The republican Plan To Kill You

Posted by McCamy Taylor in General Discussion

The new reality in Washington is gridlock. The Tea Baggers came in with a mandate to undo health care reform legislation, but we all know that is impossible. The Democratic Senate will not go along with a massive re-write of their signature legislation. And if the Senate does agree to a few changes here and there, Obama will veto them.

That means your health is secure, right? Wrong. There are still plenty of ways that the new GOP House can kill you, because it controls the purse strings and (via phony staged “hearings”) the press.

I. The Tea Baggers Can Kill the Working Poor

The Health Insurance industry was tickled pink over most parts of the health care reform package passed by the 111th Congress. However, a few things galled them. Like having to write policies for sick people, the ones who are currently uninsurable because of pre-existing conditions. And having to spend a certain amount of their premiums on actual health care. And----though the insurers will never admit it----having to write policies for the working poor, who are counting upon government subsidies to help them afford private insurance.

What is wrong with the working poor? Some of them are the 50 Somethings who have been laid off from their jobs, which were either outsourced or rewritten so that their employers could replace them with younger, cheaper healthier workers. These hard working Americans now sling hash for minimum wage---without benefits. Too young to qualify for Medicare, they have a host of chronic medical problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic bronchitis, low back problems and heart disease. Then there are the medical poor, the ones whose parents could not work full time because of health problems, the ones who never finished high school and who now work in low paying jobs that do not provide health care coverage to treat the diseases which they inherited from their parents. The health insurance industry does not want to have anything to do with either of the above groups. And they would prefer not to have to write polices for certain other chronically disadvantaged groups like African-Americans, who have a greater burden of certain diseases, like heart disease and chronic kidney disease.

The new GOP House will be able to help the health insurance industry out by withholding the funds needed to help the working poor pay their insurance premiums---which are likely to be sky high by the time most of health care reform kicks in. They will not do this by actually stepping up to the plate and saying “No health insurance premium subsidies for the working poor!” That would make them look mean and elitist. No, they will step up to the plate, kiss their rosaries and promise “No health insurance premium subsidies for insurance companies that pay for abortion. Because God told us.” (See the link under III.)

Private health insurers always offer abortion coverage, because it is cheaper than paying for obstetric and nursery care. They will not change their polices, and the ultimate effect of the GOP plan to defund abortion will actually be no subsidies for anyone.

The GOP House can insure that insurance is too expensive for lower middle class Americans afford without subsidies, by holding pesky “hearings” any time the Obama administration tries to prevent insurers from raising rates. And the GOP House will make sure that the insurance industry never ever loses it exemption from federal anti-trust laws, meaning that insurers will be able to conspire to raise rates as one in order to keep health insurance out of the reach of those who need it most.

The provision of health care reform which pissed off right wing voters the most was the mandate. The GOP House will not touch that. Oh, they may pretend to attempt to pass legislation which eliminates the mandate. But they will do this secure in the knowledge that either the Senate or the President will block them. That is because the health insurers who bankrolled the Tea Parties just love the thought of being able to force young, healthy middle and upper-middle class Americans to buy overpriced insurance. Outlawing the mandate will become like outlawing abortion. It will be a pie in the sky by and by promise which the GOP will make to its supporters in order to encourage them to get out and vote.

II. The Tea Baggers Can Kill People Who Have to Take Medication

"Let me be clear. The president supports ... safe re-importation of drugs into this country," Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" program. "There's no reason why Americans should pay a premium for the pharmaceuticals that people in other countries pay less for."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BF0...

The best thing that Obama can do right now to help the chronically sick and the elderly---and make Democrats popular----is have his FDA allow drugs to be imported from other countries like Canada. That would bring health care costs for consumers down overnight. Big Pharm can not bear the thought of that happening. They price gouge American consumers so that they can sell their drugs for less in other countries. And the GOP can not bear the thought of Obama doing anything that will endear him to Americans.

If---no, when the Obama administration allows drug imports, House GOPers will be ready with staged hearings in which they will show that foreign drugs kill. Big Pharm already has the plane tickets for the “witnesses” and it has already helped coach their testimony. We will hear from some woman in Winnipeg, who swears that she has to buy her heart medication in the U.S. “because the stuff they sell in my country almost killed me.” We will hear from a series of Americans who recount hair raising stories about how imported Viagra almost made their dicks fall off. We will learn that foreign Nexium could not help an alcoholic from having an upper GI bleed. Their star witness will be a child in a persistent vegetative state whose parents swear it was that cough syrup they bought while they were on vacation in another country.

Big Pharm money will be fed to the press via the SuperPacs. The corporate media will demand that (dangerous) foreign drugs be banned in the U.S. The FDA will not have the funding or the manpower to refute the House findings. If Obama bows to one kind of pressure and bans the imports, he will be hated by people who have to start paying more for their drugs. If he stands firm, healthy people who do not have to pay for drugs will fear him.

http://www.aznews.us/kyl_defends_blocking_...

III. The Tea Baggers Can Kill Women

This one is easy. They will deny funding to Planned Parenthood and anyone else who provides contraceptive services. They will argue that certain forms of birth control---like the IUD---are really abortion, and they will make sure that working poor women around the country have no access to Pap smears, blood pressure checks, mammograms, immunizations or any of the other preventive health services which most women’s clinics now offer.

http://stoptheabortionagenda.com/2010/10/0... /

IV. The Tea Baggers Can Kill Anyone Who Has to Breathe

Big Oil bought the New GOP House, and Big Oil plans to get its money’s worth. Republicans are already plotting “hearings” into why Americans should burn more fossil fuels. Expect the EPA to have its budget cut. Expect the (bribed) corporate media to tell us that clean air costs us jobs.

Air pollution has been proven to cause childhood pneumonia and adult heart attacks. It makes folks with asthma and chronic bronchitis even sicker than they already are. We have a whole generation of urban kids who are overweight and out of shape because they can not go outside to play---the air quality is too poor. Screw them, will be the motto of the new GOP House. Big Oil paid to get them into office and they do not plan to bite the hand that fed them.

Oh, and if you drink the water or eat the fish, prepare to die, too. The House will not let a little thing like the BP oil spill slow down off shore drilling. Nor will they fund federal efforts to step up inspections of oil rigs. Jobs first, safety last, that will be the GOP mantra.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/gop-inv... /

IV. The Tea Baggers Can Kill Veterans

It is going to take some balls to do this one, but there is a whole lot of corporate money at stake. Therefore, I expect to see the House attempt to slash the Veterans’ Administration’s funding, claiming that the nation’s veterans would be better served getting their care “in the private sector.” This will raise costs and make care more difficult for the nation’s veterans to obtain. However, the Tea Baggers can sweeten the deal by holding “hearings” in which selected veterans talk about their bad experiences at the VA.

If the House balks at the thought of alienating veterans, the health insurance industry will remind them that the VA is the biggest single payer, all inclusive health care program in the country. Vilifying and then crippling the VA will help the insurance industry delay the implementation of single payer health care. The GOP will weigh the relative benefits of veteran support versus more corporate money, and they will go for the cash. The 2012 elections are just around the corner.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/...

V. The Tea Baggers Can Kill Everyone With Health Insurance

One of the GOP’s promises to America is “the freedom to buy health insurance across state lines”.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/247...

This is like telling the chickens they are now "free" to sleep with the fox.



Why is the health insurance industry so obsessed with this? Because right now, they are regulated by state insurance boards and state medical boards. These agencies are empowered by locally elected officials to keep the public healthy. If there is a problem with an insurance company, these regulatory boards will usually try to be fair to the voters. Otherwise, elected officials suffer at the polls.

Imagine what will happen if United Health can write all the polices for California from their office in North Dakota? And all the policies for North Dakota from an office in Alabama? Suddenly, if you have a complaint with an insurer---like it won’t pay for your daughters’ liver transplant which doctors say is necessary to save her life---you will have to turn to the federal government for relief. And we know how well that will work. Basically, every American will be at the mercy of its (out of state) insurer. Like Blanche Dubois, they will have to “depend upon the kindness of strangers.”

Forewarned is fore armed. They have already tipped their hand. A united Democratic Party can stop the House...and save lives.

.

.

.

When You Let Crime Pay

President Obama was elected to succeed the most criminal regime in modern US history.

A regime in every negative sense of the word, a cabal who seized power by fraud and initiated an unprovoked aggressive war on a distant nation that posed no threat, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. A regime that announced its doctrinal contempt for the Constitution and rule of law, that legitimated torture, the "unitary executive" and shadow government.

Investigating the crimes of this regime was not only the right thing, it was a vital national priority to assure that the criminals and their party would not be able to return to power. If crime pays, criminals are empowered.

These predictions did not require magic or complex math, just a bit of historical memory.

Is America stupid enough to allow the mistakes of the past to repeat itself?
.
.
.

Lets Look At Yesterdays Mid Term Election With REALITY

Posted by David Zephyr in General Discussion: Presidency

As the dust clears, as our fingers hopefully grow tired of finger-pointing, I want to offer some perspective from an old guy who's had over 40 years of activism within the Democratic Party. Most of all, I want to tell you that the world did not come to an end last night, and that even though the corporate media wants to dance on the grave of the Democratic Party and President Obama, it will be our side that will be doing the dancing. Why? Because the tide of history is on our side, the tide of the changing of our national demographics is on our side, as most important of all, as corny as it may sound: truth, justice and the American way are on our side.

What good news can we draw from last night? I'll tell you: In a friggin' mid-term election when Democrats don't normally show up at the polls, in the middle of the crushing national unemployment status caused by George W. Bush, in spite of the hundreds of millions of corporate cash including undisclosed funding, and in spite of the media's deafening cheer-leading for the GOP, with very few exceptions, the seats that we lost were not lost in landslides. Listen to me: they won most of their races by the skin of their teeth.

For me personally, losing Russ Feingold as a U.S. Senator last night was the most disheartening news. For those of us squarely on the Left of President Obama, it would be very difficult to explain his loss in Wisconsin as the result of his being not liberal enough. I sincerely do not know what more Russ could have done. To the voters of Wisconsin, shame on you. And to my sisters and brothers there in Wisconsin, let me tell you, this Californian will always be grateful for Russ Feingold. In this you can be very proud.

Don't fall into believing that there was a sweeping mandate for the Republican Party last night. There wasn't! They won a lot of seats, but considering the circumstances I mentioned above, their victories should have been overwhelming. They were not. And the Republican Establishment knows it.

The President has owned up to making mistakes. But good grief: please, step back and just look at what he had handed to him to repair less than 20 months ago. He ain't perfect, but he's still my President and I will support him. I would take a bullet for him. Proudly.

If you want someone to blame, then blame this Supreme Court for their shooting down campaign finance regulations. In many ways, this election was stolen from the people by the Supreme Court just as the election in 2000 was. President Obama did not do that. He even scolded them in front of the nation for their "decision".

In spite of all of that, take heart: In 2012, there will be a much larger voter turnout than there was yesterday. There always is in with Presidential Elections and that bodes very well for us...especially in light of the razor slim victories the GOP took last night.

We still have the Executive Office and we still have the Senate.

We've come a very, very long way since the dark days of George W. Bush's Administration. Ponder that.

And everyone here at the DU, whether you are mad at each other or not, you all deserve credit for having made that change.

Ok, we have lost a battle. We have not lost the war. I've seen our Party in far worse times than this.

The goddamned glass is half full!

History is on your side. Take heart.

I'm not quitting. I will never stop fighting those bastards until the day I die.

Again: Truth, Justice and the American Way are on our side.

Let's get back into the ring and slug the living shit out of our opponents!
.
.
.

Love republican Style

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/McCamy%20Taylor/555
I. The Republican Congress That Tried to Bail Out Enron

Mere days after 9-11, the Republican controlled House put together a “financial stimulus” package that would have given the failing Enron billions of dollars of your tax money to flush down the toilet with all your other money that the company had already stolen. They did not call it the “Enron Bailout of 2001 Bill”. But that is what it was. The White House lobbied for it. The Democratic Senate considered it…

And Democrats decided that Enron did not deserve a bailout. Too bad if their hopes of building a Trans-Afghanistan pipeline had been crushed by the collapse of the World Trade Center. What were Ken Lay and the Bush administration doing promising a “carpet of gold” to the Taliban anyway? We do not negotiate with terrorists, and we certainly do not sign contracts with terrorists!



II. The Republican Congress That Tried to Take Away Your Right to Die With Dignity

Remember Terri Shiavo? Remember how the GOP decided that they needed to “excite the pro-life base”? Remember how they wrote a law, known as “The Palm Sunday Compromise” that applied only to Shiavo’s parents---breaking the law in the process, since Congress is not allowed to pass laws in respect to persons? Remember how President Bush staged a flight back to DC to sign this bogus piece of legislation? Remember the many hours of TV footage we were shown of poor Ms. Shiavo in her vegetative state? Death with dignity? Don’t make me laugh. The Republican Congress under Tom Delay turned that poor woman’s death into a three ring media circus.

III. The Republican Congress That Threatened to Go Nuclear

The 109th U.S. Congress did things like give Big Oil a multibillion dollar tax break---as if they needed an incentive to drill with gas prices over $4 a gallon. And they saddled you with credit card and medical debt until the end of time.

But…but…Democrats did not filibuster it!

Remember the so called “Nuclear option”? I am not here to argue for or against the legality of the “Nuclear option”. I want to discuss the mindset of politicians who do not simply threaten to hold their breath until their faces turn blue. No, they declare that they will drop a great big atomic bomb on the Government if they do not get their way. There is something very disturbing about this image. It shows a lack of respect for the rule of law---and human life. Remember how Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) offered to fly a jet over Syria and drop a couple of nukes on that country?

IV. The Republican Congress that Killed the Federal Government

1995 was not a very merry Christmas if you were a veteran in need of services or a retiree dependent upon your Social Security or a federal employee with bills to pay. In 1995, Newt’s Republican Congress decided that the country did not need a federal government---and so they shut it down. Remember why Newt did it? Because Clinton made him sit at the back of Air Force One.



V. The Republican Congressman Who Shoots Watermelons….and Harasses the President

Remember Rep. Dan Burton (R-Indiana)? The GOP stuck a sock in his mouth after Bush stole the 2000 election. But before that, he used his position on the House Government Reform Committee to investigate Clinton. And Clinton again. And yet more Clinton. Did not matter what the president did. Old rootin’ tootin’ shootin’ Dan was there to mail out subpoenas and call witnesses.

Dan Burton became a legend in his own time by inviting reporters to watch him shoot watermelons in his backyard. No, he was not drunk (I don’t think). He wanted to prove his theory that Vince Foster did not commit suicide.

I have deliberately avoided cluttering this OP with links, however, I could not resist this one. If the GOP takes over the House, they have a new “Dan Burton” just waiting to take over the 24-7 job of harassing President Obama. Darrell Issa, the Republican Congressman from California, who got Democratic Governor Gray Davis kicked out of office in California, so that Arnold could quietly shut down the Enron civil suit. That case could have been a serious embarrassment to the Bush administration had witnesses been deposed.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/07/darrell...
Darrell Issa has already proven that he can take out one elected Democrat. In the new, Republican 112th Congressional House of Representatives, he is going to set his sights higher.
.
.
.

Things You Have To Believe To Be A Republican

Things You Have To Believe To Be A Republican Today:

* Ordering the plug pulled on a brain dead spouse is an Affront to the Culture of Life, unless the one ordering the plug pulled is Tom Delay's mother. That's an intensely private family decision that's none of our business.

* Ruling against the discrimination of gays is unrestrained judicial activism; the Supreme Court giving the 2000 election to a Republican who got a half million less votes is a proper use of judicial power.

* Questioning John Kerry's Purple Heart for getting shot at in Vietnam is a valid political issue. Questioning George W. Bush's attendance record in the Air National Guard is a liberal smear campaign.

* The Geneva Convention is "quaint"

* Political discourse has gone rotten in this country, and Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, and Ann Coulter are totally correct to blame it all on those filthy evil America-hating terrorist-loving Muslin communist socialist Nazi liberals.

* Bill Clinton was a draft dodger for not serving in Vietnam. But it was okay for Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Clarence Thomas, Dan Quayle, Tom Delay, Tom Tancredo, and Pat Buchanan to not go.

* Filibustering to stop civil rights legislation was a proper exercise of minority power in parliamentary procedures. Filibustering Bush's anti-civil rights judges is an affront to the democratic process.

* Similarly, taking away the filibuster to let those anti-civil rights judges through would have been proper; using "reconciliation" to give people health care reform on a straight majority vote was a tyrannical overreach of majority power.

* Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy is a hero. "Deep Throat" Mark Felt is a traitor.

* Amending the Constitution to outlaw flag burning is a good way to uphold our traditions of freedom of speech.

* Cindy Sheehan was disrespecting her son's memory by speaking out against the war that killed him, and we're sure he wouldn't have had any problem with Bush supporters calling her "Ditch Bitch" and smearing her with every dirty trick in the book.

* Waterboarding is only torture when used against American soldiers in World War 2.

* It's okay to hit on underage pages, solicit gay sex in an airport bathroom, and cheat on your wife (with or without diapers, payoffs, rentboys, or trips to Argentina) as long as you're a Good Christian(TM).

* A cable news network that parrots right wing talking points 24/7 is "fair and balanced". A cable news network that airs two or three commentators who question right wing talking points is "in the tank for the Left" even though it has a three hour morning show hosted by a former Republican congressman.

* Barack Obama is a racist for picking a Latina for the Supreme Court instead of a white man. Rush Limbaugh playing "Barack the Magic Negro", signs depicting Obama as a witch doctor, and postcards featuring the White House lawn filled with watermelons have nothing at all to do with racism, and are instead valid criticisms of the President's health care policies.

* Hawaii is part of Kenya.

* Invoking Nazism when talking about warrentless wiretapping, torture, secret death squads, and starting unprovoked wars is a sign that the speaker is a shrill, paranoid whackjob. Invoking Nazism when talking about providing health care for all is a valid and appropriate comparison.

* The salaries, bonuses, perks, "retention awards", ect. of executives must always increase to attract and retain top talent, regardless of the company's actual financial health. The pay and benefits of workers must be kept as low as possible, even when the company is profitable, in the name of Being Competitive In The Global Marketplace. This is not class warfare, but pointing out this fact is.

* Similarly, the severance packages ("golden parachutes") of the executives must be paid even if the executive's financial mismanagement of the company is the reason they're being removed. Unemployment claims by workers fired on a whim must be fought tooth and nail.

* Cutting taxes to the wealthiest Americans while slashing services that benefit the poor and middle class is not Class Warfare. Pointing out this fact, however, is the worst sort of Class Warfare.

* Deficit spending, when caused by health care, unemployment benefits, food stamps, and other programs designed to help the poor and middle class, is cause for deep concern. Deficit spending, when caused by military spending and cutting taxes to big business and the richest of the rich, doesn't matter.

* The differences between the exit polls and the official vote tally in the Ukraine in 2004 was proof that there was massive electoral fraud. The differences between the exit polls and the official vote tally in Ohio in 2004 was proof that something was wrong with the exit polls.

* You are enraged when Glenn Beck tells you Barack Obama is plotting to track everyone through the OnStar GPS in their cars, but was okay with George Bush admitting to tapping your phones and reading your email.

* Sonya Sotomayor following the law and judicial precedent in the case of a white firefighter claiming "reverse racism" means she's a "Judicial Activist" (and of course a racist). John Roberts and his Justices overturning a century of settled law and judicial precendent to allow big business to more blatantly buy our elected officials means they're "Strict Constructionists".

* A brown-skinned Muslim who calls for the bombing of Americans, the deaths of American soldiers, and the assassination of American elected officials is a terrorist. A white-skinned Christian who calls for the bombing of Americans, the deaths of American soldiers, and the assassination of American elected officials is a patriot.

* You show how strictly you follow the Constitution by wanting to ignore the First, Fourth, Fifth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth Amendments.

* Women are inferior to men, and should be barefoot, pregnant, in the kitchen, and quiet; unless they're really hot and run for political office as Republicans.

* The Constitution says nothing about things like establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defence, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty, but does say that we are a Christian nation ordained by God and no other religions should be acknowledged in any way.

* Anybody who thinks Bush and Cheney got us into Iraq just to enrich Halliburton and the oil companies is a shrill conspiracy theorist. Anybody who thinks Obama pushed for health care reform because he hates white people, was programmed by Kenyan socialists to be a double agent, and might be the Antichrist, is a speaker of the secret truths that "they" don't want you to hear.

* You are a female politician opposed to masturbation, even though rednecks who jack off to your picture are your most reliable voting block.

* If a commentator is fired for making racist comments, it's an example of "political correctness" gone too far. If a protestor is curb-stomped for daring to question a Teabagger candidate, it says nothing about the validity of the Teabagger movement, and she probably deserved it anyway.

* The Bible is the inerrant, literal word of God when it talks about the Earth being created in six days and homosexuality being an abomination. The Bible is a flawed work interpreted by errant humans when it talks about loving your neighbor, turning the other cheek, and the evils of greed.

* The greatest threat to our democracy today is billionaire George Soros giving money to political causes he believes in. The greatest boon to democracy today are billionaires Rupert Murdoch, Richard Mellon Scaife, and the Koch Brothers giving money to political causes that make them richer.

* The candidate who concieved a child out of wedlock and sent videos of a woman having sex with a horse is an examplar of American family values. A congressman who just happens to be Muslim is a threat to America.

* A successful terrorist attack during a Republican administration proves we need strong, Republican leadership to fight terrorism. Unsuccessful terrorist attacks during a Democratic administration prove we need strong, Republican leadership to fight terrorism.

* Bipartisanship means Republicans and Democrats coming together to do exactly what Republicans want.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Fritz67/1
.
.
.

We Are Coming, Mr. President And We've Got Your Back

They have lied about him.

Lied about our President.

Tried to paint him as an outsider.

Said he wasn't born here, didn't belong here, not in this system, not in this White House. They have called him a racist, called him a liar, called him a socialist, a Nazi, a terrorist. They have called him everything but Mr. President, our President, our greatest hope for change.

They have beaten him with words, with millions of dollars in foreign money, shipped over here by foreign interests with no name, no face, no P.O. Box...no business telling us how to run this nation.

What we have seen over the last two years is an unprecedented attempt to assassinate, not a President, but a Presidency; to take a good man down with lies about who he is and what he's trying to do to fix the things they broke.

There are no guns this time, but this is Birmingham, and Bull Connor doesn't run the police, he runs a news network that says that it's fair, that it's balanced. Our economic future is a lunch counter for the un-Godly rich, for the polluters, for those who do not know the Golden Rule or do not believe it applies to them. And they don't want any of us...not the middle class, not the Just, not the ones who believe that this is still a nation of opportunity, to sit down beside them,to have a slice of the American pie.

We need to let our President know that the buses are coming. And the minivans, the motorcycles, the family sedans and those who can only afford to be on foot. That just like our mothers and fathers who united to change this nation, we are all coming - the black, the white, the latino, the Jewish, the Protestant, the Catholic, the young, the old, the middle class, the poor, the workers, the innovators, the small business owners. All of us. The ones who believe that all Americans should be able to work hard and earn not just a living, but earn a life; who believe that laws should put people before profit; who know that the political Right is political Wrong.

It's time to get up. Every one of us. To stand with our President.

Mr. President, we are coming. We believed in you when we chose you for the most powerful office in the free world, and we believe in you now. Mr. President, the buses are coming, and if they try to stop one there are two more right behind it. And if they try to stop those, there are thousands. Mr. President, you just keep trying to pull the country out of this mess that greed got us in. We've all got your back.

In the next few days, until November 2nd, we will all ring one, bring one. We need to all call one person - a grandmother, a grandfather, a younger brother or sister, somebody down the street and down on their luck who can't afford to buy a new coat, let alone an election - and make sure they have a ride. A vote. And a voice.

Mr. President, we're tired of seeing your best efforts blocked in public by the same set of shifty-eyed schemers who turn around ask for your help and our money when the cameras are off. We're tired of being called un-American by those who do not understand or who do not care to understand, our Bill of Rights.

We're tired of politicians looking into their wallets instead of their hearts. We're tired of the lies and the liars; tired of those who believe that a football game needs 7 officials to keep things honest, but that a multi-trillion dollar banking system needs none. We are tired of hearing that those in need should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, when somebody else's boots stomped them down in the first place. We are tired of a lot of things, but we are not too tired to stand up.

We are coming, Mr. President. And we've got your back.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/urgk/5
.
.
.

No More Yabbadabbado Time

The world of Fred Flintstone was a mirror of the carefree postwar America that saw the sky as the limit and deemed itself invincible. However, white America, because no blacks or Latinos lived in Bedrock. The series ran from 1960 until 1966, while the American dream slowly started to tatter. The political murders of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King and the Vietnamese nightmare would end that euphoric era.

Who then enjoyed the Flintstones every week — and now watches the series again 50 years later — cant help but wonder how much the United States has changed. The unbridled optimism and faith in one's own possibilities of that era have given way to fear and cynicism. The globalization and the financial crisis have caused the feeling of the American nation to slowly degenerate. The tea party movement around the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin — along with the Fox TV channel — encourages the distrust toward everything coming from Washington and tries to impair the authority of President Obama in every way possible. The fearful America that shouted, “Yes, we can!” not too long ago seems ripe for that populism of the tea party.

More than 20 percent of Americans still do not believe that Obama has American nationality and suspect a dark conspiracy behind his election. Because he wants to give all Americans health insurance, Obama is for many Americans a crypto-communist. The average American thinks that the right to own a weapon is more important than a generalized health policy. He has become a coward who feels constantly threatened and does not know anymore what the place of his country will be in the new world order.

The idea of the Democratic Party from the ‘60s to turn the U.S. into a great society —with, as its end goal, a society without poverty or racism — seems further away than ever. Because of the costs of the wars and the sky-high debts, the American state is not even able to fulfill its most essential duties. Because there is no money to repair some badly damaged roads, the pavement is then all but removed. That way, the government is relieved of its duty to maintain the public roads, because they get degraded to paved country roads. While the investors bring their money en masse into safety in the Asian growth markets, the United States seems to have definitely lost its image as an economic superpower. Americans increasingly fold back into themselves and fear what the future will bring.

They no longer dream of a New Frontier like Kennedy nor of the ambitious New Deal of Roosevelt. The only thing that's left for them is the memory of their glorious past. And the reruns of the Flintstones … the nostalgia of the perished Bedrock, when America still believed in itself and let me, as a young boy, dream.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/unhappycamper/1215
..
.
.

Why We Should Support Our Democratic Party With Our Votes

Edited on Fri Oct-29-10 04:22 PM by bigtree

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9415491

 

In my lifetime, I've NEVER seen a government or party which completely represented me.

I thought, when I first began to pay attention to government, and I'm certain now, that it's not designed to just represent me, but is responsible for a myriad of needs and concerns - some of which I may not share. *The only thing I've ever felt I was due was to have my ideas compete alongside the others. I've always understood that I'd have to generate as much enthusiasm for a candidate from my district or state to carry those ideas to the statehouse or Congress.

I understand that there will be opposition to my ideas, sometimes overwhelming opposition. But, I'm comfortable to have my ideas in consideration along with more popular or accepted ones. I see our political system as a mechanism to reconcile the many different and diverse ideas and concerns into action. I recognize that it's not always easy or possible. I'm not discouraged by that; I'm challenged to work harder.

In my lifetime, the Democratic Party has been outstanding in carrying and advancing those ideas I support and believe in. Those ideas haven't always prevailed, even among Democrats, but I have lived long enough to see some of those ideas revived, presented, and advanced after all, despite an earlier rejection or defeat. I fully intend to keep pressing my ideas and concerns until they can generate the support needed to advance them legislatively or otherwise.

I never expected to get my way with 100 senators and 500 representatives, but I'm gratified for the progress we've made in achieving the numbers needed to gain the majority. There is obvious value in holding the majority, including the important ability to keep republicans from setting the agenda on the floor and in committees.

In all, the Democratic party remains the most effective and representative vehicle for my ideas and concerns, despite the disagreements I may have with the actions of this Congress or any other I've witnessed. Most of our Democratic senators and representatives work hard to represent us as we continue pressing them for recognition and advancement of those ideas and concerns. I've personally had more than that opportunity. That's all I've ever expected.

Why do we court and accept voters with different views in the general election, and then, accept and support the actions of some in the party to marginalize and censor the Democratic legislators they elect to represent them? All of the different camps in the party do this, right, left, and center. Do we respect the votes from the many different sectors of the nation which come with a myriad of solutions and strategies?

Congress is supposed to be the place where we reconcile the many different ideas from around the nation. It's a given that these legislators will sometimes have radically different ideas about how to best effect - in many cases - shared goals. I believe we put our party in the same hole every election cycle where different camps within the party struggle for ideological purity and set out these litmus tests for membership and acceptance, as if there was some benefit in marginalizing one group of Democrats or another.

What needs to be remembered is that our party's representation among voters would be rather small if we expected members to adhere to one narrow ideology, or to one strategy. There are, of course, principles which we all feel we must adhere to. But, we needn't be so defensive of our own positions, so much that we neglect to recognize that other legislators have been sent to Congress under our party's banner, ready to organize and advocate for the goals and priorities we all share, but, sometimes, adopting and advocating a different strategy for success.

Our party thrives on the diversity of opinion that Democratic voters bring to the general elections. We welcome that diversity in those periods to advance our party's ability to effect our shared goals. I think we should have the same respect and accommodation of those legislators with different viewpoints in our party's deliberations that we extend to the voters who elect them.

That doesn't mean that we abandon our own principles and values in the political debate. It's just a recognition that many of our positions are not sufficient to generate a majority on their own. That's why we coalesce behind our party. Our only political strength is in the amount of support we generate to elevate our party in a position to do more about our ideals than just talk about them. Our political system provides for both protest and compromise. There's little room for dictators or absolutists when it comes time to vote on initiatives and legislation.

The purpose of our political system is to have a place where we can collectively enact those things we feel are necessary, We do that with legislators from many diverse regions of the country with a divergence of needs and concerns motivating them to vote. Often, we share the same goals, but not the same strategy for enacting them.

We should remember the diverse and disparate voters, as we deliberate those differences, who sent these legislators to organize and advocate under the same Democratic banner. It's not easy to accommodate different points of view, especially if you feel the issue or concern is critical and paramount. But, that's what most voters send these legislators to Congress to do; to reconcile all of the voters' different strategies for success to effectively advance the goals we all share.
.
.
.

Are You Fed Up?

For those of you who were wondering - or cared - The Fed Up American Show WILL return to the Internet broadcast in the very near future as I tweak the Fed Up American brand.

In addition to my Facebook presence -

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1028646498
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Fed-Up-American/103531359685661

I have also started another Fed Up blog where I will mainly showcase videos -

http://fedupsblog.blogspot.com/

As far as the Blog Talk show is concerned - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fedupamerican I will be doing two daily shows (a morning show called "Wake the F*#K Up!" and an evening "Primetime" show.

There just may be a weekend show thrown in for kicks too.

I know there has been a quality issue on my last show - I was cut off and it took a while for me to get logged back in. Thankfully my guest Chris of The Beer Party hung out until I returned. These issues are being addressed and I assure you a higher quality product in the future.

I want this Fed Up American character to continue to grow and I would appreciate an comments, complaints or feedback. Let me know what you would like to hear. Topics, rants, music, audio clips - anything suggested will be appreciated.
.
.
.

CAUTION - ELECTIONS AHEAD

 As November 2 gets closer, he republicans are showing how desperate they truly are.


" An unknown group handed out misleading fliers to voters in a primarily African American polling place in Houston, Texas, reports KTRK.

The fliers, which were handed out near an early voting location Tuesday night, claimed that "Republicans are trying to trick us" and said that voting Democrat was actually voting for Republicans.

"When you vote straight ticket Democrat, it is actually voting for Republicans and your vote doesn't count," says the flier. "We are urging everyone to VOTE for BILL WHITE. A VOTE for BILL WHITE is a VOTE for the ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC ticket. We have fought too hard to let Republicans use voting machines to deny us our basic rights. We must guard the change and NOT VOTE STRAIGHT TICKET DEMOCRAT! YES WE CAN!"

Democrat Bill White, the former Mayor of Houston, is currently running against Republican Governor Rick Perry.

"I expect this to be illegal ]because it's so inaccurate, no political group would want to associate itself with a lie, this is the under the table stuff that we see in elections," said Dr. Richard Murray, political consultant for KTRK.

The flier claims to be from the Black Democratic Trust of Texas, but no such organization appears to exist.

"These fliers are part of a coordinated effort between the Tea Party and Houston Republicans to intimidate and misinform voters," Chad W. Dunn, General Counsel for the Texas Democratic Party, told TPMMuckraker. "This deliberate attempt to misinform voters is the last ditch effort by the Republican Party that trying to win votes from a public that is skeptical of their failed policies in Texas."

watch video report
<http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id... >

cont'

<http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/fake-fliers-aim-misl... />
.
.
.

Think About Your Vote Nov. 2nd

From Bill Gordon:

With the midterm elections right around the corner, I feel it is my civic duty, to make sure everyone knows the truth about the candidates running.

There is a lot of perception floating around, that our President has put America in the shape we are in right now. I can’t imagine how short some folks memories have become. The truth is, Bill Clinton, the President before the last one, (Bush) took a budget that Bush’s daddy ran in the ground, and balanced it. He had America working, and the economy running smooth as silk. Then enters George W. Bush. Almost immediately, he started giving the wealthy tax breaks they didn’t deserve. Then, because his ideas were so wrong for America, he decided to start a war. He and his cronies dreamed up all kinds of lies, to justify war.

Knowing they had no proof the terrorists were in Iraq, he rushed to get it started, kinda like when a football team knows they were wrong, but rushed the play so it couldn’t be stopped. Well, recent facts have come out, that our troops outright murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent men women and children. That in itself, should be enough to find Bush and Cheney, law breakers.

We killed Saddam, for the exact same thing. So as we continue on with this deadly sham, he started another war, where more innocent men, women and children were murdered. Not only is he a murderer, his fabulous personality, pissed the rest of the world off. Just like walking up to a hornet’s nest, and giving it a good whack, and running. So the rest of the world now is pissed off at us to the point, they will kill themselves, to kill us. This is pretty extreme, that a group of people hate someone else enough, to die for the cause. We took that deficit Mr. Clinton worked so hard on, and spent the hell out of it, to the point, we had to borrow money to fund these wars.

Who did we borrow the money from?

The very same people we are making rich, China. The same very people that sent our jobs there with obscene tax breaks. Wow you say, what the hell were we thinking? Don’t think with the Bush/Cheney regime, they ever thought about anything before they did it. I remember the smart people, the thinkers if you will, telling Bush, that the war would never end, once it got started. They explained to Bush/Cheney, civil war would break out amongst the many factions in the area, for control of the country. They did not listen, and went on with the lie and murders.

Now even at this time, we are hearing more stories of murders and wrongdoing. Folks, these wars, unless stopped, will never be won. We could be there for a hundred years, and will still lose. How about all of the troops, we continue to keep sending over there, over and over. The thing that upset me the most about that part of the war, was the National Guard having to go and fight overseas. Bush was so stupid, he was unaware of what the word “National” meant.

Good thing we didn’t have a national emergency here in the states.

Oh yeah, we did, how could I forget the hurricanes that hit the Gulf region. And again, he let America down. So, Bush/Cheney sent all of these troops over to fight HIS war, with inadequate armor, poor tired equipment, and did nothing about it, until the Democrats called him out on it, and was fixed somewhat. Not to mention, Cheney’s company, Hallabertion, out right screwed the America, by over charging for fuel and parts to fight the war. How could he do this to his, our country? Immoral behavior to say the least, but nothing was ever done about it. Tons of profit went into Cheney’s pocket, at your expense. So moving on, we see that the rich people, Bush/Cheneys buddies, get a tax break they didn’t need. Well after all of the war spending, we think the very people that should be paying the bulk of the taxes in America, was given a tax break. Pretty stupid, to give away money that you didn’t even have.

At this point, things that should be important, got put behind the rich folks. Funds for education, for infrastructure upgrades, fire, police were cut. All of the things that we as Americans need to exist in a safe secure America, cut to the bone.

Now, even if you are the most greedy person in the world, would not agree, this is the smart thing to do. But folks, he did it anyway. Payback to the people and corporations that put him in office. Yes you took a back seat to this immoral raping of the American people. Yeah, the logic they used was, the rich spend money, and create jobs. Ok, 8-9 years later, where are the jobs? There is none. These greedy bastards, find more ways to hide their money, but not back in the economy.

Still today, Republicans, are trying to sell this lie to us, and it still isn’t working. Moving on, these same folks want to radically change America as we know it. The biggest thing that scares me about the Republican agenda, is the reduction or demise of Social Security. I along with most all of you, have paid into S/S all out lives. Most of us, worked construction or a job, that made it hard for us to pay into a retirement fund.

The Republican leaders, don’t care about your retirement, or lack of, because they have a retirement plan second to none. They are taken care of until the day they die. Bush just commented day before yesterday, his worst let down, was not privatizing S/S. Folks, can you in your wildest dreams, think where America would be if that had happened? I can’t think of where all of the older folks, including my parents, would be right now if that had happened. Talking about ethnic cleansing. There wouldn’t be enough funeral homes to handle all of the seniors. Absurd is the word that comes to mind. Well, if you choose the Republican party, this will be a threat you will live with everyday. The Republicans want to tell you how the reduction of the government is going to save you money. Well, I think they will find another way to spend your money.

Just think about how nasty your food will become. We have already seen people die, over the lack of inspections of where your food comes from. We see how nasty your water supplies have become, due to the lack of inspections. This my friends, is done to save the corporate farms money. When is it ok, for your child to eat nasty food so a CEO, stockholders, can make more money? The GOP has a catch phrase “transparency” to make you think this is what you want and need. It is only transparent, when they benefit from it. They tell you about how they want to protect your rights, and turn around and tell women they can’t have an abortion, should they desire one. Bush/Cheney reduced your rights more than all former administrations did together, with the “Patriot Act”.

This my friends, is the worst shredding of the Constitution in history. It did not make us safer, and secure. They tell you they want to stay out of your business and turn right around, and say this is a Christian nation, and if you are of another religion to are wrong. This is the biggest right we as Americans have. The right to worship any religion or not at all. We have people that think if you are Muslim, you are a terrorist. They are willing to shred the Constitution again, to put you down. They are willing to shred the Constitution once again, to say if you are born on American soil, you are not automatically an American if your parents are illegal . They forget, their ancestors were immigrants of this country once upon a time. The very same folks, want to close down the border, but can’t come up with a plan to do so. The very same people, will hire the illegal immigrants, they hate so very much, for pennies on the dollar, to fuel their greed.

They try to tell you how to live your life, tout “family values”, turn around and get caught in whore houses and have extra marital affairs. They tell you how pure and clean they are, and want to kill homosexuals in the next breath, until THEY come out. They think, as long as I show up to church on Sunday, they are saved. WRONG again. They should make their slogan “do as I say, not as I do”. That would be more fitting to their agenda. The very same people think that Corporations are more important than us the people.

When has a large Corporation ever done anything in your behalf? The very same people tell you outright lies on TV and that they have your interest in  mind. This Robert Hurt, is the worst. All of the taxes he has raised on you the people, and tells you he has not. I guess if you call tax increases levies, it is not a tax!

How about the increases in power bills? The very same people want to keep polluting the air and water, by refusing to seek alternatives to produce electricity. Yes we need coal to make power, but what is wrong with trying to clean up the exhaust that is killing us slowly. No one said it has to be done by tomorrow.

But folks, we have got to start somewhere. I want to say this, if we all as Americans, had got behind the President from the beginning, we wouldn’t be having this chat right now. The last guys dug such a deep hole, it can’t be filled in in a short time. And if you put these very same people back in power, that hole will just get deeper and deeper. And guess who is in the bottom of that hole….YOU. We are still down in that hole because the Republicans, have blocked most of the ideas the Obama administration wanted to put in place to bring us out.

The very same people, allowed the banking industry, to get rich at the American’s expense. And the Republicans still are allowing the banks to screw the American people, by watering down, or rejecting new rules, that will keep them from screwing us more. The banks right now in my opinion, are the reason America can not come out of this depression they put us in. They refuse to loan money to Americans that want to buy a house. They are refusing to loan money to the small businesses, to operate on a daily bases. I personally think it is a way they can get back at the President, because he wants to make them work in a legal way.

The day the American people can buy houses again, is the day this economy turns around. Until money is loaned, this will not happen. The only people that are making out on this bad economy is the people who have money. The repo man, the foreclosure companies. I could keep on going with reasons the Republican/Tea Partiers should not be reelected, but this should be more than enough for you to think about when you go into the voting booth.

Think about your children’s education, or lack there of.

Think about how you are going to make it in your senior years.

Think about the rights you think are American rights, or the lack of. Your vote will impact all of the things you used to love about America.

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/billy3452/blog#ixzz13aTRP42j

.

.

.

A Story Of A Car In A Ditch

As told by Senator Al Franken

When the President took office, not only had the car gone into a ditch, the car had flipped over and was rolling down a steep embankment. We, the American people, were in the back seat, and the Bush Administration had removed all the seat belts, so we were all flying around the interior of this car as it was rolling and flipping and careening down this steep embankment, headed to a 2,000 foot cliff. And at the bottom of that cliff were jagged rocks. And alligators.

Now, at noon on January 20th, 2009, as the car was careening toward the cliff, George W. Bush jumped out of the car.

President Obama somehow managed to dive in through the window, take the wheel and get control of the thing just inches before it went over the precipice. Then, he and Congress starting pushing this wreck back up the embankment. Now you can’t push a car up an embankment as fast as it careens down the embankment, especially if some people are trying to push against you. But we got it going in the right direction. And slowly we’ve gotten ourselves up the embankment, out of the ditch and onto the shoulder of the road.

That’s what happened.

.
.
.

Why Do republicans HATE America So Much?

http://republicanssucks.org/

Republicans have a LEGACY of DIRTY TRICKS and Criminal behavior going back to Richard Nixon and Water Gate, J. Edgar Hoover and Joseph McCarthy… (All Republicans)

In the 2000 election, it was REPUBLICANS who did everything possible to elect and install BUSH.. the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.  BUSH is also the most Despised President by people all over the world. 

It was REPUBLICAN Governor, BUSH’s brother Jeb Bush and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris who ultimately handed WORST PRESIDENT EVER BUSH…. the election and Presidency.  They accomplished this by throughing out thousands of votes in black neighborhoods in Florida. 

Republicans also used legal tactics to stop the vote recount thereby installing BUSH as President in 2000

BUSH was NOT elected by the people by popular vote….  Al Gore actually had more popular votes than Bush.

Prior to BUSH being INSTALLED as president, he was caught on a video BRAGGING how he will win the State of Florida and stated to a reporter ‘YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK!” (you can see this in the movie Fahrenheit 9/11) That is because he already knew the votes would be RIGGED by Brother Jeb Bush and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0621-11.htm

It was REPUBLICANS who challenged Democratic voters in Ohio in 2004 at polls and used tactics to keep Democratic registered voters from voting to get WORST PRESEDENT EVER BUSH Re-Elected.

Just goes to show how Republicans don’t give a DAM about the will of the American people OR Democracy.

Never in the history of exit poll data has there been there such a discrepantly which showed Kerry was winning and yet when the votes were counted, BUSH won. Phd Professors and Mathematic Scholars has certified that exit poll data has historically been accurate within 3% of the actual votes counted. They have stated that what happened in 2004 was mathematically impossible and the only explanation is that the 2004 election was RIGGED! 

Most people are too naive and too trusting of the US Government to believe that a election in the US could be Rigged but that is exactly what happened. Sure there were a lot of people who were STUPID enough to vote for BUSH, but if it weren’t for Republicans and supporters who Rigged the election, PLUS doing everything possible to keep Democratic voters from being able to vote, BUSH would not have been re-elected.

If you don’t believe FRAUD was involved in the 2004 election, click the links below.

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/2004votefraud.html?q=2004votefraud.html

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/2004votefraud_ohio.html  

“In Violation of Federal Law, Ohio’s 2004 Presidential Election Records Are Destroyed or Missing”  http://www.alternet.org/story/58328/

For 8 years, Republicans had control of the US Government by controling Congress and the Presidency.  I can’t think of ONE good thing they did that helped me and my family and the average Joe.  Republican supporters will say, “they kept us safe and prevented attacks”.  Well Bush and members of congress did not personally protect us, it was the Military and those who’s job it is to keep us safe and prevent attacks.  Those unsung hereos who do a great job of protecting us day in and day out who NEVER get the credit they deserve.   BUSH DID NOTHING!  He didn’t even get Osama Bin Laden.

Here are some undeniable facts:
Within days of 9.11.2001, BUSH allowed over 100 members of Osama Ben Laden’s family to leave the US without being questioned or interrogated.  Click this link to view video from 9/11 Coincidences  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs4eHvD-BrE

Republican President BUSH lied to the American people about Weapons of Mass Destruction being in Iraq and declared war on Iraq when they had NOTHING to do with 9/11.

It was and IS Republicans who are responsible for Thousands of American service men and women losing their lives in Iraq… a war which should have never been waged.

Republican President BUSH is directly responsible for the deaths of at least, 50,000 Iraqi citizens.

It is REPUBLICANS who are responsible for running up the largest national debt in the history of the US of 9 TRILLION Dollars because of their IRRESPONSIBLE, RECKLESS spending and inept Governing.

It is REPUBLICAN Business owners who have taken millions of jobs overseas. thereby putting MILLIONS of Americans out of work.

Republicans say they are for LESS government, yet THEY are responsible for Americans losing many of their rights such as legislation which has made search & seizure and wire taps legal without court orders. Now, thanks to Republicans, anyone can be declared a enemy combatant and put in prison for years without a trial.

My favorite quote in history is by Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775: “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”

Unfortunately much of our liberty has been taken away mostly by Republicans.

When it comes right down to it, REPUBLICANS don’t give a DAM about the American people or this country.

They just want to WIN at all and any costs.

They have proven this to be true by their own actions… such as;

* Having votes thrown out in Black Neighborhoods in Florida, plus using legal tactics to keeps the votes from being re-counted in Florida in the 2000 Election.

* Challenging Voters in Ohio in the 2004 Election..
* Do Anything, Say Anything to WIN Politics…
* Negative Attack Ads Designed to Destroy Their Opponent…
* Spreading Blatant LIES and Character Assassinations..

Click the Play button below and listen to this recording Produced by Republicans and Endorsed by McCain accusing Barack Obama of practically being a Terrorist and associating with Terrorists. As of 10/17/08 automatic Robo callers were calling Millions of Americans with this outrageous message.

More Evidence

This is Proof that…  REPUBLICANS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE TERRORISTS by Using Fear Tactics to Try and SCARE Voters Into NOT Voting For Barack Obama.   By appealing to people with racists feelings and those who will always hate black people and minorities.

They appeal to IGNORANT people… People who are too stupid to realize the truth and see the big picture. 

They appeal the DUMB ASS sideshow freaks like “Joe the Plumber”.

They appeal to GREEDY Corporate America and those who only care about the almighty dollar. 

REPUBLICANS are for BIG BUSINESS and CORPORATE AMERICAN.  Always have been… and always will be.

Republicans will CHEAT, INTIMIDATE, LIE, STEAL VOTES, USE LEGAL TACTICS to get THEIR candidates elected… as they have in the past.

Most Republican Congressmen are OBSTRUCTIONISTS and their only agenda is to do everything possible to make President Obama FAIL.  They are BITTER over losing the 2008 Election.  They are a Party of the PAST.

I will NEVER forget or forgive the REPUBLICANS for the DAMAGE they have done to this country!

.

.

.

The Dangers of Reactionary Politics

By Jordon Gary

One week ago, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich described the political outlook of President Barack Obama as “Kenyan anti-colonialism.”

The first thing we can deduce about the comment is that it is obviously derogatory. Putting aside for the moment the confusing anti-colonialism bit at the end, Gingrich is clearly saying that Barack Obama has a “Kenyan”—and therefore un-American—outlook, despite being born, raised, and educated in the United States.

As for the anti-colonialism bit, that’s a bit tougher. Gingrich seems to be equating Obama’s beliefs with those of radical movements that took place in African nations once their citizens were released from the oppressive grasp of European powers. The contemporary outlook on colonialism is that it was a cruel, unjust, and fundamentally racist system of imposing governance. If Gingrich thinks “anti-colonialism” is bad, does that mean he thinks colonialism is good? Does that mean that Gingrich—a man who was the third most powerful elected representative in America during the Clinton years—is racist?

Two days later, Gingrich spoke up again, this time calling Obama a “loud tribesman.” Yeah, he’s racist.

I’m talking about good old Newt because he is the latest in a series of bombastic conservative talking heads preaching—unfortunately quite successfully—about something that genuinely terrifies the hell out me: “reactionism.” You may be unfamiliar with this term, but you are probably familiar with the concept. Charismatic figures such as Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and, of course, Gingrich have tapped a freaked-out and unstable base of conservative Americans, and have united them under the banner of bringing back “the good old days.” You may know them as the Tea Parties, but this is only one affiliation among many that reactionary, conservative Americans associate with.

I want you to be scared of this too. I think every rational person should be scared of an ideology that abhors progress and seeks to restore the “greatness” of a closed chapter in our history. This reactionsim is especially absurd when you realize that the Golden Age that they seek to emulate stretched exactly from the beginning to the end of the Cold War.

Why do they miss fighting the intrinsically evil Soviet heathens? One answer is that it provided them with a clear, undeniable enemy—hating Muslims is a much more tricky business because, well, the vast majority of Muslims are not evil. A second, even more important answer is that this was the last period in American history in which white Americans had unquestionable economic and political dominance in this country and the world. With the election of a half-black President and the clear statistical inevitability of whites becoming a minority in this country, some white Americans now feel confused and helpless, especially when they are losing their jobs.

Their logic, while certainly wrong, can be easily understood. Reactionaries fear that, after centuries of oppression, ethnic minorities will use their newfound electoral and economic power to “punish” white people, a phenomena referred to as “reverse-racism.” How they can see Barack Obama and other black politicians as vindictive and bloodthirsty remains a mystery to me.

Conservatives also miss the Cold War era because it was seen as a triumph of Christian values over the steadfastly secular Soviet Union. In both the 2000 and 2004 elections, we all saw the power of the mobilized Christian Right as they twice elected George W. Bush into office.

What’s changed? First of all, one in five Americans now think that the President is a Muslim, and those sixty million people are mad about it. If I were a Muslim I would be deeply insulted that it should matter if there were a conspiracy theory that the President were a Muslim, but that’s beside the point. There is an overwhelming and false sentiment that Islam is an inherently “violent” religion, and that, my friends, is a slippery slope.

The fight against Islam’s perceived “assault on Christian America” has manifested in many different arenas. Perhaps the most publicized of these arenas is the debate over the proposed Islamic center near the site of Ground Zero. However, this debate is tame when compared to the Qu’ran burning that happened in Florida, as well as Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin’s highly religious and partisan rally at the Lincoln Memorial to “reclaim the civil rights movement.”

These conservatives are reacting to Islamic radicalism (which they refuse to separate from peaceful Islam) with Christian radicalism. A political movement based on religion is volatile at best, especially when opposition to another religion is at its core. Right now, the angry voices of this movement are getting far more attention than any others, and that’s exactly what is so frightening about this seemingly ludicrous movement.

If you are frightened too, I encourage you not to remain apathetic about political developments in this country. America cannot afford apathetic liberals right now. The Tea Party and other anti-intellectual movements will continue as long as educated, forward-thinking people sit by and dismiss them as an innocuous fad. We need a movement from the left that is loud enough to oppose reactionism and keep this country moving—albeit one inch at a time—in the right direction.

http://wesleyanargus.com/2010/09/29/the-dangers-of-reactionary-politics/comment-page-1/#comment-81701
.
.
.

"Fiscally Responsible" conservatives Spending MILLIONS On Mid Term Smears

The Republican Party and its allies are using a clear financial advantage to pursue a rare opportunity this year, spreading resources across an unusually large number of races, including many considered safe for Democrats just weeks ago.

The conservative push further endangers Democratic control of the House and Senate in a political environment already highly favorable for the GOP.

The GOP strategy, enabled by millions of dollars raised and distributed by interest groups, has opened up contests weeks before the Nov. 2 midterm elections and forced the Democrats to ratchet up their defensive spending in many districts.

But Nancy Pelosi put t best.

If Democrats can't match them in spending, said Pelosi, the party would tar Republicans by connecting them to corporate cash. "Of course, they all have euphemistic terms, "For Seniors" or "For Prosperity," or whatever it is, but really it's just cover," she said.

"Whenever you get hit with an overwhelming weight, you have to jujitsu it. So we want to turn it against them... I want to tattoo them right on to the Republican candidate," she said, smacking her hand for emphasis. "Big oil, big banks, big health insurance: We're going to tattoo you with that, so it's like doggy-doo stuck on your shoe. Wherever you go, people will know."
.
.
.

Newt Makes An Ass Of Himself AGAIN

Posted by McCamy Taylor in General Discussion
Thu Oct 07th 2010, 05:02 PM

 

According to Newt Gingrich, the Democratic Party is “the party of food stamps.” Does Newt Gingrich actually know anything about the food stamps program? Probably not. If he did, he would realize that the reddest state in the union, Texas, has more folks on food stamps than any other state. 3.7 million Texans need government assistance to eat. And the number has risen by almost 800,000 since last year---the largest growth in recipients for any state.

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemap...

So, according to Newt Texas is the most Democratic state!

Does Newt know (or care) that folks living in rural areas are more likely to need government help to put food on their tables? In 2005---before the recession---people who lived in the country were twice as likely to receive food stamps as those living in cities.

http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publica...

So, according to Newt rural America is more Democratic than urban America .

Does Newt know that the elderly as more likely to receive food stamps than younger adults? Does he know that children are also more likely to need Supplemental Nutritional Assistance in order to get the food they need in order to grow? Does Newt realize that the working poor receive more food stamps than folks on welfare?

http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published...

According to Newt, the Democratic Party is the party of the elderly, children and hard working (but struggling) Americans.

Does Newt know that unemployed Americans who have run out of unemployment benefits are one of the fastest growth groups in the food stamp program? The New York Times reported on this, and being a food stamp expert, I am sure Newt must have read the story.

“I went from making $180,000 to relying on food stamps,” she said. “Without that government program, I wouldn’t be able to feed my children

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/us/03foo...

Newt says that if you are unemployed, the Democratic Party has your back.

Does Newt know that the number of Americans using food stamps steadily rose during the Nixon presidency and the Bush Sr. presidency then declined during the Clinton administration? Does he know that food stamp use rose again during the Bush/Cheney administration? Doesn’t that make the GOP the party of poverty and food stamps?

http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411810_SN...

Since Newt obviously does not know shit about food stamps, maybe he is also unaware of the fact that more white folks live in poverty in this country---and receive aid for the poor, like food stamps---than members of any other racial group. These studies have been around for literally decades.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m107... /

All of this raises an interesting question. Does Newt know anything? Or is he 100% blind ambition, struggling to become politically relevant again in a country he does not even understand? Maybe Newt should go back to school and let the people who really know what the hell is happening in this country run the government.
.
.
.

Now You See It - Now You Dont

Republicans “Old Black Magic” and Hocus Pocus

Thu, 10/07/2010 - 07:54 — wilmerleon
 

Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell has released a new political ad in an attempt to downplay her 1999 statements about “dabbling” in witchcraft.  On Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect” program Ms. O’Donnell stated, “…I dabbled into witchcraft. I never joined a coven…One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar, and I didn't know it. I mean, there's a little blood there and stuff like that…" She opens her new ad by saying, “I’m not a witch; I’m nothing you’ve heard, I’m you …” Point of clarification; you are not us, most of us have never “dabbled in witchcraft”.

For Ms. O’Donnell to claim in her ad that she is, “nothing you’ve heard” poses a problem.  These statements about her are not based on hearsay. What we’ve heard we’ve heard from Ms. O’Donnell herself.  In court her statements about “dabbling in witchcraft” and her date on a “satanic alter” would be admissible as declarations against interest. Statements so prejudicial to the person making them that they would not have made the statement unless they believed the statements were true. Ms. O’Donnell unknowingly went on a date to a satanic alter?  Who was she dating Beelzebub?

As part of a debate on stem cell research Ms. O’Donnell told Bill O’Reilly on Nov. 15, 2007, “American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains.”  According to POLITICO, in a 2006 interview with O’Reilly she stated that condom use is “anti-human” and in 2002 Ms. O’Donnell told Phil Donahue that “condoms will not protect you from AIDS."  Now with a twitch of her nose and the blink of an eye our collective minds are supposed to be erased as though we never heard her say such things?  Her old black magic has us in a spell…

With a little slight-of-hand and a lot of hocus pocus, House Republicans led by minority leader John Boehner (R-OH) have presented the “Pledge to America”.  In it they claim (among other things) that a trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill was signed into law; the economy has declined and our debt has mushroomed with the loss of millions of jobs; and the president is going to raise taxes on roughly half of small business income in America.

Here are some facts that Boehner and other republicans would like to make disappear: according to Fact Check.org the CBO’s most recent estimate the stimulus spending will fall short of the $1 trillion claimed by the Republicans, even if it is spread over 10 years.  The CBO puts the price tag at around $814 billion. Over the past three years the economy has lost nearly 8.4 million jobs but according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics more than 4.4 million of those jobs were lost during the Bush administration. The economy has regained 723,000 jobs since President Obama has been in the Oval Office.
In terms of the president raising taxes on small businesses, again, according to Fact Check.org, “This is an exaggeration. Republicans are equating "net positive business income" reported on individual returns with "small business income," which isn’t correct. They rely on a report from the nonpartisan staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (p. 12), which estimated that about 3 percent of taxpayers who have any business income on their personal returns would see a tax increase under Obama’s proposal, and that those 750,000 taxpayers account for about half of all the business income reported. The JCT stated quite clearly that "These figures for net positive business income do not imply that all of the income is from entities that might be considered ’small.”

For as much as conservatives continue to slam “Obama Care” the reality is that as of September 23rd, families can receive free check-ups with their doctor, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage when someone gets sick, and young adults can stay on their parents' insurance plans until they are 26 years old.  Parents being able to keep their young adult children on their insurance plan is very important as the unemployment rate among recent college graduates has more than doubled over the past year to 4.3 percent.

When you add an “eye of newt” to this hocus pocus, conservatives like Newt Gingrich are using lies and distortions to play upon the fears of American people. Recently in an interview with National Review's Robert Costa former House speaker Newt Gingrich said, "What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]? ...This is a person who is fundamentally out of touch with how the world works, who happened to have played a wonderful con, as a result of which he is now president." Again, not so subtle code language playing to the fear of President Obama's Kenyan heritage and to the unfounded rhetoric of the "birther" movement. Actually, anti-colonial behavior is a good thing if you are a victim of colonialism. Gingrich’s reactionary politics are not practical but tactical.

As we move closer to the end of October and All Hallows Eve, Americans should not fall victim to the scare tactics, black magic, slight of hand, and hocus pocus of the Republican Party.  The truth is the light. Those running for office should be held accountable for what they say.  If American voters focus on the truth they will be able to see their way through these difficult times and work together towards a better day.

http://www.politicsincolor.com/node/296
.
.
.

The Stakes of the Upcoming Elections

The Stakes
Thu Oct 07th 2010, 01:26 AM

 

This election is not about Obama, Pelosi or Reid. They will do just fine no matter who runs the country. This election is not about more power for the Democratic Party. As one of only two viable parties in the richest nation on earth, the Democrats will always be flush with cash and power, on the state and local level if not in Washington.

This election is for Felicia, whose parents brought her to this country when she was nine months old. She did not ask to be an “illegal alien”. But her parents were offered jobs at a chicken plucking factory that did not want to hire citizens or legal immigrants, since that would mean overtime pay and OSHA inspections. Felicia was always a bright kid, and she worked hard in school. She graduated at the top of her class. Now, she attends a state college. She has to pay out of state tuition and she does not qualify for a grant (even though her family has paid sales, income and property taxes for 20 years). Somehow, her family managed to scrape together the money. She will graduate next year, and she has already been accepted to medical school, where she plans to study in order to become a rural family doctor. Too bad for Felicia that the Republicans view her as an “anchor” for a couple of aging lower wage earning chicken pluckers. Her hopes of medical school---and some small town’s dream of having its own doctor---will be dashed when she is deported, days after graduating magna cum laude---

This election is for Felicia---and the residents of a small town that will never get a doctor.

This election is for our firefighters. The Republican Party thinks that firemen are paid too much. And they think that local governments should get out of the public safety business and let private corporations take over. There is a lot of money to be made protecting a handful of wealthy people who live in well designed homes with smoke detectors and sprinklers. The right wing thinks that people who do not have enough money to pay their medical bills should not have fire protection either. If they have their way, fire fighters all across the country will be ordered to stand by and do nothing as the homes of “non deserving” Americans burn to the ground. I expect a lot of firemen will quit their jobs, in frustration and disgust---

This election is for the firefighters---and for the homeowners who will watch their life’s investment go up in flames.

This election is for Mary. Her kidneys are weak. With proper medical care, she could save them. However, the insurers will not write her an individual policy---pre-existing condition---and she is self employed, one of those “small businessmen” the Republicans are always going on about. The GOP is promising to repeal the health reform legislation that would allow her to get insurance by withholding necessary funding. Unable to see a doctor to get tests and medication, Mary’s kidney problem will get worse and worse---until she ends up on dialysis, at tax payers’ expense. She will have to close her business, which will put four more people on the unemployment rolls.

This election is for Mary—and for the families of her employees, who will be plunged into poverty.

This election is for Raymond, who is wasting away. Medical marijuana would let him keep down food, which would help him battle his health problems. But the Republicans have no intention of legalizing one of the most effective medications known to man. Their buddies who run the private prisons would much rather house a non violent offender---at tax payers’ expense---than real criminals.

This election is for Raymond---and for the families that will be broken to keep the for profit American prison system flush.

This election is for Terrance. He always dreamed of being a marine. After grueling training, he finally got his wish. He has fought for America in some of the most dangerous places on earth. But next year, some one will tell his CO that he was seen in a local restaurant with his male lover. This will be construed as “telling”, and he will be kicked out of the service, at a time when his country needs all the fighters it can get.

This election is for Terrance---and his country.
.
.
.

Terror Threats In An Election Year??? - I AM SHOCKED!!!

Posted by grantlawrence at 6:28 pm
October 3, 2010

Posted by grantlawrence on @ 6:28 pm

Article printed from speakeasy: http://blogs.alternet.org/grantlawrence

URL to article: http://blogs.alternet.org/grantlawrence/2010/10/03/just-in-time-for-the-us-elections-terror-threats/

Just in Time For the US Elections: Terror Threats

Image via Wikipedia
By Grant Lawrence
Bodhi Thunder 

Every national election cycle here in the US, the terrorists seem to be more active. Somehow they become more threatening and usually Osama Bin Laden (long bin dead) joins in on the threats.
This obviously pumps up the fear factor and encourages Americans to vote for pro-war candidates.

This election cycle is no different

Concern That Terror Teams Have Selected Targets, Ready to Strike –U.S. Weighs Travel Alert For Europe Because of Threat of Terror Attacks

U.S. to Issue Terrorism Alert for Travel to Europe

Osama bin Laden orders a UK attack: Mumbai-style gun blitz in Europe was his plan, say U.S. spy chiefs –Al Qaeda leader called for attacks on UK, Germany and France –U.S. may also have been a target…..(Source: CLG News)

You might think this is coincidental.

But in the disinformation and propaganda world brought to you by the managed right wing corporate media, there are no coincidences.
.
.

Fighting Fire With Fire

Facing a barrage of ad spending from conservative-friendly third party groups, Democrats are upping their attacks on the outside influence that threatens to drown out their messaging ahead of November's midterm elections.

Several House Democrats are demanding some of those outside ads get pulled from the airways and one senior Democratic senator wants an investigation into whether such groups are violating federal tax law.

On Wednesday, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, penned a letter to the IRS asking it to look into whether outside groups organized as 501-c4's, 5s and 6s are in compliance with the federal tax code.

Groups like American Crossroads GPS, Americans for Prosperity and Americans for Job Security, all of which have spent millions on ads in 2010, are among the targets.

At issue is whether the nonprofit groups, named for the sections of the tax code that govern them, are primarily engaged in political activity. In order to keep their donors anonymous and hold their tax-exempt status, the group's primary purpose cannot be political, according to federal law.

Still, the groups have poured millions into some of 2010's top Senate and House races, leading Baucus to question whether they're operating within the tax code.

more...

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/campaign-ads/122285...

.
.