Why so harsh today? Because I'm in a hissy-pissy fit.
If you do not know what is happening in Congress right now, or that Michele Bachmann's husband accepts government-funded Medicaid backing for his mental health clinic while she mouths around blasting the country's dependence on government financial aid, then look it up or just take my word for it, because I'm in no mood to be quasi-journalistic at the moment. I am feeling like an American who is extremely furious with what is going down-and-down-and-down in this country.
My Flogging Whip has had a few days off to regain it's scathing sting...and sting it will do in the most general sense at the direction in which the USA government is not moving, thanks to immature Republican bitter jerks who continue to ensure that absolutely nothing a Democratic president wants to do about the economy will be done, despite way too many efforts by Obama to meet his nemesis' half-way, if not almost all the way, over various bills that, while under a GOP president, the Republicans allowed, applauded, and passed. But now the very same people have the snake-eyed, forked-tongue audacity and deplorable duplicity to refuse to support the exact measures based on an absolutely clear as a Tiffany crystal brandy decanter's sparkle of stealthy, smelly partisanship.
I'm in no diplomatic or sanguine frame of mind to be an objective "nice guy" about what anyone can fully see is a selfish, cynical, disastrous game Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, John McCain, et al, are playing in the name of politics which could end any possible success in avoiding a U.S. default on loans by refusing to increase the debt ceiling at a critical time in out nation's economic history.
It was fine during the Bush presidency with the lock-step Republicans to vote for raising the debt ceiling 7 times. It was equally just peachy during the Bush administration to continue "The Dream Act." But not under Obama. Nope. That had to be dumped - pronto! And now, the GOPer's are appalled, horrified, at raising the debt ceiling.
It was quite okay when Bush was their leader-in-queef to spend trillions of dollars on almost everything they could slip under the snoozing noses of most Democrats in Congress, but not now -- not under Obama. In fact, I have never in my life seen such partisan politics and news anchors such as Chris Wallace and others dare to show their partisan self-righteous-so-very-in-your-face pontifications by calling the Democrats "crybabies" when all we have heard from the GOP and their mouthpieces since Obama was elected is one whine after another by supposedly "grown-up" people in powerful, influential positions with skins as thin as preemies in incubators.
The war is on, my friends. It is getting worse. The war against the middle class, the elderly, the teachers, and any group in America with union protection. You've heard about this all year. Well, the clang is louder than before. On Friday, Wisconsin's slimy anti-union negotiations for public employees law goes into effect after Koch-owned narrow-minded non-for-the-public-service-servant Governor Scott Walker's minions snuck it into law against the wishes of those who voted him into office. That's right. Wisconsin's drama hasn't fully receded from the headlines.
It is becoming a travesty of the highest order in Ohio that even a lifelong Republican retired policeman is fronting a petition against yet another sick attempt by a GOP governor to take away negotiating rights from unions. Bullet-proof vests are part of the union negotiations for police departments. Why in any sane world would supposed patriots want to stand in the way of these discussions and negotiations for safety and progress in law enforcement?
And, AGAIN, why are teachers being punished as our country's educational ranking continues to fall to it's lowest-low? Why are we allowing billionaires to eff us over?
Some of you may believe I am rehashing the same-old-same-old focus because I am a registered Democrat and will blindly follow that party's line as I claim the GOP does the same for their causes. The truth is -- NO! Whoever is effing-over everyone but the rich will get a firm whack of my whip. Because it is simply NOT FAIR, NOT MORAL, and, in most cases, has no positive fiscal impact whatsoever on the state in question, and the country in general, because all of these proposed and/or implemented cuts are conceived to appease lobbyists and large corporations who do not like to pay for their worker's rights.
The companies would rather out-source and exploit cheap labor -- as they continue to do despite the growing deficit and appeals for JOBS, JOBS, JOBS in the USA! The GOP BS that continuing the Bush Tax Cuts to the wealthy will create jobs has yet to come to pass and is just that = bullshit!
Why would this be happening in a time of crisis? Because the GOP is bought and sold by those billionaires, and these fake "public servants" don't care one whit about anyone else except to ensure they will receive the financial backing to win another term in office. In other words, to save their jobs when they have done not one damn thing to help provide jobs for anyone else other than their golfing buddies.
I may be accused of "Bumper-Stickering" the Liberal bias. Fine. Believe what you will. I will defend my feelings of disgusted dismay at the direction in which I see my country of birth heading in the name of moral justice. Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian. I will insist one more time that it no longer makes a difference to me along party lines.
Narrow-mindedness and pure bull-headed blockage of decency is simply unacceptable, and is a disgrace of the lowest form of decay that just so-happens is currently caused by bullying recalcitrant Republicans.
All one has to do is look at what is happening in Greece with violent public unrest based on their financial crisis to gain a view of what could happen in the U.S. if these political moral criminals have their stubborn way with not returning to the Clinton-era tax increases on the wealthy -- which aided the $127,000 billion dollar federal budget surplus at the end of his term.
Final whip-lashing: How dare these UN-AMERICAN hypocrites protect their jobs by ensuring most of the country cannot get jobs?
And while these so-called adults kick sand in the president's face day-after-day while Rome burns, we have nuclear power plants in jeopardy, an asteroid that came terribly close to the earth the other day, and whether you believe in Global Warming or not, something sure as hell is up with the weather.
Bumper stickers it is: Today will be a busy day checking facts, and responding to your blog. Here is my first point: OBAMA ON RAISING THE DEBT CEILING
ReplyDeleteFive years ago, then-Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) voted against raising the debt ceiling and even spoke about it on the Senate floor before the Republican-controlled Senate voted 52-48 to increase it.
“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure,” Obama said on March 16, 2006. “Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit.” John
Remember how all of that stimulus money was supposed to save us from a recession, boost the economy, and provide jobs. Remember Obama touting that the money would go to "Shovel Ready Jobs?"
ReplyDeleteDid you see him smirking, and laughing last week, that those "Shovel Ready Jobs" weren't as "Shovel Ready" as he thought? Here's a few examples of where that stimulus money went, under Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama:
$554,763 for the Forest Service to replace windows in a closed visitor center at Mount St. Helens
• $762,372 to create “Dance Draw” interactive dance software
• $62 million for a tunnel to nowhere in Pittsburgh, PA that even Governor, Ed Rendell called “a tragic mistake”
• $1.9 million for international ant research
• $1.8 million for a road project that is threatening a pastor’s home
• $308 million for a joint clean energy venture with…BP
• $89,298 to replace a new sidewalk that leads to a ditch in Boynton, OK
• $3.8 million for a “streetscaping” project that has reduced traffic and caused a business to fire two employees
• $16 million to help Boeing to clean up an environmental mess it created in 2007
• $200,000 to help Siberian communities lobby Russian policy makers
• $39.7 million to upgrade the statehouse and political offices in Topeka, Kansas
• $760,000 to Georgia Tech to study improvised music
• $700,000 to study why monkeys respond negatively to inequity
• $193,956 to study voter perceptions of the economic stimulus
• $363,760 to help NIH promote the positive impacts of stimulus projects
• $456,663 to study the circulation of Neptune’s atmosphere
• $529,648 to study the effects of local populations on the environment…in the Himalayas
John
John - The above list is a hoot! Unfortunately, most of those absurd spendings were used by fools who had favours to repay. Obama gave them the funds and they squandered it. I have to laugh at the ant and monkey studies the most. I recall similar insane programs using federal money in Bush's admin as well - and surely in many previous admin's, too.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, do be fair in realizing that had Obama not provided the auto industry w/ assistance, things in that sector would have caused a terrible decline. Instead, a healthy rebound is in place. I think it has to be important for everyone to realize how the GOP is ensuring a complete sabotage on O's presidency...and it was in place from the second he was elected.
All admin's make errors. He has his, as have others. I simply can't abide what is going on, and I'm sure if the Dem's had been as decidedly partisan as this group is, you too would be frothing at the mouth - just a bit.
But I do find all of these silly uses of fed money in every administration to be not only laughable but almost criminal. So, let's take the money away (if not fully used) from these wasteful projects and give them to those who need it rather than stealing from people like you and me, etc.
What about those so called "shovel ready jobs??" John
ReplyDeleteYou gloss over something extremely important--the bail out has not worked for American workers or taxpayers. GM used the bailout to hire overseas--they employ almost as many Chinese as Americans now and sell more cars in China than the US. Using the bailout to export jobs was not what taxpayers had in mind. John
ReplyDeleteThe "shovel-ready jobs" haven't happened partially b/c those who run the states where the work could be done have either refused to accept the money, or have stashed it away, John. Obama can't go out to every single place and force the owner or mayor of a company/city to do a specific thing. Cooperation by those with the money for the projects is needed, and that is what I am flailing around about - cooperation outside of Washington is also lacking due to a variety of reasons - many of which are back-room cigar-fests to not do anything for anyone other than their own investment accounts.
ReplyDelete"Shovel-ready" means infrastructure, new energy plants (non-nuclear), and, unfortunately, states like California are almost bankrupt from their own doing and have used the funds just to stay afloat.
There is a "Catch-22" and I refuse (in a calm voice) to lay the blame on Obama for what others will not do for their own states and the country's economy.
C'mon. Take a step back. There are always two sides to every story and one can always "cherry-pick" if the agenda is to disagree on every little thing.
Kisses.
John - Here's one example of how screwed-up some of the states have been w/ regard to how to utilize the funds.
ReplyDeleteFrom Missouri:
Two years into a three-year program, Missouri has yet to spend most of the money it was allotted under a federal economic stimulus program intended to make homes more energy efficient for low-income residents.
Missouri received nearly $129 million in low-income home weatherization funds under the 2009 stimulus act. As of the end of January, just $47 million of that — or 37 percent of the total — had been spent, according to figures from the Department of Natural Resources.
Department Deputy Director Dru Buntin said Tuesday that it took a while for some community agencies to get ramped up to handle the enlarged weatherization program. Before the stimulus act, Missouri’s program had received about $4 million to $6 million annually from the federal government, he said.
Buntin said the percentage of money spent so far is lagging behind what the department expected, and the agency is reallocating some of the unspent money to local agencies that have been more successful in using it. The agency said it faces a federal deadline of March 31, 2012, to spend the money.
Some Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee suggested Tuesday that it may already be too late for the money to accomplish its purpose of stimulating the economy.
“We can’t find any poor people in Missouri that will qualify to use this money?” Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, asked during a committee hearing on a bill that would allow the state to spend the money in the fiscal year that starts July 1. “We’re that inefficient?”
Lembke is one of several Republican senators who have stalled action this year on bills to spend federal money, suggesting Missouri should take a symbolic stand against federal deficits by rejecting stimulus-style money for education and unemployment benefits. Other lawmakers have noted that if Missouri were to reject the federal money it likely would be redistributed to other states and not used to pay the federal debt.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer, a former legal counsel at the Department of Natural Resources, said the agency shouldn’t be faulted for low use of the low-income weatherization money. But he questioned whether the federal government had poured more money into the program than was necessary.
“The public policy behind some of this stuff is baffling — absolutely baffling,” Schaefer said.
The program helps pay the costs of energy efficiency audits and of home improvements such as the installation of insulation and tuneups for heating and air conditioning systems, which can save residents money on their monthly energy bills. The program is open to people earning up to twice the federal poverty level, which would be $21,780 for an individual or $44,700 for a family of four.
Thank you for the edumacation. And I'm not being sarcastic. John
ReplyDelete