Arizona and the Right Wing

On Saturday January 8th Arizona Representative Giffords was holding a Congress on your corner event at a local Safeway in her district. At about 10 minutes after 10 a gunman walked up and shot her in the head. When it was all over six people had died, including a nine year old girl. This is what we have allowed our country to become. In truth the assailant in this case most likely was not influenced by the current tone in Washington but the events from that Saturday should allow us to reflect on the current climate in and about Washington. Why do we accept rhetoric that is violent in nature? Why do we accept politicians running for office that passively advocate for violence?

During her race to unseat Harry Reid in Nevada Sharon Angle suggested that people may have to resort to second amendment remedies. What does that mean exactly Sharon? Are you recommending that if you do not win (she didn't) that people arm themselves in defence AGAINST their government? How about Rick Perry, the current Governor of Texas, who floated the idea of leaving the Union? Frankly, I am in support of this idea Rick, have at it. How about Sarah Palin, who used gun sights to target 20 members of congress, including Rep. Giffords? Michelle Bachman who told Minnesota that she wanted them armed and dangerous because of her distaste for cap and trade?

Truth be told, the left is not completely blameless. We have had our moments, recently Joe Machin, shot the cap and trade bill. The right has gone into overdrive looking for anything they can pin on the left to absolve themselves from any responsibility. I have seen a map similar to Palin's except the targets looked like archery targets and I do not recall the gun metaphors being reported nightly. There is also the President during the campaign saying that you bring a gun to a knife fight. these are few and far between and they fall far short of the type of rhetoric we have been seeing as of late.

I recently read an article where it was noted that the number of deeath threats against candidate Obama spiked due to Sarah Palin running around saying that he palled around with terrorists. I still remember the cry of "Kill Him" at one Palin rally. the Republicans have seemed to have forgotten their own words and the affect they have on the crowds in which they resonate.

It has been a very long time since I last posted anything. Wow, has everything changed! Health reform has passed, the Republicans have taken back the house and the Tea Party is now in congress. These are dark days in America as we now have to fight through the half truths, the outright lies and the paranoid fantasies of the right. In two years I hope that everyone has had enough of this crowed. We will see.

Equal rights

Washington D.C. is the latest place in this country allowing gay marriage. Good for them! I am proud to live in Massachusetts where gay marriage was legalized a few years back. I remember the arguments against allowing same sex couples to marry. One of my personal favorites was that it was "an assault on traditional marriage!" Well, I woke up that first day next to my wife. I looked over at her and thought, "Well, I don't feel any different than yesterday, my wife is still here and we are still married." MMMM, I thought to myself, "I do not feel like I have been assaulted."

I have yet to hear a legitimate argument that would continue to disallow marriage between persons of the same sex who love each other with the same depth and conviction that many different sex couples feel when they marry. I strongly believe that I have not heard one because one does not exist.

No, all of the laws pertaining to marriage, serving in the military and / or general discrimination are not born of something logical, they are a product of fear and hate. Fear of something hard to understand and hatred of something that is feared. This is why only four states and now Washington D.C. in the country allow gay marriage. this is why we went from a total ban on gays in the military to the compromise of don't ask don't tell.

Don't ask Don't tell is something short of an abomination but far short of equal rights. The political climate of 1993, when this was implemented, allowed for this small step in the correct direction of allowing openly gay persons to serve. A little bit more political courage would have allowed for a complete lift of the ban but it was not to be. It is shameful that we have had 17 years go by without and adjustment to that policy that would have effectively lifted the ban completely. After all, one would have to be very naive to believe that the military has not had gay members who have served well over the years of its existence.

I think that the bottom line here is this. The country has made some strides in relation to gay rights. It is, however, not where it should be. Remember, it is not equal if it is only sometimes.

Lies my Congressman told me

From time to time I listen to the opposition and wonder, where do they get their facts from? I mean, it is one thing to oppose someone or something on principle, but to oppose someone or something just because you can is something else entirely. given that, I must ask one question. How is it that the Republican party and its minions determined that they are entitled to their own facts? How is it that in spite of evidence to the contrary they stick to those "facts" and repeat them over and over again knowing that many will not challenge them? How do they get away with the big lie?

On the way home tonight I heard a talk show host go after Barack Obama for giving the military a 1.4% pay raise. I looked it up, it is 3.4%. Now, you could argue, if you wanted that 3.4 is not enough. Why lie about the numbers?

I have heard several Republican Senators rail against reconciliation as something rarely used and never for major health policy or for something as expensive as health care reform. I looked it up, reconciliation has been used for the Bush tax cuts and for Medicare Part D. Expensive and health policy.

I have heard many republicans spout off that there had been no terrorist attack on American soil during Bush's term. I looked it up, there were several attacks on our soil, including the shoe bomber and the anthrax attacks.

I heard Sarah Palin and members of Congress talk about death panels. I looked it up, it is end of life counseling that goes on everyday in this country between doctor and patient or doctor and health care proxy. the reform bill pays doctors for this service.

Some have said, and still say that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. I looked it up, he was born in Hawaii.

The list goes on and on and on. It is hard to argue with an opponent who has no interest in arguing issues with you. they only want to stop the President's agenda and feel that the only way to do so is to demonize it. One would have to ask why this approach? Perhaps they cannot defeat the agenda on the merits of their arguments so they resort to lies.

Keep the Government off of my Medicare

I want to be self-determined.I'm going opt out of social security and Medicare so that somebody with some balls who cares about me can make me some real money. Y'know: Wall St. Free enterprise raises all ships.And I know goddam well that I don't need anybody keeping me informed about Aspartame being fucking as poison as plutonium. I'll stay on top of that myself. Besides they just changed the name. Way to go freedom-fighters. That'll throw those ninnies at the FDA for a loop. And another "besides," Proctor and Gamble was a childhood friend of mine. And as long as Blue Cross keeps sending me those nice flyers about how I should take walks and avoid jaywalking I know that they have my health front and center in their market-based value system.This weekend I'm gonna tear down all the traffic lights in my neighborhood and put up my own. And I'm going to see if I can get a Chamber of Commerce from some place REAL type place like Arkansas or South Carolina to come here and get true-blue business ethics put in on these dildos in Massachusetts who think the fact that post-rent control apartments have price tags like zip codes, owners who spend weekends in Antiqua and more rats than cockroaches is some kind of indictment of the human race's readiness to embrace unsupervised rugged individualism. Lord Almighty, what I wouldn't give to see a Louisiana local sheriff walk into my living room and explain to me about the Bill of Rights today. Let's get back to freedom, double-goddamit.I'm going to form a fucking group (a group,A GROUP; NOT A COLLECTIVE. I'm no fucking Socialist) and see if I can organize a bunch of us to get rid of organized labor around here. Being constantly scared shitless of being exploited is good for a man.And if I've got any time left, I'm going to see what I can do to save Jim Bunning's job in the senate. If a president with Alzheimer's was good enough for the land of the free, it ought be good enough for the homo-loving, Godforsaken U.S Senate.Anyway, this all has me pretty busy. Nuclear freeze, my ass. Nuclear family!!!! And Mary Magdalene WAS a whore, by the way. Not an enlightened follower. Not a lover of Jesus. A WHORE. If there had been Glenn Beck back then, we'd have the evidence. Read your bible, Commie Satan-minions. And pray to God Obama gets no more Supreme Court appointments. They'll be MORE Jewish and Hispanic whores on the court. No more whores. Whores made us eat the apple. Whores and that snake. Liberals love snakes, you know.Whoa am I mad. Whoaaaaaa.

I wish I could take credit for this one but I can't. Credit goes to my brother for saying it better than I ever could. One other note - the title to this post is actually a quote of some tea party member at one of the many protests recently organized by Dick Army and the rest.

Nuclear Option

The talking points are out in full force. The Democratic plan to reconcile the health bills that have already passed the house and the Senate are being referred to by Republicans and Fox news as the "Nuclear Option." Scary isn't it? This conjures up images of explosions that devastate everything around it. Lamar Alexander has publicly worried about the Senate actually surviving if the Democrats use the reconciliation process of passing a bill with a simple majority. Alexander must have a short memory because he voted for several pieces of legislation via this process, including the two Bush tax cuts and the Medicare prescription drug program. Where was his concern then?

Back to the phrase "Nuclear Option". This phrase was actually coined and used by Republicans as a method to break the filibusters on several Bush judicial nominees. They proposed to get rid of the filibuster all together mid-session. That was the Nuclear Option, not what is going on today. The lies are coming now fast and furious. It is time to pass reform and move on.

Muslims and Missiles

The new logo for the missile defense agency has made the news. It looks like, according to some, a mix of the Obama campaign symbol and the Muslin Crescent and star. Now, this has made Fox news as well as CNN. Why is this news? The tin foil hat crowd is pushing this as the latest conspiracy theory on Barack Obama's love for Islam. Here is the problem with this. the logo was designed and approved by the Bush Administration. So much for the Muslim and Missile connection.