TomCat

Republican Code of Conduct

Posted by TomCat at 1:19 am Plus, Politics

Oct 212013

GOPDeathFlame

Thou shalt have no other gods before money.

Thou shalt not take unto thee any thought not learned on Faux Noise.

Thou shalt not take the name of Saint Ronnie Ray Gun in vain.

Remember April 15, and evade paying thy taxes.

Honor thy father and thy mother, whilst cutting their Social Security and privatizing their Medicare.

Thou shalt kill whoever thy leaders tell thee to hate.

Thou shalt commit adultery, but thou shalt not get caught.

Thou shalt steal money from the poor to give to the rich.

Thou shalt always bear false witness against thy librul neighbor.

Thou shalt covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt covet thy neighbor’s wife, and his manservant, and his maidservant, and his ox, and his ass, and his wife’s ass, and every thing that is thy neighbor’s.

Thou shalt suck Koch.

Thou shalt commit TEAbuggery.

Open Thread–10/21/2013

Posted by TomCat at 1:18 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 212013

I’m writing for tomorrow and hurrying to meditate upon the Ellipsoid Orb, although the Broncos’ worship is not until tonight. This week I have volunteer days in prison on both Tuesday or Thursday, so I may be MIA here any day this week. If I don’t show up, don’t worry.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:56 (average 4:47). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Religious Agony:

1020-Broncos33-Colts39

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Detroit found out the Kocks dirty secret first. Now south Chicago knows. What happens in Alberta doesn’t stay in Alberta. Petcoke, the dirty high carbon residue of Canadian tar sands refining, fouled Detroit. Detroit ordered the petcoke piles out. Now petcoke piles are covering south Chicago with black dust laced with toxic vanadium. Petcoke, the tar sands residue that is worse for the climate than burning coal, has been piled up near midwest refineries awaiting export to countries that allow it to be burned. Because it’s a waste product of oil refining the Kochs sell it for prices cheaper than coal to poor nations willing the accept pollution as a trade off for cheap energy. Petcoke is the carbon cost ignored in the State department analysis that falsely claimed that Keystone XL tar sands oil will not significantly increase greenhouse gas pollution compared with conventional oil. The dirty carbon secret that the Kochs don’t want you to know about is literally blowing in the wind. Working class and lower middle class communities were, as usual, the first to learn the Koch’s dirty secret. … [emphasis added]

Having petcoke is almost as foul as having a pet Koch!

From NY Times: …The budget fight that led to the first government shutdown in 17 years did not just set off a round of recriminations among Republicans over who was to blame for the politically disastrous standoff. It also heralded a very public escalation of a far more consequential battle for control of the Republican Party, a confrontation between Tea Party conservatives and establishment Republicans that will play out in the coming Congressional and presidential primaries in 2014 and 2016 but has been simmering since President George W. Bush’s administration, if not before.

In dozens of interviews, elected officials, strategists and donors from both wings of the party were unusually blunt in drawing the intraparty battle lines, suggesting that the time for an open feud over the Republican future had arrived.

“It’s civil war in the G.O.P.,” said Richard Viguerie, a veteran conservative warrior who helped invent the political direct mail business…

That’s my kind of civil war. May both sides lose BIG TIME!!

From Truthdig: It’s no secret voter ID laws were drafted with minorities in mind, but they’re not the only ones who could have their voice suppressed by such legislation. This fall in Texas, many women may also face difficulties exercising their right to vote.

The discriminatory legislation, made possible in the wake of the Supreme Court’s infamous gutting of the Voting Rights Act, demands that citizens provide photo identification that displays their current name. PolicyMic points out why this will present a problem to many women in the Lone Star State:

Supporters of these new laws insist that requiring voters to have an ID that matches their birth certificate is a reasonable requirement. As Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has repeatedly said, “Almost every single person either has a valid photo ID … or it is very easy to get one.” What they don’t say, however, is that the people who don’t are largely married women who have taken their husband’s name.

In fact, only 66% of women have an ID that reflects their current name.

…

If allowed to get away with it in Texas, they will be doing it everywhere.

Cartoon:

21Cartoon

I was on the left a bit over half way to the far end of the reflecting pool.

Faux Noise? Faux Facts!

Posted by TomCat at 12:33 am Politics

Oct 202013

We often wonder just where the righties we know get the factual garbage they spew. Many are sincere, but the Republican noise machine and truth are mutually exclusive. The greatest violator of all is, of course, the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise. This is especially true where ObamaCare is concerned.

Ashley Dionne, a recent guest on Mike Huckabee’s show, claimed that her insurance premiums would jump from $75 per month to $319 per month for her family. She proclaimed the act to be the "Unaffordable Care Act" and went even further, claiming her future and that of her children had been ‘raped.’

Unfortunately, someone forgot to mention to Ashley that her premiums were offset with subsidies, so she would really pay $223 per YEAR as well as receiving assistance with copayments. Oops.

Last Friday Sean Hannity hosted a special on how the Affordable Care Act is hurting Americans. It’s a claim we hear every day from Ted Cruz on down to your average right wing Twitter troll. Every time I hear it, I wonder how it is even possible that so many are in so much pain over a law that opens up the health insurance market to everyone.

Evidently I’m not the only one with those questions. Eric Stern, a former aide to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and one of the key people involved in Montana’s exchange, took a hard look at the "regular people" claiming they were harmed by Obamacare.

Stern called the people who appeared on Hannity’s show to get more detail on their stories. Surprise! It seems there was more to every single one…

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

Click through for the rest, as the other debunks several other exampled Faux Noise used to brainwash the sheeple. Here’s the Huckabee, aka Upchuckabee, video:

She sure is convincing, nut what she said is dead wrong. I’m guessing she lacks the wisdom to dig for the fact herself and lives in a state where the Republican government is misinforming people to keep them from getting care. In my book, that’s just plain evil!

Open Thread–10/20/2013

Posted by TomCat at 12:33 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 202013

I’m writing for tomorrow and am still quite pooped. Last night it was Stuck on Stupid’s turn. He’s hard of hearing so he yells. Instead of yelling into the phone at home, he took it into the hall outside my door. When confronted he was apologized, but the damage was done. In a few days he’ll forget all about it and do it again. Argh! Fantasy football players, check your lineups. I’m making today a light day with just one other article to try to get some rest as I have prison volunteer days on both Tuesday and Thursday.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:11 (average 5:31). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From CREW: Congressional PAC dollars used to employ family members

Kudos to CREW! This should not be happening!

From The New Yorker: Now that the government shutdown is over, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) plans to read the Affordable Care Act, he told reporters today.

“It’s definitely been on my must-read list for a while now,” Sen. Cruz said of the law often referred to as Obamacare. “Things have just been so hectic around here lately, I couldn’t get to it.”

The Texas Senator said that he started reading the law this morning and observed, “So far, it’s pretty dry.”

The real irony here is that, if he actually did read the ACA, he would likely be the first US Senator or Representative to have done so.

From Upworthy: The Dirty Little Secret That Fast-Food Companies Don’t Want You To Know

20fastfood

This is just one more example of welfare for the rich. We’re feeding rich people’s employees, so they don’t have to pay them enough to eat.

Cartoon:

20Cartoon

How Oregon Is Beating ObamaCare IT Problems

Posted by TomCat at 1:13 am Politics

Oct 192013

If Republicans had not been such fools by trying to hijack our nations democratic foundation, they could have sat back and taken pot shots at the Obama Administration’s failure to project just how popular ObamaCare would be at its outset and prepare the necessary infrastructure to handle the traffic. To be fair, Republicans have made it more difficult by taking every opportunity to sabotage the ACA. But one state, despite web site difficulties, because the feds have not fixed their end yet, has made the rollout a tremendous success.

Though Oregon’s health insurance exchange is not yet up and running, the number of uninsured is already dropping thanks to new fast-track enrollment for the Oregon Health Plan.

The low-income, Medicaid-funded program has already signed up 56,000 new people, cutting the state’s number of uninsured by 10 percent, according to Oregon Health Authority officials.

Though the new exchange called Cover Oregon was originally intended to be used for Oregon Health Plan enrollment, the online marketplace doesn’t work yet. Instead, new Oregon Health Plan members are being enrolled using a fast-track process that was approved by the federal government in August.

Since late September the Oregon Health Authority sent out notices to 260,000 people already enrolled in the state’s food stamps program since late October.

The notices informed them that based on their income reported to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, they are pre-qualified for the Oregon Health Plan in 2014. Most of them are newly eligible thanks to the state’s decision to expand the program’s income caps under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

To enroll, all they have to do is make a phone call or send a form consenting to be enrolled. So far, 56,000 people have done that, coming on top of more than 600,000 already enrolled.

Under the new Oregon Health Plan income eligibility rules, in 2014 individuals must earn 138 percent of the federal poverty level or less to qualify, as compared to the 100 percent cutoff this year. The new cap means monthly income of $1,322 for an individual,$1,784 for a household of two, $2,247 for a household of three, and $2,704 for a family of four… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Oregonian>

When states and the federal government work together for the common good, they meet people’s needs, and as always, Oregon leads the way.

Republicans Vow to Sabotage Immigration Reform

Posted by TomCat at 1:12 am Politics

Oct 192013

Awwww… my liberal hears just bleeds for the poor widdle Republicans. Their tantrum didn’t work. The didn’t get to defund ObamaCare. They didn’t get to delay ObamaCare. Even when it devolved to ‘We don’t know what we want, but we want it now!’, they walked away empty handed. So now, they have a new baby tantrum. They vow to not share the sand box. At l;east, that’s what they want you to believe.

House Republicans have been subtly angling for months to quash immigration reform. But after getting rolled by Democrats in the spending and shutdown fights, conservatives who call the shots in the chamber are more determined than ever to block an overhaul and imperil President Barack Obama’s second-term priority.

The government shutdown fight has given House conservatives a new pretext: Obama refused to deal with us on the debt, so we won’t deal with him on immigration reform.

"I know the president has said, well, gee, now this is the time to talk about immigration reform," Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) told TPM. "He ain’t gonna get a willing partner in the House until he actually gets serious about … his plan to deal with the debt."

And a new talking point: Obama simply wants to use immigration reform to "destroy" the GOP… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <TPM>

However, if you think for a minute that those racist bigots EVER intended to negotiate immigration reform in good faith, come see me about purchasing my Amazon ice fishing resort.

Open Thread–10/19/2013

Posted by TomCat at 1:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 192013

I’m writing for tomorrow and am quite worn out. I was so bleary eyed in the wee hours this morning that I fell asleep on my keyboard. I have a new neighbor to help Stuck on Stupid and Guitar man. He’s directly above me and has hardwood floors. I call him Tap Dancer. ARGH!!!!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 4:22 (average 4:19). To do it, click here. How did you do?

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: And here I thought it was Reid he was telling Obama to hold firm:

White House officials rushed Friday to squash an emerging bipartisan deal crafted by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) because they viewed it as a worse than proposals from Boehner.

It would have locked in next year’s even-deeper government spending levels and suspended the medical device tax, a key funding stream for Obamacare that’s unpopular with both parties.

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors called Reid, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The president didn’t want Democrats anywhere near that deal, and the Senate leaders, in turn, warned the rank and file to hold back and avoid committing to the deal. The president reiterated his concerns in a Saturday meeting with Democratic leaders, and they made clear that they couldn’t accept the proposal.

… [emphasis original]

Kudos to Barack Obama for attaching Leg Hound Harry’s Obamaballs! No wonder they stayed on so long!!

From The New Yorker: Residents of the District of Columbia were roused from their sleep by a massive fireworks display over the White House just after midnight, as President Obama declared what he called “a national day of gloating.”

“It would not be productive for this nation, going forward, to crow about our victory over political adversaries,” he said in a nationally televised address. “So let’s get it all out of our systems today.”

Immediately after the President’s speech, loudspeakers outside the White House blasted “We Are the Champions,” and the national day of gloating began.

Ironically, it has surprised me how little gloating Obama has done, despite being forthright about Republican culpability.

From MSNBC: Cuccinelli’s attempt at election theft.

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

Republicans have a valid reason for stealing elections. Otherwise, they lose. America needs a different purge: a giant flush that sweeps all Republicans from office.

Cartoon:

19Cartoon

In Surrender, They STILL Don’t Get It!

Posted by TomCat at 12:13 am Politics

Oct 182013

In at least eight occasions between the beginning of September and the end, I posted in articles here and in too many comments to count, here and elsewhere, that Republicans would cave-in, rather than further damage their brand by defaulting on our debt. I’m not bragging. It did not require rocket science. Had they applied a bit of rational thought, Congressional Republicans could have avoided this whole thing. Have they learned their lesson?

The Republican Party slunk away on Wednesday from its failed, ruinous strategy to get its way through the use of havoc. Hours away from an inevitable market crash, it approved a deal that could have been achieved months ago had a few more lawmakers set aside their animus. After President Obama signs the bill, the government will reopen after more than two weeks of shutdown, and the threat of a default will be lifted.

The health care reform law will not be defunded or delayed. No taxes will be cut, and the deal calls for no new cuts to federal spending or limits to social welfare programs. The only things Republicans achieved were billions of dollars in damage to the economy, harm to the nation’s reputation and a rock-bottom public approval rating.

“We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win,” Speaker John Boehner said, utterly failing to grasp the destruction his battle caused. It has hurt federal employees and needy people dependent on government programs, and it threatened to alter Washington’s balance permanently by giving a fringe group outsize power over the executive branch and the normal functions of government… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Agent Orange seems completely clueless about the harm that he and his party have done to this nation, and the right wing spin machine seems split between blaming Boehner and McConnell and declaring the shutdown a Republican victory. As long as the Republican Party holds any power anywhere, they will use it against the American people. Therefore…

Every Republican in office is one Republican too many!

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