Haven't posted in a while....

This seems appropriate tonight.....

Lies, Liars, and the Lying

In the weeks to come you are going to here much, and more, about how the Obama Administration's reckless spending is the cause for the nations large national debt.

That is simply not true.  Ezra Klein, was kind enough to dig up this chart (from the folks at CBPP) to show the main drivers of the nations debt over the coming decades.  

 

This has become a mainstay of the modern Republican Party.  Deny, the consequences of policies

you have advocated if they are negative.  Just reinforcing the old adage, "Conservatism can not fail.  Only you can fail conservatism".   

Race, the Race, and Summer Storms....

Been away for a while, but with the campaign truly heating up.  These are the things that caught my attention:

First up I am glad Chris Matthews said this to RNC chairman Reince Priebus:


The naked and wanton racial animus that the Republican Party is trucking in, is saddening.   Republicans have suffered no consequences for this.

Now some of this is because talking about racial issues is horrifically difficult.  This piece by Ta-Neshisi Coates, Fear of a Black President, is one of the best pieces I have read on race in sometime.  I would highly recommend reading it if you have not.  

What the Stimulus has wrought

This is an election year and you are going to hear a lot about how the Stimulus (ARRA) has failed from Republicans.  The folks over at Mosler Economics have put together a report with some lovely charts showing pre and post Stimulus statistics for the country.  

Things are not great and I will be first to say, that the administration should have been more aggressive on that front.  A recalcitrant congress definitely was hurdle.  But I will not let them off easy, it wasn't, as if they were not warned.   That being said, this should put the lie to the "stimulus failed!" rhetoric.  I know it won't.  But it is nice to see graphical proof.  A couple of examples:

 

Thank You Mann....and Ornstein

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It is a topic I harp on.  But it is nice to see two political mavens, such as Mann and Ornstein, say that which shall not be said.   It is not both sides!

The Republican party has marched inexorably right.  The Democratic party has not.  This is a problem.

It is not symmetric.

That which shall not be said....

If you have not seen the TED talk by Nick Hanauer, then I highly recommend it. 



The thing about this I find fascinating is how obvious this is.   The fetishization of businessmen in our society is slightly disturbing.  The idea that businesspeople are, somehow, possessed of special knowledge that will allow them to be better  run government is just wishful thinking.  Or more disturbingly ego stroking of the elite. 

This is a belief I wish would change, but it seems ingrained in the body public.  Even though most of the times it is actually followed through on, it has disastrous results (last to "business" Presidents, George W. Bush, and Herbert Hoover).

-Cheers

On Governance

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When people talk about "compromise" and "meeting in the middle".  How do you account for this mentality.    The modern Republican party is not interested in any governance other then Republican governance.    Democratic party rule is illegitimate prima facie. 

Steve Benen over at Maddow blog points out how revolutionary this is.  How is compromise even possible when the people you are supposed to work with believe things like this:

"I certainly think bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view."

So the only way we can work together, is if we do exactly what you want?

These are the sorts of people Republican voters are sending to deal with the problems we face.  Is it any wonder that nothing gets accomplished?

-Cheers

Thrusters On-line

Yeah, I know.  I have been silent for a bit this year.    But now that we are officially in campaign season, it is time to get to work.


So here you go, the new campaign video from the folks at Obama central. 

Firing up and getting ready to go.  Indeed.

-Cheers

Obviously women don't understand their own bodies.....

Rep. Terry England compares women to cows, pigs and chickens. from Bryan Long on Vimeo.

I just want to let that sink in.

The bill in question HB 954 in the Georgia house of representatives, would make it illegal to obtain an abortion after 20 weeks even if the fetus is known to be still born or otherwise is not expected to live to term.

Yes this is a bill that would punish women for not wanting to carry their dead child to term.

Party of small government my ass.

-Cheers

Reforming Healthcare....

Once again Ezra Klein puts together an exceptional post on rising health care costs in the US.

There is a lot to unpack in there:

It's not the Pill....it is you that is immoral!

I will repeat that. Ladies, according to the GOP, the problem isn't contraception. It is your immoral whorish-ness that is the problem. Just keep your knees closed and your mouth shut and everything would be better. The absolute inability to even acknowledge the health issues or even the right of women to control their own bodies, is striking.

Increasingly the GOP is the party of old white dudes.

-Cheer

Rev. Franklin Graham is a political hack.

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That is all but certain from this interview. Basically what he is saying is that, the only people who are "Christian" are those who agree with me.

My friends of faith, if you ever wonder why I am, at times hostile towards religion. Look no farther then this as an example. This is not about any sort of theological discussion, this is brute force politics. Live the way I say. Nothing more.

Rev. Graham, is definitely not like his father in that regard.

-Cheers

And now for something different....

There is evidently a Game of Thrones themed food blog. So of course, I had to check it out.

Some interesting recipes there. I will probably experiment with some of these over the coming months.

An example: Robert Baratheon’s Ideal Meal

Assorted Cheeses

Roasted Vegetable Medley, with a splash of cider

Red and Golden Beets

Mustard-Stout Deviled Eggs

Drunken Venison Steaks, marinated in mead and wrapped in boar bacon

Honeycakes with Lavender icing

Blackberry Jam tarts

Wine-Poached Pears

Lots and lots of Dark Beer

I am sure there are some people who would be interested in helping me test this out.....

-Cheers

Don't mind the man behind the curtain....

It can not be said enough, but this is not about religious liberty.

It has always been about making it more difficult for women to procure and utilize contraception.

Sen. Mitch McConnell goes all in on the anti-contraception band wagon. The amendment in question says:

“ensure that health care stakeholders retain the right to provide, purchase, or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions”

Basically, any employer any where can decide that you should not have equal access to health care because he/she does not agree with your need to have it.

Much like the right to free speech, the religious freedom mentioned in the constitution is not the freedom to inflict your religious views upon your fellow countrymen, but protection from that.

Again I wish that women's health were not always used as a political football. Women do not deserve to have their bodies used as some sort of political bulwark, that is constantly re-litigated. They are equal citizens and should have the protections that come with that.

-Cheers

Not a progressive value.....

This poll question, in the new Washington Post poll, is a tad depressing.

What if those suspected terrorists are American citizens living in other countries? In that case do you approve or disapprove of the use of drones?

Approve: 65

Disapprove: 26

This should not be the "liberal" view on the matter. American citizens have rights under the law. Even if they are suspected of terrorism. That is an American value and enshrined in our law.

So this is very disappointing.

-Cheers

The Catholic Church, HHS, Contraception, and you...

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This was the discussion on Morning Joe on Monday. The big hubbub is over the HHS' decision to implement the contraception coverage rules, in the Affordable Care Act.

There has been much said about it over the last 48 hours, about how it is an infringement upon freedom of religion and the like. Now I will confess, I am not Catholic, nor am I particularly religious, so prepared to accept that I am not as sensitive to this issue as some may be. I am however, very concerned about how women's health issues are treated and talked about.

To me, this more an issue of equal treatment under the law then about religious expression.

In my opinion, if the Church wishes to act as a large employer or insurer, then it has to meet the public policy requirements of those industries. Many will say this is a difficult issue, but it is not really. Women's health issues are not a separable thing, they are health care issues. If you provide health insurance to employees then contraception is part of health care. You do not have to approve of how people use that good, but the good offered needs to be uniform and non-discriminatory.

Bigotry and Intolerance.....

Are alive and well in the United States. If you read only one article this week I recommend this one.

If you have children, a weak stomach or anger easily, I would sit down before starting it.

Like many 13-year-olds, Brittany knew seventh grade was a living hell. But what she didn't know was that she was caught in the crossfire of a culture war being waged by local evangelicals inspired by their high-profile congressional representative Michele Bachmann, who graduated from Anoka High School and, until recently, was a member of one of the most conservative churches in the area. When Christian activists who considered gays an abomination forced a measure through the school board forbidding the discussion of homosexuality in the district's public schools, kids like Brittany were unknowingly thrust into the heart of a clash that was about to become intertwined with tragedy.

This is why I loathe Rep. Bachmann, and those that spread her brand of bigotry......

-Cheers

State of the Union Address

....And I am back.

Took a little time off from ranting about politics to spend quality time with Old Republic, as well as recharge before the election craziness got fully into gear.

So what better time to get back into things then with the Presidential State of the Union address to congress and the nation?

I cannot think of another myself actually!

By and large, I liked the speech. Let me start off by saying, if you expect the SotU to be about specifics you are fooling yourself. The SotU is all about the President talking about what they have done and what they would like to do. It is an "explaining" speech, for the great unwashed masses, who do not have the time or inclination to scour the inter-tubes. This is an important thing politically and substantively. The President gets to make his case to the American people, laying out what his priorities have been and are. While the American people get an opportunity to evaluate the words their leaders speak versus their actions taken.

So as you can guess, I tend to be a fan of SotU speeches. I have watched them all since President George H. W Bush was in office, and whether I agree with the current office holder or not, I listen intently. Why? Because they are my President, whether they chose to ignore me or pander to me.

Back to the speech itself. The portion of it that really caught my attention was the middle section. Starting here:

...the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.

The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them.