26. January 2012 by admin.

For some time, I’ve wondered if the rancor in today’s politics has some connection to the outcome of the Civil War. Sounds crazy, right? After all, the Civil War ended in 1865. Yet Teapublicans continue to say things that evoke the elitism and racism of antebellum America. We’ve heard them refer to President Obama as a fascist, socialist and communist. We’ve seen the signs showing his picture distorted to resemble the Joker. And we’re heard them call the President a Kenyan-born, anti-Christian Muslim.

Is it coincidence that such anger and disrespect are directed toward the first president of African-American descent? Doubtful.

Of course, I’m not the only writer to note the obvious. For example, Michael Lind wrote, “Today’s Tea Party is less an ideological movement than the latest incarnation of an angry white minority — predominantly Southern, and mainly rural — that has repeatedly attacked American democracy in order to get its way.” And Robert Reich stated, “It’s no mere coincidence that the states responsible for putting the most Tea Party representatives in the House are all former members of the Confederacy. Of the Tea Party caucus, twelve hail from Texas, seven from Florida, five from Louisiana, and five from Georgia, and three each from South Carolina, Tennessee, and border-state Missouri.”

Upon reading these comments, I knew I had to do my own research. Here’s what I found:

The Union consisted of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Of the 25 Union states, only three - Kansas, Kentucky and Missouri - voted for McCain in 2008! And it’s important to note that all three were divided during the war. (In both Kentucky and Missouri, pro-secession governments declared for the Confederacy, but never gained significant control of their states. And Kansas was notoriously split with many Confederate sympathizers.)

Now let’s look at the Confederacy. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia all seceded from the United States. In addition, Kentucky, Missouri, and Oklahoma were divided, and portions of New Mexico and Arizona collaborated with the Confederacy. Of the 16 Confederate states, only four – Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina and Virginia - voted for Obama in 2008! And of those four, only New Mexico could be considered a blue state.

To take it a step farther, many of the states which attained statehood following the Civil War were settled by former Confederate soldiers and Confederate sympathizers who were running away from the federal government. These include Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, and Arizona. All nine voted for McCain in 2008!

Three other latecomers - Colorado, New Mexico, and Washington - already had significant populations prior to the Civil War. Both Colorado and New Mexico had large Hispanic and Native American populations that were indifferent to the war. All three of these states voted for Obama in 2008!

Hawaii and Alaska were not admitted to the Union until the 1950s, so little can be concluded from their votes, especially since President Obama was born in Hawaii and the VP candidate on the opposing ticket was from Alaska.

Despite Teapublican denials, it would seem that the issues of racism and states’ rights are “gifts” that keep on giving.

Posted in Tea Party, Teapublicans, Current Events, President Obama, Culture, Politics | Print | No Comments »

29. December 2011 by admin.

To listen to Teapublicans, President Obama is the worst president in US history. They view him as a foreign-born Muslim who was only elected through massive voter fraud; a socialist or communist or facsist or some sort of –ist who is destroying our economy and our freedoms. From the moment he was inaugurated, Teapublican leaders have made it their top priority to make him a one-term president in order to save our nation and the world.

Given the dire circumstances President Obama has allegedly created for our country, you would expect the Teapublicans to haul out their very best and brightest to defeat him. So who have they chosen to be their potential standard-bearer; their shining knight riding to the defense of freedom? It appears to be limited to one of the following:

- A moderate running away from his long-held beliefs to prove he’s now an electable conservative.  As a result, he can’t answer a single question without contradicting at least a dozen previous statements.

- A former Speaker of the House who resigned in disgrace following 84 ethics violations.

- A crotchety libertarian who appears to like drugs and prostitutes more than blacks, gays and Muslims.

- A Tea Party darling who says such wackadoodle stuff she’d be the perfect stereotype for dumb blonde jokes if only her hair was the right color.

- An undistinguished former senator who so angered gays they named the aftermath of a sex act in his honor and made the definition the top search result whenever you Google his name.

- A tough talkin’ executioner and secessionist who would probably be rejected as too stereotypical for a role on Hee Haw.

- A former pizza CEO who withdrew from the race after being accused as a serial sex offender.

Seriously? That’s it? These are the “Great Right Hopes” vying for the right to unseat President Obama in 2012? After what seems like a hundred televised debates, not one has managed to make his- or herself seem like a reasonable candidate.

It’s obvious the entire process has, thus far, been flawed. So I propose, instead of another debate, we place these yahoos in front of a panel of judges similar to American Idol. Just imagine for a moment if, instead of debate moderators lobbing softball questions at this crew, Simon Cowell was sitting in judgement of these presidential wannabes. How many would survive the first cut? How many would go running from the cameras in tears?

Does anyone doubt that such a panel would call these Teapublican candidates what they really are - circus clowns (with apologies to clowns everywhere). The only things lacking are the rubber noses, oversize shoes, silly makeup, miniature cars and squirting lapel flowers.

Indeed, the only one likely to make the cut is the one Teapublicans have universally ignored - John Huntsman. He’s a successful former governor and ambassador to China. Apparently, the only real strike against him (and it’s a big one) is that he has (gasp) steadfastly refused to speak badly of President Obama.

Posted in Teapublicans, Tea Party, Current Events, Culture, Politics | Print | No Comments »

20. December 2011 by admin.

One of the ideological leaders of the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement, Grover Norquist, famously said, “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it to the bathroom and drown it in a bathtub.”

Ronald Reagan once said, “…government isn’t the solution to the problem. Government is the problem.” He also said, “The most fearful words in the English language are I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Of course, the Teapublicans have turned these quotes into mantras that drive everything they do.

For those who are inclined to jump aboard the bandwagon of anti-government sentiment, I’d like to pose a few questions. If there is no government, who is going to defend you against terrorists and rogue nations? Who will build your roads and bridges? Check the safety of your foods? Check the qualifications of your doctors? And of your teachers?

Who will monitor the safety of your airlines? Of your drinking water and air? Who will pay the salaries of your police forces? Fight your fires? And help you recover from natural disasters?

We (you and I) created our government agencies to do what we can’t do for ourselves. The days in which we could live without efficient and effective government ended when we ceased living on farms. When we ceased raising our own food and making our own clothes. Government is now as necessary as the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Without effective government, our nation would more closely resemble Somalia, Afghanistan and Columbia than England, France, Germany, Norway or Sweden.

Posted in Teapublicans, Tea Party, Politics, Government | Print | No Comments »

18. November 2011 by admin.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Governor Jan Brewer and her political cronies’ removal of the independent chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. It seems the Teapublican congressional representatives were unhappy with the commission’s proposed maps which placed two Teapublican congressmen in the same district. More important, the Teapublicans were angry that the maps would create a few more competitive districts, which meant that the winner of the Teapublican primary wouldn’t be able to waltz through the general election.

So the scorpion-eating governor did the only thing she could do. She phoned her office from New York where she was peddling her self-congratulatory and largely fictional autobiography, demanding that the chair be removed for “gross misconduct.”

Of course, her obedient Teapublican minions in the State Senate voted in lockstep to impeach the chair. Then they patted themselves on their backs and crawled back into their hidey holes to plot the next attack on Democrats, independents, immigrants and anyone else who dares challenge their gun-toting, Latino-bashing, Obama-hating authority.

There was only one problem with the Teapublican power grab. The Arizona State Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the impeachment.

For some reason, the Supreme Court justices did not accept the argument that Teapublican power in the state is absolute. They didn’t buy the argument that Brewer could dismiss the independent chair if she didn’t like the chair’s haircut or dress (yes, Brewer’s attorney actually made that case). Instead the justices quickly ruled that Brewer’s action was an unconstitutional over-reach.

But reasonable people in Arizona (they actually represent about two-thirds of the state’s population) shouldn’t relax yet. Brewer’s spokesmouth says the governor is reviewing the decision and contemplating the next step. Of course, the next step should be to allow the commission to do its job without interference. But that seems unlikely. This is, after all, Arizona.

Posted in Supreme Court, Teapublicans, Voter Suppression, Tea Party, Current Events, Politics, Arizona, Government | Print | No Comments »

14. November 2011 by admin.

“Private schools perform better than public schools.”

Indeed, many Teapublicans consider public schools to be a form of socialism. They believe public schools exist only to indocrinate our children in such “liberal” concepts as evolution. They believe public schools are anti-religious. They believe that only private and parochial schools are willing to teach our children the truth. Some even believe that home-schooling is the only way to prevent their children from being exposed to evil (aka science).

And they rationalize this lunacy by convincing themselves that students in private schools out-perform those in the humble public schools.

Unfortunately, they are wrong.

According to a report entitled Multiple Choice Charter School Performance in 16 States, published by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University in June 2009, only 17 percent of charter schools performed better than public schools, 47 percent performed at roughly the same level as public schools, and 37 percent performed worse! In five states, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, New Mexico and Texas, gains in math and reading skills for students in charter schools were significantly worse than for those in public schools.

Given the performance of charter schools, it would seem that the parents who promote them are the ones in real need of an education.

Posted in Teapublicans, Religion, Tea Party, Education | Print | No Comments »

10. November 2011 by admin.

Absolutely the best article I’ve ever read on the origins of our economic problems.  Once again, Rolling Stone is responsible for great investigative journalism!

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-gop-became-the-party-of-the-rich-20111109

Posted in Tea Party, Teapublicans, George W. Bush, Current Events, Taxes, Government, Politics, Deficit, Economy | Print | No Comments »

20. October 2011 by admin.

“Welfare moms are worse for our economy than welfare CEOs.”

For years, you’ve heard Teapublicans rail against freeloading welfare moms. They portray them as lazy, drug-addled minority women who turn themselves into baby factories to scam the system and live in relative luxury. Right?

In fact, a Teapublican candidate for the Nebraska Unicameral recently compared them to racoons saying, “They’re going to do it the easy way if we make it easy for them.” And Florida Governor Rick Scott recently signed into law a bill that requires Floridians to submit urine, blood and hair samples before they can receive cash aid from the state.

However, according to the statistics, the majority of those who receive Aid For Dependent Children are white and receive benefits for 2 years or less. Half of all welfare recipients leave the program in the first two years.  Most have only one or 2 children.  And the majority are over 20 years old.

Many succumbed to the “if you really love me, you’ll…” line. But many are divorced and a few are widowed. Contrary to Gov. Scott’s expectations, very few are chemically dependent. And they’re hardly living in luxury.

For example, those who qualify for W-2 Transition (W-2 T) funds reserved for participants who have limited ability to work receive payments of $628 per month with a lifetime eligibility limit of 60 months. Not exactly what Teapublicans want you to believe about so-called “welfare queens” is it?

Now, let’s examine the “welfare kings” of corporate America.

We have given millions of acres to mining companies while requiring no royalties in return. We gave railroads millions of acres and millions of dollars in subsidies for construction. We built and maintain 340,000 miles of logging roads for the timber industry in addition to giving them subsidies of more than $111 million annually. Subsidies to oil and gas companies total more than $40 billion per year.

We provide billions to corporations for the research and development of new drugs and new weapons systems, even providing foreign aid to other nations to help them buy our weapons. We offer corporations insurance at below market rates to encourage overseas investments in high-risk nations. We provide farm subsidies to corporate farmers. State and city governments provide incentives to attract large corporations. They also provide millions to help billionaire owners of sports franchises to build new stadiums and sports arenas.

And, lest you think the Troubled Asset Relief Program was the first time we bailed out financial institutions, don’t forget that we forked over $500 billion to the savings and loan industry in the 1980s.

In short, we allow large corporations to privatize their profits and socialize their risks. Is it any wonder that in previous generations their owners were called “Robber Barons?”

Posted in Current Events, Tea Party, Teapublicans, Corporations, Taxes, Government, Politics, Economy | Print | No Comments »

17. October 2011 by admin.

I confess that I’ve long been confused about the intense (and, I believe irrational) hatred of President Obama, when it appears to me that he has been guilty of nothing more than trying to correct the problems created by the previous administration.

Upon reflection, I believe it stems from the Right’s unfailing belief in the so-called “free” market.

When the economy, led by the housing market and a lack of common-sense regulations, careened off a cliff in late 2008, the Bush administration recommended a bill to Congress that called for the US to spend billions in order to prop up the failing banks. Lacking the support of Republican leaders in Congress, the measure initially failed. But when the stock markets crashed as a result, enough Congressmen were persuaded to change their votes and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) went into effect.

The program ultimately stabilized the markets and the economy enough to prevent the Great Recession from turning into a second Great Depresssion. Yet many Republicans were furious. They believed TARP to be a government intrusion into the infallibility of free market principles. When President Obama subsequently offered government-backed loans to General Motors and Chrysler in order to stave off the collapse of the American automobile industry, the free market Republicans and Libertarians went ballistic.

Capitalizing on an idea by a Republican strategist, groups such as the Koch-funded American FreedomWorks spent millions to rally free market believers to protest. They labeled the movement a modern day Tea Party. It turned out to be the perfect way to inspire the Republican base which was dispirited following the 2008 elections.

Teapublicans deluded themselves into believing that the Great Recession was not the fault of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act or the Bush administration’s lax oversight of the financial industry.

They focused, instead, on President Obama’s attempts to fend off an economic Armegeddon. In addition, they convinced themselves that the national debt, which had doubled under President Bush, was now the fault of President Obama. They believed the auto bail-outs and economic stimulus were evidence that the administration was moving toward socialism. The President’s eventual signing of a bill to reform the out-of-control healthcare system added even more fuel to the torches being carried by the Tea Party.

When viewed in context, the Teapublican fears seem irrational. But when viewed through a partisan lens and slavish devotion to free market principles, regardless of their consequences, the fears are understandable, if not logical.

Moreover, this helps to explain why so many lower and middle class Americans vote against their self-interest by supporting Republican candidates determined to transfer wealth upward through tax breaks for the wealthy.

Over many years of listening to Fox News pundits and Rush-to-the-table Limbaugh, these people have become convinced that all of their problems will be solved if only we rid ourselves of government intrusion and allow Teapublican leaders to work their free market magic. Indeed, these voters are likely convinced that the only thing standing between them and unimagined riches are evil Democrats, who in their Teapublican minds, are trying to replace capitalism with socialism, or worse yet, communism or fascism.

Never mind that many of these people don’t have a clue of what any of these “isms” actually mean. Hence the Tea Party signs that read “Keep your government hands off my Medicare.”

Posted in Current Events, President Obama, Tea Party, Teapublicans, George W. Bush, Media, Culture, Health care, Medicare, Government, Politics, Deficit, Economy | Print | No Comments »

12. October 2011 by admin.

Teapublicans, especially those in Arizona, have their tea bags in a knot over a botched 2009 sting operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives code-named “Fast and Furious.”

The operation, which apparently began out of frustration with the courts’ failure to adequately convict and punish those who provide guns to the Mexican drug cartels, focused on a group of “straw buyers” who purchased more than 1,500 weapons from Phoenix-area gun dealers. According to records, dozens of AK-47 type weapons would be purchased at once. The buyers would often return a few days later to buy many more weapons from the same stores. Rather than bust the buyers, ATF agents were told by supervisors to let the guns “walk” in hopes of tracking them to those who were directing the gun buys on behalf of the cartels.

When two of the weapons were later found to have been involved in the death of US Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry, there was understandable outrage.

The Teapublican-controlled Congress seized upon the story in order to embarrass the Obama administration. Congressman Darrell Issa even called for the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder.  Yet it was Teapublican interference and policies which created the environment that led to the operation.

B. Todd Jones, who has now assumed command of the bureau is the fifth “acting director” since 2006. Thanks to Teapublican obstructionism, the 5,000-employee ATF has not had a permanent director since it was spun off from the Treasury Department in 2006. All of the people nominated by the Bush and Obama administrations to regulate the $28 billion firearms industry have been opposed by the gun rights lobby, including veteran ATF agent, Andrew Traver, whose nomination has been stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee for nearly a year.

Also, Arizona’s Teapublican-sponsored gun laws are at the very root of the weapons smuggling problem. The state’s laws, which were written by the National Rifle Association, permit any citizen who can pass a federal background check to walk into an Arizona gun shop and buy as many weapons as he or she wants. The laws are even more lax when it comes to the state’s many gun shows where there are no background checks.

Finally, the state’s laws provide little real punishment for the straw buyers. If they’re caught, they usually face charges of falsely stating that they purchased the guns for themselves, a punishment that hardly fits the crime.

Posted in Current Events, Tea Party, Teapublicans, Guns, Arizona, Government, Politics, Terrorism | Print | No Comments »

11. October 2011 by admin.

“Teabaggers are patriots. Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are misguided thugs and revolutionaries.”

The Tea Party claimed to be a grassroots movement, but in reality, it was created by Republican strategists, financed by Republican think tanks and billionaires, and promoted and publicized by Fox News Channel, Rush-To-Judgement Limbaugh and the rest of the Republican megaphones.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, on the other hand, receives no money from millionaires and billionaires. It has no think tanks to fund it. And it has no media organizations under its control. The movement was created by a diverse group of young people fed up with the wealthy who control Congress and dictate public policy. And it’s growing.

So why are the Teapublicans now dismissing them as out-of-control rabble? Why are Teapublicans portraying them as dangerous and disrespectful? And why are Teapublicans saying “they ought to get a job?” Actually, that’s the question at the very heart of the movement. The Occupy Wall Streeters want to get a job, but feel that Teapublican policies dictated by the wealthy prevent them from any chance of success.

Instead of trying to initiate legislation that might create jobs to make the Occupy Wall Streeters go home, Teapublicans would rather spend their time denying tax hikes for millionaires and billionaires. And they are using their media megaphones to portray the movement as dangerous. On his daily radio diatribe, Glenn Beck even said, “They’re coming to kill you!”

Hmmm…think about it for a moment. Which group brought guns to their rallies and carried signs with overt threats against Congress and the President? Here’s a hint: It wasn’t the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators.

Posted in Corporations, Current Events, Tea Party, Teapublicans, Media, Culture, Government, Politics, Labor, Economy | Print | No Comments »