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Republicans Have A Different Response When The Tables Are Turned

May 2, 2016 by Mark

Maybe you already know about this.  But, a couple of weeks ago, “60 Minutes” did a piece about fund-raising in the Republican Party.  In the piece, Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) told 60 Minutes that in a meeting he was told he needed to raise $18,000 per day in fund-raising.

In a letter to 60 Minutes, the House Republican campaign committee said that Jolly had lied.  The letter said the meeting never happened.   The letter said:

Simply put, this meeting never happened.  It is a work of fiction. Had the reporter or producer of the story bothered to verify this claim, they would have been told as much.

That prompted a response from Jolly’s campaign.  Jolly’s communications director, Preston Rudie said in a statement:

In response to the NRCC’s broadside to the credibility of Rep. David Jolly, and in response to the Executive Director’s bold assertion that a meeting with party leadership directing Rep. Jolly to raise $18,000 per day did not occur, we can confirm the date was April 3, 2014, the time was 5:30 p.m., the location was the NRCC’s Political Conference Room on the Second Floor.  Rep. Jolly has intentionally left out names of participants since the beginning of this story, but if the NRCC wishes to escalate their denial, we are happy to provide additional information regarding the meeting.

But, the real thing that has The National Republican Congressional Committee up in arms is that 60 Minutes used hidden cameras during their investigation.  In the letter to 60 Minutes they said:

Despite being explicitly denied permission to enter our private offices, a CBS producer plainly admits on camera that 60 Minutes intentionally and knowingly trespassed or encouraged another to trespass in our offices to film footage.  Not since Watergate has the headquarters of a major political party committee been so violated. CBS conspired with an anonymous staffer to enter our offices and obtain unauthorized footage under false pretenses. This is not journalism. This is trespassing.

Hmmmmm!

I mentioned the “tables being turned” on the Republicans because I remember the “sting videos” about planned Parenthood.  In those videos, also using  hidden cameras, the  makers of the video lied on tape about why they were even there.  They used “false identification” to gain access to Planned Parenthood.  Using the RNCC’s own words, they “intentionally and knowingly trespassed or encouraged another to trespass in our offices to film footage.”

Yet, when the leader of those videos were indicted for criminal charges, the Republicans called it an infringement on “freedom of the press” and not an effort to “obtain unauthorized footage under false pretenses”.  Or, as they said in their letter “this is not journalism.  This is trespassing.”

The irony isn’t that the Republicans are complaining about the videos, it is the fact they are not accusing 60 Minutes of “heavily editing” the videos in order to make a point.  Which the Planned Parenthood videos have been proven to have been edited.  They are only complaining that they were used.

60 Minutes did not show anything that was illegal.  Nor did the Planned Parenthood videos, at least when you watch the unedited footage.  There is nothing wrong with members of Congress making phone calls to raise money for campaigns.  So, why is the RNCC so upset about the hidden camera footage?

Mainly because it doesn’t show anything that they are against, like abortion.  It simply shows members of Congress making phone calls trying to raise money.  Yet, they find it totally necessary to lambast CBS for using their hidden cameras, while they continue to support the illegal use of hidden cameras in the Planned Parenthood case.

It isn’t that 60 Minutes used hidden cameras.  It is that 60 minutes didn’t use the hidden cameras to show something illegal.  Rather they showed the RNCC in action.  What could possibly be so wrong about that?

As usual, when the “tables are turned” on Republicans, they have another hissy-fit.  When their crowd do the same thing, and even worse, that is “freedom of the press.”  It is always amazing to me how Republicans are so easily able to “pick and choose” the “freedoms” they want you to enjoy.

But, allowing you the freedoms you deserve means they can’t control your lives.  And that is what they are really after.  This is just another example of how far they will go to obtain those ends.

And, the “shirts” keep marching along.

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Paul Ryan Gave Glimpse Of Affordable Care Act Replacement Plan – It Is The Same Old Same Old

April 29, 2016 by Mark

It has been six years since the Republicans announced they plan to announce a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.  In those six years, the best they have come up with is a “plan to have a plan.”  If what Paul Ryan hinted at in a speech at Georgetown University is their “plan” it has already been tried, and it has already failed.

Ryan said that about 10 percent of the population is in what is called the “uninsurable pool”.  That means they have pre-existing conditions that make their insurance rates higher than everyone else.  At least until the Affordable Care Act came about.

Now Ryan is calling for “High-Risk Pools” that will insure those with pre-existing conditions or are very sick.  He says that the Federal Government will subsidize these “high-risk pools” at the state level.  You know the same “states” that refused to expand Medicaid even though the Federal Government was paying for most of it.

If you are relatively young, you may think that Ryan has announced something new and wonderful.  However, you would be wrong.  These “high-risk” pools have been around since 1976.  It has been a mainstay of conservative health care for decades.  Problem is, it doesn’t work.

Under the high risk pool theory, people who can’t get insurance because of pre-existing conditions would be put into these pools.  They would pay a substantial amount in premiums above everyone else.  Ryan claims the government would subsidize them to help defray the costs.  But, the one part of the Affordable Care Act conservatives hate the most is the subsidizing of poor people to get insurance.

When these pools existed in the past, premiums were about four times higher than a normal policy would cost.  On top of all of that, the deductibles and “yearly outlay” for insurance companies were out-of-balance.  For example, deductibles were as high as $25,000 per year.  The maximum amount the insurance company would pay in a year was $75,000.

When you add the fact that the policy cost four times as much as any other policy, it doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that the “customer” was getting ripped-off.  That is if they could even afford to purchase the plan to begin with.

Imagine yourself, a working-class person needing to be insured because of pre-existing conditions and are forced to be placed into one of these high-risk pools.  Where are you going to get the money to pay the premiums and the ridiculously high deductibles?  The other side that we haven’t even mentioned yet, is that there were also “lifetime” limits on what the insurance company would pay.  Meaning even if you could afford such high-risk insurance, you were going to be tossed off because you used up your limits.

These high-risk pools were tried before and failed miserably.  Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundations said: “For 35 years, states tried to meet this challenge, but never could.  They looked for other ways to limit costs of their state high risk pool programs — surcharging premiums, imposing high deductibles and low lifetime limits, and most of all, excluding people based on their pre-existing conditions.  That meant the vast majority of people who were eligible for and needed [high-risk pool] coverage couldn’t enroll.”

To put this all into perspective, the Government Accountability Office found that as of 2008, fewer than 200,000 people were covered by high-risk pools, out of nearly 4 million who should have been eligible.

The other thing that would not be part of this “grand plan” is subsidies for the poor to actually afford insurance.  Women would also be required to pay higher premiums just like before, simply because they are women.  Insurance companies think being a woman is a “pre-existing” condition.

Ryan’s speech was just a glimpse of the “plan” the Republicans think will “replace” the affordable care act.  They will tout “competition” as the secret to keeping premiums low.  But, what they are banking on is taking sick people off the insurance rolls so others can pay less.

And, when those “others” get older and sicker, they will find themselves in the same “high-risk pools” they thought was a good idea.  When they actually “need” insurance, they will discover they won’t be able to get it.

But that has always been the “conservative” way.  Reward the rich and punish the poor.  If you are sick and costing an insurance company money, you should be removed from the rolls and just die.  There is far less expense for dead people than living ones.

The Republicans are still “planning” to roll out their “plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act this summer.  Just in time for the elections.  If what Paul Ryan laid out in his speech at Georgetown University is what they are going to roll out,  we will definitely visit a failed past, again.

If this plan were to come to pass, the Insurance Companies will be laughing all the way to the bank while you suffer because you can’t get insurance!  That is the Republican’s alternative plan to the Affordable Care Act.

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What Living Under Republican Rule Really Is Like

April 28, 2016 by Mark

I have been writing lately about life under Republican Control.  I have been doing this, because it not only affects the Presidential race, but lots of local, municipal, county, and state races as well.  See, even if Democrats win the White House and take back the Senate, we will still have to deal with states who are run by Republicans.

It would be obvious to continue to write about North Carolina and Mississippi with their anti-trans laws that cannot be enforced.  Or, the town in Alabama that has decided that if you are a trans and use the wrong bathroom, you should spend up to six months in jail.

But, there are a lot of other stories that don’t seem to hit the headlines very much that really affect our lives and that of our children.  The latest example is in Oklahoma.  Oklahoma is a very strong Republican controlled state.  That has made for some very bad laws being introduced and passed.  It also has an effect on what constitutes a crime.

Recently, Oklahoma passed a law that basically strips the medical license of any doctor who performs abortion.  The State Legislature there decided that abortions are not a “medical practice” and therefore anyone who performs one should lose their ability to practice law.  The Governor is expected to sign the law.

The other example is a very sad case in the legal system.  Here is a little background:

Two teenagers, a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were drinking in the park with some friends.  At some point, the girl was determined to be seriously intoxicated.  The boy decided to drive the girl home.

Another boy rode with them for a short while said the girl was coming in and out of consciousness.  The first boy drove the girl to her grandmother’s house.  Still unconscious, the girl was taken to a hospital, where a test put her blood alcohol content above .34. She awoke as staff were conducting a sexual assault examination.

Tests would later confirm that the young man’s DNA was found on the back of her leg and around her mouth. The boy claimed to investigators that the girl had consented to performing oral sex. The girl said she didn’t have any memories after leaving the park. Tulsa County prosecutors charged the young man with forcible oral sodomy.

However, a judge dismissed the case.  The prosecutor took the case to an appeals court.  There, on March 24, the court ruled that the prosecutor could not apply the law to a victim who was incapacitated by alcohol.  In its ruling, the court said:

“Forcible sodomy cannot occur where a victim is so intoxicated as to be completely unconscious at the time of the sexual act of oral copulation.

Its reasoning, the court said, was that the statute listed several circumstances that constitute force, and yet was silent on incapacitation due to the victim drinking alcohol.

We will not, in order to justify prosecution of a person for an offense, enlarge a statute beyond the fair meaning of its language.

Benjamin Fu, the Tulsa County district attorney leading the case, said the ruling had him “completely gobsmacked”.

The plain meaning of forcible oral sodomy, of using force, includes taking advantage of a victim who was too intoxicated to consent.  I don’t believe that anybody, until that day, believed that the state of the law was that this kind of conduct was ambiguous, much less legal. And I don’t think the law was a loophole until the court decided it was.  To focus on why the victim was unable to consent puts the victim at fault.

The defendant’s attorney, Shannon McMurray, told Oklahoma Watch, which was first to report the ruling, that prosecutors were clearly in the wrong to charge the young man with forcible sodomy, and not a lesser crime of unwanted touching.

There was absolutely no evidence of force or him doing anything to make this girl give him oral sex other than she was too intoxicated to consent.

Of course this plays right into the hands of the “victim blaming” gang of the Republican Party.  People like Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and others who tell women if you don’t want to be raped, stay away from parties that serve alcohol.

This 16-year-old girl was raped.  The Oklahoma courts said that it was okay to rape her because the law didn’t “explicitly” include being too drunk to consent to oral sex as a definition of rape.  The odd thing is that Oklahoma Law has a separate rape statute that protects victims who were too intoxicated to consent to vaginal or anal intercourse.  But, not apparently, oral sex.  The defense lawyer claims that there was no evidence of force other “than she was too intoxicated to consent.”

A reasonable person would conclude that if being too intoxicated to consent to vaginal or anal sex is considered rape, then oral sex would also be considered rape if you are too intoxicated to consent.  But these stupid judges think otherwise.  They cling to that famous phrase of “literal interpretation” when it comes to laws.

If this young girl had been a victim of vaginal rape, and had become pregnant because of that rape, according to the law just passed by Oklahoma, she would not be able to get an abortion, even with parental consent.  The doctors in Oklahoma are threatened with losing their medical licenses if they perform abortions.

This is what happens when the “party of small government” is in control of your lives.  They are very quick to tell you how to behave.  They are very quick to get between you and your doctor’s privacy on what is the best medical treatment or procedure you want.  They are very quick to decide that rape isn’t rape just because the victim was too drunk to consent.  They are very quick to “objectify” women.  What better way to terrorize women than to blame them for their being raped?

As I have written before.  This election is not just about who will become our next President.  It is about who will make laws that will determine how we live our lives.  They have proven time after time what their vision is.  They get to decide what the American Dream is not you.  They get to decide what is best for you, not you.  In other words, they are worse dictators than some of the past dictators who ruled other countries.

There is nothing more to say.  Other than “the shirts keep marching along.”

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UN – BE – LIEV – A – BLE!

April 27, 2016 by Mark

When you look at the headline, you may wonder what I am referring to.  I am not referring to the results of last nights primaries.  Trump won all five states including the delegate fight in Pennsylvania.  Clinton won in four states with Bernie Sanders winning Rhode Island.

As a result, Hillary looks to be the winner on the Democrat side.  Trump is close to running the table on the Republican side, but it isn’t really over yet.  If he can win Indiana, he will probably sew up the Republican nomination on the first ballot.

What is unbelievable to me is the talk coming from the Cruz and the Kasich camps.  If you listen real close to them, Cruz and/or Kasich actually won last night,  Cruz or Kasich will actually be the Republican nomination come November.

Ted Cruz and John Kasich are fighting backroom battles to sow up delegates after the first ballot at the convention.  Trump hasn’t been as involved, and as a result, he is lagging far behind in that battle.  That in itself isn’t unbelievable, but the very fact that two candidates for the nomination of the Republican Party are scheming to take the nomination away from the front-runner is.

In my 50 plus years of watching and participating in elections, I have never seen such a frenzy of candidates working hard to win on the second ballot rather than on the first ballot.  That is the part that is unbelievable to me.

One of the Kasich backers, I am sorry I was so stupefied by his response I can’t remember his name, was asked about the “electability” of the candidate.  He said:  “voters don’t understand the electability of the candidates, but delegates do.”

In other words, this gentleman just told all of the millions of voters who already cast their vote for Donald Trump, they don’t understand how to win the election.  And, according to this amazing thinker, the delegates will have to step in and “correct” the situation.

We have heard similar nonsense come from Cruz’ campaign as well.  Cruz is counting on a contested convention.  He has no chance to win the nomination without a contested convention.  With all of his backroom deals, he figures he will surely win on the second ballot.  And, it is quite possible he will, if there is a second ballot.

Problem is that for years and years, the parties have told the members of their party that the voters will decide who will get the nomination.  Yes, they have been somewhat open about “super delegates” and “party selected delegates”, especially this year.  But, the whole premise of “primaries” is so the members of each party can decide who their nominee should be.

The Republicans are so upset that the voters are actually choosing Donald Trump, that they have several “stop Trump” campaigns going on just to cause a contested convention.  Then, using those smoke-filled backroom deals, they can give the nomination to someone else.

I cannot and will not speak for anybody else, but if I were one of those Trump supporters and saw the nomination taken away from him by backroom deals, I would really be pissed off!  Surveys are showing that the American people believe that the primaries are rigged to begin with.  If they take the nomination away from the front-runner, that will only prove their cynicism.

I don’t like Trump any more than I like Cruz or Kasich.  I think they are all megalomaniacs who are only interested in power and have no real concern for the American people.  I consider them all to be hateful bigots who will cause a backwards movement in regards to civil rights we have never seen before.

Even still, if Donald Trump has the largest number of committed delegates on the first ballot, he should eventually win the nomination even in a contested convention.  Especially since he has a huge lead and has won far more states than either of his rivals.  As a matter of fact, he has won more states than Cruz and Kasich combined.

So, the real question is what are Republicans going to do about it.  Cruz and Kasich are bound and determined to keep Trump from getting enough delegates to win on the first ballot.  That means we will have a contested convention, and the fact is Trump will probably NOT get the nomination in the end.

It is also believed that the Republican Party cannot win in November without Trump Voters.  Yet, his rivals are claiming the party cannot win in November with Trump as the nominee.  That puts the party in quite a dilemma.  How do you keep Trump from winning the nomination and keep his supporters.  Telling them only “delegates” understand “electability” is not the answer, in my opinion.

The other “unbelievable” thing is who would have guessed that a major party in American Politics would have a choice between Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or John Kasich to be the standard-bearer in a Presidential election?  Has our political system fallen so low to allow that to happen?

All of them are anti-immigration, anti-education, anti-civil rights, anti-environment, anti-woman, anti-gay, and in my opinion, anti-American!  Yet, their party is likely going to give us a choice to pick one of them.

The Republican Party is devoid of ideas.  Even Kasich said the party hates new ideas.  Governing has become as repugnant to them as same-sex marriage or any form of civil rights.  The primary season ends on June 8 when California holds their primary.  And, unlike most years, California will have a big say in who gets the nomination for the Republicans.

The convention begins on July 18.  If Trump has not sown up enough votes to win on the first ballot, I am certain the convention will descend into chaos.  If that happens, everyone should actually watch the procedures.  It will be one of the best civics lessons ever.  That is, of course, if the party is transparent in its procedures.  Which I doubt they will be.

If Trump does have enough votes to win on the first ballot, I am willing to bet there will be cries to “change the rules” so he can’t win on the first ballot.  That is a real possibility because Republican rules can be changed right up to the first gavel falling on the convention.

I believe more than anything, how the party handles a contested convention will have much more to do with the outcome in November than most people think.  If they remain secretive during the proceedings of a contested convention, they will piss-off a lot of their own members.

It will be interesting to see how things play out over the next few months.  As I said once before, it won’t be pretty.

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We Need To Pay More Attention To Evils Unleashed By Republicans During Election Cycles

April 26, 2016 by Mark

This week has started out loudly, again.  Cruz and Kasich seemingly have agreed to “split up” the remaining primaries in an attempt to “stop Trump”.  I guess they each think that if they do this, they each will be able to win the nomination at a contested convention.  I don’t really understand their logic, but then, I haven’t understood their lack of logic for a very long time.

Of course, the media is all abuzz about this “agreement”.  It is all they want to talk about.  Which is a very big problem for the American people.  During election cycles, Republicans use the shadow cast by the nomination process to abolish and destroy American lives.  It is during these times that Republicans come up with their most disgusting ideas and try to pass them into law.

There is one attempt that you probably have never heard of.  It involves workplace safety.  And, naturally, it involves the Department of Labor and OSHA, two agencies the Republican Party would love to just go away.

On March 25 this year, the Department of Labor announced new stricter regulations to limit exposure of silica dust in the workplace.  This decision has been decades in the making.  The silica dust regulations are over 40 years old, and are not sufficient to protect workers from such horrible diseases such as silicosis.

The new regulations could save over 600 lives and over 900 new cases of silicosis annually.  That sounds like a very sound idea, right?  Nope.  Not according to our Republican friends in Congress.  They think saving those lives and new cases of silicosis is a bad idea, apparently.

Last week, Republicans in the House held hearings about the new regulations in an attempt to roll them back.  Just to make sure labor understood who Republicans back, they held their hearings just days before “Workers Memorial Day”, April 28.  That is a day when organized labor renews its solemn pledge to strive for workplace safety rules and formally commemorates those who have died on the job in the previous year.

The last year totals that are available for is 2014.  In that year 4,679 workers died on the job.  That’s nearly 90 a week, 13 a day, seven days a week.  When you think about that, that is a really horrible number of people dying on the job.

In case this is something new to you, Silica, which is in sand and rocks, is released during industrial processes that involve cutting and blasting and cleaning silica-containing materials, such as concrete, tile and brick.  It is estimated that about 2 million American workers inhale the tiny crystalline particles in levels high enough to threaten their health, almost always without knowing it. The dust causes workers’ lung tissue to swell and become inflamed.  Over time, that causes scarring, and the lungs stiffen, making it hard to breathe.

That condition, called silicosis, increases the worker’s risk of bronchitis, tuberculosis and lung cancer.  Often times resulting in death.  At the very least, it makes it very difficult for people with this condition to even walk around the block without having coughing fits or making it so hard to breathe they get the feeling of being water-boarded.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) calculated that the previous exposure limits, which were set more than 40 years ago, were so inadequate that thousands of workers died every year even though their employers were complying with the law.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, is intent on sending the silica standard back 40 years. He noted in a press release that the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concedes that 30 percent of the job sites it tested did not comply with the previous silica standard.

So, Walberg said, the Labor Department’s first priority should be enforcing that old standard, not creating new, tougher standards that would protect workers better. “If OSHA is unable – or unwilling – to enforce the current limit for silica exposure, why should we expect the results under these new standards to be any different?” he asked.

Of course, that statement also doesn’t take into consideration that 70 percent of job sites do comply with the previous silica standard, but the problem still exists at their sites as well.  Walberg also blames the safety police, OSHA, for not enforcing the safety laws.  He deliberately ignores the fact that the same safety police, OSHA, has had their budget drastically cut by Republicans in Congress year after year.

It is very difficult to conduct inspections and bring violators to justice if you don’t have the money to conduct such activities.  Besides, Walberg is basically arguing that if part of a problem is that one piece of something is broken, you cannot fix the whole thing.

That is like saying that if your car won’t run, you cannot fix the engine until you first fix the flat tire that also exists.  If everyone followed Walberg’s example, you could never fix your car if you get a flat tire first.

What this really boils down to is this.  Republicans will do whatever it takes to ensure that corporations can sicken and kill workers with impunity. If the argument is that workers’ lives and lungs must be sacrificed to ensure that foundries and fracking operations and construction companies can make bigger profits by releasing silica particles under 40-year-old standards now considered dangerous, then the GOP will take the side of CEOs who value workers as trivial.

Or, you can also look at it this way.  Many companies need material like copper, zinc, and tin.  They purchase it in bulk.  Copper is a couple of dollars a pound, tin is a few dollars a pound.

If someone tries to take that out of the plant and to a scrap yard to make a few dollars they get fired.  Yet, companies are more likely to protect their raw materials more than they do their workers.  Why don’t they treat the people who do the work to make that raw material into a finished product with the same importance and protection as the materials?

These are the kinds of evil processes that almost always take place during election cycles.  There is a good reason election cycles are chosen to conduct such activities.  No one pays attention until it is too late.

We often hear Republicans claim they believe in the American Dream.  How do you live the American Dream if you are too sick to even walk up a flight of stairs.  Or, if you are killed on the job because safety rules are considered as “too expensive” and will hurt the bottom line of the company?

In 2014, over 4600 people died on the job.  Yet, when the Department of Labor announces a rule that will make the workplace safer for over 2 million American workers, the Republicans throw another one of their infamous hissy-fits.

The only conclusion is that your safety on the job is less important to Republicans than that roll of tin or copper.  Those materials are far more valuable to Republicans and their donor class than you are.

 

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Republican Candidates Are Telling Us The Truth About Their Real Agenda. Just Listen To Them To Learn That Truth

April 22, 2016 by Mark

The one thing that is coming out of this year’s election is the truth behind the Republicans problems and policies.  For the first time, the Republican candidates are actually letting us know exactly where they stand on everything.

From civil rights to abortion rights to contraception rights to immigration, the party’s candidates are telling the truth.  They don’t like any of those “rights” if they interfere with their “right” to discriminate against any of those groups.

But, when we talk about the truth “coming out”, we aren’t just talking about social issues.  We are talking about the whole spectrum of Republican thinking.  That “outing” of the truth came to more light when John Kasich had an interview with the Washington Post.

After telling the truth about his own party not liking “ideas” the question came around to the District of Columbia and their right to vote.  More importantly, their right to statehood.  The questions went like this:

ARMAO:  What about voting rights in Congress, voting representatives?

KASICH:  Probably not. I don’t know. I’d have to, I mean, to me, that’s just, I just don’t see that we really need that, okay?  I don’t know. I don’t think so.

ARMAO:  But you realize though that people in D.C. pay taxes, go to war and they have no vote in Congress.

KASICH:  Yeah.

ARMAO:  How is that–

KASICH:  Well look, I am not – I don’t – I am not, because you know what, what it really gets down to if you want to be honest is because they know that’s just more votes in the Democratic Party.

There you have it.  People in Washington, D.C. who pay taxes and go to war should not be given the vote because “that’s just more votes in the Democratic Party.”  They say the truth hurts.  I never read anywhere in the Constitution that there is supposed to be “a party test” for the population of territories before they can become states and have the right to vote.

What this all points out is that the Republican Party is losing ground in the real world.  A Presidential Candidate on their side of the ticket says the “party doesn’t like ideas anymore”, but refuses to allow Washington, D.C. the vote because “it’s just more votes in the Democratic Party.”

What more can be said about the real reason behind those Voter ID Laws, or what most of us call “voter suppression laws”?  A lot of people are asking about why there is so much hate going around the country.  Why are so many people angry?  If you need to ask, you are not paying attention to what is being said.

For the first time in years, the Republicans are admitting in the press that they have no ideas or policies to “sell” the American people.  They even have one of their own saying the party doesn’t even like ideas.  If you don’t have anything of substance to “sell” the American people, you try to “sell” hate and prejudice.

All of these anti-LGBT laws, voter suppression laws, building a wall, the Planned Parenthood witch-hunt, the anti-Muslim rhetoric are just a smoke screen.  We keep hearing about them because the Republicans have nothing to offer.  They have no new ideas to improve the lives of the average American.

So they turn to hate, fear, and prejudice.  That is what the Republican Party has become.  That is what happens when you let the inmates run the asylum.  All of the lies we have been fed by Republicans about tax cuts creating jobs, their fight for “religious liberty”, their “love” for the Constitution are being shown to be the lies they are.

The media isn’t pointing all of this out.  It is being pointed out by their own candidates.  Their “status-quo” is being threatened by new ideas and new demographics.  The only way they can keep power is to lie and spread fear and hate among their base.

They are telling us in their own words that if you are not a white, Christian male, you have no rights.  If you even consider voting Democratic, you will have your votes suppressed.  If you live in a territory and want to become a state, you must prove you will vote Republican before your territory will be considered for statehood.

If you are a member of the LGBT community you have no civil rights.  If you are a woman you must obey what your “man” tells you to do.  If you don’t have your own “man” the Republicans will be happy to tell you what to do.  If you are African-American just shut up and be happy you aren’t still slaves.  If you are a non-white Christian immigrant, “get out!”

In a nut shell, that is what the Republican Party’s national platform is all about.  But, don’t take my word for it.  Just listen to their own candidates.  Those messages are coming through clearly and, for once, honestly.

Posted in Bloggin, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Economics, Fiasco, Flame Bait, Flaming Bag of Poo, Foreign Policy, Gender Issues, General, Health, Immigration, Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving, Marriage Equality, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Religion, Taxes, Terrorism, Things That Suck, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Flint: A New Beginning? Or Another Whitewash?

April 21, 2016 by Mark

As promised, I will continue to follow the Flint Water crisis here.  Yesterday, the Attorney General of Michigan held a press conference to announce three indictments in the affair.  Two were state workers, and one worked for the Flint Water Works.  They are all low to mid level workers.

The AG, Bill Schuette declared that this is a “new beginning back to the people trusting government again.”  Nice words indeed.  And, the fact that three people were indicted in this crime against humanity is a good start.

Schuette also declared that “this is just the beginning” and that we can expect more indictments.  He further went on to say that “no one is above the law”.  Everything yesterday gave some hope that the real perpetrators of this crime will be held responsible.

However, Schuette did say something that disturbed me.  He said “I don’t care about motive, I only care about the truth.”  That may sound nice, but any first year law student will tell you that you have to prove “motive” to get a conviction.

So, we now have three low to mid level employees indicted for what essentially is “covering up” the lead testing results.  The administration in Michigan wants you to believe that “things are under control” and that everything will be just fine.

Wrong!  The lead pipes that is at the root the problem are not being replaced fast enough.  The problem wasn’t the Flint River Water was contaminated with lead, it was the pipes.  It was the fact that anti-corrosion was not added to keep the pipes from leaching its poison into the water.

This leaching problem still exists.  The Governor bravely announced that he was going to drink Flint Water for a month to prove it was safe.  He had his video crew show him filing up three gallon jugs of water from a tap in a house in Flint.

Something that was not reported.  Yes, they did mention that the home had a filter on the tap.  What they didn’t tell you is that filter is supposed to remove up to 150 ppb of lead from water.  They also didn’t tell you that just a month before the Governor “filled his jugs” that same house was tested, with the filter attached, and the results were 250 ppb.  I hope for his own health the Governor had the water tested before he filled his jugs.

Even still, the filters will help with drinking water and maybe for cooking.  But, what about showers?  What about washing your clothes?  These filters will do nothing to help those activities.  And, they are expensive, especially if you are already poor.

The only way to really “fix” the problem is to get rid of all of the lead pipes in Flint.  The City of Flint is slowly trying to do that.  They are scraping money together to try to rid the city of all of its lead pipes.  The State on the other hand hasn’t done a thing to help Flint get rid of the pipes.

The State Legislature says it may “talk about it in the fall session”.  They have offered no money to help the city replace the pipes.  The Federal Government has tried to help, but Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has put a hold on the bill because he doesn’t think the federal government should help with “a local problem”.

As a result of this wonderful “Christian” Senator from Utah, the City of Flint isn’t getting the help they need.  Money to help replace the pipes and for health care of those already poisoned, is being held up by a blow-hard not interested in the welfare of the citizens of this country.

Additionally, the Governor was asked if he had been questioned by the State’s investigating team.  He said he was not questioned, but his office was “cooperating” with the investigation.  I find that somewhat remarkable.  The Governor appointed the so-called Emergency Manager for Flint.  It was the Emergency Manager that made the decision to switch the water source for Flint.  It was the Emergency Manager who criticized and attacked the people of Flint when they complained about bad water.  And, the only person the Emergency Manager reported to was the Governor, himself.

Shortly after the water was switched and no anti-corrosion was added, the GM plant in Flint switched its water source away from the Flint water.  Why?  Because it was harming engine parts.  You cannot tell me that the Emergency Manager nor the Governor was not aware of this fact.  I guess they consider engine parts more important than people’s lives.

So, how is it that four months into the investigation no one has talked to these people?  How is it that two years after the people of Flint were poisoned by the State is nothing being by the State to help them “fix” the problem?  The only real answer is because “fixing” the problem will mean spending money on a poor community.  Something that Governor Snyder has shown a loathing to do.

At the beginning of this mess, an investigative journalist working for the Michigan Chapter of the ACLU asked the Governor’s spokesperson about the water switch and who authorized it.  She said “there was no decision.  The City of Detroit forced the switch upon us.”  As it turns out, that statement is a blatant lie. Records indicate that the City of Detroit did not “force” the switch on Flint.

Monday will mark the two-year anniversary of the water source switch.  The people of Flint still don’t have “safe” drinking water.  There is no “door-to-door” delivery of bottled water in Flint.  There is no state money to replace the lead pipes in Flint.  There is no Federal Money to help Flint, thanks to Mike Lee.  There is only contaminated water that the residence are still supposed to drink, cook, wash and bathe in.

Yesterday, the media was filled with the news about the indictments.  This morning, there is virtually nothing about the indictments or anything else about the Flint Water Crisis.  Something else that is not in the news.  It is reported that approximately 30 percent of all pipes used to transport water are lead pipes, nationwide!

That means that you have a 30 percent chance of having lead pipes bringing water to your house.  The other thing not being reported is that the Democrats in the Senate introduced a bill yesterday in the Senate to replace all the lead pipes across the nation.

Nobody expects it to pass as it is.  So, they are planning to use the old Republican trick and hide it in other necessary bills.  Or at least parts of it.  The total estimated tab for replacing all of the lead pipes in the country is about 70 billion dollars.  Some Republicans, like Mike Lee, are saying that is too much to pay.

Imagine that.  70 Billion Dollars is too much to pay to ensure “safe” drinking water for the citizens of what is the richest country in the world!  If you are thinking about voting Republican this election, think about the 30 percent chance that you are drinking water from lead pipes and they think 70 Billion Dollars is too much to pay to replace all of the lead pipes in the country.

The only good news about the Flint Water Crisis is that other places have started testing their water as well.  Lead contamination has been found in several places around the country.  Flint is not alone in this problem.

There is a major infrastructure problem in this country.  The American Engineers have graded our infrastructure with a “D”.  But, as always, Republicans claim it costs “too much money” to fix the problems.  Well let me ask.  Just how much money are 100,000 people’s lives worth?  How much money are the children of those people worth?  Just 5 ppb of lead in your drinking water can result in permanent brain damage!

Maybe instead of filing law suits in court to fight the Affordable Care Act Republicans should be spending that money to fix the lead pipe problem in this country.  The longer they wait, the more health care will cost all of us because of the lead poisoning that is happening all across the nation.

I asked if these indictments were a “new beginning” or a “whitewash”.  Only time will give us the answer to that question.  I am hoping that Schuette is an honest man.  I also know that he has ambitions to be the next Governor of Michigan.

The real question that needs to be asked is “why did these three men falsify the records, and who ordered them to do so.”  Or as Senator Baker once asked “who knew what, and when did they know it?”

These indictments may be a “new beginning” as Schuette said.   But, until the Governor demands that the State Legislature provide the necessary money to replace all the lead pipes in Flint, the crime there will continue and the people will continue to suffer.  As this crime continues, the people of Flint will have no “new beginning”!

Posted in Bloggin, Conservative Bullshit Debunked, Culture, Economics, Environment, Fiasco, Flame Bait, Flaming Bag of Poo, General, Health, Legal Issues, Libertarian Problem Solving, Media, News & Current Events, Politics, Smackdown!, Taxes, Things That Suck | Leave a Comment »

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