Tragedy-How to act, and not act, and we saw both

As a person who spent 20 years in the military, I had quite a few friends who lost their lives while I served. So while I can't know exactly the families of those killed in Colorado Friday morning feel now, I do know a little of their sorrow, hurt, loss, and their general feeling of anger and confusion. And while my prayers, and heart are with all of those that lost friends and family, my thoughts on the day after are on the reactions, some good, some bad, and one horrible beyond belief.
To both President Obama and Mitt Romney, I think you did a wonderful job, and you stated your feelings, and those of many others, perfectly. Suspending your political stops while still going ahead with some functions and speaking of the tragedy. And stooping all political ads in Colorado for a while was the correct action to take. And Mayor Bloomberg of New York I thought hit a fair, if not great, note in his speech.
For the bad, I found the non-ending kids who were there being interviewed on national TV for hours on end to be way too much. I may be too old-fashioned, but it seemed like 18 hours after the fact, we'd get more actual reporting and less on-the-scene reactions. And watching The Dark Knight on TNT Friday night, I saw several political ads, mostly for the President. Wasn't there anything the White House could do to stop the ads?
But for the most horrible, most disgusting thing I heard so far, I didn't have to look or listen very long. And I should have known that it would come from a a Representative of Texas, Louie Gohmert (I hope I spelled his name right). While stating his per functional condolences, he asked how fewer people may have died if the kids in the theater had been carrying guns. Are you that stupid? Do you think that fewer kids may have died if some had been carrying guns? Don't you realize that if some people had been carrying guns, more bullets would have been in the air, and in all likelihood more would have died, not less? Are you that naive, that oblivious to facts, or does the NRA give you so much money that you're a shill for them?
The tragedy was action all in itself, and we've seen the good, bad, and the most horrible in Americans in some reactions to the tragedy. But we won't see any bills on gun control, will we?

What political party do these guys belong to?

Late last week, former Georgia senator Sam Nunn was on TV and said that he doesn't understand how anyone can sign a pledge saying that taxes should never be raised, as all options must be on the table to help balance the budget. Former Tennessee senator Bill Frist earlier this week told GOP governors that not only were the state exchanges in the Affordable Health Plan originally a GOP plan, but that the exchanges work. And a few days ago, Arizona senator John McCain got up in front of the Senate and basically said that Rep. Bachmann is lying about the the supposed mole in the State Department. He stated that the woman that Rep. Bachmann named was an impeccable woman, and a true American. But I wonder, what political party do these 3 men belong to? They're not Democrats, or at least they say they aren't. They can't be part of this new, mono-theocratic GOP, whose members must all believe the same thing, and those that don't agree with them aren't real Americans. I don't know what party they belong to, but it sounds a lot like a political party I used to belong to. Too bad it doesn't exist anymore, being taken over and then buried by the new GOP, called the Tea Party.  

With friends like this, Mitt ...

While Romney has had a very bad week with Bain and his taxes, at least he's had his friends to comfort him. First, Dick Cheney has Mitt up to his ranch for a fundraiser. And the former Vice-President is so popular with the American people that no pictures were allowed to be taken of the two of them together. So Mitt, Dick Cheney is that toxic to the American people? yes, he still has an approval rating under 15%.  Then, President Bush, Bush 43, gives an interview for his new book and states that of course he's backing Mitt Romney. I'm sure Mitt, you have no problem being associated with his wars and the financial collapse under his watch. After all, you're economic plan is a replay of the Bush plan. You certainly won't mind the American public linking him and you. After all, his approval rating is nearly 20%. Then to top it off, Senator John McClain came to your defense on the whole tax return problem you seem to have. John said that there was nothing at all in your tax returns that stopped him from picking you to be the Vice-President candidate in 2008. Then he gladly added, that Sarah Palin was simply a better candidate than you. So, Senator McClain thinks that Sarah Palin is a better candidate than you. Yes Mitt, think about that one for a minute. I'm sure some American voters will think about that come November.
You know, with friends like that Mitt, you might not have any more enemies, but I'm sure you'll have a lot fewer people voting for you in November.
  

I can't bribe a lawyer in Germany but I can but an election in the USA?

I have long known that for a person or a company who attempts to get their way in a foreign country by bribes, or giving money to someone in power, is committing a crime. Yes, if you or me, or anyone or any company gives money to someone in a foreign country to help get a law passed, you, me or them have committed a crime. But thanks to the Senate (Yeah Senate!), I can give as much money as I want to a candidate to help him or her get elected and get my ideas into law. And you'll never know I did it, since the GOP in the Senate stopped a bill from passing that would have forced disclosure for everyone who gave over $10,000 to to candidates or campaigns. Yes, the Supreme Court has allowed that unlimited money could be given to political campaigns. And the Senate has stopped any names from being disclosed. So now, I or anyone can give money to a candidate and buy an election, and no one will ever know who gave it. Thank goodness I live in America. If I lived in any other country, Americans with unlimited money couldn't affect the laws in my country. Yes, America is the home of the free- people who are free to buy an election and have no one know who it was. What a country!

Kansas City and the All Star game

I was born in Kansas City, and after I retired from the Air Force, a few years later, I came back home. And I'm very proud of my hometown, and my country. And I'm very glad to almost 100% of the people who were here for the All-Star Game and all the other functions associated with the game said they enjoyed their time here, loved the stadium, and found us very friendly and nice. And I agree. Which is why, when I see something I think can be better, whether it's our politics in Washington or local, our local transportation system, or anything else that gets in my craw, I'm going to bring it up, and agree or disagree with me, I hope you'll comment, and follow my blogs here and my sports blog. To all of you that were here, the weather was as good as you can see in Kansas City in July, but the people are this nice and friendly year round.

What most liberals don't understand about the new GOP

I am constantly amazed at how little liberal pundits really understand the new far-right GOP. Every few days someone who is a lifelong Democrat complains that they don't understand how the GOP can reject things that just a few years ago they seemed to back. As someone who voted Republican for over 20 years, I think can explain their new stance. Now, I reject what this new GOP stands for, and I refuse to call them Republicans, but I think I can explain them.
Now there's always been a group of far right wingers that believed there should be little to no government. But I think there were 3 seminal events that caused the far right to become the main stream of the GOP, and the first and the last are obvious. To begin with, Fox News came into being. Before the proliferation of cable stations and their cable's explosion, the news came from the 3 major channels and PBS. This news was rather harmonious and took no sides. But now, the news is slanted by cable stations to suit the audience. And Fox News became the station that caters to and is watched by the far right. And unlike moderates and liberals, for the most part, conservatives get their news from one source, and that's Fox News.
And of course, the last event was the election of President Obama. For over 40 years, the GOP plan for each election was to lock up the white male vote, and to try to get enough votes from other groups with a stance of low taxes and a strong military to win national elections. So obviously, the election of a black man caused a shudder for most leaders of the GOP, and was at least part of the reason Mitch McConnell said that the number goal of the GOP in the Senate would be to make President Obama a one-term President. And how long did it take for the GOP leadership to see the the new President was too far left to work with? How many bills were passed before the GOP came up with this plan? No bills had been passed. As a matter of fact, this became the GOP plan before he had been sworn in. How early was this plan hatched? Late Tuesday night after the 2008 election. That's right, not 12 hours after the election.
But the second event is the one that everyone seems to forget about, and the most important to the rise of the far right in the GOP, and that would be hurricane Katrina. Katrina was an event that showed the left that George W. Bush was a failure as a President. To the left, George was the President that invaded a country for no logical reason, and Katrina showed them that President Bush and his administration was inept at home. But to the far right, Katrina proved to them that they had been right all along, that Government couldn't solve problems. Not that the government was inept, but that it was useless. And so the Tea Party was born after the 2008 election, not to change the government, but to dismantle it. And of course, this is just fine with those in the GOP who are proponents of big business, who see any taxes or regulation as a hindrance to their profit margin, and therefore need to be abolished. And this brought big money to campaigns that ousted moderate members of the GOP and brought the far right to the fore.
Take these 3 things, and it should be easy for liberals to see what happened to the GOP. But since most of them don't think of Katrina as a seminal event, but to the far right and the GOP, Katrina was a pivotal event, and one that helped set in motion the establishment of the new GOP, and the death of the Republican party in America..          

Does Romney need the President to debate him?

I am a big believer that getting all the information on both sides of any issue. So yes, I'm looking forward to listening and watching the debates this fall between Mitt Romney and President Obama. But I really wonder if Romney needs the President to even be there. Couldn't he just debate himself? Mitt could take the Tea Party view on any issue, and then have someone run a tape of him taking the opposite side. He could say that he believes that domestic spending could be cut as described in the Ryan Plan, which he has endorsed, and then the tape of him saying that during slow economic times like this, domestic spending should never be cut, which he did in June of this year. He could also be shown a tape of him requesting funds for the Salt Lake City Olympics, saying it was imperative that the federal government help out the state of Utah. He could take the Tea Party view that taxes should be lowered for all. Then the tape could be played where he says that he did raise hundreds of fees as governor, and says that if the person wants to think of them as a tax, they could. He could take the Tea Party view that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, and then the tape could be played that explained why when running for Senator, he promised to be more liberal on gay rights than Ted Kennedy. Now, of course the Affordable Health Care Act is wrong for the entire country. He says that every day now. But there's tape of Mitt from 2009 saying that the Massachusetts was completely legal, and was a model for the rest of the country. Getting the idea? Really Mitt, are you sure you need the President there when you debate? Couldn't you just debate yourself? And if you can't defend your views now from your past beliefs, how do you plan on debating the President?    

Romney complains about the GOP economy?

It has been known for quite a while that every day Mitt Romney doesn't talk about the economy, it has been a bad day for him. But whose economy is it really? Since the 2010 election, has any bill been passed that could be called an Obama-backed bill been passed? And I'm not talking about just bills on the economy, but for now, let's narrow it down to that. Was the Stimulation Bill of 2011 that the President proposed passed, which would have kept over 3 million teachers, fire people, police people, and construction workers employed? Of course not. How many bills in the last 2 State of the Union messages that the President proposed have been passed? Not parts of the bill, but the whole bill? Yeah, none. So anything that has been passed have been GOP has been their desire, and their bills. So Mitt, when you complain about the economy, who are you really complaining about? It can't be the President's economy. No, it's the GOP inspired and affected economy. And I hope someone reminds you of that, and reminds you that you said you don't want to cut any benefits now. And you still want to cut taxes. Well, I'm sure that'll balance the budget.    

GOP- Repeal Affordable Healthcare Act--NOW!

Well, so much for repeal and replace for the GOP when it comes Affordable Healthcare Act. Now it's just repeal, repeal, and repeal, and do so now!!!! As in NOW!!!! But why, when most of the provisions won't kick in until 2014, does it have to be now? For the GOP, the answer is easy: While "Obamacare" is still unpopular with almost half of the people, they know that most, if not all, of the provisions except for mandate, are very popular with over 60% of all Americans, the GOP included. They also know that changes in health care as prescribed in the law will slow down the rate of cost increases. So once Americans have the act in place and can understand and feel its effect, most will approve of the Act. Then, it will be as impossible to get rid of as Medicare and Social Security is now. And if the Act is as effective as it's supposed to be, then it will also show the American people that while Government isn't great at everything, there are things that a Government is good for. And with the main tenet of the GOP now being that government is good for nothing, this will prove their speeches about useless government are just lies. So of course, for the GOP, the Affordable Care Act must be repealed now. As in, NOW!!!!!