Okay, I’ll admit it. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes, you can watch someone’s behavior, their mannerism, the way they talk, walk and dress, and from these appearances, you can most of the time accurately determine the sexual orientation of that person. Most of the time…
Have you ever seen Marcus Bachmann’s movements or listen to his speech patterns? My opinion is not conclusive, but in my view, it all points to one thing…
Marcus opened a clinic with his wife and Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, and their claim to fame is the ability to cure gay people.
It is with this in mind I direct your attention to the video below, where Jon Stewart tries to figure out Michele Bachmann’s husband’s preference. And while having some, um, issues trying to come to an initial conclusion, Mr. Stewart invites Jerry Seinfeld to contribute his opinion.
In the end, the conclusion is made that Bachmann’s husband Marcus, cures gays, so he can “hoard all the gayness for himself.”
In what could be said was a blatant attempt to grab the spotlight or just willfully ignorant, Conservative’s Queen, Sarah Palin, used the very same phrase that many believed led to the killing of six people in Tucson Arizona, and the attempted assassination of Congressman Gabriel Giffords.
Last night, the insensitive and maybe just plain ol’ dumb Sarah Palin went on Fox’s Hannity show, and offered some advise to Republicans negotiating the debt ceiling issue with President Obama, telling them not to back down!
“We cannot default, but we cannot afford to retreat right now either. Now is not the time to retreat, it’s time to reload.”
We can only hope that it was the realization of how insensitive her remarks were, that caused her to elaborate…
“We reload with reality by giving facts and numbers to the American public so that those of us across the United States can start chiming in and letting our representatives know that we will not capitulate.”
Back in 2010, Congressman Gabrielle Giffords questioned the wisdom of Palin using this very same phrase and putting cross-haires on hers and other Democratic Congressional members’ districts. Mrs. Giffords was shot in the head earlier this year, while having a political event in her district. Six other people were killed in that attack.
What’s next for Sarah Palin, is she going to put cross-hairs on the White House?
Although no one ever confirmed any links between the shooting in Tucson and Mrs. Palin’s rhetoric, one would have to be somewhat mentally deficient to make that very same statement again. Mentally unstable or willfully ignorant!
Watch the latest video at <a href=”http://video.foxnews.com”>video.foxnews.com</a>
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has a message for his Republican friends in Congress. Don’t blame the President or even the Democrats. Don’t blame anyone else for the mess over raising the debt ceiling, blame yourself.
“Our problem is we made a big deal about this for three months. How many Republicans have been on TV saying, ‘I’m not going to raise the debt limit.’ You know, Mitch [McConnell] says, ‘I’m not going to raise the debt limit unless we talk about Medicare.’ And I’ve said I’m not going to raise the debt limit until we do something about spending and entitlements.’ So we’ve got nobody to blame but ourselves.
“We shouldn’t have said that if we didn’t mean it.”
The Republicans are beginning to break.
With the President holding his ground in the negotiations over raising the debt ceiling, and with Americans looking at the Republicans as obstructionists whose only goal is protecting the rich while the rest of the country slides into default, Republicans are beginning to wonder out loud why they intentionally mislead the American people over a very routine matter – raising the debt ceiling. On Tuesday, Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell proposed a feeble detour to get the debt ceiling raised, and now this from Lindsey Graham.
The American people are keeping track of what’s going on, and the Republicans are beginning to see the writing on the wall… in the form of a political suicide note that is.
And so it begins. The triple A(Aaa) ratings that America has enjoyed since 1917 was put on notice for a downgrade today by Moody’s Investors Service.
Bloomberg reports that Moody’s took this initial move to lower America’s credit ratings over “concern(s) the debt threshold will not be raised in time to prevent a missed payment of interest or principal on outstanding bonds and notes even though the risk remains low”. Additionally, the report stated that Moody’s “…rating would likely be reduced to the Aa range…” and that ” …that there is no assurance that Moody’s would return its top rating even if a default is quickly cured.”
Meanwhile, Republicans continue protecting the tax loopholes for the rich.
For the 3 people in the entire world, who think Mitch McConnell is sincerely trying to work with the President to set America on solid economic ground, this one’s for you. Today, the Republican Senate minority leader clearly stated his reasoning for coming up with a “solution” to the debt ceiling, saying, ” I refuse to help Barack Obama get reelected by marching Republicans into a position where we have co-ownership of a bad economy.”
“We knew shutting down the government in 1995 was not going to work for us. It helped Bill Clinton get reelected. I refuse to help Barack Obama get reelected by marching Republicans into a position where we have co-ownership of a bad economy. It didn’t work in 1995. What will happen is the administration will send out to 80 million Social Security recipients and to military families and they will all start attacking members of Congress. That is not a useful place to take us. And the president will have the bully pulpit to blame Republicans for all this disruption.
“If we go into default he will say Republicans are making the economy worse. And all of a sudden we have co-ownership of a bad economy. That is a very bad position going into an election. My first choice was to do something important for the country. But my second obligation is to my party and my conference to prevent them from being sucked into a horrible position politically that would allow the president, probably, to get reelected because we didn’t handle this difficult situation correctly.”
Meanwhile, America’s economy moves closer to the brink of a second Great Depression. But no surprise here. This is the same Republican leader who said his number one priority was making sure the President is a one-term president.
When President Obama earlier stated that “nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon”, no one really understood where the President was going in terms of the negotiations concerning raising the debt ceiling. Later when he put forth his plan for a massive $4 trillion dollars in spending cuts – if Republicans agreed to ending the tax loopholes for the wealthy – the connection between his statement and his plan still wasn’t realized.
However, when the Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell yesterday told the press, that he is willing to “authorize” the President to submit a request to congress to raise the debt ceiling, a light bulb went off in the Host of MSNBC’s The Last Word – Lawrence O’ Donnell‘s head. The President’s statement on a $4 trillion spending cut proposal finally began making sense.
The way O’Donnell explains the connection is like this: President Obama is winning the debt ceiling argument with Republicans. By making the statement, “nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon,” the President put Republicans on notice, that to have a deal, both parties would have to agree to major sacrifices. He then announced a huge spending cut proposal, with the knowledge that Republicans were too much against imposing any taxes or ending the loopholes on the wealthy. With this in mind, the President essentially called the Republican’s bluff. If they were really serious about deficit reduction, they would have jumped on the opportunity to cut spending by ending the tax loopholes.
Then yesterday, Mitch McConnell came out and basically handed the President the win. What Mitch wants is a resolution to allow the President to raise the debt ceiling all by himself. The President would request congress to raise the debt ceiling. Congress would then vote to “disapprove” the request, which the President would then veto. With that veto, the debt ceiling would automatically be raised on the President’s terms.
This move by McConnell, basically giving up the fight and allowing President Obama to make the decision, brought it all home for Lawrence.
Of course, we are talking about Mitch McConnell – the same Republican who said his primary goal is to see Obama fail. It is therefore wise to look at this “plan” by McConnell from that perspective and realize the politics behind it. McConnell realizes that the Republicans have taken a dangerous position. Any default by the United States government by not raising the debt ceiling would be political assassination for the GOP. With this move, McConnell removes the Republicans from the decision-making process, that way, the President makes the decision and avoids America going into default. McConnell can tell his Teaparty constituents that he voted against raising the debt ceiling.
We all remember Bachmann’s recent signing of a pledge which claimed that children born under slavery were better off than those born after President Obama became President! Well, Steven Colbert picked up on another very interesting piece of info about her and Rick Santorum – the other Republican Presidential candidate who immediately signed the document.
For Santorum, Colbert explains that he signed the pledge, even after being “taken aback” by the strong language it contained. Colbert’s re-enactment of Santorum reading the pledge is right on the mark.
And for Bachmann, Colbert picks on the many instances where she saw the need to equate something to slavery, you know, where her expertise lies…
President Obama just set another record, shattering the White House record for presidential election fund-raising in the first 3 months of his re-election campaign. The Obama 2012 Campaign Manager, Jim Messina, made the announcement earlier today stating that in the first quarter of fund-raising, $86 million dollars was collected. Obama’s record also beat the efforts of all the Republican candidates combined.
In his 2004 re-election, former President Bush raised $50 million.
The total amount Obama raised in the first three months of 2011 also amounted to more than twice the $35 million raised collectively by the announced field of Republican presidential candidates.
“It’s a monumental achievement,” Messina said.
In order to compete against the special interests groups and secret corporate funds expected to drive the Republican nominee’s campaign, the president would have to raise an estimated $1 billion dollars for his re-election.
In an interview with CBS today, President Obama laid it all on the line and explained the grave seriousness of the political game the Republicans are playing by not allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. The President explained that if the August 2nd deadline passes and no deal is met, then the 20 million Social Security checks scheduled to go out on August 3rd, might not.
I cannot guarantee that these checks go out on august 3rd if we haven’t resolved this issue.
The President is trying to get the rich to bear some of the weight of an economy that has benefited them tremendously. He has already suggested social spending cuts to programs that benefited the poor and middle class, and is asking Republicans to end some of the tax loopholes enjoyed by the rich. Republicans however, are not budging, and maintains that those tax loopholes stay off the table.
It is simple math, really! The primary incentive for any Corporation is to make money, to make a profit. But in order for these companies to achieve their goal, their products or services must be in demand and then purchased. When the demand is there and consumers are able to purchase these products or services, companies make a profit then produce more to satisfy consumer demand, thus more profits.
The problem with this economy is not a matter of supply and demand. Records show that Corporations are sitting on a collective financial nest egg of about $2 trillion in cash, so the ability to produce is there. And the problem is not a lack of demand either, for as long as there are consumers, there will always be a demand. The problem with this economy is the ability of consumers to purchase. It’s a vicious cycle – take away consumer’s ability to purchase, and the company’s profit incentive is no longer achievable. If the company can’t see a way to be profitable, they lay off workers and sit on their nest-egg. These laid off workers then join a population of non-consumers who don’t have the ability to purchase and the cycle continues.
What then, is the answer? As far as I can see, the answer is simple – give consumers the ability to purchase.
The best, most ideal way to do this is with jobs. If consumers are working, they get a paycheck and thus, are able to purchase. But in this economy, jobs are becoming scarce because Corporations are trying to hold on to their profits and are laying off. If we can’t attack the problem by making Corporations hire, then we must attack it from the other end – creating the ability for consumers to buy, thus, increasing demand. When this demand is increased, the profit margin is realized by these Corporations, and hiring is increased to meet the demand of the consumers.
How do you empower the consumers? There are two ways:
The government must pick up the slack and take the initiative. A perfect example of this was the actions of President Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression, where the government took more of an active role in The New Deal and was able to reduce unemployment by converting auto manufacturing plants into factories to meet the demands of World War 2. This action alone employed millions of unemployed Americans, giving them a paycheck and essentially reversing the effects of the Great Depression.
A massive direct Stimulus Bill – This will put real dollars into the hands of consumers, thus, giving them the ability to consume. Because of the nature of this method, it is not a long-term sustained effort to get the economy going, but it will provide a necessary needed jolt that can get corporations hiring again to meet the sudden demand by these newly empowered consumers. More hires will eventually lead to more paychecks, thus reversing the effects of this recession.
Can this government employ these two measures now to get the economy back on the right track? Yes, they can, but it takes both sides to come to the table with a real genuine goal to get America back to work. We’ve heard a lot about “shovel ready projects.” These are real areas where people can get work and begin the process of ending this recession. Bridges, roads, schools and America’s communication infrastructures need repair. We talk about green technology and clean energy, well now is the time to put people to work getting these ideas implemented. If Roosevelt had the ability to do it back in the 1930/40’s, there is no reason why it can’t be done now.
So if a simple person like myself can figure this out, why can’t the elected elites in Washington do the same?
President Obama called the Republicans’ bluff today, when he stated clearly that he will not sign any short-term deal on the debt ceiling. When asked whether he would veto such a deal, the President replied, “I will not sign a 30-day, or 60-day, or 90-day extension.”
He then accused the Republicans of having a “my way or the highway” stance on the debt ceiling. He also gave this warning – “I don’t see a path to a deal if they don’t budge. Period!”
The President and Democratic leaders have proposed a deal to Republicans totaling $4 trillion in spending cuts over a period of 10 years, in exchange for a few hundred billion in tax revenue. Republicans however, called this a “non-starter,” because taxes would be imposed on millionaires and billionaires. Led by House Speaker John Boehner, Republicans are demanding a smaller, short-term increase in the debt ceiling of about $2 trillion.
The President did not budge, saying “this is the United States of America. And, you know, we don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments.” And referring to those Republicans who have already said they would not support raising the debt ceiling, the President said, “It’s irresponsible. They know better.”
Of course, Boehner continued his call for the middle class to bear the weight, while the rich skates through for free!
No matter how they try to distort the truth, one thing’s for sure – recorded facts will always remain the same (unless your name is Jon Kyl of Arizona, who unsuccessfully tried to change the record after lying about Planned Parenthood on the floor of the Senate). No, this post is not about Jon Kyl, but rather his Republican congressional lying buddy – Senator Jeff Sessions.
Yesterday on CBS’s Face The Nation, Sessions apparently forgot the power of records and stated that the Bush Tax cuts led to increased revenue for each year the taxes were cut. The way that lie unknowingly fell from Mr. Sessions’ mouth, was in response to a correct statement made by a Democrat on the panel, Mr. Bill Nelson. Nelson stated the facts, saying;
“Jeffrey, you have to acknowledge that part of our deficit problem was the huge Bush tax cuts in the early part of the decade. What was handed off to the new administration of over a trillion dollars of annual deficit, that accounted for almost half of it. If you’re going to be real about the numbers, you’re going to have to address these kinds of things.”
Jeffery must have thought he was on a Fox News program, where facts and records don’t matter. He responded to Mr. Nelson’s statement by saying;
“That’s not accurate, Bill. The revenue went up every single year after those tax cuts were put in. The revenue is down now because of the low economy … It’s not because taxes have been cut in recent years. It’s because people are not making money. They’re not paying as much taxes. So increasing taxes on that weakened economy is not the way to increase revenue. “
Oh Jeffery, when will you Republicans learn about the Google machine?
Analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice claims that the Bush era tax cuts resulted in $1,918.9 trillion in lower revenue from FY2001 through FY2009, and that the total cost if implementing the cuts (including interest payments on debt) was $2,141 trillion.
But don’t let the facts get in the way of your lies Mr. Sessions, just keep doing what you do. We’ll keep fact-checking and using the Google machine to prove you wrong.
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