Pull the Plug

It's time to pull the plug on the Political Conservatives' and Christian Evangelicals' sociopathic claim to be the rightful and proper judges of the rest of mankind, and their obsessive-compulsive fixation on regulating what you watch on TV, what you read, what you do in your bedroom, how you dress, which god you worship, your choice of music, who you love, and what you believe about the universe.
 
                                                     ~ G. Harris-Howe

Your GOPathetic Representative

Outspoken anti-immigrant Congressman Steve King (R-IA) during a congressional hearing questioned an official witness, Arturo Venegas, about his coming to the U.S. Venegas stated he was brought to the country as a child by his U.S.-born mother. To which King inquired, “Can you just tell us what year and what visa, then, Mr. Venegas?”

There is no excuse for Congressman King's hostile lack of respect for Arturo Venegas. He is a veteran of the war in Vietnam, the former Chief of Police of Sacramento, California, and an American citizen despite being born abroad, because the child of a US citizen is legally an American citizen as well, and doesn't need a special visa to enter the country. Congressman King is an embarrasment.

The Second Amendment

In the debate over gun ownership and the intentions behind The Second Amendment, neither side has sucessfully incorporated that mysterious "for the purpose..." clause. But the problem isn't unfortunate phrasing. The problem is that if you reaveal the reasoning behind the Second Amendment, you also reveal that the great debate over the right to bear is a fraud.  A little research reveals that . . .

By the late 18th century, the colonialists' general lack of trust of any distant, centralized oversight resulted in the powerless government of the Articles of Confederation. Without the power to collect funds owed by the states, congress floundered and the states' focus shifted toward their individual self interests including alliances with foreign powers. Without a new constitution with a strnong central government, the Republic was clearly doomed. But when it came time to approve the proposed constitution,  the States' delegates were concerned it granted too much control to Congres, and, despite the system of checks and balances designed to prevent domination by any one branch of government, the delegates demanded that certain rights be reserved for the states and the people and be delineated in a the Bill of Rights.

 Among the many concerns addressed in the Bill of Rights was the founding fathers recognition of the importance of empowering Congress “to raise and support armies” and “to provide and maintain a navy,” and the possibility that an agressive leader could manipulate a permanent standing army to oppress the people, or possibly seize control of the government. The solution was to created a Right to Bear Arms "for the purpose" of  each state maintaining a well regulated militia as a deterant against federal tyrrany enforced by the standing army.

With its precise wording, supported by its history, Second Amendment clearly grants an individual right to bear arms so that each state is able to organize and maintain a citizen militia. It does not make any statements about bearing arms for hunting, target practice, self defense, in collections, or for criminal activities, pro or con, and offers no resolution to the current debate. As alarming as it may be, gun ownership vs gun control is not a constitutional issue, unless, of course, you belong to a well regulated militia.

America's GOProblem

During the November 12th Republican presidential debate, Herman Cain was asked his opinion of Waterboarding, an interrogation technique use on George W's detainees, but internationally condemned as torture. "I don't see it as torture. I see it as an enhanced interrogation technique," Cain replied, and the audience erupted into applause!

So far, prolife, family values, Jesus loves you, peace on earth conservatives at the GOP debates have cheered the death penalty in Texas, shouted agreement at the suggestion an uninsured 30-year-old coma victim could be left to die, booed a gay soldier serving in Iraq, and applauded Waterboarding of suspected (but technically innocent until proven guilty) terrorists. Such lovely people.

Dark Matters

The Miami Herald reports that operations at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba cost over $800,000 per
year for each of the 171 innocent-until-proven-guilty detainees still held at Gitmo. That's $139 million per year, year after year after year, thanks to George W and friends' allegiance to the dark side.

The Miami Herald

The Corporate GOPuppet Show

Corporate GOPuppets House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX)  are pushing a "Tax Repatriation Holiday" which would allow multinational corporations to bring money they have stashed in offshore accounts back to the U.S. at a dramatically lower tax rate (5% has been proposed) stating that corporations will use the repatriated money to invest domestically and create jobs.

But when  the Congressional Research Service looked at the Repatriation Holiday approved by thr Republican Congress in 2004, it found that  92 percent of the money brought back under the tax holiday was used to enrich corporate executives and buy back their own shares, not to invest in job creation. In fact, the major players like Pfizer, Hewlett-Packard, and Honeywell brought back billions of dollars and then eliminated tens of thousands of jobs.

Pat Garofalo at Think Progress connects ALL the corporate-welfare dots.

                                                                                            = G Harris-Howe

The Conservative Agenda: Ignorance

The greatest threat to the Conservative agenda is a knowledgable, well educated electorate. Consider this from The Huffington Post:

A recent paper by Cornell political scientist Suzanne Mettler surveyed how many recipients of government benefits don't really believe they have received any benefits. She found that over 44 percent of Social Security recipients say they "have not used a government social program." More than half of families receiving government-backed student loans said the same thing, as did 60 percent of those who get the home mortgage interest deduction, 43 percent of unemployment insurance beneficiaries, and almost 30 percent of recipients of Social Security Disability.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. The Republican attack on "big government socialist entitlements and secular public education" would get laughed off the ballot if not for the GOP/FuxNews flood of confusing lies and distortions reinforcing that kind of voter ignorance.

                                                                              =Gregory From Earth

Republic Healthcare

This is one of my original graphics that you are free to use
 on your website or blog as long as your credit this blog:
Courtesy "Gregory From Earth"

http://gregoryfromearth.blogspot.com

The Burden of Big Government Regulations

Republicans blame "the burden of big Government Regulations of Corporate America" for our sputtering economy and high unemployment rates. They whine and blubber that Daconian Democrat red tape is strangling the job-creators. They yammer about government regulations sucking up profits. They talk about Liberal "Socialist" policies squashing creativity, and sabotaging economic recovery. Since they're so anxious to talk about regulations, let's talk.

Let's talk about the poor, oppressed corporations, and Wall Street's anything-for-a-buck mindset. Let's talk about the fuck-the-public profits they've sucked out of sweatshops, salmonella, coal miner's scrip, adulterated food and drugs, overbilling, black lung and asbestosis, bribary of public officials, E. Coli, price fixing, lead-based paint, Fen-Phen Diet Pills, kickbacks, pollution, outsourcing, predatory lending and deceptive advertising.

The Republican myth of corporate self-regulation is shattered by the littered history of infamous corporate scandals, from the The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, to the Deregulated Savings and Loan Associations Crisis, the catrastrophic collapse of Enron, and of course the current economic rape of the middle class, the Financial and Industrial Barons disgraceful disregard for the welfare of the nation can not be left unchecked.

Agressive government regulation is the only defense against these sociopathic manufacturers, financial institutions, service providers, and retailers . They can whine and blubber, or they can own up, clean up their act and hope that, eventually, they merrit a measure of trust from the American people.
                                                                    =Gregory from Earth

The Conservative Agenda

This is one of my original graphics that you are free to use

 on your website or blog as long as your credit this blog:

Courtesy "Gregory From Earth"

http://gregoryfromearth.blogspot.com