Category Archives: Teapublicans

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?

Let’s Help Texas Secede.

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On several occasions, Texas Gov. Rick Perry suggested that the Republic of Texas might secede from the United States.  He meant it as a threat, but after first ridiculing the idea, I’ve come to embrace it.

Let’s consider the benefits.

If Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee (Yes, I know this isn’t all of the original Confederacy, but the others have better embraced their statehood.) were allowed to secede, the level of education in the US would improve overnight.  At the same time, the number of impoverished would plummet.  We would also improve the United States’ international rankings with regard to incarceration and capital punishment.

Moreover, the US would dramatically reduce the number of assault rifles and handguns within its borders.  We would rid ourselves of the evangelical crackpots on the Texas school board responsible for rewriting textbooks to whitewash history.  We would improve the percentage of our population with health insurance. And since most of the Tea Party crackpots in Congress come from the former Confederacy, the level of political discourse would likely improve.

I know this plan seems radical, but I think it best.  Many of the former Confederate states have long been openly hostile to the federal government, even threatening to “exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.”  In Arizona, there are legislative bills calling for state sovereignty of national parks and all federal lands.  And many of these states have refused to accept the legitimacy of the Affordable Care Act despite a Supreme Court ruling.

For the states that do secede, they finally could have the theocratic government they seem to so desire.  They could completely ignore science.  They would no longer have to accept the billions in federal money that have been thrust upon them to provide food and medicine for their poor.  And unless they continue their hostility to foreign visitors, they could replace Mexico and Jamaica as warm weather destinations for US tourists.

Of course, the plan is not without downsides.  We would have to move many of our military bases to Union states.  Football could suffer without Texas and Florida athletes, but since we already embrace foreign nationals for basketball and baseball, we could make accommodation for football players.  We would lose much of the domestic oil production and refineries, but all of that oil and gas is sold on world markets, anyway.  And since I live in Arizona, I’d have to sell my home at a loss in order to move back to the US.

Nevertheless, I encourage you to give my plan serious thought.  If you do, I’m confident you’ll see that the many benefits outweigh the negatives.

Batsh*t Crazy Brotherhood.

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Contrary to Senator McCain’s statements (Welcome back to the high road, Senator), the highest levels of our Government have been infiltrated by a sinister organization.  But it’s not the Muslim Brotherhood or any other outside group.

It’s by the Batsh*t Crazy Brotherhood, otherwise known as the Tea Party.

Michele Bachmann, Steve King, Trent Franks, Louie Gohmert, Thomas Rooney, Lynn Westmoreland, Joe Walsh, Rand Paul, Ben Quayle, Paul Gosar and a host of other crackpots have infiltrated our Congress!  They’ve blocked legislation necessary for the operation of our government.  They even tried, and failed, to force the US into defaulting on its debt.  Nothing could be more damaging to the security of our nation.

Now they are creating fear of the Muslim Brotherhood in order to conceal their own actions.

It’s time to declare war on these deceitful infiltrators.  We must root out this menace to our nation.  By voting for their opponents in the November elections we can not only send a message in favor of patriotism.  We can promote sanity and civility by sending all of these out-patients back to the sanatoriums from whence they came.

What Mitt Believes In.

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It’s ironic that Mitt Romney’s campaign slogan is “Believe in America,” because he obviously doesn’t.

What does he believe in?

In a word, money.  His money.  It doesn’t matter if it’s in dollars, francs, pounds, euros, rmb…whatever.  Mitt believes in possessing it.  Lots of it.  And he doesn’t like giving any of it away for taxes.  That’s why he’s used an assortment of tax havens and accounting tricks to keep his tax rate below that of most working people.

Of course, Mitt doesn’t mind that others have to make up for the taxes he dodges.  Based on his tenure with Bain Capital, he doesn’t mind that their jobs are shipped overseas, either.  Or that their companies are dissolved leaving them without jobs, benefits or pensions.

In fact, he’s already said that he’ll cut other jobs if elected president.  He wants to eliminate or combine numerous federal agencies, including the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  He also wants to give his wealthy cronies a big tax cut; nevermind that the money to pay for it will come out of the pockets of the poor and middle class.

According to a new Joint Economic Committee study, the Romney-Ryan Budget Plan will increase taxes on those making $50,000-$100,000 by $1,300 per year.  It will cost those making $100,000-$200,000 $2,600 per year.  On the other hand, if you make $500,000-$1 million, you will get a check for $35,000.  And if you make more than $1 million, you’ll get a check for $285,000!

Moreover, it has been estimated that Romney’s proposed policies would create 800,000 jobs…overseas.  His tax cuts for corporations would reduce corporate tax revenue by more than $1 trillion over the next decade.  And, of course, he plans to repeal “Romneycare…er…Obamacare” increasing profits for insurance companies and big PhRMA.

Is it any wonder that Forbes magazine calls the Romney-Ryan Budget “A mistake of historic proportions?”

Where Are The Real Newsrooms?

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The HBO program called Newsroom is terrific!  It portrays a news program that transforms itself from “human interest” style, ratings-driven drivel to a program dedicated to telling the truth.  In other words, it’s recreating the style of news that we enjoyed before the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine.

You see, under the Fairness Doctrine, broadcast media were bound by law to serve the public interest; in other words to tell the truth.  If a network or station failed to prove that it failed that standard, it could lose its license.

Yet it wasn’t necessary for news reporters such as Edward R. Murrow, Daniel Shore, Harry Reasoner, Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Chet Huntley and Dan Rather.  They needed no such incentive to tell the truth.  They were true newsmen.  They were not bound by ratings or the need to be first.  They were bound by the need to be right.

Unfortunately, when the Fairness Doctrine was repealed, that commitment disappeared.  Networks canned most of their news gathering staffs and focused on ratings.  At the same time, the mouths of Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and others were unleashed to hammer away at their political opponents by telling any lies they found necessary.  Fox News Channel was created to fill the news void with innuendo, lies and half-truths on behalf of the GOP.

It can’t continue.

The job of a real newsroom is to tell people, not what they want to know, but what they need to know.  So enjoy HBO’s Newsroom while you can.  Listen to Jeff Daniels and imagine how much better off this nation would be if there were real news anchors like his character.  Imagine a new Fairness Doctrine that would chase liars like Limbaugh, Savage, Hannity, O’Reilly, Beck and company back into the swamps and caves where they belong.

Imagine an informed electorate.

Of Bullies And Cowards.

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For more than 30 years, the bullies at the National Rifle Association have pushed their gun laws on the American public.

“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” they say.  Well, a whole lot of people have been killing other people with guns lately.  And, unless we do something to keep assault weapons and handguns out of the hands of crazy people, we’ll see a lot more deaths.

“But guns are needed for self-defense,” they say.  Well, the fact is that guns are offensive weapons.  In most cases they’re useless for self-defense.  What good would a gun have done in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater last night?  If some movie-goers had opened fire, likely even more people would be dead or wounded in the crossfire.

The plain fact is the NRA is full of bullies who demand that everyone else accept their beliefs.  Our gun laws are not designed for hunters.  Who hunts with an assault rifle, a silencer, a night vision scope or a semi-automatic handgun?  Our laws are designed for bullies who want to have the threat of violence easily at their disposal so they can force their will on others.

Sensible gun laws would place limits on the number of weapons any individual can purchase and own.  They would limit the size of ammo clips.  They would ban assault rifles and large caliber sniper rifles.  They would force anyone who wants to carry a handgun to be trained and licensed.  (If Teapublicans think voters should have drivers’ licences as ID, why shouldn’t gun-toting wingnuts have a gun license?)

What does it say about our society that guns are so readily available to the crazy and deranged? What does it say about us that our citizens are so afraid of each other that they feel the need to be armed? What does it say about our politics and media that people are now convinced that they must arm themselves against our government? What does it say about us that we accept one mass killing after another with scarcely a whimper of protest.

It’s not only the GOP, the NRA, Fox News and the radio hate-mongers who are at fault.  The cowards in the Democratic Party who refuse to fight for common sense laws must also accept some blame.

“Believe In America.”

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That’s the slogan for Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

Believe in America?  Really, Mitt?

Is that why you bought US companies and outsourced their jobs to China, Mitt?  Is that why you stashed most of your money in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands?  Did you invest in those tax havens instead of the US because you believe in America?

What of your secretive Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors, Ltd in Bermuda?  Did you create that offshore tax shelter because you believe in America?

What of your feeder tax havens in which you funnel money into the US so that you can skip the usual tax, disclosure and regulatory requirements you’d face if you invested directly in the US?  What of your investments in blocker corporations in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere allowing you to escape the Unrelated Business Income Tax?

Is that what people who believe in America do?

If you believe in America, Mitt, why are you taking campaign contributions from places like London and Macao?

I believe in America, Mitt.  But after looking at your business career and listening to your ever-changing opinions and excuses, I don’t believe in you.

The Felon-In-Chief?

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For some time, I have referred to Mitt Romney as the Panderer-In-Chief based on the corny speeches he has given on the campaign trail – “The trees just seem the right height here.”  Now I realize that his tendency to lie and pander to any audience is the least of his obvious faults.

Recent investigations into his 2010 tax return and Bain Capital have yielded an array of offshore accounts and questionable investments, such as an I.R.A. account of $102 million, even though Romney could only legally put $2,000 a year into the account for 15 years and, depending on the type of plan he used, another $30,000 per year.

That’s some rate of return!

There’s also the matter of his accounts in tax havens such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In talking with bankers and economists, I’ve confirmed that there are only two reasons to open accounts in those places: Secrecy and Tax Evasion.

It’s clear that Romney is one of many who are responsible for an estimated $100 billion in lost annual tax revenue by sending their money offshore, costing ordinary taxpayers an average of $484 a year.  In other words, you have to pay more taxes to make up for tax deadbeats like Romney.

Of course, as CEO and sole owner of Bain Capital, Romney practiced what his Republican rivals termed “Vulture Capitalism.”  He bought up cash rich companies, took the cash, and charged the companies large sums for “management consulting.”  Then when the cash ran out, he either fired the staff and outsourced the jobs overseas or dismantled what was left at salvage rates.

But that’s not the worst of it – at least for Romney.

The Boston Globe found that contrary to Romney’s statements, he was still involved in his company several years after he said he had resigned.  That doesn’t sound like a big deal, except that it means Romney likely committed one or more felonies.  You see, he filed a federal disclosure stating that he left Bain in 1999.  Yet the company’s SEC filing in 2002 listed Romney as “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president.”  This would make Mitt guilty of a federal felony for certifying on federal disclosure forms that he left active management of Bain Capital in February of 1999.

Oops!

If elected, Mitt could be our nation’s first presidential felon.  Moreover, if he lied on disclosure forms, he may have lied on his federal tax returns.  There are many other questions about Romney.  But his business dealings and finances are shrouded in secrecy.  Indeed, The Washington Post summarized the opinions of experts across the political spectrum by saying Romney’s disclosures were “the most opaque they have encountered.”

Now imagine the uproar if Teapublicans found that President Obama had offshore tax havens and shipped American jobs overseas.  The torch and pitchfork crowd would’ve already surrounded the White House.

In Nobody We Trust.

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A new Gallup poll shows that just 21 percent of Americans have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in TV news – a drop of 25 percent since 1993!  And only 25 percent expressed confidence in newspapers.  But these numbers should come as no surprise when Teapublican nitwits such as Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann have long decried the “lamestream” media.  Indeed, the right has been trying to kill the messenger since the 1970s during the Nixon-Agnew administration.

Of course, among right-wing idealogues, there’s no lack of confidence in Fox News Channel despite a Fairleigh Dickinson University survey that found that those who rely on Fox News Channel for news are less informed than those who watch no TV news at all.

In reality, the US news media have earned their lack of trust.  Since the major networks succumbed to the ratings chase in the 1980s, they have emasculated their news gathering operations and replaced real debate with screaming talking heads from each side of the political spectrum.

Radio is even worse.  Since repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, commercial radio has been taken over by right-wing lunatics such as Rush Limbaugh.

And, as subscribers abandon home-delivered newspapers in favor of on-line versions, publishers have been unable to devote resources to traditional news gathering.

So where can Americans turn for reliable news?  I’d suggest National Public Radio and the BBC.  Both are politically neutral organizations with large news gathering operations.  But, in reality, most people will continue to ignore the news (except for the most sensational stories) or turn to (gasp) the Internet for information.

As a result, I’m not hopeful for our future.

Conservatives Trying To Steal Elections… Again.

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For the past two years, Teapublican state legislatures have passed measures calling for photo IDs for voters.  They claim that, if you are required to have a license to drive, you should be required to have a photo ID to vote. (Of course, they don’t feel the same about those who carry guns.) They say their only interest is to eliminate voter fraud, especially by illegal immigrants.

Given the fact that there is virtually no proven voter fraud in this country that seems unlikely.  And anyone who is familiar with illegal immigrants knows that an attempt to vote is much too risky.  They would  never take the chance of calling attention to themselves for fear of getting caught.  For example, I recently asked a County Recorder in Arizona how many illegal immigrants have tried to vote in the county.  The answer was none. Moreover, I asked how many instances of voter fraud the county had uncovered in recent elections.  The answer was five.  All were caught.

Let’s get to the real reason for these new voter laws: Stealing elections.

Many of the voters who do not have photo IDs are likely to vote Democratic.  You see, many people in large cities, particularly in the inner cities do not have need for a driver’s license or a passport. They are often elderly, poor or students.  In the past, they have voted using voter registration cards, student IDs and other forms of identification.  Unless, the Department of Justice steps in, that will change.  And millions of voters will not be allowed to vote unless they obtain the proper kind of photo ID in time for this fall’s elections.

In Pennsylvania, it’s estimated that 750,000 eligible citizens do not currently possess identification cards issued by the state Department of Transportation.  That’s 9.2 percent of the vote!

To illustrate how unfair and absurd this new bill is, it will prevent all of the state’s Amish from voting, since their faith does not allow them to have their pictures taken.

Of course, Pennsylvania is not alone.  Voter purges are continuing in many other states, as well.  If they’re allowed to get away with it, we could see a repeat of 2000 when Vice-President Al Gore won the popular vote and lost the electoral vote as the result of voter suppression and dirty tricks in Florida.