AND THEY KNOW IT!

One of the phrases that always bothered me when opposites of the political stage debated was, “And as you know…”

It says to the audience that what is about to be said by the speaker is a well known fact and his opponent is quite aware of it!

It is an annoying tactic that works because the public is basically uneducated, at least in whatever the basis for the debate is, and the speaker knows it!

I have a friend who loves to provoke by always saying the opposite of what I am putting forth.  Sometimes he deliberately takes a silly stance that goes off on a tangent from what we were discussing thus deflecting the conversation completely.

He does it for fun and while it irks me I know it does neither of us any harm.

And this brings me to the current year in politics or rather last decade or so and certainly since President Obama was elected the first time.

Other than personal monetary gain from their wealthy owners harm is the only thing on the minds of the Republican Party.

They have been saying and doing such a multitude of outrageous things that it is almost impossible to recall all of them let alone write them down in this post.

And even if I could write every one of them down I doubt anyone in today’s sound bite twitter mentality would have the patience to read it or even understand it before nodding off.

The world does not need another War and Peace novel, although this would be non-fiction, and they know it!

So let’s get down to some of the most glaring bits of right wing bull cocky that they know are downright lies.

BIRTHERISM: Obama is not an American and his Presidency should be nullified.

President Obama was not only born of an American woman the birth took place in Hawaii.  Counter to popular belief among the members of the vastly under-educated T-Party Hawaii is and, at the time of the blessed event, was an American State. AND THEY KNOW IT!

GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX: Many Republicans in Congress have gone so far as to say that claims of global warming is the greatest hoax ever played on citizens of this country.

One must assume the Congressman, one James Inhofe (R-OK) is forgetting his own party making believe they are governing!

This one will affect every living organism, human or otherwise which possibly excludes some politicians on the right.

The scientific community has shown over and over again that the major cause of our current rise in worldwide temperatures is increased CO2 in the atmosphere and that is the result of man-made machinery and the burning of fossil fuels.  And yet almost to a man (woman) in the Republican Party they deny it.  But do they believe their own denials?  Global warming IS real! AND THEY KNOW IT!

SHARIA LAW MUST NOT BE ALLOWED IN AMERICA!

Seriously?  Are they truly worried we will adopt it here?

Religion is for personal comfort and not to be used in Government.  The so-called Party of Family Values values neither family nor really any religion! The right wing members with several wives, not all at the same time perhaps and a multitude of mistresses would rather pander to the deluded public who believe in the talking snake rather than admit there is no such thing and never has been.  AND THEY KNOW IT!

PRESIDENT OBAMA CAUSED THE DEFICIT TO RISE. Under his leadership we now owe more than ever before and we are headed for a fiscal cliff.

Uh, no, and in fact the deficit has gone down under his guidance.  And the Democratic Party has tried to do even more but has been blocked at every turn. (I apologize to all the RWNJs out there for using the word ‘fact.’ They seem to consider it a four letter word.)  Under Bush and most Republican Presidents the deficit has gone up while under most Democratic Presidents it goes down!  AND THEY KNOW IT!

VOTER FRAUD IS RAMPANT AND NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!

We cannot allow outsiders from other States to vote in our elections. Their radical ideas will harm our way of life!

In every State where Republicans hold the majority such as North Carolina voting restrictions are being placed on any group of voters shown to lean toward Democratic candidates.

Photo IDs such as gun licenses are okay but student IDs are not.  If a college student wishes to vote in NC the parents must pay a fee.  This is called a poll tax. It's absurd, unnecessary and basically against the Constitution of  the United States of America.  But the kicker is that statistics show the number of possible yet unconfirmed fraudulent attempts to vote is 0.0002 percent. AND THEY KNOW IT!

WHERE ARE THE JOBS Mr. PRESIDENT?

Unemployment, which rose so drastically while the war mongering pair of Cheney & Bush sat on the throne, has consistently gone down while President Obama has been in the White House.  And these numbers have continued their downward trend to the utter dismay of the Republicans.  The blatant opposition by the Republicans and their hypocritical leader Boehner to any jobs bill proposal is awe inspiring in it's evil intent.  AND THEY KNOW IT!

TAXES ARE KILLING BUSINESS IN AMERICA!

It's time for the takers to start contributing to the country's economy!

This absurd notion while blocking any attempt to raise the minimum wage on those who really need the money is perhaps one of the most insidious of their odious demands.  The real takers of America are the members of Congress who take a paycheck and do absolutely nothing but stir the fires of hate and promote fear while accepting bribes from the very business leaders they claim are going broke! AND THEY KNOW IT!

OBAMA KEEPS TWEAKING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT or ACA SHOWING IT IS WEAK AND NO GOOD!

This is one is actually easy, at least on the premise they put forth.  Tweaking it before full implementation is not only NOT a sign of weakness but the American way!  Every bill ever talked about or enacted into law has been tweaked including our Constitution which as I recall has a whole bunch of, what are they called again? Oh yeah, AMENDMENTS!! AND THEY KNOW IT!

Could it be they have nothing else and once again have to resort to lies?

In a word, and as always, YES!

But while calling them liars may not be nice do you think they know they are lying?

OF COURSE!

If not then they would be truly stupid and their dumb utterances would necessitate their ouster from office.  Their out and out intended lies are well thought out and are able to fool uneducated voters into electing them over and over again!

If every member of the Republican Party and right wingers were told that if caught in a political lie they’d face the death penalty we might never hear another word out of their mouths and conservative talk radio would finally be off the air for good!

And that is the main problem with politics today.

Politicians, especially on the radical right side of every aisle in the country pander and say things that are so ridiculous as to elicit dumbfounded looks from anyone with half a brain.

But so far they have faced no political consequence.

AND THAT THEY SURELY KNOW!

The New Hammer

Instead of hammering out a deal
Mr Boehner is hammering
our heads into the ground!

Boehner & co. keep saying the President got his revenue increase, AKA tax hike in January and now it is time for the spending cuts or the taking away of money from programs aimed at helping the middle class and poor.

Why does no one call him out on this obvious lie?

What happened in January was the Bush tax cuts that were created to expire by Bush and Boehner’s Republican Party and approved by them at that time expired!

These tax cuts were put into effect by this party’s leader as a gift to his base in the top 1%, financially speaking at the same time that he and they lied us into their illegal unfunded, unjust war that has killed far more than just thousands of our children, it killed our economy as well.

President Obama and the Democrats had to waste precious time fixing what the Republican recklessness cost, at least economically speaking as no amount of policy changes can bring back the lives of those brave soldiers Bush sent to their death in search of WMD he knew did not exist!

Now we are faced with an even more insidious Republican Party digging in and demanding more pain for the lower and middle classes in favor of their wealthiest friends.

When will this stop?

When will the media call out these self-serving hypocrites for their ‘oh so obvious’ lies?

When will the public finally understand that when Mitt Romney secretly, he thought, spoke to his friends about the hated 47% of Americans he was actually thinking about the party line of 98% hated Americans!

Because if you are not among the top tier of wealthiest Americans who can fund their life style YOU DO NOT EXIST FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!

And to that group of persona non-grata should be added minorities, gays, women, and anyone in the news media who reports facts!

And I beseech anyone with a brain to analyze the facts so that when November 2014 rolls around they will not be foolish enough to vote against their best interests and future ever again.

So no Mr. Boehner, the President did not get his revenue increase in January you did, and you know damned well you did!

And as always you are using lies to once again shield those who can most afford to chip in and aid the country’s recovery from ever having to open their wallets again.

Shame on you Mr. Speaker, shame on you!

Follies for the Middle Class (Thanks Mr. Sondheim)

Fox News & Small Pox, all kinds of plagues

And I'm here, I'm still here.

Radical Repubs; SCOTUS gone wild but I'm here
I'm still here.

Kill all the unions,

Screw healthcare

A conscience in DC?
That’s quite rare

Lived through trickle down economics

And I'm here!

Cheney & Palin; Chads and the radical right

And I'm here

Bailouts and blowouts;

Money's incredibly tight

And I'm here

Taxes are killing the middle class

Repubs have their heads up their ass

Wealthiest few get a damn free pass

And I'm here

I sold all my silver, gold and brass

And I’m here

I've lived through Rove and his brain trying to lead us

Who the hell is that prick?

Or better yet

Let's give the vote to a fetus

What's the matter with Rick?

Long dong; Scalia; Roberts; Alito and such

And I'm here

Boehner and Grassley; Ryan and Cohen's out of touch

And I'm here

I've lived through Limbaugh, Bill-O too

Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter all screw you

I survived Nixon & Reagan and I'm here!
Mission accomplished wasn't
And I'm here!

The President's Kenyan; a Muslim; Illegal

And he must be removed

The right has all of the brains of a beagle

And no claims can be proved

Tea Party madness

Funded by sick brothers Koch

And I’m here

Watching Repub debates

Damn what a sad bunch; a joke

And I’m here

Please tell me that it will all soon end

The Democratic Party won’t break we’ll bend

I’m looking forward to November
And my friend

Four more fruitful years for Obama
To be here

And I’m here

Yes I’m here

I’m still heeeeeeere!

Republicans’ Favorite Things

All together now:
2-4-6-8 who does our group
really hate?
HUMANS, HUMANS
SCREW HUMANS!

Men killed at lynchings

Or gang-bangers gunned down

Things that make liberals’

Smiles turn to big frowns

Anything we do that thins out the crowd

These I will praise with my words sung out loud

Dinner at clubs with the upper elite crust

Watching old unions go down and then go bust

Laws hurting middle class make me so proud

These I will praise with my words sung out loud

When we vote no

Millions do go

Without food or drink

I simply remember rich corporate friends

And of my great bribes I think

Homeless who just die

Or criminals we fry

Aliens kicked out

Minorities; bye bye

When with complete power we are endowed

Then I will praise with my words sung out loud

When we vote no

Millions do go

Without food or drink

I simply remember rich corporate friends

And of those great bribes I think!

My heartfelt sincerest apologies to
the wonderful Von Trapp Family &
the entire cast of The Sound of Music
for associating them with this song
and the awful anti-human political
party it purports to represent.

OMG - Or Not!

If you are a religious person then I say good for you!
But if you are not a religious person then I say good for you!
Huh?  How can you say "but" when both statements are sort of similar?
Easily - Who am I to tell you what religion to follow or even if you should follow one at all?  As long as you are happy in your decision that works for me.
But the converse must be true as well.
Nobody should judge me by the religion or lack there of I pursue.
If the entire world could say and do that there would be far more peace on earth than any religious leader ever dreamed possible!
And that brings me to the United States Congress and specifically God's Own Party aka the GOP.
It has long been known that many of these so-called "family values" leaders are hypocritically practicing other than what they preach.  But that is their business and should remain such AS LONG AS THEY DON'T USE RELIGION TO LEAD.
You see the United States of America was founded on a few principles not the least of which is the separation of Church and State.  This was done for a reason and that reason has not diminished in importance in the two hundred years since our birth.  If anything it has become even more valid in light of the many struggles in progress around the world.
So if a candidate or sitting leader wishes to be religious that's great.  But if that same person starts to rule or try to turn bills into laws based solely on their ethereal views we must demand they get their heads out of the clouds or their asses out of Congress!
An un-doctored video (something Mr. Breitbart wouldn't understand) has surfaced showing many of these hypocrites using their own words to declare themselves unfit for U S Congress.  These people should be investigated and thanked for their loyal surface and shown the door.
I am not against prayer although with so many pressing issues concerning the citizens of this country I believe it takes away precious time from governing.
If these people were truly religious I would ask them how they can turn their backs on the poor and middle class of America who are struggling to make ends meet?
How can they justify their blockage of all aid to the unemployed?
How can they propose giving trillions of our tax dollars to the few people in the country who don't need any more money?
And finally how can they sit in their churches praying to their God knowing that the God they created would never do any of those things?

How Dumb Can We Get?

For a while I felt as though the more I read the less I knew.
That was because when I delved into a subject and listened to all sides and then analyzed what I heard I made an informed decision.  But for a couple of years, and actually longer, it seemed as though every decision I made was wrong.
For example I learned everything I could about the proposed health care reform bill President Obama wanted to get into law and realized it was fairly good for the people of America.  When I say people I mean the average citizen; the person on the street; the voter regardless of political affiliation.
But then we went through a summer of "death panels" and "killing old people" talk coming from elected officials who should know better.
So I did what any intelligent creature should do in a situation like that, I went back to the facts.
Again it appeared as though the thing was good!  But Democrats saw the lies becoming a rallying cry among the Republicans and they gave in on far too many points to get the bill moving.
The above scenario happened again and again over the period of time that President Obama has been in office so I figured I better change my point of view.
Oh I am not going to be against health care reform or small business stimuli programs that for some reason Republicans, who once again should know better, are blocking.  But rather I am going to widen my search of the facts to find out why America is about to punish the Democratic Party for trying to help the average citizen.  Why do these people want to put the same people who started the economic collapse in the first place back into power!
It didn't take long to find out what was going on but it took a bit longer to understand why the simple facts were not stemming the tide.
The reason is simply Americans are not only dumbing down they are reveling in their abject ignorance.  The majority of Americans for lack of a better term are just plain stupid and seem to be proud of it!  Even Roger Ebert noticed this and took time from his movie schedule to post it on his blog!
I believe it started during the 2000 Presidential election when an 'almost majority' of people voted for a man with whom they wanted to have a beer.
Not exactly the criteria one would expect from a learned electorate.
You may also view the intelligence of the average American voter on the Pew Research page where the numbers are staggering.
But we would have survived the storm of stupid and stemmed the tide if not for the terrible events of 9-11.
The rallying cry throughout the land was one of solidarity with a tinge of revenge that allowed the evil and purposely misguided policies of Bush and his then lord and master Dick Cheney to move us into a war against the wrong country.
Well it was the wrong country for most of us but not for the millionaires who doubled, tripled, quadrupled and more their wealth as a result.
The sign signifying "Mission Accomplished" flying high behind President Bush on that commandeered aircraft carrier that we all felt was wrong was not!  We just didn't realize what the mission was at the time.
But finally 2008 came and a wave of "change" oriented feelings spread throughout the country.  The Republicans who had failed tremendously in holding onto record surpluses instead turning them into unprecedented deficits were kicked out of power.
But rather than 'change' their ways in light of their losses they instead immediately plotted their revenge and return to power.
That brings us to the day after the Barack Obama inauguration and just about every day since.
With the lone exception being the day that Obama agreed to allow more drilling for oil in the gulf and elsewhere the Republican Party and their benefactors have been doing anything they can to bring down his presidency.
Lobbyists in big business, big oil, Murdoch's Fox and his partner Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal who has been linked to terror organizations BY FOX NEWS have donated millions and millions of dollars to the Republican cause.
With all that affluence and influence behind them I'm surprised the Republicans haven't just taken over the government in a "Seven Days In May" type coup.
But now to the people of America.  The ones who have been searching for a beer drinking partner ever since Bush left office.
Along comes Sarah Palin, a charismatic woman who appears to be too dumb to even open a beer can.  And she along with her cohorts, a list way too long to reprint here, have taken the battle to the people.
Using catch phrases and one-liners and speaking in sound bites she has captured the small minded who don't have a clue about what's wrong with the country.
All these simple former hard working people know is the country is in trouble and the Democrats must be at fault, because simple Sarah says so!
I hate to stoop to the level of our evil opponents but if we are to get this country moving forward again we must stop the bleeding.  We must speak in a language the masses will understand.
President Obama is far too intelligent and passionate about his BIRTH COUNTRY of America to just give up.  So unfortunately he must dummy up!  Or rather DUMB UP so he can be understood.
For his next speech I propose he start off,
"Yo America, wassup?  I been you president fo 2 yeah now and I say it be time to start workin agin y'all.  So I'm gonna open my place up fo beer to each and all of yas. My woman & I wantcha to come ovah foh a beer or three.  Let's put some serious hurtin on this here unemployment thingy."
I apologize if the above offends anyone.  I know it's a bit awful and he has never spoken like that nor could he but sadly it would work.
Then again he'd probably get a cease and desist letter from the Republicans for stealing their stupidity.

Of Mice and Loopholes

In true "better mousetrap" mode the moment a rule; regulation; or law is passed those who may be adversely affected by it invent a plethora of loopholes to circumvent it.
Actually the above is slightly naive as teams of attorneys and accountants are hard at work weeks before any actionable bill is passed into law.
This group of highly specialized homogeneous heroes of the corporate woirld fire up the old W-O-P-R as soon as a proposal to change things is suggested in congress or even the media.  They secretly 'what if' every conceivable outcome until all bases are covered and they cannot be hurt.
Their next move is to come with talking points to nudge the rule toward the least troublesome outcome.  This is done while bemoaning even that one as though it would hurt them and thereby be good for society.
If Hollywood produced the above it might be enjoyable but this is no War Game.  This is real life and in real life real people are hurt by these faceless groups.  They make it necessary to come up with new laws and rules and regulations.
Loopholes, by definition exist to navigate around the law without getting caught!
The latest example of all this is our Financial Reform bill.
Our nation and the World is still struggling to get out from under the crisis caused by greedy unscrupulous and politically connected people who saw the middle class and the poor as tiny reservoirs of liquidity upon which to binge.
Millions lost their jobs and nest eggs and homes.  When the government finally stepped in it was too late.
Mortgage backed securities had to face the reality that their realty business was a sham.  This reservoir was finite and the drought had begun.
Banks and banking institutions were and still are failing.
To temporarily halt the free fall into the abyss our government pumped more dollars into the dried up well.
Disaster abated - New disaster begins.
Relieved banks and bank boards used bailouts for bonuses and balanced balance sheets by breaking out the bad  from them.  No new loans were to be given out because they had to know what new rules and regulations were going to be put in place (wink - wink.)
Moving at governmental break neck speed proposals were put forth to stop future financial failures that would have far reaching consequences.  But with all the 'no-strings attached' excess tax-payer cash and one political party hell bent on the other's failure the industry once again cranked up the lobbies and turned the W-O-P-R back on.  The loophole express was leaving the station - All Aboard!

How about a nice game of chess?

The final result of this latest in a long line of DC ballets came last week in the form of a 'reform' bill.  This one curiously excludes from scrutiny; regulation; or punishment so many businesses and industries as to render it totally ineffectual.
It has been said that one loophole can neuter a bill.  This one makes eunuchs of us all!
We finally built a better mousetrap unfortunately we needed to catch rats.