WAHHHHHH…….

"Obamacare is a job killer. It will put small companies out of business."

So said the Republicans at the start….and they continue still. All those corporations ("small businesses" in the mind of the GOP, like Papa John's, Chipotle, and Hobby Lobby and Walmart…) started to cut employees' hours, mainly for spite.

Well, now here's the thing: 

"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- otherwise known as Obamacare -- is putting such a small dent in the profits of U.S. companies that many refer to its impact as “not material” or “not significant,”…says Bloomberg Business.

http://tinyurl.com/q2hg5c8

http://tinyurl.com/oas9u6b


But don't think that will stop the GOP from trying to repeal it…..for the 700th time.
Or, God forbid, institute their idea of a health plan (adhering to Paul Ryan's belief that we must get "beyond the politics of emotion.")
http://democurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2015/02/cruel-republican-health-care.html

I Can't Take It Anymore…...

My husband has banned me from the the family room. The cat has jumped off the couch in fear for her life. If I didn't want to waste a good glass of Pinot Grigio…and lose the only flatscreen TV we all have for a while (gotta get the roof redone first), I came to vent at the computer. You can pretty well guess that I will not be invited to watch the State of the Union address….or the what-is-it-now, 500 Republican responses, rebuttals, points of view, denigrations, and get-my-face-in-front-of-the-cameras to follow (although their speeches have been written for weeks…).

I have had my fill of the likes of Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell,  and Steve Stockman (and where the hell WAS he for 2 weeks?). I do not watch CNN, FOX, ABC, or NBC, for "dinner time" news reports. Besides, I follow everything on the internet, and throw in BBC and AJE along with several great blogs. (And of course Stewart and Colbert.)

As I watched Scott Pelley on CBS..…yes, I hoped that somewhere a moderate news journalist existed, even though I gave up on 60 Minutes. Then he interviewed (which is polite for acquiescing to his political point of view) Paul Ryan, asking his opinion of Pres. Obama's speech…before Ryan's even heard it. Such BS I cannot comprehend. And Pelley sat right there NOT even asking for clarification or calling out the mistruths. ("You Lie")

"The president seems as if he wants to go around the Constitution" with his threat of Executive Orders says Ryan…….just the same as Boehner and Mcconnell continue to spout. NEVER BEFORE has a president (read BLACK) done this!!

The listing of numbers of executive orders issued during the terms of modern presidents included in one of the examples above also bears no resemblance to reality. This chart compares the claimed number of orders issued by each president on the list with the actual number issued, as documented by The American Presidency Project: 

Name	Number claimed:	Actual number:
Theodore Roosevelt	3	1,081
Franklin Roosevelt	11	3,522
Harry Truman	5	907
Dwight Eisenhower	2	484
John Kennedy	4	214
Lyndon Johnson	4	325
Richard Nixon	1	346
Gerald Ford	3	169
Jimmy Carter	3	320
Ronald Reagan	5	381
George H.W. Bush	3	166
Bill Clinton	15	364
George W. Bush	62	291
Barack Obama	923	168

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/executiveorders.asp

Democrats need to shout it from the roof tops, make sure everybody on the internet knows it, call out journalists when they continue to allow the Right to spread their garbage on the airwaves, make their voices heard, donate, make sure people vote, and stand up for everybody, not just keep their thoughts and beliefs to themselves. Enough of this "well, we are the reasonable, fact based, understanding party. People will eventually see we have their best interests at heart." NO, they will not……not when they are bombarded constantly with BS, Right Wing money, false equivalency, and GOD (well, I made that last one up…).

OK….I'm done now.

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/

"How Much Longer Can People Let This Go On?"

Those were the words spoken by the dental assistant the other day as I had my broken back tooth assessed...just looked at, but not attended to. I have no dental insurance, or at least none other than preventive care and X-rays once a year, and I feel lucky to have that! I was trying to find out if I could go another month, since money is way-beyond-tight right now. (The answer is no: nothing left but a bit of tooth attached to an old filling...)

She has been living in the US for 17 years, but is from Germany and has lived in various countries in Europe and Asia. "I cannot believe that the government of a country so large has no concern for people's health. In Germany you would  not even think about this. Other countries are basically laughing at the US, and feeling sorry for what is going on here. Why is there such a fuss over this?"

Well, you can guess the discussion....... "Yes," she said, "the politics everywhere make you want to pull your hair out. But how long before there is a revolt against all this?"

I'd say it will probably be sooner than later, seeing as how Mitt Romney and his VP-pick Paul Ryan are dead set against having any "social safety nets" and plan to gut them ASAP. This I find interesting since Mormons have a complete, well-run mechanism for their followers who happen to fall on hard times. Perhaps you saw this on NBC the other night:

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/22/13400307-mormons-stash-away-for-social-safety-net?lite

Then there is the interesting history of Paul Ryan:

 Ryan and his mother would not have had to make the wrenching choices Smith and his mother did. Ryan received Social Security survivors’ benefits as a minor: “It was a tough time for our family, and Social Security was there to help us when we needed the help,” Ryan told the Associated Press in 2005

http://rachelsigner.com/2012/08/16/the-new-yorker-paul-ryan-al-smith-and-getting-by-in-america/

Mr. Ryan today:"We’re in a moment where if government’s growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America’s best century will be considered our past century. This is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency"

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/15/77_years_after_fdr_signs_social

I guess the further up the ladder you go, the rarified air affects your thought processes and the memories of what your life was like in earlier days. Or maybe it just allows you to create a new history, a new reality. My reality is: the tooth will wait for a week or two......

Also a little background to help you understand where this "new reality" may be coming from, if you are interested.

http://www.exmormon.org/tract2.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/us-usa-politics-mormons-idUSBRE87B05W20120812

Going For The Win One More Time

from the WEB

If at first you don't succeed, try again. The last time at Nascar didn't have quite the effect Mitt was hoping for: In February, while attending the Daytona 500, an AP reporter asked whether he follows the sport. Romney's responded, "Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends that are NASCAR team owners." Just.....wow!

So once again, campaigning at the Nascar Technical Institute introducing his new running mate Paul Ryan, Romney attempted the "down-home, regular guy" approach. He mentioned that Ryan's ambition was not to go to Washington, but he wanted to serve his country. He would put his career plans on hold, Mitt said, work for smaller government of course, and "get America back on track."

Just ONE problem:

"As a college student at Miami University in Ohio, he began serving as a staffer for Republican Sen. Bob Kasten. After graduating, he was hired as a speechwriter for Jack Kemp, then a congressman from New York. Ryan, who cited Kemp as a mentor at an event in Manassas, Va., on Saturday, would also work for Kemp's think tank, Empower America, and as a speechwriter on his vice presidential campaign in 1996. He also was a legislative director for then-Sen. Sam Brownback, now governor of Kansas.

Aside from a brief stint working in the marketing department his family's construction company in Janesville, Ryan's life has been almost entirely in government service. 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57491670-503544/romney-downplays-the-beltway-in-ryans-biography/?tag=stack

And you know what, those people at that event will probably believe it. A white Repub would NEVER lie to his constituents, right? Especially after just meeting with former Nascar Cup Winner Darrell Waltrip........

Romney's pick of Ryan also signals something else: "Political analysts told The Huffington Post that in the careful parlance of national politics, the Romney campaign also confirmed that it likely views minority voters as an unwinnable portion of the electorate in 2012."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/12/paul-ryan-latino-voters_n_1770100.html

Sounds like a crash and burn to me. With the Repubs, some things never change.....

Now You've Done It, Mitt

Did you think all those seniors at the Tea Party rallies were in the beginning stage of Alzheimer's? Did you think they wouldn't remember: 

Did you you think they REALLY meant this in 2008:

Well, I guess we'll just see. You've pegged Paul Ryan as your vice-presidential running mate. He, of the Paul Ryan Budget fame: 

 "The most contentious part of Ryan's proposed budget is what he would do to change Medicare, the nation's insurance plan for retirees and a political third rail. Ryan's plan would eventually transform Medicare into defined payments that seniors can use to buy private insurance or a government plan on an insurance exchange. There would be no limits to the out-of-pocket costs seniors could have to pay in this program, but Ryan assumes that the increased competition between Medicare and private plans would bring down overall costs. The amount of money seniors get to buy their insurance can only grow at a slightly higher rate than GDP each year. (The Congressional Budget Office says this would save the government money, but also significantly increase the amount seniors will eventually have to pay for their own insurance"

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/budget-hawk-closer-ryan-plan/story?id=16985437#.UCbGrULFJ5g

Oh, did you know this little tidbit:

 After his father's  death, he used Social Security survivor’s benefits to help pay for attending Miami University, where Ryan double majored in economics and political science in 1992. But I guess...he wasn't OLD...........

It's going to be a VERY interesting three months....