Monthly Archives: January 2013

To NRA, Guns Are More Valuable Than People.

Posted on by

Literally! On the anniversary of the Tucson shooting which claimed the lives of six people and seriously wounded others, including Congresswoman “Gabby” Giffords, the City of Tucson conducted a gun buyback. The National Rifle Association not only objected. It vehemently opposed the destruction of the weapons collected. The NRA has even threatened to sue the city based on an AZ state law which has made it illegal to destroy guns that have been confiscated by law enforcement agencies.

Promoted by the NRA, this state law was recently passed by the nitwits in the AZ State Legislature to protect guns – even those used in crimes. The law directs law enforcement agencies to sell the guns to licensed firearms dealers within the state.

In other words, in Arizona, guns now have more rights than people!

If a person commits a deadly crime, he or she may be subject to the death penalty. But the gun used to commit the crime can live on to kill again. Does this make any sense to anyone outside the NRA leadership?

Since Tucson went ahead to destroy the guns collected in its buyback program, saying that they were not confiscated, the NRA has vowed to close the “loophole” in its state law so that no guns may be destroyed by law enforcement. This should tell you everything you need to know about the lunatics running the NRA.

The NRA leadership refuses to entertain any changes in our laws to protect people, like the 6-year-olds who were killed at Sandy Hook. Yet its leaders get their camoflauge panties in a bunch as soon as a gun meets a premature end.

Amazing!!!

Looking Up To Cockroaches.

Posted on by

Yesterday, Congress reached a new milestone. A survey measuring its approval ratings found that Congress is now less popular than cockroaches, head lice and root canals!

The latter seems particularly appropriate for those of us living in northern Arizona as we are represented by a dentist who has a lot to do with our current problems. Teapublican representative Paul Gosar is a proud member of the House’s Tea Party caucus which is trying to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly and the poor.

Gosar voted in support of Paul Ryan’s austerity budget which, if implemented, would not only plummet our economy into a deep recession. It would take the first steps toward privatizing Social Security and Medicare. And it would cut funding for the most vulnerable while cutting taxes for the wealthy and large corporations. Gosar has also repeatedly voted against women’s rights, Obamacare, and investments in our infrastructure.

In addition, he is one of 67 GOP representatives who voted against extending flood insurance funds to those affected by Hurricane Sandy!

Given the approval rating of Congress, the question is which group will come to their senses first? Our representatives in Congress? Or voters?

This Confirmation Hearing Is Going To Be Good!

Posted on by

Numerous Teapublicans have already stated that they will not support the nomination of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense. Set aside for a moment that tradition dictates that a president has the right to choose whom he pleases for his cabinet, it’s going to be really entertaining to watch Teapublicans attack one of their own.

Why, you may ask, would they attack a Republican who is qualified for the position and share many of their own beliefs? A man who is a decorated war hero?

It seems that while still in the Senate, Hagel had a nasty habit of telling the truth a little too often. For example, he dared to say that our invasion of Iraq was all about oil – in contrast to the Bush administration’s official position that we were “bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East.” Hagel was also against the surge of troops in Iraq, fearing that so many troops might drag Iran into the war. Worse yet, Hagel is said to be “weak on Iran” because he opposed the Bush administration’s attempt to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

In doing so, Hagel said that, though he fully supports Israel, he swore to uphold the interests of the United States first.

How dare he take his oath of office so seriously? Didn’t he realize that Israelis and their Jewish-American supporters were watching? Didn’t he understand that his position could cost Teapublicans votes? Didn’t he know that the US is supposed to support everything the Israeli war hawks want, no matter how much it inflames the situation in the Middle East?

Whatever your position on the issues, the confirmation hearing is going to be fascinating. So pull up a chair and a bowl of popcorn and turn on C-Span. The Teapublican questioning of Hagel is going to be entertaining. Having watched Hagel for a number of years, I’m convinced he’ll give a lot better than he gets.

Gavel Envy?

Posted on by

Ever notice Speaker of the House John Boehner’s enormous gavel?

The thing must be a foot and a half long and weigh a couple of pounds. Which leads me to wonder why would he choose to wield a gavel that looks like it belongs to a circus clown, or in a kangaroo court?  Certainly he must be compensating for something. The question is what? Lack of manhood? Lack of power?

Personally, I’m betting on both.

Boehner is on record as saying his job is the worst job in Congress. Given the fact that he doesn’t believe in compromise (he can’t even bring himself to say the word), it’s little wonder he finds the job so difficult. Yet, when he had the opportunity to hand his oversize gavel to someone else, his oversize ego wouldn’t let that happen. So here we are, back to 2010 all over again; a recalcitrant House majority with an uncompromising leader who says he will no longer negotiate with the president. What could possibly go wrong?

The 112th Congress finished with approval ratings hovering around 10 percent. With the Tea Party caucus and Boehner’s leadership, the 113th could reach zero.

The Worse-Than-Do-Nothing Congress.

Posted on by

In 1948, President Harry Truman labeled the 80th Congress the “Do Nothing” Congress since it refused to pass most of the bills of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and the Truman administration. Instead, it focused on passing a few bills to benefit big business.

Believe it or not, the recently ended 112th Congress was worse!

Not only was the 112th unproductive. It was counter-productive. At several points in the last two years, its approval rating among voters was 10 percent. That’s right, 10 percent! That makes it even more unpopular than communism which has an approval rating of 11 percent in the US.

Among the 112th’s few accomplishments was lowering the credit rating of the US government for the first time in history. By blustering and balking at raising the debt ceiling and threatening to pay debts that Congress had already spent, it nearly collapsed the world economy. And instead of focusing on creating jobs and improving the US economy, it spent most of its time trying to discredit President Obama.

It passed no bills to build infrastructure, to increase exports, to bring jobs back home from overseas, to reform immigration, to regulate the type of military-style weapons used in the Newtown massacre, or to bring fairness to our tax codes.

Indeed, the 112th passed the fewest bills ever.

The 112th rabidly talked of lowering the deficit and reducing the national debt, but it succeeded only in kicking the can down the road for 11 months. In doing so, it created an artificial “fiscal cliff” that nearly dragged us back into recession. Teapublicans in the 112th bragged that they didn’t know the meaning of compromise. Dominated by a rabid Tea Party caucus led by likely escaped mental patient Michele Bachmann, the 112th even refused to follow its own leadership.

Incredulously, it even refused to vote for financial aid for the victims of Hurricane Sandy! An inaction that prompted several of its national leaders to say that if you donate to GOP campaigns, you must be “out of your mind.”

So goodbye, 112th! You will be forgotten, but not missed.

UPDATE: Following its failure to negotiate a long-term solution for the “fiscal cliff,” Congress’ approval rate is now in the single digits. Understandably, Congress is less popular than head lice and cockroaches! 

“Fiscal Cliff” Bill Includes More Largess For Wall Street.

Posted on by

Avoiding the “fiscal cliff” should have been a simple matter of extending the Bush tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans. After all, this was the central issue in the presidential campaign. But the GOP (Guardians Of Privilege) have never passed up an opportunity to take from the poor and give to the rich.

So buried in the bill are a few very expensive gifts for the rich and the powerful.

For example, Section 322 is a $9 billion provision that allows banks and multinational corporations to defer taxes when they engage in “active financing.” Their lobbyists claim it’s necessary to help them compete overseas. But critics say that it’s a merely another windfall that encourages the banks and manufacturers to create more jobs overseas.

Yet another payoff to Wall Street is Section 328 which extends tax-exempt financing for the area around the former World Trade Center for another year. Originally intended to help fund reconstruction following 9/11, much of the financing has been used to build luxury apartments, instead. It even helped finance the construction of Goldman Sachs’ new headquarters (as if they actually needed the help).

Of course, news of the bill’s passage sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring. As a result, hedge fund managers and the other Wall Street executives can rest assured that they’ll be in line for seven figure bonuses again this year.

So congratulations, fellow taxpayers. Thanks to lobbyists and the GOP, we just gave the wealthy and the powerful a late Christmas gift.

And all we got in return was the shaft!