Category: Politics

It’s only a matter of time now.  Republican’s have officially turned their back on the last of their thinning constituency, Baby Boomers and retirees.  The Paul Ryan call to meddle in Medicare and the ensuing support some of the party bestowed upon him for such a move was nothing less than political suicide.  Personally, I think the party line got painfully confused by the 2010 mid terms.  Sure, they took back control of the House when the Tea Party movement turned out by the bus load at the polls.  I suppose this lead the entire party to believe that the Republican base is comprised of fiscal conservatives on a dangerous mission.  The truth is the “fiscal conservative” argument from the Teabag factions was a ploy.  It was just political maneuvering to get into power so they could push a failing hyper-conservative ideological agenda.   Everyone knows it: Ban gay marriage, end abortion, ID badges declaring which church you attend.

If the Tea Party (note: They are not really a “Party” because there are so many disputing factions) were really interested in relieving the nation debt they would be interested in more than just spending cuts.  They would be interested in revenue generation.  Yes, evil taxes.  People rob banks for the same reason we should remove the tax breaks, shelters and loopholes the wealthiest now enjoy:  That’s where the money is.  By now we all realize the stale argument for trickle down economics is no less than a failure, at worst a lie.  Rich people don’t create jobs.  They create wealth by eliminating jobs for American workers under the rightful justification of profits.  Let’s end that debate once and for all.  I know, a pipe dream when arguing with so many people in politics and business benefiting from the current arrangement.  The real problem emerging is that corporations may now be turning to countries and currencies outside of the US and away from American consumers.  This, combined with wage and job loss for American workers will decimate the middle class.

Another real and growing problem for the party is a super majority of young Americans are not buying the Republican side of the argument.  Not one bit.  They are not fooled by the right wing corporate social agenda for continuous wealth aggregation at the peril of the middle class.  Government intervention in the form of legislation and subsequent regulations to add value to the American worker and protect America jobs is long overdue.  Immigration enforcement and off-shoring should both be on the table.

Now that Mitch Davis said he will not run for President in 2012 the only adult left in the room at the Republican party is exiting stage left.  Truth is the Republican party still has a candidate who could beat Obama in 2012.  It will never happen because they will not nominate Ron Paul for the ballot.  I am not staunch Ron Paul supporter but he does have genuine grass roots support and appeals to young people.  The rejection of Paul by Republicans because he does not support their ideological wedge issues and continuous funding for the military industrial complex is more evidence of how out of touch the party has become with main stream Americans.

It is hard to imagine how Republicans in Washington still believe that reducing retirement benefits while supporting never ending military engagements, continuous tax breaks for the wealthy, oil and agricultural subsidies for companies making billions in profit are what middle class Americans desire from their representation.  In some other worldly dimension there may be rational to justify their social agenda but not in this reality.  It’s an agenda being rejected by main stream Americans young and old leaving the Republican Party on the brink of irrelevance.

All this would be bad enough and then….Trump.  Donald, you should not kick a party when it’s down.

Time to TAX THE CHURCHES.  It’s long overdue they pay for their meddling in politics.

We are in a period of time when I think this puts our democracy in jeopardy. We are seeing newsrooms having smaller staffs. Mainstream media is diminishing and along with that, investigative reporting is diminishing. So, there are fewer watchdogs, journalism watchdogs, than there used to be. We don’t have a Walter Cronkite anymore. People can self select. They can go to Fox News if they’re conservative and have their world view reinforced, or MSNBC on the other side of the political-ideological spectrum. So you don’t have as much of a middle as you used to. At the same time as you’re seeing newsrooms shrink, you’re seeing corporate power increase. You see a lot of reporters who used to work for newspapers go into PR. I did that several years ago. There are far, far, far more PR in America than there are newspaper reporters or reporters of any kind. So, you’re seeing a shift that troubles me. You’re seeing a rise of corporate power when there are far fewer watchdogs watching over what’s going on. – The Hartford Courant

Wendell Potter was a top PR rep for the Cigna and Humana insurance companies until he realized the error of his ways.

Brought to you by the United Corporations of America: Of the money, by the money, for the money.

Retiring Sen. Jim Bunning said he doesn’t oppose extending the programs — he just doesn’t want to add to the deficit.

via Lone senator blocks unemployment benefit extensions – CNN.com.

Why is it that many Republicans have no problem running up the meter to fund illegal and unnecessary wars of aggression but have an issue with increasing the national debt to help fellow Americans?

According to the News and Observer NC State Auditor Beth Woods admits she intentionally pays her taxes late every year and she  cannot pay them for 2009 until she gets her tax refund. What’s more shocking is the number of people who are okay with this because they say it makes her a “normal person like the rest of us”.

Well now let’s put this in perspective. Beth Woods makes $123,000 a year as the State Auditor. She has a property valued at $124,000 with an annual tax bill of $1234. That’s less than what I pay. I pay on time every year and make less than Mrs. Woods. I bet Mrs. Woods doesn’t have 2 car payments, 3 kids and a 45 mile commute costing her $70-$100 a week in gas. Hell, $102 a month would pay her tax bill. State employees get paid monthly so before taxes Mrs. Woods is paid $10,250 a month. Yet she can’t come up with $1234 to pay her tax bill.

Some people are saying it’s OK, “she’s human”. That’s bullshit. She is responsible for auditing state spending yet she can’t manage her own. In her position she needs to be above reproach and if she’s got personal financial difficulties then she is not.

Here’s the kicker: Her excuse is that she owes $90K on a loan for her campaign. Let me give you a little bit of financial advice Mrs. Woods: If you can’t manage your personal finances well enough to pay your taxes on time you have no business taking out a $90K loan to run for a public office making you accountable for the states spending. It’s not sound financial decision making. What unsound decisions are you making with the states money?

It’s one thing if your household earns around $40-60K a year, have a family of four and can’t pay your property tax bill right when it’s due. It’s another matter entirely if your are the NC State Auditor making $123K a year and can’t pay a $1,234 tax bill because you can’t manage your personal finances. I guess a credit check is not necessary if you are voted into a state office. Probably a good thing for Mrs. Woods. Based on the information available I speculate hers score isn’t looking too wonderful.

Banks under fire for ‘criminal’ overdraft fees – Washington Post- msnbc.com.

If you read my posts with any regularity you know this is one of my hot buttons.  Carolyn Maloney’s bills couldn’t get traction during a hyper-conservative, pro Wall St. era.  Now the banking industries true nature is showing.  They are enemies of the public and must be exposed for their extortion.  This issue should be ON FIRE.

“A backlash is brewing on Capitol Hill against banks that charge large fees for overdrafts without asking or telling customers, the latest sign that the financial crisis is shifting the balance of power from banks toward borrowers.”