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Friday, April 20, 2012

Taking A Good Hard Look At The Two Parties

    How is it that republicans are somehow on the side of "we the people" when it comes to the individual insurance mandate? I suggest to you that they are really NOT! Now that they are not in the majority in the full congress, they have chosen an issue that they think will win the complete majority for them. Remember how they used the Tea Party to make people into thinking their issue was small government? But instead they came out with an entirely different agenda. It seems the only reason they have picked up the anti-mandate mantle is because they already know that the SCOTUS will rule in favor of the mandate. That way they will SEEM to be fighting against a cause which they are in favor of. I say this because the republican party is the party of big business.  And yet they have convinced us that they are on our side. THEY ARE NOT REALLY AGAINST THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE, they have just deceived us into thinking they are. Why would the corporate party try to make us believe they are against corporate interests on this issue? Because they think they have won already?! When the Court rules in favor of the individual mandate, big business and the repubs will have won again and we will believe they have fought on our behalf.
     On the other hand, why is the Obama Administration pushing the insurance mandate on us? Why aren't they advocating single payor (universal healthcare) or at the very least, the public option? Could it be that the administration is not as pro-citizen as we think? Even though I believe that Mr. Obama is the better choice this time as opposed to ANY republican, in the future I will not vote for anyone just because they have a (d) behind their name on the ballot. My own senator in Louisiana, Ms. Landrieu has been a big disappoint to me. And Mrs. Clinton has transformed from a dove to become a war hawk. I believe for that reason she will never become president. I, for one will never vote for her for that office. Like Mr. Obama, she has become just another politician, both changing their positions to help their political careers. The President has done a few positive things, but he has failed us on the (vast) majority of promises he made. The bank bailouts have been disastrous! And now we are about to have the insurance companies dictate healthcare to us. It doesn't matter who says that the individual mandate will be good for us, including President Obama, I beg to differ! All you have is look at what happened with the prescription drug bill, how the pharmaceutical companies are the ones who control prescription drug prices. They have increased nearly one thousand percent in some cases.
    So, though the democrats claim to be for the working class, sometimes I wonder. It seems that no matter what laws are passed in congress on our behalf, they are watered down to the point of ineffectiveness or are riddled with so many loopholes that it hardly did any good to pass them anyway. It is definitely time for some new blood in the democratic party.  Even though Mr. Dennis Kucinich lost his seat, I support him still and Mrs. Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders and the entire progressive caucus. And if the party will not become more progressive, maybe it is time to pick our candidates by the things they advocate, rather than party. .

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Paul Ryan's Religion Hypocrisy

 
campaigns@dailykos.com
Kaili Joy Gray, Daily Kos
 

DAILY KOS
     Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is perfectly willing to follow the dictates of the Catholic bishops on limiting women's access to reproductive health care. Funny how he ignores his church when it advises caring for the poor, ending war—and supporting President Obama's proposed federal budget instead of Ryan's own "starve the poor, help the wealthy" plan.

     Perhaps the architect of the make-poor-people-pay plan hasn't read the recent guidance from the Conference of Catholic Bishops that "a just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons; it requires shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending, and addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs fairly."

Let's remind Paul Ryan of his church's advice.

Call out Paul Ryan by faxing him a copy of the statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops denouncing his budget proposal.

     Thousands of faxes will let Ryan and his fellow conservatives know that you can't hide behind church teachings when it's in line with conservative thinking and ignore it when it's not. Voters are keeping track of the hypocrisy.

Please, click here to send a fax to Paul Ryan.

Keep fighting,
Kaili Joy Gray, Daily Kos

How Centrist ( Blue Dog) Democrats Are Helping Conservatives

How "Centrist" Democrats Are Helping Conservatives - and Failing America's Moms | OurFuture.org

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Time For Critical Thinking In America

     
    

      In America today there seems to be a deficit of critical thinking among the working class people of this country. My question is why do we allow less than 1% of the population to control everything? They couldn’t do it if we didn’t let them. But some how they manage to keep the rest of the 99% of us divided enough to maintain their control. We are so blind that we can’t see what is happening.

      We have a Supreme Court that is playing politics in it’s decision making. First they ruled that money is speech, then they ruled that corporations are people and their most democracy damaging ruling to date; they have allowed unlimited amounts of money, contributed by the super wealthy and multinational corporations to literally buy the country’s political system. The voices of “we the people” are completely drowned out. The people we elect to represent us, including republicans and democrats, refuse to hear what we have to say. When the money in politics speaks, those in government do what they are commanded to do by those who contribute the money. At a time when corporations are making record profits, many of these same corporations are paying no taxes at all. Even more striking is the fact that many of these corporations are being subsidized with the taxes we pay while “we the people” are struggling to make ends meet.

      The five biggest oil companies made record profits again last year while “we the people” had to scrape together gas money just to make it to work and back home. These same oil companies received more than $20 billion in tax subsidies last year alone. The US the senate has refused to stop giving tax breaks to profitable corporations while continuing to want to cut the most needed, vital and successful social programs in American history.

      Congress had made an agreement to cut almost $600 billion from the DOD over ten years, but already President Obama is beginning show signs that he is going to let them out of the deal that was made, just as he is showing signs that he is willing to allow the Bush tax breaks to NOT EXPIRE when he claimed that he wanted them to expire. In order to make the point valid he should just say that we need to allow ALL the Bush tax cuts to expire, not just those on the rich. That way they can’t claim that he is discriminating. Just those two adjustments would be enough to put the budget deficit on the road to recovery without cutting those important safety net programs, Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare at all. Working class people who vote for republicans must not realize that the people they vote for are the ones who are pulling the ground from unbder their feet. But if you add to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, the taking away of all this corporate welfare (subsidies) and significant cuts id DOD spending, this country could be in a much, much better position. Yet “we the people” vote for politicians who refuse to do either.

      Giant international banks have nearly driven this country into ruin, yet we vote for the politicians who continue to allow them to be “too big to fail”. And when they get into trouble again, we’ll have to bail them out, AGAIN! Some say that Bank Of America and Goldman-Sachs are already on the brink again even as I write this article,

      At a time when three-fourths of the country are against the war in Afghanistan, want the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share, the US senate has voted against the will of the American people in both instances. The democrats claim that they don’t have the votes to accomplish anything, but that is only an excuse to not accomplish anything. There is a strategy available to them called budget reconciliation, which they refuse to use. But this is what happens when money is allowed to make all the rules. Establishment democrats and “blue dog” democrats are just as complicit as republicans. Their only motivation is the money that is flooding the system.

Koch Brothers Go to War in Kansas | BuzzFlash.org

Koch Brothers Go to War in Kansas | BuzzFlash.org

The Supreme Court Has Forgotten History

Jess Coleman: The Supreme Court Has Forgotten History

Murdochalypse Comes To America: Is Fox News Next To Fall?

Murdochalypse Comes To America: Is Fox News Next To Fall?

Is Big Pharma Peddling Narcotics? Take Oxycontin, For Instance | BuzzFlash.org

Is Big Pharma Peddling Narcotics? Take Oxycontin, For Instance | BuzzFlash.org

Why Washington's Iran Policy Could Lead to Global Disaster

Why Washington's Iran Policy Could Lead to Global Disaster

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Car the Right Wing Can’t Kill | NationofChange

The Car the Right Wing Can’t Kill | NationofChange

The High Court’s Supremely Unethical Activists | NationofChange

The High Court’s Supremely Unethical Activists | NationofChange

Blogdog's EXPOSE': The Partisan Five of the Supreme Court Threaten Re...

Blogdog's EXPOSE': The Partisan Five of the Supreme Court Threaten Re...: The Partisan Five of the Supreme Court Threaten the Rule of Law | BuzzFlash.org

The Partisan Five of the Supreme Court Threaten Respect of Court's Decisions | BuzzFlash.org

The Partisan Five of the Supreme Court Threaten the Rule of Law | BuzzFlash.org

Obama: "Congress Would Get More Done If There Were More Women"

Obama: "Congress Would Get More Done If There Were More Women"

The Seeds of a Quiet Economic Revolution: America Beyond Capitalism

The Seeds of a Quiet Economic Revolution: A Review of Gar Alperovitz's "America Beyond Capitalism"

Another Fox Guarding the Henhouse? Obama's DOJ Tax Division Assistant Attorney General Nominee

Another Fox Guarding the Henhouse? Obama's DOJ Tax Division Assistant Attorney General Nominee

The Best Congress the Banks’ Money can Buy | NationofChange

The Best Congress the Banks’ Money can Buy | NationofChange

George W. Bush decries raising taxes on 'the so-called rich' - The Hill's Video

George W. Bush decries raising taxes on 'the so-called rich' - The Hill's Video

Big Pharmaceutical Companies, The New Legal Drug Cartel | BuzzFlash.org

Who is the Biggest Drug Cartel in the World? Big Pharma | BuzzFlash.org

America's SUPERFICIAL HEALTH CARE DEBATE Silences Single-Payer Supporters

America's Superficial Health Care Debate Silences Single-Payer Supporters

There Is a Stealth Tax Increase for Working-Class People in the Republican Budget | NationofChange

Is There a Stealth Tax Increase for Working-Class People in the Republican Budget? | NationofChange

Why the Buffett Rule Sets the Bar Too Low | NationofChange

Why the Buffett Rule Sets the Bar Too Low | NationofChange

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Why Are These Republicans Behind president Obama Smiling? A Deliberate Act! | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

Why Obama's JOBS Act Couldn't Suck Worse | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

How Occupy Wall Street And Many Other Organizations Plans to Take Down Bank of America, and How You Can Help

How Occupy Wall Street Plans to Take Down Bank of America, and How You Can Help

White House Report Backs Obama Push for Tax on Millionaires

White House Report Backs Obama Push for Tax on Millionaires

Twenty-Six Major Corporations Paid No Corporate Income Tax for the Last Four Years, Despite Making Billions in Profits

Twenty-Six Major Corporations Paid No Corporate Income Tax for the Last Four Years, Despite Making Billions in Profits

We Think We’ve Found A New Slogan For Fox News | MoveOn.Org

We Think We’ve Found A New Slogan For Fox News | MoveOn.Org

The Truth About ‘Obamacare’ In Under 4 Minutes | MoveOn.Org

The Truth About ‘Obamacare’ In Under 4 Minutes | MoveOn.Org

Jeff Blum: Blank Check for the Military Will Send America the Way of the Soviet Union

Jeff Blum: Blank Check for the Military Will Send America the Way of the Soviet Union

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Will He Sell Progressives Out?! Obama's Willingness to Deal with the Right | AlterNet

What Obama's Willingness to Deal with the Right Means for Progressive Politics | News & Politics | AlterNet

Well, What Do You Know? He Can Speak, and Even Think!

Clarence Thomas Chides Colleagues For Asking Too Many Questions

Is It Too Late To Save Our Democracy? | Occupy Wall Street | AlterNet

10 Ways Our Democracy Is Crumbling Around Us | Occupy Wall Street | AlterNet

Meet the ALEC Staffers Who Help Corporations Write Our Laws

Meet the ALEC Staffers Who Help Corporations Write Our Laws

Want To Know Why Your 401(k) Funds Never Make Any Real Progress? Read This!

Private Consultants Rake in Public Pension Fund Fees

Senators Who Voted To Protect Oil Tax Breaks Received $23,582,500 From Big Oil

Senators Who Voted To Protect Oil Tax Breaks Received $23,582,500 From Big Oil: pIn a 51-47 vote, 43 Senate Republicans and four Democrats filibustered to protect $24 billion in tax breaks for Big Oil. Although a majority voted for Sen. Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) bill, it fell short of the 60 needed. The only two Republicans to break rank were Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe [...]/p

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

99% Spring: Standing Up for Democracy | NationofChange

99% Spring: Standing Up for Democracy | NationofChange

Supreme Political Hacks In Black Robes

Men in Black - NYTimes.com

What Is SOCIAL DARWINISM? Read This!

The Choice in 2012: Social Darwinism or a Decent Society

In World's Richest Country, the Uninsured Wait in Line Overnight for a Chance at Health Care

In World's Richest Country, the Uninsured Wait in Line Overnight for a Chance at Health Care

Too Late To Be Mad!

    You didn't get mad when we spent over 800 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.
    You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources than the previous 42 Presidents combined.
    You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars in cash just disappeared in Iraq.
    You didn't get mad when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies that shipped 6 million American jobs out of the country.
    You didn't get mad when they didn't catch Bin Laden.
    You didn't get mad when Bush rang up 10 trillion dollars in combined budget and current account deficits.
    You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
    You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
    You didn't get mad when we gave people who had more money than they could spend, the 1%, over a trillion dollars in tax breaks.
    You didn't get mad with the worst 8 years of job creations in several decades.
    You didn't get mad when over 200,000 US Citizens lost their lives because they had no health insurance.
    You didn't get mad when lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush Administration caused US Citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in investments, retirement, and home values in the Wall Street crash.
     You finally got mad when a black man was elected President, and decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, job losses by the millions, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, and the worst economic disaster since 1929 are all okay with you, but helping fellow Americans who are sick... Oh, Hell No!
     You're not going to take ME back, without a fight.

Jokes from Justice Scalia Mask Grim Reality of American Health Care | NationofChange

Jokes from Justice Scalia Mask Grim Reality of American Health Care | NationofChange

Romney Would Lower Health Costs By Asking Patients To Pay More For Their Benefits | NationofChange

Romney Would Lower Health Costs By Asking Patients To Pay More For Their Benefits | NationofChange