October 4, 2013

So, NOW the "Republicans" want to "negotiate" on Obamacare? Bullshit.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/so-now-the-republicans-want-to-negotiate-on-obamacare-bulls/

No, they don’t want to negotiate it. They never have and they never will. They want to kill it, and always have: read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act for a refresher. Short form: “Republicans” have, since 2009, actively worked to sabotage the process, even when their own ideas (like the individual mandate) got added, and liberal ideas like single payer got removed.

The ACA passed without a single ”Republican” vote. It has survived multiple repeal efforts by unhinged Teabagging Congressional ”representatives”. It was judged Constitutional by the uber-conservative Supreme Court. It was validated again by the American people in the 2012 elections. And the Elephants are STILL trying to kill it, by shutting down the government. This is not negotiation.

No, the “Republicans” do not want to negotiate the ACA. They want to do by extra-Constitutional means what they could not accomplish within the law. They want to kill it. And that is all that the Boehner Brigade and Marching McConnells want to do.

October 3, 2013

John Boehner’s Fear of Losing Power (again) is why the Government is Shut Down.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/john-boehners-fear-of-losing-power-again-is-why-the-government-is-shut-down/

Why is always more important than How, in the long run. It's fairly well known in Ohio that Boehner was traumatized by getting thrown out of his leadership post in the 1990's, and will do anything to avoid a repeat. His insecurities are why he won't allow the CR to hit the floor for a vote: because keeping his cushy Speaker job is everything to him; and nothing else really matters to him.

Snips:

"Mr. Boehner lost his leadership position in 1998 after his fellow Republicans decided to clean house after losing seats.

Got that? Speaker Boehner got the axe once, and he is scared it’ll happen again. THAT is why he won’t cross The Thirty and allow the CR to be voted on in the house. He is so attached to the gavel, he’ll let children starve and die, deny Americans health care, weaken our national defense, and bankrupt the nation. The narcissistic son of a bitch."

More, including source material, at the link.

October 2, 2013

Obamacare is a Compromise. America itself is a Compromise.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/obamacare-is-a-compromise-america-itself-is-a-compromise/

Back in the 1700?s, there was a lot of debate as to what sort of government we should create. Some wanted a democracy, some a republic, some even wanted a constitutional monarchy. In the end, no side won the argument, and we have a hybrid that isn’t a pure version of any model that was considered. Our very system of government is a compromise.

So when House “Republicans” shut down said government because they refused to compromise, they weren’t just being petulant little brats; they went outside of the Constitution and indeed, acted in a manner that is fundamentally opposed to the entire history of America. America is always arguing – it is who we are and what we are. Our nation was founded on an argument that was never settled, and never will be.

And the same is true of our laws. Very few of them are “pure”. Obamacare is a good example. It is a private-sector solution with government oversight, requires participation but doesn’t enforce it, based on Republican ideas but passed entirely by Democrats. Nothing there is free of compromise: everything there IS compromise.

Anyone who refuses to compromise is not functioning in reality. That means the Teabagger caucus is living in a friggin’ dream world, and someone needs to wake them up, kick them out, or both.

October 1, 2013

GOP Congressman on Government shutdown: “This is my idea of fun”.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/gop-congressman-on-government-shutdown-this-is-my-idea-of-fun/

I heard him say it on Morning Edition. Christ on a raft.

You can hear him say it right here: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=228074814&m=228074430 The very last thing said during the interview with Congressional “Republican” David Schweiekert was him saying “this is my idea of fun”. Listen to him for yourself, get it right from the horse’s ass.

That is everything you need to know, peeps. Millions of people out of work, government services taken away, billions of dollars added to the national debt…this, to “Republicans”, is considered “fun”. It is amusing to them, no doubt, because they will not suffer the consequences of their actions: their salaries and health care will not be cut, and they will continue to live high on the hog, their porcine snouts buried in the public trough.

In the specific case of Rep. Schweikert, he is a multimillionaire, and so REALLY doesn’t give a s*** about what happens to the rest of we little people: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/12/arizonas_10-member_congression.php

Remember this when next you vote. Anyone who thinks that crashing the economy is “fun” really, really, REALLY, needs to voted the f***ing f*** out of office, and that soon.

September 30, 2013

Hey, Mister Speaker: “Leadership” isn’t just taking the easy way out.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/hey-mister-speaker-leadership-isnt-just-taking-the-easy-way-out/

Speaker John Boehner said the opposite recently, when explaining why he had given control of the House to load of lunatics bent on destroying our system of government (the Teabaggers). He essentially said that ignoring the stated wishes of the American people was “leadership”.

Wrong, boyo. Leadership is showing your people the way, doing what is best for them, and having the guts to make the tough calls and get people to go along with you. Even if (and especially when) they don’t agree with you.

Remember Harry Truman? Ike? General MacArthur? They were leaders. Compare Boehner with them, and you will see the difference. Boehner would have let a bunch of crazy privates dictate strategy during wartime if he had been in their shoes. And a war that ended well would have ended very badly indeed.

We don’t need drunken, lazy, cowardly poltroons in positions like his. We need LEADERS. And he isn’t one.

September 29, 2013

A simple health care policy.

We should focus on this simple mission: get people health care, get them as much as they can have, and as soon as they can have it.

Too often we focus on party this, and messaging that, and next election stuff, and so on and on. Screw all that s***, people are dying and need health care.

The ACA is a very good first step in that direction, and we can not: we must not; we will not; move a single inch backwards.

September 28, 2013

Thieving sack of s*** of the week: Ted Cruz

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/09/28/ted-cruz-has-no-intention-of-giving-up-his-paycheck-after-he-shuts-down-the-government/

Taking his paycheck from the government, after he f***s a lot of other people who work for or depend on the government.

September 27, 2013

The Biggest Obamacare Lie of Them All

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/the-biggest-obamacare-lie-of-them-all/

“The American people don’t want this bill” is a lie of truly epic dimensions, because the American people have voted FOR Obamacare, time and time again.

First, they elected Obama in 2008, and he ran on a platform that actually included even MORE health care than Obamacare delivered. That’s a vote for Obamacare.

Then they re-elected Obama in 2012, when he ran against Romney/Ryan, whose platform included ditching Obamacare. That’s a vote for Obamacare.

They also cast more votes for House Democrats in 2012 than they did for House “Republicans” (the Repubs kept the House via election rigging, gerrymandering, etc.) That’s another vote for Obamacare.

Every time Obamacare’s individual provisions are mentioned in polls, they get huge public support. It’s just the word “Obamacare” that people view through suspicious eyes (and small wonder, given the smear campaign that Repubs have waged against it over the years).

And that, Gentle Reader, is why the lie “The American people don’t want this bill” is the biggest Obamacare of them all. Yes, there are some people who DON’T want Obamacare, but they are in the minority."

More at the link

September 26, 2013

Four Obamacare Lies from Ted Cruz. Four sources that prove he’s lying.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/09/26/four-obamacare-lies-from-ted-cruz-four-sources-that-prove-hes-lying/

"Not that he’s the only one, of course. “Republicans” like John Boehner and others have been spreading the same farrago of fraudulent statements 24/7 for quite some time now. But because Teddy Boi is such a cretin, and uttered those lies very loudly and recently, we’ll pick on him.

Here are the four lies du jour:”Obamacare is destroying jobs,” Cruz said. “It is driving up health care costs. It is killing health benefits. It is shattering the economy.” You’ve heard these lies before, and the “news” media just regurgitates them verbatim, with no fact-checking or correcting. Your Cranky Correspondent hereby presents the actual facts, and they DO prove that the “Republicans” are lying through their teeth, noses, ears, eyes, and every other orifice they possess."

All four lies, and links to mainstream sources that prove he's lying, at the link. Useful stuff.

September 26, 2013

JobsOhio: Fox, meet Henhouse.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/09/26/jobsohio-fox-meet-henhouse/

A longish post today, so I'll just post some snips:

And the foxy feasting has continued ever since. Not all that surprising, really: it’s a secretive organization that takes millions of taxpayer dollars and does secret things with them; is immune from auditing by the State Auditor; is staffed by cronies of the Guv; and can only be policed by itself. Oh, and it hasn’t done any policing of itself as yet: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/09/25/JobsOhio-conflict-of-interest.html

Even though there are documented instances of JobsOhio board members (and even the Governor) getting money from companies getting breaks and goodies from JobsOhio, they aren’t interested in investigating any conflicts of interest, because, they say, there aren’t any. Even though there, well, ARE.

And no one is allowed to check up on them. Because, when the 100% “Republican” Ohio state government created this slush fund for their cronies, they made it shadowy, secret, and untraceable. A perfect vehicle for people to steal the taxpayers’ hard-earned. And oh, how they are stealing: https://ohiodems.org/dayton-daily-news-investigation-jobsohio-board-has-ties-to-firms-that-got-help/

More at the link. Fuck The Kasich with Jim Rhodes' statue.