The Silly Games People Play

Well, once again the handful of Tea Party Extremists tried to hold our country hostage and demand a ransom. I guess they feel blackmail is the way good government works. They took us right to the brink of economic catastrophe, before cooler heads prevailed. Once again this radical fringe wanted to take control of the government and derail Obamacare. Even though it's a passed law and the Supreme Court, a court spear-headed by a champion of Conservatism, has ruled that it is a valid law.

The last time I can think of a small group of radicals taking a hold of a government like this was...hmmm....I guess 1930's Germany.

A few days into the fiasco and the public was clearly, and rightfully, blaming the Republicans the rhetoric started to change. It was no longer just about Obamacare it was their same old sad song and dance....too much spending. Too late. The Republican Party was polling the lowest they have ever polled in the history of Gallup polls!

But radical Tea Baggers still drone on and on about how Obamacare with drag the economy down, is already having a negative effect on the economy....and continuous rantings based on some made up figures not supported anywhere but in their minds.

The Congressional Budget Office, who make their living off of judging these things, say that none of that, thus far, seems to be true, and not only that, but not in the range of the next ten years. Let's see.....radical Tea Party wing-nuts...the CBO....radical Tea Party crazies....the CBO....nope, I gotta go with the Congressional Budget Office on this one.

If you're interested on the world picture on this ridiculous fiasco check out the foreign news coverage. (Even though they have no interest in this other than objective reporting, the Tea Baggers will cry "liberal media" which is what they yell at all reporting that doesn't support their beliefs). The rest of the world looked on in  horrified disbelief.

But here's the bottom line Tea Bags, if Obamacare is so frickin' bad, why don't you just let it play out? Let it go. It will fall on it's face, Obama will look like a fool, and you'll clean up in the mid-term elections next fall. And then you'll run everything. Why don't you do that? Oh wait...by this little stunt you just pulled, I guess you made it all too clear.

You have just told me that you are indeed afraid of Obamacare. You are afraid it will work. You are afraid that as the public grasps the truth about it, that the President will actually look good. And really Tea Baggers, you don't want a black guy being successful, do you? Naw, not you open minded folks....

So keep pulling these stunts every time it's time to raise the debt ceiling. The thing that President Reagan did 17 times. The thing that George W. Bush did 9 times. It never made a headline then. But oh yeah, they were white. What was I thinking?

Tea Party folks, why the Republican Party ever let you wing-nuts jump on to their coat-tails and credibility I'll never know. And now they seem to be willing to sit by and watch you cut their throats. What silly games you play.

While We're On the Subject of Obamacare...

My friend Larry got a quote last year on insurance just on himself. It ran over $800 a month.

He just went to the national marketplace, and bought a plan for him and his family of four for $223.00 a month.

It took him 36 hours to get on the site, and another 12 to get to the marketplace.

Repubs, if you think the public doesn't want this...go back to your planet, because here, we seem to want it.

Want to know who you never hear the Repubs talking about? The folks in Massachusetts. They apparently love the insurance they have there designed by Mitt Romney. And hey Conservatives! Want to know one big difference? Romney's plan pays for an abortion and Obama's doesn't! Why isn't FOX news doing a story on that?

But still and all, folks, you have until the end of March. It all didn't have to happen in one day. I know everyone without insurance is eager to get it, but be patient. It will just take longer if the system keeps crashing.

Is Obamacare perfect? Probably not. Does it need tweaking? Probably. But have the Repubs introduced legislation to tweak the bill? No. To overturn? Over 40 times. The Jobs bill has not been voted on. Not once, by the way. Boehner won't let it on the floor.

Stand tough Mr. President. It's what this country elected you to do. Let the Tea Baggers take the Repubs on a "crash and burn." It's a darn shame though, but it's apparently how Boehner wants it.

Hey, Wait....wasn't this about defunding Obamacare?

The Repubs took a stand this week declaring they would let the government shutdown to force a defunding of Obamacare. A week passes...into two weeks...now the discussion has turned into being about spending cuts. Again? Last time the administration agreed to a $10 spending cut for every dollar appropriated and the Repubs, and Tea Baggers in particular, turned their nose up at it. They don't give a damn about spending cuts, but it makes a nice headline. Hey Boehner, this crack in the dam can't be smoothed over with "spending cuts" rhetoric. That hasn't happened for a while now folks.

Tonight top Repubs met with the President and they offered a 6 week extension, and he is apparently agreeable. He's in the driver's seat. Sure he'll agree. If he doesn't, the default becomes his fault. So he does, and holds fast on his position. I sure hope so, and the majority of Americans who re-elected him hope so too. Six weeks from now....getting close to Christmas, while President Obama is lighting the National Christmas Tree, the Repubs can threaten to default again if they like.

They can also keep the Government shut down too if they like. I feel bad for the people planning a vacation to DC in the next few months, but if they voted Repub, then they got what they voted for. Let's keep this sucker shut down Repubs! You're getting all kinds of great press for denying death benefits for fallen soldiers, and WWII vets having to force their way into National monuments. In fact Republicans have now fallen in the polls the deepest since Gallup has been taking polls!

Let's ride this sucker into next year, and maybe the Dems will kick your ass in the mid-terms. Thanks for making it easy. That's all I can say. Kick out the tea baggers now, while you still can!

The last time a small group of radicals tried to take over the government and hold the rest hostage occurred in Germany in the early 30's. We will not let it happen again.

Only a Gracious President Would Ask For Other Opinions.

President Obama was recently considering military strike action in Syria after the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against a hundred helpless men, women, and children. We had, after all, indicated time after time that this sort of thing would not be tolerated by America or the rest of the civilized world. Why just a false rumor about these sort of weapons drove us into Iraq and a 1.3 Trillion dollar debt, not to mention the thousands of our best a brightest spilling blood in that hellish desert.

The military and the President were considering surgical drone and air strikes to wreak havoc with the traditional Government's military and perhaps give the insurgents an leg up on what's happening there. No American boot would ever hit the soil. The President was ready, was close to pushing a plan through, and then.....what happened?

Well, of course the Republicans happened. Ever eager to second-guess and challenge the President on every move, and in an attempt to foil any effort he might undertake to do the right thing and look good for doing it in the end. John Boughner started declaring that Congress should be consulted before any military action could be taken. Really? Since when? Since a black man held the White House?

Military action has been routinely exercised by Presidents since time began and seldom has it raised an eyebrow. But of course they were white. But I digress. Anybody remember Reagan in Grenada? Clinton in Kosovo? Reagan in Panama, and that Fighter plane shoot-down in Libya? And there are others especially the Queen Mother of them all, Truman in Korea. Of course war was never declared in VietNam either, but I can't remember and am too lazy to look it up and see if Congress was consulted over that little skirmish in Southeast Asia that took 54,000 American lives.

I can't decide if Obama is turning to the Congress so that he can lay it at their feet and later (if it happens again) be able to say to them "I wanted to take action, but you didn't want to." Perhaps he will listen to a bill of goods the war weary American people have been sold - that we just can't afford to stand up for what's right anymore.

Not to say that the other side doesn't have legitimate questions. They do. Senator McCain asks "What is the end game?" That's fair. Spell it out Mr. President. What are we talking about here? A one-time thing? Will two strikes make enough of a statement? What exactly are we talking about here? Those are totally legitimate questions and should be answered before anybody could weigh in with an intelligent opinion. Whether they be a member of Congress or John Q. Public. The President has scheduled a national address on Tuesday night, presumably to do just that.

And there is a question about the intelligence we have concerning the chemical weapons used. Certainly the President has the best intelligence our agencies can provide and there are things about it that you and I will never know. But Mr. President, make sure the intelligence is good and share it then with the key players in Congress so that they can spread the word.

But in the end, Congress and the American People may say no. And then Mr. President, as you sit in the Oval Office late at night with the lights low, and you sit with only your own wisdom and knowledge and gut instincts that tell you to do the right thing (and I don't know what that is), are you up to the task? If you decide to go it alone, are you willing to take the jeers from the stands Jackie Robinson? Are you ready to be, what John Kennedy would earlier call a "Profile in Courage?"

Whatever the outcome, I don't envy you Mr. President. But then again, you asked for the most horrible job in the world.

Hmmm.

Now we find out "Progessive groups" were also picked on by the IRS, but this didn't make the mainstream media as much. So my FOX News friends are rejoicing....

The IRS Scandal

The IRS have apparently been up to their old evil tricks again. Back in the Nixon era, the inmates running the asylum targeted people considered enemies of Nixon. And now these idiots are back trying to harass people they may not philosophically agree with. The IRS have been systematically focusing extra efforts scrutinizing any groups with extreme right-wing ideologies. Or so the head of the agency announced to Congressional Committees. The report was sent out in emails in February.

The President is outraged. He should be. Congress is outraged. They should be. John Boughner is outraged. He should be. We all should be. The IRS are the most evil wicked pieces of filth in the American political system.

Hey, because they were picking on groups I don't agree with doesn't matter. The IRS are scum and I don't trust any of them. Just remember friends, if they can do this to the right wing zealots today, they will do it to us clear thinking, level headed wonderful people tomorrow.

It is high time to take a real look at dismantling this disgusting agency.

The Prophecy and the Politics

After the last Presidential election I was looking at a post made by the charming and lovable Bill Murgan. On this particular Facebook post his right wing sister was ranting on about how with Obama being re-elected meant the end of Western Civilization or some such thing, and I posted after her. I told her not to fret. Things will swing the other way again (in the very small area of moderate). I told her "The Repubs will talk Chris Christie into getting a gastric by-pass, he'll be slim and trim by election 2016, and he'll beat Hillary Clinton by a nose." This is a prediction I had been throwing around quite a bit amongst my friends, and any of the very angry people all around me at work who would listen. Bill's sister replied something to the effect of "You don't have to be snide" (that's a paraphrase), and I assured her I wasn't trying to be funny. I told her I was dead serious. 

The other morning when it was announced that Chris Christie had gotten stomach weight loss surgery, my wife woke me up in disbelief. She said it was creepy how it was happening like I said it would. I spoke to Bill that day, and he remembered my prediction too. I even reminded Bill's sister and all she could say was that she only hoped the rest of my prediction would come true. 

I saw this one coming from a million miles away. The Party knew they had a potential winner on their hands, but they knew a fat guy will not get elected in this Entertainment-Tonight-shallow-glamor-glitz world we live in. Now understand, even though this prediction is beginning to play out, there are a zillion (well maybe not a zillion, but many) variables that could arise to change the whole election landscape. The Dems might not run Hillary. Another Dem could dynamically charge out of the wilderness ala Barrack Obama. The right wing extremists of the Republican Party might put on enough pressure to push Jeb Bush into the spotlight. (Gosh I hope not.) But if the rest of my prediction does play out, I can live with Chris Christie. He is a moderate Republican and he can be reasonable and open to compromise.  I would never vote for him, but I could easily see a slim President Christie winning over a majority of the American Public.

As for the Politics part of this post, let's talk about the President's stance on gun legislation. Most right wingers will not understand the rest of this post so you may as well go catch the next episode of "Duck Dynasty". 

The President is pro Second Amendment. He is. But he has to react. He represents everybody, and that includes shooting victims. As I predicted, this too is all smoke and mirrors. So far, assault weapons are off the table, large clips are off the table, and about the only thing left is more extensive background checks. I will never understand how after the Newtown shootings when the President said that we should more vigorously enforce existing laws and have better background checks, the right started crying "He wants to take our guns!" But what he is saying now is much more clever than that. This is where it gets tricky. The President (and the First Lady) keep saying "This deserves a vote." "Contact your Congressmen and let them know this deserves a vote." But the deal is, President Obama knows that it will never pass a vote. He knows it. But for him, it's win-win. He showed the anti-gun people he wanted a vote, and then can blame the Repubs when it fails. This is politics at it's finest. These subtle nuances are a thing of beauty and a wonder to behold.

And in the end nothing will change, and politics roll along as usual.