Tag Archives: Congress

Following Congress’ example: Sorry Ford, Not Paying my Car Loan

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment
Ford Edge

Sorry Ford, I've decided to follow Congress' example. Just as they're refusing to authorize an increase in the debt ceiling, just as they're refusing to pay for things they've already authorized, I will no longer pay my car loan until I get major concessions!

I’ve decided that precedent has been set by the best and brightest that America has to offer…our GOP-led House of Representatives.  I’ve decided to follow the shining example set by the GOP.  Ford…I’m no longer going to pay the loan bills for the car I bought last February.

Yes, Ford, I did take ownership of a shiny new Ford Edge last February.  Yes, I signed all the paperwork, agreeing to make my monthly payments on the car.  But despite receiving the car, despite agreeing to pay for it, I’m going to follow the GOP example and not pay for it unless you, Ford, agree to make concessions to me.  I didn’t spring for the integrated DVD/entertainment system in the car when I bought it.  Just for the heck of it, I’d also like to upgrade my wheel/hubcaps to an even shinier more intricate style.  In exchange for these concessions, Ford, I will make my car payments for a period of one year.  Then we’ll have to renegotiate and you’ll have to offer more concessions before I agree to pay further bills.

OK…sounds ridiculous, right?  But this is the new “logic” from the GOP-led House.  Yes, I know “logic” and “GOP House” are two phrases that are rarely ever uttered in the same sentence, but the same principle applied.  Congress sets spending and approves it. As a result of what Congress has already approved and what the president has signed, we have bills to pay.  We have a deficit.  But the GOP has decided to hold hostage our ability to actually PAY for the spending they’ve already approved.  As with the last fiasco of a debt-ceiling “negotiation”, the GOP intends to not authorize an increase in our debt ceiling without significant concessions and spending cuts in return.  In other words…they don’t want to pay the bills for what they’ve already purchased.

Given my cynical nature, it’s probably not a surprise when I say the majority of the American electorate are dumb as my (very sweet but stupid) Cocker Spaniel Cooper.  In a poll, a strong majority of Americans were against raising the debt limit.  In other words, a strong majority of Americans are stupid and unreasonable, much like our GOP-led House of Representatives.  The debt ceiling is a formality, a mechanism to allow for our bills to be paid.  Congress sets all spending levels, so it’s incredibly ballsy of them to use the debt-ceiling as a political ploy to highlight deficit spending in Washington.

Obama has said he will not negotiate over the debt ceiling increase.  Good…I hope he sticks to that, because the debt ceiling shouldn’t be something that ever needs to be negotiated.  It shouldn’t even need authorization by Congress, it should simply be required that the U.S. Treasury have the capability to always pay the bills that Congress has already authorized.  The “trillion-dollar platinum coin” issue has been making the rounds as an option for Obama to bypass Congress if the GOP continues to play with economic disaster by making the debt-ceiling a political football.  Frankly, I hope Obama does it.  I hope he bypasses Congress and shows the world how incredibly ridiculous the House GOP is.

I’m also glad to see Obama’s Cabinet picks.  I’m glad to see Joe Biden say that Obama is willing to go it alone on gun control and sign executive orders to address gun violence.  Enough is enough.  Obama is a 2nd-term president, winning in an election where Democrats also made gains in the Senate despite having many more Democratic Senators up for reelection than Republicans, and winning in an election where Democrats HAD MORE THAN A MILLION more national votes for the House than did Republicans.  The American people have spoken, and they chose Democratic leadership.  Obama should be willing to stock his Cabinet with whomever he pleases without GOP whining or threats of filibuster, especially since confirmation of cabinet posts has been a formality in the past.  If a GOP is more concerned about campaign contributions and politics than about the safety of our children, a reasonably popular 2nd-term president should be able to do what he can to make sure gun violence is addressed.

Let the madness stop.  End the political gridlock.  It looks like Obama has gotten the message and is standing his ground (finally).  In the meantime, I’ll keep paying my car loan…

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GOP Answer to Deficit Reduction – Cutting Tax Rates for Rich

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

Up until today, it was easy for Obama and Democrats to ignore the bluster from John Boehner and Republicans.  Boehner and other top GOP whiners certainly haven’t pulled any punches in their whining about Obama’s initial proposal.  But until today, they didn’t even HAVE a proposal of their own, making it very difficult to take their complaining seriously. 

Today, Republicans provided a supposed counter-offer to Obama.  And…it’s still very difficult to take them seriously.

Republicans counter-proposal on taxes?  Cutting tax rates for the wealthy…but closing unspecified loopholes to somehow increase $800 billion in revenue.   To begin with, there are no details on exactly what loopholes will be closed, or how the net outcome from cutting tax rates for the wealthy would somehow result in an increase of $800 billion to government coffers.  By CUTTING rates for the wealthy, but promising unspecified loophole closures, Republicans see the best of both worlds…not going against the Grover Norquist tax-cut pledge, AND inevitably shifting some of the revenue increase burden to groups other than the wealthy.

It’s amazing how far Republicans are going to protect tax cuts for the richest of Americans.  This same farce of a counter-proposal also seeks to cut $600 billion in health costs, with one stated Republican option being to raise Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67.  Another $200 billion would be saved by decreasing cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security, as well as all other aspects of government.   While doing everything they can to protect their wealthy donors, Republicans certainly have no problem sticking the poor or the sick with additional costs.

After the election, an emboldened Obama is finally showing a backbone.  He’s finally sticking to his guns on making the wealthy pay their fair share.  I just hope to god he sticks with it, and doesn’t cave once the fiscal cliff approaches. 

Going over the cliff, even with a short-term recession looming as a result, is far more preferable than caving to Republicans who not only want to maintain the gap between rich and poor, but seemingly want to widen it.

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The “New” Face of the GOP

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
White Male House GOP Committee Chairs

From the DailyKos story, the 19 House Committee chairs named by Republicans this week. Hmmm...what do these 19 folks all have in common? Is the face of the "new" Republican Party, the one that supposedly learned a lesson from the 2012 elections?

Three weeks after the election, and it’s quite obvious that Republicans have already forgotten the lessons learned about the electorate, about diversity, and about moderating stances.  As these stories from Slate and the DailyKos note, EVERY House GOP Committee chair that’s been named so far is a white male.  Shocking!!!  As my wife would state, the “Hairy Old White Men” still rule the roost in the GOP house. 

After two straight presidential elections that have proven Republicans can’t rely on the “White Vote” strategy any longer, there were immediate calls from many on the right to become more inclusive.  Boehner and the GOP leadership in the House missed that memo.  As I’ve stated before, I GLADLY support the status quo in the Republican Party leadership.  As long as the status quo holds, as long as Republicans cling to policies and behavior from the past, they’re destined to lose many more elections.

There were also many after the election who claimed it was the death knell of the Tea Party, that Tea Party conservatism was too extreme for the American public.  There’s little doubt that the Tea Party backed candidates performed miserably in Congressional races, and helped contribute to the stunning Democratic gains in the Senate, when by every historical standard, Republicans should have gained Senate seats this cycle.  So have Republicans begun to move towards more moderate candidates?

Virginia Republicans certainly haven’t learned their lesson.  In a state Romney was sure he’d win, in a traditionally “safe” Republican state that’s now shifted to blue the last 2 elections, Virginia Republicans have rallied around conservative lightning rod Ken Cuccinelli for governor in 2013. Among Cuccinelli’s MANY claims to fame?  Trying to sue a Virginia climate-change scientist to release his emails…opposing ObamaCare…opposing limits on carrying guns…opposing rights or assistance for illegal immigrants…and the hits keep on a comin’. 

Bravo, Repubs.  Don’t give in!  Don’t go against what you believe in!!  Don’t deviate from your current single-minded focus on turning the U.S. into a conservative Nirvana!! 

As long as you continue to act as if the 2012 election never happened…Democrats like myself will be fat and happy for a VERY long time.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Boehner’s “Generous” Offer for Compromise

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment

Yesterday, John Boehner tried to set the tone for “compromise” on debt negotiations.  It sounded good.  After a very tumultuous, brutal election, it sounded good for the Republican House to come out and say they were willing to deal with Obama on the debt.

It remains to be seen what Boehner means by “compromise”.  Note the language of his statement. He specifically says they’re willing to raise ‘revenue’.   From his comments yesterday, Boehner still says Republicans are unwilling to raise tax rates on the rich.  HUH!?!?!  How is that compromise?  After the election, even some hard-core conservatives admitted that tax increases had to be part of any realistic deal to cut the debt.  Yet despite Boehner’s “magnanimous” offer yesterday to compromise, Republicans are still unwilling to raise tax rates on the rich.

How do you raise “revenue” without raising taxes?  According to Boehner, Republicans plans for raising revenue comes from a “byproduct of a growing economy, energized by a simpler, cleaner, fairer tax code, with fewer loopholes, and lower rates for all.”  WTF!?!?!   This is EXACTLY what Romney had been campaigning on!!!  It’s the same old trickle-down economics “solution”!!!  Cut taxes!! Then we will magically generate new revenue simply because the economy is growing!!!

Nice political play, Boehner.  You certainly fooled the press into getting a big headline.  Right after an election, you made it LOOK like Republicans were being magnanimous.  It sets Boehner and the Republicans up more favorably when negotiations start, and I’m sure you’ll hear today’s proclamation referenced to, when Republicans refuse to raise taxes and blame Obama.

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Environmental Protection Agency – South Dakota’s “Boogeyman”

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

I swear I live in a place where stupidity and greed are viewed as virtues…

In South Dakota, we haven’t been totally swamped by political ads.  Presidential candidates certainly aren’t going to waste any money here.  Hell will freeze over before a Democratic presidential candidate wins South Dakota.  However, South Dakota is getting to be known for corny, ridiculous political ads for in-state battles.  Jeff Barth, a Democrat who was running for South Dakota’s lone House seat, had an ad go viral on YouTube this spring.  In the ad, Barth walks along while a series of corny props show up in his path, including a gun that Barth picks up and fires.  Barth did end up losing.

The House race is between Kristi Noem, the Republican (of course) incumbent, and Matt Varilek, Democrat. Noem had her own ad go viral this week, a ridiculous ad that makes all of South Dakota look like a bunch of dumb hicks.  In the ad, Noem compares her experiences in South Dakota, winning awards from the state soybean council and working on a farm, to Varilek, who is apparently wasting his time traveling the world, getting graduate degrees, and working for the United Nations.  Her point?  To supposedly make Varilek look like he’s out of touch, I guess…for you see, here in South Dakota, if you travel the world, get a graduate degree, and work for the U.N., it evidently makes you uppity and out of touch with “real” South Dakotans.

Don’t ask what I think of the “real” South Dakotan.  I’m sitting here watching football tonight, and there have been a number of political ads, including more for Kristi Noem.  The talking point for Repub political candidates in the state?  Stopping “Obama and EPA regulations” that evidently are killing the state.  It’s not just Noem that has used the supposed evils of the EPA in attack ads against a Democratic opponent.  I just saw an ad for Kristi Fiegen, an incumbent with the Public Utilities Commission, that also used the evil EPA as a reason why South Dakotans should vote for her.  After all, EVERYONE knows that when you control the mighty South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, you control the EPA, and the world.  Vote for Fiegen!!  Otherwise the evil EPA and their regulations will ruin South Dakota!!

Everyone needs a boogeyman, I guess, and for Republicans of all flavors in South Dakota, it seems like the EPA is somehow the boogeyman de jour.  After all, it’s more important for farmers and industry in South Dakota to make an extra buck, than it is to protect the air, water, and land that our children will depend upon.  I’m young enough that I guess I don’t understand when the terms “environment” or “conservation” became dirty words to Republicans.  For god’s sake, it was Nixon who established the EPA. It was Nixon who established the Endangered Species Act.  It was Nixon who signed the Clean Air Act.  Yes, public pressures at the time were important in moving Nixon to establish a number of environmental programs, but Republicans as a whole USED to believe in environmental and conservation issues.

Why have Republicans become so averse to supporting environmental issues?  When did things start to turn?  The naive side of me can’t understand why environmental and conservation issues ARE political issues.  The naive side of me can’t understand how ANY party, how any human being, can be so unconcerned about the world our children will live in.

However, the naive side of me is dwarfed by my cynical side.  The cynical side knows the reason.  People are inherently selfish SOBs, so much so, that their short-term pursuit of the almighty dollar is more important to them than what kind of world they leave their children.  As with every other issue in America, it’s been branded as a black-or-white issue…it’s either economic growth, or environmental conservation.

I do find it rather pathetic to sit here tonight and watch commercials, where South Dakota politicians feel that opposing the EPA, an agency charged with PROTECTING the health of our citizens, is a winning play for getting votes.  Are South Dakotans really that gullible?  Are they really that stupid?  Given how South Dakotans typically vote, it’s pretty obvious what the answer is.

Posted in Environmental Awareness, Politics

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Nonpartisanship – Republican Style

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service recently authored a report to examine the potential effects of tax policy on the economy. Senate Republicans, apparently not happy with the results of the research, successfully pressured the CRS to bury the report.  The issue?

The nonpartisan CRS study found that lowering tax rates on the wealthy had no discernible effect on increasing economic growth or improving economic conditions in the U.S.  In other words…the CRS found that “trickle-down” economics is complete bullshit.  Senate Republicans, finding the report completely undermines the entire tax philosophy of their party, strenuously objected to the report content and pressured for the report to be withdrawn.

Such is life in the Republican Party.  Find a poll you don’t agree with?  You simply don’t believe the poll, and start denigrating the poll’s maker.  Don’t agree with the science of climate change?  You start attacking the science and the scientists who produce it.  Don’t like a nonpartisan report on tax policy?  You try to bury it, before the facts come out and the public sees yet more evidence that your entire party is built on a host of lies. 

THIS is the government under Republican “leadership”.  Facts?  Facts be damned, Republican Party ideology, no matter how freaking twisted it is, is the overarching concern.  So why not a Romney as president, Republicans?  You’ve already shown yourselves to be a deceitful twisted bunch.  Having Romney as president?  He’ll fit right in with this bunch.

Pathetic.  It has to be awfully damned embarrassing to be a Republican right now.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Scum of the Week – Paul Broun

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
Paul Broun

Can't we have a simple IQ test before allowing idiots like Paul Broun to run for office?

And people wonder why science in the United States is on the decline…

Republican (did I even need to say that?) Congressman Paul Broun was shown in a video this week, saying “All that stuff I was taught about evolution, embryology, the Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell“.  He goes on to say that the ”earth is but 9,000 years old“.  It’s bad enough that a sitting U.S. Congressman is so incredibly stupid that he would talk like this.  One would HOPE that the political leaders in the U.S. weren’t complete idiots (OK…take a moment and collect yourself until you stop laughing, since obviously many of them are dumber than a stick).

But what’s absolutely dangerous is that this idiot is on the House Committee for Science, Space, and Technology.  A sitting congressman who has a large say in the direction of science and technology policy and funding in the U.S., and he’s a bible-thumpin’ wacko who believes the earth is 9,000 years old.

That should scare the hell out of people.  It’s already been abundantly clear in recent years that conservatives have completely abandoned logic, have completely abandoned science, and frankly, have completely abandoned sanity.

Rep. Broun…you are the recipient of a WELL deserved “Scum of the week” award.

Posted in Evolution/Creationism, Politics, Scientific Awareness, Scum Of The Week

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Scum of the Week – Texas Judge Tom Head

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment

Man, what a week in the news.  SO many potential choices for the scum of the week.  But the “winner” for the week is Texas judge Tom Head.

Head is an elected county judge who also has responsibilities for emergency management in his county.  In broadcast interviews this week, Head said that the greatest threat facing his county is Obama being reelected, saying he believes it could result in civil war.  According to Head, Obama has been installing “Czars” in positions of power, people who will make Congress irrelevant.  He also states that Obama will “give away” U.S. sovereignty to the United Nations.  Then he says civil war will be necessary to get rid of the “Dictator”, and that he personally will stand up to the U.N. tanks and the like that Obama will supposedly call in.

My…freakin…god.  I have a damned low opinion of the human race as a whole, but I swear to god, there’s a good 50% of Americans who are 1) dumb as a board, and 2) bigoted pigs.  I LOVE wackos like this who point out the impending disaster if Obama is re-elected.  Obama has been in power 3 1/2 years.  Has he “called in the UN” yet?  Has he reduced Congress and the Constitution to an irrelevant level?  Has he done A SINGLE THING to reduce the freedoms that Americans enjoy!?!?!?

I’m not surprised any more at the complete IGNORANCE of our own elected officials. Todd Akin?  This loser?  In American democracy, sadly, these losers ARE representative of the American populus as a whole.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Hairy Old White Men Strike Again

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments
Hairy Old White Men

Hairy old white men strike again, voting against a bill that would improve women's pay equality in comparison to men.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  In this picture, Senate Republicans are explaining why they refused to vote for a bill aimed to improve pay equality between men and women.

And what is it you note about this picture?  Ah yes, that’s right…THEY’RE ALL HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN!!! (Again…a phrase coined by my wife).  In another example of how COMPLETELY out of touch Republicans are, not only did every single Republican vote against this bill, but the cadre of Senators they chose to come out and speak to the press about it are all HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN. 

The not quite as “old” Hairy White Man in the back is our own beloved Senator John Thune from South Dakota.  Or, as I like to refer to him….”Worthless Piece of Shit Thune“.  This is the same bold, independent thinker who responded with “I can’t vote for that!  I’m a Republican!!” when my wife and I met with him to talk about a stem cell research bill up before the Senate (research that could help my son with Type 1 diabetes).   PERFECT photo of what Thune is ALL about…standing in the background, hanging on every word that his older HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN colleagues are saying, so he can repeat the same exact words later.  I laugh whenever I hear the man mentioned as a possible VP candidate.  My GOD, has America become SO pathetic that a man like him is even MENTIONED for something like that?

Thune may not be “old”, but he definitely qualifies as a HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN nonetheless.  To qualify, you must:

1) Lack any kind of independent thought, always blindly voting the Republican party line.

2) ALWAYS vote against ANY bill that attempts to improve rights or living standards for any one who is NOT 1) white 2) a man, or 3) in the richest 1% of all Americans.

3) Be a rather repugnant human being overall, someone you’d hope to god your daughters wouldn’t ever marry.

In other words…you just have to simply be like seemingly 99% of Republican men nowadays.  I HEAR there are supposedly a few Republican men who aren’t HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, but I have yet to find one.  As a birder, I’m still hopeful that birds such as the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Bachmann’s Warbler, or Eskimo Curlew may be hanging on somewhere and aren’t extinct. 

I’m starting to feel the same way about Republicans.  Are there ANY of the supposed “Compassionate Conservatives” (HAH!!!) that Bush talked about? Or have ALL Republicans gone off the deep end?  Have they all gone the way of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker or Eskimo Curlew??

I take heart that given the Republican’s love of rich people and HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN, pretty soon those few Republicans who AREN’T HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN will realize they’re supporting the wrong party.  GET A CLUE, REPUBS!!  There are one HELL of a lot more of us out here than just HAIRY OLD WHITE MEN.  Continue to make the HAIRY OLD WHITE MAN political platform the platform of the Republican Party, and your party is doomed.

Posted in Culture Wars, Equality, Politics

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Sen. Grassley – Crossing a Line

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment

On the blogosphere, partisanship and strong language are generally the norm.  As normal every day citizens, bloggers venting about a topic certainly aren’t averse to using harsh, abusive language.  I certainly have done my share of that from time to time.  Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell, Rick Santorum, and John Boehner have all felt my verbal wrath at times.  Rush Limbaugh has CERTAINLY felt my verbal wrath, given the very public, hate-filled messages he spouts from his radio show every day.  Given some of my past posts, I suppose it could be viewed as a wee bit hypocritical to say what I’m about to say, but Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa has DEFINITELY crossed a line with a tweet he made over the weekend.

The Senate USED to be the place of “gentlemen” (and women) Senators, where partisanship took a back seat to civility and cooperation, at least in a MUCH stronger sense than civility and cooperation has been a cornerstone of the House.  Those days are gone.  Republicans in general have followed Rush down into the gutter, increasingly relying on stirring up hatred to drive their politics.  Evidently the Senate is no longer immune to that trend either.

In Sen. Grassley’s tweet yesterday, he said “Constituents askd why i am not outraged at PresO attack on supreme court independence. Bcause Am ppl r not stupid as this x prof of con law.”  When Grassley’s staff were asked about the tweet, the Grassley contingent took full ownership of the statement, stating that the tweet did indeed come from Grassley himself, and that he wasn’t backing down on anything he said.   

It’s one thing for a sitting Senator and the President of the United States to disagree with each other.  It’s QUITE another for an active Senator to personally attack the office of the President of the United States, and call the President “stupid“.   What bothers me the most about the current crop of Republican Senators and Representatives is that there seems to be absolutely NO respect for the President of the United States.   It’s damned hard to have a functioning government when basic disagreement on policy has morphed into a complete lack of respect, and a complete unwillingness to even LISTEN to the other side of a story, much less cooperate and compromise to reach a solution on an issue.

It’s one thing for bloggers or every day Americans to call out a politician.  I don’t like the messages of pure hatred that have permeated political discussion, but hey, it’s America, we all have the right to have our voices heard.   However, having our highest elected officials hurl personal insults at each other crosses a line, and damages the structure and functioning of our political and governmental framework.  Senator Chuck Grassley, congratulations…you have won my “Scum of the Week” award.

Posted in Politics, Scum Of The Week

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