Politico Corupto

Sure the education system could be better. Look to congress for the verification of that.

2011-01-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

Is there an American history tutor in the house? 'Cause Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, needs one bad. The Tea Party's fave said that "the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States....Men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country”.

It is true that John Quincy Adams didn’t rest before slavery ended and that’s because he was dead.

John Quincy Adams was so against slavery he became a leading opponent of the Slave Power and argued that if a civil war ever broke out the president could abolish slavery by using his war powers, a correct prediction of Abraham Lincoln's use of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

The debate of slavery didn’t start until Hamilton’s presidency. In Fact George Washington was a member of the House of Burgesses which drafted a petition to the throne labeling the importation of slaves into the colonies from the coast of Africa "a trade of great inhumanity" And two years later he was certainly involved in the composition of the July 1774 Fairfax Resolves one of the resolutions of which recommended that no slaves should be imported into the British colonies. The resolutions took the opportunity of "declaring our most earnest Wishes to see an entire Stop forever put to such a wicked cruel and unnatural Trade." On the other hand in 1772 Washington himself purchased five additional slaves for use on his plantations.

In her speech, Bachmann makes the case that those that founded this country, wrote the constitution - didn't agree with slavery.
Section 2 of Article I states that apart from free persons "all other persons," meaning slaves, are each to be counted as three-fifths of a white person for the purpose of apportioning congressional representatives on the basis of population. Section 9 of Article I states that the importation of "such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit," meaning slaves, would be permitted until 1808.
And Section 2 of Article IV directs that persons "held to Service or Labor in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another," meaning fugitive slaves, were to be returned to their owners.

It’s hard to imagine that someone who represents a population of 614,935, has the backing from such, to make such comments that challenge everything that we were taught in elementary school.
It’s hard to imagine that her constituents would elect someone so uneducated to represent them.

This isn’t the first time we have heard from the uneducated members of congress or those trying to get there.
• Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo (R-New Jersey) made a very impassioned speech about the constitution but couldn’t get it right. Article 1 Section 1, he said was Free Speech. The Constitution tells us that Article 1 section 1 is - All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. What’s even more impressive here is that Articles don’t contain any of the Constitutional rights per say. The describe legislative powers, Executive powers, Rules of elections, term limits, presidential powers, ETC.
• Christine O'Donnell got tangled in the First Amendment, appearing unaware it separates religion and government.
• Sharron Angle from Nevada who almost took Harry Reid’s seat offered her interpretation of the constitution by saying “the second amendment ensures our right to free speech”….Perhaps that’s what she meant by “second amendment remedies”?
• Congressman Hare (D-ILL) was asked a question about the Affordable Care Act (or as the republicans call it “ObamaCare”) whether it was constitutional or not and instead of giving an intelligent answer, he said “don’t worry about the constitution”. When those challenging the new law’s only basis for suit is the Commerce Clause, but a interesting one that could throw the new law into limbo once it reaches the Supreme Court.

Don’t worry? Thinking the 2nd amendment is about free speech? Or that ANY Article in the constitution pertains to any of the rights found in the Amendments? What is our nation coming to when it’s people elect uneducated people to our nation’s highest offices?

So clearly this may appear to be a rant, but in the true fashion, it’s a rant against the American people, not those fortunate to get elected. It’s high time we set standards when we vote for those we send to Capitol Hill. And even more so, to our state houses and state and local elected offices.

Can you imagine a nation where the people we elect are smart, well traveled, educated by our best educational institutions? Perhaps then we will see to fruition all of the strong policy that the American people demand from it’s government.

Take the time, investigate your candidates and expect a higher degree of education from our leaders. If a blue chip or fortune 500 wouldn’t hire a well educated person. Why should we hire them to represent us?

Really?

2010-03-19T10:09:00.001-07:00

Comprehensive health care reform will cost the federal government $940 billion over a ten-year period, but will increase revenue and cut other costs by a greater amount, leading to a reduction of $138 billion in the federal deficit over the same period, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. It will cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the second ten year period.

It also extends Medicare's solvency by at least nine years and reduces the rate of its growth by 1.4 percent, while closing the doughnut hole for seniors, meaning there will no longer be a gap in coverage of medication. The CBO also estimated it would extend coverage to 32 million additional people.

So the basic question I have is; what is right wing scared of? I mean to lessen the burden on the American people from the evil that is insurance companies seems natural. I mean what are we saying when the wealth says that “No health reform is needed that has any government oversight”? What? Are we to suspect that the Insurance companies are going to go at this alone? I don’t think so.

In most cases, even over the last 6 months since this debate has overflowed and burst into the hot cup of shit it is today, the insurance companies have done the exact opposite than what the bill and new legislation calls for. It’s also curious that they continue to raise rates, when overall the country was healthier the last 2 years compared to the previous 4. So what’s the deal?

In my mind – the far right, which does have a tendency of being rich, is trying to prevent their tax cuts of George W. Bush, (Which also went through the reconciliation process) to go towards the healthcare of Americans that can’t afford it. So in essence their greedy. Say nothing of the fact that they are trying to present legislation that would give government money, to 28 of the richest 40 counties in America for new schools, when it is VERY clear that hard economic areas like Philadelphia, many parts of Ohio, and many poor southern states could use the money to update their schools and education systems.

It’s always about the rich people. And then they call themselves Christians. As if to suggest that their pure hearts that occasionally seep with sin, never hold greed or anger and always give what is in excess. Right! Sorry, I was dreaming of the perfect world there.

Money isn’t the value of your life, it’s what you chose to do with it that makes the impact.

So again, What are you afraid of – the fact that now everyone will have the same chance to live as long as you or that your greedy heart can’t stand that you in essence are helping them live?

Think about it!

Sarah Palin - SHUT UP

2010-02-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

It wasn’t so many years ago that the Vice President, Dickhead Cheney told Senator Patrick Leahy to “Go Fuck Yourself” on the U.S. Senate Floor. Why wasn’t it that there was a Rash Call for Cheney’s resignation from Palin then? Why wouldn’t she have asked for the resignation when Bush 43 used the sentence “if they wouldn’t stop doing this shit and acting like retards”? Which leads into Sarah’s second issue with Rahm Emanual.

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is calling on President Barack Obama to fire White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel over Emanuel's penchant for using profanity and a statement he made that was derogatory of the handicapped. Really.

The 2008 vice presidential candidate put up a Facebook post on Monday evening arguing that Emanuel's offending slur (in which he said that liberal groups thinking of running health care-related ads against Democratic lawmakers were "F---ing retarded") was no less the equivalent of using the "N-word."

"I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm's continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Yes, Rahm is known for his caustic, crude references about those with whom he disagrees, but his recent tirade against participants in a strategy session was such a strong slap in many American faces that our president is doing himself a disservice by seeming to condone Rahm's recent sick and offensive tactic."

The Obama Administration's Chief of Staff scolded participants, calling them, "F---ing retarded," according to several participants, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

"Just as we'd be appalled if any public figure of Rahm's stature ever used the "N-word" or other such inappropriate language, Rahm's slur on all God's children with cognitive and developmental disabilities - and the people who love them - is unacceptable, and it's heartbreaking"
said Sarah Palin.

The Emanuel remark was reported recently by The Wall Street Journal but dates back to the heat of the health care wars in August. And it certainly wasn't the first time the chief of staff (known for an acid tongue) has leveled an odious broadside at one group or another from his perch in the West Wing.

Palin presumably seized on this one because of her own experience with the issue -- her youngest child, of course, suffers from Down syndrome. But it's hard to ignore the fact that making hay out of "controversies" like these is her political trademark, regardless of whether there is a personal tie to the matter.

It makes me laugh sometimes when I read things like this. The Republicans or some of them, want us to be sensitive about certain things, but then on others, no so much.

Don’t use the word Retard, as it is offensive, but screw those that don’t participate in Christmas, (Jews, Agnostics, Muslims, ETC) “I am not going to change what I say, to appease those that don’t believe” said one Sean Hannity. I will not use Happy Holidays or Winter Solstice.
I don’t get it? Is it me, or does the right want to be the ones to make the make the rules, and not follow the rules?

For All of You Who Think Without thought!

2010-01-29T08:53:00.001-08:00

What I don’t appreciate is you trying to make a point that President Obama makes this country unsafe, and your line here makes it seem that way. Need I remind you of the terror attacks against our nation under Bush? Too bad, I am going to anyway.
Attacks on this nation that took place under George W. Bush

• United States September 11th, 2009, New York City 2973 people killed
• United States: Anthrax attacks on the offices the United States Congress and New York State Government offices, and on employees of television networks and tabloids.
• United States, December 12: Jewish Defense League plot by Chairman Irv Rubin and follower Earl Krugel to blow up the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California, and the office of Lebanese-American Rep. Darrell Issa, foiled.
• United States July 4: An Egyptian gunman opens fire at an El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles International Airport, killing two Israelis before being killed himself
• United States July 26, 2006 A woman was dead and five others were hospitalized this afternoon after a shooting at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building in downtown Seattle by a man who declared he was "angry with Israel."
• United States August 30 2006 An Afghani Muslim hit 19 pedestrians, killing one, with his SUV in the San Francisco Bay area.
• United States October 22 2007, A pair of improvised explosive devices are thrown at the Mexican Consulate in New York City. The fake grenades were filled with black powder and detonated by fuses, causing very minor damage. Police investigate the connection between this and a similar attack against the British Consulate in New York in 2005
• SGT Hasan Akbar, US Army, murdered two officers and wounded 14 soldiers in a grenade attack at an Army base in Iraq
• Bombings of United States expatriate housing compounds in Saudi Arabia kill 26 and injure 160 in the Riyadh Compound Bombings. Al-Qaeda blamed.
• March 3 2006 Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, an Iranian-born graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, drives an SUV onto a crowded part of campus, injuring nine.
• December 22, 2001, Richard Reid “Shoe Bomber” aboard American Airlines Flight 63 failed attempt
• November 23rd 2008, Afghanistan, Insurgents attacked US & UN Supply trucks carrying ordinances including bombs
• November 29th 2007 Iraq, 14 US Soldiers were killed at Ali San Airbase after 2 RPG (rocket propelled grenades) were shot over the fence line at the air base.

We’re still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. And the U.S. economy is about as vibrant as the 4-12 Redskins. And hardly a peep have we heard from George, the 43rd. Except with an occasional sighting at a Dallas Cowboys game or for a Haiti Relief Video.
I love you conservatives that pluck him up on a pedestal as a GREAT AMERICAN LEADER and a MORAL HUMAN BEING. Really?
This is the man who gave us the war in Iraq and Guantánamo and torture and rendition; who turned the Clinton economy and the budget surplus into fool’s gold and who dithered while New Orleans drowned; who trampled our civil liberties at home and ruined our reputation abroad; who let Dick Cheney run hog wild and thought Brownie was doing a “heckuva job”.
This is a guy who decided to take his own personal religious views to decide an extremely important Stem Cell Research issue and deny science any federal grant $$.
The Bush administration specialized in deceit. How else could you get the public (and a feckless Congress) to go along with an invasion of Iraq as an absolutely essential response to the Sept. 11 attacks, when Iraq had had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks? Exploiting the public’s understandable fears, Mr. Bush made it sound as if Iraq was about to nuke us: “We cannot wait,” he said, “for the final proof -- the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.”
He then set the blaze that has continued to rage for nearly 7 years, consuming more than 4,000 American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. (A car bomb over the weekend killed two dozen more Iraqis, many of them religious pilgrims.) The financial cost to the U.S. will eventually reach $3 trillion or more, according to the Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz.
A year into the war Mr. Bush was cracking jokes about it at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association. He displayed a series of photos that showed him searching the Oval Office, peering behind curtains and looking under the furniture. A mock caption had Mr. Bush saying: “Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere.”
And then there’s the Bush economy, another disaster, a trapdoor through which middle-class Americans can plunge toward the bracing experiences normally reserved for the poor and the destitute. Mr. Bush traveled the country in the early days of his presidency, promoting his tax cut plans as hugely beneficial to small-business people and families of modest means. This was more deceit. The tax cuts would go overwhelmingly to the very rich. He even went as far to remove 22 regulatory and treasury oversight policies that had been in place, since get this, 1952. What did he deregulate. Remember the SEC saying that they lost the ability to track the complaints that were filed against Madoff. The office that had been in charge of investigating those claims was “re-assigned” to mortgage fraud and overseas purchase rights.
The president would give the wealthy and the powerful virtually everything they wanted. He would throw sand into the regulatory apparatus and help foster the most extreme income disparities since the years leading up to the Great Depression. This time the flames would engulf the economy and, as with Iraq, bring catastrophe.
If the U.S. were a product line, it would be seen now as deeply damaged goods, subject to recall.
There seemed to be no end to Mr. Bush’s talent for destruction. He tried to hand the piggy bank known as Social Security over to the marauders of the financial sector, but saner heads prevailed.
In New Orleans, the president failed to intervene swiftly and decisively to aid the tens of thousands of poor people who were very publicly suffering and, in many cases, dying. He then compounded this colossal failure of leadership by traveling to New Orleans and promising, in a dramatic, floodlit appearance, to spare no effort in rebuilding the flood-torn region and the wrecked lives of the victims. And instead of “dealing” with it as the Whitehouse said, he was in Arizona with John McCain for his Birthday, eating cake on the tarmac. (I don’t believe that was Obama’s response to Haiti)
He went further, vowing to confront the issue of poverty in America “with bold action.” It was all nonsense, of course. He did nothing of the kind. In fact poverty got worse. 1 out of every 12 veterans from either Iraq or Afghanistan wars are now homeless, and 3 of 7 had been waiting over 120 for urgent needs, well that was up until February 2009, when the new VA policy went into effect. Millions of those whom he said would “prosper” from his bold action, not only lost their jobs, but lost their homes and lost their cities. Just ask Lansing Michigan and Moraine Ohio.
The catalog of his transgressions against the nation’s interests -- sins of commission and omission -- would keep Mr. Bush in a confessional for the rest of his life. Don’t hold your breath. He’s hardly the contrite sort. He told ABC’s Charlie Gibson: “I don’t spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history. I guess I don’t worry about long-term history, either, since I’m not going to be around to read it.” the president chuckled, thinking -- as he did when he made his jokes about the missing weapons of mass destruction -- that there was something funny going on.
Please don’t tell me, that the measly 12 months, this president has been in office, gives YOU any right to say that OBAMA is unsafe for America. GEORGE W. BUSH was the PRESIDENT on 9/11!
THE WORLDS GREATEST FAILURE!

2010-01-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

Conan & the Barbarian
Ebersol calls Conan an "Astounding Failure"? This from the guy who brings you the Winter Olympics that will lose the net $200,000,000?
Professionalism :1. the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person, 2. Act in a manner in a becoming way
Neither of which Dick Ebersol follows.

The true issue here is that NBC failed. NBC Failed to allow Conan O’Brien the appropriate amount of time to get the show established.

The other issue is that NBC is catering to a guy who in no time will become the Michael Jordan or Brett Favre of TV Talk Shows. “I’m retiring ..... Wait, no I am not”. Jay Leno, may have for a long time been a great leader for late night. But in this changing land of television where more and more generation x-ers who grew up watching Conan, NBC is likely to see some push back, and Like David Letterman’s mother said last night, we might now have to resort to watching Letterman.

We are all hoping that Conan will end up back on TV as it is obvious he is the leader in Late Night. What we are hoping is either CBS or Fox picking him up and giving him a time slot that makes sense and kicks NBC square in the sack!

Palin Around

Attention FOX news watchers – Prepare to get stupider by the minute. Now that Sarah Palin is going to be a FOX Contributor and Fill in Host, you can bet that we will hear more “you-knows” and “Hunker-downs”. But in-case you missed it last night. Glen Beck asked who Palin’s favorite Founding Father was, her response – “all-of-um”......... Really? You’re going to do that again, when that work out so well for you during the Katie Couric interviews? Moron!

Where's Michelle's Voice Now on the Census?

2010-01-06T06:10:00.001-08:00

I occasionally like to throw out some interesting straight political news…….Here is one of those times.

This is an interesting scenario coming out of Minnesota where congresswoman Michelle Bachmann could lose her house seat because of the very census she is asking people to boycott.

Here is the story as reported by the AP:

Seems like only six months ago that Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) was feverishly encouraging people to refuse to fill out their census forms, because of ACORN...and the Japanese internment camps...and, junk? It was, I'm sure, eloquently expressed at the time. But now, as the editors of the Minnesota Star-Tribune point out, this could all backfire on Bachmann, because as it turns out, it's really important for Minnesotans to participate in the census, lest they lose a seat in Congress:
“Minnesotans have extra incentive this year to be sure they are counted -- and counted here -- by the decennial U.S. census that will begin in March. The retention of the state's current complement of eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives is on the line.”

State demographer Tom Gillaspy has been warning for months that the next census could result in the loss of one congressional seat in Minnesota. In fact, he confessed last week that, until the recession hit, he was almost resigned to the probability that Minnesotans would be allowed to elect only seven U.S. House members from newly drawn districts in 2012.
According to Gillaspy, Minnesota is one of the states that are "on the cusp" of losing a seat in the House because of population, and is generally seen to be in competition with three other states -- Texas, Missouri, and California -- for three Congressional seats. In the past, the editors of he the Star-Tribune say, Minnesota has been advantaged by "the cooperation of its civic-minded citizens." But that was before their representative was telling everyone that the Census was some sort of diabolical ACORN plot to spread socialism, or something.
Here's what the Strib has to say about that, by the way:
It's ironic that a Minnesota member of Congress, Republican Michele Bachmann, went so far last summer to declare her intention to only partially complete her census forms, and to suggest reasons for others not to comply with the census law. If Minnesota loses a congressional seat, Bachmann's populous Sixth District could be carved into pieces. She likely would have to battle another incumbent to hang on to her seat. We've noticed that her anticensus rhetoric has lately ceased. We hope she got wise: Census compliance is not only in Minnesota's best interest, but also her own.
The next logical step in this is for someone to pretend to advocate non-compliance with the Census as a means of driving Bachmann from office, because I bet Michele Bachmann would believe this if we put it on the internet.

McDonald vs Chicago

2010-01-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

It is often argued that "the People" have the guaranteed right to keep and bear arms. Recent legal decisions which overturned the District of Columbia's gun ownership ban is likely to set forth a whole new amount of legal challenges to cities, counties and states bans on concealed weapons and hand gun ownership. The question is, do you believe that you have the individual right to keep and bear arms and if so, does the constitution give states the right to restrict "where" you can carry them?

In a new showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, the court will have to decide whether or not McDonald (a Chicago Law Abiding resident) has the right to keep and bear arms.

Follow this link to view the information on the case
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=5170

While Chicago cops are trying to slow the progress of gangs getting their hands on weapons, they are also mostly not opposed to homeowners keeping arms in their homes. The Chicago branch of the FOP, has stated that many internal polls among police officers show that most Law Enforcement are “pro-gun”. This means that they favor law abiding citizens having guns.

My Opinion:
For too long the drug dealers, thieves, murderers and other criminals have had the luxury of carrying hand guns, mac-10's and AR-15's on the streets of Cook County. A recent news report on CBS news showed Chicago Police that are now driving the streets in their cars with Assault Riffles so that they are on an equal playing field as the criminals. But what message does this send to the residents of Chicago, who don’t see the police as a viable stopping power of violent crimes? What does this say to the residents who are scared they will be awakened in the middle of the night to an intruder and they have no way to defend themselves?

Gun slinging criminals have for too long had the knowledge that "law abiding" citizens aren't carrying guns and that gives the criminals an advantage. Without fear, they rob, maim and murder their victims.

Should Illinois decide to draft legislation that would give its citizens the rights afforded to them under the constitution, then criminals would have to contend with something that they haven't before. The mental anguish of not knowing whether or not the person they are robbing has a concealed weapon or not. Whether the home they are getting ready to rob has a armed owner inside or not. Whether the woman alongside the prairie path is carrying a weapon, might save her from harm, rape or murder (which was too often while I was growing up).

So Some Shit Head rolls into my pad, My Guns will take care of business, and ….Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? I mean, what do you want from us? To sit at home, let someone break into our house, steal our shit, and kill us, and then NOT be able to defend ourselves? I think not Mayor Daley! I think not Lisa Madigan!

Let’s get past the idea that responsible people can’t manage themselves. We don’t need government to control everything, especially those things afforded to us by the United States Constitution.

8 Glass Houses - 1 major issue!

2009-12-31T04:58:00.000-08:00

Over the last 72 hours or so we have heard much from the GOP and Republican members of congress about “Obama being responsible for the attempted terror attack”, in Detroit on Christmas day.

It’s rare when you get to read a story that is so true, and so contradicts those statements. Read below to find out exactly who is behind the stoppage of a bill that would have funded the exact equipment needed to have detected the chemical that was used in this attempted terror attack. AND THE CORRECT ANSWER WOULD BE – THE BILL WAS BROUGHT TO VOTE IN 2007 AND WOULD HAVE MANDATED PLACEMENT OF EQUIPTMENT BY 2009, SO LETS NOT HEAR ANY OF THE NONSENSE ABOUT WHERE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN PLACE OR NOT!

(AP – Spencer Ackerman)
Some of the same Republican lawmakers currently criticizing the President for softness on terrorism voted back in July 2007 against legislation that, among other reforms, provided $250 million for airport screening and explosive detection equipment.
The Improving America's Security Act of 2007 was a relatively non-controversial measure that effectively implemented several un-acted-upon recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. Eighty-five Senators voted in favor of the bill's passage. Seven missed the vote (several of whom were on the campaign trail, including Barack Obama, John McCain and Chris Dodd).
Eight Republican Senators, however, voted against passage, including Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Tom Coburn (R-Okl.) Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), James Inhofe (R-Okl.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ari.).
The opposition was, at the time, a bit perplexing, considering the praise the legislation received from many of the revered members of the 9/11 Commission itself. Now, following a botched terrorist attack that nearly brought down an airliner over the city of Detroit -- and subsequent conservative complaints that Democrats mishandled matters of national security -- the bill and that vote contain obvious, additional meaning.
The Improving America's Security Act of 2007 mandated 100 percent inspections of air and sea cargo, authorized $4 billion for rail, transit and bus security, and changed methods of allocating security funds so that states and cities with greater risks received a greater share of money.
More relevant to current times, the bill provided the Transportation Security Administration with the authority to use $250 million in funds to "purchase, deployment, installation, research, and development of equipment to improve security screening for explosives at commercial airport checkpoints." It also urged the TSA to "to deploy such technologies quickly and broadly to address security shortcomings at passenger screening checkpoints."
Additionally, the legislation included provisions that required the Department of Homeland Security to "submit a strategic plan to Congress that describes the system to be utilized for comparing [airline] passenger information to watch lists; explains the integration with international flights; and provides a projected timeline for testing and implementation its advanced passenger prescreening system."
Such synchronicity clearly failed the DHS in detecting the failed attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a transcontinental flight above Detroit. But casting a vote against a basic reform of watch-list procedure back in 2007 could complicate the capacity for the GOP to criticize the administration's handling of security breaches today.
DeMint, for one, has accused President Obama of pursuing a homeland security policy that "downplayed terrorism." Graham, meanwhile, has raised concerns about President Obama's decision to transfer terrorist suspects from Guantanamo Bay to Yemen.

Not So Minty!

2009-12-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe this story but it’s true.
Sen. Jim DeMint’s office yesterday slammed the Obama Whitehouse for failures to stop terror attacks on the U.S. and that because the Obama administration has failed to get his department heads in place, our nation is less secure because of it.

Then we come to find out that the ONLY reason there is no department heads for the TSA and Border Patrol is because there is a Senator that is Filibustering the Nominations.
Who is that Senator? Himself – Jim DeMint
“A Republican senator who has been blocking President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration complains that Democrats are trying to rush a vote on the nominee without adequate debate.
Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina has placed a hold on the nomination of former FBI agent and police detective Erroll Southers.
DeMint said Wednesday that he is concerned that Southers would let TSA screeners join a labor union.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has accused Republicans of jeopardizing national security by playing politics with Southers' nomination. But today, Sen DeMint’s office sent that charge right back to the Democrats suggesting that the Whitehouse is stalling to replace Southers and that they were responsible for any and all failures in the system. The holdup in Southers' confirmation has been highlighted since the airliner attack last week in Detroit.
Reaction from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office was asking for there to be clarification from Sen. DeMint’s Office on objection to the Whitehouse’s nomination of Erroll Southers and a pathway to his up or down vote.”
So what’s the deal DeMint?

Move your Money!

2009-12-30T05:19:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icqrx0OimSs&feature=player_embedded#

Here we go. I have found a video that just needs to be seen.

If you care about your money, what it is used for and who makes what off of it, you should see this video.

Happy New Year 2010!

A Look Back - and a Prayer for the Future

2009-12-29T09:55:00.001-08:00

How often do we get the opportunity to look back on a year like we can this one?

Well, Every year, but this one seems particularly special.

We have had some interesting things happen this year – A historic election, A Historic Inauguration, A New Justice, a New Flu and a New Buzz.

The historic election of Barack Obama
Historic Protests after the Iranian elections
Drug Wars in Mexico
The reelection of Karzi in Afghanistan with little doubt of voter fraud
The War in Afghanistan gets worse for our troops
the growing bombings in Pakistan
Iran’s Nuclear ambitions hard at work
North Korea tests 4 long range rockets, 1 underground Nuclear device and holds 2 American journalists against their will
Healthcare reform
America’s diminishing role in Iraq
Tea Baggers protesting the new administration
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is impeached and removed from office
the “balloon” incident
The Shooting at Fort Hood Texas
1 miracle and 1 tragedy on the Hudson River
H1N1
the USS New York (made from WTC Steel) Enters the fleet
Governor Palin Resigns
The Justice department decriminalized Marijuana
And a Tiger Crashed his truck.

We saw the closing of many family owned business and some Giants too.
Circuit City, Saturn, Pontiac, Kodak(Chrome), Encarta, Max Factor, Expo(HomeDepot), Gourmet Magazine and Saab are just a few of the businesses to go under.

Some of our largest companies filed for bankruptcy protections.
Six Flags, Chrysler, General Motors, Eddie Bauer, BearingPoint, Chicago Cubs, Ritz Cameras, 100’s of news paper companies and tons of personal filings.

We certainly can look at the Great events that took place in 2009. Bill Clinton visited North Korea and rescued 2 jailed journalists. Jaycee Dugard came home 18 years after being kidnapped. The reckless economy settled down and the housing market started to pick back up. We saw a new Justice – Sonia Sotomayor sworn in. We saw our first viable woman candidate for president – Hillary Clinton. And a Pilot that landed a jet in the Hudson and saved so many.

It’s hard sometimes to think of all of the good things when so much we remember is so sad.
We had the Passing of Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Farrah Fawcett, Walter Cronkite, Brittany Murphy, Mary Travers, Edward M. Kennedy, Robert Novak, Les Paul, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, John Hughes, Robert S. McNamara, Steve McNair, Karl Malden, Billy Mays, Ed McMahon, David Carradine, Chuck Daly, Dom DeLuise, Jack Kemp, Bea Arthur, Angels pitcher Nick Adnehart, Ron Silver and long time NBC sportscaster George Michael.

So as we enter 2010, yet another year that will bring us tears of joy and sadness, let us promise to listen to each other for the greater good of all. Let us remember what one small year can bring, and take. Let us keep our hearts focused on bettering not only ourselves, but our community.

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Where has our Nation Gone?

2009-12-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

Just before the Senate vote on the first of three procedural motions to move its health care reform bill toward final passage, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) appeared to urge Americans to pray that a member of the majority caucus would not show up to vote, thus leaving the Democrats one vote shy of breaking the GOP filibuster. The thought is that the “member” he was talking about was Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV). Sen. Byrd who is old and frail was wheeled in for the 1:00am vote, and was the only member missing prior to the vote for at least 3 hours before prior to the vote and 1 hour prior to Sen. Coburn’s speech.

COBURN: “What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can’t make the vote tonight. That’s what they ought to pray”.

Is this what we have become? We have stooped to the level of praying that members of congress would die, so that a legislation would fail? How sick is this thinking and when did this type of radicalism start? When did we decide that this type of behavior is ok and warrants reelection. In fact, it is ok enough that those on Capitol Hill aren’t even required to make apologizes anymore? But where is this behavior coming from?

If the next thought is that perhaps Sen. Coburn was suggesting that we should pray that a voting member of the senate, be tied up at dinner, sleeping or some other form of delay, clearly that thought is flawed. But what exactly did Sen. Coburn mean? He isn’t part of the Anti-Obama movement or the Tea Baggers that have called for Obama’s removal from office or even the few that have suggested hanging him.

No, that isn’t who Coburn is. In Fact he is a friend of the President. Sending him notes weekly, expressing hopeful wishes of encouragement and well wishes. Obama and Coburn came to the U.S. Senate at the same time and quickly became friends and cosponsors on bills together. Sure, there were calls for George W. Bush’s impeachment. But to my knowledge, there was never an echo as clear today, or even a whisper for his assassination, hanging or bodily harm as some on the far right have suggested for our current president. But it’s not just that, that worries me. If you look at the behavior of the GOP and it’s allies, some things might make you question them also.

• The Birthers Movement – Who claim that President Obama was NOT born in the United States, thus making him unqualified to be the Commander in Chief of the United States, as stated in the Constitution. There is a two part for me here so bare along – (1) He was born in the United States – Last time I checked Hawaii was still part of the union. (2) John Sidney McCain was born on Aug. 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone, of which had the full endorsement of the group fighting Obama’s Presidency which is the basis of their argument.
• Conservapedia – a Watchdog group of conservatives that host a website www.conservapedia.com has called and funds commercials calling Obama a Muslim. Barack Obama isn’t a Muslim, and has confessed his love and faith in the Christian faith. But the greater question is; so what if he was a Muslim? Our constitution is written so that we have freedom of religion. Conservapedia also spent over $3.5 million in an ad campaign claiming that Barack Obama was holding Muslim religious prayers with his family in the Oval Office. This was broadcast in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Florida. They have also supported the idea that Obama wasn’t born in the US and shouldn’t be Commander in Chief.
• The GOPPAC – Republican Political Action Committee spent $12.7 million on ads, exploiting Barack Obama’s middle name “Hussein”. In the ad it depicts Obama as a muslim, and says quote “is this the person we can trust to fight terror, or is this the face of a supporter”.
• Sarah Palin – Called Barack Obama a Terrorist in theory, by making a connection to William Ayers, a 1960’s radical that was convicted of bombings in protest to the Vietnam war. Obama & Ayers do know each other, they both were professors at the University of Chicago. Ayers who served jail time for his 60’s & 70’s violent crimes, attended a house party to elect Barack Obama into the Illinois state Senate. Claims were made by Sarah Palin that this house party took place at Ayers house, but in fact the party took place at the President of University of Chicago’s home located off campus.
• For the First Time in history a sitting congressman interrupted a President’s speech to a joint congress when Rep. Joe Wilson yelled out “you lie” when the president spoke about healthcare in this country.
• Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Judge Sandra Schultz Newman, a member of John McCain’s national task-force monitoring Election Day voting and the Pennsylvania G.O.P. sent an email to Jewish voters, equating a vote for Senator Barack Obama with the “tragic mistake” of those Jews who “ignored the warning signs in the 1930’s and 1940’s,”

I guess the real question is this; Even though he is not, what would be the issue if Obama was a Muslim? What does that say to our young American Muslim youth? ‘I’m sorry, but because a group of radical Muslims flew 4 planes into buildings on September 11th, you have no reason to work hard and become educated, because the American People will never trust you because of your religious values’. Is this what we are to tell our children?

Is it the Republicans view that only Anglo Saxon Americans, Christians can strive to be president in this country? Is the view that Barack Obama had a greater chance of being elected because as Rush Limbaugh said ‘he’s half white, so many felt more secure with that’? Don’t say no, or you will be compelled by your GOP leaders to make a formal apology to Rush, but you get the point.

When did it become so viral in this country that certain candidates started questioning the patriotism of other candidates and calling them Terrorists? Where has this nation Gone? When did any democratic congressmen or senators ever interrupt President Bush or any previous presidents speech with words like “you lie”? It has never happened. Never. Even though, we now know, it could have warranted it with Bush 2.0

It’s no secret that the election of Barack Obama was a contentious and heated. We witnessed the election of our first minority President in this country that was founded with one of the greatest human rights sins in existence, slavery. There are those that hate Barack Obama’s policy and then there are those that hate Barack Obama because of his name and skin color. The biggest tragedy here is that people hate him, without seeing what he will do, instead, what they believe or have been told he will do, by a group of haters.

A Reply to: Jaxon News & Views Blog - http://jaxonnews.blogspot.com/2009/12/grinch-who-stole-christmas-from-us.html

2009-12-22T05:33:00.000-08:00

Last year, Candidate Obama promised a "transparent" Administration that would seek bi-partisan Congressional action after pending legislation was posted on-line for at least 72 hours, you are right. So was he. The Senate bill, has been on the Senate website for 8 days. All Versions! The one containing the Sanders Amendment and the many without. The issue isn’t the Amendments that have been attached, but the core bill that is being written and how fast bills move through the houses of congress. Of the bills that this congress has passed, most have been online available to read for an average of a week and a half.

Candidate Obama also promised bi-partisanship and bring all parties to the table on these types of important legislation. Two Points here: (1) He did bring democrats, independents and republicans to the table. Parts of the current bill are riddled with goodies inserted by the GOP, for the health insurance companies. (2) The Majority of GOP members of the Senate have been the Party of “NO”. They seek to keep the healthcare system in this country exactly as it is, keeping millions of Americans from obtaining the basic human right of healthcare.

Hard as it may be to accept, health insurance companies are never going to change. Denying coverage to those that pose “high risk”, so in the end they end up losing everything so that they can stay alive. Last year, according to the non-partisan organization Factcheck.org, 45,000 Americans died from lack of health insurance. Out of that, 82% were in the middle class tax bracket, but because they were higher risk, the insurance companies decided to do what is called “price them out”. A sales tactic that we use in my industry to avoid having to sell a certain customer. Last year (Not included in the 45,000) 2600 military veterans died from lack of health insurance. No, this isn’t because the V.A. isn’t doing their job. It’s because the previous administration shortened the benefits based on age. Really? So when our neighbors who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan age, they will no longer be eligible for V.A. healthcare, even though they risked life and limb for this nation?

If there is any doubt about where the majority of insurance premiums are going, let me spell it out.

Below is a listing of the annual compensation for just 7 insurance companies CEO’s. This is their take home Pay. And if you are interested, My Source for this is the Security and Exchange Commission sec.gov

• Aetna Ronald A. Williams: $23,045,834
• Cigna H. Edward Hanway: $25,839,777
• Coventry Dale B. Wolf : $14,869,823
• Health Net Jay M. Gellert: $3,686,230
• Humana Michael McCallister: $10,312,557
• U.Health Grp Stephen J. Hemsley: $13,164,529
• WellPoint Angela Braly (2007): $9,094,271
L. Glasscock (2008): $23,886,169

Now, I am not opposed to Executives earning great salaries. But for these companies to increase the premiums on the backs of middle class and poor Americans whom can’t afford it, so that they may pay their CEO’s big compensation packages, is mind-blowing. And the fact that the GOP agrees with this type of Rape is even more disgusting.

As to the “Late Night” c-span televised votes, this isn’t a rarity it seems. On July 25 2003, the Senate Republicans waited until the wee hours of the morning to pass the Head Start bill, that doesn’t work, because it funds only lower income families and is seriously underfunded. Or the late night vote that took place on October 19 2003, where the Republicans forced a late night vote Energy Bill that extended carbon emissions to companies, giving them nearly a 38% increase in allowable emissions. It also had cuts in the EPA’s budget.

I think that you have it right Mr. Raymond, there is a rush to get this legislation passed. Too many Americans die each day, because they don’t have the same access to health care as you, as those who have been given the "privilege" of having health insurance. It is unbelievable to think that there are people out there that care so much about themselves, that they don’t want something better for all Americans if it means something bad for them.

Higher taxes, yes. But the flipside is something that should be looked at. And so let’s do that. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has determined that the bill before the Senate would provide coverage to more than 94 percent of non-elderly Americans and to an even larger percentage of total Americans. It would also save money, reducing the deficit by $130 billion over the next ten years. You can access the CBO's analysis by going to it's webpage.

The insurance industry would be reformed. The bill would change the way that health insurance companies do business in order to protect consumers from harmful (and unfortunately common) insurance industry practices.
• Insurance companies would not be allowed to stop paying for coverage after a certain lifetime or annual limit.
• Insurance companies would not be allowed to charge co-pays for preventative services, such as checkups, immunizations, or recommended mammograms.
• Young adults under 27 would be able to stay on their parents' plan.
• Beginning in 2014, insurance companies would be barred from discriminating against applicants based on pre-existing conditions, health status, or gender. Before 2014, uninsured Americans with a pre-existing condition would have access to an immediate insurance program, which would help them maintain affordable coverage.

More people would have access to coverage.
• The bill would create "exchanges" for people who do not have access to affordable coverage through an employer and for small employers who have trouble paying to insure their employees.
• In these exchanges, people would have access to a variety of insurance options, including, in some states, a public insurance option that would compete with insurance companies.
• Low- and middle-income people who purchased insurance through the exchanges would be eligible for government subsidies to help them afford insurance.

The Medicaid program would be expanded.
• The bill would expand the Medicaid program so that it covered all non-elderly Americans with income below 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.
• Procedures for Medicaid enrollment would be streamlined so that more eligible people are able to take advantage of the program.

The Medicare program would be protected and strengthened.
• Without action, the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund is expected to go broke in just over seven years. The bill would make Medicare a stronger, more sustainable program by streamlining Medicare payment procedures.
• The bill would crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare, as well as in Medicaid, CHIP and private insurance, thereby strengthening Medicare's solvency.
• Medicare currently reimburses health care providers on the basis of the volume of care they provide rather than the value of the care they provide to the patient. For example, for each procedure, test, or scan that a doctor performs, Medicare reimburses the doctor for a particular dollar amount, thus rewarding doctors who do more, even if they are ordering unnecessary care. The bill contains a number of proposals that would change the way that Medicare pays doctors, moving away from a system that rewards unnecessary tests and towards a system that rewards quality care.

The bill promotes preventative care, which saves money and lives by keeping people from getting sick in the first place.
• The bill would invest in a national prevention and public health strategy and improves education on disease prevention and public health.
• It would authorize enough funding to establish a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in every underserved community in America.
• It would address shortages in primary care and other areas of practice by funding the National Health Service Corps, a scholarship and loan repayment program for students entering the health care workforce. It would also reward those professionals who choose to become primary care practitioners and those providers who choose to practice in underserved areas with higher reimbursement rates.

Other good changes:
• Under the transparency portions of the bill, consumers would have access to crucial information about care providers, including to information about physician ownership of hospitals and high tech medical equipment.
• The bill would expand the scope of an existing drug discount program, so that patients at children's hospitals, cancer hospitals, rural hospitals and in other underserved communities have access to medicines at lower cost.
• The bill would make long-term support and services more affordable for millions of Americans by providing a lifetime cash benefit that would help people with severe disabilities remain in their homes and communities.

The Bad News
• The bill is huge (over 2,000 pages) and enormously complicated.
• Implementation of the plan would take too long. The insurance exchanges, the affordability credits, and increased Medicaid eligibility wouldn't occur until 2014. There is simply no reason that the American people should wait another five years for reform.

In this country, that we love so dear, that we put on a pedestal for a model for other countries to follow, we have one of the worst healthcare systems bar none. We leave our weak to fend for themselves, our middleclass to fight for themselves and the few that are privileged to reap the benefits off the backs of hard working Americans who can afford most insurances because they are included in their compensation packages.

While our leaders claim to be trying to do what is right, lobbyists use big money to prevent the growth of America, instead worrying about their bottom line and executive compensation. Where do we draw the line? At what point do we say enough is enough and stop the bleeding of the average American’s dreams and hopes of a better life? It isn’t hard to imagine our nation better, we just need to have the courage to do it.

You are on the wrong side of history here. I am sorry that you have chosen a path of stalemate and status quo instead of having the courage to progress.

P.J. Weber

Sources - Factcheck.org, CBO.gov, Senate.gov, npr.org, Wall Street Journal online