When hypocrites and liars take your side, aren't you in trouble?

There have been many questionable things, if not out and out lies, said by the far right trying to stop gun control, but yesterday's Senate meeting had to take the cake. Wayne LaPierre of the NRA said that no background checks laws should be enacted because criminals won't try and get background checks, and won't follow the law. What? According to that theory, why have any laws, since criminals will break every law. Senator Lindsey Graham said that the reason people need assault weapons and high capacity magazines is that the government is, in the near future, going to slash police budgets. So, people need to arm themselves because the government isn't going to protect from criminals? And instead of getting rid of a government that won't so their job, we're suppose to arm ourselves? And Gayle Trotter, a lawyer and member of the Conservative Independent Women's Forum, said that, of course, women need assault weapons to defend themselves. Then she used a woman who defended her home against 2 men who broke in, shooting one and scaring the other away. But what she didn't say is that the woman used a shotgun and a pistol. But the assault weapons ban would have no effect on either gun she possessed. And this from a woman who said the Violence Against Women Act isn't needed because women aren't really victims. Say what? Women need guns so they won't be victims, but an act to stop violence against woman isn't needed because women aren't victims?

In the Senate committee meeting, anti-gun control advocates lied, obfuscated, told they are planning in shirking their duty, and were hypocrites. When these are the only types that are on side, aren't you in a lot of trouble, and have an untenable position?          

GOP: Let's do this for the party!

Immigration reform seems to be steaming to a quick vote in the Senate. And yes, I'm fairly happy to see that the bill may have bi-partisan support. And when I see the bill, I may be very happy. But I have to ask 1 question: Why now?

Well, it seems that Senator John McCain may have inadvertently told the truth. He stated that the GOP couldn't keep losing the Latino vote, so some action on immigration was needed. So, it seems that after all due deliberation, the GOP has decided that if it's good for the party, they will agree to vote on it. What happened to what's good for America being voted on, GOP? Now, I'm not saying that this bill won't be good for the country. What I'm saying now is that the GOP doesn't care about that. The only reason they are doing anything on immigration is that they believe it is in their own best interest. Is that any reason to pass any bill? Should either party pass a bill because it's good for the party, but not for the country? I don't think so.

For the last few years, the GOP has been against any immigration bill, believing that there should never be amnesty. But I'd feel better if they said, "Let's do this for the country", rather than some standing up and saying, "GOP, let's do this for the party."  

GOP: Our words are wrong, but our message is right.

In the last 36 hours, Tea Party people from the Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal to the head of the party Reince Priebus to former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour state that the real problem the party has is what what is being said by some of their members. Mr. Priebus even went so far as saying that the party doesn't need to expand the base, but just needs to accept everyone that agrees with them. But they miss the main point: They don't stand for the majority of Americans, and in their hearts, they know it.

The nation (I mean that over 50% of Americans believe this when I say this) believes that there are times that an abortion is acceptable. The GOP believes there are no reasons. The country believes in equality for all people. The GOP doesn't. The country believes in social security, medicare, and medicaid. The GOP doesn't.  The country believes in strong gun control. The country believes that the military can be cuts. The GOP doesn't. And these are just some of the issues that a majority of the country believes in that the GOP doesn't. And how can I know that in their hearts, the Tea Party knows they don't stand for what the majority of Americans want? Because in 2012 they tried to stop certain people from voting, and now they are trying to rig elections so that a vote in an urban area means less than one from a rural area. Why would they do that if they thought they actually stood for what a majority of Americans wanted.

The GOP, the Tea Party, has stated although some of their political leaders have said some dumb things, but their message is right for America. Well, I'm sorry, Tea Party, but you don't stand for what a majority of Americans want. And the fact you don't know that or don't care and want to change the rules shows just how sad and pathetic your party really is.       

The next Senate vote should be to relieve Reid of his Leadership position.

Thursday's Senate vote on the filibuster rule is simply a travesty. There is no other way to say it. Tomorrow, and for the next 2 years, any Senator can still put a filibuster hold on a bill and never have to speak, and it will take 60 votes to overrule the filibuster. The action today will allow the Senate GOP, who's in the minority, to hold up any bill that President Obama likes, and the blame for this falls directly on the shoulders of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. This less than a year after Senator Reid said that a complete overhaul of the filibuster rule had to be taken up. So my suggestion is that the next bill brought up by the Senate Democrats, remember them, Harry, should be to get rid of Reid as the Senate Majority Leader. I have stated before that Democrats must have the convictions of their beliefs, and to stand up for what they believe in. And anyone who refuses to do that can't lead. And Senator Reid has refused to stand up for what he and the Democratic Party stands for. And for this, he must be replaced. And if he doesn't believe in that, he has no right to be called a Democrat.

Thursday, the Senate voted to basically keep the filibuster rules as they are. The next vote brought up by the Democrats should be to get a new Senate Majority Leader.      

GOP: If we can't cheat one way to get what we want, let's cheat another way.

It didn't take long for the GOP to find another way to try and rig the Presidential election. After trying to limit voters rights by writing new ID voting laws and being rebuffed, the GOP has decided the best thing to do is simply to write new laws to ensure that people's votes won't matter.

The head of the GOP has said that the party will look into having some states apportion their electoral votes by House districts instead of winner take all. The plan is to have every state that voted for President Obama but has a majority of GOP House members and has a GOP governor should go with this way of voting for President. This would mean that states such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan would have their electoral votes split their votes along their House districts and how those in the district voted. Under their plan, although Obama won the majority of the state and the national votes, enough electoral votes would have changed to make Romney the President. But states like Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi, which voted for Romney, their state electoral votes staying the same. In theory, this would keep the White House in the hands of the GOP for years, no matter who the nation would want in the White House.

The GOP doesn't care how most Americans feel, and if they can't cheat to win the Presidential election one way, they'll try to cheat another way to get what they want.  

Tea Party: Second verse, same as the first

It didn't take the Tea Party long to get on Fox News and state their prime plan for President Obama's second term. And as the old song, Henry the VIII, said,  the second verse will be same as the first.

During the inaugural parade, many of the Tea Party's main mouthpieces said that the plan for the next 4 years is simply to ensure that no funds go to The Affordable Health Care Act, thus stopping any money going to what they call "Obama Care". It doesn't matter to them that in the two years that the act has been in effect that health costs have started to stabilize. Or that the basic plan came from a conservative think tank. To them , it's something that was enacted by the Obama administration, so it has to be defeated. Then, they stated that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid needed to be slash. Not looked into, or trimmed, or made to run more efficiently, but slashed. And what did they like about the President's address. Yes, you're right, that would be nothing. Not even the talk of immigration. And, of course, gun control and global warming was simply laughed at.

If the talk today on Fox News shows the direction the Tea Party is going to take during President Obama's second term, it's going to be another long 2 years, if not four years, in the Capital. The Tea Party will try and block the President at every turn again. Like the old song says, when it comes to President Obama's two terms, for the Tea Party, the second verse will be same as the first.

Did the GOP really say uncle?

Late Friday afternoon, it was reported that the House GOP has agreed to decouple the deficit cap from the upcoming budget talks. But what did the House GOP really do? In my mind, they basically said that they want out of the loop when it comes to running the country. Why do I think that? Well, look at what they said.

The House GOP was happy to tell Americans that they would agree to raise the debt ceiling for 90 days, and in that time, the Senate could come up with a budget. Sat what? So, the appropriations bills no longer come out of the House?  You don't want a say in the next budget? Well, that's not true, is it? You said that the budget has to meet with your approval. So, now, the Senate is to do your bidding, and you're to say if it's okay or not? You know what that sound like, don't you?

While some people think that the GOP said uncle Friday. I think what they really said is they want the country to be a fiefdom, with them wielding all the power.

Senator Reid, do the right thing!

After the President came out with his recommendation for new gun restrictions after the horrible massacre at Newton Connecticut, all the expected people and groups that put guns before people came out to bash the plan. But one person who I wasn't expecting to put the brakes on the plan decided to add his voice. Who was that? Senate Leader Harry Reid.

Senator Reid, while not cutting down the President's ideas, stated that the Senate could look at the ideas in the spring. This after saying that no bill that couldn't pass the House would be passed in the Senate. Well, I'm sorry Senator Reid, that's not good enough. How many House bills are sitting in some committee in the Senate that will never be voted on? Why did the House GOP vote on the these bills and pass them? Because those are things that the GOP believe and want to show their backers that they are taking actions. And yes, they want them passed, but knowing that you won't vote on them didn't stop them from voting on them. You should take the President's plans and call for an up and down vote. Get everyone in the Senate to show if they put people before guns or vise versa and let their vote be on the record. If it passes, send it to the House and let it be Speaker Boehner's problem. If the House can't pass the bill, let it be on the heads of the House GOP.

Senator Reid, I'm simply asking you to do your job. Put the President's recommendation into bill form as soon as possible and take the vote. This isn't only your job, Senator Reid, it's the right thing to do.

GOP joins NRA in being out of step with America

It's good to see that nothing has changed recently in Washington when it comes to the NRA and the GOP. It may not be good for America, or for getting things done in Washington, but at least it's good to know that both the NRA and the GOP are consistent.

First, the NRA complains about how violent movies and video games are the ones to blame for the country's tendency to use firearms to kill people. But while they complain about those things, they neglect to say that the NRA has a new app called Practice Range, to help people keep their aim proficient, I guess. And what's the targeted group for this new app? Children 4 and up. That's right, children 4 and up. If that isn't in the dictionary under the word hypocrisy, it should be.

Then the GOP in the House decided to join the act. First, one House member said that guns shouldn't be regulated, because if guns couldn't be used, people would just use hammers, hatchets, and cars to kill other people. Then, another GOP House member said that no new gun regulations should be enacted until all current laws are properly enforced and funded. This from a GOP member who has stated that all domestic spending needs to be drastically cut. Finally, another GOP House member said that any actions the President took to limit gun access is an Impeachable offense. This included, of course, requiring background checks on all gun transactions. This while 85% of Americans agree on background checks on all gun deals.

When it comes to new gun safety laws, the NRA and most of the GOP is in lockstep. Too bad they're completely out of step with the American people.  

What world are you in, NRA?

It should come as no surprise to anyone that after meeting with Vice-President Biden, the NRA said that there was nothing discussed that they could go along with. But it was their action a few days before the meeting that really showed how far from reality the NRA has gone.
Over the weekend, Tucson Arizona enacted a gun buyback program, where for turning a gun into the police to be destroyed, the person got up to $50 in food tickets. But the NRA said that what Arizona needed to do was resell the guns to the highest bidder. SAY WHAT? So the NRA doesn't want guns that people who owned them and asked to have them destroyed to be destroyed, but wants the guns back on the street?

I'm sorry, NRA, I thought you had at least one toe in the real world. But after learning of your plans for those guns, what world are you really in, NRA?    

Hey Dorothy, you better stay in Oz

Several years ago, a man wrote a story about a little girl in Kansas who got hit on the head and went to a magical place called Oz. But no matter how special the place was, all she really wanted to do was go home. After all, there was no place like home. So she wanted to go back home to Kansas. But after what I heard today, I wonder if she'd really feel that way any more.

First, it was the notice that since the state, after lowering corporate income taxes on the wealthiest businesses, has found that there is a large deficit in state funding. So it seems that the governor, a staunch Tea Party member, has decided to increase the state sales tax. So instead of a progressive state income tax, the governor has decided to increase a tax which is the most repressive in the country. Why are sales taxes considered repressive? Because simply, all item are taxed the same. And since certain items are needed by everyone, sales taxes hit the poor the hardest. And the Kansas governor knows this. But he obviously doesn't care. Like I said, he is staunchly a member of the Tea Party.

Secondly, there was an incident last week where a woman at a restaurant in the state was shot in the leg. After an investigation, it was learned that the shooter was actually her husband. He has a concealed weapons permit, allowed in the city, and had the gun in his pants. He reached into his pants and accidentally discharged the gun and shooting his wife. After learning of the cause of the shooting, what was the reaction? According to some on the city council, the problem was that the city didn't have an open unconcealed gun law. This would have allowed the man to have the gun on the outside, in a holster I guess, and reaching into his pocket, there wouldn't have been a gun there. That's right, neither the gun nor the man wasn't to blame. He didn't lose his license for a concealed weapon. To these people, not allowing an unconcealed gun was the cause of the woman being shot.

So, today in Kansas, it is the poor that has to subsidize businesses, and the answer to a shooting is to return to the days of Dodge City. Dorothy, if I were you, I'd reconsider your desire to go home. But about one thing, you are exactly right: There's no place like your home: Kansas.     

Can Congress work on 2 things at once?

Before watching some of the Sunday news shows, I was taken aback by the fact that everyone says that nothing can get done in Congress until the budget resolution gets done in March. After all, with all the committees both in the House and the Senate, can't more than one thing work its way to a vote? And then I watched the shows and realized, of course Congress can't do more than one thing at a time. As a matter of fact, Congress normally can't even do one thing at a time. Why? Because normally, Congress isn't in session. As a matter of fact, neither the House nor the Senate will be in session this week. So, we elect officials in November, they get sworn in on the first Thursday in January, and after a very tough Friday (1 vote on hurricane relief, which was tough, I'm sure), they have at least 10 days off? No wonder Congress can't do two things at once. They're barely in session long enough to do one thing.  

No offsets, no hurricane relief?

While the House finally approved some money for Hurricane Sandy relief, it was in a very backhanded way, and it wasn't the first bill of the new House. Actually, what the passed was money for flood relief for the entire country, and the first bill offered in the House was to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Thank you, Michelle Bachmann).  But yet, 67 Tea Party members couldn't vote flood relief. Why couldn't they vote for it? In one simple word, offsets.

Offsets are simply taking money from one place to add to another, keeping the budget the same instead of raising it. And every Tea Party member who voted against the bill said that unless entitlement cuts were made, the couldn't vote for any more spending. So what did that mean? Well, it really means that defense spending and some of the domestic spending couldn't be cut, while programs to help the poor and elderly could be cut, and this was the only way to give hurricane relief. To put it in a way that brings it down to a family level, one of your kids gets sick and you take him/her to the hospital. Then, to pay for the visit, you decide that all your kids, including the one who went to the hospital, has to cut one meal out of their day for the next year. No, not you and your spouse, you still get the extra meal. The cable and phone bills will stay the same, as will the weekly dinners out and a baby sitter for the kids. And that neighborhood kid who comes by and cuts your lawn? Yes, he'll get paid, too. Make sense to you? Doesn't to anyone who isn't a member of the Tea Party, and even some of them don't think that makes sense.

Some Tea Party House members couldn't vote for bill giving some relief for those who were harmed by Hurricane Sandy, saying any relief must be offset by cuts in entitlement. Does it really make sense to hurt the country in one area to help it in another? Doesn't seem so to me.  

Glad to see you go, 112th Congress

The 112th Congress has left Washington, and WOW!!!!, am I glad to see them go. This was the worst Congress in our country's history, and that's saying something. How bad was it? It was horrible on day one, and if anything, it got worse right until the end.

On the very first day, Speaker Boehner gave the oath of office to the new Representatives in the House, and in an omen of how the House would be, had to give the oath again to several members, as he got it wrong. Then, at a time of unemployment at almost 10%, made overturning The Affordable Care Act House Bill 1, although it had no chance of passing the Senate. Throughout the next 2 years, so few bills passed the House that the do-nothing Congress that Truman ran against in 1948 actually passed almost 4Xs as many bills as this Congress. Almost halfway through it, Speaker Boehner's actions in holding up budget and the debt ceiling caused the lowering of the country's credit rating. After that, it was a good thing that the 2012 election was just over a year away, as the House couldn't do much since the election was so close. (Yes, that was smarky satire) Then after the election, action could only be taken on the fiscal cliff. And since that took until the day before the 112th Congress left office, actions such as The Violence Against Women  Act wouldn't be renewed, and money for Hurricane Sandy relief couldn't get appropriated. That's right, although the Senate had approved a bill giving money for Hurricane Sandy relief, the House refused to even let it go up for a vote.

House Speaker Boehner made sure the 112th Congress started out on the wrong foot, and he made sure it never found the right steps to take. Thank God you're gone, and I'm very glad to see you go, 112th Congress.          

Welcome 2013, and here's my political wish list

Late Tuesday night, on January 1, the House approved the Senate bill, averting the fiscal cliff for at least a few months. And with only one more act for them to take, approving funds for Hurricane Sandy relief (why they waited this long to do it I have no idea), the 112th House will adjourn, and with it, 2012 will be in the books. So with that, I welcome 2013 and have just a few things that I wish and hope for this year.
-- I hope that the GOP will stop being the Tea Party, or at least accept a few tenets that their predecessors, the Republicans, believed in, like: Government has a place in peoples lives. A small government that doesn't take care of its citizens is no better than a big government. An efficient government that make everyone safer, happier, and more productive should be the goal, not government so small it can be drowned in a bathtub.
-- In keeping people safe, I hope that responsible gun safety laws can be enacted. And that means that even months after a horrible mass murder, people care enough that they keep politicians' feet to the fire and demand better gun safety laws.
-- I hope Congress and the President come to a deal early enough that the debt limit won't be a problem. I don't understand how any group can say that although the country has approved spending this money, we don't want to pay the bill.
-- I hope that through finding waste in the government, closing tax loopholes that allows some big businesses to pay no taxes, drawing down the military, and finding savings in future health costs that we can get back to a balanced budget soon. And, no Tea Party, 35 years from now isn't soon. So don't tell me you have a plan with the Ryan Budget. Under that budget, we balance the federal budget again in 2040.
-- I hope that voting laws can be made that will ensure every American can vote in 2014, and it takes less than an hour to do it. And no, not everyone has an ID card, but if a state makes it easy and free for everyone to get one, then the state can make voter ID laws, but not before.

In some ways, I'm really not asking for much, as I expect at least one, if not two of my hopes to happen. But I'm hoping and wishing for just 5 things, and I hope everyone wants at least these same 5 things. Welcome 2013, and I hope you are a wonderful year for everyone. Take care, all. :)     

2012 refuses to die, thanks to the House GOP.

As I sat here getting ready to write my political wish list for 2013, what should I find out but that 2012 hasn't really dies, thanks to Speaker Boehner and the House GOP members.

Late last night, the Senate finally agreed to deal to put off the fiscal cliff for 2 months while locking in current tax rates for over 98% of Americans. And while this bill wasn't accepted to several Democrats or Tea Party members ( The GOP), 89 Senators finally agreed to the bill, knowing that the need  for this bill was so great. But Boehner and the House GOP members have decided that bill isn't acceptable to them. And so they want to add spending cuts now to the bill. But this isn't the whole truth, either. A House GOP member has admitted that at a minimum, 40 to 50 of the GOP would hold their nose and vote for the bill if it came up for a vote. And if every Democrat in the House would agree that the bill is needed, then the bill could easily pass if it were to come to the floor. But Boehner won't do that, as to him, no bill that doesn't have enough GOP votes to pass without any Democrats voting for it and it could still pass can come up for a vote for the full House. This literally means that now, a minority group in the majority can stop bills from coming for a vote. And, of course, it makes it even worse that Speaker Boehner, before Christmas, threw his hands up in frustration and told the Senate to figure something out. So now that they have, he's said that their work isn't good enough. Is this what the American people really wanted when they voted for President Obama, Democrats added to their majority in the Senate, and the GOP, while keeping their majority in the House, lost seats and  nationally had fewer votes for them than the Democrats?

Speaker John Boehner and the GOP members in the House refuse to let 2012 die. It's either that, or 2013 has gotten a message from 2012 and is going to continue its work. I'd rather think that 2012 is a vampire that won't die for a while rather than 2013 is going to be just like 2012. At least that way, sometime soon, the country can start working on other things that need to be looked at, like Immigration and Gun Safety.