Tom Coburn Is An Idiot

Tom Coburn is a hypocrite.  If this Senator from Oklahoma was so concerned about our national financial situation before now, and will not allow a bill that creates new benefits for veterans because of the cost, then why has he voted for the War In Iraq?  Why has he voted for supplemental bills for war spending?  Why has he voted for other spending on defense?  And never asked for cuts to other programs before now?  And why does a Senator that is for the troops and is patriotic holding up this Veteran’s omnibus health bill that will help families financially that have their family members coming back from war zones disabled and to help the disabled veterans themselves?  Because he is playing politics yet again with the military and their families.

The senator holding up consideration of an omnibus veterans’ health bill doesn’t hate veterans and their families, but he does hate the idea of creating new benefits without paying for them, his spokesman says.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is using Senate rules to block a vote on S 1963, a major veterans bill, unless he has the chance to offer amendments to pay for the new benefits it creates, especially stipends, health benefits, counseling and other programs aimed at family caregivers of seriously wounded combat veterans.

Idiot is too nice for Tom Coburn and others of his ilk that will now admit that veterans and their families deserve privileges that the rest of society do not deserve.  The word for those people like Sen. Coburn:  F*****!

You want to cut programs to pay for the disabled veterans?  Fine, take money from the bloated defense budget that goes to corporations that consistantly have overruns of costs and cut those companies form government contracts.  You have this veteran’s health care bill paid for and then you can use the rest of the savings from the contracts to give other companies defense contracts that will get done within the budgetary agreement between the government and the corporations.

One of the ideas would be to divert unspent money for economic stimulus projects to cover veterans benefit costs, Hart said. Other ideas, like cutting other programs, are also under consideration, Hart said.

Hart’s comments come as 13 major military and veterans’ groups are urging Senate leaders to move forward despite Coburn’s objections. There has been no word if this might happen, but there has been a flurry of discussion about what it might take to get the Senate to approve the measure before Veterans’ Day.

…..

Those signing the letter include the nation’s major veterans groups — The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, AmVets, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Blinded Veterans Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Jewish War Veterans, plus the Military Officers Association of America, National Military Family Association and Wounded Warrior Project.

Steve Robertson, legislative director for The American Legion, said delaying the bill hurts families caring for severely wounded combat veterans who would benefit from the stipends, health care, counseling and respite care that would be provided to caregivers in the bill.

“For a lot of family caregivers, delay is costing them their jobs and their savings. It’s having a big impact,” he said.

This bill needs to be passed and the benefits need to get to these families quickly.  And yet, we have those F****** in Oklahoma actually praising Sen. Coburn.

Democrats back in Oklahoma also called on Coburn to lift his hold.

At a news conference in Oklahoma City, state Democratic Party Chairman Todd Goodman called Coburn’s actions “a show of political gamesmanship.”

Miguel Medrano, Oklahoma Democratic Party 5th District vice chairman and a member of the group’s Veterans Committee, said delaying the measure is not an option.

“Devoted families caring for seriously injured service men and women are losing their jobs, their health insurance, their savings, caring for their injured family members,” said Medrano, an Iraq War veteran.

State Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones said in statement responding to the Democrats that Coburn has the courage to stand up for veterans, their children and grandchildren “by demanding that Congress not write another multibillion-dollar hot check that puts future generations in even deeper debt.”

Hey, State Rep. Party Chairman Gary Jones, I have a couple of questions for you.  Did you oppose the Iraq War since it was funded by going deeper in debt?  Did you oppose the Tax Cuts for the top 1% of earners because it wasn’t paid for by cutting other things?  And how does keeping funding from taking care of veterans standing up for them?  Hypocritical F*****!

This Just Asks For The Death Penalty

The 4 to 7 guys who actively participated in it should not be allowed to live.  I don’t care if it is a minor or not that committed this crime.  And I wonder what in hell is wrong with the dozen or so people that watched as this went on for 2 1/2 hours.

RICHMOND, CA (KGO) — The crime itself was sickening enough. A Bay Area teenager was gang raped after her homecoming dance Saturday night in Richmond. Now police are looking for as many as a dozen people who watched it happen and did nothing.

Police are looking for potentially as many as a dozen spectators and between four and seven actual rapists in this case. Police say some people walked by and actually participated in this crime. No one called police and to make matters worse, authorities told ABC7 some of these people may have recorded this entire rape on their cell phone cameras.

…..

Authorities arrived as the vicious gang rape that lasted two and a half hours was still going on.

Passersby had stopped to watch, some even participated.

“I would say we’re looking at four to seven active participants of sexual assault and extremely violent felonies. We’re also suspecting there were up to a dozen people who witnessed what had happened and their involvement is unknown,” says Richmond Police spokesperson Lt. Mark Gagan.

I don’t want to hear about how these guys are good kids or just misunderstood.  They are no better than rabid animals.  They need to be put down and eliminated from society.  And I would eliminate those that stood there and watched this sickening stuff from the human gene pool as well.  There is no excuse for doing this to another human being.  Being civilized means elevating yourself up from the basest instincts that humans have, not succumbing to them.

Newt Arguing Against Self-Identification Polls For What?

Newt Gingrich is saying that ABC has rigged it’s party affiliation poll.  I have 2 points to say here and then I will chalk this up to Newt trying to further the GOP talking point that the MSM is in the pocket of Democrats.

1.  Please tell me why Party affiliation is so important.  Even if the ABC poll is correct and only 20% of people identify themselves as Republican, there are over 40% of self-proclaimed independents in the poll.  You get 3/4 of their votes and you will every election that you have.  Maybe it is to try and argue that the GOP isn’t hurting.  And we all know that is false because of the internal fighting that is taking place within the GOP ranks.  But it doesn’t matter if only 7% of the people self-identify as Republicans or Democrats because in every race across the land, Political Party affiliation is taking less and less of a role in who is voted into office.

2.  And I could see Mr. Gingrich’s argument holding water if the ABC poll was an outlier, but it is not.  Here are past Party Identification polls for the past month:

ABC/Washington Post (10/18)–20/33/42
CBS News (10/8)–22/33/45
AP/GfK (10/5)–21/33/26
Ipsos/McClatchy (10/5)–19/33/48
Gallup (10/4)–27/33/38
Pew (10/4)–23/34/37
NBC/WSJ (9/20)–18/31/43

The Republican Number is in Red, Democratic in Blue, and Independent is in Black.  I wonder why he isn’t breathing fire about the NBC/WSJ poll that shows the GOP Party Affiliation in the teens?  Could it be that he doesn’t want to take a chance and anger the Wall Street Journal and the reporters there?  Nah.  Newt wouldn’t be political like that.

The numbers show that both parties are losing self-identified members because they are not doing what the American people want.  And to me, that is a good thing.  Maybe, just maybe people are willing to think outside what political affiliation was ingrained into them when they were growing up.  Now the trick is to ensure that the American people understand the America our founding fathers wanted to leave us should become what the future holds for this country.

Anything For A Buck

That headline goes towards the State of Arizona for actually thinking to close the state budget by letting the management if Death Row inmates to a privately run corporation.  What dumbasses.

One of the newest residents on Arizona’s death row, a convicted serial killer named Dale Hausner, poked his head up from his television to look at several visitors strolling by, each of whom wore face masks and vests to protect against the sharp homemade objects that often are propelled from the cells of the condemned.

It is a dangerous place to patrol, and Arizona spends $4.7 million each year to house inmates like Mr. Hausner in a super-maximum-security prison. But in a first in the criminal justice world, the state’s death row inmates could become the responsibility of a private company.

State officials will soon seek bids from private companies for 9 of the state’s 10 prison complexes that house roughly 40,000 inmates, including the 127 here on death row. It is the first effort by a state to put its entire prison system under private control.

Maybe the state of Arizona and other around the nation should do something radical here.  Actually pass laws that make sense and eliminate the stupid ones.  And as for that $2 Billion deficit that the great state of Arizona is short in their budget, release prisoners doing hard time that don’t pose a threat to the public.  Close at least 1 of the 10 state prisons there.  That will save you lots of money.  And if you allow a corporation to be in charge of the incarceration of Death Row inmates, then the state is more screwed up than anything that I have heard of in a long time. Because the studies have shown that privately run prisons don’t save hardly any money for the state.  It just allows the corporation to leech off the taxpayer’s money.

The second thing that the state should do is tell the Federal Government to stop housing their prisoners in state facilities.  The Feds want these people in jail, then there are many Federal prisons in the 50 states.  That will also save the state money. Do that and start electing politicians that know more about goverance besides spending on one side and always thinking that tax cuts is the cure for everything on the other.  Imagine that scenario.  Arizona showing the way that state run government should be run.

Obama Administration Just Following In The Bush Tradition

And just as I didn’t like the Bush Administration, I’m starting to get a familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach.  The Obama Administration was supposed to bring about change, but yet they fight with news organizations just like the Bushies did.  And before I get the obligatory, “Bush didn’t do that,”  here is video of Dana Perino arguing that NBC News smacked of political bias.

It is high time for the Obama Administration to stop referring to Fox News as the propaganda arm of the GOP.  It might be, it might not be.  But if this Administration wants to elevate the discourse of Washington out of the gutter, then go tell Fox News that you believe that they have been unfair in their coverage and that you will not deal with them.  Don’t give them conditions or standards that they have to meet.  Just monitor what they report and if the White House decides that they have been given fair coverage by Fox, then give them interviews and access that had previously been closed to them.  Enough of this petty fighting.  We have major issues that need to be fixed.  And those are being ignored by a news organization that feels disrespected when they cheer for anything that might cause this Administration problems, and we have an Administration that can’t let go of the feeling of persecution from some of the shots that have been taken at them by the news organization.  Childish behavior from both sides.

Detroit + Gov’t Assistance = Embarrassment

This is an embarrassment.  Between 25,000 and 50,000 Americans in Detroit asking for Federal Assistance for heat and rent.

Thousands hoping to get applications for federal help on rent and utility bills turned Cobo Center into a chaotic scene today.

They came by foot, wheelchair, bicycle and car. About six left by ambulance after tensions rose and people were trampled, according to a paramedic on the scene. One unfortunate soul got his car booted.

Detroiters were trying to pick up 5,000 federal assistance applications from the city at Cobo because Detroit received nearly $15.2 million in federal dollars under the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, which is for temporary financial assistance and housing services to individuals and families who are homeless, or who would be homeless without this help.

People in wheelchairs and others using canes were being leaned on by people too weak to stand. Emergency medical technicians on the scene said they treated applicants who were injured during the rush to get inside the venue.

That’s what happens when a town full of broke people gets a whiff of free money, said Walter Williams, 51, who came before the sun to get an application and a shot at some federal assistance.

“This morning, I seen the curtain pulled back on the misery,” he said. “People fighting over a line. People threatening to shoot each other. Is this what we’ve come to?”

Why, yes.  This is what we have come to.  People wanting something for nothing.  Instead of asking for government assistance, I don’t understand why these people aren’t out looking for at least a part-time job in Detroit.  At least that is what I would be doing if there was a chance of losing my home.  According to Careerbuilder.com, there are 2,569 jobs located within a 30 mile radius of Detroit.  I am sure that there are more jobs out there.  And yes, you might be working a full-time job right now, but don’t tell me that you can’t put in 20 more hours a week to keep your home and dignity.

And yes, I know that there are people out there that truly need this assistance.  You know, those that are disabled or are elderly.  Those out there that are able to walk, talk, and do things that an everyday normal adult can do should not be able to get this assistance.  I understand that selling shoes is not the most wonderful thing in the world to do.  I have done that, but if it pays you money and gets you off the taxpayer’s dime, then you should have to do it.  I am tired of lazy bums, charletons, and cheats living their lives off the backs of the taxpayers.  This government assistance just goes to show that there are people out there not willing to pay their own way.

Another Hairbrained Idea

I love the proposal out there of a Military “intervention” to oust President Obama from office.  John L. Perry points out things that are the talking points to this conspiracy theory that is gaining ground in the conservative community.  Here are the points he makes:

So, view the following through military eyes:

Officers swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Unlike enlisted personnel, they do not swear to “obey the orders of the president of the United States.” Top military officers can see the Constitution they are sworn to defend being trampled as American institutions and enterprises are nationalized. They can see that Americans are increasingly alarmed that this nation, under President Barack Obama, may not even be recognizable as America by the 2012 election, in which he will surely seek continuation in office. They can see that the economy — ravaged by deficits, taxes, unemployment, and impending inflation — is financially reliant on foreign lender governments. They can see this president waging undeclared war on the intelligence community, without whose rigorous and independent functions the armed services are rendered blind in an ever-more hostile world overseas and at home. They can see the dismantling of defenses against missiles targeted at this nation by avowed enemies, even as America’s troop strength is allowed to sag. They can see the horror of major warfare erupting simultaneously in two, and possibly three, far-flung theaters before America can react in time. They can see the nation’s safety and their own military establishments and honor placed in jeopardy as never before.

And in every single point, I am waiting for any proof of criminality or law breaking. And yet, I do not. The constitution being trampled? Have you seen the last 10 Presidents and their Administrations? Every administration has taken liberties with American Law and the constitution. So why are we going to take the stance that the abuses stop here?

And if we decide that the people don’t have the choice in their leader and that the military can overrule their decisions, then we don’t have a democracy or even a Republic. We have a military dictatorship and that is not what we were founded on, no matter what anybody says that the current Administration is doing to eliminate our defenses and currying favor from our enemies. And that does not bode well for anybody.

UPDATE: Newsmax has taken down the article and has said the following things:

Newsmax spokeswoman Paula Pradines said that John L. Perry — the columnist who claimed a military coup to “resolve the Obama problem” was increasingly possible — is just an “unpaid blogger” for the magazine.

“He has no official relationship with Newsmax other than as an unpaid blogger,” she said.

Pradines said Newsmax pulled the column after several reader complaints “to insure that this article was not misinterpreted.”

“Newsmax strongly believes in the principles of Constitutional government,” she added, “and would never advocate or insinuate any suggestion of an activity that would undermine our democracy or democratic institutions.”

Really, because on the Newsmax bio page, Perry is a person that contributes a regular column.  He has done so on a almost weekly basis since 1999.  Nice spin control there.  Also, I have a memory of Newsmax advocating that the Unitary Executive policy be used for the Amercian government.  Constitutional Government Principles my ass.

Using The Patriot Act For Other Things Besides Terrorism

Imagine That!  Our Government using parts of the Patriot Act to fight regular crime.  One small problem, it breaks the rights guaranteed to people in the constitution.

The Justice Department made 763 requests for “sneak-and-peek” warrants in 2008, but only three of those had to with terrorism investigations, Sen. Russ Feingold told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.

“Sneak-and-peek” warrants allow law enforcement officials to break into homes and businesses and search the premises without the investigated party knowing. The authority for them was passed as part of the USA Patriot Act in late 2001, ostensibly as a counter-terrorism measure.

Sen. Feingold (D-WI) said that 65 percent of the cases for which sneak-and-peek warrants were used were drug investigations. And Assistant Attorney General David Kris told Feingold that, in most terrorism cases, surveillance methods are “generally covert altogether,” and do not use peak-and-peek warrants.

At least three requests were made for what the congress said the provision in the 2001 Patriot Act was for.  Of course, maybe we should just turn a blind eye to the other 760 “sneak-and-peek” warrants that have been issued, we don’t want that pesky 4th Amendment of our United States Constitution to be a hinderance to the growing police state that we find ourselves in.  After all, if the authorities cannot or will not be held accountable for what they do, then we might as well give into Big Brother and all the trappings of a One Nation World

Thank You To The GOP Writing The Anti-ACORN Bill

You know something, I like when the GOP decides to fight corruption, especially when they overreach on something they think will bring political points.

Going after ACORN may be like shooting fish in a barrel lately — but jumpy lawmakers used a bazooka to do it last week and may have blown up some of their longtime allies in the process.

The congressional legislation intended to defund ACORN, passed with broad bipartisan support, is written so broadly that it applies to “any organization” that has been charged with breaking federal or state election laws, lobbying disclosure laws, campaign finance laws or filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency. It also applies to any of the employees, contractors or other folks affiliated with a group charged with any of those things.

In other words, the bill could plausibly defund the entire military-industrial complex. Whoops.

Oh no!  The defense contractors and other companies committing fraud of the United States government like Halliburton and Xe(Blackwater) wouldn’t have access to any more government money.  And that in turn could force major problems for the corporations of the United States and the world.  Damn.  This legislation by the GOP could force a depression that would make the depression of the 30’s seem like a pothole.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) picked up on the legislative overreach and asked the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) to sift through its database to find which contractors might be caught in the ACORN net.

Lockheed Martin and Northrop Gumman both popped up quickly, with 20 fraud cases between them, and the longer list is a Who’s Who of weapons manufacturers and defense contractors.

Here is a link to that longer list.  A couple of Big names on that list are:

Hewlitt-Packard, General Electric, Honeywell, Health Net, Royal Dutch Shell, IBM, Merck, Westinghouse, Dell, BP, Exxon Mobil, GlaxoSmithKline, AT&T, Corrections Corporation of America, and General Motors.

And just guess who is fighting to have this legislation declared unconstitutional?  You are right, those people who care about law and rules, the Democrats!  Always fighting to achieve defeat from the jaws of victory.  There is no way that this legislation is meant to harm one specific organization the way it was written.  Of course it was meant to get ACORN out of the way, but I wouldn’t argue that point.  This bill will allow the government to eliminate those companies that have committed fraud against the American tax payer from getting anymore of our money.  And isn’t that what we all want?

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/whoops-anti-acorn-bill-ro_n_294949.html

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/whoops-anti-acorn-bill-ro_n_294949.html

Why Should Fox Be Upset About President Obama Not Being On Their Network?

After all the White House had a great line about Fox News:

“We figured Fox would rather show So You Think You Can Dance than broadcast an honest discussion about health insurance reform,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told ABC News.

How true.  If SYTYCD is more important than the President being on your network, then why should he give you the courtesy of stopping by your network studios and talk to you?  Remember, courtesy is a two-way street.  Besides, you’d have to eliminate the 3 gas bags that do Faux and Fiends to really show the White House that you care about journalism.  I’m sure that Doocy, Kilmeade, and the blonde bimbo will be sticking around for a while, so that is out of the picture.  You know, maybe give the White House transcripts of your dealings with the GOP and how you coordinate your attacks, and then maybe the President will grace you with his presence.  Otherwise, go play with the teabaggers and promote more of their rallies.

And here is Chris Wallace and Billo The Clown putting their 2 cents in about the President not being on Fox:

“There’s a kind of childishness or pettiness about it,” Wallace said, adding later that the current occupants of the White House “are the biggest bunch of crybabies that I have dealt with in my 30 years in Washington.”

For his part, O’Reilly puffed his chest and declared: “The power shift in the media is now with Fox News and talk radio, and the Obama administration doesn’t seem to understand that. They can go on these shows, CNN, but it doesn’t matter anymore. We matter.”

You are right, Bill.  You do matter.  You matter in the discussion of the prime time talk show host that can’t seem to remember what he has said over the past years.  You matter because you lie to the American public time after time and don’t get called on it from your viewers because they believe in you, Bill.  Chris Wallace matters because, OK, he doesn’t matter, but we will say he does just to make him feel better.  But since they are a bunch of crybabies, leave them alone.  Let them throw their temper tantrum according to you and let’s see if the carpetbombing that you have given this White House so far will let them think about coming on your station.  Fair and Balanced, my ass.  More like Looney Tunes and Out to Lunch.