NO Food Stamps For You.....

we need more bombs.

As usual the Repubs are planning on cutting services for the very "least" of us while giving more to the "biggest" of us. The best way, in their minds, to get this economy moving in the "RIGHT" direction is to grow out military complex. War, for some in this country, is big business.

I wonder how many of them or the Right Wingers they are trying to influence, even remember this:

“When poverty is
considered hopeless, America is condemned to permanent social
division, becoming a nation of caste and class, divided by
fences and gates and guards.

Our task is clear, and it's
difficult: we must build our country's unity by extending our
country's blessings…

We are committed to compassion
for practical reasons. When men and women are lost to
themselves, they are also lost to our nation. When millions are
hopeless, all of us are diminished by the loss of their
gifts…

The hope we seek is found in safe havens for
battered women and children, in homeless shelters, in crisis
pregnancy centers, in programs that tutor and conduct job
training and help young people when they happen to be on
parole. All these efforts provide not just a benefit, but
attention and kindness, a touch of courtesy, a dose of
grace…

This is my message today: there is no great
society which is not a caring society. And any effective war on
poverty must deploy what Dorothy Day called "the weapons of
spirit…”

My administration increases funding for
major social welfare and poverty programs by 8
percent…

...I leave you with this challenge: serve a
neighbor in need. Because a life of service is a life of
significance. Because materialism, ultimately, is boring, and
consumerism can build a prison of wants. Because a person who
is not responsible for others is a person who is truly alone.
Because there are few better ways to express our love for
America than to care for other Americans.

~ G.W. Bush,
Notre Dame,
2001

http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/05/Remarks-By-
The-President-Of-The-United-States-Of-America.aspx

And on another note, just to show you how generous these guys are, there's this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/student-loan-bill-passes-house_n_1459347.html

The Repubs love the poor, students and women.

If It Ain't Broke.......Defund It

then it will be. Then the Repubs will declare it a waste of "taxpayer money," privatize it, give contracts to political friends and backers to run it, and become a stockholder. From this they will make more money which they will use to influence more deluded souls that they are only looking out for the "best interests of this great country." Those people being the ones whose jobs were lost because manufacturing was sent overseas ( to help the companies' bottom line), or whose teaching jobs were lost ("because unions cost us too much money and are evil"), those who are unemployed (and are "too lazy, want to live off the government, and won't work for minimum wage"...while wanting to lower the minimum wage.)

One example of this is the USPS, an entity that is used by all of us. Congress, led by the Repubs are doing their best to get rid of it.
"In fact, it's the Postal Service that’s currently bailing out the U.S. government. Politicians have been raiding Postal Service revenues for years, using them to make the federal deficit appear smaller than it really is. ......the Postal Service is right now forced to pre-pay health care benefits for employees the agency hasn't even hired yet — in fact, for many future employees who haven't even been born yet — all to artificially shrink the federal deficit."......Bob Sullivan, Red Tape Chronicles

"No one prefunds at more than 30 percent," Anthony Vegliante, the U.S. Postal Service's executive vice president, told reporters last year.

Higher education is in their sights, too. It seems as if bettering your position in life and following your dreams, by hard work and studying long hours, is supposed to be only for those with unlimited incomes. With college tuitions rising faster than your part-time paycheck and Congress wanting to raise student

loan interest rates, lower funds for Pell Grants and other subsidies, regular folks sometimes must turn to for-profit-colleges to get a head start in this direction. Michelle Rhee (remember her aim of replacing public schools with charters and on-line-learning....and changing test scores?) and George W.Bush will be speaking at APSCU's conference this June, a conference of Big Business owned schools that fatten their CEO's  bank accounts and leave their students in debt, with no chance of getting jobs.

Another Repub Virginia Foxx ("I don't have any sympathy for college students having to pay exorbitant loan fees.......I only paid $97 tuition in the Ice Ages.") also supports these types of schools and takes campaign money from them.

"In her first year on the subcommittee, Foxx picked up at least $48,668 from PACs or individuals affiliated with for-profit colleges. We counted 22 companies or trade associations in the for-profit college industry on the list of her top contributors, including: Bridgepoint Education, the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, the Apollo Group (which owns the University of Phoenix) and student loan lender NelNet Inc."
Then there is Paul Ryan, the oh-so conservative Repub and his shout-out to for-profit colleges: http://truth-out.org/news/item/8717-paul-ryan-the-phony-fiscal-conservative

As usual, the spin is just the opposite: http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2012/04/about-those-stafford-loan-rates.html/

And then of course, there are the "social safety nets" that the Repubs are so fond of taking money away from.

"Most Republicans agree there should be a "safety net" to assist the less fortunate;
 however, they tend to believe the private sector is more effective in helping the poor than government is; as a result, Republicans support giving government grants to faith-based and other private charitable organizations to supplant welfare spending. Members of the GOP also believe that limits on eligibility and benefits must be in place to ensure the safety net is not abused." 

A good theory except that little by little they are pushing this back on the states and then defunding the states' money. The private sector depends on people donating time, goods, services, and money to be able to do this job. The people that were able to do "this job more effectively" are now unemployed themselves, or trying to pay medical bills, feed their own families, and trying to keep their house. And don't get me started on the church's role in all of this. The larger ones are corporations pushing their own political agenda.....and should be taxed. That in itself would go a long way to alleviate some of the problem.


I think it's time we "defund" some of these Congressmen's paychecks.

Maybe...............

The solution to Mitt Romney's dog-carrying problems. (Kudos to my husband's motorcycle forum buddies for finding this!)

 

1975 XL-100, 1978 CX500, 1980 CX500, 1981 CX500, 1981 GL500

"Well, What I meant Was..."

Seems like that outrage that the Right had for the "slanderous" comments against Ann Romney for being a stay-at-home-mom and not working outside the home (taken out of context, we know) only mattered if you were a RICH mom. Everybody else having that opportunity......not so much.

Looks like the Repubs shot down a Dem attempt to apply that same rule, to someone receiving benefits. "They need the experience of work" or better yet, the old "they need some skin in the game." They LOVE that one. 

Some Republicans became irate as they tried to square their views on the work of stay-at-home mothers with the aim of the Democratic proposal.

"Anybody who knows what they're talking about would know it's darn hard work," said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), a former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "The entire issue is that women bear a disproportionate share of the hard work. Birthing, carrying, the whole thing -- it's hard work."

But he raised his voice when asked if that meant he could support the Democratic bill.

"Of course not!" he said. "I'm for jobs!"

Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), who is running for Senate, called the Democratic bill "disgusting."

............from Huff Post today.

 If these guys would spend more time thinking about other people, the country as a whole, instead of how to fatten their bottom line and throwing everybody else the crumbs.....this country MIGHT have a chance. Now, if we could all be born wealthy........

Oh, and don't forget this: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/04/19/467476/cantor-raise-taxes-on-poor/

Don't Rest On Your Laurels

Just because your efforts have made some contributors back away from ALEC, and they themselves have decided it wasn't worth it to continue on some of their hideous agendas, do not stop the pressure. These people....we know them as The Kochs.....will only turn their efforts nefariously in other directions.  Theirs is a never-ending saga.

http://truth-out.org/news/item/8625-hang-onto-that-paycheck-alec-sharpens-focus-on-jobs

To borrow a paragraph from Daily Kos: That makes an even dozen companies (McDonald's, Wendy's, Mars Inc., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Intuit, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Reed Elsevier [owner of LexisNexis], American Traffic Solutions and Arizona Public Service) who have severed ties with ALEC, inaddition to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

There's no question that ALEC has been significantly damaged by the exposure of their extreme right-wing agenda. They'll likely not go away, but they also won't be able to operate in secrecy any more.

AT A LOSS FOR WORDS


I don't even know where to begin on this:

Liberal progressive thinking people: we have to find a way to make our voices heard. This kind of in-your-face truth twisting, name calling, denigrating, innuendo spewing, down right bullshitting makes a mockery of our place in this country.

I know, I know....it's just another day in FOXWORLD. But unfortunately this is what passes for journalistic integrity for a large portion of the viewing public in today's world. Sound bites. Vitriol. Eye rolls. Shouting down the opposition. And I'm also aware it is almost dangerous to voice an opposing view to these folks. 

Welcome to the Right's Brave New World.

MUST HAVE OWN KIDS & NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE

The manufactured outrage of Stay At Home Moms versus Working Moms is really pointless, and is being used to gain points on the Right. All moms these days have a big job on their hands no matter what. It's a cruel world out there: drugs, guns, fast food, and reality shows. If you're an in-the-home-mom you run the risk of not being in tune with the adult world: politics, arts, music, goings-on in social and literary venues, environmental concerns, economics......simply because your focus is elsewhere. If you're a working mom, you may miss the special moments of your kids' growing up, the play dates with other moms and kids, being there for emergencies when they happen, cleaning up those messes that can't wait till "mom gets home," or being there just because someone needs a hug. Neither one is the perfect solution.

BUT to take a statement out of context, and become "appalled" by it's meaning is hypocrisy. Even President and Mrs. Obama added opinions, thereby giving the whole matter legitimacy, which was unnecessary, in my humble opinion. And of course the Right was up in arms at the drop of hat, er FOX.

Most working moms have no "choice" as Ann Romney and many others do. I applaud that she was able to do that, thanks to her financial position. The rest of us are putting food on the table and roofs over our heads, due to MANY unforeseen circumstances, NOT laziness or "waiting for the government check." And chances are we do not have private schools to send our kids to, nannies to help, lawn service, or even three homes. To insinuate there is NO difference is ludicrous.


UPDATE: Regardless of its level of dignity, for Ann Romney, her work raising her children would not have fulfilled her work requirement had she been on TANF benefits.....HuffPost


And to throw the "but they were her kids, not adopted" is another disingenuous red herring. Another way of getting "their point"' across to we slackers or sinners. The Catholic church has become the Republican party's conservative base's "best friend" of late.

I am ashamed of what this country's political discourse has become. I thought we were better than this. I like to believe at one time we WERE.

TELL IT TO WOMEN FACE TO FACE

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) quietly repealed his state’s equal pay law last week, a decision that will make it harder for victims of wage discrimination to sue for lost earnings and back wages. The law was enacted primarily to address the massive pay gap that exists between male and female workers, which is even bigger in Wisconsin than in other states.

Repealing the law was a no-brainer for state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R), who led the effort because of his belief that pay discrimination is a myth driven by liberal women’s groups. Ignoring multiple studies showing that the pay gap exists, Grothman blamed females for prioritizing childrearing and homemaking instead of money, saying, “Money is more important for men,” The Daily Beast reports:

It is a mystery to me how we could have struggled by ourselves, given up so much, worked so hard, endured the insults and innuendos, made great strides......to get kicked in the teeth by these hateful, chauvinistic, backward-thinking Right Wing assholes. (Yes, I said that.) I worked my butt off for MANY years as a college-educated mother of four, sometimes working two office jobs at a time to give my family a nice home, food, clothes and NEVER ON WELFARE. You do what you've got to do.....

And these fools...Mitch McConnell, Scott Walker, and all the other Republican governors, congressman and mayors have the audacity to condemn, ridicule, demean, mock, attack, and LIE about what their agenda is.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/09/1081931/-Mitch-McConnell-insists-lady-Republicans-don-t-see-any-evidence-of-War-on-Women

Wait till November, BOZOS.

WHAT HAPPENED TO VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD ??Seems like the Repubs doth protest too much these days:

 Conservatives Coming to Ohio for Registration Drives

DAYTON – Two conservative policy organizations will bring their “values bus tour” to Ohio this week, with multiple stops planned in southwest Ohio as the groups aim to register Christians to vote. Family Research Council, which focuses on issues such as abortion and marriage, and the Heritage Foundation, which is promoting its Saving the American Dream fiscal plan, have taken the tour to about a dozen states.

“The main thing we’ll be doing, and we’ll do this at all the stops, is our voter registration project,” said Tom McClusky, senior vice president of the Family Research Council’s political action committee. “There are a lot of Christians who have not been engaged (in the political process).............from the Dayton Daily News 4/07/12

We've got to keep that conservative Christian "majority" voting bloc strong. No matter that the Right has been working over time, and not-so-silently, to keep everyone ELSE from doing the same thing. Blacks. Seniors. The poor. College students. Tech school students. And of course "illegals...you know how they vote in DROVES....

Then you have efforts like these by those on Right:

  http://www.rockthevote.com/about/press-room/press-releases/florida-assault-on-young-voters.html

http://www.lwv.org/content/statement-elisabeth-macnamara-president-lwvus-forum-entitled-excluded-democracy-impact

and in South Carolina: http://signon.org/sign/sc-government-stop-the

Oh, yes..that Family Research Council that is so diligently "getting out the vote?"http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/americas-third-party-will-just-be-anti-gay-marriage-says-frc/politics/2012/04/06/37664
Nothing says conservative Christian voter....like a hate group. Are people THAT stupid??

Yin and Yang on the Right

During the past couple weeks, I've done some reading to further enlighten myself on those folks opposing my own political and social views. I like humorous, satirical fare...not the heavy-handed, punch-to-the-stomach approach you usually find. And since I purchased these books at McKay's Used Books and CD's (which, by the way is AWESOME.), I felt I wasn't really "giving aid and support to the enemy."

The first book A Field Guide to Evangelicals and Their Habitat, written by Joel Kirkpatrick, who writes "pithy Christian Satire," is conservative, and "attends church regularly for new material" was a hoot. It is written with love, humor, and had me in stitches all the way through the book. As an "insider" he is well aware of the impression that casual observers have of some of these people...his people. Everything from restaurants frequented by evangelicals, what to expect entering their churches, hand raising gestures in church, dating rituals, and decorating like an evangelical: "The focal point of your living room should be a massive painting by Thomas Kinkade with an elaborate wooden frame and a small brass plaque bearing the painting's title......apart from Kinkade paintings, there should be no "real" art in the home...." And he just keeps going from there. What a delight!

A Red State of Mind was my second choice, as it was supposedly about the culture shock on a conservative Southern belle who has to move "up North" after she married. Since I lived in Upstate New York for years, and Ohio, and Hawaii, and now live in East Tennessee (home of my maternal side for generations), I thought this would be something I could relate to. The back cover stated "Nancy French's style is like that of Erma Bombeck on steroids." Erma being the delight of Dayton, Ohio whose many books I've laughed through over the years, I was intrigued. I read half-way through...we have different concepts of humor I could see....and then the picture became very clear. The poor little conservative was at odds with all those mean "Birkenstock wearing, turtleneck sporting, Media Matters reading, no-leg-shaving liberals, who probably were lesbians...." She considered buying a "Rush was Right" teeshirt, but her husband warned her against it. The churches in Pennsylvania and New York didn't suit her either.

Glad I only paid seventy-five cents for that book.

Now, you're probably wondering why I brought all this up now. I think it was the events of the last week that made me think about it all: Thomas Kinkade died. No matter what your view of his "talent" I'm sure he brought joy to a lot of people. Nancy French and her husband, which I found out with my after-the-fact research on that biased book, are journalist contributors to NRO....the NRO of racist and homophobic Mr. Derbyshire fame. 

I guess it is true: there is a good side and dark side to everything. I just wish we could see more of the good.......


Update:http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/09/11099319-autopsy-scheduled-for-painter-thomas-kinkade?lite