Category Archives: President Obama

The Church Of Hate.

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If, upon reading that headline, you don’t immediately think of the Westboro Baptist Church, you simply haven’t been paying attention.  For the few who don’t know, the Westboro House of Hate is the group that pickets military funerals with signs that read “God Hates Fags,” “God Hates All Nations,” and “God Hates Fag Enablers.”

One can only ask, how the Hell would they know?  If there is a God, He certainly wouldn’t speak to the Westboro haters – at least not in any civil way.

This is a group that will picket anything they dislike or don’t understand, which means they’re picketing almost all of the time.  Not only do they picket virtually every military funeral because they’re angry that the Pentagon allows gays in the military.  They have picketed Catholic churches, Methodist churches, newspapers, political gatherings…even other Baptist churches.  And, after writing this, they may even picket me.

Even after President Obama signed a bill prohibiting Westboro members from picketing within 300 feet of a military funeral, the group responded by saying “there’s prime real estate at 301 feet.”

Yes, there are a lot of wackos out there.  So what makes the Westboro House of Lunatics unique?  What sets them apart from other asylum escapees is that you help pay for their activities.  That’s right.  As a “church” the Westboro Home for the Mentally Disturbed pays no taxes.  No property taxes.  No income taxes on donations.  No taxes on investments.

Where’s Jim Jones and his vat of Kool-Aid when you need him?

To learn about another wacko group, check out my book The Teapublican Book of Lies available at Amazon.com and other on-line bookstores.

“Rampant” Voter Fraud?

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Teapublicans claim to be concerned about vote integrity.  So, in order to assure everyone that there is not massive voter fraud, they have passed strict voter ID laws in a number of states – primarily so-called “battleground” states.  In doing so, they are forcing tens of thousands of voters to seek new photo IDs.

A lesser known Teapublican tactic is to restrict voting hours and the number of days for early voting.  In Ohio, Teapublicans have eliminated Sunday voting, which has been highly popular amongst African-American voters.  In response to the predictable outcry, the Ohio Secretary of State said there should be no special accommodation of any group of voters (especially those who are most likely to vote for President Obama).

In summation, Teapublicans are so concerned about the sanctity of our right to vote that they are willing to keep tens of thousands from exercising that right.

To explain their actions, Teapublicans have cited voter fraud.  They use anecdotal evidence that felons, dead people and non-citizens have voted.  That prompted investigative reporters to examine the facts.  News21, a Carnegie-Knight investigative reporting project, found just 10 cases of alleged in-person voter impersonation since 2000.  10 cases out of 146 million registered voters!

Those numbers tend to be supported by an investigation by the Bush administration which found only 86 cases of alleged fraud out of 300 million votes cast.  (Of course, the administration did not report on the voter suppression and voter fraud in 2000 that gave Bush the presidency in Florida.)

Teapublicans say they aren’t trying to suppress the vote.  They say one incident of voter fraud is too many because it could affect the outcome of an election.  Who do they think they’re kidding?

For more, read The Teapublican Book of Lies available at Amazon.com and other on-line bookstores.

Why You Should Hate Teapublicans. Let Me Count The Reasons.

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1 – Richard Nixon’s Watergate break-in intended to literally steal an election. 

2 – The “Southern strategy” in which the GOP embraced racists. 

3 – The “Moral Majority” in which the Party embraced “social” issues. 

4 – Reagan’s union-busting. 

5 – Elimination of loan interest deductions resulting in huge tax increases for the middle class.

6 – Cuts to capital gains taxes and estate taxes on the wealthy. 

7 – Reagan’s Iran-Contra plan which financed Central American death squads.

8 – Deregulation of Savings and Loan institutions resulting in the loss of billions.  

9 – Gun laws putting military-style weapons in the hands of millions. 

10 – $60 million witch hunt and impeachment of President Clinton. 

11 – Massive voter suppression giving the 2000 election to George W. Bush. 

12 – Bush’s failure to act on warnings of a 2001 terrorist attack. 

13 – The Bush tax cuts.

14 – The unnecessary and completely unfunded war in Iraq. 

15 – “Swift-boating” of Vietnam War Hero, Sen. John Kerry. 

16 – Richard “The Dick” Cheney. 

17 – The outsourcing of our military to corporations. 

18 – Awarding government contracts to corporations with offshore “headquarters.” 

19 – Deregulation of banks resulting in mortgage fraud.

20 – The Great Recession.

21 – Subsidies and tax breaks for corporations that send jobs offshore.

22 – Fox News Channel and right-wing hate radio. 

23 – Unsubstantiated claims about President Obama’s birthplace and religion. 

24 – The Tea Party.

25 – Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman, Steve King and Paul Ryan. 

26 – Attacks on women’s rights. 

27 – Attacks on the LGBT community. 

28 – Plans to repeal The Affordable Care Act. 

29 – Assaults on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. 

30 – Obstruction of hundreds of President Obama’s appointments. 

31 – Filibusters. 

32 – Buckley v. Valeo resulting in a ruling that money is free speech.

33 – Citizen’s United which gave corporations the same rights as people.  

34 – Voter ID laws intended to steal the coming election.

35 – Attacks on Public Broadcasting, education and the environment.

36 – Blaming the poor and the unemployed for our deficit.

37 – Blaming teachers and first responders for our deficit.

38 – Trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.

39 – Vilifying immigrants to get votes.

40 – The debt ceiling debate.

41 – Embrace of Ayn Rand’s self-centered philosophy.

42 – Lies, lies and more lies.

Learn more in The Teapublican Book of Lies available from Amazon.com and other on-line bookstores

Everything Wrong With Politics All Wrapped Up In One Super PAC.

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If you watch television news, you’ve probably seen the despicable “birther” ads paid for by the super PAC, Conservative Majority Fund.  The anonymous group is also running a commercial “to stop the UN gun grab.”  This little gem claims that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are set to sign an agreement with the UN that will take away your guns.

Oh my, the Black Shirts are coming!  The Black Shirts are coming!

Before you grab your assault weapons and head for your hideout, you should know that the commercials are just more Teapublican lies, albeit some of the most disgusting yet.  You already know that President Obama was born in the US.  And, in reality, the UN Arms Trade Treaty is designed to control arms trade between nations to prevent weapons from being sold to rogue groups such as al Qaeda.  It will do nothing to interfere with Second Amendment rights.

Of course, the Conservative Majority Fund offers many other reasons you should be afraid – very afraid.  It wants you to be afraid of voter fraud so you’ll accept highly restrictive new voter laws.

No group better exemplifies the toxic state of political discourse in the US.  No group better exposes the Teapublican tactics of fear and voter suppression.  And no group better illustrates the problem with the “money equals free speech” ruling by the Supreme Court which allows anonymous billionaires the opportunity to buy an election.

To learn more about Teapublican tactics and lies, read The Teapublican Book of Lies, available at Amazon and other on-line bookstores.

Romney’s International Policy Experience.

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For months, Democrats have touted the foreign policy expertise of President Obama.  Sure, he ended the war in Iraq and ordered the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden.  But that pales compared to Mitt Romney’s international experience.

True, Mitt hasn’t dealt with any foreign leaders, but he “saved” the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and he has years of experience dealing with foreign banks.  He not only had a Swiss bank account.  He owned several shell corporations in the Bahamas, bank accounts in Luxembourg and more bank accounts in Grand Cayman.

Of course, as a multi-millionaire, Romney is a highly-experienced international traveler.  There’s hardly a resort in the world that he hasn’t visited.  Moreover, while heading Bain Capital, Romney outsourced American jobs to China.

We’ve also learned that Mitt founded Bain Capital with funds from powerful families in Central America; the same families who controlled death squads in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

So take that, Democrats.  When it comes to experience with foreign currency, Romney is practically another Henry Kissinger.

Nausea And Palin Are Synonymous.

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Snarky Sarah doesn’t like President Obama’s speeches.  She calls them nauseating, probably because he’s using big words she doesn’t understand – like ethics and civility.

In the past four years nobody has epitomized snarky attacks more than Palin.  From the time she burst onto the national political scene at the 2008 Republican National Convention, she has shown a mastery of disgusting and cheap attacks that few possess.

Of course, anytime anyone struck back, she cried foul.

Now she’s outraged that the pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA, has attacked Romney’s role in Bain Capital.  She has accused the PAC of coordinating its efforts with the Obama campaign and she demands an investigation.  She has even accused the mainstream media of “prostituting themselves for a job, for interviews, for access to the Obama administration…”

Hmmm…you sure you want to go there, Sarah?

Instead of finding issues with the Obama campaign, the investigation just might reveal the extent of the coordination between GOP super PACs, Fox News Channel, the Romney campaign and you.

Poorly Disguised Racism.

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Ever since Barack Obama was elected president, conservative white people have decried his lack of patriotism.  They say he is a socialist.  They say he was born in Kenya.  They say he is a Muslim.  They say he does not believe in American values and American exceptionalism.

Considering that his policies reflect those of former President Clinton and, in many cases, former President Bush, one may only conclude that the reason conservatives feel this way is that he is black.

There are other signs of growing racism in politics and the media.

Fox News Channel has recently questioned the patriotism of a US Olympic gold medalist for not wearing a flag-themed uniform during her performances.  (Nevermind that several decades ago it was considered unpatriotic to wear clothing mimicking the American flag.)  And, although few of the US athletes have worn clothing of red, white and blue, only one athlete was singled out…Gabby Douglas, the first African-American to win the all-around in Olympic gymnastics competition.

Coincidence?  I think not.

It’s no more coincidence than the fact that the mass killings in Wisconsin have received relatively little press compared to those in Colorado, Arizona, Texas and West Virginia.  Could that be because the victims in Wisconsin were Sikh immigrants from India and other parts of south Asia?

Poll: At Least 17% Of Americans Are Nitwits.

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A new poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Life has found that 17 percent of Americans believe President Obama is Muslim.  Of course, that’s not true.  The President is Christian.  Indeed, many of the same people who want to believe he’s Muslim were originally outraged at statements made by his Chicago Christian pastor.

But that’s not the extent of the lunacy on the right. 

According to a Public Policy Polling survey in March of this year, 37 percent of Americans believe the President was not born in the U.S.  Yet another 21 percent are unsure. (They must have forgotten Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959.)

However, given the other wrong-headed beliefs of the right, none of this should come as any real surprise. After all, these are people who reject education and science.  Many think the Earth is just 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs are a myth invented to test the faith of Christians.

These are people who fail to see a connection between the easy availability of military-style assault weapons and mass killings.  The same people who think that giving ever-increasing tax breaks to the filthy rich will somehow help their own financial circumstances.  People who think defaulting on US debts will benefit our economy.

Obviously, they cannot be educated and informed.  They refuse to listen to anyone but their own equally deluded brethern.  Yet their vote counts the same as yours and mine.

Do you still believe in America exceptionalism?

Willing Ourselves To A Better Economy.

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As several economists have told me, we get the economy we want.  If we think the economy is good, we will buy what we want or need.  Our purchases will increase sales for retailers.  That will increase manufacturing, and the economy will thrive.  As a result, tax revenue grows and our deficits decrease.

On the other hand, if we think the economy is going to be bad, we will restrict spending and increase saving.  If enough people do this, our economy will be pushed into recession, jobs will be cut, tax revenues drop and our deficits and national debt will grow.

Most people know this, especially large corporations, the wealthy and politicians.  And they often manipulate these principles in order to cash in on easy money.  The losers of this sort of manipulation are almost always ordinary working people.

Everyone knows about the principle of buy low, sell high.  So if you’re among the wealthy and powerful, it doesn’t benefit you if the economy grows at a steady, sustainable rate.  In order to really cash in, you need to create periods of high growth, followed by recessions.  In the midst of a recession, you buy low.  Then at the peak of growth, you sell high.  That’s why a chart of our economic history looks like a ride through the Rocky Mountains.

The interest of the wealthy and powerful is obviously money.  But why would politicians be interested in such a strategy of manipulation?

In a word, Power.

If the opposition is in power, the GOP (Guardians Of Privilege) starts screaming about inflation, deficits, debt and other issues in order to frighten ordinary people.  If they scream loud enough and long enough, a large percentage of our population will hold onto their cash in preparation for the coming calamity and delay purchases.  As a result, the economy struggles.

That’s what’s been happening for the past 3+ years.

In order to make President Obama fail, Teapublicans have howled about “outrageous” deficits.  They talk about “saddling our grandchildren with oppressive, overwhelming debt.”  They’ve scared voters about illegal immigrants taking their jobs.  They’ve talked about an “out-of-control government” and “the end of freedom.” 

Unfortunately, the Tea Party, the religious right and others have scooped up this load of dung as if it were gold in the streets.

The only way to avoid being buried by the dung is to call it what it really is.  And to let everyone know that the people spreading the dung are the southern-most end of a north bound elephant.

Playing With Fire.

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Following the Supreme Court decision that affirmed the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, Mitt Romney and other Teapublicans are furious.  Indeed, the Panderer-In-Chief has said he will repeal and replace “RomneyCare”…er…”ObamaCare” his first day in office.

That must be of great solace to those who are fighting our nation’s wildfires.

You see, most of these firefighters are part-time government employees, so they are ineligible for benefits, including healthcare insurance!  What profit-hungry insurance company would want them?  After all, they are not only susceptible to burns and falling trees, they deal with dangerous equipment such as chainsaws, axes, shovels and chemical sprayers.  In addition, these firefighters inhale lots of smoke which can lead to lung disease and other long-term effects.

The insurance costs based on actuarial tables for these people must be astronomical.  And since, the firefighters are paid between $25,000 and $35,000 per year, most would not be able to afford healthcare insurance if it was made available to them.

But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, in 2014 these people will be eligible for healthcare benefits.  Insurance companies will not be able to charge them enormous premiums or deny coverage.  And, if the firefighters are unable to afford the premiums, they will receive financial help.

ObamaCare?  Yes, it would seem that President Obama is the only one who actually does care about people such as these.

UPDATE:  President Obama really does care!  By presidential order, the firefighters now have healthcare coverage as federal employees.