Wisconsin’s Walker has screwed the pooch

Even though this idiot governor believes that he has won and has done the bidding of his MASTERS the Koch Brothers, in simple terms, the battle was his, the WAR is another story.  And it is a war, a war between the middle class of this country and the uber wealthy corporatists using their surrogates the political prostitutes.

What Walker and his thuggish band of Republican legislators have actually done is awakened a sleeping giant. The people of Wisconsin are up, aware, and they are angry.  The Republican legislators are in the gunsights now for recall, a conservative judge on the State Supreme Court’s re-election is in extreme doubt, because of his obvious right wing leaning and his predilection for always supporting the corporate interests over the citizens of the State.

Will all of this come to pass?  Very possibly it will.  But the pople ar going to have to really stick together.  From all indications, that is exactly what is happening currently.

Too bad Virginia doesn’t have more people who are more inclined to support what is good for the state as a whole rather than their petty ideological claptrap.  But that’s Virginia, it is sadly more right wing leaning lately than centrist or moderate. 

Looks like Wisconsin is having a strong wake up call and from all appearances the people are up, aware and ready to kick butt.  I will be constantly monitoring the situation there and in the year term of Walker, I will be happy to contribute to any recall organization that wants to drive this lying sack of excrement out of the Governor’s office. 

Wisconsin had always been a state to look to for progressive ideas and bi-partisan politics.  Evidently, it appears that the republicans snuck in while the citizens were napping.  But then that is what one can expect from the tea party contaminated republicans today.

The Do Nothing Congress Rides again

Once more the Congress (both sides of the aisle) have failed to perform their constitutional duty, that of passing a budget to operate the United States Government.  This week the House passed ANOTHER short term continuing resolution to fund the government for three weeks, THREE WEEKS, can you believe it? 

This is simply proof that the change in the Congress has take the country in a backward movement.  But then what would one expect?  The Republicans have NEVER, EVER executed a positive leadership role. 

The Democrats are just as bad, because they are simply rolling over and sucking their thumbs in the corner, with lying cretins like John Boehner of Ohio, Eric Cantor of Virginia and the brand new Tea Bagger’s take a machete to the federal budget.  Cutting the budget is a reasonable thing to do, but the way these idiots are going about it simply shows they have nothing between their ears but ideological pap.  None are looking at the programs, these massive budget cuts are slashing across the federal budget as a whole.

Thousands of Seniors, millions of children and thousands of poor people will suffer the perfidy of this 112th Congress, but hey, their owners, the big corporations and the uber wealthy will make out just fine.

Should one actually look at the budget and note that we are giving out more in TAX CREDITS than we are taking in in TAX REVENUE, wouldn’t it make sense to START THERE?  But no, let’s whack the poor, the kids and the seniors.

Bastards, the lot of them.

Hate to Say I Told You So!!!

Well the tea party and arch conservatives have been in the House for two months and so far they have put forth a budgetary continuing resolution that has no basis in reality.  I do not, for one minute, believe that they are sincere in their words about getting the budgetary house in order. It is simply more of the GOP’s constant lies toward their ultimate goal of a single party/dictatorship or more likely a total Oligarchial Plutocracy.  With thugs like the Koch Brothers in power the days of Apple Annie and seniors dying of untreated disease will be returning with a vengence.

Let’s look at a couple of the repugnant party’s shots against the American People.

1.  Senior Citizens – evidently the republicans simply cannot stand to see elderly people.  They simply wish them to either hide in dark places, or even better, to DIE!  Why else would they attack senior programs with such a vengance?

For instance, the cuts to the Senior Community Employment Program.  The repugnants have put forth a budget axe job on this valuable program of reductions in the neighborhood of 54 to 60 percent.  To put that more in perspective, reductions of over 400 million dollars for programs across the nation that help destitute seniors to obtain training and job placement assistance.  The program pays these seniors a small wage (minimum wage) during the training and then places them mostly with community organizations such as the Red Cross or similar groups.   Some even work for local government quasi public agencies.  In one organization along, there are over 16,000 seniors in the program currently.  IF the Republican party is successful in this budget fiasco, over 8,000 seniors will be tossed to the curb and be back on the streets homeless and hungry in most cases.  Now Multiply this by several hundred of these agencies across the nation, including such notables as the AARP.

2.  “Entitlements”, love this one.  Entitlement a great buzz word levied by the republican propaganda miesters to demonize those who are benefited by some of these programs.  For instance, they still continue to refer to the Social Security Program as an entitlement, never mind that the people who draw this money has paid into it for decades.  Entitlement, my ass.  Their plan right now is to reduce the benefit and to increase the eligibility age to 70 and above.

70 and above, anyone thought even for a nano second where the jobs for these 70 and above seniors are going to come from?  Makes you wonder if these pinheads have even two braincells.

Now here’s the real heartbreaker.  Most seniors aren’t even upset, because they haven’t a clue about the impact, or it will not impact them (RIGHT AWAY THAT IS).  When one tries to bring this republican danger to their attention, they regurgitate the old GOP/Oligarchy pap that some pain is necessary if we are to get our house in order.

3.  Okay, now the meat…. Our House in Financial Order???  Wonderful sentiment.  Problem is that the whole thing is a freaking lie.  They have no intention of getting the “house” in financial order.  IF they did, the first damn thing would be to recind all tax credits to major corporations like EXXON, GE, etc.  In point of fact, we give out more in tax credits than we bring in in tax revenue.  Any wonder why our financial house is not in order?

The polls say that over 60% of Americans actually want the government to spend more money, on critical things like infrastructure rebuilding, adding more jobs, bringing our industrial might back from the off shore locations and putting more Americans’ back to work.

Then let’s look at Social Security, by removing the deduction cap on income, some say to 500,000 dollars, but I say, remove it completely, and in doing so, you remove any problems with the Social Security funding streams for any remote foreseeable future, decades into the future in fact.

Why is it that the politicians always strike out at the seniors, the poor and the lower tier of the middle class?  Because we don’t have the wherewithal to strike back, EXCEPT through massive demonstrations in the streets of our nation’s capitol or the state houses across the country.  But in point of fact, back in the mid sixties, we did just that.  Seniors from all walks of life demonstrated up Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC and scared the GOP so damn bad that Medicare was passed within days of the march.

Will we do that again?  Who knows.  Maybe we just haven’t been hurt enough yet?  Perhaps when the assault on seniors becomes as overt as the assault on civil rights and liberties as in Wisconsin some of us might just wake up from our slumbers and put a stop to the violations.

Face it folks, the right wingers and their owners, the uber wealthy like the Koch Brothers, their propaganda arm like Fox News and Murdoch, and the huge corporations who stand to increase their already obscene profits by leaps and bounds, are out to drive the average Americans back to the depths this nation suffered during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Hopefully, I will be long dead before the nation that we all fought for suffers a death of freedom and rights.

Hang on folks, it really gets bumpy from here on

The Republican Arch Conservatives have now taken control of the House of Representatives.  Not all Republicans in the House are like these arch conservatives.  There are still some Moderates and true Conservatives left.  Many of them are honorable, wish to do the people’s work and to ensure that our nation survives and prospers.

The Arch Conservatves are not among these folks.  I include in this group the new Leadership of the Republican Caucus, John Boehner, Eric Cantor and the rest of that bunch.  Liars and hypocrits all.  My Congressional House Representative is a very honorable man.  Do we always agree on policies, not bloody likely, but he is always ready to listen and take constituency opinions under consideration. 

Mr Boehner?  Now that’s a man who is honor challenged and has a propensity of DECIDING WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT.  He has his own opinon about legislation, policies, people’s desires and the good of the country.  One simply does not want to confuse Boehner with those pesky FACTS.

I do hope, with the prayer of the faithful, that this current congress will not cause too much damage to the country in the next two years.  Afterall, look at the legacy they left when the year 2008 term ended the Republican control and how this nation has sufferred in the two years since.  Now in our national blindness, we have not only handed the Republicans a large majority in the House, but we have also invested a group of archconservative, libertarian and tea party representatives with the power of the legislative pen.  Lord Help US one and all.

As for me?  Simply going to keep praying that the saints who watch over our country will keep this new crop of Congress Critters from destroying the nation and its peopl.

I am preparing myself for a march on Washington to show the Congress that senior citizens are not to be screwed with and messing around with Social Security will get them FIRED big time.  I constantly marvel at the absolute stupidty of the political hacks who point to the Social Security Administration and that program as a way to lower the deficit.  Stupid?  Yeah, when anyone with half a brain should understand that Social Security has absolutely nothing to do with the deficit, the national budget (except to have SS funds stripped out to keep the national budget in better shape), and there is absolutely no reason to take any adverse action against senior citizens in this regard.

Every actuarial expert in the nation has made it perfectly clear that removing the FICA cap on wages will end any forecast of funding reductions.  Simple and straight forward, but perhaps that’s the major problem, it is simple.

Actually, we all know that the reason they are attacking social security now is that Wall Street is again applying pressure to the congressional political crooks to bring home the bacon to them for all the bribes(donations) and turn over all those trillions of dollars to the “money managers” on the STREET.  Yeppers, they really did a great job on financial management over the past few years and especially 2006 to 2008 right?

Anyway, I do pray that Boehner, Cantor and the rest of the GOP leadership can and WILL try to keep their more rabid members from totally destroying the government, the nation and the middle class citizens of this country.

A futile prayer I suspect, but one must have hope.

Ever wonder where WE THE PEOPLE went off to?

Yesterday, I was eating dinner in a restaurant while on a business trip.  The people behind me were discussing politics, or at least that’s what it sounded like.  When one made the statement about how they needed to take WE THE PEOPLE back from the LIBERALS and restore America to what it used to be!!  I sat there thinking about this commentary and smiled as I recalled when this nation truly used to be about We The People.  Funny thing?  Back then politicians used to COLLABORATE and cooperate to gain the best benefit for the nation.  People voted their concience and not the party line, and they discussed politics in civil manner.

Sadly over the past 25 or so years, we have become a nation with schisms so broad and deep that I fear we may never recover our national identity.  I hear people talk about their neighbor Americans as if they were the ENEMY.  Unfortunately I know that it comes from our political leadership, from the “CORPORATE” media and most insidiously, from the uber-wealthy who wish to take our republic and turn it into a set of fiefdoms.  Problem is, We The People are so wrapped up in disparaging our neighbor and fellow American that we fail to see the real enemy and they are laughing their asses off at us.

Let’s face it our two major political parties no longer represent any of the people except those who hold the largest share of all the wealth in the country.  Whether it is a Republican or Democrat, if a politician, the odds are they are already in someone’s pocket.  Think this new rage political group, the Tea Party bunch, is an answer?  Hang it all, not nearly.  They are controlled, (although they will NEVER admit it) by some of the wealthiest slugs this nation has ever hatched.  Two of the major slugs who are well on their way to buying America are the Koch brothers.  They are the real power behind the Tea Party groups, spending millions upon millions to encourage these poor misguided folks to attack the politicians that the Koch brothers don’t like or worry about their loyalty after all the bucks they have slipped into the pockets of our elected officials.

Let’s face it, you don’t really think that the Supreme Court believes that a corporate entity is a person with right of free speech and that stuff supposedly for human beings, do you?  The Koch brothers and the top 1 percent of the rich folks in this country sure do.  They are the ones who convinced the Right Wing of the Supreme Court to pass that judgement and now, we have even more money buying the country from it’s citizens.

But while we can rightly and correctly blame the uber-wealthy and the large corporations for the stealing of America, we also have to step up to the plate and take on blame ourselves.  WE are our own worst enemy when we allow these cretins to agitate us into vicious open battle of words against our neighbors.  And even more insidious is that we the people don’t exercise our right and DUTY to vote in our elections.  Do we not care that our people have died in wars to ensure that we keep that freedom and right?

I also listened to a relative recently who spoke out about the horrible fact that Civil Servants were earning far more than the private sector.  First of all his number was far off the mark, but in point of fact, many civil servants do earn more, but why do you suppose that it?  Because unlike the private sector, which is driving wages ever downward using this recession as an excuse to abuse their employees, the governments have legislation that specifies the wage structures.  Also, interestingly, at the pitiful increase rates of government civil servants for wages, they are still increasing, where the private sector has been decreasing.  Think that is unfair?  You damn well better believe it, but the corporations and the extremely wealthy people had a plan and it is working!

So, the next time you think about We The People, just remember that is should be your neighbor who you should include in that statement, not the uber-wealthy and the Corporations of this and foreign countries.

Train traveling with Grandkids

In about 10 days, this old virginian and his wife, along with my clan of kids and grandkids will hie ourselves off to the Washington DC Union Station. We will board the number 89 train for Florence, SC on our way to Myrtle Beach, SC and our condo timeshare for a few days of fun, sun, and beach.

The real thrill for me will be the look of joy on the faces of my grand daughters as they experience rail travel for the first time in their short lives. From the 13 year old, to the 5 year old, these three young angels are excited about the train. As one said to me, “Papa, this will be the first time I rode a train in my whole life”! That life being eight years and counting at this point.

While this old man loves everthing about train travel, the sheer excitement that is evident in these three girls as they prepare for their “voyage” on June 26 is something I wish I still had. Nay, I am not ambivalent about taking a train trip, I love trains, and the Bride and I use any excuse possible to travle hither and yon on one of AMTRAK’s wonderful conveyances.

So, we will all settle back, luxuriating in those wide comfortable seats on the train, ride our 8 hours and wait anxiously for the chance to do it all again, in the reverse trip.

“Got my bag, got my reservation. Spent each dime I could afford. Like a child in wild anticipation, long to hear that “ALL ABOARD!”.”

Been my theme song for decades.

If you haven’t ridden on one of our nation’s passenger trains, I would encourage you to give it a try.

Is Congress truly a bunch of lard asses?

Waaaay back in February, the President of the United States submitted, through is newly appointed NASA Administrator, a new budget proposal for the fiscal year 2011. In this budget, the Administration proposed to kill the Constellation Program in its entirety and outsource our manned space flight programs to the private sector. That old stupidity that the market can do it better and more efficiently. Seems strange that the man who touted transparency in government would stick this idiotic budget proposal out there with no notice. But that seems to be the way of the Obama Administration strangely enough.

Now, the real culprits, our Congress!!! Since February’s release of the Obama/Bolden/Garver/Holdren stupidity regarding NASA, the Congress has set about gnashing their teets, beating their breasts and uttering all manner of sound bites about their objection to this budget proposal. They even passed legislation specifically directing the Administration to refrain totally from adversely affecting (as in stopping) the work in any component of the Constellation Program. The Administration promptly gave Congress the proverbial bird and set out to do exactly as they wished, totally ignoring Congress’s rantings.

Problem? Congress so far has done absolutley nothing, except hold hearings and give Bolden a “severe talking to”. In June, early, NASA did another END RUN around Congress, basically telling the Congress critters that they were no concern and NASA/the Administration would do whatever they wished. They pulled an old 140 year old piece of legislation and directed it’s bullets at the Constellation programs prime contractors. This caused the immediate start of orders to subcontractors to STOP WORK. Thus totally abrogating the Congress’ direction to do otherwise.

Congress continues to dither, make irate statements and issue strongly worded letters to the NASA Administration!!! Big Whoop.

In the Meantime, Obama, Lori Garver, John Holdren and Charles Bolden are sitting in their offices laughing their asses off at the Congress and the thousands of aerospace engineers, scientists and technicians who are losing their livelihoods.

Lori Garver is the reputed mastermind behind all this turmoil at NASA, is was her plan and her program from the start. Guess Lori has a targeted bigh cushy job with one of the aerospace companies who will benefit from her perfidy toward the NASA folks.

While the actions of Obama, Garver, Holdren and Bolden are sickening and to my mind borderline traitorous, the actions of Congress (or should I truly say, INACTION) is the real sick aspect of this entire sick activity. By sitting on their fat butts and doing nothing but flap their lips, the program at NASA will continue to fire highly qualified engineering, scientific and technical talent. These folks will, for all intent and purpose, be totally lost to the national space technology program. As a result, we will see this nation become an also ran with regard to the space race. Thanks to the Administration for their lack of integrity and insane proposal, and the Congress for doing absolutely nothing to protect the United States from this total idiocy.

Already China is moving forward with their plans to dominate Low Earth Orbit space and their intent is clearly stated, they will militarize the space above the earth.

Thanks again Congress for doing nothing to protect this nation and a special thanks to the Obama Administration for their actions to murder the national manned space program.

What’s Wrong Virginia-Can’t pick a winner?

Seems my beloved state has continued down the road to becoming the butt of jokes from the late night comics.  Not that I blame them understand.  The actions of our state senior elected officials provide a plethora of opportunity to ridicule our state.

Let’s look at the dimwit that the voters allowed to slither into the office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  This is an august, highly respected office, or at least it was  until this AG and his predecessor (our current governor) demeaned the office itself.

Ken Cucinnelli is the true Tea Bagger party hack.  His opinions and actions bring a high degree of disgrace to our state in all of it’s 400+ years of existence.  Ken has issued a proclamation for the state university and other office to stop respecting the BAN on Gays, Lesbians and others.  According to Ken, it is now okay to go back to the homophobic claptrap of yesteryear such as refering to them as queers.  According to Ken there is no reason to provide any anti discrimination rules to “those people”.   His buddy, Gov. Bob McDonnell had to scramble really quickly to try and blunt old Ken’s stupidity before it got out to the rest of the world… OOOOPS too bad Bobby, too little too late.

Then there is Ken’s idiocy of creating a new state Seal.  How old is the State of Virginia folks?  How long have we had this State Seal?  Now Kenny boy comes along and changes the State Seal to cover up the exposed breast!!!!  Wow and we thought that kind of idiocy died with Bush’s Attorney General…..with his shawl over the chest of Lady Liberty.  Kenny had the figure on the state seal repainted to cover this breast.  What’s up with old kenny?  A breast fetish?  Sick puppy our Attorney General.

Then Kenny decides to take on the Federal Government in not one but two lawsuits, one against the EPA and the other against the Health Care Reform legislation.  So, Kenny is going to spend millions of dollars of our Virginia taxpayer funds, that Bob and the Legislature says we don’t have enough of (so they slashed the services budgets), just to sue the federal government?  This is our CONSERVATIVE attorney general?  This is the poster boy for the pointy headed Virginia Tea Party fools?  Thought these folks were supposed to be about saving money.  Kenny boy is certainly not worried about that.  Says it won’t cost much, but he hasn’t gotten the bill from his friends in the outside law firm for their services yet.

And then the final indignity, this cretinous retard has now issued a civil suponea to the University of Virginia for all the records of a former professor who just happened to be researching climate change (and his research doesn’t jive with kenny’s 12th century ideas of science).  Now Kenny is forcing the state university to spend thousands of dollars fighting a stupid suponea that they should not and must not honor.  There is no court order, just KEN’s determination and his stupid arrogance in issuing such a demand.

No, the University of Virginia should tell Ken to kiss off and their legal department should bring a counter suit against Kenny boy.  What the hell, it’s all taxpayer money anyway.  Yep, remember, that same taxpayer money that we are supposed to be critically short of?  Right that taxpayer money.

Frankly folks, I blame the people here in this state who sat on their asses on election day 2009 watching soaps or whatever on the boob tube and did not go to the voting booth.  But I also blame the Virginia Democratic Party who in their stupidity put up Creigh Deeds as the candidate for Governor against old Slick Bob.  As a result, of the lazy Voters and the Democrat’s lack of a viable governor candidate, we wound up with what my neighbor calls the Virginia Taliban, Ken Cuccinnelli, Bob McDonnell and the leadership of the Virginia House.

Lord have mercy on us all, let us get through this next three plus years without too much more indignation heaped upon us by these troglodytes who were put into office by default.  May the world forgive us our trespasses, and hopefully the Bob and Ken show will be over soon.

Otherwise, our great Commonwealth will truly beat Cleveland and Arizona for becoming the largest butt of jokes.  And none of them really funny.

Manned Space Program – Commercialized? Hell NO!

Last evening, April 11, 2010, we watched the NBC Dateline show on Apollo 13 (“Houston, we have a problem”) and was even more convinced that the Obama administration’s attempt to outsource the manned space program to commercial companies is stupid and very damn dangerous.

Knowing the massive efforts that NASA and their contractors put forth in effecting a rescue of the three Astronauts, James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred w. Haise, I feel absolutely certain that should any remotely similar situation arise in a COMMERCIAL MANNED SPACE PROGRAM that these three men would have died.  Commercial companies will focus on Stockholder shares, profit margins and other issues before considering the safety of the brave human beings who strap on those rockets and fly into space.

Allowing someone like Elon Musk to bring his grand three or four years of Space flight Expertise to the prospect of manned flight TAXI services is beyond stupid.  The Obama Administration and his NASA Administrator Bolden and his Assistant Lori Garver should be informed by the Congress in no uncertain terms that surrendering the leadership of space technology to Russia, China, India and the European agencies simply will not happen.

In point of fact, every congress critter should be required to watch the Dateline show and should have to speak with the remaining members of the Apollo 13 experience.  They should have to explain to these heroic individuals just why they are putting politics before human lives.

Will there ever be a place for commercial manned spacecraft?  Possible, but I do certainy and with great fervor, hope that it will not happen in the next few decades.

However, unless our Congress people stop dithering, gathering their sound bites and posturing for the “folks back home” and do their damn jobs we will see our country falling behind more and more.  They all say they are not going to allow the president to murder the Constellation program, yet they do nothing, absolutely nothing but talke.

Perhaps that’s all they are good for?  I have certainly come to believe that this is all Obama is good for.  Talk, not walk.

Has Bob McDonnell Started to Show his true colors?

When the Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell was elected this past November, many of my neighbors kept telling me that I was dead wrong about him.  He had changed his viewpoints and his political positions and was now a very moderate Republican.  I scoffed.

Turns out the oldvirginian was more correct than my neighbors. Bob’s recent declaration for April being the month to celebrate the Confederacy showed a crack in his phony facade.  The fact that it took a huge outcry from folks all over the state and the nation, to make this man change that proclamation to address the REAL damn reason for the south’s seccession, SLAVERY.  Jeez Louise, can’t these bone headed Republican Conservatives EVER get anything right.

George Allen, the biggest pissant to have ever held elected office in the State of Virginia was one of the crappiest governors we ever had.  This cretinous slug showed his racism and bigotry every time someone walked into his GOVERNOR’s office.  Confederate Flags hung along side NOOSES.  Yep, that’s right our old Georgie Allen was a true to the bone bigot and a racist.  It finally came out for all to see during his run for re-election to the Senate when he referred to a young man of India heritage, but a born in the USA American, a MACACA.  Allen tried to tap dance around it, but the cat was surely out of the bag and the old Dominion folks elected Jim Webb to the Senate.

We have, in this last election cycle, November 2009, taken the State of Virginia backward into the dark reaches of pointyheaded conservatism.  WE elected Ken Cuccinnelli as the Attorney General (note I say WE in the literary sense, I never voted for that slime ball bastard), and he has turned out to be, a hard right TEA BAGGER to the nth degree.  Issuing a proclamation that government institutions, including universities do not have to adhere to the non-discrimination law for homosexuals.

I thought we had done gone on down that slippery slope with old Kenney Boy, but then he started a stupid lawsuit to against the Federal government on the constitutionality of the health care legislation. Spending taxpayer money that we do not have on a frivilous lawsuit.   Tilting at Windmills are we kenny?

Then on the heels of this stupidy we have the “Honorable” Bob McDonnell issuing his little bigoted proclamation only to issue a mea culpa the next day, after a firestorm of indignation sprang up.  Imagine the stupidity of anyone not understanding that slavery was the major reason for the War between the States. 

McDonnell is finally starting to show the cracks in that phoney facade he wore all through the election campaign.  Are all you independents listening out there?

Of course the Democratic Party could have put up someone who wasn’t a dufus to compete against McDonnell.