Clueless Americans

The Obama administration cut taxes for middle-class Americans, expects to make a profit on the hundreds of billions of dollars spent to rescue Wall Street banks and has overseen an economy that has grown for the past four quarters. Most voters don’t believe it.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of October 24 - 30

More on prison privatization in Arizona... “Arizona is now second in the US for poverty, 50th in spending on education for public school students, and fourth in the nation on our prison costs,” (7 of 6)

Profit... the real drive behind Arizona's xenophobia. (7 of 6)

Whether or not Californians support Meg Whitman, all of us should thank her for pumping $162 Million (so far) in campaign dollars into the state's economy.  Thanks, Meg! (Mike)

Judges channeling Jon Stewart... restoring sanity... 9th Circuit upholds Washington's campaign-disclosure laws. "A federal appeals court upheld Washington state's campaign-disclosure laws Tuesday, saying the requirements don't violate the First Amendment rights of a group that didn't want to reveal its donors in a 2008 opposition campaign to an assisted-suicide ballot measure." (7 of 6)

"Tim Profitt -- and a Contemporary History of Political Thuggery"

We Progressives/Liberals have tried our best to stay the course... win elections with intelligence, truth, facts, and history on our side... finally, elect a black President. This must have been the conservatives breaking point... all they have done is continue to go further and further to the right, more extreme, more manipulation, more billionaire money, tell lies, freak out... snap... violence! How sad.

It truly is sickening what this year's vote comes down to. Those who support the tea baggers, FAUX News, the leaders of hate in America, and those that have no interest in moving this country forward are to blame. They have gone so far they express outrage when they are caught on video participating in violence... an act of apology is a sign of weakness or wrongdoing... it's a shocking commentary on American society. And every conservative (American period) who does not denounce these actions is just as guilty for allowing this behavior to continue. (7 of 6)

This appalling story of a woman MoveOn activist in KY being grabbed, pushed down to the cement, and having her head kicked by a Rand Paul supporter, as terrible as it is, only becomes the latest in a long line of political violence in the past few years. From relatively isolated incidents to ones even more violent and troubling, there's a growing pattern here, and as someone who reveres American democracy, I find it quite frightening. Here's just a few examples from the current era: * Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller hires a group tied to a paramilitary militia to do security for him, and his paratroopers assault and handcuff a citizen journalist just trying to get a question answered. * a bullet is shot through Rep. Grijalva's campaign office window, and obscene threats are delivered to his ofc as well. * Rep. Perriello's gas line to his house was cut. * Republican congressional candidate Allen West using a motorcycle gang known for violent criminal activity for security, and then gang members actually harassed and bullied a Democratic staffer trying to videotape a public event. * Vandalism and assassination threats occur at offices of Congressional members during the health care fight. * a doctor who performs abortions in KS is brutally murdered while coming out of his church on a Sunday morning. * a guard at the Holocaust Museum is murdered by an anti-Semitic racist stoked by listening to Limbaugh and Beck. * a lunatic also stirred up by Glenn Beck shows about the Tides Foundation is stopped on his way to murder people at the Tides office in San Francisco. These are just the actual acts of violence. In the meantime, we have people coming to town hall meetings and Presidential rallies with assault weapons, Republican Senate candidates talking openly of having to use "Second Amendment means" in case regular politics doesn't work, Republican Governors (both Rick Perry and Sarah Palin) meeting with secessionist groups with ties to racist leaders. Rand Paul's wimpy statement about civility is only the latest in Republicans' utter unwillingness to clearly condemn violent acts or rhetoric on the part of way too many of their supporters. The sad thing is that all this violent talk and action, along with the cowardly acceptance of it by the political party benefiting, is a terrible reliving of American history too many times over. When lynchings and church bombings and the brutal murders and beatings of civil rights activists were going on in the South during the civil rights movement era, politicians in the South rarely said a word to condemn or even restrain their citizens. When an abolitionist Senator, Charles Sumner, was caned by a Senator Preston Brooks from South Carolina, he was cheered and congratulated throughout the South. When the staff at abortion clinics have been murdered several times over the years, "pro-life" politicians have fallen strangely silent way too often. If Republican politicians don't strongly condemn the thuggery of way too many of their followers, they share in the blame. When they ratchet up their own rhetoric, and talk about second amendment solutions and the President being friends with terrorists, they share in the blame. Democracy is premised on us being able to freely and vigorously debate the issues, and on those who win elections governing the way they believe, but our entire democracy is at risk if violence becomes just another standard operating procedure and isn't swiftly and strongly condemned. Republicans who welcome paramilitary militia members and people with ties to violent racist organizations do so at not only their own peril, but our entire way of government. - Mike Lux

“What I don’t like from the president’s administration is this sort of, ‘I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP’” - Rand Paul, May 2010

Not ok on the throat of corporations, but ok on the neck of a citizen expressing freedom of speech.

ObamaCare Delivers!

Extreme (Medi-Cal) Makeover There’s no question the Affordable Care Act, the new federal health reform law, will transform California’s – and the nation’s – health care system. And a big part of the transformation will occur in the Medicaid Program, known as Medi-Cal in California. Medi-Cal, which has humbly provided health coverage to millions of low-income children, seniors, and persons with disabilities for 45 years, is due for a makeover. In a new CBP report, we project that by 2019, Medi-Cal coverage could climb to as high as 10.5 million under the new health law. In contrast, the program currently serves more than 7 million individuals, with approximately 500,000 more Californians eligible, but not enrolled. This significant expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility, and likely enrollment of millions of previously uninsured Californians, offers new opportunities. First, we estimate that generous federal funding will allow California to draw down nearly $30 in federal funds for each state dollar it invests in coverage for newly eligible adults between 2014 and 2019. Thus, for an extraordinarily modest investment, the state could potentially provide more than a million Californians with comprehensive health coverage. Second, the new health law declares that any person with an income below 138 percent of the federal poverty line is eligible, which makes it easier for certain individuals to enroll and stay enrolled in Medi-Cal. California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe said last week that Medi-Cal will be a program “grounded in covering people,” and federal officials are urging a new “triple-E” mantra – “Eligibility Equals Enrollment.” The transformation of Medi-Cal couldn’t come at a better time. As recent Census data have shown, the share of nonelderly Californians with job-based coverage has declined significantly since the beginning of the decade. Soon, Medi-Cal may help to fill that gap. – Hanh Kim Quach

Bill O'Reilly has a "Muslim problem":
Sheesh....

Bits and Pieces for the Week of October 17 - 23

More extremist happenings in AZ. Nazi symbol, white powder are sent in mail to Rep. Raúl Grijalva's office in Yuma. He's my congressman, helped my family personally, he's the Progressive Caucus co-leader, one of the hardest working men in congress... when rightwing blog sites can stretch the truth and bring up bullshit articles... it's no wonder crazy militia members get fired up. (7 of 6)

Create your own Voters' Ballot Guide for distribution (Mike)

If you've been paying any attention to the real news this year, this shouldn't be at all surprising. The NAACP Exposes Ties Between Tea Party and Racist Extremist Groups (Mike)

Nothing says profit like building up the Military Industrial Complex in Saudi Arabia, to the tune of 60 billion in weapons aid. Now if my recent memory is accurate... weren't 19 terrorists on 9/11 from Saudi Arabia? Where is the republi-con and FAUX News outrage? (7 of 6)

Astronomers find a galaxy more than 13 billion years old. (Mike)

An example of what is the complete opposite of the Republican Party "value" of no abortions allowed. Personally, I'm against aborting completely viable fetuses like this one; I consider that murder. (Mike)

If you haven't been following the candidate for NY governor from The Rent Is Too Damn High Party, you're missing out on one of the more compelling and entertaining campaigns of this election season. (Mike)

To say this is a shitload of pot is an understatement. (Mike)

The rise of plutocracy in the U.S. (Mike)

It can't be exposed enough. "...a report by the Center for Public Integrity... finds that leading members of Congress -- including Rep. Pete Sessions, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former presidential candidates John McCain and Ron Paul, and Tea Party favorites Michele Bachmann and Sen. Scott Brown - have discreetly requested stimulus funds despite their public opposition to the initiative." (7 of 6)

As we approach the start of the new NBA season, here's some of Kobe's top ten plays from last season to wet your appetite. (Mike)

Once American money slowed... Sunnis in Iraq Allied With U.S. Quitting to Rejoin Rebels. (7 of 6)

Elvira's Not a Witch

Best political ad I've seen this year:

Bits and Pieces for the Week of October 10 - 16

Candidate Brewer contradicts Gov. Brewer (7 of 6)

Yes, there are Republi-con obstructionists in the Senate. "Federal Reserve Board nominee Peter Diamond won the Nobel Prize in Economics... Yet, despite the fact that President Obama nominated this Nobel laureate to the Fed nearly six months ago, his nomination is currently being blocked by just one senator. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) believes that this year’s winner of the highest honor in the economics profession is unqualified to actually set economic policy..." (7 of 6)

Thank goodness! Challenge to Immigration Law Is Upheld. "A Federal District Court judge ruled Friday that one of the main lawsuits seeking to overturn Arizona’s new immigration law could go forward, despite efforts by Gov. Jan Brewer and several sheriffs to have the suit thrown out." (7 of 6)

Bits and Pieces for the Week of October 3 - 9

Beck dangerous? "You Betcha!" (7 of 6)

Fantastic news for AZ Democrats... Teachers union to spend $15M to protect vulnerable Dems. "The first TV ads began airing Wednesday in the Phoenix market..." (7 of 6)

The new nuclear threat: Why... it's Venezuela of course. Don't you know, their oil belongs to us also. (7 of 6)

3D TV is here. No glasses needed! I just hope they become cheap enough to afford before I die. (Mike)

As usual, rightwing media is trying to make AZ budget cuts and crisis part of the "death panel" narrative on Obama's healthcare plan. The title reads, We have ‘Death Panels’? Arizona’s Medicaid Program Will No Longer Cover Liver, Heart, Lung Transplants These cuts had nothing to do with Obama's healthcare plan, it was voted on, passed by an AZ Republican legislature that is trying its best to transfer more state financial responsibility onto the Feds. Yet, these same Tea Party politicians scream in favor of more state rights, while holding their hand out for Federal money. (7 of 6)

Not since the bu$h years has a politician been so brazen. AZ Governor... Brewer declares child health day? Really? "There were the kids dropped from the state’s KidsCare program. The kids who lost behavioral health services. The kids who lost child-care subsidies. The cuts to rehabilitative services and in-home services. It goes on." Seriously. (7 of 6)

Senator Sherrod Brown, (D-Ohio), explains... How to fight Tea Party's faux populism. (7 of 6)

Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell is today's knuckle-dragger of the week. (Mike)

Florida Senate candidate, Marco Rubio, is running an "English as official language" only campaign, yet, he is running commercial ads in Spanish. Yep, Republicans don't even try to hide that they are the party of hypocrisy. (7 of 6)

Job Opening

I am voting Republican because...Vote on November 2, 2010

Yes, this will come as a shock to you...

Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck in Right Wing Radio Duck

America’s Deepening Moral Crisis

Economist, Jeffery D. Sachs, makes a strong argument that "the price of our humanity" is at risk.

America’s political and economic crisis is set to worsen following the upcoming November elections. President Barack Obama will lose any hope for passing progressive legislation aimed at helping the poor or the environment. Indeed, all major legislation and reforms are likely to be stalemated until 2013, following a new presidential election. An already bad situation marked by deadlock and vitriol is likely to worsen, and the world should not expect much leadership from a bitterly divided United States... America today presents the paradox of a rich country falling apart because of the collapse of its core values. American productivity is among the highest in the world. Average national income per person is about $46,000 – enough not only to live on, but to prosper. Yet the country is in the throes of an ugly moral crisis. Income inequality is at historic highs, but the rich claim that they have no responsibility to the rest of society. They refuse to come to the aid of the destitute, and defend tax cuts at every opportunity. Almost everybody complains, almost everybody aggressively defends their own narrow and short-term interests, and almost everybody abandons any pretense of looking ahead or addressing the needs of others. What passes for American political debate is a contest between the parties to give bigger promises to the middle class, mainly in the form of budget-busting tax cuts at a time when the fiscal deficit is already more than 10% of GDP. Americans seem to believe that they have a natural right to government services without paying taxes. In the American political lexicon, taxes are defined as a denial of liberty... The big campaign contributors to both parties pay to ensure that their vested interests dominate political debates. That means that both parties increasingly defend the interests of the rich, though Republicans do so slightly more than Democrats. Even a modest tax increase on the rich is unlikely to find support in American politics. The result of all of this is likely to be a long-term decline of US power and prosperity, because Americans no longer invest collectively in their common future. America will remain a rich society for a long time to come, but one that is increasingly divided and unstable. Fear and propaganda may lead to more US-led international wars, as in the past decade. And what is happening in America is likely to be repeated elsewhere. America is vulnerable to social breakdown because it is a highly diverse society. Racism and anti-immigrant sentiments are an important part of the attack on the poor, or at least the reason why so many are willing to heed the propaganda against helping the poor... The lesson from America is that economic growth is no guarantee of wellbeing or political stability. American society has become increasingly harsh, where the richest Americans buy their way to political power, and the poor are abandoned to their fate. In their private lives, Americans have become addicted to consumerism, which drains their time, savings, attention, and inclination to engage in acts of collective compassion. The world should beware. Unless we break the ugly trends of big money in politics and rampant consumerism, we risk winning economic productivity at the price of our humanity.

"Five Ways the Democrats Can Avoid a Catastrophe..."

Memo To: President Obama and the Democratic Party Leadership From: Michael Moore Subject: 5 Things Dems Can Do to Turn It Around by November 2nd 1. Immediate Wall-to-Wall TV Ads, Internet Videos, and Appearances Hammering Who the Hell Put Us in the Misery We're In. We Americans have very short attention spans (Quick: Who Won the Oscar for Best Picture last year? The World Series? Exactly.). People need to be reminded over and over that it was the REPUBLICANS who concocted and led the unnecessary invasion of two countries, putting us in our longest war ever, wars that will eventually cost us over $3 trillion. Bush and Co. also caused the biggest collapse of our economy since the Great Depression. I don't know a single person in Hollywood who wouldn't shoot and produce those spots for you for FREE. Dems: Do not pull a single punch on this. Quit being a bunch of wusses and let the bastards have it! The public will be astonished that you've found your courage and your spine. We expect you to be Muhammad Ali, not Ally McBeal. 2. Indict the Criminals. Announce that the Justice Department will seek indictments against both those who caused the economic collapse and those who became war profiteers. Call it for what it is: organized crime. Use the RICO statutes. Use the basic laws that make fraud of any kind a crime. Get in the face of those who stole the billions, make them pay for it -- and the people will love you. We want Dirty Harry, not Dirty Dancing. 3. Announce a Moratorium on All Family Home Foreclosures. Last month (August) there were more home foreclosures than in any month in U.S. history. Worse than any month in the worst year ever, 2009. The bleeding hasn't stopped -- it's only gotten worse. And now, this week, two of the largest crime organizations who are throwing hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes (GMAC and JPMorgan Chase) have been forced to momentarily stop doing this. It turns out, they don't really have the paperwork to prove they actually own these houses! It's madness. So if you do one thing for the middle class this week, do this. It will take an hour of your time to draw up the decree and issue it. We'd rather watch "It's a Wonderful Life" than "Poltergeist." 4. Announce a New 21st Century WPA. "Who's hiring? THE GOVERNMENT IS HIRING!" Put together a simple plan to hire enough people to repair our roads, fix up our aging schools, and rebuild our infrastructure. Fund this by taxing the richest 1% who have more financial wealth than 95% of Americans combined! Unemployment will drop to 5%. Can you pass it? Well, you sure can't unless you try! And as you're trying, announce that you will force the Republican senators (who until now simply have had to say they "intended" to filibuster in order to kill a bill) to have to actually filibuster! Make them stand on the floor of the Senate and read from the phone book 24/7. They won't last a day. And America will see them for who they really are. 5. Declare That No Democrat Will Accept ANY Wall Street Money in the Next Election Cycle. Pick a day in the coming week. Have all your fellow Democrats in Congress stand in front of the Capitol (with President Obama) and pledge that if America allows you to retain control of Congress, none of you will take a penny from Wall Street for the 2012 election. Instead, promise to accept donations of only $2, $5 and $10. You will also pledge not to take a job as a lobbyist or lawyer for ANY corporation for ten years after you leave Congress. The message will be a powerful one to the average American fed up with corrupt political hacks. Act like Honest Abe, not Fast Freddie -- and see what happens. And here are two bonus suggestions: Use what sense of humor you have and go after these candidates and their agenda with all the hilarious ridicule they deserve. And quit complaining about "the base" not doing enough to help you. You want help? Do something this week to earn it. I've offered five suggestions. I'm sure the rest of "the base" has a few more.

Neil deGrasse Tyson quote:

"State lotteries are a tax on all those who did not do well in mathematics in school"