Something Wicked Is Coming...

 

 

I've been racking my brain, trying to come up with a clever April Fools message for you, but it seems like everything that's worth a darn has already been done.

 

Suddenly it struck me!  The most brain-numbing, seemingly unbelievable April Fools story of all time is staring me right in the face and it's going to happen whether I write about it or not.  I guess we could officially kick it off on April Fools Day, although it's going to take its sweet time moseying through our defenseless  lives until November.

 

That's right, the Primary and General Elections are making their frontal assault, and it is already turning ugly. Politicians are scurrying higgledy-piggledy through our lives and they are going to grab us by our throats, take us through twists and turns, lies and deceptions, and umpteen billion dollars in loud, obnoxious, and intrusive television commercials...until we scream for cyanide capsules to end it all.

 

Have these mega-rich tycoons with deep pockets and politicians with shallow personalities no shame?  Have they no sense of honesty?  Have they no...scruples?

 

Why don't we turn the tables on them this year.  Why don't we vote for the one who buys the least number of television commercials, colorful mail box mailers, radio spots and door knob hangers?  That way, we'll be sure we're voting for the one that told the least number of lies, too.
 

 

And remember, kiddies...if you see their lips moving - they're probably telling a whopper.
 



Hate is in their blood...

 

 

Why in the world would Montana want to send a Tea Party, government-hater like Steve Daines to the U. S. Senate?

Well, lets look at a few reason why not...

The U.S. House has blocked nearly every move by the President.  They have cut taxes for the wealthy; gerrymandered and suppressed the minority vote in every district possible; repealed "Obamacare" 51 times at a cost of over $54 million to the taxpayers; shut down the government, wasting a whopping $21 billion; refused to pass a single jobs bill; blocked immigration reform; refused background checks on gun sales; refused a minimum wage increase or equal pay; made abortion much harder to get; proud of the fact they're winning the war on women; cut food stamps, even to our veterans; prevented extending unemployment benefits; and got away with filibustering the veterans' benefits bill!

They've angered women, blacks, Hispanics, seniors, gays, unions, teachers, police, firemen, people out of work, minimum wage earners, and just about every vet and veterans' organization there is.

And, they only have to go to work 97 days this year!

Think how much havoc they could do if they had to actually put in regular working hours?

Still want to vote Republican?

Still want to vote for Congressman Steve Daines for the U.S. Senate?  After all, his voting record is spelled out in the above listing of "accomplishments."

Source of Some Information:  Americans Against the Tea Party

 



Take Another Look, Voters...

 

Congressman Daines and his Band of Tea Party Brothers

I have been to the mountain top (outside of Bozeman, MT) and I have looked into that peaceful, city and I have seen the truth... about that scroundrel, Congressman Steve Daines (R-MT).

 

And I can tell you he is a charlatan, a fake, a phony and a pretender.  He tells Montanans he is a job creator, yet he voted to shut down the government, which cost his state's economy millions of dollars. His mumbled defense was that he later voted to end the shutdown...after the harm had already been done.

 

In a media stunt, he participated in a Meals on Wheels delivery to Montana Seniors.  Of course, he was hoping no one would remember how he voted, just weeks prior, to gut that very program.

 

He's not satisfied to target just seniors, either.  Some time ago, he attended a Republican-held public relations stunt, billed as a training session on how to communicate with women.  After that enlightenment, he proceeded to vote for an anti-abortion bill that would have no exception for rape or incest. Various other issues were also on his chopping block, such as not giving women the right to determine the best health care for their own bodies.  He also co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act that would overturn Roe v. Wade.  Other actions he has taken would allow insurance companies to charge more for health coverage for women than for men.

 

Perhaps the most egregious actions by Daines is not just his Tea Party mentality concerning women, seniors, and Montana workers in general, but his deceptive and unapologetic defense of his voting record. He appears to be very proud of his ruthless ways.

 

In nearly two years into his term of office, he has managed to mislead and outright lie to the Montana voters on a fairly regular basis.  He tells Montanans what he will do for us and then tells his Tea Party cronies back in Washington what he will do to us!

 

Now, he thinks he's ready for the U.S. Senate.

 

Think about the damage to Montana a "Tea Party Two-Face" can do there!

 

I implore you as Montana Voters to climb that mountain and find out for yourselves...who is the REAL Steve Daines?
 

 

 

 

Hard to Remember - Easy to Forget

 

 

You remember Donald "Rummy" Rumsfeld, George W. Bush's military genius?

 

Yeah, we all do.  And it ain't the best thoughts we've ever had.

 

"Rummy" was the author of some of the most stupid remarks ever made during our misadventure in Iraq. You remember, of course, that war, don't you?  The one where the Administration lied to us about why we needed to invade that hapless country.  

 

Remarks like: "As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time."

"Osama Bin Laden is either alive and well or alive and not to well or not alive."

"We know where the weapons of mass destruction are.  They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north...somewhat."

"Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war."

"I'm not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work."

And finally...my favorite:
"Needless to say, the President is correct.  Whatever it was he said."

But yesterday, he decided it was time to get back into the news with an idiotic observation of President Obama:

"A trained ape could do a better job."

Yep, we all miss old "Rummy" and his W.C. Field impersonations.  One side-note about this guy has to be remembered, however:  He even made his boss look smart. 

 

 

  

No Bigots Here...

Hillary Clinton told a group of people why she had chosen Yale Law School over Harvard.

 

She was accepted at both institutions and while visiting Harvard, she was introduced to one of their officials as a lady who was making up her mind whether to go to Harvard or their close competitor.

 

The official looked down at her and said, "First, we don't have any close competitors, and second, we don't need any more women here."

 

That, of course, "made my choice much easier," she said.

 

It is easy to turn a blind eye to bigotry - and the bigots - and proclaim that "I don't happen to have a prejudicial bone in my body, and I'm sure most others don't either."

 

It's about time we all admit that we do have prejudices and some are deep to the bone, too.  Choosing to deny anything to the contrary is being both a fibber and a hypocrite. Putting our nose skyward and ignoring criticism fools no one and fixes nothing.

 

If there were but a handful of biased people in the country - as some would have us believe -  they could not have gained the influence to discriminate against women, racial minorities, those of alternative sexual life styles, or anything else they see as different from their own viewpoints. It takes a large number of people to produce that kind of injustice.

 

We made great strides when we elected a man of color to be our president.

 

Now, we need to go further and elect a woman to fill that office.

 

 

 



The Bell Tolls For All of Us...

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of a continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

(America) is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend's were.

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

 

-  John Donne

 

 

When I think of the trials and tribulations of today's America, I remember the poem, "No man is an island."

 

It should remind us that we are not three-hundred million islands, left to our own devices and cast into a sea of turmoil and chance.  Our country's beginning  included the freedom of all people to worship as they chose, to recognize that all people were born equal, and to be free to elect their own leaders.

Most importantly, there was an inherent awareness that we were all Americans and united we could succeed at anything. If there were hostile attacks, each came to the aid and security of others.

Today, it is being whispered that we have two Americas.  That whisper is getting louder - and more truthful.  We can paint the two in many ways:  Rich and poor; have and have-not, Conservative and Liberal, bigot and tolerant, hawk and dove,  or powerful and meek. 

The greatest of these, in my view, are the haves and the have-nots.  There is no rational argument about whether the wealth of the rich should be reapportioned to the poor.  There is, however, an argument about whether the rich should begin paying their fair share instead of passing laws to further feather their own nests. The wealthiest in America are becoming more so while the rest are losing ground.  Jobs that were once in great supply have disappeared because wealthy corporations have moved their manufacturing to distant lands in order to improve on their once adequate profit picture. Returning those jobs to our shores would improve our middle class immeasurably! 

Hence, the reason for two Americas.  And, it is the same reason why various ancient civilizations failed.  Do none of us remember the words whispered in our ears, "those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it?" 

America was once involved in mankind.  Now, each man's loss diminishes us all.  We do not need to ask for whom the bell tolls...

It tolls for America.

 

A War In Need of Warriors...

 

 

We Americans are, for the most part, a wishy-washy lot.

 

I know you'll agree with me that there are more middle class and poor folks running around this country than there are rich, super-rich, and obnoxiously rich folks. That would have to be a fact that no one could deny.

 

And yet, the rich seem to get their way too much of the time.  They buy elections, verbally assassinate any candidate that gets in their way, pay good money to see that rules are changed regarding who can vote and who can't, and they  legislatively cause loopholes to appear enabling them to skate past the tax collector.

 

The mega-rich have systematically bought politicians who over the years have done their bidding in Congress. And because those elected officials have done such a good job of giving comfort to the even-more comfortable, they became rich and comfy themselves. 

 

But where are the masses who can, with their many votes, stop this lunacy?  Who among us can see through the stacks and sacks of money and begin voting for someone who is not in favor of more wealth and power for the rich, but in favor of decent treatment and aid to the workers, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the warriors of our military?

 

There is but one, simple answer:  Get off your butts and go vote!  The rich can not take that away from you and they can not sway your choice of candidates with a truckload of money to buy seemingly endless advertisements.

 

Only you can allow them to manipulate you!

 

  



Beware the Idiots of March...

 

 

Far be it from me to advise anyone to worship at the "Altar of the Opinion Writers" in your local newspaper.  Or, at the altar of your favorite Opinion Bloggers, for that matter.

 

The Wall Street Journal - not exactly your left-leaning publication of choice - wrote an opinion this week aimed at their right-wing readers that is both insightful and necessary reading regarding the Affordable Care Act, which they like to call "Obamacare."

 

No Conservative Candidate worth his or her salt has ever started a speech without referring to the evils of "Obamacare."  Likewise, they have never replied to a question on a talk/news show without inserting a plea for the repeal of "Obamacare" at some point.

 

Conservative Members of the U.S. House have brought to a failed vote no less than forty times the need to repeal the hapless ACA.

 

The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, is begging its brothers and sisters to the Right to forgo this repeal nonsense and work on fixing those things that are weak in "Obamacare." This, they contend, will take them much further in their efforts at the upcoming elections.  Of course, the WSJ doesn't mention that a huge percentage of Americans want just that kind of action out of Congress.  Don't Repeal It - Fix It!

 

If the Right had worked with the Left to give Americans a better health care reform bill during the congressional battle, we wouldn't be going through all of this now.

 

But, while I have no crystal ball, I'm betting few -if any - Republicans will heed the WSJ's opinion.  The reason they didn't work to make a better bill was obvious:  Their own election prospects were more important than the needs of Americans. 

 

...and doesn't that sound familiar?

 

 



Montana is not for sale...

Steve Daines (R-MT) pictured with some of his friends

 

The decision is ours, fellow Montanans.

 

Do we want to send Steve Daines, a super-rich guy who wants to kill Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act, to the U.S. Senate?

 

As a matter of fact, the only thing he doesn't want to kill is the low tax rate that the rich (including Daines) have enjoyed since George W. Bush first became President.  I guess you would have to include all of those obscene tax loop holes they enjoy, also.

 

Steve Daines (R-MT) is trying to convince Montanans that we should elect him to the U.S. Senate because he says he is "one of us" and understands our pain.  You know, like any ol' run-of-the-mill multi-millionaire does.

 

He is a man of great money, great ties to the rich and famous, and an even greater ego.  He worked at a tech company in Bozeman and became mega-rich when it sold to another tech company.  Now, he's looking for a new hobby and has sold his soul to the Conservative Tea Party Movement, if they will help him get elected.

 

Let's not consider adding another rich guy to the U.S. Senate.  They are out of step with America's ninety-eight percent and make no bones about it...except at campaign time.  Then they find a way to hold their nose and explain to us how they understand our plight.

 

It must be so hard to grovel for votes from we, the unwashed.

 

Don't send a Daines to do a real Montana job.

 

   

HATE!...A CPAC Trademark...

"President Obama is a Subhuman Mongrel"

 

 

First, we need to state the obvious: The Conservative Political Action Committee is filled with hate!

And, as the CPAC Convention continues, the "crazies" prance onto the stage; each giving their best shot at the most outlandish, hate-filled character assassination of the president they can muster.

There are a few newbies in the parade, but the oldies give the best performances as to what the CPAC is really best known for: The haters and the clowns!  It brings to mind this musical question...How did that work for y'all at the last presidential election?

Last time, CPAC paraded before America the likes of Michelle Bachmann, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich,...and other lesser-known clowns that have mercifully slipped into political oblivion.

One could only conclude that they are banking on running out the same clown parade and hoping for a different outcome.

The answer, of course, is it's not going to work.  American Voters are tired of hate-filled politics and clownish-styled politicians.  (Really, does anyone honestly think the likes of Michelle Bachmann has what it takes to be presidential?) 

She doesn't even have what it takes to be a good clown.

But, boy can that woman hate!
 

Issa the Inept...

Similar actions, in deed, to the movie's version of Animal House

 

 

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) is the lead inquisitor in the "Land of NO." (Better known to most of us as the U. S. House of Representatives) 

 

When he was a small lad, he had terrible dreams that would keep him awake for hours.  He only knew the culprit as the boogeyman, but when he grew into adulthood,  he decided it must have been an evil Liberal Democrat.

 

He has been trying to get even ever since.

 

Issa prowls the hallowed halls of the U.S. House in search of Liberal prey.  This once-proud institution has become a chamber of horrors when he takes his seat, stares at the poor souls at the witness table, and begins his diatribe of merciless prosecution.  He is, after all, Issa the All-Knowing!

 

His latest tactic involved cutting  the power to the minority chairman's microphone in the middle of his questioning.  When the minority chairman complained, Issa pounded his gavel and declared the committee adjourned.  No customary question of unanimous consent for adjournment by Issa was made. 

 

When things don't go Issa's way, he reminds you of that little boy who couldn't go to sleep at night. He pouts, he growls, he glares, he fumes, he scowls...but because of his party's majority numbers, he usually gets his way.

 

Later that day, a reporter asked Speaker Boehner for his thoughts on Issa's tantrum.  Yep, you guessed it...the Speaker said he supported what he did. He also  said some really nice things about the Majority Leader Issa.

 

Comes the revolution!     

 



A Snake Oil Salesman...

 

 

Junior Senator Ted Cruz (R) of Texas has but a teaspoon of experience under his belt, but a dumptruck load of arrogant, sarcastic nonsense to anyone who has the grit - and grits - to listen.

He is the Prince Charming of the Tea Party movement and can whip up a crowd of political illiterates like no other. While they understand little of what he is falsely selling, it all sounds like a generous plate of Texas Barbecue to them. 

It's as if the family of South Fork's J.R. Ewing came to life and began preaching the gospel of "We're so right and the rest of the country is so wrong!"

There have been many politicians of yesteryear that were tagged with the Biblical label "Anti-Christ."  Some probably even came close to the dreaded description.  Some spoke with forked tongue and diabolical intentions.  Some turned out to be nothing more than a wimp with an oversized ego and a mouth to match.

But, this Cruz guy....I'm not saying he's the "Real McCoy" yet...but he's come closer  than anyone I can think of.

The sad part of this analogy is, Cruz would likely take it as a compliment.  And his followers would flat-damn gobble it up!

  

The Crank that Roars...

Is Senator John McCain (R-AZ) looking for a concise, well-thought out plan by America to help in the resolution of the Russia/Ukraine problem?

 

Is he looking for across-the-aisle congressional cooperation with the administration toward successful negotiations that would not require military action?

 

Is he still smarting from getting his butt whipped by Barack Obama?

 

If you have answered "YES" to all of the above, you are an astute follower of politics and world news.  You can connect the dots of Senator McCain's vitriolic slamming of this country's president and judge him accordingly.

 

In my estimation, he has evolved into an angry, resentful, revengeful...and cranky old man who has outlived his usefulness as a United States Senator. 

 

Our enemies must view him as their undercover weapon of choice.  He can do more to sabotage our nation's actions than anything said by those who are opposed to us.

 

And, I do not recall McCain's furor over America's misguided, fabricated reasons for invading Iraq under his president's watch, either!

 

Perhaps those were his quiet years.

 

 

They are still as mean as ever...

 

 

Maybe they think we voters have a short memory.  Maybe they think we weren't paying attention.  Or, maybe they think we just don't care.

 

Well I'm hear to remind them that none of that is going to happen if I have anything to say about it!

 

They made their intentions known - loud and clear - way back during the last presidential election.  During one of their infamous town hall meetings, someone was speaking in support of a reformed health care system in this country.  They pointed out someone they knew who was in a coma in a hospital and had no insurance.  What should be done to help? A loud Tea Party cheer went up when one of their members said to let them die if they couldn't afford health care.  True story!  (And they had the gall to accuse the current "Obamacare" of "death panels.")

 

 

They have been opposed to ANY reform of America's health care since the git-go, and they refused to work with the administration to give Americans a decent plan.

 

I remember all of this...and I hope all of you do to.

 

And, when you vote for a new U.S. Senator from Montana this November...remember who has been trying to kill the Affordable Care Act, too!

 

He's a Tea Party guy; he's a wolf in sheep's clothing; and he's one of THEM.