Tag: State Politics

Happy 4th Of July

Today we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence….we have BBQs, fireworks, beer and family fun….FYI, not the actual day of the signing…..

I have one of the founding fathers, in my opinion the only father, to thank for my life……many, many, many years ago I read the words of Thomas Paine….one of his quotes stuck with me and I have tried to live up to them….”is the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm and whose conscience approves his conduct will pursue his principles unto death”……..I try!

This will be my only post today for I am spending it with my granddaughter…..

Did you know that there are people living in this country that do not have proper representation in Congress….I know the way the Congress is these days…do any of us have representation?

That joke aside….the people of the nation’s capital only have an observer in Congress…..but there is the possibility that that will change soon……

America could have a new state called New Columbia by this time next year if voters in Washington, DC, choose statehood this fall and Congress allows it. The name—first chosen during a statehood bid in 1982—was approved this week by a statehood commission that included Mayor Muriel Bowser and Paul Strauss, who is one of DC’s two “shadow senators,” reports the Washington Post. Strauss admitted that he isn’t a “super fan” of the name. “We decided to keep what had been part of the statehood legacy since 1982,” he said. “If the voters of the new state want to change it, that’s going to be a great thing they can do as a free state.”

Runner-up names at the 1982 statehood convention included Potomac, Anacostia, Capital State, and the State of Utopia. The Washingtonian reports that at the statehood commission meeting this week, there was applause when DC resident Travis Swanson said the US has “sugarcoated the history of Christopher Columbus” and he doesn’t deserve to be honored with a star on the American flag. Swanson suggested the state name “Douglass Commonwealth,” which would honor anti-slavery leader Frederick Douglass and allow DC to remain DC. (President Obama says he supports DC statehood.)

Now that you are caught up with the news of the day…please go out and enjoy yourself and your family…..I will return tomorrow and start my regular posting schedule….thanx for visiting.

“Brexit” The Sequel

Last week the world went batcrap crazy…..you see Britain voted to leave the EU and that set off days of speculation by the media….especially who would be the next nation to choose the path of exit……will it be Greece (my choice) or maybe Holland or Italy or Denmark…even France because they were never completely on board with the whole EU thingy……

I could write about these wannabes but instead I would like to write about the “exit” thing here in the US.

I know what could I possibly be talking about, right?

Texas fools!

How many times has the subject come up in the news with Texas attached to it?

After the “Brexit” vote and all the news coverage and all the worthless speculation….the whole secession thing has once again come up and Texas  center…….

Not content with celebrating liberty on July 4, a group of Texans has gleaned inspiration from Brexit—the UK’s decision to leave the EU—with its own push for independence. The similar-sounding “Texit” movement, which gained significant support online Friday, is mainly being pushed by the Texas Nationalist Movement, which is basically the US soulmate of the UK secession initiative, according to its leader, David Miller, right down to the “Leave” campaign slogan that TNM says it’s been using for years. With a motto of “Texas First, Texas Forever,” the group, like those behind Brexit, advocates for “self-government,” Miller tells News.com.au. “At this moment, we don’t enjoy that right,” he says. “The vast majority of the laws, rules, and regulations that affect the people of Texas are created by the political class or unelected bureaucrats in Washington.”

Vocativ decided to see how often the phrase “Texit” has been used in 2016 and found that online references spiked after the Brexit tally came in. Nearly 1,800 people tweeted something Texit-related in the hour of the announcement, with thousands more tweets following. Some of the posts are frighteningly serious, others are somewhat clever (cue the “most likely to secede” memes), and still others can’t do anything but virtually shake their heads. It’s not the first time some of the state’s residents have vied for a breakaway: Right after President Obama’s reelection, the White House turned down a petition signed by 125,000 people calling for Texas’ freedom, Fox News reported. One Texit supporter tells the Guardian that a secession would bring back “Texas solutions” on issues such as gay marriage, gun rights, and immigration. (Here, a fewlegaltakes on secession rules.)

I am sick of hearing this crap from Texas…I say if they like then by God let’s let them go……but first build that Trump wall around the state and only put in a couple of in and out gates….and then we will see just how serious these fools are about leaving the union……

If they do not want to be part of the US then let the f*ckers go!  I am sick of listening to these whiney twats……let them GO!

State of the States Report 2015 | Center for American Progress

Election time and you are hearing so much about the shape of your state…..about all the positive accomplishments that the politicians have given the people of their state….

There are lots of people in state politics thumping their chests saying that their state is in fine shape that their policies have put the state back on the road to prosperity….Really?

Do you believe your state’s officers?  Is your state really in good shape?  Is there truly anything to be positive about?

If you would like to know then take a look at the report from the Center for American Progress…a non-partisan think tank……

Policymakers should take a hard look at where their state is succeeding and falling short to prioritize actions that would dramatically reduce poverty in their backyards and beyond.

Source: State of the States Report 2015 | Center for American Progress

If you are a voter who tries to vote the most qualified and the people that have the best interests of the people of your state….then maybe this report will give you some guidance before you vote…..check it out and see just how your state is doing as compared to the rest of the country……you might be surprised that you are being lied to….that is if you care…..

The Oasis Of Bitter Water”

A little Biblical reference for you religious sorts……

Has anyone been following the events in Flint, Michigan?  It seems the state has successfully poison the population with lead in the last couple of months…..

Flint, Michigan’s water woes are officially a federal emergency—nearly two years after the city took the money-saving move of switching from using Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to water from the Flint River. That water was found to be highly corrosive to lead pipes still in use in the city, causing lead to leach into residents’ drinking water. On Saturday President Obama declared a federal emergency in the city of 100,000, thereby unleashing federal funding and authorizing FEMA to provide water, filters, cartridges, and other items for 90 days, per the AP and Detroit Free Press. Gov. Rich Snyder puts the cost of the aforementioned water distribution and filtering items at $41 million. More:

  • Sanders vs. Snyder: Speaking of Snyder, Bernie Sanders called for his resignation Saturday. “The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned.”
  • Timeline: The AP has a timelines of the crisis, which dates to the April 2014 switch. Notable: In October 2014, a GM engine plant stopped using Flint’s water, stating that it was rusting parts.
  • Visualized: The Washington Post has a jarring and informative series of graphics that illustrate “how toxic Flint’s water really is.” One family’s water tested at a level that the EPA considers to be “toxic waste.”
  • Every kid: The state’s chief medical executive, along with the doctor who publicly called for Flint to stop its use of Flint River water, this week said all 8,657 kids under age 6 in Flint should be considered exposed to lead and treated as such, reports USA Today.
  • The residents’ ordeal: The AP speaks with some locals. Rabecka Cordell and her 5-year-old son have lead poisoning; she also has leukemia, he has learning and speech disabilities. She refuses to even use the water to bathe.

This all began with the Emergency Manager, that person that can circumvent the democratic process and make decisions about the city without the voice of the people…..it was done to sell property belonging to a city and now the water supply…..

In case you are not familiar with what is happening in Flint…..

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20151008/NEWS/151009959

This should be a lesson in what can happen when the democratic process is ignored…….

Republican Misrule | The American Conservative

Every time I hear a politician tell me how great my state will be if only conservatives ran everything……well my state has been run by cowardly conservs for a long time…..then I tell people to go to a stat site on economics and social issues and look at Mississippi…..we are always on the top of a worse list and the bottom of a best list….that is what conserv rule will do to your state….

While surfing the other day I found a piece in the American Conservative (that;s right…I read conservative stuff also)….it goes along with what I am saying about one party rule at the state level……

Read it and LEARN!

 

Republican Misrule | The American Conservative.

Texas: “Pandering To Idiots”

Oh my god!  Really?

There comes a time when a sane person just has to ask………….”WTF?”

It seems that the governor of Texas is all caught up in the US government going to take away our liberties…….you know those mental midgets that see black copters and indoctrination centers at FEMA and some hidden agenda everywhere including your bathroom ….

Texas has gone batcrap crazy!

The US military says its seven-state Operation Jade Helm 15 this summer will be a training drill for special forces—but Gov. Greg Abbott appears to have his doubts. Amid online conspiracy theories that the operation is an excuse for President Obama to impose martial law on Texas and put political prisoners in FEMA camps disguised as closed Walmarts, the Texas governor announced last week he had ordered the State Guard to monitor the military exercises to safeguard the “safety, constitutional rights, private property rights, and civil liberties” of Texans, NPR reports. This was too much for some of Abbott’s fellow Republicans, including former State Rep. Todd Smith, who accused the governor of “pandering to idiots.”

“I am horrified that I have to choose between the possibility that my Governor actually believes this stuff and the possibility that my Governor doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to those who do,” Smith wrote in an open letter to the governor. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, says he does not believe the military operation is cover for a coup, but his office will ask the Pentagon about it anyway because “the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration,” Raw Story reports. It’s not clear why the July 15 to September 15 exercise has generated such paranoia, though the “perhaps impolitic” slogan “Mastering the Human Domain” may have worked against it, writes Bob Campbell at the Odessa American.

At least there is one sane person in the Texas legislature…….State Rep. Todd Smith…….I do believe that he has spoken words to truth…….

Sad part is that the governor of Texas is not alone for being a moron….apparently that trait runs deep……especially in the Southern Tier of states……..

Hey Texas……keep in mind You elected those mental midgets!

Only In The Land Of The Tree Hugger

First it was the masked owl that is attacking passer bys……..the first victim was a surgeon that lost a cap and was mistaken for a wholly beast because of his hair……and then there was an escalation to include 3 other victims……as humorous as this all is….it is not what the best part is about……

Nope…it is the governor and his wife that is the big story……does not get any better than this situation………

First, Oregon’s first lady admitted to an “illegal” previous marriage, then to planning a marijuana grow operation and running a consulting business out of the governor’s mansion. Now, Gov. John Kitzhaber’s fiancee Cylvia Hayes faces claims that she was paid consulting fees to influence her future husband. The Oregonian finds two Kitzhaber associates, who later joined his administration, connected Hayes with jobs that landed her $143,000, including $118,000 from a clean-energy group from 2011 to 2012, while she served as an unpaid energy adviser to Kitzhaber. She allegedly failed to report the income on tax forms, nor did Kitzhaber account for the money on his ethics filings, the Los Angeles Times reports. While Kitzhaber has said Hayes “will have no policy role and no political role in the administration” for the rest of his term, “Kitzhaber is already enacting policies Hayes was paid to promote,” the Oregonian reports.

Dan Carol, the man who got Hayes the gig with group Clean Economy Development Center, was soon after hired by Kitzhaber. He now makes $165,720 a year, almost twice as much as Kitzhaber himself and significantly more than anyone else on his staff, the Willamette Week reports. “No one in the governor’s office or the governor ever asked me to do anything for Cylvia,” Carol says. “When it fits and the work makes sense, I connect good people, groups and projects together.” He adds he was hired because he had previously worked with Kitzhaber and “had the right skills and national connections.” The Oregon Government Ethics Commission will vote March 13 on whether to launch an investigation, but the Oregonian has already called on Kitzhaber to resign, noting his “credibility has evaporated.” Last week, Kitzhaber said he wouldn’t even consider resigning from his post. He added he had “no regrets” about his relationship with Hayes and “the marriage is still on.”

Has there been another state with as much drama as Oregon?  Not even Virginia can top this ….

GOD I love this stuff!

Thoughts?