That Liberal Media….

Living in the south is a challenge. You have beautiful Tennessee mountains and lakes, wonderful food, usually pleasant weather, and people are super friendly. So many things to do….just be careful to keep your politics to yourself……and be able to quote the Bible.

The news channel of choice in homes and restaurants, banks and bars (when it's NOT football season) is FOX news…..or MSNBC for the stock market crawl along the bottom while "contributors" are spewing nonsense.( We do live in West Knox.) The Knox News Sentinel, like all papers these days, prints day-old stories and opinions usually taken from somewhere else. Just lifted and never background checked as is the preferred method of journalism these days.

Today, for example the Why Clinton's Email Trouble Matters, a page long opinion piece was taken from a several day-old Los Angeles Times article. The author, John R Schindler, bills himself as a security consultant and former NSA officer. He forgot to mention this:
http://gawker.com/nsa-spook-turned-twitter-pundit-goes-dark-after-dick-pi-1594848048

Then there is the third-of-a-page long Liberals Hypocritical On The Subject Of Constitutional Tinkering by Jonah Goldberg….of the National Review and the American Enterprise Institute, two of the most influential conservative outlets….next to the Heritage Foundation. (Think school vouchers, government censorship of the arts, welfare reform, prayer in schools, lower taxes on business, anti-Obamacare and conservative corporation CEOS on its board of trustees.)

Of course, there was the expected 8 Thumbs Down For The Iran Deal article from the GOP legislators this state is so proud of. And you don't want to forget the "Take America Back" Tump-the-Bombastic Tour in Nashville that had Tea Partiers from all over the state in a tizzy.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2015/08/30/the-classiest-political-ad-ever-made/

Letters to The Editor make you want to tear your hair out…..can people REALLY believe what they are spewing?
"I will never support a politician who promotes gun control or patronize any business that discriminates against the Second Amendment. When seconds count, help is minutes away." 
or

"The world is indeed getting better because of liberty and freedom, but it does not come from the left. In the future when the world celebrates its freedoms, the left will be left out."

Guess the writer forgot about the Right's views on women's reproductive rights, freedom from fundamentalist religious views, voting rights, a living wage, economic inequality, gun control, social contracts…..and a livable planet. But hey, you can "study it all out" in your daily newspaper.

Well, it looks like the Koch Brothers' agenda

….. is proceeding right along as scheduled here in Tennessee:

UPDATE: Moving right along in North Carolina, too. 
"As more major counties and cities trend Democratic, expect to see Republicans meddling more in local affairs and making a mockery of the concept of self government. Just imagine if congressional Republicans had the ability to gerrymander the state legislatures of California, New York, and Illinois as they have done with the three largest and Democratic-leaning county governments in North Carolina." http://tinyurl.com/qalw7yx

"There is some talk among Republicans of changing state law to allow partisan competition for municipal offices and for local school board seats, now also officially nonpartisan under a current state statute. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, supports such a move……..

“The role of the state party is to get Republicans elected on all levels,” Smith (Gov. Haslam's spokesman) wrote."
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/politiknox/tenn-gop-aims-to-paint-state-redder-than-ever-by-2016_49398253

'Red to the Roots"

All of this is by design….and it is heavily financed, NOT a "grassroots" effort.

"Now the council (ALEC) is looking to take its blueprint for influence over statewide lawmaking and drill it down to the local level. It has already quietly set up, and is making plans for the public launch of, an offshoot called the American City County Exchange (ACCE) that will target policymakers from “villages, towns, cities and counties”.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/conservative-group-alec-city-local-government

Don't forget that that these two guys have had their hand in the "war against women" in all states as well as their group Americans for Prosperity making sure that Insure Tennessee (using the ACA) is not going forward.
http://tinyurl.com/k9oytnq

How long before Tennessee looks and operates just like Kansas, South Carolina, Michigan or Wisconsin? And by latching on to the extreme fundamentalists and NRA to blindly move this effort along…..……how long before the US looks just like the theocracies that we go all over the world to "preach the ways of democracy?"

Out Of State Interests Pushing TN Policy

It's probably just an exercise in futility….but four major Tennessee newspapers are trying to make people of my state aware of what is actually going on here. It is going to be a four part-part series. 

  

      

"…. the outside interests are trying, engaged on such controversial issues as Gov. Bill Haslam’s Insure Tennessee proposal and gun laws, all the way down to less-noticed matters such as experimental drugs and state subsidies to parents of children with specified disabilities…...

"The Koch-founded AFP made defeat of Insure Tennessee its top priority this year…..""Other interest groups engaged in Tennessee range from the National Rifle Association, which has had considerable success in enacting gun rights legislation, to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has taken to introducing a package of bills drafted at the national level each year that are distinct from the agenda of its state affiliate, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and hiring its own lobbyists…."

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/state/outofstate-interests-shape-public-policy_81752026

And in case you missed it : http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/04/01/tennessee-political-test-tube-koch-brothers/7132745/

Also, another read on this: https://southernbeale.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/tennessee-where-conservatism-has-come-to-die/

Unfortunately, the GOP base in this state…..the gun loving, gay hating, Bible carrying, racist, antiabortion, "Obama is going to put us in camps" thinking, hate the poor…….will just say it's all liberal propaganda. Tennessee is just like Texas…only with different letters. 

New Twist: For Your Protection: "Reserve " Cops

Seems like there is an interesting twist to Mr. Reserve Cop: 

"Supervisors at the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office were ordered to falsify a reserve deputy’s training records, giving him credit for field training he never took and firearms certifications he should not have received, sources told the Tulsa World."

http://tinyurl.com/oob9rjs

Sooooo.….did he forget the difference between a taser and a handgun? And why can't other 73 year-olds get (BUY) new jobs in their fields? Just asking…..

This is one truly great article. I am not even going to change a word for a personal blog…just read, and pass it on.

"And that’s why our state legislature wants ordinary citizens out armed and concealed-carrying, in parks and schools and everywhere else. They don’t have to pay for that, do they? These are volunteers “playing cop,” too…

“Oh, I shot him. I’m sorry.” 

This is how civil society dies. It starts by denigrating all things public — public employees, public schools, public servants of all kinds. Make “public” a bad word, tell everyone you can do a better job yourself (or the private sector can)."

https://southernbeale.wordpress.com

As a liberal gal in the same Red State, I have a constant headache from banging it against the wall….daily.

Oh, and this: http://tinyurl.com/ou3mr6u 
Icing on the cake.

My state is so proud of itself: it fought off OBAMACARE

Tennessee's Governor Haslam, not a Dem by any means, stalled for months like a good conservative and did nothing for the working poor in his state. In the meantime he haggled with the administration to "expand Medicaid his way"….and it "was not Obamacare." That was his story and he was sticking to it.

"The governor told a Nashville meeting of the Tennessee Press Association on Thursday that the agreement he hammered out with federal officials over 21 months was the market-oriented approach he thought the Republican-dominated Legislature wanted."

There was a reason for that:

"... Haslam's allies circulated a polling memo to GOP state legislators this week, written by the firm of longtime national GOP pollster Whit Ayres, showing that 85 percent of Republican voters in Tennessee oppose "Obamacare," but just 16 percent oppose "Insure Tennessee."

http://tinyurl.com/pqyfq4l

Haslam was really naive….
The Koch Brothers should really be proud of themselves:

Andrew Ogles, head of Americans for Prosperity in Tennessee, via Chattanooga TFP): “We couldn’t have done this without our grassroots activists showing up to hold their legislators accountable.. Thank you for listening to your constituents and voting to stop Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion in Tennessee.”

Grass roots my butt:The sea of red crowded out representatives of the Tennessee Hospital Association, one of the big advocates of the Medicaid expansion, who were left to stand in the back or unable to get into the room at all. (Tee shirts provided by AFP and KOCH money….)

The Koch Brothers learned early on that "all politics is local" and it is to their benefit to start their influence there.

"It is a smart strategy. The national president of Americans for Prosperity explains, “We fight local issue battles…because they result in good policy outcomes, generally promoting economic freedom via less taxes, less government spending.” He might have also said that this is a good strategy for identifying and cultivating budding politicians who, after taking on local, small-town issues, could move up to state politics and eventually to national levels carrying AFP’s pro-business, free market, anti-regulation message. A Democratic state representative from Coralville got the message about the AFP strategy: “I think right now, too, that they’re doing whatever groundwork they can for the 2014 elections—so any inroads they can make anywhere,” David Jacoby said."

Said Republican Speaker Ron Ramsey:…."Tennessee has always been a well-run, fiscally-responsible state. We could not in good conscience put our stamp of approval on a mere verbal agreement with the Obama administration."  (For the record Tennessee receives 41.27per cent of it's annual budget from the government, getting $1.64 back for every dollar it gives the government in taxes…..)

Then there is the GOP Alternative to Obamacare that they hope to implement after gutting the ACA…if they can do it.
The Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment (CARE) Act 
In this little gem:
 "Republicans want to make it harder for women to prevent themselves from getting pregnant, and then they want to deny women the maternity care they need when they do become pregnant while at the same time making healthcare more expensive for them."

Keep voting for these people, thank them for picking your pockets and making themselves rich, and then wonder why you are the one left holding the bag….

Loving Obama Here In Tennessee…..

I bet that got your attention.

But if you have been bombarded by all the political ads on television lately, you can SEE all those Republicans running for office have opponents here who are practically in bed with the guy. Not to mention all the LIBERAL judges that are pushing their LIBERAL agenda in the State Supreme Court.

"Judging by political advertising lately, it’s truly remarkable how much support President Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act enjoy among Tennessee Republicans and our state’s court system." http://tinyurl.com/q948oel

Yep, those folks have been showing all the LIBERAL love here in this state the last few years: 

" …. in Tennessee, because of (Gov.) Haslam's decision, they won't be covered. Without the money, some hospitals could close, particularly in rural areas where they already are struggling financially.

"There may be hospitals that will have to close," (LT. Gov.) Ramsey says. "But look, if you want to operate in a free market, things like that happen." 

http://tinyurl.com/kyb54gh

Of course, the governor also expressed his love of children:

http://knoxblogs.com/humphreyhill/2014/07/25/haslam-obama-surprise-placement-immigrant-children-tn-unacceptable/

It is also easier for outside groups and “super PACs” to run attack ads, leaving the positive message up to the candidates, and the result is an increasingly negative sheen to the general political discourse. “There’s no question that the sheer number of ads, combined with the fact that voters don’t know who’s paying for the ad, creates a layer of toxicity in our politics that is very corrosive,” said Senator Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado and chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
http://tinyurl.com/nbceqxk

But that's OK. They ALL have the blessing of the Chamber of Commerce, high ratings from the NRA, are outstanding members of their various churches, and believe in the free market. They also love to push the First Amendment to the limit….and off a cliff.

Another Day

UPDATE

Tennesseans are about ready to get screwed again. Hope my relatives who finally got Obamacare to help them afford their on-going colon cancer, diabetes, mental health, heart surgery and constant heart monitoring (which they cannot afford…over $47,000 a year just for one of them) realize it was their party,…..two REPUBLICAN judges and a REPUBLICAN governor that did not expand Medicaid the way it should have been…. that will cost them. Blue Cross probably was about ready to cancel them. He is a small business owner but cannot handle the costs. This ruling, of course, will be appealed as it should.

(main blog)...…another Right Winger pushing the untruths about a Dem opposing him here in Tennessee, the state that is sooo red it makes you cringe. (I've often wondered, how did they manage to have Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Manhattan Project? So many solar farms? Wind turbines in the hills? An overabundance of Prius's on the roads? HGTV, which is a green company? Such a dichotomy here.)

"My opponent  [a Christian Dem with a Muslim background] has expressed his beliefs publicly that the United States is not a Christian nation; that the American flag should be removed from public buildings because it is a symbol of tyranny and oppression; that public prayer should be banned because it insults non-Christians; and that the Bible should be removed from public places."

Mark Kelly(Photo: Submitted)

Kelly said his letter was not about religion but only about voting…..

http://tinyurl.com/nr5aslo

This guy, of course, is just one of the Republican brain trust that is ruining, er I mean, running this state.

We have Stacy Campfield:

"Democrats bragging about the number of mandatory sign ups for Obamacare is like Germans bragging about the number of manditory sign ups for 'train rides' for Jews in the 40s," he wrote.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/05/05/stacey-campfield-tenn-state-senator-likens-obamacare-to-holocaust/

John Duncan is running again here:

"Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) admits that he won’t extend middle-class tax cuts in order to keep control of the floor out of the hands of Democrats"

            http://www.buzzfeed.com/dorsey/republican-congressmans-excuse-for-not-extending

    Duncan's son also had a short-lived political career:

"Despite his insistence on bringing trust back to the office, the record shows that within days of taking office, Duncan was approving state bonuses for himself and others in his office for a certification process that neither he nor the others had completed.  A year later in 2011, he did the same thing."

http://www.wate.com/story/22741800/knox-trustee-john-duncan-iii-pleads-guilty-to-official-misconduct-resigns

Can't forget Marsha Blackburn:

I guess she forgot:... On a national level, Tennessee ranks 43rd out of 50 states when it comes to unemployment, with 50 being the worst"

http://tinyurl.com/lucv545

Then there is our governor Bill Haslam, his brother and their family company:

http://www.wtxl.com/news/pilot-flying-j-to-pay-m-fine/article_e1c79f94-0c0d-

11e4-8f87-0017a43b2370.html

BUT…on the positive side: (Good work, VW)

Maybe all these Repubs are not as smart as they think they are…or we are not as dumb as they'd like us to be.

Bob Corker, where's that big announcement???

 "Expansion talks at Volkswagen's lone U.S. plant have ground to a halt amid disagreements about the role of organized labor at the factory in Tennessee.

(snip)

…...comments came in the aftermath of revelations that the state's $300 million incentive package offered to Volkswagen in August contained the caveat that the money was subject to labor talks "being concluded to the satisfaction" of the state.
.. Monday raised concerns that Volkswagen could move to recognize the UAW even without revote. The Center for Worker Freedom said in a release that that would be a "betrayal" of the workers at the plant who voted 712-626 against the union in February." http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2014/apr/08/volkswagen-expansion-talks-at-standstill-in-tenn/

So much for "no government interference" in the running of a private corporation. The Repubs are ALL in favor of a Free Market…when it is to their advantage. "The government should stay out and let us run our business as we see fit."

Enter the lobbyists and "grassroots" organizations, and see how that song changes. A little bit of KOCH money can go a long way……ALEC and Americans for Prosperity.

The Center for Worker Freedom is a Grover Norquist ("anti tax") group. They are also part of the anti-union, right-to-work pushes, with groups like Americans For Prosperity, being made in Missouri just like they did in Michigan and Wisconsin.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/04/12443/national-right-wing-special-interests-groups-lean-missouri-legislators-push-alec

So…let the Koch Brothers, those examples of American expansiveness and hard work, have their editorials printed the the WSJ, quoted on FOX and have emails sent to their employees to "share with like minded people." If people are THAT gullible, easily duped, bigoted, uninformed to the point of ignorance or just too darn lazy to not dig a little deeper, we are in a world of trouble. 

We Pay These Guys?

I am soooo embarrassed by the antics of the Republican Congress critters in my state. Having no empathy, or care and consideration for the poor, unemployed, veterans, children, or those with health problems…..they refused to expand Medicaid and develop their own health insurance exchanges….and support the slashing of food stamps in Tennessee. (But you can carry GUNS almost anywhere here.)

We have Marsha Blackburn with her "let 'em drive Fords" idiocy, spouting off at the Obamacare hearings the other day……..she was so concerned about the outcome that she LEFT right after her television close ups and was interviewed by FOX outside the hearing room.

Just the other day in Memphis, Senator Brian Kelsey gave Kathleen Sebelius a primer  to "help her with the healthcare website."

TN Sen @BrianKelsey gave Kathleen Sebelius "Websites for Dummies" during #Memphis #healthcare event #news

4:37 PM - 1 Nov 13 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hunterschwarz/a-lawmaker-gave-kathleen-sebelius-a-web-sites-for-dummies-bo

These jerks, along with their fellow Republicans in the Congress, have done everything possible from Day One to throw a monkey wrench into the progress of the Obama administration. Their latest obstruction of NOT giving the HHS department enough funds to implement the website and help it's implementation was totally destructive. Not letting their states (mostly Repub governed Southern ones…) expand Medicaid and do their own exchanges was another blow. This put all the more strain on the federal exchanges and sites. 

This was not an accident…...just another round in their "make Obama look like a foolish failure" campaign.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/the-obamacare-sabotage-campaign-99176.html

But not to worry…..Canter released the calendar for working days in Congress next year.

"The 2014 calendar for the House was released Thursday by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and shows members will only work only 113 days. That's down from 2013, when House lawmakers were scheduled to meet for 126 days."

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/10/31/congress-working-less-than-13-of-year-in-2014-getting-full-salary/

I wonder how much pain and havoc….plus ignorance and juvenile antics….they can concoct during that short time?

UPDATE:
There are are always two sides to every story...and especially a lawsuit. I realize it's not news unless it's sensational, someone is toppled, or there is a lot of money involved. The media loves to get a hold of portion of the truth...and run with it. It would be interesting to see how this plays out....
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2013/06/25/newday-cuomo-bobby-jamie-deen.cnn.html

Or, put another way:
"I make my living off the Evening News 
Just give me something-something I can use 
People love it when you lose, 
They love dirty laundry "
Don Henley....Dirty Money lyrics


Recipe For Keeping The Folks Riled Up

"The Food Network said Friday it's dumping Paula Deen,...... troubled by her admission to having used racial slurs in the past."

You've got to be kidding me....after pages and pages of depositions given because of a lawsuit filed by an employee at her brother's restaurant, concerning an alleged incident at THAT location, THIS is what was gleaned from all that testimony????

From the nitpicking at the beginning by the prosecuting attorney, all the way through the various past residential locations, reasons for divorces,.....WHY????...progressions of business deals, Bubba's personal problems, conduct at the workplace of everybody, employee structure at all restaurants, and the various "he said, she said" complete with witnesses: THIS IS WHAT THE MEDIA IS OBSESSING ABOUT, an admission inartfully given in response to a tersely asked question?? 

Racism is NOT OK, don't get me wrong. But in order to place the comment spoken in the most correct light...you have to have been born and raised in the southern states. YES, I know the Civil War is over....and they lost. But habits are hard to break, and hearing and saying certain phrases generation after generation cannot be weeded out just like that. My family here in Tennessee is just as guilty...and they are educated, well-traveled, wealthy, Church-going folks. They can see no wrong in their speech or actions. I have lived in several "northern" states all my live and I think it's wrong and I tell them. They just don't understand......and I am the odd one here.

The response to articles written on all the news websites are just as BAD in their name calling as the journalists are painting Ms. Deen out to be. 

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/22/answering-the-n-word-with-the-c-word-the-paula-deen-scandal-displays-the-worst-of-the-internet/

Yes, the subject does need to be talked about. Just like Edward Snowden forced us to have a conversation about the Patriot Act, in all its useful and hideous forms.

http://sulia.com/channel/all-business/f/8b5bad53-9f24-443a-a8db-e04b6ca07f29/?source=email_2013-06-22_tag_comment2

I happen to smell a rotten apple here and we won't see the results until the end. The Food Channel perhaps had no choice but to act as they did...but there is the chance it might not have been a smart one. A knee-jerk reaction as it were. Ms. Deen raised two sons by herself, tirelessly working in what she knew best: food. Maybe not the healthiest by today's standards....BUT SHE GOT OFF HER BUTT AND DID WHAT SHE HAD TO DO. People mock those who do not "do something" about the miserable situations they find themselves in. Yet once they move forward, it makes others, shall we say, jealous?  Now, like her or not, she has had many great accomplishments.

What is there in the American psyche that loves to kick people when they're down?? To believe the first bad thing about someone?? That jumps for joy when a bit of news is taken out of an article and displayed as a "gotcha?" Does it make us all feel better about ourselves to think that they are not really all that perfect and have the same faults? Lawyers and money?

"Way Down South In The Land Of Dixie....."

Living in the South..in the state of Tennessee exactly.....can be a mixed blessing. The Smoky Mountains are a whole world unto themselves, any time of year. People are friendly and hospitable. Food is wonderful and music of all genres is everywhere. Families have lived here for generations...even those who have lived in other states always seem to return.

But how do you explain the absolute thoughtless, heartless, selfish, and of course politically motivated, moves such as these:

Take food away from families if a child gets bad grades:
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/320-80/16764-tennessee-advances-bill-that-would-tie-welfare-to-childrens-grades

Refuse to counsel troubled students:
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/tennessee-bill-allows-christian-counselors

Don't accept state-issued college ID for voting:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/apr/04/bill-wont-allow-student-ids-for-voting/

Refuse to obey any federal legislation:
http://www.thepiratescove.us/2013/02/26/kentucky-senate-passes-gun-nullification-legislation/



And then what was my personal favorite:
http://news.msn.com/us/lawmakers-want-state-religion-in-nc-defying-first-amendment

Which has been topped by THIS:
http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/04/03/North-Carolina-bill-would-tax-parents-of-college-students-limit-college-vote/6961365017546/

"But Think Of The Children"

That's what the Right Wingers always throw out there to grab the heart of their believers when they want to run some dastardly scheme on them. If it helps their money-cutting agenda, or helps someone they don't feel any affection for......not-so-much.

How about taking the food away from families if their kid is not doing so well in school?

"The bill is sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, and Rep. Vance Dennis, R-Savannah. It calls for a 30 percent reduction in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits to parents whose children are not making satisfactory progress in school.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/mar/31/bill-tying-student-performance-to-welfare-in/?partner=popular

".....the bill could help prod parents into having children assessed so that any learning disability can be diagnosed.

Nothing says love and caring like forcing families to go hungry because a child is having problems in school.

" the legislation targets “struggling families,” while there is nothing that addresses higher-income parents who ignore their children’s school problems."

And when the kids are finally able to go to college...if they've been able to eat the last twelve years......let's hope they don't have any reason to go to a counselor.

"College students are more prone to mental illness and suicide and could lose access to mental health care due to this hamfisted approach that may jeopardize student counselor programs for all students."

http://www.policymic.com/articles/30523/tennessee-bill-would-allow-college-counselors-to-refuse-to-treat-lgbt-students

Compassionate Conservative Christian Counseling

 According to the Tennessean, the Tennessee chapter of Christian group Family Action Council drafted a measure designed to “bar schools from disciplining students if they decline to treat clients with “goals, outcomes or behaviors that conflict with a sincerely held religious belief of the student.”
 Basically, the bill gives these counselors the right to deny help to any student they deem unworthy based on religious grounds.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/03/13/republicans-at-it-again-new-tennessee-bill-allows-religious-counselors-to-reject-lgbt-students/

If this country HAD been founded entirely on Christian Principles, as the Right would have us believe....we, as a nation, are to be ashamed of ourselves. The Republicans, who seem to claim they LOVE the Bible and it's teachings and who leave no stone unturned to make sure EVERYBODY in this country believes only as they do, apparently have skipped over parts of the New Testament.

Matthew 25:31-46

King James Version (KJV)

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Where does it mention that cutting social services, eliminating a safety net for those seniors who have worked all their lives, taking food out of the mouths of poor children, denigrating those whose jobs have been taken away but who are looking for ANY kind of work, seeing that only the wealthy have access to affordable health insurance or higher education, gutting our public school system, deciding that contraception is not necessary, making sure that the votes of nonwhite folks are not counted, and humiliating God's people who were born with a different sexual orientation than theirs?

“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion”

Steve Weinberg.

 WHY I COULD NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN

My relatives here in Tennessee are died-in-the-wool Republicans. They are educated, have money, some have owned their own businesses (with several branches) for decades, traveled internationally, invested their husbands' money wisely, and go to the Baptist Church, of course. One is even a Baptist preacher. They watch FOX, and CNBC to catch up their stock news. They think I am mentally incapacitated, I have no doubt.

“The Democrats,” old, white, and angry lumber magnate Oregon, Republican chairman Gary Bray said, “have replaced personal morality with social morality which means to be a good person you no longer have to worry about your personal failings but your societal failings…You can be a drug addict, leave your family in shambles or steal from your boss but, as long as you drive a Prius and are concerned about polar bears, you are a good person.”

http://www.politicususa.com/oregon-gop-chairman-claims-democrats-seek-utopian-enslavement.html

I drive a new Prius V, recycle, and am concerned about climate change. I do not go to the Baptist Church or watch FOX news. I am college educated and was a small business owner. I raised four kids as a divorced mom (who now make money than I'll ever see) who have their own families. I try not to describe people I encounter (or who do work for me) as the Jew, the Mexican or the N-word. It makes my skin crawl. I cuss a lot, though. (Sorry) You can see the dilemma. 

They all voted for Romney-Ryan. I'm sure the following video would accurately describe us:

Former Virginia Congressman Tom Davis, when interviewed by Hardball’s Chris Matthews on MSNBC, demonstrated the GOP’s core beliefs in no uncertain terms. 

I am an "underclass" voter: I am retired, have Social Security and money from a pension. Everything we have is paid for. I certainly do not bring $50,000 a year...but I don't need to at this stage in my life.

How much longer can this sort of ignorant, hateful, demeaning dialogue continue in this country? And the use of "dog whistles" to get around saying what they REALLY mean.....I only hope the younger people taking part in the governance of this country have bigger hearts than this.

Forbes Thought Of The Day

“ People who look down on other people don't end up being looked up to. ”

— Robert Half

Update

I read this article today. I agree completely.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/12/07/what-happened-to-the-republican-party-op-ed/

Lunching with the Ladies...A Lib in a Red State

Yesterday I had a lunch/shopping date with some relatives and their friend in a lovely place called The Paris Apartment in a small town here in east Tennessee. Since I was born in Hawaii, lived in Ohio twice, and upstate New York before settling down here in my mom's home state, my views are a little "left" of my kinfolk. (I prefer to think of them as a little more enlightened...but hey, that's too elitist or snobby...according to the FOX network they all swear by....)

After dessert was served, someone made the comment about "how pretty Ann Romney looked on GMA" or something. I ate my cupcake. Then the topic wandered on to how this country was going off a cliff if Romney and Ryan were not elected. I then added my two cents worth...in lady-like manner since this IS the South. After 10 minutes I gave up seeing as how I did not want to embarrass my relatives......and I was getting nowhere. Obamacare. Socialist. Muslims at the DNC. No more God. And was told to "go check my facts." Later that evening I came upon this video: wow....I just went through this today!

People on the Right do not want to hear, or accept the fact that from Day One their leaders have consistently worked to do everything humanly possible to keep this administration and this President from cleaning up the mess that was made in the previous decades. Facts (at least those that "differ" from those on FOX) have no place in their mindset.

  "In Robert Draper's book, "Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives" Draper wrote that during a four hour, "invitation only" meeting with GOP Hate-Propaganda Minister, Frank Luntz, the below listed Senior GOP Law Writers literally plotted to sabotage, undermine and destroy America's Economy."

The Guest List:

Frank Luntz - GOP Minister of Propaganda

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA),

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX),

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX),

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA),

Sen. Jim DeMint (SC-R),

Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ-R),

Sen. Tom Coburn (OK-R),

Sen. John Ensign (NV-R) and

Sen. Bob Corker (TN-R).

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/08/1098434/-Eric-Cantor-Paul-Ryan-Kevin-McCarthy-Plot-To-Sabotage-US-Economy-with-Frank-Luntz 

And yet during the debate Mr. Ryan blathered on about "working across the aisle" and "bipartisanship." But he really must have been channeling the Congressman from Indiana:

RICHARD MOURDOCK: Well, what I've said is that I certainly think bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view. [...] Bipartisanship means they have to come our way [...] To me, the highlight of politics, frankly, is to inflict my opinion on someone else with a microphone or in front of a camera. [."

But in my heart I know the Vice President told the truth:

"Biden absolutely nailed it. Everything that is proposed by the left is shot down by the right. Sort of ruins Ryan’s credibility on the projected “Obama won’t work with us” point — then again, they invalidated that as a whole (Republicans) by refusing to work on any idea with him, including on things like Obamacare that came from a conservative idea in the first place. It’s amazing, isn’t it?"

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/10/11/epic-biden-quote-if-they-would-get-out-of-the-way-video/