Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, who briefly floated the idea of secession, until someone pointed out to him that without Federal money Texas would resemble one of the poorer states of Mexico, is now flirting with the idea of running for president in 2012.
You may recall that our last experience with having a Texas governor as President of the United States wasn't a particularly happy one. Unless you were a billionaire or a war profiteer, that is. But try to forget that for just a moment, and let's give Mr. P a chance to tell us what he believes in.
He believes that the Federal stimulus was a "$4 trillion rat hole". He's got his numbers wrong, of course. (He is a Republican after all.) And there are a few million people in the auto industry and related fields that might disagree about the usefulness of the stimulus. Here's a fun fact: Rick Perry's own state used Federal money to balance its budget and avoid a financial disaster. But don't bother the "guvnah" with facts, y'all. As any faithful Fox News listener will tell you, using facts is just a cheap liberal trick.
Perry also believes in states' rights. Big surprise there. However, like all truly patriotic, God fearing Republicans, if a state's citizens should decide that they favor gay marriage, or reproductive rights for women, or medical marijuana, then Ricky would favor federal legislation to thwart that state's will. Because Mr. Jesus doesn't want those things and Mr. Jesus trumps everything.
Yes, you guessed it, Rick Perry is a conduit of God, another Christian warrior determined to lead us down the path of righteousness. As he perceives it.
Haven't you heard, America should be a theocracy! That's what the Founders intended. Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison--they all spent their time praying--not thinking.
You might think that having one card carrying Crazy Jesus Club member running would be enough for any political party, but not the Republicans. They may have given up on that "Big Tent" crap, but it's still a wide trough. So Michele Bachmann and all the rest, say hello to Rick Perry!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monkey See, Monkey Do: A Tea Party Parable
When you let a bunch of jabbering, psychotic monkeys into your house, you really shouldn't be too surprised when they start to wreck it. Because, after all, they are jabbering, psychotic monkeys and that's what they do.
You threw out the old pets because they stopped entertaining you. You let the monkeys in because you thought they were cute and more or less harmless. You were sure you could control them.
Now there's monkey shit all over your house and the neighbors are starting to talk. And whatever you do to appease them, the monkeys seem to be getting angrier. So, naturally, you're looking around for someone to blame.
Of course, the idea that you might try to blame somebody else for what is plainly your mistake is laughable.
But sadly it is also very, very American, circa 2011.
You threw out the old pets because they stopped entertaining you. You let the monkeys in because you thought they were cute and more or less harmless. You were sure you could control them.
Now there's monkey shit all over your house and the neighbors are starting to talk. And whatever you do to appease them, the monkeys seem to be getting angrier. So, naturally, you're looking around for someone to blame.
Of course, the idea that you might try to blame somebody else for what is plainly your mistake is laughable.
But sadly it is also very, very American, circa 2011.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Un-American
"Taxes, after all, are the dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society." (Franklin Roosevelt)
As the debate over raising the debt ceiling drones on and on, I've spent the last few days trying to figure out who are more un-American, the wealthy people who search for whatever means they can to not pay taxes or the elected officials who break their backs to enable them. Hmm? Call it a tossup.
I'm also wondering, if the US should default, how all of those multi-millionaires and billionaires who have financed much of this Tea Party madness will feel if their stock and bond investments start to lose value?
I'm reminded of the fable of the frog and the scorpion. A scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a flooding river. The frog replies "how do I know you won't sting me." The scorpion replies "because if I sting you then we both drown." Satisfied, the frog starts across the river with the scorpion on his back. In the middle of the river, the frog feels the sudden, sharp pain of the scorpion's sting. Just before they both slip below the water, the frog asks the scorpion "why?" And the scorpion replies, "it's my nature."
You have to admit that committing yourself to destroying the US and indeed the entire world's economy is the ultimate nihilist act. And to pretend that this is somehow patriotic in the bargain must take some truly astounding ethical gymnastics. But they really don't care. Anything is permitted as long as it makes it harder for Obama.
Then again, maybe this is just some more of that Christian "end times" nonsense that those of us who aren't insane can't understand. "Hey, let's crash the world's economy and maybe Jesus will come back then!"
As the debate over raising the debt ceiling drones on and on, I've spent the last few days trying to figure out who are more un-American, the wealthy people who search for whatever means they can to not pay taxes or the elected officials who break their backs to enable them. Hmm? Call it a tossup.
I'm also wondering, if the US should default, how all of those multi-millionaires and billionaires who have financed much of this Tea Party madness will feel if their stock and bond investments start to lose value?
I'm reminded of the fable of the frog and the scorpion. A scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a flooding river. The frog replies "how do I know you won't sting me." The scorpion replies "because if I sting you then we both drown." Satisfied, the frog starts across the river with the scorpion on his back. In the middle of the river, the frog feels the sudden, sharp pain of the scorpion's sting. Just before they both slip below the water, the frog asks the scorpion "why?" And the scorpion replies, "it's my nature."
You have to admit that committing yourself to destroying the US and indeed the entire world's economy is the ultimate nihilist act. And to pretend that this is somehow patriotic in the bargain must take some truly astounding ethical gymnastics. But they really don't care. Anything is permitted as long as it makes it harder for Obama.
Then again, maybe this is just some more of that Christian "end times" nonsense that those of us who aren't insane can't understand. "Hey, let's crash the world's economy and maybe Jesus will come back then!"
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Fences
We can all sleep a little easier now that Arizona has passed a state law that allows for private donations to be used to, in the immortal words of John McCain, R-Never Never Land, "build the dang fence."
The sponsor of the legislation, Steve Smith, R(was there any doubt?)-Maricopa, hopes to raise $50 million (from like minded saps) across the nation. Good luck with that, Steve!
Some quick math: according to the bill's supporters there are more than 240 miles of Arizona's 370 mile border with Mexico that need to be fenced. It cost $3 million a mile to build the existing fence. So $50 million will cover less than 17 of the 240 plus miles. But by all means give until it hurts. Look on the bright side: according to Smith, your contribution might be tax deductible.
It should be no surprise that Arizona is the first state to enact this type of legislation. When it comes to jousting with windmills we take a back seat to no one.
The sponsor of the legislation, Steve Smith, R(was there any doubt?)-Maricopa, hopes to raise $50 million (from like minded saps) across the nation. Good luck with that, Steve!
Some quick math: according to the bill's supporters there are more than 240 miles of Arizona's 370 mile border with Mexico that need to be fenced. It cost $3 million a mile to build the existing fence. So $50 million will cover less than 17 of the 240 plus miles. But by all means give until it hurts. Look on the bright side: according to Smith, your contribution might be tax deductible.
It should be no surprise that Arizona is the first state to enact this type of legislation. When it comes to jousting with windmills we take a back seat to no one.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
An Interesting Phone Call
Tonight I received a phone call from Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) inviting me to take part in a telephone town hall meeting. Naturally, I said I would love to share my thoughts with the Congressman who's now running for Jon Kyl's Senate seat.
A staffer came on the line and asked me what question I wanted to ask Rep. Flake. I answered that I would like to know why he was adamantly opposed to closing tax loopholes and why he insisted on Social Security cuts being included in any plan to reduce the deficit, especially since Soc. Sec. has absolutely nothing to do with the deficit. I said I would also like for the Congressman to explain to me somehow why the idea of a balanced budget amendment is not the stupidest idea in American history. I was very polite speaking to the staffer, so I was a little nonplussed when he told me that I could hang on the line, but they probably wouldn't get to my questions.
My first thought was "why would you ask me if I would like to speak when you seem to know that there won't be enough time?" My second thought was that this absolutely sounded like every Republican in America since George W. Bush -- if you're not in lockstep with them and willing to swallow their talking points wholeheartedly, then they want no part of a discussion with you.
I sat on the phone for the next 45 minutes listening to right-wing uninformed nutjobs telling Rep. Flake what a great job he's doing, how he should continue to support "cut, cap & balance," and how they were certainly going to vote for him come November (I guess they all assume he will win the Republican primary for Senator, which in Arizona pretty much amounts to winning the election). Several of the callers urged him to vote not to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances.
In the entire time I was on the phone, I heard one caller ask him what could be called, maybe, a tough question. A lady named Cindy from Glendale asked him why the government couldn't do anything to punish corporations who accept tax cuts and subsidies from the government if they decide to outsource labor overseas, especially when unemployment is so high and the economy is stagnant. She suggested that tax penalties and stiff fines be assessed to these companies, along with possible tax rate hikes if a certain percentage of jobs were not maintained in the U.S.
Here's where I almost lost it -- Flake told her that in a free society such as ours you can't punish a business for making a sound, rational decision that is in the stockholder's best interest. He said what we need to do is reduce taxes even further on these "job-creating" corporations as low as possible and hope that they will then decide not to outsource! I was stunned, to say the least. That seems to be the Republican plan for job creation -- cut taxes and hope for the best.
I won't even get started on the misinformation he then supplied to his constituents, such as comparing our debt to that of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and his outright lies about our tax rates in comparison to the rest of the world, and his assertion that the healthcare bill passed last year is "socialist job-killing legislation" (that's an exact quote -- I'm really not making it up).
Needless to say, I wasn't all that surprised that I never got to speak to him. I'm sure his muddled little mind has no intention of ever speaking with someone who can counter his lies with factual information.
Somehow, I don't think I'll be voting for Jeff Flake (Flaky R-AZ) for Senate next year.
A staffer came on the line and asked me what question I wanted to ask Rep. Flake. I answered that I would like to know why he was adamantly opposed to closing tax loopholes and why he insisted on Social Security cuts being included in any plan to reduce the deficit, especially since Soc. Sec. has absolutely nothing to do with the deficit. I said I would also like for the Congressman to explain to me somehow why the idea of a balanced budget amendment is not the stupidest idea in American history. I was very polite speaking to the staffer, so I was a little nonplussed when he told me that I could hang on the line, but they probably wouldn't get to my questions.
My first thought was "why would you ask me if I would like to speak when you seem to know that there won't be enough time?" My second thought was that this absolutely sounded like every Republican in America since George W. Bush -- if you're not in lockstep with them and willing to swallow their talking points wholeheartedly, then they want no part of a discussion with you.
I sat on the phone for the next 45 minutes listening to right-wing uninformed nutjobs telling Rep. Flake what a great job he's doing, how he should continue to support "cut, cap & balance," and how they were certainly going to vote for him come November (I guess they all assume he will win the Republican primary for Senator, which in Arizona pretty much amounts to winning the election). Several of the callers urged him to vote not to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances.
In the entire time I was on the phone, I heard one caller ask him what could be called, maybe, a tough question. A lady named Cindy from Glendale asked him why the government couldn't do anything to punish corporations who accept tax cuts and subsidies from the government if they decide to outsource labor overseas, especially when unemployment is so high and the economy is stagnant. She suggested that tax penalties and stiff fines be assessed to these companies, along with possible tax rate hikes if a certain percentage of jobs were not maintained in the U.S.
Here's where I almost lost it -- Flake told her that in a free society such as ours you can't punish a business for making a sound, rational decision that is in the stockholder's best interest. He said what we need to do is reduce taxes even further on these "job-creating" corporations as low as possible and hope that they will then decide not to outsource! I was stunned, to say the least. That seems to be the Republican plan for job creation -- cut taxes and hope for the best.
I won't even get started on the misinformation he then supplied to his constituents, such as comparing our debt to that of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and his outright lies about our tax rates in comparison to the rest of the world, and his assertion that the healthcare bill passed last year is "socialist job-killing legislation" (that's an exact quote -- I'm really not making it up).
Needless to say, I wasn't all that surprised that I never got to speak to him. I'm sure his muddled little mind has no intention of ever speaking with someone who can counter his lies with factual information.
Somehow, I don't think I'll be voting for Jeff Flake (Flaky R-AZ) for Senate next year.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Democracy In Action, or: Andrew Kowalczyk is an Idiot
For those of you wondering, "who the hell is Andrew Kowalczyk?", he is the author of one of the stupidest letters to the editor I've ever read. And considering that most of the letters to the editor that I read are from The Arizona Republic, that's really quite an achievement. Tip o' the hat to you, Andy!
Why is Andrew Kowalczyk an idiot? Let me count the ways...To quote from young Andrew's scribblings, "While adults were away in 2009 and 2010, the Democrats in Congress and President Obama decided to have a wild toga party for all their friends and cronies." This is so absurdly wrong that I'm not really sure where to begin. But I'll try. For starters, what "adults" could Andy possibly be referring to? The Republican Party? Really?
What happened in 2008-2009 is that the bill came do for eight years of The Dark Lord Cheney and Simple W's malfeasance. They squandered the Clinton surplus, they cut taxes on the wealthiest whenever they could, they let oil companies set energy policy, they attempted (but failed) to privatize Social Security, they started two unfunded wars, they crippled the regulatory oversight of Wall Street, they used the Constitution like toilet paper, and on and on. Oh, and let's not forget that 9/11 happened on their watch, too. Oops. So those can't be the "adults" Special K is talking about. Only an idiot would believe that the financial crisis, to pick just one Republican catastrophe, was Obama's doing.
Andy K. continues, "They went wild on the Internet, ordering all sorts of stuff that they've been dreaming of for years and years. They used America's credit card." This is the K meister trying to be clever. You know, like Glen Beck or Rush Limbaugh? Of course it is unsubstantiated by the facts--unless you use Fox News as your source for "facts". "All sorts of stuff"? I guess he means healthcare reform. For some reason, "Obamacare" really pisses a lot of idiots off. I'm not sure why. I guess they like being at the mercy of insurance companies, or they've bought all of the Right's tired old lies about the "evils" of socialized medicine, or they plan on never getting sick or getting old. Or maybe it's just because they're idiots.
More Kowalczyk wisdom: "It's now 2011, and the Democrats are saying that America has to pay for their wild binge and they want a bigger allowance." The "wild binge" he is referring to was the money spent preventing the world's economy from melting down. Incidentally, this "binge" began on W's watch. By the way, here's a fact for Andy to chew on, if he can stop frothing at the mouth long enough to chew on anything: The national debt increased more under both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush than it has under Obama. The national debt also includes several trillion dollars that we owe ourselves. Kowalczyk's "bigger allowance" means the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is an artificial construct that many economists consider ridiculous. However, up until now, it has always been automatically raised, regardless of who the president was. Apparently Andy would rather see the US default on its obligations than give Obama what every other President has gotten. That'll show 'em! Take that world economy!
Now we come to the heart of little Andy Kowalczyk's ravings: "Republicans are not going to raise their allowance and are simply asking for the Dems to send back some of the stuff so we might have a chance to pay for the stuff we can't send back." Since Andy doesn't specify what "stuff" we should send back, I will. Let's send back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Let's send back all of our outsourced manufacturing jobs. Those are the two root causes of most of our debt to China. Let's send back the bill for the Iraq War. It's over a trillion dollars and rising. Let's send back Federal subsidies for oil companies. Let's send back all of the corporate tax loopholes. While we're at it, let's raise the wage cap on Social Security and stop once and for all this nonsense about privatization. Now honestly, do any of those "send backs" sound like Republican ideas?
No. Republican "ideas" include cutting taxes for billionaires and corporations while gutting the safety net for the rest of us; doing away with the Departments of Education and Energy, Head Start, the EPA, the FCC, the FDA, the SEC, Medicare, Planned Parenthood, and any other agency, governmental or otherwise, that might stand in the way of their plans for turning the USA into a Christian Corporate Fascist state. Amen.
I decided to add Democracy In Action to the title of this post because Andrew Kowalczyk's vote counts the same as mine or yours. Even though he's demonstrably an idiot.
Of course, we're all born ignorant of certain things. But some of us choose to remain ignorant. Many of those who choose to remain ignorant end up in Arizona. In fact they make up a majority of the state's voters. The current state that Arizona, and indeed the nation, finds itself in is a direct result of the rise of Idiot Power. And The Arizona Republic is their paper of record.
Why is Andrew Kowalczyk an idiot? Let me count the ways...To quote from young Andrew's scribblings, "While adults were away in 2009 and 2010, the Democrats in Congress and President Obama decided to have a wild toga party for all their friends and cronies." This is so absurdly wrong that I'm not really sure where to begin. But I'll try. For starters, what "adults" could Andy possibly be referring to? The Republican Party? Really?
What happened in 2008-2009 is that the bill came do for eight years of The Dark Lord Cheney and Simple W's malfeasance. They squandered the Clinton surplus, they cut taxes on the wealthiest whenever they could, they let oil companies set energy policy, they attempted (but failed) to privatize Social Security, they started two unfunded wars, they crippled the regulatory oversight of Wall Street, they used the Constitution like toilet paper, and on and on. Oh, and let's not forget that 9/11 happened on their watch, too. Oops. So those can't be the "adults" Special K is talking about. Only an idiot would believe that the financial crisis, to pick just one Republican catastrophe, was Obama's doing.
Andy K. continues, "They went wild on the Internet, ordering all sorts of stuff that they've been dreaming of for years and years. They used America's credit card." This is the K meister trying to be clever. You know, like Glen Beck or Rush Limbaugh? Of course it is unsubstantiated by the facts--unless you use Fox News as your source for "facts". "All sorts of stuff"? I guess he means healthcare reform. For some reason, "Obamacare" really pisses a lot of idiots off. I'm not sure why. I guess they like being at the mercy of insurance companies, or they've bought all of the Right's tired old lies about the "evils" of socialized medicine, or they plan on never getting sick or getting old. Or maybe it's just because they're idiots.
More Kowalczyk wisdom: "It's now 2011, and the Democrats are saying that America has to pay for their wild binge and they want a bigger allowance." The "wild binge" he is referring to was the money spent preventing the world's economy from melting down. Incidentally, this "binge" began on W's watch. By the way, here's a fact for Andy to chew on, if he can stop frothing at the mouth long enough to chew on anything: The national debt increased more under both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush than it has under Obama. The national debt also includes several trillion dollars that we owe ourselves. Kowalczyk's "bigger allowance" means the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is an artificial construct that many economists consider ridiculous. However, up until now, it has always been automatically raised, regardless of who the president was. Apparently Andy would rather see the US default on its obligations than give Obama what every other President has gotten. That'll show 'em! Take that world economy!
Now we come to the heart of little Andy Kowalczyk's ravings: "Republicans are not going to raise their allowance and are simply asking for the Dems to send back some of the stuff so we might have a chance to pay for the stuff we can't send back." Since Andy doesn't specify what "stuff" we should send back, I will. Let's send back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Let's send back all of our outsourced manufacturing jobs. Those are the two root causes of most of our debt to China. Let's send back the bill for the Iraq War. It's over a trillion dollars and rising. Let's send back Federal subsidies for oil companies. Let's send back all of the corporate tax loopholes. While we're at it, let's raise the wage cap on Social Security and stop once and for all this nonsense about privatization. Now honestly, do any of those "send backs" sound like Republican ideas?
No. Republican "ideas" include cutting taxes for billionaires and corporations while gutting the safety net for the rest of us; doing away with the Departments of Education and Energy, Head Start, the EPA, the FCC, the FDA, the SEC, Medicare, Planned Parenthood, and any other agency, governmental or otherwise, that might stand in the way of their plans for turning the USA into a Christian Corporate Fascist state. Amen.
I decided to add Democracy In Action to the title of this post because Andrew Kowalczyk's vote counts the same as mine or yours. Even though he's demonstrably an idiot.
Of course, we're all born ignorant of certain things. But some of us choose to remain ignorant. Many of those who choose to remain ignorant end up in Arizona. In fact they make up a majority of the state's voters. The current state that Arizona, and indeed the nation, finds itself in is a direct result of the rise of Idiot Power. And The Arizona Republic is their paper of record.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Congratulations to Japan
I've been avidly watching the FIFA Women's World Cup, cheering madly for the U.S. I believed that after the amazing win over Brazil last Sunday that destiny was on the side of the Americans, but as often happens in sport my hopes for a third American cup were dashed.
The nation of Japan probably needed this a lot more than the U.S. did and my hat is off to their team -- a team that showed the same pluck and grit that the U.S. did in its match with Brazil. Japan defeated the defending champion Germany in the quarterfinals in extra time, soundly thrashed Sweden in the semis after falling behind early, and came back not once but twice against a superior American team that dominated most of the game.
The U.S. had several chances early to put the game away but simply couldn't seem to put the ball in the net, missing narrowly on both sides while hitting the goalposts and the crossbar with shots. In the end, two defensive lapses in communication were all it took to give Japan the trophy.
I'm disappointed, sure, but I still want to congratulate the U.S. team on a great tournament and Japan on a great victory. All in all, the tournament was a great one, proving once again that women can certainly play this game at an extremely high level.
I leave you with the goal of the tournament, Abby Wambach's header in the added minutes of extra time off a brilliant pass from Megan Rapinhoe that sent the U.S. into PKs against Brazil -- without which they would not have been in the final.
The nation of Japan probably needed this a lot more than the U.S. did and my hat is off to their team -- a team that showed the same pluck and grit that the U.S. did in its match with Brazil. Japan defeated the defending champion Germany in the quarterfinals in extra time, soundly thrashed Sweden in the semis after falling behind early, and came back not once but twice against a superior American team that dominated most of the game.
The U.S. had several chances early to put the game away but simply couldn't seem to put the ball in the net, missing narrowly on both sides while hitting the goalposts and the crossbar with shots. In the end, two defensive lapses in communication were all it took to give Japan the trophy.
I'm disappointed, sure, but I still want to congratulate the U.S. team on a great tournament and Japan on a great victory. All in all, the tournament was a great one, proving once again that women can certainly play this game at an extremely high level.
I leave you with the goal of the tournament, Abby Wambach's header in the added minutes of extra time off a brilliant pass from Megan Rapinhoe that sent the U.S. into PKs against Brazil -- without which they would not have been in the final.
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