Open Thread–5/2/2012

 Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 022012
 

Well I survived into another day and have a little more.  I’m current with new replies.  Tomorrow I have lots of volunteer paperwork to do.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:51 (average 5:03).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: FDR Saw This Coming And Tried To Warn Us

2FDR

And in his day, Republicans were nowhere near as bad as today.

From NY Times: Richard Grenell, an openly gay and longtime Republican foreign policy spokesman hired last month by Mitt Romney’s campaign, abruptly resigned on Tuesday after antigay elements in the party criticized his appointment and some Republican advisers said Mr. Grenell had been sidelined by the campaign during a busy foreign policy week.

Of course Switch Hit Mitt claims that being gay had nothing to do wit it.  Put a load of that on your garden!

From Daily Kos: New Obama ad salutes Mitt Romney’s foreign policy experience: Swiss bank accounts and outsourcing

 

They clearly understand what Rmoney is about.

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Open Thread–4/20/2012

 Blog News, Open Thread, Personal, Plus, Politics
Apr 202012
 

Today I got tied up in the paperwork I have been putting off and ran well beyond the time I normally spend on research.  In addition, my COPD was severe last night.  I slept little, and, although I want to push myself, I think it unwise.  Therefore this is today’s only article.  I’m current on replies.  Tomorrow I should have no trouble with normal posting.

Special Announcement:

I trust many of you remember Lee Evans, who commented regularly here for a time.  I sent him a message when he stopped coming by suddenly, and heard nothing back.  Today I heard about him from mutual friend.  Here is her email.  I added his picture.

20LeeHi there TC…I have a favor to ask of you :-)

After weeks of worrying and calling, I finally got a hold of Lee Evans on the phone a little while ago…He has been having his good and bad days, but i feared the worst as he is on palliative care due to prostate cancer…i broke into tears when he answered the phone i was so glad to know he was still with us!

Anyway, his computer is toast, and his money is low, so he couldn’t email anyone to let them know…and just like the first time you got ill, people have been asking me where he’s been at for months now.

The first one he asked about was you, followed by HHH, Bee, and all the regulars that post on Politics Plus…So if you could find a way to put a footnote in open thread or somewhere to tell every one that he is okay, and that he misses all, i would surely appreciate it.

In the meantime i’m going to see if i can’t find a tablet or inexpensive used laptop to send him.

Being all alone, and sick is bad enough…but he loved being part of this little family on care2, as we were all he had on a daily basis, and that really helped keep him going.

I don’t know if you ever saw any of my photos, but my profile pix is of him (cropped out) and i when he visited his son here in Seattle over Thanksgiving last year and we got to finally meet.

So anything you can do to let everyone know he misses them and thinks of them daily, and wishes everyone the best would be truly appreciated…1love, ellen

I hope you will join me by keeping Lee in your thoughts, hopes, prayers, or whatever you do.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:42 (average 5:15).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From MoveOn: What Paul Ryan’s Budget Could Mean For Your Family

20budget

This certainly shows who Republicans do and do not represent.

From NY Times: Mr. Sarkozy is in deep trouble and is looking, for now, as if he could be the first one-term French president since 1981. He appears to be running neck and neck with his main challenger, the Socialist candidate François Hollande, in the first round of voting on Sunday, when 10 candidates are competing. But all the opinion polls show Mr. Sarkozy losing to Mr. Hollande in a face-off two weeks later…

…A victory by even a centrist Socialist like Mr. Hollande, who has advocated higher taxes on the rich and a greater emphasis on growth over austerity, would create immediate strains with Germany and rattle financial markets that are already nervous about the size of France’s debt. Mr. Hollande has also said that he wants to pull French troops out of Afghanistan sooner than NATO has agreed to do. Still, he says that his first visit abroad would be to Berlin, no matter how chilly the reception.

I think this may be an excellent development for France, and would help to curtail the failed austerity programs imposed by European conservatives.  Republicans will surely claim that Hollande is a Communist, so they can accuse Obama of consorting with him.  That is a lie.  A French Socialist is a social democrat, not a communist.

From CBS: A judge has granted bail for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, but would not allow his release Friday, citing further discussions needed about the terms, including whether or not he would be allowed out of state.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester also said that Zimmerman must not have any contact with the victim’s family; must wear an ankle monitoring bracelet; and adhere to a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. The judge’s order also states that Zimmerman cannot be in possession of firearms; and must not consume alcohol or controlled substances.

I think the $150,000 amount of the bail is way too low.  In my volunteer work with prisoners, I know many, who were accused of far lesser crimes,  but whose bail was considerably more.  Therefore it reeks of favoritism.

Cartoon:

20Cartoon

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Republican Budget: Bend Over

 Politics
Apr 182012
 

If House Republicans get their way in the federal budget they deemed and passed (remember demon pass?), all but the very rich will have to grab their ankles.  The purpose of government is to serve the common good, but for Republicans, only the 1% get served.  What happens to the rest of is is obvious.

18GOPscrew

Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, defended the House Republican budget at a tax policy summit yesterday — as well as the broader idea that taxes on the wealthy need to be cut while taxes on lower-income Americans should be raised. When asked by ThinkProgress’ Scott Keyes to square the GOP’s explicit desire to cut taxes for the rich with the fact that it’s budget would raise taxes on low-income working Americans, Tiberi responded by saying that to do otherwise would be to “beat up on people who are trying to be successful.” He then made the case for raising taxes on the poor by lamenting that they don’t have any “skin in the game”…

…Watch it:

 

The budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), defended by Tiberi, and passed by the House Republicans, would cut taxes for millionaires by an average of $187,000 in 2014 alone, even if tax expenditures are eliminated to offset the revenue loss. Meanwhile, it would allow tax cuts on low-income Americans, passed in response to the economic collapse, to expire. Families making $30,000 or less would see their after-tax income fall, in some cases by as much as 2 percent, while those making over $1 million would see it rise by 12.5 percent… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

Photo Credit: EN2008

In stark contrast, there is a budget that is worthy of your support: the Budget for All.  Check it out!

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John Stewart Lampoons GOP on Buffet Rule

 Politics
Apr 182012
 

The most common excuse Republicans have used in a vain attempt to justify their thwarting the Senate majority on the Buffet Rule is that, according to them, $47 billion in revenues is too small an amount to be worth it.  John Stewart pointed out the utter hypocrisy in this Republican lie.

18ThuneHatYou remembered to file your taxes, right? They were due yesterday. Good. On last night’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart discussed the Buffet Rule that senate Democrats have decided to bring to a vote. The rule ensures that people earning over $1 million annually will pay an effective tax rate of at least 30% including investment income.

Republicans were able to filibuster the Buffet rule and block it from coming to the floor for a debate and vote, claiming that the tax hike would “raise a mere pittance in the scope of federal budgets.”

But $300 million to Planned Parenthood is still too much money while $47 billion from America’s wealthiest is inconsequential apparently. Here’s the video from “The Daily Show.”

 

Quick side note, how awesome would a Zombie Reagan be? I can’t even imagine. Anyway…

“Senator Thune is pointing out that the Buffet Rule would only raise $47 billion over the next 10 years,” said Stewart. “The point is $4.7 billion per year isn’t worth the trouble.”

But $363 million to Planned Parenthood is suddenly a gigantic funding issue… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <BostInno>

Once again we have proof that Republicans govern exclusively for millionaires, billionaires, and corporate criminals.  They do NOT represent YOU!

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Open Thread–4/18/2012

 Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 182012
 

Yesterday and today researching and writing the blog are just about the only things I have done.  I really am current on replies today.  Tomorrow I have bills to pay, paperwork to do, and an overdue stack of mail.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:51 (average 4:35).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: In a stinging rebuke, Citigroup shareholders rebuffed on Tuesday the bank’s $15 million pay package for its chief executive, Vikram S. Pandit, marking the first time that stock owners have united in opposition to outsized compensation at a financial giant.

The shareholder vote, which comes amid a rising national debate over income inequality, suggests that anger over pay for chief executives has spread from Occupy Wall Street to wealthy institutional investors like pension fund and mutual fund managers. About 55 percent of the shareholders voting were against the plan, which laid out compensation for the bank’s five top executives, including Mr. Pandit.

Dang!  Here we have an economic battle between the 1% and the .1%!

From MoveOn: WINNING: The 10 Best Achievements Of Obama’s Presidency So Far.

Dirty Paper Texture

Considering that no President in history has ever faces opposition so intent on wrecking the country to pin their damage on him, Obama’s achievements have been remarkable.

From Philadelphia Inquirer: Republicans controlling the House are eyeing big cuts to food stamps as they piece together legislation to trim $261 billion from the federal budget over the next decade, hoping to forestall major Pentagon cutbacks.

The cuts to food stamps would reduce the monthly benefit for a family of four by almost $60, repealing increases enacted three years ago as part of President Obama’s economic stimulus. The changes would also force up to three million people out of the program by tightening eligibility rules, the administration estimates.

Every penny spent feeding hungry people is a penny Republicans can’t give to a billionaire.

Cartoon:

18Cartoon

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Republicans Sabotage Buffet Rule

 Politics
Apr 172012
 

Republicans once again demonstrated that they do not represent you last night, when they filibustered and blocked the Buffett rule, as I predicted (no rocket science required).  Even though 72% of Americans favor it’s passage, 72% does not matter to them.  The only number that does matter is 1%.

17buffetSenate Republicans on Monday blocked a move to open debate on the so-called Buffett Rule, ensuring that a measure pressed for months by President Obama and Senate Democrats to ensure that the superrich pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent will not come to a decisive vote.

But the fierce debate preceding the 51-45 vote — the Democrats were nine votes short of the 60 they needed — set off a week of political wrangling over taxes that both parties insist they are already winning.

Senate Democrats intend to return repeatedly to the legislation, named after the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has complained that he pays a lower effective tax rate than his secretary. On Thursday, House Republicans will counter with a proposed tax cut for businesses that they say would spur job creation but would cost the Treasury almost exactly what the Democrats’ tax increase would raise.

Republicans say they like that contrast, and their language ahead of the vote on a motion just to take up the Buffett Rule was harsh and aimed squarely at Mr. Obama, who first proposed a 30-percent tax rate floor for anyone earning at least $1 million a year last September. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican minority leader, went to the Senate floor and all but called Mr. Obama a liar… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

The only Republican to vote for the measure is Susan Collins (R-ME).  She can vote her conscience now, only because she is stepping down. 

Only one worthless, scum-sucking DINO goose stepped with the Republicans: Aaron Pryor (DINO-AR).

Ed Schultz covered the story with Bernie Sanders.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You just have to love Bernie!  Chris Hayes interviewed Sheldon Whitehouse, and compares this vote to other times Republicans have defied overwhelming public opinion.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I disagree in part.  I don’t see how most Republican lawmakers could actually believe that their policies are better for America.  It comes down to corruption and greed.  That’s why Republicans represent the super rich, not you.

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Action Alert: It’s Time to Pass the Buffet Rule

 Politics
Apr 142012
 

Republican tax dogma remains one of their biggest weaknesses, because they are not willing to consider fairness for the 99% by making the richest 0.1% pay more than average workers in taxes.  While the Buffet Rule is only a small step toward needed reforms, it is imperative that we support it and put the Republicans on record for blocking it.

14buffetPresident Obama made another pitch Saturday for Congress to raise taxes on the richest Americans.

Obama, as he has repeatedly in recent days, urged Congress to enact legislation that would implement the so-called Buffett Rule, a principle calling for those at the very top of the income pyramid to pay at least the same percentage of their income in taxes as those in middle-class families.

In his weekly radio and Internet speech, Obama said it’s "not just about fairness," but "is also about growth."

"It’s about being able to make the investments we need to strengthen our economy and create jobs," Obama said. "And it’s about whether we as a country are willing to pay for those investments… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <UPI>

Ed Schultz discusses America’s overwhelming support for this policy with Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Saint Ronnie Ray Gun would be a reject in today’s Republican Party. They would call him a socialist, or worst yet a "librul".

I disagree with the Senator on one thing.  Republicans are going to block this no matter what we do.  Nevertheless, it is imperative that we make it plain that what they are doing is contrary to the will if the American people, so I urge you to join me in support for it at buffetrulebill.com.  At worst we will force Republicans to demonstrate once again that they govern exclusively for the benefit of millionaires, billionaires and corporate criminals.

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