Hypocrisy

1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.

If there is one party who can really step into a mess, it’s the Democratic party.

If there is one party who can exploit that mess, it’s the Republican party. The republicans have a viciousness to them, a ‘pit bull’ streak that finds an opening and goes in for the kill. And like any wild animal when cornered, the attack is bloody and savage. Just look at the attacks on Nancy Pelosi over the last couple of weeks.

“I think this is the most despicable, dishonest and vicious political effort I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

“She is a trivial politician, viciously using partisanship for the narrowist of purposes, and she dishonors the Congress by her behavior.” -Newt Gingrich

Accusations of ‘viciously using partisanship’ from Newt Gingrich are not only comical but over the top,unabated, pure hypocrisy. Newt is the poster child for being the loudest one to complain, condemn and prosecute  someone else for doing exactly the same thing he was secretly doing.  As if his infidelity while his mission to attack Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky affair wasn’t proof enough of his hypocrisy, his problem of using tax-exempt funding to advance his political goals should have limited his ‘Pelosi dishonors Congress’ rhetoric. But, it didn’t.

Newt is old news though, an unimportant politically partisan pitbull hoping his hypocrisy has been forgiven. It hasn’t.  But what about newer more relevant GOP members?

“Lying to the Congress of the United States is a crime,” Boehner said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And if the speaker is accusing the CIA and other intelligence officials of lying or misleading the Congress, then she should come forward with evidence and turn that over to the Justice Department so they can be prosecuted.”

He added: “And if that’s not the case, I think she ought to apologize to our intelligence professionals around the world.”

That’s right, Nancy Pelosi should apologize to the CIA from claiming that they have misinformed congress. It is a disparaging remark and like Boehner says, she needs to ‘put up or shut up’.

It doesn’t matter that Pelosi’s accusations that the CIA memo’s are misleading seem to be panning out or that even some Republicans agree that the briefing notes contain many errors, such as briefings that listed former Chairman Porter Goss as the head of committee when Rep. Pete Hoekstra had already taken over. Because Hoekstra says, those errors are meaningless

Of Course those errors are meaningless. It doesn’t matter that 2 separate briefings have a low-level staffer as  being in on the top-secret,code-word clearance briefings. It’s meaningless that this staffer says he was actually asked to leave, which would be expected since he  only  two walked members to the room. It doesn’t matter that this staffer,Paul Juola, has asked the CIA to “immediately correct this record.”

It doesn’t matter that former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham came out and said not only did the CIA hide details from him during his briefings, but that 3 of the 4 dates the CIA said they briefed Graham were in error

…he(Graham) asked agency officials to confirm how many times they briefed him on torture. They gave him four dates, but after Graham went through his personal records and disproved three of those dates, he said the agency admitted their mistake and confirmed that he had, in fact, received only one briefing.

When our intelligence agency says they briefed someone 4 times and they really only briefed them once, when they say the person who headed  the committee was someone who had already been replaced, when they say that they allowed a staffer in on a code-word clearance briefing, none of it is relevant, in fact it’s ‘meaningless’. But when you go out in public and say that the CIA is misleading congress, that disqualifies you as from continuing as speaker. Or so Newt Gingrich says.

“To have the person third in line to be president say that the CIA misleads us all the time is so utterly irresponsible and such an attack on the men and women who are risking their lives … that she disqualifies herself for being speaker of the House,”

Now, this has nothing to do with partisan attacks, Newt,Boehner and Hoekstra wouldn’t do that. No, they are truly outraged that someone would smear the CIA by claiming they have mislead congress on some issue…

Well, except when it’s Hoekstra, and the CIA has just destroyed torture video tapes that they were warned not to destroy. When that happens

…it’s important for Congress to hold this community accountable. This community did not tell — the CIA did not tell us about the existence of these tapes. They did not tell us that they were going to be destroyed. They need — there’s a Constitutional responsibility for them to keep Congress informed and they have not and we need to hold them accountable

Or so Mr. Hoekstra says.

It’s OK for Mr. Hoekstra to say the CIA  mislead Congress. Even better, when you are on Fox News being interviewed by Chris Wallace, it’s ok to get down right nasty on the CIA.

WALLACE: Congress man Hoekstra, Hayden appeared this week before your committee. Are you satisfied that over the years the CIA acted in good faith?

HOEKSTRA: No, I’m not. There are certain statements that might have been misleading to Congress as to exactly what existed. I think you’ve got a systemic problem here. I think the community is incomPetent. It is arrogant. And it has developed — it’s become political. This — you know, you take a look at wmd in iraq. They were wrong.

Hoekstra went even farther than just calling them arrogant,incompetant and saying that they have mislead congress , he also said

…you’ve got a community that’s incomPetent. They are arrogant and they are political, and they don’t believe that they are accountable to anybody. They don’t believe that they’re accountable to the president. They’ve clearly demonstrated through the tapes case that they don’t believe they are accountable to Congress. And when we are at war, that is a terrible position for the intelligence community to be. If they had done what they are supposed to do on the tapes, keep us informed, listen to the kind of recommendations that my colleague Jane Harman made to them, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion today. But because of their arrogance and their willingness to move independent, that’s it.

The CIA? they’re political? They don’t believe they are accountable the President much less Congress? They’re incompetent?  These are just a few of the things that are OK to say about the CIA, unless of course you’re Nancy Pelosi.

Quick question, if the CIA mislead Congress, destroyed evidence… are arrogant,political,incompetent and admittedly prone to briefing errors.. why exactly are we or the GOP taking anything the CIA says over Nancy Pelosi?

It wouldn’t be to get the stink of another political land-mine off of them would it?

“..when you say that the community is incompetent, I’m telling you I don’t have confidence in the community. You know, I have high confidence that the community continues to be broken and is not giving us as policymakers the information that we need to make good decisions.-HOEKSTRA

Hypocrisy

“She is a trivial politician, viciously using partisanship for the narrowist of purposes, and she dishonors the Congress by her behavior.” -Newt Gingrich

1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.

UPDATE

Yes, the CIA has lied to Congress and covered it up. I think Newt might be the one who should step down and go back into hiding, after apologizing to Pelosi of course…

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What the hell is wrong with Democrats? I don’t mean the vindictive bobble-head Pelosi, I’m talking about the idiots that are screwing up health care and trying to break California’s bank.

First we have democrats and union workers out in California crying foul that the The Govenator is forcing all state employees to take 2 days off a month without pay. So Arnie took them to court and won. Now the Democratic controller is refusing to follow the plan, which is forcing Arnie to go back to court and sue them again. I understand that huffing and puffing by the unions on this, it’s what they do.  But one woman is quoting as saying,

“It feels like we’re being punished because we chose a career in state government,” said Shelia Byars, 47, a hearing officer at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Van Nuys.

Ok first, NO ONE chooses a career  with the DMV. No one sits as a little girl or boy and dreams of that career.  I don’t know who she is trying to fool with that, I can only assume she is trying to fool the same people with her reason for not wanting to take the time off.

Byars, who expected to lose $400 a month, was among about a dozen union members protesting outside the agency’s office in downtown Los Angeles. She said it didn’t make sense to close 180 DMV locations because they collect revenue for the state through licenses and registration fees.

2 days off a month, equals a loss of $400? WTF? DMV workers make $200 a day? Damn, I’m going back to Cali…  I don’t think so.

What this stingy woman and the rest of the unions are missing is that  7.8 million American have been forced from their full-time job and into a part time position. 3.6 million American have completely lost their job since the recession started. California’s unemployment rate is over the national average of 7.6 at 9.3%.  On top of that they have a $42 Billion budget shortfall. But instead of thinking about all the people who are losing jobs

right and left, all of the people who will lose jobs if California doesn’t find $42 billion, the Democrat controller and the California unions are forcing the Government to spend more money and more resources to force them to follow a court order saying they must take 2 days off a month. It’s 2 days a month! The alternative is being forced to take 30 days off each and every month!  Christ! It’s take a village people, we’re all going to have to work together to help each other get through this. We’re all in an extreme emergency situation here,  I know it’s going to be hard, Believe me I KNOW. But look at the alternative, complete collapse of the state of California where all governmental agencies are closed. Imagine what life would have been like without the police during the riots or without the fire department during any year of fires. If the state controller won’t reduce the payroll of the states 15,000 workers then maybe 15,000 people should switch positions with 15,000 of the unemployed workers that are dying for some kind of job.

The second part of my “WTF are you doing Democrats?”, is the news that new health provisions have been inserted into the Stimulus.

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

Being able to track medical records,tests and prescription is such an amazing accomplishment that I can’t understand why we have done it yet. I used to work in a pediatrician’s office and I can’t count the number of times a newborn would come into the office for treatment and we would have not one single record of what the baby was seen for in the hospital, what medications it was one, what immunization they’d had, what tests have been done. So many of those children had to repeat bloodtests,needles,xrays all because there is no easy way to get health records from ER’s or even other doctors. So that reason for the upgrade is not only commendable, but it’s long overdue. It’s the 2nd part that is shocking.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446)

…

Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties.  “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)

What in the hell are you doing Democrats! This is effectively turning all health care into an HMO and we already know how shitty those are. In fact as democrat’s we’re supposed to be against businesses inferring in our lives and making our decisions for us. This is not what I signed up for when I said I would like to see a congressional/governmental-type health plan that is open to the nation. About the only thing that will make me change my stance and start rooting for this piece of shit is the snotty GOP member who says “I told you so.” like a snarky little bitch. Because no,  you didn’t tell me so. But you have fucked this whole thing up with your incessant whining about the Dems wanting some slight equality between the rich and the poor. It’s because of that whining that in order to get any kind of health reform we have to save massive amounts of money 1st and to do  that, we have to cut care. Your “I told you so” is nothing more than a self-fulling prophecy.

We should allow the doctors treating the patient to make the decisions on what the patient needs. Insurance adjusters or a government oversight committee have no business even dreaming of doing this. Unless of course you want to try a pilot program 1st and see how well it works, like say the Congressional Health Plan. Let them try this new criteria out for 12-24 months and the report back how well it worked out.

I still believe that there is a way to blend  both great health care and reasonable costs.

“..the federal government pays two-thirds of the premium and the Congressman pays the other one-third. This is comparable to insurance offered by many private employers.

It is legitimate to suggest that uninsured workers have the right to buy into one of the plans covering federal employees as a viable option for obtaining affordable health insurance. Since the group (all federal employees) is so large, the premiums are somewhat lower than policies offered to self-employed individuals or to the employees of small companies.

My mother has some of the best insurance I have ever seen, not only because of it’s cost but because of it’s coverage. Where did she get such great insurance and why is it so affordable? Because she was a mail carrier for 20 years and all mail carriers were allowed to buy into a fantabulous policy at an affordable rate because there were so many of them. Don’t tell me this couldn’t work on a national level! Don’t tell me that the US Postal Service is better at getting something done than the rest of us.

This single issue is enough for me to write and call my representatives and demand they vote NO the stimulus. I can overlook the retarded non-porkpork projects that the emotional stunted at 4 years old, Nancy Pelosi demands to be in there. I understand where her vindictiveness is coming from. For 8 long and painful years it was hard being a Democrat and being forced to swallow the lies,criticism,fear mongering and fraud thrown at us. It was hard to stand by and watch bills and money get passed around like drunken whores and having to stay quiet for fear that you would be labeled unpatriotic and told repeatedly that your service to your country was insufficient. To be slaughtered in public over and over for demanding a plan of action from your President in a post war Iraq,demanding fraud and theft be reigned in and daring to  so much as question your president. After 8 years of this kind of oppression it was bound to happen that once the Democrats won a victory, they would put the most vile of them all in charge to headbutt and kick the loser while he was down.  I understand this, even more I predicted it. I’ve said countless times to Republicans that eventually they would be on the bottom and when that happened,  the ones they oppressed for so long would stick it to them every chance they got. Like my screaming about the falling economy… it was just laughed at.

I understand her and some of the other Democrats cathartic need to ‘dance in the end zone’. So even though some of the planned projects, while creating jobs, could wait, I’m not ready to throw the entire stimulus out. For the same reason, I am not ready to throw it out because of the idiot tax-cut concessions that had to be made because whether they work or not, the GOP just has to have them in there. But this shit about letting a outside agency that has no direct knowledge of the situation at hand, deciding over the doctors and experts on hand which is the proper course of treatment will force me against this package.

I don’t know what the Democrats are thinking. Californians democrats would rather the entire state shut down than have 2 days off a month and Tom Daschle would rather a panel of ‘Joe the Plumbers’ decide our health care treatments.

This is not my idea of hope.

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Coming off a huge political map changing election, the first thing President Obama should do is walk into Nancy Pelosi’s office and demand that she, as the Speaker of the House, have a press conference and take blame for the mortgage failures that lead to the financial meltdown. No, he shouldn’t have Pelosi summoned to the Oval Office, he should walk himself into her lair. After he is finished making it clear to her who the democrat in charge really is, they both need to walk over to John Boehner office and demand the same thing.

In the spirit of true bi-partisanship it’s time for both sides to stop pointing the finger and just admit that they both screwed up. The Democrats wanted anyone and everyone to own a home so they helped to make the rules to buy homes a little bit weaker. The Republicans wanted less regulation and more money and saw an opportunity with the increased mortgages and opened the deregulated door to abuse. The only people that really care who opened which door are the guilty ones. The rest of us just want someone to stand up and fix the problem.

President Obama, coming to these 2 leaders instead of making them come to him sends a message. Coming off a massive election, he is the most powerful man in the world right now. With his massive wins not only with the popular vote, but the electoral college vote as well, he can get anything done at this moment. For him to walk over to Pelosi and Boehner puts the onus on them. His demands will either be met, or he will leave their office, hold a press conference explaining what he was doing and make sure that they are not elected when their terms are up.

Right now, in this country we don’t need to spend the time,money or effort on a bipartsian investigation that will conclude both parties are equally responsible. Let’s cut to the chase and get past the blame and onto fixing the damn problem.

With this new bipartisan love fest, all three can get together and find out just where in the hell $2 trillion went…

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Back when the country was deciding on that $700 billion bailout, there was another bailout going on that wasn’t really talked about. For the $700 billion one, the Troubled Asset Relief Program,TARP, Treasury Secretary Paulson and The Fed, Ben Bernanke, were screaming for transparency, oversight, and protection.

`We Need Transparency’

“We need oversight,” Paulson told lawmakers. “We need protection. We need transparency. I want it. We all want it.”

They wanted it, they begged for it, they were asked who they loaned $2 Trillion dollars to and told the person asking …. no comment.

Wait…what?

The idea behind not telling anyone who received the money from the bailout we don’t know about is if people and other buisness’ knew, it will hurt the person or entity getting the loan. I guess government welfare isn’t just embarrassing to the poor.

The lack of transparency is also to keep corporate banking secrets within the corporation and not in the public where anyone can see it. I can understand that part. I guess we, John Q. Public, don’t really need to know who we’re loaning trillions of dollars to or what we can expect from them in the form of collateral and a return of the loan. But I would hope that someone would know.

Turns out, someone does so we don’t need to question it any longer.

In an interview Nov. 6, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said the Fed’s disclosure is sufficient and that the risk the central bank is taking on is appropriate in the current economic climate. Frank said he has discussed the program with Timothy F. Geithner, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a possible candidate to succeed Paulson as Treasury secretary.

“I talk to Geithner and he was pretty sure that they’re OK,” said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat. “If the risk is that the Fed takes a little bit of a haircut, well that’s regrettable.” Such losses would be acceptable, he said, if the program helps revive the economy.

See, Barney Frank says that it’s all probably OK. He’s pretty sure The Fed priced the assets for the collateral accordingly, he’s pretty sure The Fed is giving it to worthy banks, and he’s pretty sure The Fed isn’t giving it to any ‘golden parachutes‘. Well, Ok he isn’t really sure about any of that because The Fed has refused to answer any questions on the $2 trillion subject, but if Barney says it’s probably safe, why do we need to question anything? Especially when there are more pressing question like what President Elect Obama’s policy for the missile shield will be, or who his chief of staff will be. Priorities man, Priorities. Shrouded in total secrecy is what the current administration has cultured and continues to grow, and it’s worked out swimmingly so far.

Besides, what’s there to worry about…Barney Frank said he’s pretty sure it’s ok.

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UPDATE

It’s getting worse.

The original idea behind the bi-partsian $700 Billion bailout plan was for the Governement to step in and buy up some of the troubled assets that were hurting banks,thus damaging the market. That was the plan as we and Congree were told.

But that’s not what has been going on, even with the full transparancy. What I don’t understand, is why is noone saying anything about it?

This morning Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson addressed a skeptical press about the latest plans for those 700 billion dollars that were appropriated for the “TARP” — or Troubled Asset Recovery Program. Now Paulson says Treasury won’t buy those “Trouble Assets” — one of the many metamorphoses this program has had in its young life.

Wait..What? You asked for a blank check for $700 Billion. Said that it would be used to buy up troubled assets, even called the program the “TROUBLED ASSET RECOVERY PROGRAM”..but a few weeks later you decide you aren”t going to buy ‘troubled assets’ anymore.

They are buying bank stock, not troubled assets. We probably shouldn’t call it the TARP anymore. Instead, they are focused on a capital purchase plan (CPP) which is the widely reported $250 billion plan to use taxpayer money to purchase a stake in banks

If you’re sitting there reading this, you might be thinking exactly what I’m thinking and that’s
“What the Fuck?”

When did this happen? Who decided this?

The original CPP participants were told about the program at a closed-door meeting at Treasury and no minutes have been released on what was said during the meeting.

So, a secret,behind closed door meeting with no record of it every taking place. Now I know you are asking yourself the same thing I am.. “Is Dick Cheney a shape shifter?”

Is it a coincidence that there is all the secrecy with The Fed and the Treasury Secretary when over the last 8 years, we have seen the most secretive and powerful Vice President in history? I don’t think so.

All shape-shifter joking aside, this is getting pretty damn serious. We’re buying banks.

There is roughly $125 Billion left out of the $700 Bailout, that’s not being used for what it was named after and what it was promised for. There is another ‘open-door’ program going on behind the backs of everyone that has a tab of over $2 Trillion so far that we know. Both programs seem to working on the idea of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Neither the ‘out in the open’ TARP program nor the other ’secret-key-holders only’ program seems to have any oversight whatsoever.

The Big 3 auto companies are withering and dying and begging for a hand and are being told ‘Yeah, sorry guys but we’re not socialist, and you’re not a bank so it’s sink or swim for you.”

Folks, while we were all worrying about whether or not Barack was a socialist because he wanted to help poor kids have healthcare, while we were distracted by some ridiculous campaign rhetoric, the biggest ‘bait and switch’ in American history has been playing out.

Ben Stein told Larry King the other night his version of a republican and that pretty much sums of my idea of them also…

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

STEIN: I want to see a return to the republicans like Dwight Eisenhower, balance the budget,small government, civil rights, no foreign adventures, keep the corporate people under control, watch them like hawks and that’s the Dwight Eisenhower Republicans and we’ve drifted far away. If we lose this election, it’s a chance for the party to return to its basics.

If they would just add in some social programs, I think I could be this kind of republican. But it’s the yearning for social programs that kicks me out of that party and into the literal/Democratic party.

Stein’s idea of a republican is also not what the GOP is practicing these days. Today they are all about super-sized spending and super-sized intrusive government. But that is for another blog…I want to talk about a couple of comments I’ve received.

Obama’s plans don’t actually help you. They provide a short-term benefit, but in the long term, even from a welfare point of view, are detrimental, as those who create jobs and wealth will slowly withdraw from the system.

Reading your message, it seems that you are saying that you feel entitled to take the fruit of my labor and utilize it for your own needs. I had always thought that you were a liberal, not a communist. Punishing those of us who work hard, and pair that hard work with a great deal of risk, will destroy our desire to achieve. When that happens, there will be no one left to steal from, I mean over-tax.

Another thing that Obama will ruin is charity. I have given around $15k to the food pantry at my church this year. When I close the doors at my business, or even if I stay open, who is going to fullfill the void I leave? Are you going to give a portion of the money, stolen from me by Obama’s big government, to this food pantry? Doubtful. And because these folks won’t be serviced by the pantry, Obama gets his wish – greater dependance on government help. This will snowball out of control…

There is so much wrong with this and other comments I’ve seen, such as

There is nothing in the constitution that provides for social programs from the federal government. If you want food stamps or free health care, get if from your State. but I am clearly for a far less big and intrusive Federal government that you are. I’m not sure if you recognize limits on Federal power. Is there anything that you think the federal government should not provide? Food (stamps), Housing, job training, daycare, health care, dental care? subsidized mortgages, subsidized anything?

There seems to be this misconception that the only who people would benefit from Obama’s tax breaks are the poorest of poor, or when Obama comes into office it will be food stamps and free healthcare for everyone. There is also this misconception that Obama is talking about implementing this new idea of a progressive tax system and a rebate via a new concept called the earned income child tax credit. Since both of the these programs were not only invented by High-adored Conservative Republicans, but were also strengthen by what I have been told is the “Obama version of the Republican party”, Ronald Regan, I am completely baffled by the outrage.

What both persons commenting don’t understand is that there will always be the poorest of the poor who get food stamps and free-healthcare. It doesn’t matter what president in office so that argument should be out to rest.

Image via Wikipedia

Just because a Democrat is in the oval doesn’t mean the poor will get more free-stuff, just look at the biggest welfare reformer of all times, Bill Clinton, if you doubt that. Even that is not the issue though, the issue is … so what? So what if more people get more in food stamps and some kind of healthcare? Is it a drain on our economy? Yes, but so was that bridge to nowhere that Palin said no thanks to, when she really didn’t and even after she said she did, she kept the damn money. So is the billions that have been mismanaged in the Iraq war. But those are Republican-made spending so they are not evil and despotic, it’s only evil and despotic when the money will go to help a newborn get their polio vaccination or an 4.0 A student pay for their college.

Do I want my friends money taken from him and given to me so I can go out and party like it’s 1999? No. Do I want the same kind of tax-break that Donald Trump has been given over the last 8 years? Yes! Why does he deserve it more than me? Because he is wealthy and he employs thousands of people? Because if he doesn’t get it, then he will pack up and leave the country?

Bullshit on both accounts. First and foremost, under Obama he’ll have to fire his employees,close his doors and move to Ireland. Ya know what? Good, get the fuck out, we don’t want your unpatriotic, extorting ass here anyway and I don’t care how many people you employ! Because guess what? This is America and we still have the best of the best of anything, health professionals,retail stores,entertainment and while you may

Image via Wikipedia

decide to move out, you’ll damn sure be back every chance you get to patronize us in some way.

I want to see all walks of life in this country get some kind of fair taxation, I want to see everyone in this country come together and help one another and I am the unpatriotic one? But when a business owner threatens to send his employees into the financial ruin, leave the country and give another country his buisness and employ their citizens, he’s the patriot? Bullshit!

“I’ll give less to charity” is another reason why we shouldn’t vote for Obama. Again, Bullshit! You cannot hold a gun to a poor person head and threaten them with death if a certain president is elected and call that patriotism. I know Tony Soprano would, but come on! You are extorting churches and charities now to prove your point?

NO, what you are doing is taking your ball and going home because you are pissed that you didn’t win the game. It’s a temper tantrum plain and simple.

This is a great analogy for those against the current progressive tax system

If you went to dinner with 10 people from your company, and you made more than everyone else, and everyone ordered the same exact meal, how do you divide the check?

The bill comes to 100 dollars. (I like round numbers.)

Because you make more than everyone else… you are now required to pay $50 for the meal.

Three of the people make middle income, so they have to pay $15 each.

Three more people make a modicum of income. They pay $5 dollars a piece.

The other three get their meal and the receive $3.33 to go home with.

Is that fair?

To some, it is. To others, it is not.

Is that fair? Of course in a perfect world it is not. Just because some people are more wealthy than others they shouldn’t be forced to pay more. But this is not a perfect or even fair world. For the last 8 years, using the ‘dinner tab’ analogy, the middle income guy has shouldered not only his share, but the share of the bottom guy and the top guy because the poor guy will never have the money no matter who is president and under the current administration and the McCain administration, the top guy isn’t paying his share either. Obama wants to change this, he wants to make the top guy pays his full share so it gives the middle guy a little bit of a break.

This is not socialism. This is not me taking money from my rich friends. This is me telling my rich friends that I can no longer pay my share and their share of the costs to live in the country.

Even Warren Buffet’s blasted the current tax system

Buffett cited himself, the third-richest person in the world, as an example. Last year, Buffett said, he was taxed at 17.7 percent on his taxable income of more than $46 million. His receptionist was taxed at about 30 percent.

No, the richest 1% shouldn’t have to have their money taken from them to pay for the people who will always look for the handout, but neither should I.

No, the richest 1% shouldn’t be the only ones to pay for our schools,roads, military and law enforcement, but I shouldn’t be the one to shoulder my burden of the cost and their burden of the cost.

Will Warren Buffet benefit less than his secretary will benefit more is the question. As long as he is paying his share and not making her pay hers and his portion, both will benefit. More money in her pocket gives her more money to spend on his products.

I understand why someone would take their business and their money to another country if their taxes were outrageously high. Rolling back George Bush’s tax credit does not constitute ‘outrageously high’ though.

I understand that noone wants to pay more taxes but don’t ever tell me that you should not have carry your burden of the cost to live in this country because you make more money than me. We all pay to live in this society and if we want to be safe and have a strong military we will have to pay for them, so stop demanding that you should get to pay less because you make so much more.

I love my wealthy friend to death and will miss him when he moves. And while he won’t be able to count on the same things in his new country that I can count on here, what he can count on is that under John McCain, I will still here paying my share and his share ensuring that this country will be here for him when decides to come home and shop. I only hope I will be able to bear this burden and not give up on my country and become one of the poor who is forced to live off the system or else he won’t have a motherland to come back to.

The wealthy can give up and move to another country if they are taxed, but the middle class, when they finally give up or just break will have nowhere to go except to the food stamp office.

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Taxes.

John McCain keeps saying that Barack Obama is going to raise everyone’s taxes, redistribute the wealth and most of all that he is socialist…. Yes, McCain said the “S” word today. I think I finally see the problem. Somewhere along the way the Republicans have turned the word “socialism” into meaning Communism with despotic rule. This is bullshit scare-tactics at it’s finest. Democratic socialism is as much communism as Sarah Palin is a Rhodes Scholar.

Socialism is liberal. More people (preferably everyone) have some say in how the economy works. Democracy is liberal. More people (preferably everyone) have some say in how the government works.

Communism is conservative. Fewer and fewer people (preferably just the Party Secretary) have any say in how the economy works. Republicans are conservative. Fewer and fewer people (preferably just people controlling the Party figurehead) have any say in how the government works.

A common mistake is to confuse Socialism, the economic system, with Communism, the political system. Communists are “socialist” in the same way that Republicans are “compassionate conservatives”. That is, they give lip service to ideals they have no intention of practicing.

Or

Socialism is the grey area where some things are planned (Say Healthcare or Coal mining) but Communism is where all major facets are planned and controlled (Say Bread prices, Jobs, Land ownership), etc.

Our problem here is that we want better education, we want a space program that rivals china, we want our fire and police departments to respond quicker and get paid more, we want our soldiers to fight wars on all fronts and protect us from evil. We want roads without potholes and bridges that don’t actually crumble. But we don’t want to pay for any of it.

Somewhere along the way, Republicans have convinced their base and some of the independents that a magical fairy gives us all of these things..

and if Democrats ever get elected, that charming little creature will die.

In Florida we have a horrible school system. Why? Because we also have a retirement community that votes against raising taxes by a a penny to help our schools. Why should these retired transplants pay an extra cent for schools when their kids are either grown or living in another state. Our schools are on a bare-bones budget already this year, with having to cut $150 Million from their budget, only to look forward to another 10% cut next year. But hey, not my kid, not my school, not my problem. It’s the same thing with our roads or transportation. I want better roads and I want high-speed rail, but I damn sure don’t want to pay an extra penny for it.

What’s wrong with all of us paying a little bit to enhance our world for everyone, instead of letting the guy on wall street, who takes a helicopter to work everyday, keep his tax break.

I am so tired of reading the scare tactics from the right….. Obama wants to take your money and give checks to poor people. No, what he wants to do is to get the ones who can afford to, pay a little more. How much more? 39% instead of 36%. OH my God! The nerve of that uppity man asking Donald Trump and Warren Buffet to pay $39 dollars on every $100, instead of paying $36 dollars like I would.

Ask yourself, is that $3 difference going to hurt me or Bill Gates?

What McCain wants to do is let me and The Don keep our $3… That sounds great. But so does having an education system where the teachers don’t have to supply their own classes with outrageous things like paper and pencils. It sounds pretty damn good to have our kids taught with books from this century or SWAT teams across the country to have the same kind of firepower the criminals have so that they aren’t outgunned. It’s also a great idea if the fire department could have a portable communication device that actually works and lets them communicate dangers and evacuation orders to each other.

But really, to make the Don pay $3 more than me to get these things is Red Communism at it’s finest. It’s ok that our soldiers have to buy their ammo and body/truck armor. There soldiers, they’ve learned to overcome and adapt. Richard Fuld on the other hands needs his $30 million dollar Park Ave. penthouse and his $14 million beach house.

The problem isn’t wealth. The problem is greed. No, it’s not going to hurt Donald Trump to pay an extra $3 compared to me. It’s just going to piss him off because he doesn’t think he should have to pay more than me. I get that, those are his profits and he wants to keep them, but when they are his losses, well those he’ll gladly share with everyone.

The Washington Nationals.

Damn the republicans are good. There are really really good. We don’t torture anymore, now it harsh interrogations. When we unlawfully and secretly detain someone, it called rendition instead of kidnapping. We call it climate change instead of global warming because no one can agree whether global warming is happening, but they can agree that climate change is…Taking old definitions and making new one. It’s delicate and artful.. hell, it’s as masterful as anything Da Vinci did and the Republicans are good at this.

Obama want to nationalize healthcare which will be to the detriment of our medical community and our country. See how brilliant that is?

Here is what Obama has said, see if you can spot the differences.

He wants to let people join a national plan to help make healthcare affordable. If you have insurance now and you like it, you keep it. If you don’t have health care, he wants to open the congressional plan to everyone to buy into.

Do you see it?

He wants to Nationalize healthcare and give it to everyone.

He wants open a National plan, and make it affordable to everyone.

They’ve taken the word “National” and changed the meaning to “Nationalize”. Military life is ‘nationalized” you go where they tell you, you eat when they tell you, you dress and look the way they tell you, you wake up and go to sleep when they tell you. What we did for Wall Street and the banks to help them out is Nationalization. Making a healthcare plan ‘nationwide’ and ‘affordable’ for people to ‘buy into’ is not nationalization.

Consider, If all the Disney Worlds Parks across the world went to Blue Cross/Blue Shield(BCBS) and said “We want a healthcare package for all of our employees to buy into”… The plan would be huge, how could it not be when Disney employees hundreds of thousands of people. But the cost of that plan per person is almost nil. Why? Because the more people in the plan the more ‘affordable’ it is.

Ya see that? ‘affordable’. It’s as plain as day. Obama want affordable health care. Meaning people will have to buy it, meaning he’s not giving it to everyone, meaning he’s opening the pool to more people so it’s more affordable for everyone.

This whole time I, and others, have been letting the Republicans get away with this play on words. We need to stop!

“He wants to nationalize it and all you have to do is look at how Medicare is run to know the Government would fuck it up.” Only a Republican can get away with condemning their government’s ability while saying how proud they are of it and noone says “what?”. We have allowed the word play between “National” and “Nationalize” to go on. We need to stop.

John McCain wants to give your insurance company a check for $5000. He’s made you believe that he wants to give this to You…. But he doesn’t. You won’t get a check every year for $5000, your insurance company will. Remember, McCain doesn’t like cutting checks to people, but he’s happy to cut them to BCBS. I guess this sounds good to some people, the people who like to change definitions, but lets apply Mickey’s Buoyancy theory here.

The buoyancy theory is that if everyone started off with a $1milliion dollars, then the cost of everything else would rise. Joe the plumber will charge you $80,000 to snake your toilet because money is no longer a ‘rare’ product.

So what happens when all across the country insurance companies start getting a $5000 check? Buoyancy happens. They raise their plans up by $5000. So not only are you not getting the money, McCain is giving money to insurance companies.. He’s against redistributing wealth, but not when that wealth is going to Big Business, only when Joe the plumber might get a rescue. McCain’s plan doesn’t lower healthcare costs, it actually raises them. His plan isn’t to help you, it’s to give more money to another wall street company! But maybe they need it more than we do.

Would you like to Biggie size that…

For so long we have heard the cries of “we don’t want more government in our lives” This is a joke! An absolute joke and we Dems have been too stupid to be in on it. No, they don’t want more government. Not when it’s to benefit every class. But for despotic rule? Sure. The Republicans/conservatives are more than happy to have government protect us with surveillance and wiretapping, torture and the Pat act. They want the government to tell us in writing that gays cannot marry, they want the government to tell us that we can’t burn an American flag and they want government to tell us what we can or can’t do with our bodies. No, they don’t mind having a huge government in every aspect of our lives and we need to stop letting them get away with saying the opposite. If we are going to allow the government the right to suspend habeas corpus and then torture us, then we should also allow the government to open a nation-wide healthcare plan for everyone.

Stop letting them lie. Start calling them on it when they say they don’t want bigger government in their lives, change the argument and tell them that asking for an amendment to make it illegal for 2 men to marry is letting a bigger government in their lives. When they said Barack would nationalize the medical community give them a dictionary and help them understand the difference between nationalization and a Nationwide plan. And finally when they scream “No new Taxes” tell them that you are OK with paying $3 dollars more to help employ more teachers, police, firefighters, and ambulance divers and you are OK with not only giving them the proper equipment, but also giving our soldiers who are fighting for us, the proper gear that they need.

There’s no need to get angry and hostile. No need for attack ads. We just need to learn to stay on topic and not let them change the argument into one we can’t argue, like we all, including me, have done for too long. The Republicans aren’t opposed to Socialism or Nationalization. They are only opposed to you and me having them. We’re, you, me and Joe-taxpayer, are paying off the debts of the huge corporations, while allowing them to privatized their profits. We pay off their bad loans and they keep the money they make off them. .

Like the skewering of words in Baracks plan, it’s time stop letting them get away with changing the words around to make it sound better or worse to enhance their arguments. Damnit, . It’s not a ’rescue’ It’s Socialism for cooperate America and free-market capitalism for everyone else, and it’s time we call them on it.

What kind of America are we leaving for our children?

Over the last few years individual rights have become a shadow of their former selves while the government exploded in size and spending. We have all sat back and ignored the slow plan for the Government to take over full control of our lives. All my life I have heard people say “We’re the United States of America, that would never happened” and yet when it does happen,little by little, we ignore it because we are too busy running to hide under our beds because the terror alert level has changed colors. The world has been pulled over our eyes to blind us from the truth. …and we have allowed it

In 2005, the supreme court ruled in favor of Emminent Domain. In other words the power of the state to take private property for public use with payment of compensation to the owner.. The court decided that we no longer have the right to keep our homes when big buisness wants them. If the Government or big business would rather have your land or your home, they can take it from you. They decide who gets to keep their homes and who doesn’t.

And we watched and said nothing.

In 2001 the Patriot Act was signed into law. Among many other civil rights violations,it allows for the secret search,seizure and hidden detainement of anyone the Government suspects is a threat. They don’t have to prove a threat and with the new FBI law set to take place on Oct 1, they don’t even have to have any evidence you are a threat. They just have to think that you might be dangerous.

Read that again, they only have to think that you might be dangerous.

This is not just for international terrorism anymore. Ironically that has always be the ‘pro’ argument. That this kind of thing was A-OK because it only affected the international terrorist and would never be used against the people of this country. I have had many arguments over just this thing. I have said that once you open the door to one level, it opens the doors to the entire spectrum. The pro argument has always been, “We’re the United States of America, that would never happen”. Well it is, starting Oct 1, those new guidelines go in place for criminal activities on the local level.

That door only needed to be opened a little and over the last 8 years it was beaten down with a battering ram.

This year the Government stepped in to save 2 mortgage giants, Fanny and Freddie Mac, from certain ruin. No matter how you look at it this was needed, the alternative was the total collapse of the housing market and the ruination of wall streeet. But while this was needed to head off financial destruction the end result is that we let Government step in a gain more control of our personal lives. Now they not only own the mortgages to our homes, with Eminant Domain they decide who can keep them.

And we watched and said nothing.

Also this year the Government stepped in to bail our Bear Sterns. J.P. Morgan bought the troubled company with a guarantee that the Government (the taxpayers) would absorb Billions of potential loss. Today, Lehman Brothers is looking for the same deal. They are looking towards China to buy them out with our Government (the taxpayers) absorbing the potiential loss. Tomorrow it will be the 3 Detroit giants. They are on the verge of collapse and as of right now are trying to stop it on their own but if they are unable, will look to the Government for another Bear Sterns-like deal.

I was asked how I could convince someone who against big Government to vote for Barack Obama when he’s had over 800 bills in his short time in office. My answer was to look at the bills before deciding that they were all bad and all about bigger Government. My answer should have been; in the last 8 years has the Government gotten smaller while the individual has gotten bigger? That answer is a resounding NO! So why would any Republican still vote for the party that has not just become big Government, but an almost totally controlling Government that spends outrageous amounts of money?

Where are the free market Republicans?

On the liberal front. To disagree with the Govermennt has now become UnAmerican and Unpatriotic.We’ve even allowed it to become criminal. Protesting is now just a jaw-tingling, acid-flashback. Today you are put in an area away from that which you are protesting. You are hidden, your voices muffled.

And we still watch and say nothing.

The things that the liberals have been screaming about for the last 8 years and the same things the conservatives have mocked and laughed at are almost all in place. The Government decides when dissent is unpatriotic and criminal, they decide where to hide anyone who voices out against them, they control the financial and housing market and before long the automakers.They spend every taxpayers money like there is an endless supply of it. They decide on an international and local level just who is a criminal, who should be secretly investigated and secretly detained without legal counsel,without evidence and just because they ‘think’ you ‘might’ be doing something.

This isn’t what the Republican vision is. This is Orwell’s predictions.

We are the country that stops this from happening to other countries. We are the worlds police. Whether asked or not, we will fight for other countries rights to individuality, we will die for their rights to vote and to chose their way of life. We are the world’s police and we don’t let the bad guys win. But ask yourself this.

Who is going to help us?

There isn’t another country out there like ours who would or could come in and help us as a nation of people. Oh they might come in to help themselves (see china), but they wouldn’t be here for our benefit. WE are our last hope. Face it, we are the only ones out there who can help us. We are the ones who have to make a difference and change the path that we have been on. True Red Republicans don’t like what’s been done to their party anymore than liberal Democrats like what’s been done to their country.

Experience has lead us down this path of destruction, you only have to look over the last 8 years to see what we have lost and what the Government has gained and how bloated and massive it has grown. Maybe it is time to let inexperience take control. If that doesn’t work then in 4 years change it. If that still doesn’t work….change it again.!

If the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over expecting different results, what is it when you do the same thing over and over, knowing the results are going to be against all of your core beliefs and you keep on doing it anyway.

Vote early
Vote often
And if we’re lucky, the rumor I heard that gas will be a $1 in March 2009, will be a fact.

Why is McCain even wasting his time and the party’s money. Sure the polls put him pretty much dead even with the Messiah, but c’mon…Hillary was close too. In fact Hillary wound up beating the Messiah only to be questioned every single night “why is she in it” “what does she want” “when will she quit” “what, does she think she can win” “she’s dividing the country” blah blah blah until she was finally tossed away and forgotten like a cheap whore… Didn’t McCain pay any attention? Or has he just forgotten?

Dude, why don’t you just retire already.

Why don’t you just stop your campaign and go back home.

You can’t win.

Hillary won the popular vote and where is she?

It doesn’t matter if you win the popular vote McCain. The electoral vote will go towards the Messiah and they count more than us little people who can‘t decide for ourselves who we want to lead us.. Just like the super-delegates votes counts more that the regular delegate.

McCain, you’re doing nothing but making a mockery out of the Republican party. The mighty-mighty Republican party, the party of Reagan for God’s sake. The longer you stay in the race, the more divided this country will be. But more than that, the more you will hurt the GOP. Your little stunt yesterday? You know, where you thought you could go up against the Messiah and the media? Remember? What? One reporter was there to look at you? One whole reporter. What did you think, that the media would care? HA! They had the Messiah’s 3-pointer to cover. And today? While the Messiah was giving the sermon from the mount, did you really think anyone at that German restaurant cared that you were there? Hell no they didn’t. The chosen one was speaking and all must show reverence and ululate and then genuflect or else the Messiah will leave us. Didn’t you watch any of the Hillary vs. Messiah race?

Speaking of race….. Lance Armstrong? Really?…. Um, he’s like stupid. What ever happened to Chuck Norris. Did you know that Chuck Norris once challenged Lance Armstrong in a “Who has more testicles?” contest. Chuck Norris won by 5.

Did you know that there are no steroids in baseball. Just players Chuck Norris has breathed on.

On his birthday, Chuck Norris randomly selects one lucky child to be thrown into the sun

So where is he?

Oh…. My….God.

Now I understand….

Now I see …..

The Messiah ate Chuck Norris.

I know… ridiculous right? Sadly it isn’t. It’s the truth (well, the messiah didn’t really eat Chuck Norris). Any day now the media will begin to question why McCain is even running. The same media that is now making a mocking of their own coverage over the soon to be anointed one. Hell they are already rejecting his op-ed’s until he can make it more like the Messiah’s.

They know what they’re doing..but that isn’t stopping them from acting like 12 year old school girls backstage at a Jonas Brother concert. McCain should have seen this coming and prepared better for being the sacrificial lamb. Then again, did anyone see all of this blind devoition coming? Sure there was adoration for the Messiah when he was up against the Clinton machine. But did anyone see this… “invasion of the body-snatchers meets Jim Jones, David Koresh, Charles Manson-like cult love”?

The scariest part of this is that this fervor is no longer found in fringe journalism or local media. This is coming from the 3 biggies, CBS,NBC,ABC. The granddaddies of all news media have now been assimilated. Resistance is now futile. There will be no more investigative journalism when it comes to the Messiah. No story on earth will make the Granddad’s go against the Messiah. We saw what happened when the administration we have now had free reign from the media. Only now, not only is the media involved, the entire world is backing this man. The world wants him as president. (yes, that is a real website)

We’re fucked……. We are so fucked.

But what if the Messiah doesn’t live up to … Wait…what am I saying, it doesn’t matter if he lives up to anything.. He hasn’t done anything to live up to and look at the mania surrounding him.

I’ve asked so many times…. “What has he done in his political or personal life to show that he deserves this and can be the leader then entire world wants him to be?” I have yet to get an answer. So I have a new question, one that I hope will get an answer and make my life so much easier and ‘flower-y’… Where the hell is the punch bowl? I want to be blinded by a semi-precious smile and a great (when rehearsed 1000’s times) speech giver. I want to be assimilated to save my sanity….. So where in the hell is my blue pill?

Breaking news: The Surge worked.

Actually it’s not so breaking.  The results have been apparent for several months now.  Civilian casualties are down, military casualties are down, and acts of violence in general are down.  Iraq is no paradise, but on the other hand it’s not quite the hell on earth that could have safely described it in 2006.  It’s hard to argue now that it was the wrong strategy, so let’s take a look down memory lane and see who opposed it eh?

Senator John Kerry:  “The simple fact is that sending in over 20,000 additional troops isn’t the answer–in fact, it’s a tragic mistake. It won’t end the violence; it won’t provide security; …it won’t turn back the clock and avoid the civil war that is already underway; it won’t deter terrorists, who have a completely different agenda; it won’t rein in the militias.”

Kerry’s fellow Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy, declared the surge, “an immense new mistake.”  Kennedy actively tried to fight sending any more troops.

Senator Christopher Dodd, former Presidential candidate and onetime threesome partner with the previously mentioned Senator Kennedy:  “We don’t need a surge of troops in Iraq–we need a surge of diplomacy and politics. Every knowledgeable person who has examined the Iraq situation for the past several years–Baker and Hamilton, senior military officials, junior officers–has drawn the same conclusion–there is no military solution in Iraq. To insist upon a surge is wrong.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer (really, is that his real name?), when asked is she was worried that the gains of the surge might be lost if the troops were removed too hastily, “There haven’t been gains, Wolf…The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure.”

Governor Bill Richardson, former Presidential candidate and yapping Vice Presidential wannabe had this to say on the surge:  “The president is wrong. We don’t need anymore troop surges, we need a diplomatic surge. We must get all our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible.”

Senator Joseph Biden, yet another former Presidential nominee, and currently running for either Obama’s Vice President or his Secretary of State, whichever will put him in front of the cameras the most, told this to Secretary of State Rice on the surge:  “We heard a plan to escalate the war, not only in Iraq but possibly into Syria and Iran as well…I believe the President’s strategy is not a solution, Secretary Rice, I believe it is a tragic mistake.”

And of course Senator Hillary Clinton, who tried to play the man in her ultimately failed Presidential race against Senator Barack Obama:  “Based on the president’s speech tonight, I cannot support his proposed escalation of the war in Iraq…The President simply has not gotten the message sent loudly and clearly by the American people, that we desperately need a new course. The president has not offered a new direction, instead he will continue to take us down the wrong road, only faster.”

There was some Democratic support however.  Senator Lieberman said this in support of the surge:  “it’s just unfair to our troops implementing the surge, to Gen. Petraeus, who helped create this totally different strategy — which is working — to essentially pull the rug out from under them, to take away their reason for fighting before they even have a chance.”

Oh wait, Lieberman is an independent now.  Although he caucuses with the Democrats he is regarded as traitor.  Quite a fall from being the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate 7 plus years ago.  But I don’t want to make it sound like only Democrats opposed the surge.  There was some Republican opposition as well. 

Retiring fence sitter and amateur historian Senator John Warner had this to say, “Young men and women of US forces and coalition forces should not be caught in the crossfire of a civil war prompted by who should have succeeded Mohammed in — what is it? — 650 AD?”

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, who teased the country on his decision to think about deciding to consider whether to entertain the notion of running for President, had this to say:  “This is a dangerously wrong-headed strategy that will drive America deeper into an unwinnable swamp at a great cost. We cannot escape the reality that there will be no military solution in Iraq.”

But right now, the opinions of those who matter most are the two Presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama.  Come January of next year, no matter who wins, George Bush will be packing his bags and whatever White House towels he can get away with.  As he leaves, his policies leave with him.

McCain’s views on the surge are well known.  In fact, you could argue that he risked his political career on the surge.  But what did fellow contender, Barack Obama have to say?

Before the surge: “It is clear at this point that we cannot, through putting in more troops or maintaining the presence that we have, expect that somehow the situation is going to improve, and we have to do something significant to break the pattern that we’ve been in right now.”

After the surge was announced:  “I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq are going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse.”

Of course you will have to look a little bit for Obama’s earlier comments now.  He scrubbed his website to clear out his previous anti surge comments.  Now, guess what?  The surge worked:  “In the 18 months since President Bush announced the surge, our troops have performed heroically in bringing down the level of violence. New tactics have protected the Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda–greatly weakening its effectiveness.”

Hey, anyone can be wrong.  It’s possible that someday I might be wrong about something.  It’s not likely, but never say never.  But it’s stunning when an entire political party is wrong about something so important.  The Democratic Party and the mainstream media was as one on the idea a year and a half ago that the surge couldn’t work and shouldn’t be tried. 

In this election, Barack Obama isn’t running on the experience card.  McCain has that locked up.  He’s running on his judgment. Because he opposed the war on Iraq, he is somehow supposed to have better judgment?  Sean Penn opposed the war too and he thought it was a good idea to marry Madonna.  His supposedly superior judgment had him opposing the surge too.

It wasn’t judgment that had Obama opposing the war,  it was the reflex of the anti-war left.  The same reflex that had him oppose the surge.  I’m still waiting for an example of his good judgment.

Rumors have been swirling that Obama,Dean and Pelosi are trying to negotiate Hillary’s name off of the ballot at the Convention next month. It seems they don’t mind her being on the ballot as long as it’s as a symbolic, roll-call gesture . They want her name on the ballot, they just don’t want placed on the ballot for nomination.

Neither Obama nor Hillary won enough votes to secure the nomination. Obama may have 390 more of them if all the super delegates who pledged to him actually vote for him at the convention. But with his shine getting a little a duller and with 18 million voters voting for Hillary, having her name as a nominee on the ballot and having to listen to all her delegate vote for her would make his ass pucker. All it would take is for her to have prime placement in the speeches and just knock it out of the park. The amount of delegates she has and the problems with his incessant flip-flopping could remind the delegates that she really does have a damn good chance of beating McCain. If she, or Bill were to remind them that her poll numbers against McCain were better than the 46% he and Obama share now…. Who knows what could happen and that’s why he needs to get her of the nominating ballot.

So what can he do about that? Well he can use his political influence to make sure that she is taken off the ballot as a nominee and placed there just as his symbolic 2nd. He’s done this before. Obama only likes to win when he’s uncontested. When Alice Palmer, the former state senator who picked Obama to be her successor back in the mid-90s wanted back on the ticket, he had her kicked off. The problem with Hillary is that there is no legal reason to have her bumped off the ballot. More than that though, if her voters aren’t allowed to vote for her then it’s game on and party unity my ass.

It would be quite embarrassing to Obama if there was a open-air-stadium-like response to Hillary getting on stage and giving a blow-out speech.. This is his shining moment and Hillary can’t be allowed to outshine him once again. But at the same time, Obama wants to project a ‘party-unity’ that just isn’t there. In order to keep that faux-appearance, Hillary just can’t be on the ballot and steal the sunshine from his over-whelming, ever engorging ego. It would ruin his grand plan to take over the world.

Don’t think he has a plan?

Ha-ha Ha-ha Ha-ha

He’s going to give his outdoor stadium speech on the 45th anniversary of MLK “I have a dream” speech while being the 1st nominee to give an outdoor speech since JFK did it in 1960. Yeah, someone is a little full of himself huh?

Here’s the thing. I don’t really give a rat’s ass if it’s embarrassing to Barack Obama. His people screamed like little bitches that Michigan shouldn’t count because he wasn’t on the ballot when they are the ones who took him off. So could you imagine the screaming and race-crying if there was a plan in the mix to get him placed on the ballot as a token 2nd choice? I think Motley Crue, The beatles and Charles Manson had a prediction for that scenario called “Helter Skelter”

This Manson predicted scenario is really just one wrong move from happening as it is. If the press caves, if Obama misteps in such a way that it just can’t be ingored we might have to call Charlie “profit” instead of whack-o-nut. But it would take alot to make the press go against the messiah I mean have you read a story on Obama? The other day there was a story that comics can’t even make fun of him, in that story the writer says

“But there has been little humor about Obama: about his age, his speaking ability, his intelligence, his family, his physique”

Is he Adonis or something? Maybe he’s Jesus? Or maybe he’s the reincarnation of Budda himself .

Jon Stewart tried to make fun of him, but met resistance from the audience. He had to tell them “You know, you’re allowed to laugh at him.”

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm ….Did Jim Jones’ followers ever laugh at him?

Every week I decide I am going to have to swallow my hatred and get on the ball and get the bad stuff out about McCain. Because there really is a lot of stuff out there….. I mean look at this response to a question about his surrogate saying that some health insurance will pay for viagra and not birth control and women would like to have the choice (response at about 5:00).

Could you imaging him being asked a really important question? HA!

Anyway, every week I want to change. I hope that I can finally sit down and do something positive about Barack or if not positive then something about McCain. But every week Barack tweaks my ire with something else and I completely forget about the crazy old man that might just be our next president and I shouldn’t.

This man is just as dangerous and the other one.

How in the hell did we get these 2 “unelectables in a sane year” as our only 2 choices?

Three words

George W Bush.

Yes, that’s right. What kind of liberal rant would this be without putting some kind of blame on Bush? But it’s true. The DNC figured that no matter what and no matter who, they had this election in the bag. The republicans could clone Ronald Reagan and it wouldn’t matter. George Bush fucked this country up so bad and didn’t give one shit about it that anyone running as a (D) would win.

Look say what would want, but even McCain knows this and is doing everything in his power to avoid being linked to Bush.

So the DNC is all it’s wisdom gave us…. No forced upon us.. A liberals wet-dream. No the wet-dream isn’t a woman… No-no… the true liberal wet dream is a good looking black man. Harold Ford jr would have been my choice, but his skeletons have already been vetted out so a no name senator would have do. Hopefully he could get the nomination and election before they were weeded out by the press. But if not, what to do?

Then, a “Karl Rove like” idea was formed.

Anytime anyone dissed this candidate, scream racism.( Which as you know is the liberal kryptonite.) Scream it at every charge and eventually no one will make any more charges and if the do they can be put off as people who just don’t like blacks.

Howard Dean may not have known about Obama deciding to do the open-air stadium rapture until he saw it on the news, but he damn sure knows his liberals.

The problem is liberals don’t just sit silent and fall in with the party-line because the party wants them to. But to silence them forever Dean and his subordinates can only do one more thing to ensure the nomination goes to the exalted one. Get Hillary off the ballot at the convention.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I hope The Denver Group accomplishes it’s goal. Because Hillary may be an old school politician, but she is still better and saner than anyone else out there. The question is though, are more and more people with the power to do something about it paying attention?

Headlines over the last couple weeks with some comments after.

–Pope Benedict XVI arrives–

He gave a speech while at the White House, afterwards our brilliant President told him “Awesome Speech”

Really….? You’re President of the United States, Leader of the last Super Power and you’re going to tell the Pope, leader of the Catholic Church “Awesome Speech”…
Yeah, I gotta tell ya… I’m a little embarrassed.

This next one is interesting,

–EARTHQUAKE: 5.2 MAG SHAKES ILLINOS, INDIANA, MISSOURI, KENTUCKY–

An earthquake in Kentucky and Illinos? During the same time as the Pope’s visit? Is this God’s way of telling him “Awesome Speech”?

These next two make me fear for my children.

–UK Brown Says World owes Bush ‘huge debt of Gratitude’–

Uh, huh? What? A huge debt of what did you say? Gratitude? Did he say this with a straight face? Did the people he said it in front of control their laugher? And more importantly, did the media photogs get a pic of Gordon Brown‘s, Prime Minister of the UK, lips firmly affixed to George Bush’s ass?

–Judge: Harry Potter is gibberish.

JK Rowling is suing a fan because he is stealing her work and putting his name on it and publishing it. She’s taken her suit to the US courts and the Judge hearing had this to say about the 1st Harry Potter book…and I quote,
.
“I found it extremely complex,”

Harry Potter, a children’s book, is too extremely complex for a United States District Judge to read to his grandchildren. Oh Dear Jesus help me. .. Help my children to have a better, safer and smarter world.

Yes, I am a lot embarrassed.

–Pentagon paid $1.7 million to firms of polygamy bosses–

Another story of weird sex and the Republicans. I’m really not surprised by this. Btw what exactly was Cheney doing in Utah when he was on his ‘secret mission’ last year and the year before?

–Al Qaeda plans Baghdad hits, says U.S.–

That one is interesting also, especially when you read the next headline

–Opening soon in Baghdad: Largest U.S. embassy in the world with restaurants, 619 apartments–

Someone needs to alert Bush and Co. Not in an NIE or anything like that because we know that doesn’t work. Maybe a pretty banner plane? Because it seems that we have a…

–The $474 million facility is the largest U.S. embassy in the world, with 619 apartments for staffers as well as restaurants, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, volleyball court, and indoor Olympic-size swimming pool.–

In the same place where we say Al Qeada is planning a hit. Hey, don’t blame me. I told you our President was Brilliant.

I’m at a loss with this next one. I will never be able to prove it, but I’m sure Michelle Obama has a hand in it.

–Top House Democrat denounces Clinton campaign tactics
“Scurrilous” and “disingenuous” were among the words a top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives used on Thursday to describe Hillary Clinton’s campaign tactics in her bid to defeat Barack Obama for their party’s presidential nomination.
House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, of South Carolina and the highest ranking black in Congress, also said he has heard speculation that Clinton is staying in the race only to try to derail Obama and pave the way for her to make another White House run in 2012.

What is he trying to say?

“I heard it on the (House) floor today, which is telling me there are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can’t win this. But they’re hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win”

Oh….. Ok…. I see…

ARE YOU FUCK………….ahem……. Are you fucking kidding me? Now Michelle Obama has her minions starting rumors that Hill is only in it because she wants to make sure Obama doesn’t win.

Isn’t that the point? Isn’t the point of her campaign to stay in it so she can win and not the next guy?

Unfortunately the racial message on this little bullshit remark can’t be missed. Hillary is staying the race because she hates black people.

Michelle Obama is bordering on “Rove-territory’ here with starting this story. …..Hillary staying in the race so she or McCain can win…. Oh my fucking God!

–Wright’s defense
Mr. Wright, who has acted as Mr. Obama’s spiritual mentor and retired in February as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, said that he has never heard Mr. Obama repeat any of his controversial statements.

“Absolutely not,” Mr. Wright said. “I don’t talk to him about politics. And so he had a political event, he goes out as a politician and says what he has to say as a politician. I continue to be a pastor who speaks to the people of God about the things of God.”

Again, what are you trying to say?

“He’s a politician, I’m a pastor,” he said. “We speak to two different audiences. And he says what he has to say as a politician. I say what I have to say as a pastor. But they’re two different worlds.”

What the hell does that mean? Obama has to say what he says because he is a politician? Does this instill “Hope” in people? The pastor of your anointed leader, the man who married him, blessed his children and for 20 years advised him spiritually, says that your “golden boy’ says what he has to because he is a politician.

What does that mean? That Obama has heard Wrights hatred? Or that Obama agrees with Wright’s racism but can’t admit either one because he is a politician?

I wonder how the media will react to this. Probably like they have reacted to everything. They will ignore it because Hillary is a racist who is staying the race to make sure Obama doesn’t win….. And really that’s the bigger story. The woman who husband did more blacks than any other white President is the real racist, not the guy who sat there for 20 yrs listening to his pastor preach it.

And finally, this isn’t a headline, but it is news to us over here on the coast. Today at the Hess on wickham rd I saw the price of gas go up to $.3.69 a gallon. I was sitting there waiting for the train when I watched them change the price. $3.69 a gallon. What kind of insanity is that? $10 will now get you 2.7 gal of gas… IOW, if you have a 4×4 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Edition, that will get you 35.1 miles of gas. Which is nowhere.

It’s scary that 5 weeks ago my grocery bill was $125 a week, and last week the same groceries cost me $201. It’s scarier that this isn’t going to get any better any time soon, in fact some annalists are starting to use the “D” word instead of just the ‘recession’ word.

Why? What the hell happened to our country?

And No, it’s not that there is a shortage of food like the media wants you to believe and will fuel until there is a shortage of food.

Last year, or maybe it was the year before, I remember it was summer and there were hurricanes, I sat and watched the price of a barrel of gas go up to $91.I watched as people panicked because the pump prices went up. We all thought then, Oh my God, gas is at $90+ a barrel. This is what scares me, this is what I don’t understand. Back then the price reflection at the pump was almost immediate. You could tell which stores bought their gas before the price jumps because they would always be selling it for way cheaper than the guy across the street who bought his at the current price. Today the gas is just a tiny bit higher than it was that summer. But the price of a barrel has gone up to $117. Where is the off set? What is keeping it at bay and for the love of God, when will it be reflected at the pumps? We can’t take much more, I know that I make an ok living, but I won’t if my grocery bill goes up by $75 every month for the same meager ‘mom food’. I won’t if the same miles I drive this week will cost me triple at the pump next week. I won’t when summer comes along in full tilt and FPL has to raise their rates again and the same power that I used last year costs me $100 more this year. Everything is going up except the finances of normal people. Those are staying the same and that would be ok if everything stayed the same, but since it’s not, normal middle class working families like mine are going to be hurting really bad.
Can McCain fix this? Hell no, he’s Bush the 3rd.
Can Obama? Not a chance. He’s all bark and no bite, even his pastor says he’s just talking like a politician.
Can Hilary? Not even on her best day. Even though she is the only one who even has shot, not on her best day. This mess will be around our shoulders for a decade or more. That is the legacy the current President left us.

$3.69+ for a gallon of gas. We were going to go to the movies tonight. But after gas to get there, inflated movie prices at the cinema world, popcorn and soda… I think we’ll have to pass. I think I’ll have use that $75 for something that we need instead of something that we want. How will this get any better when I can’t be the only one doing this.

I’ve been called insane and have been mocked. I’ve been told I’m stupid and make even more stupid comments and draw even stupider conclusions. Maybe that’s all it is, maybe it is just me and noone else is affected by any of this in any way. Maybe I’m chicken-bush-hater-little. Maybe I should be thankful because we haven’t been attacked. Who knows, All I know is that I am saving money this week and every week for one big blow out of a night.The truth is out there and on July 25th, I’m going to take my kids to the movies and see it.

But how ridiculous is it that a 2 income family of four has to start saving in April for dinner and movie in July….