Trumpcare

Well, there you have it: Republicans have finally achieved their seven-year long dream of sticking it to Obama and the ACA...at least in the first round. After these folks get back to their hometowns, hear from their constituents who are losing their insurance ("It's only seven percent of the population" said one GOPer), and pat themselves on their collective backs for preserving their Right Wing cred, maybe reality will set in. But then again, Trump voters will never be able to see the forest for the trees. 

Never mind that the ACA was beginning to level out, never mind that the uncertainty of the Trump administration's plan on this was causing real problems, never mind that adjustments (bipartisan efforts) would have solved the ACA's problems going forward...the GOP (Paul Ryan especially) were determined to erase anything Obama did from the history books. 

Speaking of history: lots of healthcare talk has centered around "preexisting conditions." From the GOP point of view, these are conditions in your medical history that "those other people" must deal with...because of poor life choices, station in life, race, sex, age, lack of religious beliefs, or place of birth. NOT them of course, and beside they have taxpayer subsidized insurance. 

Having worked in OB/GYN and family practice, and dealing with insurance, let me present a short list of these conditions if they have EVER showed up as a diagnosis on your fee slip as you checked out:

abnormal pap smear, elevated blood sugar, back pain, hypothyroid, dizziness, heavy periods, obesity, smoker, use of alcohol, asthma, COPD, history of miscarriage, restless leg syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraines, allergies, pregnancy, age level, STDs, cancer (cured years ago), eating disorders, skin, disorders, ....almost any diagnosis submitted to get payment. Notice these are NOT the heavy hitters you would naturally think of such as cancer, MS, Parkinson's, tuberculosis, Alzheimers, or birth defects. ANYTHING the insurance companies can use to charge you higher premiums will suffice...for anybody. And do NOT think that these practices will be on just the exchanges. Insurance companies will be spreading this to their employer-based group policies, too. 

All you poor folks trying to work two jobs, or go to school, raise a family as a single parent or make your Social Security go a little farther: don't worry. The STATES will get a hunk of money to divide among you, if it's not swallowed up in administration costs. It makes the Repubs feel so good to pass the buck on care for all those folks, and think they have done a great job. Praise the lord! Now the rich and corporations can get those tax cuts, which was the main purpose of this whole thing.

It was liberal Juan Williams’ turn to speak. “I hope it covers mental illness because we’re seeing a lot of it at the table tonight,” he began. Williams slammed Trump for pressuring Republicans to pass the bill because he was “desperate for something that he can call a victory.”.....from FOX News/Newshounds

But do NOT give up....can't see this mess passing the Senate vote. Think of this as Trump's premature "Mission Accomplished" moment.

" Pope is being used by Obama to further a liberal agenda"

Just part of one comment…and there are MANY in social media everywhere…made by outraged Right Wingers, Catholic or not.

"What WASN'T political about the Vicar of Christs visit?...Illegal immigration addressed...check. Global Warming...check...refugees...check...anti capitalizm...check..his trip to Cuba...check...No outrage from the left.. that Obama used the pope to further his progressive agenda...no separation of church and state??"

Looks like these so-called Christians know their holy book as well as they "know" the Constitution:

1 John 3:17-18 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (NIV)

Deuteronomy 24:19-21 “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow.”

Of course, conservatives feel all these so-called rules and regulations are a hinderance on their right to tell everyone else how to live his life. 

From a discussion on FOX:"…...But Napolitano disagrees. He says that he respects the authority of the pope as the “vicar of Christ on earth.” Then he says:

“He’s infallible on matter of faith and morals. Thank God it’s just faith and morals, because his economics is a Latin American version of Marxism, which simply is inconsistent with prosperity in the West.”

But, of course, they are entitled to drill for oil everywhere (profits, of course), pollute the water and air (can't waste money on that), privatize national parks and forested areas (got to pay for things, you know?)

Psalm 24:1 (BBE) <A Psalm. Of David.> The earth is the Lord's, with all its wealth; the world and all the people living in it.

After God went to all the trouble of creating this great planet…and the entire universe….do you think He wants it raped and ruined, just so SOME of the people on it can get richer and richer? 

Seems like the Right Wing is content to "use" the pope and the Catholic church if it suits their meme on abortion, women's rights, pushing a conservative view of religion on everyone. But lo and behold, if the main part of his message is anathema to their mindset (and their Revisionist Bible) then the man is a false profit, a liar, a liberal.

James 1:26  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

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. 

Isn't This Special……..

         

Just as all nonwhites are NOT criminals, not ALL cops are saints, though the majority have been. 

Just in case you folks are still under the delusion that the police in NYC are feeling put upon by the actions of the protestors….which were evident before the latest sickening murder of two of their own by a crazed lone killer……and are just acting out because they are "misunderstood", think again. 

Those on the Right…..I am talking about YOU Giuliani….are not wasting a MINUTE to use this as a political cudgel to bully those higher up: Mayor de Blasio, President Obama, Eric Holder, etc. This is nothing new for NYPD, but this time they have a racial component to use as a weapon, too…….and using it they are.

"Meanwhile, Republican operatives see a chance to do fatal damage to a rising Democratic star and close Clinton ally by resurrecting the kind of racial backlash politics that won them urban white votes during the Nixon era."

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/emails-and-racist-chats-show-how-cops-and-gop-are-teaming-undermine-de-blasio

" In an email to a supporter, Queens Village Republican Club president Joe Concannon referred to the planned wave of protests as “our plan to keep it in the news for the first half of 2015.”

Yes, I know…protests in the name of justice for killing unarmed black men, innocent until proven guilty…...BAD.

NYPD protests against officials…who have expressed support of law officers, but are black….and also against the other protestors…...GOOD

Bloodbath. Sweep. Wave. Victory. Obama Rejection…..

call it what you will. The Dems…you and me…..were hornswaggled and soundly beaten by the very same people that got us into this mess in the first place. 

This speaks very badly for the intelligence and foresight of the American populace in general, or maybe the members of the current Democratic Party are the biggest chickenshits we have ever seen. It's a toss-up either way, in my estimation.

When you have the most narcissistic, ignorant, grifting female in America……hoisted upon us by the GOP, remember……..using President Obama's own words (the ones she herself mocked just a few years ago)……to goad the Repubs into action, you have come full circle in mental gymnastics. 

"So, establishment types, remember that you didn’t build this! This majority that swept you into power tonight is thanks to the rank and file commonsense conservative grassroots. That’s who built it. And they expect results. They deserve the best for America."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/05/sarah-palin-warns-gop_n_6105208.html
(We'll leave that commonsense conservative grassroots meme for another time…..)

And then there is this nonsense to go along with it: http://tinyurl.com/kvbbc32

The SCOTUS opened the door and the Big Money came rolling in….being carried in part by the "religious right" whom the conservatives are surreptitiously using with their anti-abortion and contraception issues (see Justice Ginsberg's warning), and supplanted by the Koch Brothers' money-is-no-issue-for-us-to-buy-the kind-of government-we-want. Throw in the "we lose when everybody votes" meme the Repubs have used in secret for decades, but now have brought front and center…and we are going to pay for it.

"McConnell’s next play is perfectly clear. His interest lies in creating two more years of ugliness and gridlock. He does not want spectacular, high-profile failures that command public attention — no shutdowns, no impeachment. Instead, he wants tedious, enervating stalemate. McConnell needs to drain away any possibility of hope and excitement from government, so that the disengaged Democratic voters remain disengaged in 2016.
http://tinyurl.com/mtqte9p

I am ashamed of the Dems themselves…trying to be Republican lite. Are you ashamed of the accomplishments that this president has battled to achieve?? Did you not get everything you thought you should get when you thought you should get it?? Are you freaking afraid of the NRA?? Have the scientists' dire warnings (and possible solutions) caused you to panic, not wanting to upset McConnell's coal-supporting buddies….maybe letting the future generations deal with it?? Are you actually becoming to believe that it is all those "lazy, mooching  unemployed takers wanting free stuff" that is ruining it for everybody else instead of Walmart and Wall Street?? Are you also secretly afraid that all those brown/black/yellow/purple people are going to take way your "good" life, too?? 

I am not a great church-goer at this stage of my life, having "been there" all through my youth, but this quote came to mind:

        So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I will spit you out of my mouth.   Revelation 3:16

I really feel that since we….Dems….cannot even stand up for what we believe in, cannot back up and cheerlead for the things their President has done for us ( but we can complain, and run from them in order to appear "above it all."), and cannot even attempt to get a word in edgewise about our goals to our corporate media, we got what was coming. 

The next two years before the next presidential election will be very telling. If a failing educational system, privatization of all necessary services in the name of "saving money and efficiency", letting "free market" rule your healthcare choices, watching fewer groups of citizens being able to vote, watching a gradual militarization of the police forces that are supposed to be protecting you, seeing more of our state and government lands being exploited for profit by fossil fuel corporations to the detriment of people's health, and state governments decimating women's healthcare services…………..just don't take it out on this President. Blame Big Money, and yourselves.

Just facts, folks…...

I will unabashedly repost this thought-provoking article from EZKOOL for those of you who have never followed the site….

http://tinyurl.com/n2kpbur

By Mike Caccioppoli

"So Obama comes out and says that he really isn’t sure of a strategy at this point and of course this becomes a clarion call for every hard-on right winger who wants to blame him and call him indecisive"

Sure is funny how all of a sudden everybody and his third cousin has nothing but horrible things to say about Bowe Bergdahl, thanks to a FOX contributor and his public relations firm rounding them all up. 
http://tinyurl.com/lxzofdn


UPDATE:
Some other points to also be considered, if you are a rational person not ready to condemn this young man without any type of hearing.
http://tinyurl.com/mfcsppj


This should be interesting as things work themselves out…..

"Former Army Sergeant Josh Korder served with Bergdahl in Afghanistan.

He came forward Monday claiming Bergdahl deserted his post and shouldn’t be celebrated.

(Korder himself was recently given a less-than-honorable discharge from the service.)"

http://tinyurl.com/l7gnbt7

A less than honorable discharge, sometimes referred to as an other-than-honorable discharge or OTH, occurs when a person is discharged from the military for repetitive behaviour that severely goes against the military code of conduct. If a serviceman or servicewoman receives a less than honorable discharge, they are not allowed to re-enlist with the military and they do not receive veteran benefits.

According to those on FOX, Robert Bergdahl looks like a member of the Taliban.

“I mean, he says he was growing his beard because his son was in captivity. Well, your son’s out now. So if you really don’t want to no longer look like a member of the Taliban, you don’t have to look like a member of the Taliban, are you out of razors?”

But if another former soldier, a squadron leader for Bowe Bergdahl speaks out disparagingly against the POW, his looks REALLY don't matter so much.

Unfortunately, the Right's "shoot first, ask questions later" and their fine-tuned hate machine have a lasting affect. No matter what is revealed as time goes on, or the final outcome…….their reaction will be "it's a lie, there's a coverup, Obama is threatening the military, he's not a real American", blah, blah, blah. And I can almost predict someone is going to get hurt, more than this family has been in the last few days.

WHEN will people say "enough is enough" with all of this garbage?

Panic! Fear!

I'm getting really tired of the "panic' and "Oh Noes" being bandied about regarding the ACA. The Right has done its usual first-rate job of spreading fear and misinformation. Or do everyday people REALLY have no idea how the insurance policies they have had for years..…or currently do not have due to being suddenly without a job….really works?? 

First of all, these costs have been rising for decades. This NOT a reaction to "socialized medicine", or Obamacare. Here is a chart from 2006:

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/health-insurance1.htm

Then there is the structure of group insurance itself. An employer may have several types of health plans from an insurance company to offer, but these are standardized for all employees and cannot be customized. (Yes, your premiums are already covering those other people with diabetes, kids, chronic health problems, vasectomies, pregnancy, and prescriptions that you do not use. So STOP with the "why should I pay for all those other moochers?") Premiums are simply those rates in effect at the time. Since costs are not usually risked-based in group insurance, all premiums are the same. If you do not have group insurance, and you have an individual policy paid by you, your costs are obviously higher anyway.

There are a few things that an employer may not have to cover for you.The ACA is trying to correct these situations:

http://www.insurance.com

The Republicans have been totally against anything that President Obama has tried to do…from day one. Going against his premiere legislation was high on their list: 

"The Obama administration originally had asked for more than half a billion dollars to spend on public relations and outreach for the law. House Republicans had returned with an offer of nothing. That's right: zero dollars. Without necessary funds, the Department of Health and Human Services worried it would not have the necessary money to pay for navigators to help people enroll in health care, for the technology needed to implement the exchanges and for the public relations campaign that was required to inform citizens about what the law actually did."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/opinion/carroll-gop-obamacare-hypocrisy/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Throw in the fact that Republican-governed states said NO to expanding Medicaid or setting up their own exchanges (They forgot all about that state's rights position they love)…and made the federal government do it. More chaos ensued. No money, no help. "Train Wreck" in GOP parlance.

"People are being thrown off their policies"……they were not actually total coverage anyway.

"Spouses are no long covered"……..only if the spouse also is eligible for coverage at his/her employer. Why should one employer pay both costs?

"Premiums are going sky high"……unless you make bundles of bucks (or are young and invincible) you probably will get a subsidy. Don't always believe what FOX tells you. And young people: wait till you get the bill for a broken leg, car wreck injuries, unexpected cancer or asthma, sports injuries,

or need medication…..

All I can say is PLEASE get that Healthcare.gov website fixed! I realize the ACA is not perfect, but come on: the garbage floating around the airwaves and internet is making me sick.

Class….

" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told his Democratic caucus last week in a private meeting that a top House Republican said to President Barack Obama, "I cannot even stand to look at you," according to two Democratic senators who were present."

Just another example of the classless, careless, demeaning but unspoken (publicly anyway) feelings of most of those on the Right in Congress. 

How dare this man even aspire to the office of president, much less win it overwhelmingly twice. Add to that the obstructionist tactics they feel they are allowed to use because of those superior feelings, and you have our government today.

Why anyone would want to become president of this befuddled country anymore is beyond me….

But President Obama has intelligence and class:

"Class bespeaks an aristocracy that has nothing to do with ancestors or money. The most affluent blueblood can be totally without class while the descendant of a Welsh miner may ooze class from every pore.

If you have class you don't need much of anything else. If you don't have it, no matter what else you have, it doesn't make much difference."

………………..author unknown

THIS!!!!!

Pretty much says it all.

Thanks, Paddy & Laffy  http://thepoliticalcarnival.net

Ben Stein's Own World

In his opinion piece on CBS this morning, conservative economist Ben Stein made his assessment of the current budget crisis being pushed by the Republican Party. He's afraid, I am sure, that the actions of his party (or at least the extreme faction of it) will lead to not just the country's downfall.....but to the GOP as well. As a true Republican mouthing the same talking points as all RW "experts" he spoke of his disdain for "Obama's run away spending that is driving this." And Obamacare....

He conveniently was not aware:

Spending is expected to fall 1.3 percent in fiscal 2013, according to projections from the Congressional Budget Office. Annualized spending under Obama is growing slower than it has under the past four Republican presidents,

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/01/22/515537/obama-spending-eisenhower/

But then....I'll bet he also forgot this:

SYRIA: The Condensed Version

David Horsey  (With a nod to The Political Carnival)

NeeNee NaNa Noo Noo

Is everyone else getting as sick and tired of these childish, ill-mannered antics of the GOP as I am?

These are the folks that we voted in (well, not me!) to make rational decisions for our well being, to compromise on ideas, and to make the future more secure for our country.

What we got instead was hatred, obstruction and this: 

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/8/2/256167/Roy-Exum-The-Carefully-Planned-Snub.aspx

"Early Tuesday morning, some hours before President Barack Obama would visit Chattanooga, that day’s editions of the Knoxville News-Sentinel hit the streets and a prominent story written by veteran political writer Tom Humphrey carried the headline, “Tenn. GOP ready to roll out the unwelcome mat for visiting Obama.”

and this:

http://juanitajean.com/2013/08/07/and-dammit-its-his-fault/

"Obama foes (in AZ) at one point sang, “Bye Bye Black Sheep,” a derogatory reference to the president’s skin color, while protesters...raised a sign saying, “Impeach the Half-White Muslim!”

Gearing up for the next election...3 years away:

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/08/06/2418921/slap-hillary-game/

"The Hillary Project, a super PAC that calls itself the “only thing standing between” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) and the White House, has posted a video game in which players are encouraged to slap Clinton across her face."

When President Obama manages to get some bills passed into law, even THEN the Repubs take the low road:

" Some legislative foes of Obamacare have stated publicly that they won't help their constituents to learn the law and reap its benefits. Kansas congressman Tim Huelskamp said last month: "It's much easier to say, 'Call your former governor'"

Or even more despicably underhanded:

"The highest-ranking Senate Republicans, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn, fired off a June letter to the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA, and NASCAR, warning that it would damage the leagues' reputations if they dared partner on a public ACA education campaign."

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&id=57131:obamacare-and-the-politics-of-sabotage

Forgetting their love of the First Amendment and free speech:

On Monday night, Sean Hannity welcomed Priebus on his Fox News show and applauded his proposal. And Priebus -- in a candid moment -- made it clear it was time for the Republican Party to "stand up to networks not in the business of promoting our party and not in the business of promoting our candidates."

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/06/opinion/obeidallah-rnc-threats/index.html

So, Republicans, spare me the Christian conservative "we are a big tent" caring Party of The People crap. Actions definitely speak louder than words........and you guys have a BULLHORN.

Respect For Governing, Southern Style

An article from one of the esteemed (?) columnists in the Knoxville News this morning. (Hope you have your Mimosa ready to gulp....):

A couple of Tennessee Republican congressmen this week questioned officials involved in the Gestapo-esque targeting of groups disloyal to the Fuehrer, er, president, by the Internal Revenue Service. 

Rep. Scott DesJarlais, remembered high school government classes. “We were told what a great country we are because of the freedom we have — the freedom of the First Amendment, the freedom of speech, the right to hold elections without the fear of tyranny or being oppressed,” DesJarlais said. 

 Besides the stonewalling, Obama’s IRS Heroes, like the leader they’re protecting, project a smug, self-righteous disdain for conservative members of Congress,.....http://tinyurl.com/pddayao

You all may remember Scott DesJarlais: a Tea Party member, Family Values conservative who is also a doctor. (You with me so far? ) He also had a little problem with bullying his ex-mistress and forcing her to have an abortion. That last part isn't true he said, because she really wasn't even pregnant.....but he forced his soon-to-be-ex-wife to have two.

Then another mistress told of how he would write prescriptions for recreational pharmaceuticals for whomever he was dating...

Yes, I know....it all caught up with him: he was fined 500 dollars.

"Tennessee authorities apparently believe sexual exploitation of women is less serious than speeding." 

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/other/301685-gop-rep-desjarlais-fined-for-affairs-with-patients

For those of you who have never been intimately acquainted with the old South..this is how it's done. Of course there are LOTS of us doing our best to change that. And CONGRESS these days isn't helping....

Oh, and that bit about the IRS...they are really just pissed about the attention it's drawing TO them. Probably afraid the rest of us will find out about Karl Rove's groups, the Koch Brothers, and.........

The Repubs:  Bless Their Little Hearts........

If you're from the South, you know darn well what THAT means, and it ain't complimentary. Just like everything else that the Dems and and the President have tried to do over the last four years, the Repubs have tried (and succeeded mostly) to throw a monkey-wrench into the forward movement.....and AGAINST the "will of the majority of the people" who they claim to work for 

"Just enforce the laws already on the books" they LOVE to scream. Of course, they don't want  anyone to KNOW about their consolidated efforts for decades to hamper the enforcement of such laws...and then BRAG about it.

" The "NRA-ILA puts a great deal of effort into protecting gun owners by urging the Congress to pass 'riders'… that help accomplish our agenda." An NRA press release from November 2011 heralded the riders in the ATF appropriation as "Twelve Big Wins for Gun Owners."

To fully understand the time and money the NRA puts into such efforts you might be interested in the following:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/atf-gun-laws-nra

The investigative challenges are further complicated by a series of riders authored by then-Rep. Todd Tiahrt, (R-Kan.), in 2003 in collaboration with the NRA. One of the Tiahrt amendments, as they're known, requires the FBI to destroy information contained in Brady or NICS checks within 24 hours. When a felon purchases a gun, he commits a new felony. But the FBI now has only 24 hours to figure that out. In effect, the FBI is required to destroy evidence of a crime. "Obviously, bringing the record retention down to 24 hours would preclude any significant investigation," says Julius Wachtel, a retired ATF agent with 20 years of service. "One might as well not even bother."

Lawrence O'Donnell also points out one of their little attempts at hindering investigations of any crime relating to guns or gun powder."The NRA has successfully blocked any requirements for such taggants in gunpowder.."

Of course the Repubs are not totally stupid. They are going to present their own version of gun regulation, CONTAINING MANY OF THE SAME POINTS AS THE ONE PRES. OBAMA PUSHED FOR:

http://www.nationalmemo.com/watch-senator-joe-manchin-calls-nra-attack-a-lie/

"Republicans say they will offer an alternative bill, Grassley-Cruz, but only the fact sheet below has been released..."

Just like Medicare, Social Security, and everything else.....if Obama wants it, there're against it. They'll do it THEIR way.

GROW UP!!

UPDATE

THIS Is What We Need To Say...

I live in a Red State...a very red state. For example....our neighbor is a good person, a hard working single gal, nice to talk to. But she is sort of a TPer and has a concealed carry permit. (I do not even like guns.) Another person is an "Obama is Gonna Let the UN Take Over The Country" pusher. You didn't see many Obama stickers on cars on my road. But another neighbor (a fellow Dem) used to be a Forensic Accountant with the FBI, living in DC. (Follow the money....) 

If you go downtown into the city of Knoxville......it's as if you are in a different world. Art galleries. Music. Obama stickers on cars. Fresh markets. Cafes and bistros (including the one that asked Stacy Campfield to leave), Green initiatives. ( We really have solar and wind power starting in this area. Chattanooga, by the way, is very progressive and has internet now as fast as that in Europe.)

So it was heartening to me so see the following article in our daily newspaper (on line version, of course.)

I’m a Democrat because I believe in Jesus’ Golden Rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) instead of the politician’s Golden Rule (“Those with the gold make the rules”). I’m a Democrat because John 3:16 teaches: “For God so loved the world ” — not just the powerful or the powerless, not just those who look like us or think like us, but the whole world.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/mar/02/roy-herron-strong-faith-led-to-democratic-party/

A lot of the comments make you cringe.....but not surprising to those of us who everyday plow through the insanity and twisted truth on the Right. It just makes me very sad that we cannot pierce through the veil of ignorance, racism, and the "don't-tell-me-I-don't-want-to-know-any-different" that passes for TRUTH and JOURNALISM today.

But hats off to the author of this intelligent article.

Things They Don't Bring Up On FOX

In order to keep all their followers madder-than-hell (I hesitate to use the term "low information viewers" since they HAVE the information, they just pretend it's wrong...). Rogers Ailes' network doesn't bring up the following facts:

The deficit has been decreasing: 

                

http://blog.ourfuture.org/20130226/deficit-is-falling-dramatically-but-only-6-know-tha

And of course the NRA's favorite: we all need guns:

.........because, armed killers......

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/02/26/republicans-representative-stockman-asks-ted-nugent-if-gun-victims-are-useful-idiots-video/

The Left's unholy alliance with Hollywood:

For pete's sake, conservatives, you all are the ones that voted for a movie star for president! Talk about a "boosterization" (Thanks, O'Reilly) from Tinsel Town itself.....

Laura Bush did not present, but she did appear in a video short about movies by Errol Morris in 2002 that aired at the Academy Awards, and during his presidency Ronald Reagan pre-taped remarks for the 1981 Academy Awards.
You know, that president who was also a member of the Screen Actors Guild (gasp, a UNION) and once its president.

One Other Thing...

"And if the president doesn't do this, (give the Repubs everything they want) Obama is, .... responsible for Republicans' opposition to a bipartisan agreement......This is more than crazy. The media establishment's incompetence is having a direct role in contributing to a broken and unconstructive process."

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/02/26/17103486-the-consequences-of-misguided-assumptions?lite

  

I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance.

 Ruben Blades