Friday, October 25, 2013

I'm Waiting . . .


I’m waiting . . .

What am I waiting for?  The answer to this question is clear and simple.  For the past six years I’ve heard nothing from Republican circles, including Rushbo, my golfing buddies, the pundits and the Wall Street Journal to name a few, other than hostile, disruptive and wide-sweeping declarations that do nothing other than criticize our first (ahem) black president.  Stated another way, nothing constructive has been put forth or postulated or mentioned by the right in its quest to defeat each and every thing Obama does,  It is easy for a small child to say is “no” or “I don’t wanna.”  The same has been true of die-hard Republicans.  Everyone on the right rants incessantly about the deficit - passing on our frivolities to our children and grandchildren, etc.   Instead, can we talk about financial conservatism based on fact?

President Obama, (yes, that Kenyan who Republicans claim to be after all our guns all the while leading us down the road to socialism and disaster of all sorts, imaginary or otherwise) has already driven the deficit down to three per cent of the aggregate economy from ten percent in 2009.  As reported in today’s Business Insider, “Under Obama, the deficit is falling from 10% of GDP to 3% . . .but only 6% of America knows it.  There's often a misconception that a democratic President would be more likely to raise these ratios by promoting big government.  But the reality is quite the opposite . . . Obama has been one of the most effective presidents in American history to reduce deficit levels.”  In similar fashion, Forbes.com. reports that the lowest percentage increase in federal spending since Eisenhower has been during Obama’s presidency and that the highest was under Reagan and Bush Junior.

Instead, the Republican Party — and not just its far-right wing — still pretends that cutting spending and lowering the deficit remain the country’s most urgent priorities.  After the recent Tea Party-led fiasco which damn-near destroyed our American way of life, some leadership on the right appears to be emerging from the morass. Senator Orrin Hatch and other establishment senators believe that grown-ups would not threaten the country’s full faith and credit, or keep the government closed, in order to get their way.  But I think more than preventing disaster is in order.  I suggest that a responsible political party should do more than prevent a government default; it would offer serious solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems instead of making up facts.  As the title of this blog states, “I’m waiting.”

Just saying . . .


Thursday, October 17, 2013

Short Term Memory Loss


Mark your calendars.  It's only 86 days until another Continuing Resolution is needed to keep the government operating . . .  and 109 days until the debt ceiling imbroglio raises its ugly head once again.  Apparently, polling as of yesterday indicates that 43% of the voting population still consider themselves as Republicans and I ask myself why?   After carefully musing over this question, I slap my head as the answer appears in a bold headline right across the window of my brain;  ‘Republicans Suffer from Short Term Memory Loss!’   During the latest Republican exercise in taking our system of government to the brink of disaster, a selective loss of memory occurred time and time again in a substantial portion of the public resulting in a fearful feeding frenzy about long term debt and short term Obamacare.  Republicans tend to forget that it was the Republican Party that cut taxes at the same time the country went into unfunded wars in two countries and passed a likewise unfunded part D of Medicare (which was nothing more than a gift to the pharmaceutical industry).  Thus it was necessary and essential to spend money to attempt to restore the economic climate of the country as Obama took over.
These efforts fed into the litany of Calgary Cruz, et al as support for their unconstitutional intransigence.  Never before has a political party hijacked the government because they did not like the laws that were passed.  As Jon Stewart on the Daily Show commented, it was like a football team losing a game 31-6 and then claiming victory.  The immediate crisis may be over, but we've merely dodged a single bullet and kicked the can down the road for too brief a period of time. We haven't seen the last of the Tea Party, and the depths of their destructive potential has hardly been touched.  With guaranteed safe enclaves in their gerrymandered districts, they are assured of returning to Congress. With a percentage of voters immune to empathy for their fellow citizens and resentful of welfare recipients (Apparently all of them are moochers, even the 27% of our nation's children who go to bed each night hungry) the Tea Party will be well represented in the national picture.   They will move to other issues; immigration, abortion, civil rights, voting rights, environmental regulation, the progressive income tax, open carry, and the teaching of creationism in public schools, to name but a few.  Even mainstream Republicans have reacted
 with horror at what has been created.  Let us all hope that their short term memories serve them better the next time around.
Just saying . . .

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Jellyfish and Other Spineless Creatures


As reported in the New York Times, the “moon jelly, or common jellyfish, is often viewed as a problem, an ecological invader, a nuisance to swimmers, or worse. A moon jelly population explosion last month clogged the water intakes of a Swedish nuclear power plant, forcing it to shut down. The jellyfish, which can be 2 to 15 inches in diameter, is such a concern that engineers in South Korea designed seagoing, prowling robotic blenders to liquefy the offenders.”  One learns early on in biology class that one of the unique features of the jellyfish is that it is spineless.

The United States, however, is currently dealing with another group of spineless invaders clogging the lifeline of Congress’ constitutional mandate as set forth in the 14th amendment.  That amendment mandates that the full faith and credit of the United States “shall” not be tampered with.  The Republican Party made their intentions absolutely clear, proclaiming in their 1868 party platform that “national honor requires the payment of the public indebtedness in the utmost good faith to all creditors at home and abroad,” and pronouncing any repudiation of the debt “a national crime.”  More than three generations later, in 1935, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, ruling in the case of Perry v. the United States, revisited the amendment and affirmed the “fundamental principle” that Congress may not “alter or destroy” debts already incurred.  The spineless invaders this time have, in fact, put our national honor at stake by committing the “national crime” of the repudiation of our already incurred debt. 
Just saying . . .

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Tea Party Rhetoric


The extreme right in our country is fond of several things;  It is fond of quoting chapter and verse of excerpts isolated from the Bible in justifying hatred of homosexuals and women who seek to control their own lives which may include an unintentional or unwanted pregnancy.  The same group is also particularly fond of quoting excerpts from our Constitution in justifying the possession, carrying, and use of weapons.  I put the following question out to this group including every Tea Party member and their thug-members of Congress who are holding the economy of the United States ransom;  What part of the following language in our U.S. Constitution do you not understand?

The Fourteenth Amendment states (in part);  

SECTION 4.  The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law . . . shall not be questioned.  . .
SECTION 5.  The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Just saying . . . 

Friday, October 4, 2013

Interview with Kamikaze Tea Party Congressman



I was fortunate to schedule some time to interview one of the forty kamikaze Tea Party members who are currently holding the economic future of the United States hostage.  For reasons known only to him, he refused to allow me to reveal his identity.  I have excerpted a few of his responses for sake of brevity:

The actions of you and about forty other members of Congress have placed the economic status of the United States in jeopardy. Why don’t you negotiate with your own party members to deal with this problem?

It isn’t us that refuses to negotiate.  It is Barack Obama.

Representative Devin Nunes, Republican of California said, “It’s moronic to shut down the government over this.”  I will repeat my previous question in light of his statement;  Why don’t you negotiate with your own party members to accomplish something worthwhile?

We are accomplishing something worthwhile.

And just what is that?

We are proving that the people of America can act for themselves, government be damned.

Excuse me, but I thought you were a member of Congress.

Yes I am, but I was elected by the people.

Speaking of elections, do you receive political donations money from the Koch brothers?

Next question.   But last time I checked the Koch brothers were citizens of the United States and have the same first amendment rights that all citizens do.

You refuse to answer that?

What part of next question don’t you understand?

Another Republican, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah calls your actions a “stupid dumb-ass thing.”  What is your response to that?

It sounds to me that it was a stupid dumb-ass thing to say.  I can’t imagine an elected official using such terrible language.  And that Hatch is from Utah.  The son of a bitch is dumber than I thought he was.

Why don’t you want to identify yourself for this interview?

Because it doesn’t matter who I am.  I speak for the people.

Why are you doing this to the people of the United States?

Because we can.


Just saying . . .