Who Lies and Who Speaks the Truth? The Results Are In.

I do not for a minute excuse the Democrats for not being truthful when speaking to the media and to their constituents, but anyone who has any idea of what's really going on in our country knew that this would be the way an objective analysis would turn out. If you haven't bookmarked Politifact, do so. It will astound you.

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How Do We Know Who Won the VP Debate?

Democrats are up beat and excited. Republicans are complaining that Joltin' Joe Biden was rude to poor ol' Paul Ryan. Awwww! But that pretty much answers the question, doesn't it!

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Being Fair Doesn't Always Mean Equal Treatment.

Please! Do not try to tell me that both sides are equally at fault … that the left is just as offensive and vitriolic as the right … or that you wish “a pox on both their houses”.

In what very large and very lazy segments of the media fob off as “balanced reporting”, they would have us believe that liberals are just as mean-spirited, just as angry and just as violent as the far right. Or that Democrats are just as responsible for the gridlock in Washington as the Republicans. Sorry ... there is plenty of fault on both sides, but the tilt is way over to the right.

Sure there are people who can be described as “left-wing extremists” and they should be condemned whenever they go to their extremes. But, while they may squirt fake blood on mink coats or burn down extravagant homes under construction, with very rare exceptions they don’t threaten to kill people ... or actually kill people.

But extremists on the right? They’re something else altogether. That’s where the racists are. That’s where the gun nuts live. They are the people who label as “slut” someone asking for equal treatment under the law. Or block serious legislation just because they don't want Barack Obama to look good. Or shoot doctors providing legal abortions. Or blow up federal buildings.

So, by all means, let the media report all the bad stuff that happens. Just don’t say that both left and right are equally to blame. Because it just ain’t so.

The Big Republican Advantage: Dumb Democrats

A recent survey shows President Obama’s popularity is declining. Well, sure, you say, it’s those damn Republicans. If Obama says the sky is up, they’ll stand on their heads and shriek that it’s down.

Nope … the main reason Obama’s job rating is slipping is because of the liberals who are mad that he’s been compromising with the Republicans … which, of course, is exactly what he said he would do during the 2008 campaign. I certainly understand that. It’s very frustrating because it sure doesn’t seem as though the Republicans in Congress – at least the loony half of them – have been willing to meet the president even a quarter of the way.

But this is the Republicans big advantage: They stick with their candidates right down the line no matter how ignorant or incompetent or just plain loony they might be. Never mind that. He or she’s a Republican … vote for ‘em anyway.

But we Democrats? We managed to elect a president who’s inspiring, thoughtful and smart, and is doing his best to deal with the monumental problems facing the country despite being vilified and frustrated at every turn by the Republicans. And the first time he takes a position we don’t like, we’re ready to throw him under the bus.

And that is really, really, really dumb!

John Kyl Defends the Faith Against Infidel Harry Reid

Senator John Kyl, Republican from Arizona, has accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of “disrespecting” Christians.

My goodness! What has Harry done now? Questioned the divinity of Jesus? Challenged the veracity of the Bible? Well, not exactly. In fact, not hardly. Senator Reid, it seems, has had the temerity to say the Senate should meet and continue to do its business during the week between Christmas and January 4th when the session formally concludes.

Here’s what Kyl said: "It is impossible to do all of the things that the majority leader laid out, frankly, without disrespecting the institution and without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians and the families of all of the Senate, not just the senators themselves but all of the staff."

Memo to Senator Kyl: Christmas is on Saturday this year. Most folks will be going back to work the following Monday. Why shouldn't you?

Memo to the rest of us: How in the world are Democrats supposed to find common ground … work out rational bi-partisan solutions to complex problems … with arrogant, sanctimonious fools like John Kyl?

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What the Hell Are We Thinking?

All the pundits continue to forecast doom for the Democrats in the November elections. Truthfully, I don’t get it. Can it really be possible that the American people are going to return the Republicans to power?

These are the very same politicians who (a) voted against the stimulus bill, who (b) happily took credit for any stimulus money that funded projects in their district, who (c) now say the stimulus program didn’t work, who (d) blame Obama for unemployment and who (e) say we should return them to power because they will oppose any more stimulus programs.

These are the very same politicians who (a) de-regulated the banking industry, which then embarked on reckless investment strategies bringing the financial world to near collapse, who (b) objected to Obama and the Democrats tightening regulations on the banks and who (c) are now asking us to return them to power so they can (d) once again de-regulate the banking industry.

These are the very same politicians who (a) passed the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy in 2001 and 2003, and who (b) wrote into the law that those tax cuts would expire at the end of this year, and who (c) watched their tax cuts result in a huge federal budget deficit, and who (d) have reneged on that deal and want the tax cuts to be continued, and who (e) are now accusing Democrats who want to let the tax cuts expire of raising your taxes.

And by the way, “your taxes” only means your taxes if your family earns a quarter-of-a-million dollars a year.

These are the people who are going to be voted back into power??

We are - alas - a nation of morons.

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Why In the World Do They Do It?

I haven’t posted here for quite a while and I’m not really sure why. Well, for one thing I was away for a bit over a week. First to Oakland for take in three games between the Red Sox and the A’s, then an overnight train ride on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight to Seattle, and three more games there – the Sox vs. the Mariners.


But that’s not much of an excuse. I’ve just been putting it off, for days now. Really, the problem is that I’ve become disheartened at the way the country seems to be drifting back to the right. What a bunch of wimps we are! Things are not going well, so instead of rolling up the sleeves and dealing with the problems, we bitch and whine and complain ... and look for someone to blame

Typical, isn’t it. God knows, we can’t be bothered to dig into all these knotty issues to figure out who’s really at fault. We just decide it’s whoever happens to be in office at the moment … and these days, that mostly means the Democrats.

And Obama, too, of course. Poor guy! He’s been in office for – what is it? – nineteen months, and he hasn’t managed to solve several of the biggest messes in anyone’s memory. So we’re down on him, too.

And just look at the headlines and check out the web sites that are politically oriented. The campaigns are nastier than ever. Decent men and women, who have had the courage to run for office, are vilified and subjected to the worst kind of personal attacks -- their professional accomplishments belittled, their public record distorted and their private lives invaded.

Still, they keep coming. Amazing, isn’t it. And – actually – it’s reason for some hope.
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Solving Our Problems Is Easy … But Almost Impossible

If you’re a progressive or liberal or Democrat or whatever we’re calling ourselves these days, advancing our agenda is not easy. Essentially, it means appealing to the selfless, generous nature of people -- asking our fellow citizens to dig down a bit more to pay for a transit system they might not use, or music classes in the public schools for someone else’s kids, or more social workers to help people they don’t know.

Republicans, on the other hand, have a much easier sell because their appeal is to the lesser human qualities: greed and selfishness, among others. It doesn’t matter where you rank on the affluence scale, they say your taxes are too high and you deserve a tax cut. If a politician has the guts to propose a modest tax increase, no matter how valid the purpose, the Republican attack machine swings into action and, almost every time, he or she is defeated.

The Republicans are now vigorously opposing any effort that would allow the infamous Bush $1.1 trillion tax cuts to expire. Any Democrat who votes to let those tax cuts lapse – as was stipulated in the Republican-sponsored law when it was passed – will be accused of “raising your taxes” in the next election.

In the meantime, and for lack of funding, we have allowed our country’s infrastructure to become woefully outdated and even dangerous. Hundreds of bridges in this country are structurally unsafe; our electrical grid is stretched to capacity, and vulnerable to cyber attack; compared to every other developed country, our passenger rail system is a joke. And – oh, yes – almost 36 million Americans, more than a third children, are living in poverty.

The shameful aspect to all this is that we can fix these things. Or at least bring about dramatic improvement. But there’s a catch: it will take some tax increases. For most people, the “sacrifice” would hardly be noticeable. For the many millions who are by any standard rich, it could mean giving up a $200 dinner at a fancy restaurant one night a month.

Democrats say that for the good of the country you should be willing to do that; Republicans say someone else is to blame for these problems and you shouldn’t have to do that. It’s a cynical and dishonest tactic, but much of the time it works. And that is a disgrace for which about half the people in this country must take the blame.
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You really have to hand it to the Republicans.

The Democrats introduce a financial reform bill which, among many other things, prohibits the use of tax dollars to bail out banks.

The Republicans loudly object because, they say, the Democrats' bill allows the use of tax dollars to bail out banks.

Then the Republicans introduce their own bill which, they say, prohibits the use of tax dollars to bail out banks.

As my almost-three-year-old granddaughter said when she couldn’t get some pieces of avocado onto her fork, “Slippery little guys, aren’t they!”
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