Saturday, November 20, 2010

...And the Fat Lady Sang

George decided not to run for Central Committee chairman after all. That was nice, it allowed Gene Shelby to be nominated to that position. I hope everybody votes for him as I'm sure they will. Gene is a real progressive Democrat that was unfortunately a victim of the Garland County purge.

I think someone on the committee doesn't like Claudia Reynolds-LaBlanc and me as he/she /it sent an anonymous email saying something to the effect that it was better to be wise and think you're stupid than to think you're wise and be stupid. I figure since she and I were the only one's targeted with the message the point was that we 1) were either stupid or 2) wise.

When people lack the balls or the conviction of their opinion to express it openly and must display it in an anonymous email, it convinces me more than ever that the Democratic party is the party of wimps and dweebs. Even President Obama is being accused of not standing firm against a Republican agenda that is standing solidly against any compromise with the Democrats.

In this last Congress , we had a majority in both the House and the Senate. We also had a Democrat in the White House. Did we get anything other than a watered down health bill passed? Not much more than that. Obama was stuck with the fiasco left by the previous idiot savant vacating the White House so he was pretty well occupied with cleaning up his mess. Did he stand up for the people getting the shaft? No, he's giving the gold and all the rewards to the wealthiest Americans that donated the most cash to his election. Nothing to the people whose votes actually got him into the White House.

If we can't get anything done when we are in the majority it's damn well certain nothing is going to get done with a Republican majority in the House. We can expect Mike Ross to support their agenda as he openly and proudly proclaims he will not follow the Democratic platform agenda.

Until we get someone to stand up to the right-wing neocons and their efforts to turn us into a 3rd world economy, we are all in deep doodoo. People are now just beginning to go to the streets. I'm hoping that it catches hold here in Arkansas before it's too late or we'll all be going through x-ray machines and getting patted down to buy groceries, if we can afford them.

The Republicans want to stop 'earmarks'. That's a big PR piece of crap to keep everybody believing (except those who know what they're pulling) that they are working to keep fiscal spending under control and to bring down the national debt. The earmarks are already allocated in the budget. The 'earmarks' are for the separate Representatives' to determine where the individual monies will go and to whose state. It will have no bearing on the national debt. If Congress doesn't allocate the 'earmarks' then President Obama will. That will happen when pigs fly.

The Republicans already stopped the passage of equal pay for equal time in this lame-duck Congress. Women will just have to wait until 1) these old fogies die or 2) they get mad enough to quit buying into the Tea Party crap that undermines and devalues them at every turn of the screw and demand they get fair treatment and not a seat at the back of the bus. The last time I checked, the grocery store did not cut the price of my grocery bill because I'm a woman, the utility companies haven't given me a break because I earn less than the average man yet Congress aka the Republicans and our fair haired Blue Dogs believe we deserve less money for our labor.

As the Republicans push for tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, Arizona's governor is refusing to pay for the transplants mandated under Medicaid and Medicare for patients that will die without them. The proof is in the pudding, dear ones, death panels are with us and it ain't Health Care Reform. Blame it all you want to on 'Obamacare' but this is just greed determining who lives and who dies. If you're unable to work because of a heart condition or other pre-existing disease, you're SOL.

The Republicans will stall the funding of Medicare and Medicaid to the states making them take the brunt of the costs. Taxes will have to go up since God doesn't really give a damn whether you're rich or poor. He/she isn't going to keep the heat on and the toilet flushing when you can't pay for it. I just hope people wake up and start putting pressure on this Congress to get real. There is no free ride. The only ones that believe it currently are the ones getting it, the rich and like everyone knows, no-one wants to give up power and money if they don't have to. Make them have to. Quit cutting their lawns and cleaning their houses.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Oh Boy Is It Hot or Is It Me?

Politics will be heating up very soon in Hot Springs especially in the Garland County Democratic Central Committee. Elections are coming up and our 'fearless' leader George Hozendorf as I understand, wants to run again. Considering the beating the local Democrats took in the November 2 election, I would think his best move would be to move to Alaska (I say that because they obviously tolerate anything or anyone).

The scuttlebutt is a lot of us want him out. A lot of us want to return to the Democratic values that define us as Democrats. When the one 'Democrat' that won sells himself as having voted against everything President Obama pushed through this convoluted, discombobulated, backstabbing, heel dragging Congress, it makes you wonder why he even casts himself as a Democrat. I was on a call-in talk show and someone asked Ross why he didn't run as a Republican. He said it was because he was a "Blue Dog" Democrat. Well, Mr. Ross, it looks like your little tea party is over. You Blue Dogs got trounced. Don't you think that the days of calling yourself one thing while practicing another are over?

The Republicans ran a strong Republican against Lincoln and she lost. They worked really hard to get her a win in the primary because they knew she was an easy candidate to beat. Bill Halter would have eaten John Boozman's lunch with the people of Arkansas. He's everything that we look for in a candidate; honest, hardworking, straight-shooting, roll-up-your-sleeves and dig in with the guy on the street kind of solid American. His goal has been and always will be to help Arkansans dig their way out of the miasma of poverty and social prejudice.

Now that the Republicans got their wish and have control of the House, we will see an all out attack on the social services that keep Arkansas families afloat. Medicaid and ARKids will become harder and harder to fund. Social Security and Medicare will struggle to keep the little benefits and payments to those receiving them. It won't matter that those services were over-funded by the Baby-boomers and the funds stripped by Congress to make it look like the deficit wasn't as bad as it was. The IOU left in its place is coming do so the next best thing is to shut it down completely or by privatizing and linking it to Wall Street which in essence is the same thing.

"Obamacare" will not be safe because the assault is already in the implementation stages. When they finally overturn Health Care Reform anyone with a pre-existing disease can be refused insurance again, anyone without insurance can be refused care at any hospital or medical facility, and anyone that thinks that their health insurance rates went up because of the Health Care Reform package passed and signed into law by President Obama, will find that their premiums are still going to go up because the cap that the Health Care Reform bill put in place will no longer apply. Being poor and working at a minimum wage job where you are dependent on social services to care for your children will find all of that gone. Companies like WalMart will either have to start covering all employees with health insurance or people will just die from lack of medical care.

The rich wanted their tax cuts made permanent and the people believed them. They believed it was to keep and make jobs. Small businesses making under $250 million a year usually don't hire people. They are hedgefund operators, lawyers, CPAs or other one owner businesses. Guess what? The rich don't buy from WalMart or KMart or Target. So those jobs will disappear as people are no longer able to afford even the 'stuff' made in China. The rich like paying less than the average American in taxes because it gives them more free time and money to enjoy their island resorts and private cruises. If you want a job they will always need gardeners, maids, servants, chauffeurs and nannies. College education will be available only to those whose families can afford the high cost of tuition. It will be another form of indentureship when the college graduate is forced to work for any company that gives him enough money to pay back all the loans his parents couldn't cover.

Welcome to the new America. If you don't like this scenario then I suggest you get active and start going to the streets and letting your representatives know how you feel about this country. It is ours not a corporation's. We don't have much time left. 2012 is just around the corner and the big boys that didn't play in this election are already gearing up to buy the next one. As long as we have the right to demand redress against our government we better take advantage of it. It may be the next liberty taken away.

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