As you might have heard, the RNC headed by Michael Steele has not received as many donations as they have in past election seasons. But, there is money out there waiting to be spent for Republican candidates and Conservative causes. Let's see where that money is and who is in charge of it.
First, you have to understand what these groups represent. Usually the name of the organization doesn't give a clue as to what the groups real goals are or who they represent.
1. U. S. Chamber of Commerce; This is an organization or "Union" if you will, that represents businesses and corporations in the U. S. They don't represent the working people or the middle class. They have big bucks to spend on elections. By big bucks, I mean millions . . . $75 million or more, to get those pro business people elected.
2. American Crossroads; The main purpose of this group is to fund the election of Republicans and unseat Democrats in power. Pelosi and Reid are the top targets. American Crossroads biggest sponsors are Karl Rove, Harold Simmons, from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. American Crossroads has $52 million to spend on the upcoming elections.
3. American Action Network; This group calls itself a "Think Tank" but promotes personal freedom and limited government. This is another Karl Rove group that also includes Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush, and Norm Coleman. American Action Network has about $25 million to spend on elections this year.
4. Club For Growth; this is really a Union for large corporations who want to return to the Bush economics that made them lots of money and almost wiped out the U. S. economy. "Dusty" Rhodes & Chris Chocola are the principles in this group and they have about $23 million to spend on getting Republicans elected this year.
5. Americans For Job Security; This group seems to fund Tea Party candidates like Ken Buck in Colorado. AJS's main job is to influence elections and get Republicans that lean to the far right into office. They were started by a large donation from the American Insurance Association and will not disclose the source of their revenues. AJS has about $10 million to spend on getting the far right candidates elected in this election.
6. Freedom Works; This organization is from where the "Astro Turf" name for fake grass roots organizations came. FW funds people like Ken Buck, Rand Paul and Sharron Angle. FW is the corporate base of the Tea Party movement. This is from where the money and organization come. This is primarily a Dick Armey group but Steve Forbes is on the board and Glen Beck is featured on a membership drive. FW has about $5 million to spend but their main feature is their large group of followers, this group is the main backers of "Tea Party Express." That is where FW has the power and the votes.
7. Campaign for Working Families; This group has nothing to do with "Working Families." It has endorsed Sharron Angle, Marco Rubio, and Chuck Grassley. Gary Bauer or the Family Research Council and the religious right is at its head. CWF has about $2 million to spend on this years campaign.
8. Heritage Action; This is an arm of the Heritage Foundation and has a powerful influence on the far Right Wing Political Faction of the Republican party. HF claims that Sean Hannity & Rush Limbaugh are members. They have over $1 million available to elect Republicans this year.
9. Family Research Council Action; This is the electioneering arm of the Family Research Council and it funds Sahrron Angle and Marco Rubio. FRC was founded by James Dobson from Focus on the Family and George Rekers, an anti Gay activist who went on vacation for 10 days with a "Rent-Boy" is one of its founders. FRCA has about $½ million to promote far right candidates.
In 2008 these groups had about $50 million to spend on elections. This year they have in excess of $195 million to fund the elections of the most extreme of the far right. That is almost 4 times as much to get what we got rid of in 2008.
Yes, the RNC and Michael Steele has less to spend on the mid-term elections but those nasty groups mentioned will make up the difference. If you have the money . . . contribute to a campaign, if you don't have the money, give some time to help where you can make a difference.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
HATES AND FEARS!
If you can find something or some group to hate, you can unite people who might otherwise be divided. What you have to do is make that hate larger and more irritating than all their other differences.
Let's start with the Civil War. The Civil War didn't start because of the "Negroes" and their plight in the South. It started because the industrialized North was taking advantage of the agrarian South. The South grew cotton and other goods and the North wanted the South to sell that cotton and other goods to the North . . . cheaply. The South found that England and the European continent would buy cotton for a much higher price than the Northern U. S. The U. S. Government put a tariff on cotton sold to Europe and England and the South revolted. The way the North got their people together was to free the slaves in the South, even though there were some slaves in the North. Slavery was what brought the North together and the South used that same issue to hold the South together.
That is what the Nazi propaganda machine did just prior to and during World War II. The Jews were the targets and being as passive as the Jews were, they didn't try to defend themselves till it was too late. Hitler brought the whole of the German people together in their hate of the Jews. He gave them a reason to fight and to die and they did both.
During the Cold War, Americans learned to hate the Russians. The Russians brought us together in our distrust and fear of the REDS. Then we started hating the Chinese . . . the "Red Chinese." Then we realized, or were told, that what we really hated were the Communists. That great generality covered all our hates and fears; The USSR, China, Yugoslavia, Albania, Hungry, Poland, Romania, East Germany, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia could now be rendered down to "Communism." Senator Joe McCarthy, in the early '50s, defined it well by finding Communists under every bed and in every closet.
Finding and fighting Communism took us all the way through Viet Nam and on into the next great threat to Democracy. Reagan called that threat, "The 'L' word." Yeah, Liberals were the enemy and the great threat to America. Reagan turned a legitimate and legal philosophy into a word of "Hate and Fear." You're not a Liberal, are you?
George W. Bush used the gays as a rally point. In 2004 and again in 2006, "W" used the gay marriage issue to revitalize his far right troops. He worked up the Evangelical Right to follow him in his battle against Adam and Everett. (Today, Ken Mehlman, "W's" spokesman and Campaign Chairman came out of the closet. Why so late?)
Now we have the Muslims to fight against. That peaceful religion that respects love and humanitarianism is now who we are against . . . or I should say, "Who some are against."
The Imam of that "Victory Mosque" in New York was hired by Geroge W. to be an ambassador to the Islamic World from America. Now he has been vilified as the "Imam from Hell" and the Islamic community Center, which is in the middle of an Islamic Community, is the center of our "Hate and Fear."
Rally around the Pyre, Boys! This is whom we will hate tomorrow. So far the GOP has only come out against the Middle Class. We are who can hurt them most and we are those who they would like to wipe out or at least make poor and dependant.
Welcome to the middle class. If the GOP is in power, we haven't got a chance.
Let's start with the Civil War. The Civil War didn't start because of the "Negroes" and their plight in the South. It started because the industrialized North was taking advantage of the agrarian South. The South grew cotton and other goods and the North wanted the South to sell that cotton and other goods to the North . . . cheaply. The South found that England and the European continent would buy cotton for a much higher price than the Northern U. S. The U. S. Government put a tariff on cotton sold to Europe and England and the South revolted. The way the North got their people together was to free the slaves in the South, even though there were some slaves in the North. Slavery was what brought the North together and the South used that same issue to hold the South together.
That is what the Nazi propaganda machine did just prior to and during World War II. The Jews were the targets and being as passive as the Jews were, they didn't try to defend themselves till it was too late. Hitler brought the whole of the German people together in their hate of the Jews. He gave them a reason to fight and to die and they did both.
During the Cold War, Americans learned to hate the Russians. The Russians brought us together in our distrust and fear of the REDS. Then we started hating the Chinese . . . the "Red Chinese." Then we realized, or were told, that what we really hated were the Communists. That great generality covered all our hates and fears; The USSR, China, Yugoslavia, Albania, Hungry, Poland, Romania, East Germany, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia could now be rendered down to "Communism." Senator Joe McCarthy, in the early '50s, defined it well by finding Communists under every bed and in every closet.
Finding and fighting Communism took us all the way through Viet Nam and on into the next great threat to Democracy. Reagan called that threat, "The 'L' word." Yeah, Liberals were the enemy and the great threat to America. Reagan turned a legitimate and legal philosophy into a word of "Hate and Fear." You're not a Liberal, are you?
George W. Bush used the gays as a rally point. In 2004 and again in 2006, "W" used the gay marriage issue to revitalize his far right troops. He worked up the Evangelical Right to follow him in his battle against Adam and Everett. (Today, Ken Mehlman, "W's" spokesman and Campaign Chairman came out of the closet. Why so late?)
Now we have the Muslims to fight against. That peaceful religion that respects love and humanitarianism is now who we are against . . . or I should say, "Who some are against."
The Imam of that "Victory Mosque" in New York was hired by Geroge W. to be an ambassador to the Islamic World from America. Now he has been vilified as the "Imam from Hell" and the Islamic community Center, which is in the middle of an Islamic Community, is the center of our "Hate and Fear."
Rally around the Pyre, Boys! This is whom we will hate tomorrow. So far the GOP has only come out against the Middle Class. We are who can hurt them most and we are those who they would like to wipe out or at least make poor and dependant.
Welcome to the middle class. If the GOP is in power, we haven't got a chance.
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Victory? Mosque
I have never heard such an uproar by a group of people trying to circumvent the Constitution. They, the GOP, have campaigned for years on upholding that same Constitution and promoted the strict interpretation of it.
Here is an example of the GOP's thoughts on the Constitution. I present an excerpt from a speech given by Charlton Heston to the NRA upon Protests by citizens of Denver against the NRA holding their convention in Denver a few weeks after the Columbine shootings in a Suburb of Denver.
Mr Heston Said:
(My insertions in parenthesis to show how similar things really are)
"This cycle of tragedy-driven hatred must stop because so much more connects us than that which divides us, because tragedy has been, and will always be, with us. Somewhere right now, evil people are planning evil things. All of us will do everything meaningful, everything we can do to prevent it, but each horrible act can't become an axe for opportunists to cleave the very Bill of Rights that binds us. America must stop this predictable pattern of reaction. When an isolated, terrible event occurs (9/11), our phones ring, demanding that the NRA (Muslims) explain the inexplicable. Why us(Muslims), because their (The GOP) story needs a villain. They (the GOP) want us (Muslims) to play the heavy in their (The GOP) drama of packaged grief (9/11), to provide riveting programming to run between commercials for cars and cat food."
That is what Charlton Heston, a devout Conservative had to say about discrimination against the NRA. How does that not apply to the Muslims and their Community Center 2½ blocks and several porn shops away from the WTC's "Sacred Ground" in New York City?
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Agnostics and Atheists were all killed on 9/11. They all have claim and deserve a place of worship in the area . . . not because of those deaths, but because we have a Constitution that says they have that right if they can afford putting one there. Protesting that Muslim Community Center is protesting the Bill of Rights.
Building the "Victory" Mosque will represent the victory of the Bill of Rights, the victory of the Constitution and the victory of all the American people.
For more, go to:
www.factcheck.org/2010/08/questions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque/
Here is an example of the GOP's thoughts on the Constitution. I present an excerpt from a speech given by Charlton Heston to the NRA upon Protests by citizens of Denver against the NRA holding their convention in Denver a few weeks after the Columbine shootings in a Suburb of Denver.
Mr Heston Said:
(My insertions in parenthesis to show how similar things really are)
"This cycle of tragedy-driven hatred must stop because so much more connects us than that which divides us, because tragedy has been, and will always be, with us. Somewhere right now, evil people are planning evil things. All of us will do everything meaningful, everything we can do to prevent it, but each horrible act can't become an axe for opportunists to cleave the very Bill of Rights that binds us. America must stop this predictable pattern of reaction. When an isolated, terrible event occurs (9/11), our phones ring, demanding that the NRA (Muslims) explain the inexplicable. Why us(Muslims), because their (The GOP) story needs a villain. They (the GOP) want us (Muslims) to play the heavy in their (The GOP) drama of packaged grief (9/11), to provide riveting programming to run between commercials for cars and cat food."
That is what Charlton Heston, a devout Conservative had to say about discrimination against the NRA. How does that not apply to the Muslims and their Community Center 2½ blocks and several porn shops away from the WTC's "Sacred Ground" in New York City?
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Agnostics and Atheists were all killed on 9/11. They all have claim and deserve a place of worship in the area . . . not because of those deaths, but because we have a Constitution that says they have that right if they can afford putting one there. Protesting that Muslim Community Center is protesting the Bill of Rights.
Building the "Victory" Mosque will represent the victory of the Bill of Rights, the victory of the Constitution and the victory of all the American people.
For more, go to:
www.factcheck.org/2010/08/questions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque/
Friday, August 13, 2010
Visiting the 14th Amendment
There is a lot of talk about the 14th Amendment these days. The Republicans want it repealed because of those pesky "Anchor Babies," after all that is what the 14th Amendment is all about . . . isn't it?
That, of course, is not very accurate, but we have all grown to expect that from the devious Republicans. They know what they are doing and how to manipulate ideas and how to soften harsh ideas into something more palatable.
As a disclaimer, I want everyone to know that I am not a Constitutional scholar nor a Lawyer at all. I just know how politicians work and what the Republicans want. So with several good reads of the 14th Amendment and lots of research from both the pro and the con side, this is what I've come to understand about the controversy.
First we have to understand the 14th Amendment and why it was needed in the first place. It was one of three "Reconstruction" amendments that were put passed after the Civil War, outlawing slavery, defining citizenship and giving rights to all citizens/persons of the United States.
Basically, the 14th Amendment was to reverse the decision that was handed down by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, or that is what the Republicans want you to believe. But, there is a lot more to the 14th Amendment than that. Many have referred to the 14th Amendment as "The Second Bill of Rights."
Before the 14th Amendment was passed, individual states could pass laws that superseded the Constitutional guarantees in the original Bill of Rights. If an individual state wanted to pass a law making any particular religion the official "State Religion," that state could do it and enforce it. Individual states could curtail freedom of the press, or freedom of assembly, or any of the freedoms enumerated in the original Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that the Constitution only protected citizens from the Federal Government, but not the government of the individual states. That is what brought on the Dred Scott decision.
The 14th Amendment incorporates "Due Process" and "Equal Protection" into the Constitution and makes it pertain to the individual states. That is what the Republicans want to repeal. Once the 14th Amendment is gone, individual states can control what goes on inside each state. That way they can, state by state, enact laws that they can't enact on a countrywide basis. They might even outlaw being a liberal in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Arkansas or make being a Mormon mandatory in Utah.
Let's look at the Due Process Clause. As stated, before the 14th Amendment, the Bill of Rights didn't protect citizens from state government, only Federal Government, or so the Supreme Court once ruled. The Due Process Clause states, " . . . nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." As stated, although Due Process was part of the 5th Amendment, the Supreme Court had ruled that the 5th Amendment only pertained to the Federal Government, not the government of the individual states. The 14th Amendment pertained to the individual states and expanded Due Process to include people in the individual states and protection from the state's laws.
Equal Protection is a whole new puzzle. All of a sudden, the Constitution uses the word "Person" instead of "Citizen." The 14th Amendment states,
". . . nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." As in the Due Process clause, the 14th Amendment uses the word "Person" although the word "Citizen" is also used elsewhere. Some argue that a Citizen was considered to be a "White Male" over the age of 21 and a "Person" was, in the case of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, a male ex-slave over the age of 21. Not being a Constitutional scholar, I can't argue one way or the other on that one.
Don't let the Republicans get away without telling you everything they want to do in repealing the 14th Amendment. They want to get away with much more, it all sounds good the way they tell it, but when the Republicans start sounding good, you need to look further into it. They haven't had a good idea in decades.
That, of course, is not very accurate, but we have all grown to expect that from the devious Republicans. They know what they are doing and how to manipulate ideas and how to soften harsh ideas into something more palatable.
As a disclaimer, I want everyone to know that I am not a Constitutional scholar nor a Lawyer at all. I just know how politicians work and what the Republicans want. So with several good reads of the 14th Amendment and lots of research from both the pro and the con side, this is what I've come to understand about the controversy.
First we have to understand the 14th Amendment and why it was needed in the first place. It was one of three "Reconstruction" amendments that were put passed after the Civil War, outlawing slavery, defining citizenship and giving rights to all citizens/persons of the United States.
Basically, the 14th Amendment was to reverse the decision that was handed down by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, or that is what the Republicans want you to believe. But, there is a lot more to the 14th Amendment than that. Many have referred to the 14th Amendment as "The Second Bill of Rights."
Before the 14th Amendment was passed, individual states could pass laws that superseded the Constitutional guarantees in the original Bill of Rights. If an individual state wanted to pass a law making any particular religion the official "State Religion," that state could do it and enforce it. Individual states could curtail freedom of the press, or freedom of assembly, or any of the freedoms enumerated in the original Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that the Constitution only protected citizens from the Federal Government, but not the government of the individual states. That is what brought on the Dred Scott decision.
The 14th Amendment incorporates "Due Process" and "Equal Protection" into the Constitution and makes it pertain to the individual states. That is what the Republicans want to repeal. Once the 14th Amendment is gone, individual states can control what goes on inside each state. That way they can, state by state, enact laws that they can't enact on a countrywide basis. They might even outlaw being a liberal in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Arkansas or make being a Mormon mandatory in Utah.
Let's look at the Due Process Clause. As stated, before the 14th Amendment, the Bill of Rights didn't protect citizens from state government, only Federal Government, or so the Supreme Court once ruled. The Due Process Clause states, " . . . nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." As stated, although Due Process was part of the 5th Amendment, the Supreme Court had ruled that the 5th Amendment only pertained to the Federal Government, not the government of the individual states. The 14th Amendment pertained to the individual states and expanded Due Process to include people in the individual states and protection from the state's laws.
Equal Protection is a whole new puzzle. All of a sudden, the Constitution uses the word "Person" instead of "Citizen." The 14th Amendment states,
". . . nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." As in the Due Process clause, the 14th Amendment uses the word "Person" although the word "Citizen" is also used elsewhere. Some argue that a Citizen was considered to be a "White Male" over the age of 21 and a "Person" was, in the case of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, a male ex-slave over the age of 21. Not being a Constitutional scholar, I can't argue one way or the other on that one.
Don't let the Republicans get away without telling you everything they want to do in repealing the 14th Amendment. They want to get away with much more, it all sounds good the way they tell it, but when the Republicans start sounding good, you need to look further into it. They haven't had a good idea in decades.
Friday, August 6, 2010
"B. I. O. B." Part 2
As you have probably noted, the first ten of my top 20 reasons that what we are into as a country, pertain to the Iraq/Afghanistan war. The next 10 reasons are mostly other than that. #14 and #17 have also to do with the Wars but the others have to do with the economy, Katrina, and outright stupidity on the part of the Republicans in general and Bush in particular.
Here are the rest of my top 20 reasons "W" Bush is to blame for the situation we find ourselves in today:
11. Bush promoted and got, by reconciliation, tax cuts for the rich. Right after that, the economy of the U. S. and the World suddenly went into the crapper. The rich have money, the big corporations have big money, they just won't turn it loose. Those rich people aren't hiring, therefore people aren't spending and the big companies aren't making any money.
12. Until Bush limited the research of embryonic stem cells, tremendous advances made in the study of Parkinson's. On March 6, 2009, President Obama reversed that decision and we are now able to progress once again.
13. "W" Bush liked to have lots of "His" type of people around him at all times. That is why he nominated and got Alberto Gonzales, an old Texas friend, as Attorney General. Gonzales oversaw the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapes and the firing of many U. S. Attornies that wouldn't tow the line for "W." He tried to do the same thing with Harriet Miers in the Supreme Court, but she was forced to withdraw her name about 3 weeks later because of the opposition even from the Republicans.
14. The awarding of Halliburton contracts at the start of the Iraq/Afghanistan war. Some say they were no bid contracts but everyone agrees that they were very lucrative and profitable for Dick Cheney's old company.
15. The athorization of Warrantless Wiretaps as well as other unconstitutional orders.
16. As in number 13 with Alberto Gonzales, he appointed Mike Brown to head FEMA. Brown was totally unprepared and without a clue as to how FEMA was to work and what he should do in New Orleans after Katrina. "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie!"
17. After coming aboard that aircraft carrier in the early Summer of 2003, Bush proclaimed the war was over with a "Mission Accoplished" banner hanging from the super structure behind him. That was an enduring mistake. Most of our casualties have come since that day.
18. "W" failed to sign the Kyoto Protocol because he said it would hamper the auto industry which was on its way down at that time already. This year green house gasses have contributed to us having the hottest first 6 months in world history. Let me remind you that last Winter was mostly in this year, all but about 9 days of it.
19. "W" decided to view the damage left by Katrina from a fly-over at 35,000 feet while he was on his way back to Washington from a Crawford vacation and McCain's birthday party in Phoenix, instead of going there and bringing attention to the disaster.
20. "W" Bush, in declaring a "State of Emergency" in Lousiana failed to include the coast and New Orleans in the Emergency State. Both had to scramble to get the funding and loans they needed to recover, and lots of New Orleans still needs help.
Now these are only my top 20 and have nothing to do with some of the really stupid things he said at various times. He continued to mispronounce "Nuclear" until he finally learned how to say it late in his presidency. But, to make up for mispronouncing words he made up some of his own from time to time.
What he left us was a dump and Obama is attempting to make it livable. George W. Bush is the embodyment of everything the Progessives are running against and I fully expect to see his name brought up more the closer we get to November 2012. Most look at George W. Bush with disdain and a bitter taste in their mouths.
Here are the rest of my top 20 reasons "W" Bush is to blame for the situation we find ourselves in today:
11. Bush promoted and got, by reconciliation, tax cuts for the rich. Right after that, the economy of the U. S. and the World suddenly went into the crapper. The rich have money, the big corporations have big money, they just won't turn it loose. Those rich people aren't hiring, therefore people aren't spending and the big companies aren't making any money.
12. Until Bush limited the research of embryonic stem cells, tremendous advances made in the study of Parkinson's. On March 6, 2009, President Obama reversed that decision and we are now able to progress once again.
13. "W" Bush liked to have lots of "His" type of people around him at all times. That is why he nominated and got Alberto Gonzales, an old Texas friend, as Attorney General. Gonzales oversaw the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapes and the firing of many U. S. Attornies that wouldn't tow the line for "W." He tried to do the same thing with Harriet Miers in the Supreme Court, but she was forced to withdraw her name about 3 weeks later because of the opposition even from the Republicans.
14. The awarding of Halliburton contracts at the start of the Iraq/Afghanistan war. Some say they were no bid contracts but everyone agrees that they were very lucrative and profitable for Dick Cheney's old company.
15. The athorization of Warrantless Wiretaps as well as other unconstitutional orders.
16. As in number 13 with Alberto Gonzales, he appointed Mike Brown to head FEMA. Brown was totally unprepared and without a clue as to how FEMA was to work and what he should do in New Orleans after Katrina. "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie!"
17. After coming aboard that aircraft carrier in the early Summer of 2003, Bush proclaimed the war was over with a "Mission Accoplished" banner hanging from the super structure behind him. That was an enduring mistake. Most of our casualties have come since that day.
18. "W" failed to sign the Kyoto Protocol because he said it would hamper the auto industry which was on its way down at that time already. This year green house gasses have contributed to us having the hottest first 6 months in world history. Let me remind you that last Winter was mostly in this year, all but about 9 days of it.
19. "W" decided to view the damage left by Katrina from a fly-over at 35,000 feet while he was on his way back to Washington from a Crawford vacation and McCain's birthday party in Phoenix, instead of going there and bringing attention to the disaster.
20. "W" Bush, in declaring a "State of Emergency" in Lousiana failed to include the coast and New Orleans in the Emergency State. Both had to scramble to get the funding and loans they needed to recover, and lots of New Orleans still needs help.
Now these are only my top 20 and have nothing to do with some of the really stupid things he said at various times. He continued to mispronounce "Nuclear" until he finally learned how to say it late in his presidency. But, to make up for mispronouncing words he made up some of his own from time to time.
What he left us was a dump and Obama is attempting to make it livable. George W. Bush is the embodyment of everything the Progessives are running against and I fully expect to see his name brought up more the closer we get to November 2012. Most look at George W. Bush with disdain and a bitter taste in their mouths.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
"B. I. O. B."
The Republicans have recently been saying that Obama has to stop blaming it on Bush (B.I.O.B.). Obama, they say, blames the whole mess he has gotten into as Bush's fault. That is not what I've found.
This week in Atlanta obama said, "These are the folks who were behind the steering wheel and drove the car into the ditch. So we've had to put on the galoshes. We went down there in the mud. We've been pushing, We've been shoving. They've been standing back, watching, saying, 'You're not moving fast enough. You ain't doing it right. Why are you doing it that way?' We're about to start driving forward again and they say, 'Hold on, we want the keys back.' You can't have the keys back . . . you don't know how to drive!"
No where in that nor in most of Obama's recent statements has he blamed Bush. He is blaming the Republicans, the dumb asses that nominated then elected Bush.
But, I've been thinking . . . and that always gets me into trouble, but what are all those really terrible things that I've been blaming Bush for all these years? Well, I have come up with at least 20 of those things, a sorta "Top 20" list.
Here is what I've come up with in my top twenty list of Bush's worst mistakes:
1. Not paying attention to that August 6th memo entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike in U. S." Bush knew on August 6, 2001 that the U. S. was in Bin Laden's sights and did nothing. Bush just passed it off and pay no further attention to the warning that cost us several thousand lives and the World Trade Center. Check out:
www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/10/august6.memo/
2. Invading Iraq without the help or sanction of the U. N. The U. N., after several months of hearings, could not come to any agreement on the invasion of Iraq. So, Bush decided to do it alone . . . well he had the help of the "Coalition of the Willing," 49 countries which consisted of some heavy weights like:
Eritrea, Estonia, Honduras, Macedonia, Palau, Rwanda, Tonga,
Singapore, Micronesia, Angola, & Latvia along with 35 other light
weights along with some real heavy weights like Great Britain,
Australia and the U. S.
3. Bush insisted that there was a coalition between al-Qaeda & Saddam Hussein. There is not now nor has there ever been any connection between the two. Another lie told by the Bush administration.
4. The U. S. went to war on the lie told by Bush that there were weapons of mass destruction. Just like number 3 above, there is not now nor was there then any WMDs in Iraq. It was all a ruse to get congress to vote to go to WAR. Another lie told by the Bush administration.
5. Failure to track down and capture Osama bin Laden. Bush had a chance in Tora Bora but failed to listen to his Generals and troops on the ground. I think he really wanted to go into Iraq and going after bin Laden was only short distraction to get us there and Iraq was the primary goal in the first place.
6. There was no planning for the end of the Iraqi War. How do we leave? Who do we leave in charge? Who do we train to do the job of enforcement? How do we get out with our dignity intact?
7. Bush's Presidency will always be known as the era of torture and depravity when it comes to enemy combatants. We are still hated around the world for what Bush allowed to happen to those we captured.
8. Bush's total misunderstanding of the cost of a war. His first estimate was in the $75 Billion range. To date the total cost of the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq is in excess of $1.1 TRILLION. Go to:
http://www.costofwar.com/
9. The total lack of protection for our troops cost lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush failed to provide body armour, and heavy armour for vehicles. Families were purchasing body armour for their kids and sending it to them in Iraq to see to it they were safe.
10.Bush changed focus from Afghanistan to Iraq for no other reason than to get the guy that threatened his father George H. W. Bush. Changing the war in the middle of an invasion let bin Laden escape into Pakistan.
Tomorrow I'll finish my 20 reasons that "W" Bush is responsible for where we are now.
This week in Atlanta obama said, "These are the folks who were behind the steering wheel and drove the car into the ditch. So we've had to put on the galoshes. We went down there in the mud. We've been pushing, We've been shoving. They've been standing back, watching, saying, 'You're not moving fast enough. You ain't doing it right. Why are you doing it that way?' We're about to start driving forward again and they say, 'Hold on, we want the keys back.' You can't have the keys back . . . you don't know how to drive!"
No where in that nor in most of Obama's recent statements has he blamed Bush. He is blaming the Republicans, the dumb asses that nominated then elected Bush.
But, I've been thinking . . . and that always gets me into trouble, but what are all those really terrible things that I've been blaming Bush for all these years? Well, I have come up with at least 20 of those things, a sorta "Top 20" list.
Here is what I've come up with in my top twenty list of Bush's worst mistakes:
1. Not paying attention to that August 6th memo entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike in U. S." Bush knew on August 6, 2001 that the U. S. was in Bin Laden's sights and did nothing. Bush just passed it off and pay no further attention to the warning that cost us several thousand lives and the World Trade Center. Check out:
www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/10/august6.memo/
2. Invading Iraq without the help or sanction of the U. N. The U. N., after several months of hearings, could not come to any agreement on the invasion of Iraq. So, Bush decided to do it alone . . . well he had the help of the "Coalition of the Willing," 49 countries which consisted of some heavy weights like:
Eritrea, Estonia, Honduras, Macedonia, Palau, Rwanda, Tonga,
Singapore, Micronesia, Angola, & Latvia along with 35 other light
weights along with some real heavy weights like Great Britain,
Australia and the U. S.
3. Bush insisted that there was a coalition between al-Qaeda & Saddam Hussein. There is not now nor has there ever been any connection between the two. Another lie told by the Bush administration.
4. The U. S. went to war on the lie told by Bush that there were weapons of mass destruction. Just like number 3 above, there is not now nor was there then any WMDs in Iraq. It was all a ruse to get congress to vote to go to WAR. Another lie told by the Bush administration.
5. Failure to track down and capture Osama bin Laden. Bush had a chance in Tora Bora but failed to listen to his Generals and troops on the ground. I think he really wanted to go into Iraq and going after bin Laden was only short distraction to get us there and Iraq was the primary goal in the first place.
6. There was no planning for the end of the Iraqi War. How do we leave? Who do we leave in charge? Who do we train to do the job of enforcement? How do we get out with our dignity intact?
7. Bush's Presidency will always be known as the era of torture and depravity when it comes to enemy combatants. We are still hated around the world for what Bush allowed to happen to those we captured.
8. Bush's total misunderstanding of the cost of a war. His first estimate was in the $75 Billion range. To date the total cost of the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq is in excess of $1.1 TRILLION. Go to:
http://www.costofwar.com/
9. The total lack of protection for our troops cost lives in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush failed to provide body armour, and heavy armour for vehicles. Families were purchasing body armour for their kids and sending it to them in Iraq to see to it they were safe.
10.Bush changed focus from Afghanistan to Iraq for no other reason than to get the guy that threatened his father George H. W. Bush. Changing the war in the middle of an invasion let bin Laden escape into Pakistan.
Tomorrow I'll finish my 20 reasons that "W" Bush is responsible for where we are now.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Did You Know . . .
Did you know that no matter how long you have voted and no matter for whom you voted, you have never voted for a President . . . never! Presidents are not elected by the citizens of the United States of America. They are elected by an Electoral College (shudder). All we do as citizens is elect people into that Electoral College, then they vote for a President and Vice President. Each state has a total number of Electoral College delegates equal to the number of Representatives plus Senators that state has. Arkansas has 6, California has 55, New Mexico has 5, Alabama has 9, Maryland has 10, Missouri has 11 and Texas has 34. I think that covers most of my readers.
What is distressing is that there have been four Presidents elected that were not elected by the popular vote. That is right, we have had people in the presidency that most of the people in the U. S. voted against. In 1824 most of the people voted for Andrew Jackson but the Electoral College voted for John Quincey Adams. In 1876 the majority of Americans voted for Samuel Tilden but Rutherford B. Hayes was elected instead. A few years later in 1888 President Grover Cleveland was not reelected, it went to Benjamin Harrison instead. The fourth person to be elected to the Presidency that didn't get the majority of the popular vote was George W. Bush in 2000 when the Supreme Court awarded Florida to Bush. That gave the Electoral College to Bush and the Popular Vote to Gore.
Maine and Nebraska do it slightly differently, but their combined votes are just 17, so no one protests.
There are several movements to change that and one day it might change but don't be fooled, your vote for the President doesn't count, except to elect a member to the Electoral College. Please don't let that keep you from voting. Unless you vote you will be allowing others to tell you who will be President. Remember . . . get informed . . . stay informed . . . and vote with good information on the best person you can find.
What is distressing is that there have been four Presidents elected that were not elected by the popular vote. That is right, we have had people in the presidency that most of the people in the U. S. voted against. In 1824 most of the people voted for Andrew Jackson but the Electoral College voted for John Quincey Adams. In 1876 the majority of Americans voted for Samuel Tilden but Rutherford B. Hayes was elected instead. A few years later in 1888 President Grover Cleveland was not reelected, it went to Benjamin Harrison instead. The fourth person to be elected to the Presidency that didn't get the majority of the popular vote was George W. Bush in 2000 when the Supreme Court awarded Florida to Bush. That gave the Electoral College to Bush and the Popular Vote to Gore.
Maine and Nebraska do it slightly differently, but their combined votes are just 17, so no one protests.
There are several movements to change that and one day it might change but don't be fooled, your vote for the President doesn't count, except to elect a member to the Electoral College. Please don't let that keep you from voting. Unless you vote you will be allowing others to tell you who will be President. Remember . . . get informed . . . stay informed . . . and vote with good information on the best person you can find.
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