The VA Scandal - More Political Circus

If you think Erik Shinseki actually knew anything about those long wait times in VA hospitals, I have a bridge I want to sell you. Shinseki's job was not to manage each VA hospital's case load, but to deal with the massive bureaucracy the VA is.

In this day and age of partisan politics--where the automatic, knee jerk rejection of one side of the other side's proposals is intended to distract us from the real issues--it's easy to accuse the current administration for hating on the veterans. But our government has been  baiting and switching our veterans since the earliest days of the union.

The Feds tried to shaft the revolutionary war veterans who took members of Congress hostage.

10,000 WWI veterans marched on Washington in 1932, during the height of the great Depression to demand the war bonuses they were promised, but Congress eliminated.

They screwed over Vietnam Veterans after telling them Agent Orange was safe. And Reagan signed the first You-Can't-Sue-Mosanto law.

Guess who are next on the list: that's right! The veterans of our current War on Terror (and Pay No Mind to that Man Behind the Curtain)!

Check out John Daley's rundown of American's maltreatment of her veterans. "America has had, for over 200 years, a great bipartisan tradition of honoring those who have fought for our freedom by fucking them over once they give their guns back."

Remember, that earlier this month, Congress tried to extend Veteran benefits, but found lackluster Republican support. NOW the Republicans are pissed about how they are treating our veterans.

Budget Follies

Our Congresscritters often like to make a show of how much waste there is in the Federal budget when slashing funds for hungry children by $5 billion because it's such a large number. Yet they bend over backwards to explain that the $50 billion spent in foreign aid is a pittance.

While they tell us to tighten our belts and pay more in taxes because the rich can't afford to and still create minimum wage jobs for us, the government spent $400,000 on a camel statue outside the US embassy in Islamabad.

Called "Camel Contemplating Needle," a play on the Bible verse Matthew 19:24, "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (This verse is not it the TeaPublican Bible™. Obviously they believe that only the rich can get into heaven.)

This is why we have to stop helping the poor: We need sculptures in front of our Government offices.

The War on Religious Liberty

Senator Ted Cruz recently spoke of the Threat to Religious Liberty™.

Cruz said, ”As believers, we are called to action; not just sitting quietly and hiding our faith under a bushel but to stand and speak no matter what the consequence.  Religious liberty has never been more under attack.”

Exactly which liberties are being lost, I wonder? How many churches have been closed? How many Bible Burnings? Did I miss the invite to the burning? I got the one for the Quran Burning. But I didn't get the invite to the Bible burning. Has there been a slaughter of Christians in the US? I've been invited to the slaughter of all Muslims, but haven't heard about the Christian one. Has Senator Cruz been prevented to going to church? From praying? Sending his children to religious schools?

Or does he mean that his religious liberty is being  attacked because he wants to impose his religion on others?

Can someone from Senator Cruz' office post his reply in the comments?

Silly Republicans, Tricks are for Kids!

I got the 2012 Presidential Platform Survey in the mail today.  I was going to send it back, but figured that since the $15 survey processing fee wasn't going to be enclosed (Don't ask me to pay to take a survey. I've been on the Internet. We get paid to take surveys!)

I thought I would share some of my answers and comments I cribbed in the margins:

2. How important is it to voters in your state [I didn't comment here, but is the Republican Party suggesting I should become a pollster?] to give attention to the following issues during the 2012 campaigns?

...Stimulating job creation in the private sector - I chose not important and added a note: "According to Republican critics of every Obama jobs plan, Government can't create jobs. Obama cuts business taxes=unconstitutional! Obama emphasizes hiring veterans=government interference in the private sector."

...Reigning in government employees' unions - I chose not important. "You can't change the rules after the fact. But if Congress were willing to take pay cuts, I could go along with it."

...Demanding Free and open trade to get US manufacturing growing - I chose not important. "Ross Perot was right.  NAFTA created a giant sucking sound as American manufacturing jobs left the United States for the sake of profit.  And how many Sallys and Bobs do you talk to on the phone sound like Apu from the Simpsons?  Companies will take jobs away from high paid Americans and give them to Indians in a heart beat if they can increase profits."

4. Do you believe Congress should block President Obama's efforts to raise the Federal debt ceiling and demand real cuts to Federal spending? - I chose yes and added, "Cut Congressional pay, end automatic pay raises and let the voters decide what to pay you. If the voters are that important.  . ."

...8. Do you support a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment to the US Constitution to stop deficit spending in Washington? - I chose yes and added, "But you'll still figure out ways to get around it and get a million bucks to that toe nail museum in your hometown."

...31. Should the national Republican Party only support candidates who adhere to our conservative principles of low taxes, small government, strong values and unwavering defense of our Constitutional freedoms? I chose yes and added "You forgot big corporations. fundamentalist Christians and Super PACs. Although, I guess strong values does equal fundies.  And if by defending our Constitutional freedoms you mean ripping them to shreds with the Patriot Act and Citizens United, then the answer is 'Hell no'."

...32. Do you believe the national Republican Party needs to stay out of primaries and allow Republican voters in local districts and states to make their own educated decisions about who should represent them? I chose yes, and added, "Let corporations decide! They're people!" 

Movie Industry versus Innovation

Here's a cool infographic showing Hollywood's hatred of innovation. If you have a slow connection it will take a few minutes to load.

The takeaway is Hollywood hates change. In the 1940s, the studios predicted doom when they were forced to sell their theaters. They predicted doom when TVs came along in the 50s, claiming that they couldn't compete with free content. They predicted doom when VCRs came along, saying video rentals will lead to massive piracy. MPAA President Jack Valenti said, "I say to you that the VCR is to the American producer what the Boston Strangler is to the woman home alone." In the Aughts, the studios claimed the DVR would kill television. In '06, they tried to stop streaming technology, predicting complete failure of the studios. Every time the studios have predicted doom, they have increased their revenue streams.

Thank Goodness

As sites across the Internet went black on Wednesday, Congresscritters all across this land abandoned SOPA/PIPA like rats fleeing a sinking ship, and the measure was shelved.  Not defeated. Shelved. They'll try again in a few months.

Here's why SOPA is bad. To quote from Ehowa.com, wherein, Ernie mentioned a post on The Truth About Guns and a round counting device that could go onto .357 magnum. The article concludes with a Dirty Harry Joke. It links to a clip on YouTube. Ernie said that if any site linked to that page, like I did, Under SOPA:

Warner Brothers goes directly to the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT does two things. First they order that all of the domains hosting -- OR EVEN LINKING TO -- the copyrighted material be banned from US based search engines like Google. Secondly, they FORCE financial institutions like banks and Paypal, to case processing all funding for all of the domains hosting -- OR EVEN LINKING TO -- the copyrighted material. And all of this happens without the case seeing the inside of a courtroom. Finally, some nice FBI agents -- or perhaps Immigrations and Customs Enforcement? - will be knocking on the doors of: Youtube headquarters, The-Truth-About-Guns headquarters, and my house since I linked to TTAG. We'll all be treated to a nice 5 year stay in FEDERAL PRISON and FINED UP TO $15 MILLION DOLLARS EACH

Kind of shocking. I admit I've stolen pictures. I never claimed I owned or created them, but I stole them any way. Hello, LOLcats. I'm talking to you.

The worst offender, though is SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith. Here. When it was pointed out that Congresscritter Smith was violating the law he wrote, he changed his site. Here. This meant that if SOPA had been in effect and his site had remained the same, Lamar Smith would have been facing jail and fines. So would anyone who linked to him. Like the Federal government. And if anyone had shared the link on Facebook, so would Facebook.

No one is saying that piracy should be legalized. All we're saying is maybe we should redefine Fair Use and think about the consequences.

New York became the Sixth state to legalize Gay Marriage, and I say, about fucking time.

I've said it before: When the divorce rate among heterosexuals hovers above 50%, they can't spout off about the sanctity of marriage.  Especially bastions of marriage like Newt Gingrich, who's been married three times and told one wife he was divorcing her on her cancer bed.

I think gays deserve the right to marry and divorce with the same frequency of heteros!

Michele Bachman, a Tea Party favorite, is poised to announce her candidacy for President in the 2012 election.  She does face a couple of questions, however: first, her family has received almost $300,000 in government funds.  Now as a budget cutting Teabagger, she rationalizes it this way: first, $26,000 was for a counseling program at her husband's company, and her Wisconsin farm received $260,000 in federal subsidies that was owed to her father-in-law.  She didn't get the money, no!  It was what they deserved!

Sound familiar?

The NAACP recently condemned the Tea Party for its rampant racism, saying the group has verbally and physically harrassed Black members of Congress and they often carry signs depicting or comparing Obama as a monkey.

Apparently, this

and this

are racist. I wonder why the NAACP didn't say anything sooner?

Or is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Everyone can relax now! The oil spill is under control.

The Chosen One is going to the Gulf Coast.

Reading the Health Care Bill Part 1

If one of the purposes of the health care bill is to reduce the growth of health care spending (Page 4, lines 1-2), why is there going to be an Excise Tax on medical devices (Part 1, Section 552)? Won't that increase the cost to hospitals? They will pass along those increased costs to the consumer as all excise taxes are passed along. That will accelerate the growth of health care spending.

The President has been on the record saying that his plan won't have waiting lists, and won't reduce benefits. Yet the temporary High Risk Pool that will go into effect until the bill becomes law can, to eliminate deficits, reduce benefits, increase premiums, or establish waiting lists (Page 26, lines 2-4). Doesn't that break the President's promise?

The Chosen One promised us a transparent government. What he didn't mention is that all meetings related to transparency will be opague.

Joe Biden is having one of the those closed transparency meetings today.

This health care thing might be less stringent than we thought. Back in November, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said women should stop getting mammograms every year--or, in other words, limit the health care options for women. As I predicted, this recommendation was put into the health care bill. That way, when the Feds take over the health care industry, they won't have to pay so much for mammograms.

I guess I wasn't alone in my objection to this breast screening limit. Womens groups, doctors, and mammogram machine makers (predictably) flooded Capitol Hill with calls, and the limit on the number of mammograms a woman may get under any government plan will be removed.

Yes, this is all politics as usual. But that's what happens when you politicize health care.

Hmm. Apparently, the Chosen One misspoke when he authorized $787 billion economic stimulus package that was almost all construction projects. Remember? He told us that repairing bridges and roads would put Americans back to work, and America's college graduates and laid off investment bankers would flock--FLOCK, I say--to these construction jobs. As I predicted back in March, it didn't happen.

According to an AP story:

Spend a lot or spend nothing at all, it didn't matter, the AP analysis showed: Local unemployment rates rose and fell regardless of how much stimulus money Washington poured out for transportation, raising questions about Obama's argument that more road money would address an "urgent need to accelerate job growth."

Bush tried the same ploy during his administration and we called him stupid. A Democrat does it and gets a Nobel Prize.

Waitaminit!

I thought the world would erupt in orgasmic joy with the arrival of Obama and Peace would descend from Heaven and angels would fly through the air. Apparently no one told Iran and North Korea. According to CNBC (formerly the biggest Obama cheerleaders whose bias is obvious but not harmful, like FOX's), under Obama the threats those countries pose has gotten worse.

I guess North Korea and Iran don't put a lot of stock in Nobel Prizes.

Hold it! Does this mean that George W. Bush was right in not engaging in direct talks, as Obama wants to do?

I have never understood how a Catholic politician could be a good Catholic and still support abortion. I mean, the Catholic Church says that's a really bad thing. But most Catholic politicians are able to dance around the issue. Some said that their religion didn't apply to their politics and their politics didn't apply to their religion. Apparently, now that Ted Kennedy is pinin' for the fjords, the Providence bishop has barred Representative Patrick Kennedy from receiving communion because of his stand on abortion.

I say that's a good thing. You can't have on morality in public and one on Sunday. You should walk the talk you talk.

The US Preventative Services Task Force, a government board, has recommended that women over 40 stop having mammograms. Let me restate this: A government board has suggested that women stop getting mammograms because they aren't needed.

And we're going to let the government run health care.

Pelosi and Obama are strangely silent as a corrupt former member of Congress is sentenced to 13 years in prison. And so is the media, who followed every step of the trails and tribulations of the previous administration. I wonder why?

Oh yeah, that's right. He's a Democrat.

Obama is going to close Gitmo. And the detainees are going to Illinois. The Feds are buying an old prison from the state of Illinois. Obama is from Illinois. Coincidence or payback?

Three years ago, Congress, at the behest of America's lendors, passed a sweeping bankruptcy reform law that made it harder for you and me to file bankruptcy. They cited abuse as the reason for the legislation.

In retrospect, it seems that what really happened is that lenders knew what was coming. They knew that the liberalization of lending requirements under the Clinton administration was going to come back to haunt us, just as Clinton's funding cuts for New Orleans' levee system would wreak havoc later. (To be fair, Bush also cut funding, but the world only blames Bush.)

Anyway, now, bankruptcies filings are climbing. Don't you think it's ironic that banks that didn't want you or me to file bankruptcy are now filing bankruptcy? Do you think they are intentionally abusing the system?