Tag: 2010 Election

Where, Oh Where Are The Jobs?

I know, I know I am being redundant….but apparently I have to be to get the point across to the American voter…..you listened to their crap….you voted for their crap….and now you are letting them get away with their brand of crap…..what are you people thinking?

The economy sucks!  The threat of a governmental shut down looms.  Abortion and marriage are the key issues in the first couple of months of the session…..Marriage?  Yep, marriage!

The Republican-led House of Representatives is likely to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Calif.) said in a newly-published interview. The move would come in the wake of the decision by the Obama administration to no longer defend the law.

The decision prompted both those in favor and those opposed to the law to call on Congress to make the next move. Liberals are calling for Congress to fully repeal the law — Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is introducing legislation to do so — while conservatives want Congress to intervene in court and defend the law.

The early statements by many prominent Republicans following the administration’s DOMA decision were muted, prompting questions over whether opposition to gay marriage had faded as an issue for the GOP base. However, Boehner told CBN that House members have been discussing their options and will make a decision on how to proceed by the end of the week.

OK, the conservs are all a tither about marriage and the definition of said…..where does that deal with jobs?  You know those silly little things that the Right uses for elections but could care little about afterwords……you would think that an economy that is FAR from recovered that the major concern of ANY politician would be the creation of jobs, especially when the “real” unemployment is running close to 15%…..but nope!  You elected officials are spending all their time at work (which is every other week and then usually only 4 days of that week) trying to kill a law, define marriage and so many others….NONE of which is doing you or your neighbor any good what so ever…….

You voted for these nitwits and only YOU can change things….but it will NOT get done while you sit on your butt or stare into your smart phone……PERIOD!

If Ever Witchcraft Was Needed

Now would be a good time to use all that one has learned at the coven……

It seems that someone has taken an interest in the campaign funds of Delware’s Christine O’Donnell……as reported in TPM………

Federal officials have reportedly opened a criminal probe into whether former Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The feds are looking into whether O’Donnell’s spent $20,000 dollars in campaign money on personal expenses and rent, MSNBC reported. The probe stems from a complaint by the group Citizens For Responsibility And Ethics In Washington (CREW) which was filed back in September.

O’Donnell set a state record by raising more than $7.3 million for her campaign but has faced questions about her campaign finances. TPM reported that her last minute campaign hires included an anti-gay crusader and that she spent $200,000 on her “I’m Not A Witch” and Yale ads.But O’Donnell basically admitted that CREW’s main charge were true back in October, conceding she used campaign cash to pay rent on her Delaware town house because it doubled as campaign headquarters, which CREW charged amounted to using her primary campaign “as her personal ATM.” Commission rules “say candidates can’t use campaign money for their mortgage or rent ‘even if part of the residence is being used by the campaign’.”

Twitching one’s nose might be in order about now……blinking or nodding or snapping of fingers….something….to get ones self out of a predicament…….

Reason Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

Or…..Do They All Have Alzheimer’s?

I recently wrote a post about my representative, Gene Taylor (D-MS-4) and his defeat by an unknown quantity in one Palazzo…I wrote:

in office….. What makes this all the more  moronic is that Taylor is a conservative Dem and voted like on on many issues…however he got a great rating by the group that watches middle class issues and also by the ARA a group that watches votes by Reps and then grades them on senior’s issues….For instance, 100% rating from the National Right To Life Committee,  76% rating from the Christian Coalition, given an “A” rating by the NRA, a 90% rating by the Association of Retired Americans, 100% by the Citizens For Tax Justice, 92% by the US Border Control for a sealed border, all the issues that the conservs and especially the Tea Party stand for……his ONLY crime was that he was a Dem in the House that was controlled by Pelosi…

I attacked the people of my district for their moronic vote…that it showed a serious lack of knowledge about the candidates….after all my district is a conserv district because of the amount of military and retired people….and Taylor was a Blue dog (conserv) Democrat……and even though he voted the way that his district wanted he still loss his bid for re-election……

I now need to apologize to the people in my district for chastising them for their vote against Taylor…it is NOT them that is the morons…..it is the whole senior voting block…nationwide!

Politico has an article written by Bryan Tau……

Voters over 65 favored Republicans last week by a 21-point margin after flirting with Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections and favoring John McCain by a relatively narrow 8-point margin in 2008.
Concerned by changes to Medicare and compelled by a Republican Party that promised a return to America’s glory days, seniors played a crucial — and often understated — role in races across the country. They were unswayed by ubiquitous Democratic warnings about Republican changes to Social Security. And they put a series of campaigns out of reach for Democrats 

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44802.html#ixzz14hSxQK6O

Seniors voted overwhelmingly for the Repubs, eh?  They voted for the same group that wants to privatize their retirement so that the next crisis leaves them penniless and they voted for the same people that want them to work until they are 70 or 75 before they can retire…..they voted for the people that want to gut Medicare and leave them at the mercy of the insurance companies….they are ALL morons!  Wait!  That is being unfair!
“A CNN/Gallup Poll released Monday revealed that a vast majority of registered male voters would have strongly supported a naked woman in the 2010 midterm elections.”
At least with the naked woman….you would know what you are getting…….even if it fake!
They are all IDIOTS!  Reason be damned!

A Word Of Warning

This is just a small piece of advice for those in the GOP that have a new mandate in Washington……change….or was that the last batch that was elected?  Anyway…not that important….what is important is that all the campaign rhetoric was about just how inefficient the Obama admin has been in the last two years…and then there were the whackos on the far right that keep trying to equate liberal with some form of socialism…..they bitched heavily about the lack of job creation and the “out of control” spending and the size of the government (who was it that said size does not matter?)…….

My advice is to remember that the average American voter has all the patience of a horny rabbit…they proved that when the Dems did not have a magic fix for the economy in two years…so maybe their first official act is to come up with a workable plan to get the economy rolling again…and to spout tax cuts in every other breath is NOT a plan…..also recall that the same groups that voted them in a wave of expulsion for the Dems will have to vote again in two years…

So unless there was some sort of collusion between the GOP and business to keep the jobs down until after an election, then they will have to find real answers to the economic problems and hopefully they will not find a way to increase government spending on such fanciful things as massive investigations into perceived problems…..you know kind of like in the 90’s when they investigated just about everything Democratic and it bit them in the ass….it can happen again……the only thing that would do is put a bunch of bottom feeding attorneys to work on the taxpayers dime….not a smart move…..but then….few accuse them of being smart just devious….

So my dear GOP friends….please work for the country and let the rest of the crap fall by the wayside or you will be back to thinking of happier days….again!  Hit the ground running or hit the bricks….you have a choice, but choose well…..

Does A Power Struggle Loom Large?

College of Political Knowledge

2010 Mid-Term Elections

Lecture #12

I remember back in the day, during the Cold War, every time the USSR got a new leader there would be the inevitable power struggle to see who would get power or retain power…..I am going to do a Beck-esque drawing a conclusion…only difference is that I do not have an irritating blackboard (BTW, a blackboard is so old school)…the power struggle I am referring to is the one that will happen on January 3, 2011 when the new Congress takes over and all the new faces and hollow shells will be jockeying for their little slice of the power pie….

Let us start with the House of reps and the leadership….Ohio’s John Boehner will be in the lead to become the Speaker of the House and to buy votes for his election to that position he has resoprted to some interesting tactics…..as reported by the AP….

Minority Leader John Boehner promised this week that if southwest Georgia residents unseat Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop, he will support placing GOP challenger Mike Keown on the House Agriculture Committee. It’s a promise designed to get Keown votes in a red-soil district that harvests the nation’s largest peanut and pecan crop.

As Republicans campaign to win a majority in Congress, Boehner has dangled similar promises in Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Hawaii, sometimes in districts where single economic interests like farming or defense dominate regional economies.

And then there are the other positions of influence within the GOP and the Repub Caucus…….as written in Talking Points memo…..

conservative activists don’t tend to hold the top two House Republicans — Boehner, and Whip Eric Cantor — in the highest esteem. Particularly Cantor. At the influential conservative blog Red State, Erick Erickson spoke for legions of conservatives, who are hoping against hope that Republican Conference Chair Mike Pence becomes a major influence peddler next Congress.”There are people, I’m not sure members, but people hoping to stop Cantor from becoming leader, because people don’t like Cantor,” says a top GOP strategist. “It feels like it’s going nowhere.

If Cantor gets the bump, that will leave the whip position open. GOP sources say the smart money is that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will get the nod over NRCC chair Pete Sessions. By building the Young Guns program, McCarthy has earned the sort of loyalty and respect from members and candidates that’s crucial for a successful Whip operation. How does the right feel about McCarthy? “McCarthy is a good guy and I appreciate both his work in building a new Republican majority [but] he is most definitely not by any stretch of the imagination outside of California, an across the board conservative.”

And then there is the leadership of the Republican Conference chairmanship……with Mike Pence planning to step down…there will most likely be a fight for that position and the first one to step forward is our old friend, Michele Bachmann….you remember her the crazy lady that thinks that liberals are un-American and set herself up as the leader of the Tea Party Caucus….she will most likely go head to head with Rep. Hensarling of Texas for the leadership position…..she will probably run an insurgent campaign because she will have little support among the old bulls of the Party……

Not everything will necessarily go so smoothly, though. There’s real potential for a power struggle on two of the Hill’s most powerful committees — Energy and Commerce and Appropriations. The current ranking member on Energy and Commerce, Joe Barton, is itching for a fight over the gavel, but he will be a political liability for Republicans, many of whom have battled with him in the past. After he apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward, Republican aides suggested that he’d be term limited out of contention for the chairmanship, but the party’s rules aren’t clear on that point. It could come down to the caucus to choose between Barton and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI).

Let us not kid ourselves…the Dems are in the middle of a power struggle too…..for minority leader of the House….so the Repubs are not the only ones looking for their day in the Ivory Tower we call…..Congress……

You see there are always power struggles within any political system…..but the few Tea Party candidates that won their election, if they hold true to their promises (and I am not holding my breath) then either the GOP bows to their will or takes them on….I see the latter…..

The Future “Weeper” Of The House

Now that the Dems have had their collective asses handed to them on a plate….what will happen now?  Will we finally get down to doing the business of the country?  Or will it be the same crap that was doing for the last two years?  Some analysts see a new day in American politics….I think they are just wishing for something new….I am afraid that they will be proven wrong…..it will be business as usual…..partisanship, obstructionism and more lies and half truths…..the usual stuff that comes out of Washington…..

I will bet that you, if you voted to “throw the bums out” are looking forward to the Repubs doing what they promised and emphasized……tee hee……dream on McDuff!

During the campaigns it was all about jobs jobs jobs….for that is what the people are most concerned with at this time in history……..but what will we get?  According to the new “Weeper” of the House, John Boehner…….

He called for fewer regulations on big business, continuing the Bush tax cuts for the rich, a freeze on government pay and hiring, trade deals with countries that violate human rights, an end to the extensions of unemployment benefits and an end to federal aid that is going to states to save the jobs of teachers, police officers and firefighters.

“The Boehner response is to keep tax rates where they are for the rich,” said Biden, “and cut all recovery spending, slashing 25 percent from domestic discretionary spending. We know two things about this program: It will kill more jobs than it creates; and it will add to, not subtract, from projected deficits.”

And then there was the comments made by the Senate minority leader McConnell who said that the nly thing we have to do is see to it it that Obama is a one term president..(paraphrased)……..he has also said that priorities are repeal and replace health bill, cut spending, shrink government size, and end bailouts……and yet…..NOT a word about what they say was the most important issue of the election….JOBS…….does this or the other thing sound like they are going to do anything differently?  Of course, it does not… and this is what I have been saying for 40 years or more……no matter which of the corrupt two parties is in power….NOTHING changes in the government except a few faces here and there……

Do you, as an American voter, really believe that the promise of change will ever come from a career politician in Washington?  Weeping will becoming a national past time and if you think career politicians have your back….. then may I prescribe a good dose of Prozac…after all I am a Doctor……

Is The Political System Decaying?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Political Theory/Elections/Government

Paper #38

I have been saying for awhile now that the political system in the US is slowing strangling itself….and the voter is to blame…..the system could not strangle itself without the assistance of the people….but it is NOT their fault completely…..it is that of the politicians, special interests and a cult of corruption in Washington…..so yes…the system is slowly decaying…….Patrick Martin of wsws.org has made some amazing observations……

The 2010 US election campaign, now mercifully concluding, marks a further descent by the American two-party system into political imbecility. None of the major issues confronting the American people—the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, two wars, spreading poverty, hunger and homelessness, the plague of foreclosures, mounting attacks on democratic rights, the worst environmental catastrophe in US history—were seriously discussed. Most were not discussed at all.

Instead, the candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties engaged in a war of mutual mudslinging, inanities, diversions and outright lying on a scale without precedent even in the dismal history of American elections. More than $4 billion was spent by the two parties and various corporate-backed groups created for the purpose of smearing one set of candidates on behalf of the other.

A major function of the advertising barrage is to confuse the viewing audience and make coherent reflection about political issues virtually impossible. Neither party wishes to actually communicate with the voters on a rational level. Instead, their spin doctors and admen seek to stun the audience with emotionally loaded attacks on opposing candidates, while the actual agenda of the ad sponsors is concealed.

The populist posturing of both parties has become stale and unbelievable. Obama pretends that his administration has been the scourge of Wall Street, when it has overseen the handover of trillions from the Treasury to rescue the banks. The Republicans in their turn thunder against the bank bailout, although it was devised by the outgoing Bush administration and ratified by the congressional Republican leadership.

The absence of any substantive discussion of issues like war and the ongoing attacks on democratic rights is a demonstration of the degraded and false character of the officially sanctioned political process. Neither party will submit to the popular will when it comes to decisions on any critical questions.  (Thanx Patrick…..for the great synopsis of the mid-terms)

I have been attacked on many levels because I say that there is NO need to vote…that the whole activity is rigged in favor of the players and that we, as voters, have virtually NO say in what is important….we are told what is important and we blindly follow one party or the other without forcing any debate or clarification on the crap we are told…..this is why I gave up trying to have a substantial exchange of ideas on political discussion forums because people take everything personally….few could think outside their little sphere of political thought…..and when that happens there is NO relative exchange of ideas….just rants and insults and accusations….kinda like the political campaigns…..

So yes….In my opinion the system is decaying or a better analogy would be decomposing because of the stench coming off of it….it is a sad day when voting one must hold their nose before casting the vote…..or when our choices are between bad and worse……we will see just how serious the American people are about changing the way Washington does business…..personally, I do not think they know what they want….but they want it right now…..no time to wait!

Where Is The Truth In Advertising?

From the VOMITORIUM

Advertising laws are aimed at protecting consumers by requiring advertisers to be truthful about their products and to be able to substantiate their claims. All businesses must comply with advertising and marketing laws, and failure to do so could result in costly lawsuits and civil penalties.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the main federal agency that enforces advertising laws and regulations. Under the Federal Trade Commission Act:

  • Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
  • Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
  • Advertisements cannot be unfair.

So, it you were buying a product or service you would expect the seller to conduct themselves in a way that would no de-fraud the consumer in any way…….right?  If you bought a car, you would expect it to function properly….if you bought a service you expect it to do what it was sold to do….right?

If you feel that the consumer should be protected from lies and promises that cannot be kept….why do you allow politicians to get away with it?  They are selling a service….the service of representation of the people of their district….and as such they should be held to the “fairness in advertising” statute….

I purposefully waited until after the 2010 election season before I wrote this….why?  I wanted to see just how far the candidates would push their campaigns into the realm of bullsh*t….this year’s campaign ads were full of misinformation, false claims, promises that are unrealistic and outright LIES!

The people need to ban together and turn the politicians over to the FTC, if it is determined that they outright lied to the voter.  And believe me, without much effort, some of the claims and accusations from politicians can be shown to be false…why do we allow them to get away with the lies?  If Ford lied to you, you would be all over them with lawsuits and other legal actions….why not FORCE politicians to keep their word?  If Sears and Chevy must be forthright, then so should the beasts we call politicians….

Damn! The Mid-Term Election Is Over!

Mid-Term Election Series

What will us political junkies do now?  With enough coffee we can do anything!

The American voter has spoken….personally I think that they are WRONG….but they have spoken..(finally) and the people that they either elected or re-elected makes me think of a speech I heard in the not so distant past…..

Good evening, (America). Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration – whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday – I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?
Cruelty and injustice…intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told…if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the (GOP).  They promised you order. They promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.

…….remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words – they are perspectives. So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you…. (continue to sit on your ass and wallow in ignorance…all will go to crap around you….as it always does)

First of all, I wish I said said this….but unfortunately I did not……

Second, words in parenthesis are my add on……

Third, an excellent summation of the crap Americans are doing to themselves..

So, now….who made the speech above?

Welcome to the results of the 2012 election…and you thought the two years leading up to this point were silly and absurd….oh, brother…you have NOT seen anything yet…..we still have a couple of months before these newbies are official and the weirdness begins in earnest…..but that never stopped a meglo-manic before and surely will not deter the new ones we will have to contend with in the next Congress……

Now that the Repubs have the House…..where are the jobs?

The Day Of The Dead

November 2nd……..Yesterday was the big day…..first, let us take a moment to honor our ancestors after all it was the Mexican Day of the Dead and second it was the big day in politics in the US, the mid-term elections.

Was the fact that the US election took place on the Day of the Dead a bit foreboding or is it possibly a prophesy?  (cue eerie music here)……

I have been saying for about 2 years that the system that we all love is in serious trouble…..why?….because lies and misinformation are molding American opinion and in doing so is making the system that our Founders intended a moot point….there is NO longer civility, respect or compromise left in the hall of power…..instead it is about the next election and NOT the people and the country……..our system is dying….so having an important election on the Day of the Dead sounds very prophetic….

You think I am exaggerating the fact?  Okay, unemployment is at 9.6% and a “real” unemployment at about 17% and congressional leaders have said in print that the next two years is about making Obama a one term president and others have said that there will be NO compromise….and some of the newbies have said they will push for subpoenas to force the birther issue and the possibility of an impeachment…..and others that want to shut the government down….where is any of that going to breath life into a dying economy and political system?

The next two years will tell the tale…..will we dig ourselves out of a crippling economy or will we dig an open grave for the political system?  If I were you, I would keep an eye on the doings in Washington so that you will not be late for the wake!