REPUBLICANS ARE CONTEMPTIBLE
According to several recent stories, the Republican Party in California is moribund. California was once known for leading the nation and I hope this is a case where the nation follows California's lead.
We have all the strutting and posturing now over the so-called "fiscal cliff." Republicans are just horrified at the idea of their rich friends paying a little more in taxes. They want to slash everything that benefits working class and middle class people. The whole fiscal cliff thing is just a Trojan Horse to give them the excuse to destroy programs they've always wanted to destroy. We should remind them of who won the election and how this is the just the first shot across the political bow. It's time for the Republican Party to go into the dustbin of history.
We even had Senate Republicans ignoring former presidential candidate Bob Dole, who is now wheelchair bound, and voting against a treaty that protects disabled people. I don't know if in the history of mankind if there has been a greater assembly of contemptible people than this crowd.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
WILLARD DOES LUNCH
I saw that defeated Republican presidential candidate Willard Romney was having lunch at the White House with President Obama.
I was thinking it would be appropriate for Willard, who has consistently shown his disdain for working class and poor people, to have the kind of menu poor people face. Maybe a serving of Ramen noodles, or a can of Campbell's soup, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or perhaps some nice Spam.
I saw that defeated Republican presidential candidate Willard Romney was having lunch at the White House with President Obama.
I was thinking it would be appropriate for Willard, who has consistently shown his disdain for working class and poor people, to have the kind of menu poor people face. Maybe a serving of Ramen noodles, or a can of Campbell's soup, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or perhaps some nice Spam.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
WHINY, WHINY CONSERVATIVES
There have been some amazing letters to The Fresno Bee since President Obama was re-elected. It takes the phrase "sour grapes" to a whole new level.
According to the right-wing pundits writing The Bee, President Obama won the election because he's some sort of Santa Claus or maybe a Robin Hood who takes from the rich to give to us moochers in the bottom 47%. One commentator said something about taking from the "makers" to give to the "takers." It's an outrageous lie.
What did Willard Romney ever create except for misery? I remember the movie "Wall Street" when the character of Gordon Gekko is talking about how he doesn't create anything. He manipulates the system to make massive amounts of money, no matter the consequences to thousands of workers, and Gordon Gekko and Willard Romney are pretty much interchangeable.
The same goes for many of the top 1%, who are only too happy to make money from exploiting their workers with low pay and lousy benefits, if any benefits at all, and then have the absolute gall to look down their noses at working people. Marie Antoinette had nothing on these people.
There have been some amazing letters to The Fresno Bee since President Obama was re-elected. It takes the phrase "sour grapes" to a whole new level.
According to the right-wing pundits writing The Bee, President Obama won the election because he's some sort of Santa Claus or maybe a Robin Hood who takes from the rich to give to us moochers in the bottom 47%. One commentator said something about taking from the "makers" to give to the "takers." It's an outrageous lie.
What did Willard Romney ever create except for misery? I remember the movie "Wall Street" when the character of Gordon Gekko is talking about how he doesn't create anything. He manipulates the system to make massive amounts of money, no matter the consequences to thousands of workers, and Gordon Gekko and Willard Romney are pretty much interchangeable.
The same goes for many of the top 1%, who are only too happy to make money from exploiting their workers with low pay and lousy benefits, if any benefits at all, and then have the absolute gall to look down their noses at working people. Marie Antoinette had nothing on these people.
Friday, November 2, 2012
A VOTE FOR WILLARD IS A VOTE FOR THE PAST
We're almost on the eve of the 2012 election and it has been a fascinating process watching Willard Romney and the Republican party sink to new lows.
Romney is the most unabashed liar I can remember in presidential politics. The problem is that it seems to work. In polls Romney gets high marks for "leadership." We used to frown on lying and now it's not a big deal. We also have Republicans who are campaigning for other offices essentially saying that rape is no big deal. It's part of their God's plan.
According to the calendar, we are in the 21st century, but Republicans want to roll back the clock to an earlier era when workers had no rights, women should be barefoot and pregnant and keep their mouths shut, minorities should "know their place," and the United States can bully the rest of the world into submission.
Abraham Lincoln used the phrase "the better angels of our nature" and I hope those better angels prevail.
We're almost on the eve of the 2012 election and it has been a fascinating process watching Willard Romney and the Republican party sink to new lows.
Romney is the most unabashed liar I can remember in presidential politics. The problem is that it seems to work. In polls Romney gets high marks for "leadership." We used to frown on lying and now it's not a big deal. We also have Republicans who are campaigning for other offices essentially saying that rape is no big deal. It's part of their God's plan.
According to the calendar, we are in the 21st century, but Republicans want to roll back the clock to an earlier era when workers had no rights, women should be barefoot and pregnant and keep their mouths shut, minorities should "know their place," and the United States can bully the rest of the world into submission.
Abraham Lincoln used the phrase "the better angels of our nature" and I hope those better angels prevail.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
WILLARD'S CONTEMPT FOR WORKING PEOPLE
As we approach election day, polls show President Obama and Willard Romney neck and neck. It almost defies belief that Romney could be within a hairsbreadth of moving into the White House.
Romney has set a record for lies in this campaign and apparently it doesn't really matter to the media or to people who have decided they hate President Obama for whatever reason. How do you know where Romney really stands on any issue because he flip-flops consistently?
I would suggest one way to gauge where Romney stands is the pattern he has shown in his contempt for working class people and an adoration for the rich. He stated that people whose homes are in foreclosure should essentially lose their homes. He said he likes firing people. He opposed the bailout of the automobile companies and said they should be allowed to go bankrupt. He told a group of his fat cat supporters at a fund raiser that 47% of us are moochers who depend on the government. He selected Paul Ryan, whose onerous budget would punish working class and poor people, as his running mate.
So, although Mr. Weather Vane has shifted positions more often than a chameleon changes colors, he has been consistent in his absolute disdain for working people and the poor. If he and Ryan are successful in getting into the White House, I suspect there will be a vast population for him to disdain because his policies will almost certainly create misery and even more poverty.
As we approach election day, polls show President Obama and Willard Romney neck and neck. It almost defies belief that Romney could be within a hairsbreadth of moving into the White House.
Romney has set a record for lies in this campaign and apparently it doesn't really matter to the media or to people who have decided they hate President Obama for whatever reason. How do you know where Romney really stands on any issue because he flip-flops consistently?
I would suggest one way to gauge where Romney stands is the pattern he has shown in his contempt for working class people and an adoration for the rich. He stated that people whose homes are in foreclosure should essentially lose their homes. He said he likes firing people. He opposed the bailout of the automobile companies and said they should be allowed to go bankrupt. He told a group of his fat cat supporters at a fund raiser that 47% of us are moochers who depend on the government. He selected Paul Ryan, whose onerous budget would punish working class and poor people, as his running mate.
So, although Mr. Weather Vane has shifted positions more often than a chameleon changes colors, he has been consistent in his absolute disdain for working people and the poor. If he and Ryan are successful in getting into the White House, I suspect there will be a vast population for him to disdain because his policies will almost certainly create misery and even more poverty.
Friday, August 31, 2012
The Chair in 2012
THE CHAIR IS A BETTER CANDIDATE
Clint Eastwood's speech to an empty chair has been the big talk on the Internet today. The chair was supposed to represent President Obama.
I think the chair could play another role. The chair would probably be a more substantial candidate than Willard Romney. At least the chair won't flip-flop on every major policy position. And the chair isn't likely to eviscerate the social safety net. The Chair in 2012.
Clint Eastwood's speech to an empty chair has been the big talk on the Internet today. The chair was supposed to represent President Obama.
I think the chair could play another role. The chair would probably be a more substantial candidate than Willard Romney. At least the chair won't flip-flop on every major policy position. And the chair isn't likely to eviscerate the social safety net. The Chair in 2012.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Talking to Chairs
LIKE TALKING TO A CHAIR
Sometimes when people feel they aren't getting through to someone they will say something like, "It was like talking to the wall." In Clint Eastwood's case, it was furniture instead. Maybe that's appropriate because Willard Romney is the personification of "wooden."
Sometimes when people feel they aren't getting through to someone they will say something like, "It was like talking to the wall." In Clint Eastwood's case, it was furniture instead. Maybe that's appropriate because Willard Romney is the personification of "wooden."
Republican Undead
THE PASTY WHITE UNDEAD
I haven't bothered to watch the coronation of Willard Romney at the Republican National Convention. It would be a little like reading a novel where you already know the ending. In this case, it would be like reading a very bad novel and knowing the ending.
Watching Republicans is little like watching a bread factory. There are all those white pasty elitist faces. There's a fair mix of homophobia, misogyny, immigrant bashing, racism, and snobbery thrown in, but the predominant feeling is watching pasty white elitists pretending to be alive when they are really the undead.
I haven't bothered to watch the coronation of Willard Romney at the Republican National Convention. It would be a little like reading a novel where you already know the ending. In this case, it would be like reading a very bad novel and knowing the ending.
Watching Republicans is little like watching a bread factory. There are all those white pasty elitist faces. There's a fair mix of homophobia, misogyny, immigrant bashing, racism, and snobbery thrown in, but the predominant feeling is watching pasty white elitists pretending to be alive when they are really the undead.
No Honor Among Thieves
NO HONOR AMONG THIEVES
I think all politicians lie. That has been true historically and continues into present times. Lies in the past usually contained grandiose promises about what the politician, if given power, would do for the little guy. It was the "chicken in every pot" type of lie.
Governments also lie. An argument can sometimes be made that lies are sometimes justified. For example, if it's an issue of national security and telling the truth would jeopardize national security, then a lie has some moral basis.
But now we have the team of Romney-Ryan who take lying and falsehood to an unprecedented level. Willard Romney shamelessly lies and his new sidekick Paul Ryan seems disposed to follow Willard's example. The Republican Party has reached lower and lower on the morality scale. At one time there were Republicans who actually condemned the unconstitutional and illegal acts of President Richard Nixon. Today's Republicans probably don't think Nixon went far enough in his illegality because hanging on to power to all that matters.
The one thing you can say about Willard Romney is that he will never be accused, as FDR was, as being a "traitor to his class." Willard is unabashed in his devotion to the top 1% and the policies that have created a chasm of inequality in the United States. He has no love for the planet because addressing global warming harms the lifestyles and profits of the people at the top. He doesn't care about ending wars because wars are good business too.
I think all politicians lie. That has been true historically and continues into present times. Lies in the past usually contained grandiose promises about what the politician, if given power, would do for the little guy. It was the "chicken in every pot" type of lie.
Governments also lie. An argument can sometimes be made that lies are sometimes justified. For example, if it's an issue of national security and telling the truth would jeopardize national security, then a lie has some moral basis.
But now we have the team of Romney-Ryan who take lying and falsehood to an unprecedented level. Willard Romney shamelessly lies and his new sidekick Paul Ryan seems disposed to follow Willard's example. The Republican Party has reached lower and lower on the morality scale. At one time there were Republicans who actually condemned the unconstitutional and illegal acts of President Richard Nixon. Today's Republicans probably don't think Nixon went far enough in his illegality because hanging on to power to all that matters.
The one thing you can say about Willard Romney is that he will never be accused, as FDR was, as being a "traitor to his class." Willard is unabashed in his devotion to the top 1% and the policies that have created a chasm of inequality in the United States. He has no love for the planet because addressing global warming harms the lifestyles and profits of the people at the top. He doesn't care about ending wars because wars are good business too.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
THE REPUBLICAN CLOWN CAR
The Internet is ablaze with stories about the Republican candidate Todd Akin, who is running for the Senate in Missouri. Akin made the totally obscene and ridiculous assertion that women do not get pregnant from "legitimate rape." I don't know what the distinction is between legitimate rape and illegitimate rape, but rape is a despicable crime no matter what guise it appears in: violent, date, statutory, incest. The God Mr. Akin worships evidently approves of rape because people like him always like to talk about the "sanctity of life" and "God's will."
The Republican clown car just keeps 'a coming. The horns are blaring and the red noses are aglow and the lights are flashing and the car is careening around on two wheels. I have never liked Republicans, but they are finding ways to take dislike to absolute hatred. They are doing everything in their power to give everything to the wealthy white elites, to destroy even an already weak social services system, to suppress votes, to give polluters carte blanche to destroy the environment, to demonize gay and transgender people, and destroy constitutional provisions against an alliance of government and religion. The clown car might be funny, but the implications are horrifying. We don't need to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan because we already have our own version here at home.
The Internet is ablaze with stories about the Republican candidate Todd Akin, who is running for the Senate in Missouri. Akin made the totally obscene and ridiculous assertion that women do not get pregnant from "legitimate rape." I don't know what the distinction is between legitimate rape and illegitimate rape, but rape is a despicable crime no matter what guise it appears in: violent, date, statutory, incest. The God Mr. Akin worships evidently approves of rape because people like him always like to talk about the "sanctity of life" and "God's will."
The Republican clown car just keeps 'a coming. The horns are blaring and the red noses are aglow and the lights are flashing and the car is careening around on two wheels. I have never liked Republicans, but they are finding ways to take dislike to absolute hatred. They are doing everything in their power to give everything to the wealthy white elites, to destroy even an already weak social services system, to suppress votes, to give polluters carte blanche to destroy the environment, to demonize gay and transgender people, and destroy constitutional provisions against an alliance of government and religion. The clown car might be funny, but the implications are horrifying. We don't need to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan because we already have our own version here at home.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
SCOTT WALKER, WISCONSIN, AND THE PLUTOCRACY
Right-wingers are celebrating the unsuccessful recall election of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. It's supposed to be the death knell for unions and a harbinger of the election in November when they hope to get corporate raider Mitt Romney into the White House to orchestrate more attacks against working people.
One letter writer to The Fresno Bee used the old cliche about union "thugs" and how they had been defeated in this election. Any alleged thuggery by unions pales in comparison to the thuggery of the 1% and their concerted attempt to reduce working people to peons. Walker was funded largely by the billionaire Koch brothers, who exemplify the greed and selfishness of the 1%. They don't want working people to have even crumbs, much less benefits and decent salaries.
I hope the Occupy Wall Street movement is more representative of the American people than the bought and paid for Governor Scott Walker.
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