Meanwhile, back at the plantation...

 

 

We all seem to have our little hangups.  One of mine is the rise of bigots in America, and it's like they are capable of counting off at least three things they are against before breakfast time.

 

Take our neighbors in some of the southern states, for example. How can anyone hate Democrats and love pork jowls, catfish, and grits?

 

That just doesn't make any sense.

 

We have become a nation of nitwits who are politically incorrect, socially prehistoric, and mentally incapable of  comprehending the word compromise.

I'm convinced that America's Civil War has never been concluded, but rather just put on hold while the South regroups and comes up with "Plan B."  They are insisting that our government is about three notches lower than the belly of a cottonmouth snake and twice as dumb.

Whenever we find the will to move our nation two steps forward, they will find a way to drag us back three.  They are against country, apple pie, and rules.  They are all in love with strapping on a "hog leg" with an abundance of ammo and scaring the Hell out of decent folks at a shopping center.

Are we heading toward a second round of the 1860s brother-killing-brother and  cousin-killing-cousin fiasco?  Are we completely incapable of getting along?

One recipe to relieve all of that bottled up bigotry is to climb to the highest spot you can find and scream your hate as loud as you can.  When you come down, think about taking a second hard look at your fellow man.  You just might find that there is a more peaceful way to live together.

But don't try to convince me I shouldn't be eating my corn bread without butter and syrup.  And grits...well, just don't even get me started on that stuff.



 



Where Have All The Big Dreamers Gone?

Back in the day - more than two hundred years ago - we had the good fortune to have men with visions and passions to dream big.  They didn't, for the most part, dream big just to line their own pockets, but rather to lay down roots for a future that would make this country succeed beyond their wildest hopes.

 

If ever a dream existed that would teach all of its citizenry that "a rising tide lifts all ships," it was the talents of these founding fathers that argued, capitulated, compromised, and finally agreed on what the United States of America should become.

 

Today, we sorrowfully lack those big dreamers.  

 

The little dreamers who we have sent to Washington D.C. are too wrapped up in how each political decision will further their own march toward individual greed and power. Their efforts are hammered out in deceptive steps that allow two percent of our population to hold more than half of the country's total wealth.  Their power is displayed in buying elections to place more of their kind into office, paid for by the richest of the rich. Thus, laws were passed to continue their march of independent wealth.  Their money ends up in off-shore bank accounts which enables them to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Elsewhere, tax loopholes - appearing as if by magic  - further benefit the already-benefited.

 

In order to keep this momentum of luxury flowing, the small dreamers look for ways to keep the middle-class and poor at bay by reducing programs that once assisted them in their search for the American Dream. The more that can be cut from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Unemployment Benefits, and others, the less government will be needed.  Less government means more opportunities and less regulations for  greed and power by the small dreamers.

 

America is not moving forward as a great - and grateful - nation any longer. We are being overtaken by the greed of the few, at the expense of the many.

 

We have become a nation of "haves" and "have-nots" that now offers a new American Dream:  Lead or get the Hell out of the way. It appears that "to follow" is  no longer a viable option.  When you're out of work, out of unemployment benefits, out of health coverage, and out of hope...you're outside of the Dream and unable to follow.

We were once the product of a great democracy that came together through a common inspiration. But, there is a political party operating in America today that has been working to bury that notion.  Their fundamental manifesto is to eliminate as much of our government as possible in order to give those, the richest among us, full and complete reign.

If we are too complacent to change this downward spiral for ourselves, then the least we can do is change it for our children and grandchildren.

 

 

Are we ready and willing to let the small dreamers achieve their goals?

 

 

 

 

The Pains of Daines...

Rep. Steve Daines (R-MT)
 Montana's U.S. Senate Candidate
and all-'round poor choice

 

 

There are many Montanans who see Steve Daines (R-MT) for what he really is.  He can be described as a charlatan, a double-dealer, and a fabricator of the truth.   There is ample evidence to prove he is all of those things. 

 

He has been tutored by the best Tea Party Activists in the U.S. House of (Representatives) Horrors.  Daines has a way of telling Montana what they want to hear - and how he'll vote -  and then returning to the arms of Washington's Tea Party Radicals and voting just the opposite. 

 

The Daines/Ryan Tea Party manifesto, which is American History's most anti-middle class budget ever,  takes $3.3 trillion from programs benefiting poor and middle-class Americans, SNAP, Medicaid, and Medicare...while at the same time increasing defense spending by $483 billion to take care of their friends in the government contractor business. They also have their knives sharpened to cut taxes on the richest of the rich, cut regulations on big business moguls, refuse to bring home the jobs to American Workers, and steadfastly refusing to raise the minimum wage.

 

His evil assumptions are: poor people are lazy and government programs create work disincentives, while the money subsiding the wealthy will stimulate the economy and benefit all of God's Creatures through the "trickle down" theory.  That theory was proven wrong through Reaganomics and continues to be just as wrong-headed today!

 

Daines supporters can try to gussy him up and put bright red lipstick on him, but they can't showcase him as something he isn't...and probably never was.

 

Do your homework, voters.

 

 

 

   

The News, It Is A-Changin'...

 

 

I have taken my share of jabs at Wolf (Wolfie, as I like to call him) Blitzer of CNN fame and some of it was in pure jest.  There were times, however, when it was in pure disgust, too.

 

To put it all into a nutshell, I see the available television cable news channels and the major network news channels as guilty of "making" the news rather than "reporting" the news.  And they are getting very good at "making biased news," too. They also do a pretty good job of "getting out in front of news stories" and that causes more and more "oops" coming from networks and their on-air broadcasters.

 

I have always been a big fan of ABC, CBS, NBC news as they have worked to compete with MSNBC and FOX for America's news source.  MSNBC on the Left and FOX on the right left you wondering just how much they televised was actually truthful information.  The other three always had my vote for credible news.

 

And then there was CNN.  It appeared to me that they were always the one to trust.  They were always there and we could always count on them to deliver.

 

Not any more!

 

They all march, without a hint of shame, into politically biased apocalypses that bore into our minds ad nausem! They are never-ending repetitive continuations that scream "Breaking News" until we beg for mercy. (I surrender and watch my seventh re-run of "Gunsmoke.") 

 

As FOX and MSNBC grow in viewers, they reduce the viewership of the other once-legimate networks.  In order to ramp up viewer ratings for advertising purposes, those once-kind-of-pure news networks swallowed hard and are now trying to entice the political extremes from the Left and Right.

 

It's doesn't make for good television viewing, no matter how you see it.

 

My suggestion:  Get back to the basics of where America always received their credible, reliable news. YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER!

 

 

 

The Flightless Birds...

 

 

Once again, the two wings of the disjointed Right of the Montana GOP  are facing off at a Republican conclave in a Billings convention hall this weekend. 

 

Like the emu, these political party birds have two wings but still remains flightless.  Even though it is very speedy, it still remains grounded and only manages to run in circles.

 

Each wing of the party (the "regulars" and the "ultra conservatives" sometimes known as the Tea Party) boasts of being the one true Republican.  The "ultras" seem to be very happy to destroy the party in order to prove they have the superior genes.  The "regulars" seem content to show their leadership qualities by soaring above the fray.

 

If my analogy of an elephant and an emu are correct, the "regulars" may want to reassess their role of "soaring above the fray."

 

An emu - I repeat - can't soar!

 

 



Freeze Out the Wackos!

 

 

I have long begged my friends and loyal readers of this blog to get involved in the political scene in America.  And, to little avail, I might add.

 

I thought my reasoning was always sound and I always believed that if one does not do their share to improve the horrors of politics in Washington (and most states) it will only get worse.

 

When the answer is "forget it; I hate politics," it makes my blood boil.  Why?  Because that is why people hate politics...because they chose not to get involved.

 

I have always used the line that if you don't get involved, then you have no right to complain. That's pretty succinct.

 

Well, Hillary Clinton gave a much better reason yesterday during her Town Hall Meeting on CNN.  Paraphrasing her comment, she told Americans that they must get involved because when they do they will freeze out the wackos on the extreme Left and Right and allow compromise to happen. Clinton believes the polarization of American politics is a very serious problem that we must overcome.

 

When you think about it, those wackos really are the ones gumming up the works for the majority of Americans.  They have no real goals, other than to be seen, heard, and appear on the five o'clock news.

 

Do your part.  If you hate politics, then work to do something that will produce politics you'll like.

 

To borrow a re-worked line from Smokey the Bear:  "Only YOU can prevent political fires!"

 

 

Too Far Out in Right Field...

 

 

A politician should always be judged by the company he keeps.  And if that company is the Tea Party, he should not only be judged, but held over for sentencing, as well.

 

It is not enough to just say Congressman Steve Daines is a member in good standing of the Tea Party.  You must consider what that twisted gathering of hot heads really sees as their ultimate goals.

 

It simply is not worth any one's time to contemplate the necessity of cutting every spending item these bad actors can find.  We all want to eliminate wasteful spending, but the Tea Party wants to cut everything.  They fall pitifully short of being good stewards of our financial picture and become, instead,  activists of the "slash and burn" anarchy. Too many of them have already found their way into the U.S. House and Senate.  Their ignorance of the ways of representing the majority in this country is astounding.  Majorities mean little to them as they vote with an unyielding vengeance. 

 

Such is the personage of one Steve Daines.

 

He voted, as a Tea Party Member of the U.S. House, to shut down the United States Government.  That one singular vote is - in itself - of great concern, but more than that it is symptomatic of how his mind really works. There was no great thought given to the outcome of  that vote and that should bother us more than anything. The Tea Party seems to operate on the theory of  "shock and awe" and "mommy, look what I did in my diaper."

 

Now, he would have us elect him to the U.S. Senate.  Don't trust him to represent the majority of Americans any better from there.

 

He has already displayed his true colors.  We can do much better than a Tea Party Activist.

 

    

 



Gov. Rick's Reparative Racket...

I would ask that you consider Texas Governor Rick Perry's take on how to "use your own free will to stop being a homosexual and live a "normal life."

 

Perry believes that being gay is the same curse as being an alcoholic.  If you want to stop living that way, then, dammit, y'all jus' stop.

 

As a matter of fact, Texas is setting up therapy units around the state for the purpose of offerin' reparative therapy for homosexual misfits that jus' don't understan' that a straight life can be just a session or two away.  There will probably be a good heapin' of  religion - in addition to readin', and writin' - to help those unfortunates as they "pray that gay away."

 

My dear God, where have these misguided, uninformed Republicans failed you?  How have they survived to the ages most of them have attained without having an inkling of what a homosexual really is?  There have been gays and lesbians since humans first walked the Earth and anyone with one-third of a brain knows they were of such inclination since birth.

 

The idea of homosexuals residing inside the Republican's very small tent is simply not an option. Unless, of course, they are graduates of Gov. Perry's Reparative therapy Institute.  (That's "Rick's Reparative Racket" for those of you who are among the better informed.)

 

But worry not dear friends, because women, the unwashed, the minorities, the downtrodden, the enlightened, the unions, and many others, are not invited either.

It is a very exclusive -  and rather snobbish - group of warped bigots Hell-bent on returning America to those terrible days of the Salem witch-hunt trials. 



The Speaker is a Ham Actor...

 

 

This is going to be short and sweet.

 

If you missed House Speaker Boehner's press conference this morning, you missed the greatest acting moment of the century. He is deserving of an Oscar if anyone ever was.

 

It was obvious that Boehner got the memo.  If he doesn't fall into lock step with the Tea Party Terrorists, he will suffer the same calamity as Eric Cantor.

 

Therefore, regardless of what question came up this morning, Boehner responded with vile, demeaning remarks about the president.  It was as if he was portraying a man who had just been kneed in the groin by Barack Obama.

 

When a reporter asked what he thought the president was doing about the crisis in Iraq, he said, "He's taking a nap" and stomped off stage.

 

A display of phony emotions by a guy who is showing the Tea Party how tough he can be...but not credible enough for what we want to see in our Speaker of the House.

 

 

 

 

The Turbulent Tea Party...

 

There is no better description of a Tea Party politician than turbulent.  We know them as turbulent people with an ideology that is violently disturbed or agitated.  Further, they are raging, roiled, roily, rough, rugged, stormy, tempestuous, tumultuous, violent and wild.

But even more disturbing is their propensity to obstruct the business of governing at every turn.  They have this driven desire to appear as the white knight, astride their white stallion, who has entered the arena and is willing - against great odds -  to save the day for all of us.

While I do not necessarily disagree that we need to cut back on our glutinous spending habits, I fully disagree with their ill-tempered, my-way-or-the-highway mentality of how things should be done.  They obviously have never heard the old adage of "honey attracts more bears than vinegar."  And, when you talk about vinegar, these folks are the whole darn barrel.

The Tea Party win in Virginia that cost the U.S. House Majority Leader his job should not be seen as a big deal on the surface.  Less than 20% of the registered voters turned out for that election. Reducing that number by 44% for the loser, that leaves a fairly small number of Tea Party votes. It also means the Tea Partiers probably gave the Democrats a win in the General Election.  The GOP candidate is a brand new kid on the block in politics and, when asked why he thought he won, said "it was actually a miracle from God."  When he was asked how he would vote on raising the minimum wage, he responded, "I don't know...I can't come up with an answer on that right now."  It's worth pointing out that he is a professor of economics at a Virginia University.  And he has no answer to that question?

Yeah, the Tea Party has a real winner with this guy.

One more point about this winner:  His name is Brat.

Well, isn't that just precious.  A Brat in the Tea Party.

 

 



Eric the Not-So-Great...

Eric Cantor (R-VA), Majority Leader in the U.S. House, and all-around nasty guy was defeated in yesterday's primary election by a University Professor of Economics, David Brat.

To make this political earthquake even more unbelievable, Cantor spent more than five million dollars and Brat limped in with around two hundred thousand.  Most of Cantor's money was spent on attack-and-smear ads.

While Cantor licks his wounds, the television networks are dragging every political pundit they can find (out from under their rocks, I assume) and giving all of us the reason for this catastrophe.  It is the first time an office holder this high up in the U.S. House has ever been trounced by a member of his own party. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich blames it on the mud-slinging ads that Cantor's handlers convinced him would work.  Gingrich sanctimoniously states that those kind of ads are counter-productive these days.  They were, however,  just fine back in the days of nasty Newt's campaign strategies.

Although Brat will be quick to point out that while he and Cantor are both Republicans, Cantor was definitely not representing the right side of the GOP.  You see, Brat is a T.E.A. Party Member.  That group of naysayers who wet their pants at the very thought of shutting down the government, bringing everything to a stand-still, and holding us all hostage until they get their way.  It's a fun little group, don't you think?

As you all know by now, the T.E.A. Party's magical mantra is:

  We put these weenie Republicans into office and we can take these weenie Republicans out!

As the great Bette Davis once said, "Hand on to your seats, it's going to be a very bumpy ride."
 

What the Hell is wrong with us?

 

 

A CNN News Commentator asked the question this morning that has really stuck in my pointed little head:  "What the Hell is wrong with us?"

 

It pretty well sums up the ugly mess some of our politicians have foisted upon us.  They took it out of the depths of government garbage cans and propped it up in front of microphones and television cameras for the disinterested and uninformed masses of America to imbibe and digest.  If it sounds good, meets the daily required political dosage of their personal liking, and moves them to euphoric wonderment, IT MUST BE THE TRUTH!  It also gives new and certifiable credence to the adage of "garbage in, garbage out."

 

The Republican Politicians have left the fact checkers in the dust with the lies that they repeat with a straight face...and often. 

 

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is a case in point.  On Feb. 18th, he stated he was okay with trading the release of Sgt. Bergdahl for five terrorists being held in Gitmo. He is now on a one-man rampage because the swap was actually carried out. 

 

Several GOP politicians immediately tweeted their congratulations at getting Bergdahl home, only to delete those tweets a few days later.  It is being reported that they received pressure to get rid of the tweets by party officials and...of all places...FOX News!  It appears the congratulations earned them some extra "veteran votes," but losing right-wing votes by siding with Sgt. Bergdahl was too much to overcome.

 

When did we decide to presume guilt before the facts are in? Sgt. Bergdahl may have done something wrong, but the last I heard, he hasn't been found guilty by the military, yet.

 

Two-and-a-half million brave Americans have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Many millions of Americans have serious doubts that our longest wars were even necessary. And, as Americans, they have the right to that question.  Our bravest and best put on the uniform and went off to those wars.  They had the right to question why they were there, too.

The words from an old poem about a long ago, distant war keep going through my head:

...and when they ask why we have died,

tell them that our fathers lied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



GOP Prepares for their Coup de grace...

 

 

America has become a way of living for the rich and famous and the rest of you can either go earn your own millions or get the Hell out of their way.

 

Cases in point include: new laws to favor the very affluent in tax breaks - or no taxes at all;  new laws to say corporations are people, too, and are now part of the vote-buying process;  new laws that put voter suppression into place which favors the Right;   laws that will take away a woman's right to chose how to manage her own body;   laws that allowed the rich to hide money in off-shore bank accounts;  laws that benefit companies that close plants in America, lay off workers, and move the work overseas,  bury any idea of a minimum wage increase, ....and on and on.

Now, the coup de grace...

Keep the Conservatives in control of the U.S. House, Take Conservative control of the U.S. Senate, and move a Conservative into the Oval Office.

That should about do it.

And if you are not among the affluent, you are about to become the unwashed, the peasants, the unemployed, the medically uninsured, the slackers, the ones on some privately-owned debacle previously known as Social Security and Medicare. (and forget about Medicaid because it will be gone, altogether.)

You will be able to keep what few pieces of clothing and food scraps you now possess.

But keep them well hidden.