images of the President golfing on his Hawaiian vacation. Stephanopoulos actually did his job today on ABC’s “This Week”, confronting Cheney about her hypocritical attack. “As many Democrats and others have pointed out, President Bush waited six days before doing much about Richard Reid, the shoe bomber.” Cheney evaded the question entirely, pretending not to hear it. “The point of that ad,” she said, “was this notion that you cannot win a war if you’re treating it as sort of an inconvenient sidelight.” My question is why anyone gives a rat’s behind what this neocon nobody has to say. Her father's crooked administration didn't give a damn about defeating terrorists, they lied to get into a war with a country who's oil they wanted to control. They never even attempted to capture bin Laden. If they had, they wouldn't have been able to occupy Iraq. Her father is an evil bastard and it’s clear the apple didn’t roll far from the tree.
It’s really disheartening what we’ve become as a nation. All those right wingers claiming that Obama is the most polarizing President ever (they still can’t believe the black guy won) don’t seem to remember that George W. Bush who was never rightfully elected to his position actually said in November of 2001, “You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror”, when anyone dared question his policies on his new found purpose. You can’t really get any more polarizing than that. I believe that was a crucial turning point that pitted conservatives against liberals in a very hardened way and I don’t see it getting better any time soon, especially since the right wing religious zealots are having success in determining public policy. I have a genuine fear that this country at some point is going to become a theocracy, not a democracy.
Quick Thoughts: Not all Republicans are clueless political gamers afterall. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) said on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” about the criticism of Obama's handling of the terrorist situation: “It’s unfair, I think the president is focused…To the contrary, Obama has demonstrated firmness” and “decisiveness… That’s been the antidote to the criticism.” Good for him to have the guts to say so! I'm sure he's not the only one who feels this way, but the larger portion prefer to play partisan politics or are afraid of getting in Cheney's crosshairs...or crossbow! ...
On Thursday, Tea Party Nation claimed that "liberal troll" Rachel Maddow tried to join the group and "we banned her 7 minutes after she joined. I have little doubt she will mention this on her show." The teabaggers must've been disappointed that Rachel did not mention it, although Keith Olbermann and Richard Wolfe discussed the falsehood on Countdown. Did a bunch of 8th grade level racists actually think they were going to outsmart her? The funny thing is, as soon as I received the forwarded "tweet" from TPM, my first thought was "riiight, she joined using her own name." My next thought was, "typical conservatives not looking at the big picture." I guess it never occured to the teabaggers that by publicizing this lie, liberals and Maddow fans in general would actually join the site to "disrupt the flow of constructive dialogue against liberalism." Check it out. Did I mention the site ended up going down? The always polite Ms. Maddow responded with: "Of course, this idea of me trying to join their listserv is completely made up, but still -- I'm flattered the Tea Party folks think I'm well known enough to help their cause, I wish them all best luck with their conference."
Finally, Brit Hume who seems jealous of the attention all the other crackpots on Faux get decided to jump on board. The born again evangelical now believes he has the credentials to lecture others' religious choices. He said Tiger Woods should convert to Christianity for forgiveness and redemption.[].make a total recovery and be a great example to the world. Yeah, you know how wild and crazy those Buddhists are. I guess that in Brit's world, Vitter's penchant for prostitutes and diapers, Sanford and Ensign's mistresses are all ok now because they're Republicans and they've allegedly asked for forgiveness from the Lord. Never mind the path of destruction they created for those around them. As far as Buddhists, since I knew nothing I looked it up, unlike Hume. Their basic belief is that suffering ceases when desire ceases, that enlightenment obtained through right conduct, wisdom, and meditation releases one from desire, suffering, and rebirth. Seems like those will apply to Tiger's "transgressions" just fine.
I just want to say that while I’m disgusted, I’m not surprised that Republicans are trying to use this terrorist bombing attempt for political gain. Good ol’ Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) has even used this event to try and raise money for his bid to become Michigan Governor. He Sent out an email to supporters Tuesday repeatedly asking for contributions. However, one man that totally makes my skin crawl is Dick Cheney. I loathe that man. He represents everything bad about politics and he’s got supporters. He was named “Conservative of the Year" at some right wing publication called Human Events. In his latest anti-Obama attack, he’s telling the Fox Newz loyalists that Obama “is trying to pretend we are not at war.” He’s upset at the administrations low-key approach, which I actually applauded recently. How smart is it to telegraph your response to the world? Does this fool not understand that it’s not only U.S. citizens who will be seeing it? Just because Obama’s not standing on an aircraft carrier beating his chest, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have counter-measures in action. Oh, by the way, how did that work out? What scares the hell out of me is I think this lunatic is actually running for President 2012 right now! Seriously. We didn’t see him for eight years, now you can’t turn on your tv without seeing that evil bastard. I’m worried that he’s getting traction. He went on to say that, “It doesn't fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency: social transformation, the restructuring of American society.” Really? What has changed? There's no evidence to support that claim. However, repeat it enough and the sheep will follow. I'm not sure exactly why he felt the need to slip that in there, except...2012.
As for terror attempts, why the double standard? Bush was not subjected to criticisms from either Democrats or the media when he waited six days to respond to Richard Reid's attempted shoe-bombing of an airplane on December 22, 2001. Like Obama now, Bush was also on vacation when that botched terrorist attack occurred. Here’s my worry. While I applaud the Democrats for trying to take the high road, it always bites them in the ass in the end. The Republicans have no shame and will continuously drive their propaganda across no matter how ludicrous it is. It has been a winning formula for them. Democrats need to get tough with their political rivals. Nobody’s talking about the fact that the Bush White House set the guys free who master-minded this attempt, because Dems aren’t pushing it. Also, very few news sources are reporting the similarities to the ‘Shoe Bomber’ and Bush's response – which was nearly identical to Obama's. Karl Rove also chimed in complaining that it took Obama 72 to address the public, yet never mentioned it took Bush twice as long. By the way, did you hear Mr. Sanctity of Marriage is getting divorced for the second time. Another hypocritical piece of trash.
For all the hopes and dreams of Republicans who think this is going to destroy Obama, I think they’re underestimating him. For some reason, something within me is telling me that Obama has a plan. He has proven that he thinks things out. Conservatives are still of the "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality. If Obama finds “it”, and "it's" successful, the Republicans will be done for a long time since the only thing they've got left to run on is the notion they're tougher on national security. He knows that. I hope he successfully takes that silly notion away as well. Many of us like low-key. Give ‘em hell, Prez!
Update:I just want to add this clip from tonight's MSNBC Hardballwith Chris Matthews that I just viewed. On a quick glance, I noticed that Salon.com's Joan Walsh was on so I stopped to watch. I always appreciate her take on things. Tonight, I especially enjoyed the part where she blasts former Cheney aide Ron Christie for continuous Republican attempts to delegitimize this President at every opportunity. I even thought Matthews was correct!
While I applaud Obama for deciding on a date to bring troops home from Afghanistan, I would have preferred there wasn’t an eighteen month escalation preceding it. Of course critics say that the only thing Obama’s 18 month plan does is create a month 19 plan for the terrorists. Well, maybe so, but realistically we can’t capture and kill them all so just how many more American lives need to be wasted as we stumble around looking for a clear path to a perceived victory? How many times in the last eight years has the mission been changed just to keep us there? Even though I never viewed Bush as a legitimate President, I supported his decision after 9/11 to go into Afghanistan with the mission to capture and/or kill Osama bin Laden. I wanted the man responsible for the attack on our country “dead or alive”. On March 13, 2002, the part-time resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue stated in regard to bin Laden, “I am truly not that concerned about him. I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." That was just six months after the worse attack ever on US soil. Clearly, W’s heart wasn’t in it as he discovered they had no oil, so he shifted his attention to Iraq where he forced unfounded ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban and used them to sell to congress and the American public the need of a pre-emptive war. Of course for the Bush administration, it was a financial windfall to keep the war going and capturing bin Laden was never a priority because it would have destroyed any way of justifying going into Iraq. Cheney’s lifetime ties to Halliburton and the millions he's made from them are rarely included in this sad story either. When Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow bring it up, they're assailed as enemies of "real" America. Who is the real enemy? U.S. Marines allegedly had bin Laden trapped in Tora Bora in December of 2001 and asked for additional support. A decision to not deploy those requested American forces to go after him or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks. Why would they do that if not to prolong the war and start another one? How many American lives could have been saved.
Wednesday night on The Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel was joined by our U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice. The two had a very respectful back and forth as Rachel believes there’s an undeclared war in Pakistan while Rice denies that is the case and explains the differences in our Middle East involvements. It’s informative to watch two adults talk about U.S. policy. The two parts are about 23 minutes combined:
This interview should be enlightening for those of us truly trying to understand our mission and goals. Unfortunately, we have an electorate that, for the most part, has no real intellectual curiosity and in fact dislikes anyone who does. Surely, 23 minutes of two smart women (gasp) talking about military strategy can not be taken seriously by the "right". They see this type of discussion reserved for conservative white males only and it wouldn't have taken 23 minutes, just six words, "bomb the hell out of them." They much prefer the primal instinct of war over a well reasoned peaceful policy discussion and decision. In their eyes, "fight makes right" and anyone who disagrees is viewed as a traitor or weak. These people agreed with McCain and his 100 year war idea. Most of our low information voters rely on “key” words/topics like; liberal, socialist, fascist, czar, Marxist, Nazi, Hitler along with Kenyan, ACORN, abortion, same-sex marriage, etc…to get them fired up -- no thought needed. These words are delivered on a nightly basis from Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity on Fox and Rush Limbaugh on the radio. The fact that their listeners/viewers repeat these words after hearing them on these shows even though many of the terms are contradictory certainly doesn’t deter them, that’s for sure! They applaud the untrained, unsophisticated views of their hero's. The only one in that group who completed what he started is O'Reilly (Marist College). The people that hang on to their every word, despise Maddow (Stanford & Oxford), Olbermann (Cornell), Ed Schultz (Minnesota State) and Thom Hartmann (Michigan State). I'm not sure when having an education became a bad thing in this country. Except for the occasionally bombastic Schultz, have you also noticed that our commentators have a much calmer demeanor? I'm also not buying that being a "liberal" is the profanity that conservatives have turned it into. By definition, we favor progress and reform, the protection of civil liberties. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded. Those aren't bad things!
Anyhow...
Obviously President Obama has more information about the situation than we do, but I’d love to see our service members come home. I'm just not sure that the goals that Susan Rice explained are realistic. These wars have done nothing positive for our country and there’s so much more we need to focus on. I did not vote for Obama to follow in Bush's footsteps in any manner, including Iraq and Afghanistan. We live in a world of microwave ovens and high-speed internet so we’ve grown accustomed to wanting everything now…if not sooner! Besides the war, President Obama is being criticized a lot for not accomplishing anything in his first year because we can’t see sure evidence. The stimulus appears to be working, yet because unemployment didn’t immediately fall to 5%, conservatives call it a failure. The health care impasse has been caused by "just say no" Republicans and conservative Democrats. Granted, Obama should take a more active role, but with the eight year mess he was handed, there remains only so many hours in a day. George W. Bush was most likely the worst leader (I won’t call him Prez) this country has ever had and his legacy is quite possibly going to destroy Obama’s as well unless giant steps are taken. I think one of the things that has caught him off guard is there is no longer a "no drama Obama." Everything he does is getting ridiculed and scrutinized by the right in ways that they weren't totally prepared for, so they've taken some heat. He came out of the gate strong with broadening stem cell research and passing the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He appeared to be a strong, quiet, no frills Commander-in-chief when he ordered the Navy Seals to kill three Somali pirates who were holding an American cargo ship captain hostage. Then the health care debate began, Sarah Palin spoke of death panels, the crazed fringe took over informational town hall meetings and all the wonderful momentum and hope we had for this young President came to a screeching halt. I hope he can clean up most of the damage before the 2010 elections. While I don't think the Democrats will lose the majority in the House, it may no longer be a strong majority.
Sarah Palin Update: Since my last post was on Thanksgiving, I wasn't yet aware of The Turkey Trot To Nowhere. Evidently Sarah agreed to run the 5k Kennewick “Turkey Trot.” But she quit 40 minutes in! She wanted to avoid the adoring masses at the finish line. The article is linked above from "The Mudflats." It appears that the infamous Palin bus tour is a hoax. Joe McGinniss reports she's in fact flying around America on a private jet, specifically a luxurious "Gulfstream II 12-passenger jet rented from Universal Jet Aviation of Boca Raton, Florida, at a cost of more than $4,000 per hour." Yes indeed, her fans say she's "just like them!" In addition, camera's and recording devices are being banned from her book signing stops, BUT for a fee, you can get a photo taken of yourself with the former Alaska Governor for the following size/prices: 5x7 $15.99, 8x10 $20.99, 8x12 $23.99, 11x14 $35.99. Has any of her "fans" figured out yet that she's just in this for the money? Speaking of the former Governor, the Minnesota Mall of America announces she wants to be called Governor and wants only English speaking press when she appears there. Why should they call her Governor? Honestly, the way her gaffe filled book signing tour is going, you'd think she'd ban English speaking press so her never ending flow of ignorance wouldn't be reported daily!
Palin has also called on President Obama to boycott the Copenhagen climate conference since she feels the hacked emails from the the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England prove that man-made climate change is a hoax.
"Policy decisions require real science and real solutions, not junk science and doomsday scare tactics pushed by an environmental priesthood that capitalizes on the public's worry and makes them feel that owning an SUV is a 'sin' against the planet."
In some ways Palin's sudden enthusiasm for science comes as a surprise, since she has suggested evolution is not real and wants creationism taught in schools. Then again this gives her the chance to once again recite "Drill baby, drill."
Quick Thoughts: On the Tiger Woods' ongoing saga: You know, the story seemed pretty conflicted right from the start, and has unfolded exactly as I expected it too, including my vision of the night in question and how the window of the Escalade was smashed. I am the last person who will condone any form of domestic violence, but as more and more information comes out, don’t you get the feeling that he probably wishes he just stayed in the house and took the beating?...On Thursday, Republican Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla) introduced the gimmick filled "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act". "The idea, broad-brush, is that whatever government option is in the bill, every senator and every representative should be enrolled in it," Vitter told 'The Hill'. "No other possibilities, no other choices." "It's called leadership," Coburn said. "If it's good enough for everybody else, we ought to be leading by example." Funny thing happened though, Democrats called their bluff. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) who tried to become a co-sponsor and was given the cold shouldar, was joined by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), and Al Franken (D-Minn.) in support. These are the kind of Democrats we need -- one’s with a spine! I like Sherrod Brown a little more every time I see him. ...You will love thisheadline: "Arlington, Tennessee Mayor Russell Wiseman Assails 'Muslim President' For Pre-Empting 'Peanuts": Seriously, this guy believes that President Barack Obama's West Point address, in which he announced his intention to escalate the war in Afghanistan, was intentionally timed to prevent Christians from watching Charlie Brown, stating, “Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim [sic] president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose”: The Peanuts Christmas show? Really? Now I could see if it was Rudolph or Frosty, but...These conservative fools weren’t embarrassed by eight years of a court appointed corrupt Presidency with the Bush-Cheney Regime, but they still can’t get over the fact that the young, black Hawaiian (yes Republicans, it was a state in 1961) won. Southerners get upset that they're perceived as uneducated, but they keep electing people like this. In fact, they should be embarrassed that people like Wiseman (ironic, isn't it?) continue to pop up on television and other media and make every southern stereotype be proven true. Snarky comment of the week from Huffington Post commentator MCISMetal: "I can't comment on the Kyoto Accord as I've only ever seen the Honda" - Sarah Palin
In case you missed it... News of the "get a life -- and a new iron": Nov. 27 METHUEN, Mass. (AP) -- A Massachusetts woman who recently separated from her husband and had her hours cut at work says an image of Jesus Christ she sees on her iron has reassured her that "life is going to be good." Mary Jo Coady first noticed the image Sunday when she walked into her daughter's room. The brownish residue on the bottom of the iron looks like the face of a man with long hair. The 44-year-old Coady was raised Catholic. She and her two college-age daughters agree that the image looks like Jesus and is proof that "he's listening." Coady tells The Eagle-Tribune she hopes her story will inspire others during the holidays. She says she plans to keep the iron in a closet and buy a new one.
The "image of Jesus" that she sees has only reassured me that what's going to be good in her life is not burning down her house. The good news is she's going to put it in the closet and buy a new one. Since it looks like it's very old and well used, this is a good call...although I'll be expecting it to be up for bid on Ebay!
UPDATE 12/6/09: Just did a quick search on Ebay and there already is an iron with Jesus alleged image listed! The reasonable seller zinsanemods (amazingly the same person also has an Ozzy Osbourne iron - what are the odds?!) has allowed a $3000 Buy It Now.
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