Archive for the ‘GOP’ Category

>A look at the future

December 10, 2010

>It is almost 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday, December 10, 2010 and as I type this Senator Bernie Sanders is carrying out his promise to filibuster the tax cuts to the wealthy bill that the obstructionists are using to hold the country hostage.

A little while ago, I heard him listing some CEO’s that will benefit, and the only one I remember was the CEO of Wells Fargo. I remember them because I am having a huge issue with their bank, since their takeover of Wachovia here in Bessemer.

Anyway, let’s say a CEO gets a tax break of $900,000, which is rounded from a figure that Sanders mentioned. We already know that it won’t help the economy, based on the economy we have watched over the last 8 years while these same millionaires were getting this same tax break.

And we know that tax breaks that are not paid for contribute to the deficit.

Now, let’s put 2 and 2 together and see what we get.

An increase in the deficit, caused by the millionaires, that the millionaires will not be paying down, because they don’t pay the taxes, and that leaves us, the middle class, to pay what should be their deficit liability.

So this is what those Republicans that you Democrats who didn’t vote, or didn’t work to get Democrats in office, are doing for us.

And seniors! Remember that $250 check that you heard about. Blocked by those same Republicans that you helped put in office.

The Republican leadership has vowed that they will block all legislation until the tax breaks for their wealthy funders is passed.

They won’t give Grandma $250 unless and until they give the CEO’s $900,000.

Just get ready, America. You voted for this, and it’s only going to get worse in 2011, when the Senate and House are infiltrated by Tea Party folks.

Here are some predictions.

They rich will get their tax break, either in the lame duck or the Daffy Duck session that will follow.

Obama will be blamed for the resulting increase in the deficit.

Republicans will demand that Medicare and Social Security be slashed.

Social programs that we commonly refer to as the safety net will be slashed.

The poor will get poorer.

The rich will get richer.

The middle class will shrink.

When taxes finally do go up, and they will, it will be the middle class and the poor that is affected and not the upper class.

That will mean that of every dollar you earn, that you will have less of it in your pocket to spend.

And all of this is because we (Democrats) were disenchanted with what was going on in Washington and we stayed at home on election day; and we (gays) were disgruntled because of the President’s lack of leadership on our issues so we stayed at home on election day; and we (the rest of America) were fooled by the Tea Party into voting this change across our country, so they turned out on election day blindly voting against the fictional enemy, and elected an even greater enemy than they could have imagined.

That the American people could have been this, this, uh, stupid (it’s the only word I can think of to describe anyone who would vote for the Republican party as it presented itself before the last election) is almost unbelievable to me. I mean, these are the same people (Americans) that thought it was OK for people to own other people – that’s pretty stupid isn’t it? And the same people that thought it was OK to segregate people racially – that was pretty stupid, wasn’t it? So we are known for doing stupid things and having stupid beliefs.

Here’s a new single from Erasure, a remix of their old hit, A Little Respect. Proceeds from this tune go to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the home of the Harvey Milk High School, in New York, and the True Colors Fund. Get it on iTunes. h/t to JoeMyGod.

>DINO Davis and the truth about the economy

March 10, 2010

>Our local DINO Artur Davis said on Tuesday that he will continue his opposition to health care reform. “I’ve said it’s a no,” he said.

What he’s actually doing is ignoring the voters in his heavily Democratic district and pandering to the so called moderates* in Alabama in hopes of getting their votes in June. Or November.

I will be so glad not to be represented by Davis at the end of the current term. Maybe we can elect a congressional representative who sticks to the values that got them elected in the first place, rather than changing their stripes to meet the (supposed) expectations of a different electorate. I wouldn’t be surprised if Davis’ worst numbers come from the counties in his district.

Don’t interpret that as an endorsement for Ron Sparks because I’m disappointed in him as well, after his comments about constitution reform. Somehow I will have to make a decision come June. Flip a coin? Throw a dart? Paint their names on two ping pong balls and make a lottery out of it? Cross over and vote for Roy Moore?

Meanwhile, Mooncat over at Left in Alabama posted this link to a Bloomberg story about the economy, and included this quote.

One year after U.S stocks hit their post-financial-crisis low on March 9, 2009, the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has risen more than 68 percent, and it’s up more than 41 percent since Obama took office. Credit spreads have narrowed. Commodity prices have surged. Housing prices have stabilized.

“We’ve had a phenomenal run in asset classes across the board,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist for Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. “If he was a Republican, we would hear a never-ending drumbeat of news stories about markets voting in favor of the president.”

How long will we keep hearing from the Party of No about the failing economy under Obama when in actuality, things are looking good? Or at least, better and on the way to good.

As Mooncat said, Obama’s “done this with no help whatsoever from Republicans in Congress, who have voted NO on every single economic initiative.”

Wake up, people.

*there are no moderates in Alabama, only progressives and teabaggers, it seems.

And now, in this wonderland we call Alabama, let’s get freaky-deaky.

Gaga in Wonderland (possibly NSFW in Alabama)

>The Truth About Rush and the GOP

March 8, 2009

>

Today one of the best letters ever to the Decatur Daily was printed (the best might have been mine, printed a couple of years ago. I might dig it up someday). It’s from Mick Hubbard of Hartselle. Way to go Mick, email me if you want to contribute on Bessemer Opinions from time to time.

His letter:

To: The Daily

While watching the CPAC convention and the new Republican Party leader, Rush Limbaugh, one thing that was proven last week was their motto really is “We Know What’s Good for America.” Yet during the entire week, Limbaugh and his fellow travelers remained in total denial of the fact that the GOP caused (yet another) great GOP recession.

Thus for the 21st century to date the GOP has:

  • Supported communism by selling out the American economy to the threat of control of American capitalism by communist China.
  • During the last three elections the GOP proved continuously that its dominant cultural values are defined by its core constituency that still practices a culture of hate.
  • For the better part of this decade, GOP leaders such George Bush and Dick Cheney and Republican congressional leaders used lies about weapons of mass destruction and promoted government surveillance and control with increasing encroachment on the rights of the individual. When a hospitalized and morphined John Ashcroft wouldn’t even sign the permission slip to allow this sort of thing, the Bush administration went ahead with it anyway.

So today, the newest GOP leader Limbaugh is promoting a CPAC ruling elite dedicated to wielding total power over America by continuing to practice Adolf Hitler’s motto: “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.”

For all of the talk from Republicans about how the conservative agenda got away from the leadership, these same people were complicit and apologetic while it was going on.

It’s time the Democratic National Committee got back to “Fighting Like Hell for the Living” or the GOP will produce “1984” at last — a course the Bush autocracy set America upon, which Limbaugh’s GOP is dedicated to perpetuating and a continued destruction of the middle class, much less the least among us.

Mick Hubbard

Hartselle

Birmingham, Bessemer and Republicans

October 8, 2007

Taking the lead from Bessemer Opinions, the Birmingham News yesterday endorsed Patrick Cooper for mayor of Birmigham, and Howard Bayless for School Board. Vote tomorrow.

I’m not advocating people sleeping in on Sundays, but here is another reason to skip church . But when the pastors bring guns, and maybe you aren’t putting enough in the plate…

And the latest shooting in Bessemer was about a half a block away, on 19th Street yesterday afternoon. Not many details, but Fox 6 was there and reported victims being hospitalized. No word this morning. But you can be sure this will be brought up at tonight’s Bessemer Neighborhood Association. Live in Bessemer? Come to the meeting. 7:00 Broken Vessel Church.

It was pretty much glossed over when Republican lawmaker Tom Davis mentioned the GOP going the way of the Whigs, and he quickly added it isn’t going to happen. But it’s something to think about when the Birmingham News has side by side editorials today titled Christians Bent on Self Defeat by Kathleen Parker and Collapse of the GOP by David Brooks.

The links are from the Orlando Sentinal and NY Times, because you just can’t find things on the Birmingham News web site (al.com).

But let’s just sit back and watch. It should be fun.

>Birmingham, Bessemer and Republicans

October 8, 2007

>Taking the lead from Bessemer Opinions, the Birmingham News yesterday endorsed Patrick Cooper for mayor of Birmigham, and Howard Bayless for School Board. Vote tomorrow.

I’m not advocating people sleeping in on Sundays, but here is another reason to skip church . But when the pastors bring guns, and maybe you aren’t putting enough in the plate…

And the latest shooting in Bessemer was about a half a block away, on 19th Street yesterday afternoon. Not many details, but Fox 6 was there and reported victims being hospitalized. No word this morning. But you can be sure this will be brought up at tonight’s Bessemer Neighborhood Association. Live in Bessemer? Come to the meeting. 7:00 Broken Vessel Church.

It was pretty much glossed over when Republican lawmaker Tom Davis mentioned the GOP going the way of the Whigs, and he quickly added it isn’t going to happen. But it’s something to think about when the Birmingham News has side by side editorials today titled Christians Bent on Self Defeat by Kathleen Parker and Collapse of the GOP by David Brooks.

The links are from the Orlando Sentinal and NY Times, because you just can’t find things on the Birmingham News web site (al.com).

But let’s just sit back and watch. It should be fun.