Month: August 2011

Categories
Politics

Report – It’s Harder For The Rich To Care For The Poor

As if we didn’t already know this. Various reports are now suggesting that rich people don’t feel compassion or empathy to the poor or less fortunate, the way other people do.

Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner says the rich really are different, and not in a good way: Their life experience makes them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish.

In fact, he says, the philosophical battle over economics, taxes, debt ceilings and defaults that are now roiling the stock market is partly rooted in an upper class “ideology of self-interest.”

“We have now done 12 separate studies measuring empathy in every way imaginable, social behavior in every way, and some work on compassion and it’s the same story,” he said. “Lower class people just show more empathy, more prosocial behavior, more compassion, no matter how you look at it.”

The report continues;

Unlike the rich, lower class people have to depend on others for survival, Keltner argued. So they learn “prosocial behaviors.” They read people better, empathize more with others, and they give more to those in need.

Categories
democrats Politics Wisconsin

Republicans Stole The Wisconsin Recall Elections… Again!

Election night in Wisconsin, and the big story is not that Democrats won two of the six senate seats held by Republicans. Yes, that in itself is an amazing achievement. All the elections were held in historically Republican controlled counties, and throughout the 80 plus years recall elections were held in the state, only 20 have been successful. So to have two successes in one night is amazing.

But what’s even more amazing about the recall elections held last night was the results from a place in District 8 called Waukesha county and the behind-the-scenes workings of a particular county clerk in Waukesha called Kathy Nickolaus.

As the polls closed and results started coming in, Republicans breathed a collective sigh of relief when the first three counties stayed in their control – R. Cowles maintained his seat in district 2, S. Harsdorf kept the Republican seat in district 10 and L. Olsen kept Republicans in power in district 14.

By this time, hours after the polling closed, the remaining three races in the recall elections were led by the Democratic challengers. Keep in mind, that Democrats needed to win a total of three seats to regain control of the Senate and stop Scott Walker’s future corporate policies from being implemented.

The next election results showed that two seats would go to Democrats.  J. Schelling in district 32 and J. King in district 18 both defeated the Republican incumbents. Then all eyes turned to district 8 where the Democratic challenger S. Pasch was leading the Republican 52% to 48%. This was the last race to be decided for the night, and things were looking good for the Democrat. But remember Waukesha county and the particular county clerk name Kathy Nickolaus? Waukesha county is in District 8, and at the time when the Democrat challenger Pasch was leading, only one of eleven precincts in Waukesha county had reported their results.

Why is Waukesha county so important in these elections?

Kathy Nickolous, the county clerk responsible for, among other things, maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the votes in the elections, is a Republican with questionable morals.

Remember the election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice a few months ago between Republican David Prosser and his Democratic challenger JoAnn Kloppenberg? In that election, Mrs. Kloppenberg was leading and predicted to be the winner. Then miraculously, after all votes were counted, Kathy Nickolous “found” an additional 12000 votes in her computer. Those additional votes were all that Prosser needed to move ahead. He was later declared the winner.

Which brings us back to last night’s election.

When the election in all the other districts were decided, Waukesha county still only had one precinct reporting a total of 600 votes, with a little over 400 going to the Republican, Mrs A. Darling. Television pundits began questioning why Kathy Nickolous was not reporting the other precincts. On the Ed Show on MSNBC, questions were being asked suggesting that another “Prosser” moment may be happening in Waukesha, and calls for a possible investigation into the county clerk were being echoed on different news networks.

Then suddenly, hours after the polls had closed, results from 9 precincts in Waukesha county came in – a total of 12,000 votes, putting the Republican in the lead 53% to 47%. When Kathy Nickolous reported the final precinct numbers, District 8 was called a win for the Republican.

Final results, A. Darling 54%, S. Pasch 48%.

Yes, an amazing night in Wisconsin indeed, but for all the wrong reasons.

Categories
Mitch McConnell Nancy Pelosi Politics Republican

Polls Show Americans Are Really Disgusted With Congressional Republican

John Boehner brags in all his interviews that he got 98% of what he wanted in the debt ceiling debate, but this new poll by CNN proves that what the Republican House Speaker wanted, was not what Americans want.  The poll was conducted after the debt ceiling debacle in Washington, and it finds that overwhelmingly, Americans really don’t like Congressional Republicans.

A lot of that anger seems directed toward the GOP.  According to the survey, favorable views of the Republican party dropped eight points over the past month, to 33 percent. Fifty-nine percent say they have an unfavorable view of the Republican party, an all-time high dating back to 1992 when the question was first asked.

The poll indicates that views of the Democratic party, by contrast, have remained fairly steady, with 47 percent saying they have a favorable view of the Democrats and an equal amount saying they hold an unfavorable view.

“The Democratic party, which had a favorable rating just a couple of points higher than the GOP in July, now has a 14-point advantage over the Republican party,” adds Holland, CNN’s polling director.

Americans are also disgusted in the Republican leaders themselves. Both John Boehner and Mitch McConnell’s unfavorable numbers have increased, and those supporting the two leaders have dropped since the debt ceiling fight.

House Speaker John Boehner’s favorable rating has dropped 10 points, and his unfavorable rating is up to 40 percent, a new high for him.  On the Senate side, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t faring much better – his unfavorable rating is 39 percent, a seven-point increase since July.

The poll also shows that Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have maintained the level of favorable and unfavorable support they had before the debt ceiling began.

Categories
Politics Republican

Michele Bachmann – All Talk And No Action

Michele Bachmann told a crowd at a political rally in Iowa on Saturday, that she is not a talker, but a doer. This was apparently her response to Tim Pawlenty’s claim that she hasn’t done anything since being elected to congress.

Here are the two sides: Michele Bachmann

 ‘I pledge to you, I’m not a talker. I’m a doer,’ she said, in what seemed to be a response to rival GOP presidential contender Tim Pawlenty’s recent hints that Iowans shouldn’t let themselves be mesmerized by her soaring rhetoric.

Asked what he thought about Bachmann’s candidacy for President: Tim Pawlenty

 “I like Con­gress­woman Bach­mann, I’ve cam­paigned for her, I respect her,” said Paw­lenty on the pro­gram. “But her record of accom­plish­ment in Con­gress is nonex­is­tent. It’s nonex­is­tent. And so we’re not look­ing for folks who, you know, just have speech capa­bil­i­ties, we’re look­ing for peo­ple who can lead a large enter­prise in a pub­lic set­ting and drive it to con­clu­sion. I’ve done that, she hasn’t.”

Here’s the facts: Politico’s Research

Now in her third House term, Bachmann has never had a bill or resolution she’s sponsored signed into law, and she’s never wielded a committee gavel, either at the full or subcommittee level. Bachmann’s amendments and bills have rarely been considered by any committee, even with the House under GOP control. In a chamber that rewards substantive policy work and insider maneuvering, Bachmann has shunned the inside game, choosing to be more of a bomb thrower than a legislator.

My take: – the record is clear, the facts are indisputable. Michele Bachmann is all talk, no action.

 

Categories
Politics

Republican Calls Teaparty Congress Members “Nuts!”

Alan Simpson, the former out-spoken Republican Senator from Wyoming stayed true to his colors and called out the Teaparty members in Congress for their unwillingness to compromise, a position that led to the decision of S&P to downgrade America’s credit.

Mr. Simpson, in a telephone interview with Fox Business News today, said he found it “stunning that people are disgusted” with these Teaparty/Republicans, and asked, “what did they think was going to happen?”

“[Obama] is smarter than rigid people who don’t compromise on anything. If you came to Congress not to compromise you’re totally ineffective, you oughta’ go home. You can compromise an issue without compromising yourself. These guys think the word compromise is a silly word. They’re nuts!”

Categories
Politics

Teaparty Members Cheer On Announcement Of America’s Credit Downgrade

Teaparty members are Republicans of a whole new kind, and this kind of Republican is not one we’ve ever seen in the history of this nation. Yes, we will always have ideological differences, but this group seems to want the total destruction of  American society, our economy and our nation.

At a meeting in Wisconsin, Teaparty members actually cheered when the announcement was made that America’s credit rating was downgraded. They’re either fundamentally different in their interpretation of patriotism, or they’re just plain dumb.

Categories
Politics

S And P On A Downgrade Rampage

On Friday, the rating agency, S&P downgraded the United States credit from AAA to AA+. A move the agency claims was necessary because of the constant political battles fought in Washington by the two political parties. Then today, S&P added even more to their downgrade list. CBS reports;

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Monday downgraded the credit ratings of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other agencies linked to long-term U.S. debt.

The agency also lowered the ratings for: farm lenders; long-term U.S. government-backed debt issued by 32 banks and credit unions; and three major clearinghouses, which are used to execute trades of stocks, bonds and options.

All the downgrades were from AAA to AA+. S&P says the agencies and banks all have debt that is exposed to economic volatility and a further downgrade of long-term U.S. debt. Their creditworthiness hinges on the U.S. government’s ability to pay its own creditors.

Ten of the country’s 12 Federal Home Loan Banks also were downgraded from AAA to AA+. The banks of Chicago and Seattle had already been downgraded earlier to AA+.

After receiving the first downgrade in the history of the nation, the politicians joined together and attacked S&P for its decision. On the Sunday talk shows, the suggestion was made that S&P should not be trusted, because of their long history of misleading information. Politicians also criticized S&P for what they called, a “$2 trillion mistake,” in the agency’s math when they decided to downgrade America’s credit to AA+ status.

But regardless of what the talking points are in Washington, and the criticism of S&P, one thing the agency said is correct, and reflects the unfortunate nature in Washington. S&P called out the parties involved and criticized their failure to compromise, as the main force responsible for their downgrade decision.

Categories
Politics United States

America’s Credit Downgraded, Another Win For Republicans

The Standard & Poors rating agency has, for the first time in America’s history, downgraded America’s Credit ratings, from a Triple A rating to AA+ ratings. The agency cites the political system in Washington as one of the reasons why the credit downgrade happened.

“We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process. We also believe that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration agreed to this week falls short of the amount that we believe is necessary to stabilize the general government debt burden by the middle of the decade.

Our lowering of the rating was prompted by our view on the rising public debt burden and our perception of greater policymaking uncertainty, consistent with our criteria (see “Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions,” June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41). Nevertheless, we view the U.S. federal government’s other economic, external, and monetary credit attributes, which form the basis for the sovereign rating, as broadly unchanged.”

A credit downgrade is serious business. It means that interest rates on the government, banks and ultimately the American people can rise. Borrowing money at a higher interest rate means we all pay back more towards our debt, whether it’s the government borrowing from China, or a middle class American borrowing to buy a home, a higher interest rate is never a good thing.

This is the work of Republicans and their effort to bring this economy to its knees. This decision by Standard & Poors is a loss for America, but another win for Republicans.

Categories
New Jersey Politics

O.M.G – Chris Christie Defends A Muslim, Don’t Tell The Republicans!

His mouth got him in trouble again, this time, for actually speaking the truth. The Republican governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, went against what has come to be the norm in the Republican party these days – bashing Muslims.

Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who successfully defended other Muslims wrongfully detained by the Bush Administration after the September 11th attacks, was recently appointed to the judicial bench in New Jersey. Naturally, like is customary these days with the Republican party, the attacks against Sohail began, with some even suggesting that if the Muslim becomes a judge, he will introduce Sharia Law in New Jersey.

Christie had heard enough. He stepped to the podium and defended his appointee, in the process, knocking down the insane accusations the Republicans have unfairly heaped on all Muslims, and officially putting an end to any speculation that he would run for president in 2012 – Republicans will never vote for him now, especially after Christie’s very reasonable, truthful comments made in defense of Sohail Mohammed, and the verbal whipping he put on members of his own party.

Categories
Politics taxes

I.R.S – 1400 Millionaires Paid Zero Taxes in 2009

If the family struggling to put food on the table, or keep a roof over their heads make a mistake on their tax returns and is audited, the taxman will bring out the army to make sure that family pays all the taxes they owe. But if you’re a millionaire, you could get away with paying nothing, while your income reflects six or more digits.

A new report issued by the IRS shows that over 1400 people who earned more than 1 million dollars in 2009,  paid zero in taxes. Credit this effort to keep the rich happy to two things;

  1. The raping of the tax system through tax loopholes set up to primarily pacify the greedy;
  2. A lobbying group voted into Congress by the American people. This group of lobbyists is called the Republican Party.

But let’s not forget the Republican’s claim, that providing the rich with more tax cuts in the form of Corporate loopholes and welfare, is the only way to create jobs. With this ideology, no one would have expected the unemployment rate to balloon to 10.2% in 2009 and now stands at 9.2%

It is time that Americans and Republicans face the truth – extra tax cuts and tax loopholes that benefits the rich does nothing for everyday middle-class America, and the Bush Administration supports this conclusion when massive trillion-dollar tax cuts were given to the wealthiest people in America, resulting in 700,000 people a month losing their jobs at the end of his term.

At a time when middle class America is being asked to give up the shirts off their backs to keep the economy from falling into total destruction, the millionaires and billionaires in this country should at least be asked to pay something back. Maybe not 90% like they paid in the 1950’s, or the 50% they paid under the Reagan administration. But having millionaires pay zero in taxes should be unheard of, especially in this economic crisis.

Categories
Politics

The 14% Approval Ratings For Congress – A Win For Republicans

America sent these clowns to Washington to work together and get the economy back on the right track. The operative word there, is “work.” And the American people are quickly coming to understand the true nature of its elected officials – one group seems determined to fix a broken system and get the economy working again, even if it means negotiating away the very ideals that jumpstart the economy in the past, and the other group is hellbent on keeping the system broken, you know, hiding the jumper cables.

So America is now disgusted, and that feeling is reflected in a new CBS News/New York Times poll, “82 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job – the highest disapproval rating since polling began in 1977. Just 14 percent approve of Congress’ performance.”

The uptick in frustration comes after Congress narrowly avoided an economic catastrophe of its own making by failing to hammer out a deal to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit until the deadline for action. And neither side was happy with the outcome: Conservatives said the final deal, which is projected to cut around $2.5 trillion over ten years from a projected $24 trillion debt, didn’t go far enough; liberals complained that the initial deficit reduction came entirely in the form of spending cuts, not revenue increases as Democrats initially demanded.

I guess you can call it a win – for the group hiding the jumper cables.

Categories
Barack Obama MSNBC Pat Buchanan Politics

Buchanan’s “your boy” Reference Was Not Misunderstood

Less than 24 hours after referring to President Obama as “your boy,” MSNBC’s Pat Buchanan went on Morning Joe, and tried to “clarify” his poor choice of words on Tuesday, when describing Mr. Obama to Rev. Al Sharpton.

“Let me clarify something that happened last night on the Al Sharpton show, a very spirited discussion. I was asked who was the big losers in these battles, and the big winners. And I said one of the big losers, using boxing terminology, was ‘your boy’ and I meant the President of the United States. . . . This was taken – some folks took what I said as some kind of slur – none was meant, none was intended, none was delivered – for the record.

But this is just one occurrence. Buchanan is known for walking the edge with the careless statements he’s made in the past.

When Barack Obama was campaigning for President back in 2008, questions about statements his one time pastor Jeremiah Wright made, dominated the news. Mr. Obama felt it was necessary to answer his critics by delivering a speech about race relations – a conversation about race. Pat Buchanan decided to write a response to Mr. Obama’s speech, where he attempted to make the point that “White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.” Buchanan wrote;

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

… Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks — with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas — to advance black applicants over white applicants.

Buchanan also bought into the ‘Donald Trump talking point’ that President Obama was too dumb to achieve high levels of education, in some of the most prestigious schools in America. Buchanan stated that affirmative action was responsible for the President’s acceptance into these schools.

And who could forget “The Blacks?” That was how Donald Trump referred to New York’s black population, when he was asked if he worried about getting their vote. Trump answered that he has “a great relationship with the blacks, I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.”

Of course, this disparaging reference outraged many of  “the blacks,” in New York and around the country, but Pat Buchanan saw nothing wrong with Trump’s statement. Buchanan went on MSNBC and defended Donald Trump, saying, “I don’t find any malice in what he said in the statement about the black folks.” Buchanan then tried to water down Trump’s statement, by saying if someone referred to the members of his religion by calling them “the Catholics,” he will not be offended.

These are just a small fraction of the many times Buchanan has made race-baiting statements. So today when Mr. Buchanan offered his so-called clarification, is there anyone out there who really believes this one-time presidential candidate was taken out of context? Is there anyone who believes the rest of the world heard his “your boy” reference and everyone collectively and mis-heard or misunderstood the innocent Buchanan?

The odds are highly unlikely. Buchanan is a calculated Republican pundit, a strategist who knows exactly what he wants to say and what message he intends to deliver. When he called the President “your boy,” he wasn’t misunderstood, on the contrary. Those words coming from the mouth of Pat Buchanan only had one meaning, and the rest of America, the world, knew exactly what he meant.

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